Category: Nordic Trolls

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Fantasy VR Adventure ‘Karnage Chronicles’ Gets 4-Player Co-Op in Latest Update

Karnage Chronicles, the sword and sorcery VR adventure in Early  Access from Beijing-based Nordic Trolls, recently received a long-awaited update that now includes multiplayer co-op for up to four players.

The co-op mode lets players team up with friends or strangers to experience the campaign together. The game is also said to include “drop-in/drop-out” support, so you can simply create a character, complete the tutorial, and head into the goblin-shooting and bashing action. Depending on the number of people in the party, monsters’ strength and number scales to keep things challenging.

The news was announced via a Steam update post, which includes a host of improvements, tweaks, and bug fixes to hit the game this month.

Karnage Chronicles first launched into Steam Early Access back in April 2017, boasting support for HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Windows VR headsets. The co-op mode was first made available on the game’s test branch early last month, although now it’s been deemed stable enough for the base game. There’s still no word on when Karnage Chronicles is headed out of EA, although the addition of co-op certainly helps flesh out the episodic action RPG’s feature set.

Image courtesy Nordic Trolls

In case you’ve never heard of it, here’s how Nordic Trolls describes Karnage:

Every five thousand years the planets align and create a rift in the fabric of cosmos. It’s prior to such an event that this story unfolds. Play as a Murkwraith, an undying knight barred from Death’s domain, and cursed to eternal servitude for sins committed eons ago. Experience a rich story that takes you on a perilous journey through dark dungeons filled with monsters, traps, puzzles, treasure and more.

Karnage Chronicles, priced at $25, currently has over 150 reviews on Steam, which has earned it an aggregate score of ‘Very Positive’.

The post Fantasy VR Adventure ‘Karnage Chronicles’ Gets 4-Player Co-Op in Latest Update appeared first on Road to VR.

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Karnage Chronicles Adds Multiplayer In Latest Update

Back in July of this year developer Nordic Trolls revealed that their virtual reality (VR) fantasy action role-playing game (RPG) Karnage Chronicles would begin testing the multiplayer portion of the title. Now, following a few weeks of testing multiplayer has come to the title in the latest update allowing friends to team up to overcome the challenges of this fantasy world.

Karnage Chronicles Screenshot

Thanks to this most recent update players will be able to enjoy the campaign together in groups of two, three or even four as friends and random players come together. Featuring full drop-in/drop-out support players will be able to freely join a friend or another player at anytime after they have created a hero and gone through the tutorial. Monster strength and the number of monsters spawns will now also scale automatically based on how many players are in a party so get ready for a harder challenge. Of course, as players leave a party the challenge will scale back down as well so don’t worry to much.

Alongside the release of multiplayer a number of additional improvements and changes have come to the title as well. This includes a new system which will see players respawn after death with less than maximum health, with the value depending on the difficulty. New changes to the user interface make it more clear when their is more text to read and closing the inventory also now automatically closes the paperdoll. These are just some of the new changes, along with numerous bug fixes, which you can read in full here.

Karnage Chronicles Screenshot

VRFocus’ Editor Kevin Joyce previewed Karnage Chronicles saying: “Karnage Chronicles plays much like you’d imagine a VR rendition of The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim to, however based on evidence of the early build VRFocus has been hands-on with its significantly more linear. Karnage Chronicles is more about the pacing of the adventure than choosing your own, which is a fair interpretation of the exploration-heavy style of RPG given the relative youth of VR as a medium.”

Karnage Chronicles is currently available on Steam Early Access for £18.99 (GBP) with support for HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Windows Mixed Reality. VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest on the title in the future so make sure to stay tuned for more.

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Karnage Chronicles Multiplayer Features Have Entered Testing

Developer Nordic Trolls released their virtual reality (VR) fantasy action role-playing game (RPG) Karnage Chronicles into Steam Early Access back in April 2017. Since then the title has received a number of updates including support for Oculus Rift. Now, the developers have published an update on the titles promised multiplayer portion along with how they plan to get the community involved.

Karnage Chronicles Screenshot

Karnage Chronicles puts players into a fantasy world full of monsters and creatures that will stand in their way of exploring dark dangerous and finding all the treasure that awaits inside. With a world full of swords, sorcery and hack and slash gameplay, players will quickly find themselves letting loose in this immersive world full of opportunity. Taking on the role of Murkwraith, players are tasked with wrestling back a world under siege by dark forces and sinister plotters all while keeping your eye open for loot along the way.

