Trailer: Kenshi

By: Derek Yu

On: September 8th, 2011

Here’s one to look out for: Kenshi, a free-roaming, squad-based strategy RPG that takes place in what looks like a large-scale (400 sq. km) post-apocalyptic world inhabited by samurai. Its developer, Lo-Fi Games, is putting a lot of emphasis on the fact that your character starts out as a weakling and must suffer losses as he works his way up to faction leader (or badass lone wolf). The combat looks like a unique hybrid of real-time and turn-based systems, “based on motion capture and developed by an actual martial artist and sword practitioner”.

Kenshi is at a very early stage in development, but a playable demo is planned for supporters ($10) some time next month.

(Source: Rock, Paper, Shotgun)

Posted in Previews, RPG, Strategy, Videos | Tags: LoFiGames

http://profiles.google.com/tim.m.holt Tim Holt

Interesting. The engine nut in me wants to know… “What engine?” That and when they add “Shadows!” to the trailer – it’s amazing what they can do even if it’s a shadow blob under people’s feet :)
data

um.. when you get “beaten up” with a katana.. there’s no fixing it
Rgb

My thoughts exactly :)
http://twitter.com/doomlaser Mark Johns

God damn, this game needs some fucking character shadows. it’s 2011, it’s not expensive. Stencil shadows if your’e fixed function. Dooo it.
A guy

They are making permanent character death a very real posibility, when you get stabbed you begin to bleed. If the bleeding is not stopped then you will die. Even if the bleeding is stopped you will need to seek medical attention and take a while to recover from your wounds before just throwing yourself to the wolves again. I have also heard that the game includes locational damage, a bad leg wound will slow your movement a lot as your character limps about and has trouble dodging further attacks, if it gets worse your character begins crawling on hands and knees, the character could even be immobilised and need to be carried to safety by an ally or kind passer-by. A head wound will impair your field of vision and probably will take a very long time to heal – if it ever does fully. A serious arm wound will mean you must fight one handed – or even become unable to hold a weapon if both arms are severe, the arms could even be severed which (if survived) will be a serious disability and hinder your fighting ability greatly. The creator wants to implement a way to restore lost body parts at extreme expense/effort (but is unsure how to make this fit with the setting).

Really looking forward to this game.
YetanotherguyIam

who cares about shadows? what are you a little baby?

I’m really digging this game! I want to play it NOW
Majormel84

this game reminds me of metal gear solid:peace walker……..cept with samurai’s lol.
im not trying to say its a copy of the game.the R&D part just reminds me of MGS:PW
Majormel84

Wasn’t there prosthetic arms back then?except they were wooden.
Ali Akbar

he’s wearing a hat. so its probably Valve’s steam engine
News

ah sholeh been done seen dis roun’ GameDev, but ent seenit yonder inna coon’s age
thanks yeh massah fer give Lo-Fahs horn a blow
YetanotherguyIam

This game is an obvious ripoff of cave story!
Earthist

Go back to Neptune.
Emo Panda

Not to sound arrogant, but it seems like the developer is over-playing this game by a lot. But all this game tells me is that it’s a M&B clone with more appealing aesthetics. I shouldn’t be judging the game so harshly when a working alpha release isn’t even out yet. Fingers crossed though!
http://twitter.com/samuraidan Dan MacDonald

Hey it’s a post apocalyptic game about samurai, bless their hearts for trying to make this game!
Anonymous

Actually, the lack of shadows ruins the look of everything. You can’t just have freaking 3d graphics and realistic geometry of everything and then not even PLACE them on the ground visually with shadows.

Abstraction should be consistent, especially in the same field (in this case, graphics)
This game might have many good points, but the graphics is not one of them. I might clarify that this is my opinion.
Jorge -lfa.com

It’s using the Ogre3D engine: http://www.ogre3d.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=42488
http://www.facebook.com/dorkbot.development John Sandoval

I don’t know if you guys know how to read or not, but “the game is still a work in progress and does NOT REFLECT THE QUALITY OF THE FINAL PRODUCT”. They have more important things to take care of before they get to something as… unessential as shadows.
YetanotherguyIam

I just can’t believe they forgot about adding shadows
Majormel84

the guy said hes finding someone to do that i think.
just be paitiant.
Anonymous

Sense is made! My graphical brain can never see shadows as anything but essential though.
http://twitter.com/pandafresh Christian J. Ruiz

dear dudes making this game,

you’re game sounds interesting, but visually not so much. it needs some serious art direction, because lo-poly but aiming for realistic isn’t going to work for you. you’re UI is also real ugly. I know this is still in development, just wanted to suggest that stuff.

sincerely,
some dude that whats your game to be bitchin.
Adev

thanks for the shitty advice shitty man on your shitty high horse
Phubans

Hey everyone, does anybody want to pay a nickel to see my special place?
Snake_tr_mgs

mount and blade clone
Snake_tr_mgs

mount and blade clone
Saluk64007

Been looking forward to this one for a long time. It looks like the game is starting to come together. It does need some polish in a lot of areas, but when the large amounts of troops are attacking each other the animations and the ai look pretty convincing.

Ogre makes it easy to do a certain kind of shadows, but he said that he used the stencil buffer for something else. I wonder what? Hopefully he does add shadows at some point.

How can it be an M+B clone when A) there is no overmap/battlemap disconnect and B) it’s a strategy game not an action game.

Game does not really look ready for pre-alpha sales model though. But if it works, and he can hire another programmer or two to fix some of the issues, it could turn out very cool.
Tiganon

Man, how stupid is it to bitch about a lack of shadows? o_O Shadows are the first thing I turn off in any game, ever. They rarely add anything and often just drag down performance. But.. a “real martial artist and sword practitioner” and none of the characters wearing a sword as you would actually wear it? Something smells fishy here.
Emo Panda

I’m pretty sure SOMEONE sometime in the Japanese feudal period wore the scabbard on their backs. And yes shadows aren’t all that important except when there’s a high-end lighting system in place and a day-night cycle in the game.
BillD

Wow this looks really shitty.
YetanotherguyIam

minecraft clone, more like
YetanotherguyIam

minecraft clone, more like
YetanotherguyIam

is that guy for real? I’m try to look for some hint he’s kidding, but looks like he’s really that dumb
YetanotherguyIam

is that guy for real? I’m try to look for some hint he’s kidding, but looks like he’s really that dumb
YetanotherguyIam

no man, he forgot! there won’t be any shadows!
Fhnuzoag

I hope they aren’t planning on making the player limp all the way home after a fight with that slow, sloooow walking speed.