Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr, a grim action-RPG from NeocoreGames has recently entered Steam Early Access, where you can currently purchase the game for $44.99 or your regional equivalent. The Early Access release comes with a new 0.6.0 Update, a roadmap to release, and a new trailer. Let’s start with the latter:
And then move on to the 0.6.0 patch notes:
NEW FEATURES
New Map Setting: Frozen Wastes
Explore our first non-linear map-setting, where dangerous hordes lie behind old ruins and jagged rocks on this glacial terrain.
Refined User Interface and Visual Improvements
Based on our latest survey, we have upgraded our UI to resemble a more clean look
We have also added loads of visual tweaks to the game, such as vendor nameplates
Other Misc Features
Several new Character Perks have been added
Relic Items are now available
Dozens of new item Enchants available
Placeholder, “dummy” campaign added to allow for early character development.
Full story mode will be available on full launch, as it was originally intended.
In-game tutorials are now available in the Journal
Co-Op Matchmaking now available in the northeast corner of the Hub!
PvP matchmaking has been moved there as well.
MAJOR FEATURE CHANGES
New Power Level System
We have simplified and tweaked our Power Level system to be a lot more viable for hardcore and for casual players alike.
We have faced a very basic issue with the current power level system, and it can’t be resolved with only minor changes: In order to be able to gain a power level, you have to get purples on every item slot of yours, with only a few of them actually having good stats on them – this was a goal, so we have no problem until this point. But, when within the next power level you found new items, you did not have a reason to swap those items, as the stats they provided were rarely better than what you already had. No matter that they had a higher power level as that would become valid only when you would have those higher PL items on every item slot of yours so you could get to the next power level. This is why we tried to find a method where we keep the benefits of the PL system but eradicate parts of the game that aren’t motivating at all.
Characters do not have Attack Power Level and Defense Power Level anymore.
Items do not have Attack Rating or Defense Rating. Every item has a Power Rating.
The sum of our equipment’s Power Rating is our character’s Item Power Rating.
The character’s Item Power multiplies our damage/defense, so when we find a higher Power Rating item, it will visibly increase our defense/damage
Displayed Values:
On the Character Screen, we display the char’s Item Power.
We display our damage bonus and damage reduction value against the weakest (50 Power Rating) enemies.
We display the same values against enemies with the Item Power level of 75 + CharLvL * 25 .
This has to be done as this value will increase every time with equipping a better Power value item, while if we would display bonuses against a monster with the exact same IP value as us, the value would sometimes decrease when we equip a better item.
On the mission briefing screen we display the actual dmg/def bonuses applying for that mission.
Account Level / Character Level changes
Character Level = Inquisitor Rank
From the beginning of the game, when we get XP with any of our characters, this now contributes to our Account XP pool, being able to gain Account Levels (rewarded by 1 skill point per Acc Level).
When we complete a Story/Tarot mission with any character, we gain Rank Points (=Inquisitor Rank XP) that is only for that specific character only, contributing to that Character’s Inquisitor Rank (basically an “XP bar” that is character specific).
The higher the Inquisitor Rank is, the higher Power value items we’ll find. It also defines what items can we wear that have Inquisitor Rank requirement. This is especially useful when trading as you’ll see if the item is fit for you or not, also you can buy items having a higher Inquisitor Rank requirement as progress is foreseeable this way.
Item Leveling:
During the first 20 Inquisitor Ranks, dropped items will increase in base values and enchant values as well (every 2-3 Inquisitor Ranks) which means we will be able to find better items of the same rarity over time. Items will start at around half their current values and reach their current values at Inquisitor Rank 20. Above Rank 20, their values will only be increased during opening up new Tiers.
(This of course does not mean that if you get an item at lvl 1, it will scale to you until level 20, this only means that over time, you will get better drops as you level up)
Accessing new Tiers in the future:
Every Tier (=every subsector) has a limit on the maximum power rating available on items. Our inquisitor rank may continue to progress past this point to the values of the next loot table, but we can only find items at or below the loot table for the tier’s maximum.
When we hit the Inquisitor Rank associated with the maximum item rating of drops for that tier, we can find Relic items that we can upgrade via Crafting, increasing its Power value. This way our character will eventually reach the Item Power value to do the Tier closure missions that are specifically designed to allow players to travel into the next Tier.
BUG FIXES
Fixed an issue where maps did not load
Fixed an issue with camera rotation
Several Co-Op issues fixed
Numerous potential crashes eliminated
Fixed several typos and miscellaneous errors
You can also read an extensive preview of the game over at RPGWatch. An excerpt:
Neocore games wanted to add something new to the ARPG genre and added to Inquisitor – Martyr a cover system that allows you and your enemies to take cover. Every potential cover however also is destructible, just like the entire environment is destructible. This destructibility can also be used in combat. You could, for example, destroy a pillar and make it crumble down on one of your opponents. One other thing they added, to bring you a tactical advantage is that you can position the camera such that you can look ahead and around corners to check who or what is waiting there.
A new system has been created to make maps more diverse and add more variety to them. Many maps are indoor, but there are also maps that are outdoor. Every map consists of tiles. Each environment has its own set of tiles. The tiles are all hand crafted and placed in a tile pool. A new map is then created by selecting a random set of tiles from the set of tiles belonging to the type of environment that is being created. The next step is that the props are added, which are machines, devices and other objects that belong in the type of environment that is being created. Lastly weather elements are added when the map is outdoor. With this they want to make sure that you will not get to see two environments that are the same.
Almost the entire game can be played alone or with up to 4 players in cooperative mode. The only exception to that is the story mode campaign, which can only be played as a single player. The single player story missions are in the same star map as the missions that can be played in co-op. The single player campaign focusses on the inquisitorial investigations on the ship Martyr. You can follow the story by completing the missions as presented to you, but you are free at any time to side step to one of the missions that do not belong to the single player story campaign and come back at a later time. Unfortunately at this point in time the single player campaign can not be played.
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Val Hull
Resident role-playing RPG game expert. Knows where trolls and paladins come from. You must fight for your right to gather your party before venturing forth.
