WithNightingale’s February 20 Early Access launch on the horizon, gamers may be wondering exactly how “Early Access” this Gaslamp Fantasy co-op survival game truly is. Fans of the genre have seen countless games eventually grow into themselves after their humble state at launch, butNightingaleis shaping up to be a surprisingly feature-rich title from the get-go. With NPC companions to recruit, a dizzying number of things to craft, and countless worlds with interesting POIs to explore, players probably won’t be running out of things to do for quite some time.
Game Rant spoke with Inflexion Games CEO Aaryn Flynn, art director and head of studio Neil Thompson, and lead designer Bjorn Taylor about the variety of features that will be available atNightingale’s debut, as well as how solo players have been factored into the overall balance of the game’s survival loop.This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Nightingale’s Character Creation
Q: One highly-requested feature has been third-person mode. Is this something that will be available at launch, and if not, how’s development going on it?
Flynn:Third-person mode will be available at launch. The game will default to first-person, but you can switch once you are in-game.
Q:Nightingale’s character creation has received tons of praise for its depth. Can you walk us through the process of choosing all the elements that go into a game’s character creation and perhaps what sets Nightingale’s character creation elements apart from others?
Thompson:The Character Creation inNightingaleis an evolution of similar systems that members of the team here have created forBioWare games in the past. What was uppermost in our minds was to provide a large amount of customization options, while trying to ensure that players could create aesthetically pleasing characters. We had a motto:“Easy to master, difficult to monster”to reflect just that.
While there is everything you would expect from a fully specced customization standpoint, the Ancestry feature adds something a little bit different and unique in that you can pick characters to be your “ancestors” and blend your appearance accordingly.
Q: Can you explain the various character types and character roles available in the game?
Flynn:Players are able to select a background for their character during character creation. Currently, this serves as an added backstory for their character to help ground them in the world ofNightingale. There is still further iteration to be done with these backgrounds, but one potential we’re exploring is unique dialogue options for players based on their backgrounds.
Q: How might these change as the game moves throughout Early Access?
Flynn:It depends on the feedback we hear from our community. We’re eager to hear what they want to see in the game.
Nightingale Keeps Solo Players in Mind
Q: Many gamers enjoy open-world survival experiences, but don’t have friends to play them with. How are solo players factored into the balance of resource gathering, construction, and combat?
Taylor:The game is meant to be able to be experienced as a solo player. Some content may be very difficult, but everything is possible. To help players, they can acquire an NPC companion, which will help in combat, and resource gathering. We also have our social hub, where they canmeet other realmwalkersto potentially share their adventures.
Q: What are the essential pros and cons of playingNightingalesolo vs. with friends?
Taylor:Playing solo gives you complete control of your world. Playing with friends will allow you to play more challenging realms earlier. If you work together, your rewards will also be increased as you each get your own rewards for encounters. A great thing aboutNightingaleis no decision is permanent. If you ever decide to go it alone or join up with your friends, that is well within your abilities via permanent portals to friends' realms, or simply moving your estates into the same realm.
Q: How many different ways can players, solo or otherwise, start the game based on character creation, fae realms, and so forth?
Flynn:As you’re creating your character, you will be able to set background, difficulty, etc. On top of that, the end of the tutorial lets players choose which Realm they want to travel to first and create their first respite. So there’s a mix of subtle and straightforward changes you’re able to play around with when starting the game.
Q: Enemies have been shown attacking player bases and players while they are out exploring. Are there systems in place to help solo players easily manage base defense and exploration?
Taylor:Estate Cairns will suppress the spawning of new creatures. In general, enemies will not attack bases while you are away, but this is a bit of a grey area. If you are reasonably close, but not paying attention to your base, it could certainly be attacked.
Q: Players can recruit NPCs to help around the homestead. Can you talk about how they’ll be recruiting and interacting with these NPCs?
Taylor:For our initial release, players may recruit a single NPC at a time. For any encounter that features NPCs, once you complete the encounter, you have the option to recruit that NPC. Once you have them, you can change their clothing and equipped items. They will then follow you, reviving you when necessary, fighting enemies, repairing structures, harvesting trees and ore, and generally just being your friend in the realms.
Q:Nightingale’s blueprint system seems to ameliorate some of the micromanagement associated with base building. Are there other systems in place to make the game more accessible to new players?
Flynn:You’ll be able to recruit an NPC who will help you gather resources and help build your blueprints, which is a huge boost especially when you’re playing solo. We don’t wantbase building to be overwhelmingto players who don’t want to focus on that, so we offer ample gameplay opportunities to players to find resources and build into existing structures. That said, players will still need to invest in their crafting benches and stations by gathering more resources.
Weather and Fishing in Nightingale
Q: Weather effects will impact players in a variety of different ways. Are there any unusual or supernatural weather effects that deviate from traditional storms and extreme temperature changes?
Taylor:Not natural ones. The Realmic Transmuter is capable of many supernatural effects that will change the way the realm looks and adjust the player experience.
Q: How does the fishing mechanic work exactly, and how many species of fish can players find across the realms?
Taylor:Initially, I think there are 6 types of fish across the realms. It is something we plan to expand later. Playerscraft a fishing rodand then may fish from any body of water. It is a great way to obtain raw food for cooking.
[END]
Nightingale
WHERE TO PLAY
Nightingale is a PVE open-world survival crafting game played solo (offline or online), or cooperatively with friends. Build, craft, fight and explore as you venture through mystical portals into a variety of amazing and fantastical realms.You are stranded beyond our world, cut off by the collapse of the arcane portalnetwork. This catastrophe has left you fighting to survive in a labyrinth of beautiful and dangerous Fae realms.Your goal: become a skilled Realmwalker, and navigate the web of transdimensional portals. Only then can you discover your way to the magical city of Nightingale, the last known bastion of humanity.Prepare to make your way through Faewild forests, harrowing swamps, and shimmering deserts as you unlock the portals leading deeper into the lands of Fae. Cook meals, build shelter and muster the spirit to persevere in the face of adversity.
