Geneforge 1: Mutagen Update #11

Spiderweb Software’s Geneforge remaster is all but finished and should be going into backer beta in about a month, before launching properly sometime around February 2021. The latest Kickstarter update for the project talks about that, shares a couple of screenshots, and outlines the game’s new Stealth skill. Check it out:

Geneforge 1 – Mutagen is getting very close to done. Five days of work to finish the world. One day for the ending. A day or two more to finish everything we forgot to finish. And then it’s time for the Windows port and pushing the boulder uphill to a February release.

We have made our Final To-Do list, and we’re taking items off it at a good pace. When it is empty, we have a game we can sell!

We sent out surveys for people who will be listed in the credits. Surveys for all other backers will follow soon after. Be sure to watch your email.

We haven’t talked much about ways we’ve changed the game for the remaster. So we want to preview one of the new systems. We’ve been asked a lot about the new Stealth skill and how that will work. We really like how this skill has turned out, and it’s a valuable tool for players who follow routes with less combat.

Every enemy has a radius at which it can detect enemies. When you increase your stealth skill, it temporarily reduces this radius by a short distance per point of skill. This delay is temporary. When you see a ‘?’ over an enemy’s head, your stealth kept it from noticing you, but the delay won’t last forever. Early on, a small amount of stealth will get you past a lot of pests. In advanced areas, evading the defense systems will take much more.

One of the trademark qualities of Geneforge games is that there are many paths to victory. We have testers who are making armies of creations, others who play a lone warrior, and some who sneak through the game without ever attacking a foe. Happily, they all seem to be having fun.

Anyway, the end is in sight. If your backer level lets you join the closed beta, that will start in a month or so.

Hope everyone stays safe, and next month we’ll tell you about a mostly finished game!

– Jeff Vogel