Now developer Nordic Trolls have revealed more details on the multiplayer side of the title. The plan is to get two to four player coop integrated into the title with the possibility of some player-versus-player action at some point. To help ensure the implementation of these features go smoothly the team has a three stage plan. Stage one will see them carrying out closed testing on a Steam Test Branch which is expected to be a buggy messy with plenty of latency issues. Stage two will be an open test on the Steam Test Branch, open to anyone and will hopefully be less problematic then stage one. Finally, stage three is the update to the live version of the title which will bring multiplayer to all players with few if no issues.

Karnage Chronicles Screenshot

Those who are waiting to take part in the testing of the multiplayer can do so by following the Steam community forums for the title and keeping their eyes open for submission. Furthermore, the team at Nordic Trolls have released an hour long gameplay video that shows an early multiplayer test working in action. You can find that below.

VRFocus’ Editor Kevin Joyce previewed Karnage Chronicles saying: “Karnage Chronicles plays much like you’d imagine a VR rendition of The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim to, however based on evidence of the early build VRFocus has been hands-on with its significantly more linear. Karnage Chronicles is more about the pacing of the adventure than choosing your own, which is a fair interpretation of the exploration-heavy style of RPG given the relative youth of VR as a medium.”

Karnage Chronicles is currently available on Steam Early Access for £18.99 (GBP) with support for HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Windows Mixed Reality. For more on the title in the future, keep reading VRFocus.

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VR Fantasy RPG Karnage Chronicles Gets New Trailer And Update

Battling zombies and soldiers in virtual reality (VR) is all well and good. There is, after all, plenty of opportunities to do both; and if you’re interested in slaying the former then there are a number of sales on at the moment where you can get a title to do just that. If you’re getting weary of gritty or scary first-person shooters, however, there are plenty of other options out there.  For example – how about engaging in a bit of high-fantasy gameplay?

It’s been a little while since we last discussed it but Oculus have just released a brand new trailer for Nordic Trolls’ room-scale fantasy action role-playing game (RPG) Karnage Chronicles – and it’s looking better than ever.

Karnage Chronicles ScreenshotOriginally released back in April this year on the HTC Vive through Steam Early Access, a series of updates throughout the year have seen the title gain support for the Oculus Rift head mounted display (HMD) and Oculus Touch as well as other improvements such as the A.I becoming more challenging. Karnage Chronicles.

Karnage Chronicles sees you delve in to a world of swords, sorcery and hack and slash gameplay that is rapidly tumbling down a slope of war and despair. You take on the role of a Murkwraith tasked with wrestling back a world under siege by dark forces and sinister plotters where the line between what is right and what is wrong is blurrier than ever. “Good and evil are mere shades of the same colour.” Explains Nordic Trolls “Where you come from, and what is your purpose, are questions you’ll need to uncover to shape your future.”

“It’s fun.” Explained Nordic Trolls’ Executive Art Director Daniel Arnold-Mist in an interview with VRFocus, discussing, among other topics the four-player co-operative gameplay. “Because what we’ve found is that the players can cooperate with each other in brand new ways in VR. Especially in combat. For example, in combat – as an example, during a fight if one guy sees an arrow flying towards you the other guy may catch that arrow out of the air. If they’re really good at what they’re doing.”

You can see the trailer below.

The trailer also follows a new content update earlier this week from Nordic Trolls which introduced a whole heap of updates including increasing gameplay time as well as revamping the saving system to allow for real-time saving. Although this change in function is so significant that previous data saves will need to be wiped by the update. “We have not made this decision lightly,” apologised the developer, “That said, we believe this patch is the best time to do this, both since we’re still in Early Access, and because it happens prior to any additional content increases. Unlocked achievements will not be affected.”

The update patch includes:

  • Minimum game time per hero class increased from 2+ to 5+ hours.
  • Completely reworked the start of the game and extended Level 1 to become a proper dungeon crawl.
  • Real time save system that keeps track of your dungeon crawling progress and allows you to continue from where you left off.
  • Two NPCs; one a quest giver with full voiceover and dialog options, the other being a shop keeper.
  • Quest journal.
  • Inventory system.
  • Complete customization of weapon loadout.
  • Magical potions.
  • Magical rings and necklaces.
  • A magical scroll.
  • Basic player housing.
  • A town portal system.
  • Additional mode of difficulty. (Easy, Hard, Impossible.)
  • New monster class; Spiders.
  • Quests and rewards.
  • New weapons.
  • Additional trash loot.
  • Randomized item drops from monsters and chests.
  • Additional secrets and puzzles in Level 1

This is just the first content update and VRFocus will be sure to bring you details on future ones as they are revealed.

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Major Update to Karnage Chronicles adds Oculus Rift Support

April saw Nordic Trolls launch its fantasy action role-playing game (RPG) Karnage Chronicles onto HTC Vive through Steam Early Access. There have been several updates since then, improving and expanding the universe, with the most recent being the biggest, adding Oculus Rift and Touch support.

Whilst Oculus Rift support is the biggest inclusion, the update also features improved Parry AI, meaning that enemies will be a bit more of a challenge. Consumables have now been added to regain health, these can be found throughout levels, just needing to be touched to eat. At present Karnage Chronicles doesn’t include an inventory system to take food with you.

Karnage Chronicles Screenshot

Further increasing the difficulty, enemy close quarter combatants have learned new fighting tricks to break through the warrior shield guard. To aid players Nordic Trolls has now added critical hits to both melee and ranged attacks. Currently a critical hit will currently only do extra damage but future updates will bring additional effects.

“We had a rocky start,” CEO Thorbjørn Olsen said in a statement. “Without a publisher to back us up, and mixed initial reviews we had to pull up our sleeves and address the issues our community was most concerned with. We saw a shift of opinions after the 2nd update, three weeks after release, when we added the RPG systems. This really changed the disposition of our customers and we started seeing an uptick in positive reviews. As an indie developer that both humbles and pleases us.”

Karnage Chronicles has had four major updates; adding features like vendor, loot, weapon and armor upgrades, controller-tracked locomotion, difficulty variations, combat improvements to enemy AI, as well as a ton of bug fixes. Before Nordic Trolls fully release Karnage Chronicles,it’ll introduce two more classes, extended gameplay, and co-op multiplayer.

Checkout VRFocus’ preview of the videogame, and check back regularly for further updates.

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Watch VRFocus Play Karnage Chronicles on HTC Vive

Nordic Trolls’ highly anticipated Karnage Chronicles made its public debut earlier this week with the launch of the Steam Early Access version on HTC Vive. Keen to jump into any and every new videogame in virtual reality (VR), VRFocus has been hands-on with this latest edition and now brings you three unique gameplay videos.

Karnage Chronicles Screenshot

A tutorial section and both Warrior and Archer classes are showcased in the videos below, direct from VRFocus’ hands-on with the Steam Early Access version of Karnage Chronicles. VRFocus had already been hands-on with the video at the Game Developer’s Conference (GDC), San Francisco, earlier this year, with Video Content Producer Nina getting her blades bloody and a preview in which it was stated; “Karnage Chronicles is more about the pacing of the adventure than choosing your own, which is a fair interpretation of the exploration-heavy style of RPG given the relative youth of VR as a medium.”

The three gameplay videos are embedded below for your convenience, and Karnage Chronicles can now be purchased for HTC Vive via Steam Early Access.

 

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Write Your Own Chronicles of Karnage on HTC Vive

Nordic Trolls’ highly anticipated first-person adventure title, Karnage Chronicles, is now available for HTC Vive via Steam Early Access. With Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR editions of the virtual reality (VR) videogame also in development, however it’s the roomscale equipped head-mounted display (HMD) that is being given first crack-of-the-whip.

Karnage Chronicles Screenshot

 

Karnage Chronicles casts the player as a Murkwraith on a mission to defeat enemies of the lands and restore order onto the world. According to Nordic Trolls, the launch version on Steam Early Access will average between two-to-four hours of gameplay, which includes a region with three play areas, each with their own unique monsters and boss encounters. Additional classes, RPG elements and other expanded content will launch during the pre-launch time period.

“Studios have been making VR demos for years. The platform is still in its infancy, and developers are still figuring out the works when it comes to game mechanics and general user experience,” state Nordic Trolls on the official Steam Early Access page for Karnage Chronicles. “Some people feel nauseated when moving about, others do not, and hardware has yet to meet an industry standard. We get it. But we also get that players are hungry for something with more substance. We want to provide this, while at the same time, not put all our financial assets in the virtual basket. Being in Early Access allows us to get unfiltered feedback from you, the community, and use that to tweak the game’s direction and improve the overall experience.”

Available via Steam Early Access for HTC Vive now, Karnage Chronicles is priced at £18.99 GBP. The Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR versions are set to follow at a currently unconfirmed date, and VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest details.

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VRTV: Karnage Chronicles Review

VRFocus correspondent Nina gives us her review of co-op hack-and-slash Karnage Chronicles by developer Nordic Trolls for VRTV.

Nordic Trolls has produced a first-person experience for up to four players to co-operate using one of four atypical classes (Warrior, Archer, Mage and Cleric), armed with either bow and arrows, a pair of knives, or other weapons to slay trolls in a fantasy world.

Karnage Chronicles is planned to be released as episodic content for the HTC Vive. The game is due to be launched on Steam Early Access later this month, and developer Nordic Trolls say there is also a PlayStation VR version being worked on.

You can watch Nina give her full review in the video below. She also spoke with the team at the recent Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2017.

VRFocus will keep you up-to-date regarding Karnage Chronicles and other HTC Vive titles.

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Preview: Karnage Chronicles – VR RPGs Go Co-Op

While many studios are finding their first-steps into virtual reality (VR) development hindered by hardware limitations, movement options and a relatively small audience, there are others with ambitions that stretch beyond these barriers. Nordic Trolls is one such team, opting to dive into the abyss headfirst with a genre experience that could easily prove tricky in the medium: a full-blown co-operative role-playing game (RPG).

Karnage Chronicles Screenshot (10)

Karnage Chronicles is a first-person experience that performs in a similar fashion to the extremely well received Vanishing Realms: Rite of Steel. While Indimo Labs’ debut title nails the combination of puzzle solving and combat fairly solidly, Karnage Chronicles has two other ideals up its sleeve: character class divisions and co-operative gameplay.

For those presently unaware, Karnage Chronicles plays much like you’d imagine a VR rendition of The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim to, however based on evidence of the early build VRFocus has been hands-on with its significantly more linear. Karnage Chronicles is more about the pacing of the adventure than choosing your own, which is a fair interpretation of the exploration-heavy style of RPG given the relative youth of VR as a medium. The player can choose between two classes at present (though more will be available in the release build); the Warrior and the Archer.

The Warriors is a brute. High on health and damage, but slow to manoeuvre. The basic equipment is a broadsword and shield, which allow for deflection of both ranged attacks and melee assaults while landing heavy blows in close combat. A secondary weapon is a ratchet-based crossbow which has a shorter range than the Archer’s longbow and is painfully slow to reload after your initial three darts have been exhausted; intentionally so, but still an irritation all the same. The Archer however, has a secondary weapon which is much more flexible: two daggers which can be held either way in the palm, allowing for quick swipes through chinks in armour and also for deflection of arrows when precision blocking has been learned.

Karnage Chronicles Screenshot (1)

Of course, the real test of the two characters comes within the co-operative gameplay. Nordic Trolls will launch Karnage Chronicles with two-player co-operative adventuring as standard and are aiming for four-player gameplay options further down-the-line. The videogame’s combat (much heavier in the preview build than puzzle-solving or exploration) will certainly come into its own when like-minded friends rally to take tactical advantage of each classes’ abilities. A boss battle close to the end of the sequence certainly favours one character class over the other currently, though signs are that Nordic Trolls is aware of just how tough this set-piece is at present.

Another advantage which Karnage Chronicles offers over Vanishing Realms: Rite of Steel is the visual design. While Indimo Labs has certainly not been slacking in this regard, Nordic Trolls has utilised Unreal Engine 4 to create some spectacular looking environments. The enemy design is limited but suitably menacing in the preview build, with solid well-animated character models creating a believably intense atmosphere.

Karnage Chronicles is aiming to launch via Steam Early Access later this month, with a PlayStation VR edition also in the works. VRFocus enquired about the possibility of cross-platform multiplayer to which Nordic Trolls shyly responded ‘anything’s possible’, refusing to confirm or deny any such ambitions. Of course, VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest details on Karnage Chronicles and any other VR works from Nordic Trolls.

Want to know more about Karnage Chronicles? Check out a special video preview coming soon on VRTV! Subscribe to VRFocus’ YouTube channel to find out more.

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Nordic Trolls Talk Magic And Multiplayer In Virtual Reality

The 2017 editions of Mobile World Congress (MWC) and the Game Developers Conference (GDC) may be slipping into memory, but VRFocus spoke to so many people over the course of those five days we’ll still be bringing you the conversations for a while yet.

Today Nina is talking to Nordic Trolls’ Executive Art Director Daniel Arnold-Mist on the studio’s new action RPG virtual reality (VR) videogame Karnage Chronicles, which is complete with episodic content and co-operative multiplayer. Coming to the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR head-mounted displays (HMDs).

Taking place in a fantasy world where the delicate balance of magic is being upended by creatures seemingly able to bend the rules, Karnage Chronicles sees you take on the role of one of four atypical classes (Warrior, Archer, Mage and Cleric) on a quest to bring order to an increasingly orderless world.

As well as the interview below we’ll have a preview of the videogame on VRFocus later on in the week. Whilst you can also find out what Nina herself made of Karnage Chronicles in next week’s VRTV Tuesday review video.