Owlcat AMA for Content Creators - Full Version

Reposting the AMA for content makers that we recently published, for the full text to be available for discussion. Enjoy, Reddit :)

1. How many games are you currently working on?

We have several new games in development. We will announce them when we are ready - stay tuned! Meanwhile, we continue the support of existing two projects - Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous and Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader

2. How much voice acting are you looking at for future projects?

We believe that full VO has become a must-have feature (even if it takes a significant budget to implement) and are currently working to make full VO applicable to all future titles.

3. Can we expect to see more Pathfinder stuff soon? Or ever? Or Starfinder?

We don't exclude such possibility in future, but there's no Pathfinder or Starfinder game in development right now.

4. I believe it was mentioned at some point in the past that you'd like to (theoretically, of course) make a WoD game. If that's still true - which of WoD many lines would be most interesting to you in that regard? (and edition too) 👀 Still purely theoretical, just as a matter of personal interest, with no consideration of real-world complication, licenses and all that

We really love this IP (as we love many others), but we aren't working on such a game right now, so we haven't really discussed it.

5. How was working with GW and the Warhammer IP? Are there any plans for future titles, like we've seen with Pathfinder?

It was a quite fruitful cooperation with a lot of important feedback that helped made the game as 40k as it can be. Both sides are happy with how RT turned out. We plan to continue further improving the game through QoL updates and new content. For now we already have two DLCs planned, and we'll see what comes next!

6. Recent article/interview hinted the studio is working on 4 different games - when would we find more about these unrevealed titles?

We can't wait for the moment in future when we can finally tell you about each of the new projects in development! But we need to be ready first, and it still may take some time. We'll reveal each of the projects in its due time. Stay tuned, we're certain you will be as excited as we are when you finally get to see them!

7. I was wondering if you will step away from your known tech/engine and dare to move towards something new like Unreal Engine 5 ?

At least one of the new projects is done with Unreal Engine 5. We're pretty excited for the new possibilities it gives us. But at the same time, we have a lot of expertise with Unity, and would prefer not to waste that potential. It means that you'll definitely see more traditional isometric games from us based on a familiar approach seen in Pathfinder and Rogue Trader!

8. Will the UE5 game (the one hinted at by that recruitment post a year ago or so) still be party-based or is it closer to something like the Witcher? If the former (which I dearly hope for) then should we expect about the same number of companions, both in general and in the active party or will it be reduced?

In all our games, the story always involves many different characters, some of which may choose to join the protagonist as companions. This game is not an exception :) That is all we can share at the moment.

9. Does that UE5 project (with mocap cutscenes and all) represent your plans going forward or is it on a parallel track and you still plan to continue making those old-school isometric games with classic long text dialogues too? Is the team’s opinion on the topic unanimous or are there different “factions” now? xD

This is a new direction we're exploring, but we're working on more traditional oldschool isometric RPGs simultaneously as well, as you may have guessed by previous answers. We're not moving away from that :)

10. On that topic - can you share something from your personal experience/feelings about working with a new engine and consequently a different style of game? Which parts of “exciting” and “dauinting” was it?

We will be able to properly answer this once we're done developing the game :) Of course, the new engine requires people with new expertise and various changes to the development pipeline. But it also allows us to explore new opportunities and possibilities, which is great.

11. Do you want to/plan to return to the Pathfinder/Warhammer worlds or are you more interested in exploring new settings?

Diving into new settings is exciting, but there are certainly parts of the team who would love to explore the Pathfinder and Warhammer 40,000 worlds further. Where this will end up, remains to be seen.

12. Is there any specific setting that you’d love to make a game within if you didn’t have to deal with these pesky real-world issues of IP licenses, marketability and such?

We're pretty open-minded about this. Many major universes were proposed on internal meetings at some point. It all comes down to the mix of team's excitement about a specific setting and the terms that we are offered.

