Features
- Game Features (click to expand)
- Elements from all four games in the series: Heretic, Hexen, Hexen II, and Heretic II
- A world that's approximately 4x bigger than Oblivion's, with 68,096 cells.
- Six races on the side of good [playable]
- Five races on the side of darkness [not playable]
- At least fourteen monsters changed to fit into the setting (such as the Weredragon and Maulotaur)
- Completely different armor sets each with their own special properties
- Classic weapons such as the sword Quietus, the staff Bloodscourge, the Phoenix Rod, and the Hellstaff
- Powerful items such as the feared Porkalator, the Chaos Device, the Seal of the Ovinomancer, and the Dark Servant
- Tomes of Power
- Eight Classes: Assassin, Cleric, Crusader, Fighter, Heretic, Mage, Necromancer, and Paladin
- Each class has special powers and abilities
- A dark world with an even darker storyline
- Custom-made music fitting with the Heretic/Hexen theme
- Fast Travel only to key points within a Hub
- Four main guilds to join: The Arcanum, Assassin's Guild, The Church, and The Legion
- A few secret guilds that you may be able to join...
- New enchant/recharge system
- Retextures of many objects
- Teaser Features (click to expand)
- Explore the starting town: Winnowing Hall
- Player house: run-down and ramshackle, but it's home
- First tier of weapons (redone stats)
- First tier of Light and Heavy Armor (redone stats & retextured)
- 1 main quest with multiple endings that can determine the path you take later
- 5 detailed side quests
- 1 class quest with multiple parts for each class (8 total)
- At least 30 NPCs that are more than just a name (schedules, backgrounds, personalities, etc...)
- Be true to the Path of Light, or succumb to the Forces of Darkness
- Experience our modified spell system that takes the player's class into consideration
- Six races to choose from, four of which are heavily based off the Heretic/Hexen races
- Eight classes all heavily based off the Heretic/Hexen character choices
- Try out the custom enchantment system
- 2 Boss monsters
- 2 In-game "cutscenes"
- 5 basic monsters, one of which has a custom death effect, all of which are either new models or textures
- 1 completely new monster with a custom mesh and animations
- Many in-game books that will reveal valuable information
- Multiple retextured objects
- Custom music tracks (at least 8)
- Optional main menu background, default loading screen, and title music
- Try out many of the new lesser features that add to the game world
- Experience just how unique Project Serpent is
- The "Hub" Travel System (click to expand)
Project Serpent: Reign of Venom is bringing back the Hub system that fans of Hexen and Hexen II will recall. Each region in Project Serpent is designed as a “Hub” similar to the four Hubs in Hexen II. In technical terms, each region in Project Serpent will be its own parent world space. While the player will not get the exact feel of traveling across one large landmass, this regional division will bring emphasis to each individual area. Portals between Hubs can be found in the main city of each region. Key points in each region will have “fast travel” access. Typically, this will be between the city and the towns of that area. Though the regions will not truly be parts of one large landmass, they will still appear to be so from a distance. The LOD will show the surrounding regions as if they were a part of that world space. Upon encountering the edge of a region, the player will find an invisible wall that, when activated, will transport him to the next region. In this way, a player who disdains “fast travel” can simply walk from one end of the world to the other; using the portals in each Hub is optional.
In addition to being simpler (and less likely to encounter bugs), we feel that this system will bring back the feel of the levels in the Heretic/Hexen games to a degree. Instead of focusing on a whole world like in Oblivion, the player’s focus is more centralized on the area they are currently in.
Though the final version is far from complete, we plan to release (in a Beta form) each Hub as it is finished. The current planned creation order (subject to change) of the Hubs is listed below:
- Ledras
- Easterholm
- Wastelands
- Steppe
- Tulku
- Shadow Wood
- Maerin
- Gununga
- Darkmire
- Mazaera
- Zureera
- Soulrend
- Forms of Travel (click to expand)
In a world filled with the minions of evil and with danger around every corner, travel is difficult. Followers of the Light are few compared to the hordes of Chaos Minions and the armies of the Order of the Triad.
Fast Travel
The most common form of transportation for Light Followers is with a caravan and its armed escorts. Since the transportation of food and goods is of immense importance, all three of the Light Follower factions provide well-trained members to safeguard these caravans. Often those willing to risk traveling throughout the region will go along for protection.
A player will be able to use the “Fast Travel” option from Oblivion to go between cities and towns they have visited. This is limited by Region, however, meaning that the player cannot “fast travel” to a city or town in a different Region then the one they are in. In some cases, unlocking the fast travel marker for a city or town may require a quest or a certain reputation with either the Light Followers or the Order of the Triad.
Hub Travel
The Arcanum’s greatest gifts to the New World are the Portals. These rectangles of mystical stone create a gateway to a distant place. