Latest News: New Game, LoX Sequel, and Gameplay Topics

New Game Incoming

It has been a long time since our last update, yes, but don’t think the Numantian team has been on holidays since then. We have been working hard during these past months on our new game. We will announce it for Christmas and expect to release it for the end of Q1 2017. Although it is not LoX II or even an RPG, we are sure this game is going to please all that have enjoyed Lords of Xulima (even the main developers are playing it a lot instead of working on finishing it…). We will talk more about it in the next update, but let’s drop a tiny hint: its initials are T.A.B. Any guess?

 

The Sequel: Lords of Xulima II

We decided to create a different game before Lords of Xulima II for two reasons: First, to have more time to design it with new and fresh ideas. And of course, we will be continuing the original story. This story, by the way, will be much more epic than the first one. The first game, “A Story of Gods of Humans” is actually the prequel to the main story. Second, we would love to produce Lords of Xulima II with much better quality in all aspects: graphics, sound, and voice. We believe that the new game will help us reach that goal.

Keep in mind, behind Lords of Xulima, there are 4 years of development. Designing a 100-hour RPG, with the world, gameplay, mechanisms, puzzles, classes, and everything being coherent with the main story was like squaring the circle. And the sequel is much more ambitious.

We are very proud of LoX. It is not perfect, we know it, but we will use all our experience and all that we have learned so far to make the sequel even more special and unique.

 

Let’s talk about RPG gameplay

Some months ago, we started a thread where the players can give us their feedback for the sequel. We wanted to know what aspects of the original game they liked the most and which of them they did not enjoy as much. We were also interested in new ideas and suggestions.

In this update and others to come, we will discuss different gameplay topics and how they will be implemented in the sequel. We will post new updates every two to three weeks. Each one of them will cover a gameplay aspect.

 

Game Length and Replayability

We love long games, especially in the RPG genre. In the old-school days, games like Wizardy VII or the first Might and Magic games were huge epic games with 100+ hours of content. Nowadays it is rare to find a game that lasts more than 20-30 hours.With Lords of Xulima, we wanted to bring back those huge stories of the past when you had time to slowly evolve your party from weaker than rats to adventurous young men to powerful demigod heroes.

In this case, we think we went too far since Lords of Xulima is a bit too long. This isn’t a problem in itself, but the third part of the game suffers a bit, as it lacks in fresh content, too much combat, and less variety of enemies. We had to do it because of the long story. The eight temples / gods should have an equal level of importance. But to keep that in the story, the gameplay suffered. Nevertheless, with the last part of the game, it was interesting to drink the blood of a king through the horn of a demon or find an old sea-route in some ancient ruins to reach a small isle and there find a speaking chest with the most powerful weapon :o)

For the sequel, we plan on making it shorter of about 40-50 hours for the main story. However, it will have different endings depending on your actions. One of the endings will be especially difficult to achieve. Only the most hardcore players will be able to beat it after 100 hours+ of playing.

Additionally, we are going to focus more on the replay value. Since the game follows a story, there must be a lot of static content (dialog, places, puzzles, NPCs …). Though it won’t be a procedurally generated roguelike, there are some aspects of the game that can make every new game more random and unique:

  • More Variety of Classes: New classes that make you play the game in a different way. We will talk more about them it later.
  • Traps: Most traps will be randomly placed. With each new game, they will change.
  • Static Enemies and Random Encounters: In LoX I, they had a bit of randomness but in the sequel, they will be much different.
  • Dynamic NPCs: Some special NPCs will travel through the world. Their interaction will have important effects on the player.
  • Special random world areas and dungeons: Some world areas like Geldra and Pernitia from the first game will be generated randomly. Also, some optional and special dungeons will be random too.
  • Special Items and Artifacts: Every game will have a set of special items whose nature and location will change. Special Bosses: Some bosses will change with every new game, such as their nature and location.

What do you think?

Next time we will talk about “Linear or Open Worlds“.

See you soon!

  • Posted by Julie
  • On October 14, 2016
  • 11 Comments
Tags: lords of xulima, numantian games

11 Comments

Michael
Great! I really loved LoX and I´m very much looking forward to the Sequel. 4 years for part 1, and part 2 will be improved in all aspects! I´ll be patient...
Valadurs Erbe
I think this is a side-effect of my job, but T.A.B. only translates to "tablet" (like the one that you take when you feel ill).... Taverns and Bards? Special items and artifacts for every playthrough? I think I remember this from Might and Magic.
VK
I think it'd be a wrong direction to take with the sequel. LoX was great precisely because of how tightly its levels were designed, with good balance of puzzles, exploration and combat. Introducing more randomness would only dilute it.
JeNehIsNichtKlar
Great to hear that you will continue making RPG's, and that you will continue the story of Lords of Xulima. As for the mystery game: "Alt-T.A.B. of the Gods"
crpgnut
Well, we've been discussing this news post, at RPGWatch, and the consensus is that nobody is interested in T.A.B. but we hope that you have the money left over to make Xulima 2. We're an RPG site though, so it makes sense that we're totally not into your experimentation game and prefer RPGs. It's a mistake to think we're Numian Games fans; just Xulima.
JG
So glad to hear about LoX2 and am very interested to learn what the T.A.B. game will be. Cheers and here's to making another great game.
Maxis
Can i buy those games on GoG.com?
Axel
New Infos 2017?
Michael
Loved Lords of Xulima, one of the best modern RPG's, and probably the only game I have ever finished twice. Wishlist for the sequal: More races to choose from when creating your party. A few more classes. Advanced promotion classes like in the might and magic series.
john talcott
i don't know how many people feel the same as I do. I have money. I am willing to pay a generous rate to get the new game (retail, not benefactor). I did NOT purchase the other game. If you guys like $$, perhaps you can get going on LOX2. You make it, we buy it. have a great day!
Daniel
Years later, I still really want LoX2! I check for info every now and again. Sadly TAB delayed LoX2 by years. :( Oh well looking forward to more Xulima in the future!

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