13. Was there something that you really wanted to do in one of your already-released games but had to drop the idea, due to either artistic vision or time/resources/technical constraints?

A lot of it. This happens in game development all the time, when time and budget constraints come into play. Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous could have more content for some of the existing Mythic Paths or a deeper Crusade system. Rogue Trader could have the option to get new, bigger ships, more psychic disciplines and more unique character abilities. A big chunk of a planned content for Santiel's Pride was cut, as well. Sometimes these chunks return in later DLCs or free updates (like it happened with the Devil in Wrath), hopefully that'll be the case with Rogue Trader as well!

14. How was the response to the Dance of Masks DLC?

Overwhelmingly positive. Despite being released almost a year later, it is close in popularity to DLC4 - The Last Sarkorians, which is a very big sign of success. We're very excited to see how well it was received. And we owe this to the community itself - the concept of the DLC was based on the results of a large community survey where we asked what the people wanted.

15. Is it looking hopeful for a possibility of more DLCs like that in your games?

Absolutely. You may see by the Season Pass 2 DLCs that we're learning from our mistakes and are willing to listen to the community. And this type of DLCs seems to be what our players enjoy a lot.

16. With how huge the changes in the patches for RT is - do you still plan to do an EE eventually, like with the Pathfinder games, or did you decide to change the approach and we can expect more big patches instead of a new edition? 👀

In Rogue Trader, so far we're leaning towards multiple big updates over the lifetime of the game, rather than an Enhanced Edition. Two of them have already went live, each with massive updates and improvements.

17. Would you consider doing a World of Darkness, Star Wars, Rifts (Kevin Siembeida) or DnD game? Would you be willing to do a Warhammer Fantasy cRPG?

These all sound interesting and have their dedicated fanbase among the team. Choosing one would be hard though!

18. Would you consider making Icewind Dale 3?

We love this franchise, but don't see such opportunities for us, at least in foreseeable future.

19. Would you consider creating your own IP for a game?

Absolutely! Every game developer eventually wants to create something of their own. We already have multiple ideas inside the studio and while we haven't established any specific plans yet, we will certainly move forward with this sooner or later.

20. What is your next project?

There are multiple projects in development right now. All we can share now is that one of them is based on Unreal Engine 5, will have a bigger production scale and be a way more cinematic experience than our previous games.

21. Can we have a DLC connecting Kingmaker and WotR?

It was one of the proposed options in the big survey (30 000 people) back in 2022, where we asked the community about their preferences regarding DLCs. This option ended up slightly above the middle of the list, so we went with a more promising variant which you now know as a Dance of Masks.

As of now, while the concept definitely sounds fun, it is rather unlikely we will be doing any more paid DLCs for Wrath of the Righteous. The team is slowly moving on to the next project.

22. Are there any plans to translate WotR to Portuguese-BR?

We don't plan on adding more officially supported languages to Wrath of the Righteous at the moment, but things can always change if we find a good opportunity. Meanwhile, there are multiple existing fan translations, PT-BR among them, that can be installed as mods.

23. Do you plan to add the Telekinesis discipline for Psykers in Rogue Trader at some point?

It is a good potential DLC material, but there have been no decisions about this yet.

24. Would you be willing to add a full respec option in Rogue Trader?

Unlikely, as this is a deliberate design decision. We do have plans for major improvements for the levelling UI and experience as a whole though, such as automatic levelling templates.

25. Would you be willing to add Real Time w/ Pause to Rogue Trader?

No. The game is not built with RtwP in mind and it would require a complete overhaul of the game to make that happen.

26. Will there be an offline physical copy for Rogue Trader on PS5?

No plans at the moment. If anything changes, we will certainly let everyone know.

27. Why are Rogue Trader companions so much different from what we received in WotR?

It's a different universe and a different game, why would they be the same?

28. If you do another Pathfinder game would you be willing to add the gunslinger class? Will you ever do a PF2E game or remaster Kingmaker/Wotr into that rule set?

Gunslinger mismatched a bit with the themes of the first two games, and it also would require a major mechanical rework and a whole new type of weapons only useable by that class, which was a bit too much work for a single class.

If we are ever to do a new Pathfinder game, we'd probably have a long debate which edition to base it on, leaning towards PF2E because it's more up-to-date. As for the Gunslinger class, could happen if it fits thematically.

The idea of remastering the older games at some point in distant future has certainly visited us, but it's too early and currently we are too focused on new projects to even consider that.

29. Would having fully voiced games hinder your ability to write sprawling and reactive dialogues?

It certainly adds to the budget and complexity of development, but solutions for these issues exist (no, not AI if that's what you thought) and we believe it will not affect the quality of our writing or limit our ideas.

30. Have you thought about how to automate buffing in your games?

It's a complicated question. It's important to not automate things too much, as it may hinder some of the 'oldschool' magic of the game. But we know it may get tedious on higher difficulties, especially for console users.

We've considered implementing an analogue of buffing mod into the main UI during the Enhanced Edition, but other features took precedence back then, and we never had a chance to revisit it. Unfortunately, at this point it's unlikely something this big will be added. In Rogue Trader, we've significantly changed our approach to buffs, and it should be way less of an issue.

31. What is your process for expanding and changing npc’s in adventure paths?

Comes naturally during the videogame adaptation. To improve the player experience, you often have to change or alter something from the original adventure path, as a videogame functions a bit differently from a tabletop RPG.

32. Are there any plans to collaborate with Chris Avellone again in the future?

It was a tremendous pleasure to work with Chris. He is an amazing narrative designer, and we love the stories he tells. Still, we also have a lot of our own narrative ideas we'd like to explore, so there are no existing plans to collaborate on that matter. At least, for now.

33. Is it likely your games will come to Gamepass?

We certainly recognize the popularity of Gamepass, and would be interested for that to happen. However, currently we don't have any such agreements, so we can't give any promises.

External link →

Reposting the AMA for content makers that we recently published, for the full text to be available for discussion. Enjoy, Reddit :)

1. How many games are you currently working on?

We have several new games in development. We will announce them when we are ready - stay tuned! Meanwhile, we continue the support of existing two projects - Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous and Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader

2. How much voice acting are you looking at for future projects?

We believe that full VO has become a must-have feature (even if it takes a significant budget to implement) and are currently working to make full VO applicable to all future titles.

3. Can we expect to see more Pathfinder stuff soon? Or ever? Or Starfinder?

We don't exclude such possibility in future, but there's no Pathfinder or Starfinder game in development right now.

4. I believe it was mentioned at some point in the past that you'd like to (theoretically, of course) make a WoD game. If that's still true - which of WoD many lines would be most interesting to you in that regard? (and edition too) 👀 Still purely theoretical, just as a matter of personal interest, with no consideration of real-world complication, licenses and all that

We really love this IP (as we love many others), but we aren't working on such a game right now, so we haven't really discussed it.

5. How was working with GW and the Warhammer IP? Are there any plans for future titles, like we've seen with Pathfinder?

It was a quite fruitful cooperation with a lot of important feedback that helped made the game as 40k as it can be. Both sides are happy with how RT turned out. We plan to continue further improving the game through QoL updates and new content. For now we already have two DLCs planned, and we'll see what comes next!

6. Recent article/interview hinted the studio is working on 4 different games - when would we find more about these unrevealed titles?

We can't wait for the moment in future when we can finally tell you about each of the new projects in development! But we need to be ready first, and it still may take some time. We'll reveal each of the projects in its due time. Stay tuned, we're certain you will be as excited as we are when you finally get to see them!

7. I was wondering if you will step away from your known tech/engine and dare to move towards something new like Unreal Engine 5 ?

At least one of the new projects is done with Unreal Engine 5. We're pretty excited for the new possibilities it gives us. But at the same time, we have a lot of expertise with Unity, and would prefer not to waste that potential. It means that you'll definitely see more traditional isometric games from us based on a familiar approach seen in Pathfinder and Rogue Trader!

8. Will the UE5 game (the one hinted at by that recruitment post a year ago or so) still be party-based or is it closer to something like the Witcher? If the former (which I dearly hope for) then should we expect about the same number of companions, both in general and in the active party or will it be reduced?

In all our games, the story always involves many different characters, some of which may choose to join the protagonist as companions. This game is not an exception :) That is all we can share at the moment.

9. Does that UE5 project (with mocap cutscenes and all) represent your plans going forward or is it on a parallel track and you still plan to continue making those old-school isometric games with classic long text dialogues too? Is the team’s opinion on the topic unanimous or are there different “factions” now? xD

This is a new direction we're exploring, but we're working on more traditional oldschool isometric RPGs simultaneously as well, as you may have guessed by previous answers. We're not moving away from that :)

10. On that topic - can you share something from your personal experience/feelings about working with a new engine and consequently a different style of game? Which parts of “exciting” and “dauinting” was it?

We will be able to properly answer this once we're done developing the game :) Of course, the new engine requires people with new expertise and various changes to the development pipeline. But it also allows us to explore new opportunities and possibilities, which is great.

11. Do you want to/plan to return to the Pathfinder/Warhammer worlds or are you more interested in exploring new settings?

Diving into new settings is exciting, but there are certainly parts of the team who would love to explore the Pathfinder and Warhammer 40,000 worlds further. Where this will end up, remains to be seen.

12. Is there any specific setting that you’d love to make a game within if you didn’t have to deal with these pesky real-world issues of IP licenses, marketability and such?

We're pretty open-minded about this. Many major universes were proposed on internal meetings at some point. It all comes down to the mix of team's excitement about a specific setting and the terms that we are offered.

13. Was there something that you really wanted to do in one of your already-released games but had to drop the idea, due to either artistic vision or time/resources/technical constraints?

A lot of it. This happens in game development all the time, when time and budget constraints come into play. Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous could have more content for some of the existing Mythic Paths or a deeper Crusade system. Rogue Trader could have the option to get new, bigger ships, more psychic disciplines and more unique character abilities. A big chunk of a planned content for Santiel's Pride was cut, as well. Sometimes these chunks return in later DLCs or free updates (like it happened with the Devil in Wrath), hopefully that'll be the case with Rogue Trader as well!

14. How was the response to the Dance of Masks DLC?

Overwhelmingly positive. Despite being released almost a year later, it is close in popularity to DLC4 - The Last Sarkorians, which is a very big sign of success. We're very excited to see how well it was received. And we owe this to the community itself - the concept of the DLC was based on the results of a large community survey where we asked what the people wanted.

15. Is it looking hopeful for a possibility of more DLCs like that in your games?

Absolutely. You may see by the Season Pass 2 DLCs that we're learning from our mistakes and are willing to listen to the community. And this type of DLCs seems to be what our players enjoy a lot.

16. With how huge the changes in the patches for RT is - do you still plan to do an EE eventually, like with the Pathfinder games, or did you decide to change the approach and we can expect more big patches instead of a new edition? 👀

In Rogue Trader, so far we're leaning towards multiple big updates over the lifetime of the game, rather than an Enhanced Edition. Two of them have already went live, each with massive updates and improvements.

17. Would you consider doing a World of Darkness, Star Wars, Rifts (Kevin Siembeida) or DnD game? Would you be willing to do a Warhammer Fantasy cRPG?

These all sound interesting and have their dedicated fanbase among the team. Choosing one would be hard though!

18. Would you consider making Icewind Dale 3?

We love this franchise, but don't see such opportunities for us, at least in foreseeable future.

19. Would you consider creating your own IP for a game?

Absolutely! Every game developer eventually wants to create something of their own. We already have multiple ideas inside the studio and while we haven't established any specific plans yet, we will certainly move forward with this sooner or later.

20. What is your next project?

There are multiple projects in development right now. All we can share now is that one of them is based on Unreal Engine 5, will have a bigger production scale and be a way more cinematic experience than our previous games.

21. Can we have a DLC connecting Kingmaker and WotR?

It was one of the proposed options in the big survey (30 000 people) back in 2022, where we asked the community about their preferences regarding DLCs. This option ended up slightly above the middle of the list, so we went with a more promising variant which you now know as a Dance of Masks.

As of now, while the concept definitely sounds fun, it is rather unlikely we will be doing any more paid DLCs for Wrath of the Righteous. The team is slowly moving on to the next project.

22. Are there any plans to translate WotR to Portuguese-BR?

We don't plan on adding more officially supported languages to Wrath of the Righteous at the moment, but things can always change if we find a good opportunity. Meanwhile, there are multiple existing fan translations, PT-BR among them, that can be installed as mods.

23. Do you plan to add the Telekinesis discipline for Psykers in Rogue Trader at some point?

It is a good potential DLC material, but there have been no decisions about this yet.

24. Would you be willing to add a full respec option in Rogue Trader?

Unlikely, as this is a deliberate design decision. We do have plans for major improvements for the levelling UI and experience as a whole though, such as automatic levelling templates.

25. Would you be willing to add Real Time w/ Pause to Rogue Trader?

No. The game is not built with RtwP in mind and it would require a complete overhaul of the game to make that happen.

26. Will there be an offline physical copy for Rogue Trader on PS5?

No plans at the moment. If anything changes, we will certainly let everyone know.

27. Why are Rogue Trader companions so much different from what we received in WotR?

It's a different universe and a different game, why would they be the same?

28. If you do another Pathfinder game would you be willing to add the gunslinger class? Will you ever do a PF2E game or remaster Kingmaker/Wotr into that rule set?

Gunslinger mismatched a bit with the themes of the first two games, and it also would require a major mechanical rework and a whole new type of weapons only useable by that class, which was a bit too much work for a single class.

If we are ever to do a new Pathfinder game, we'd probably have a long debate which edition to base it on, leaning towards PF2E because it's more up-to-date. As for the Gunslinger class, could happen if it fits thematically.

The idea of remastering the older games at some point in distant future has certainly visited us, but it's too early and currently we are too focused on new projects to even consider that.

29. Would having fully voiced games hinder your ability to write sprawling and reactive dialogues?

It certainly adds to the budget and complexity of development, but solutions for these issues exist (no, not AI if that's what you thought) and we believe it will not affect the quality of our writing or limit our ideas.

30. Have you thought about how to automate buffing in your games?

It's a complicated question. It's important to not automate things too much, as it may hinder some of the 'oldschool' magic of the game. But we know it may get tedious on higher difficulties, especially for console users.

We've considered implementing an analogue of buffing mod into the main UI during the Enhanced Edition, but other features took precedence back then, and we never had a chance to revisit it. Unfortunately, at this point it's unlikely something this big will be added. In Rogue Trader, we've significantly changed our approach to buffs, and it should be way less of an issue.

31. What is your process for expanding and changing npc’s in adventure paths?

Comes naturally during the videogame adaptation. To improve the player experience, you often have to change or alter something from the original adventure path, as a videogame functions a bit differently from a tabletop RPG.

32. Are there any plans to collaborate with Chris Avellone again in the future?

It was a tremendous pleasure to work with Chris. He is an amazing narrative designer, and we love the stories he tells. Still, we also have a lot of our own narrative ideas we'd like to explore, so there are no existing plans to collaborate on that matter. At least, for now.

33. Is it likely your games will come to Gamepass?

We certainly recognize the popularity of Gamepass, and would be interested for that to happen. However, currently we don't have any such agreements, so we can't give any promises.

External link →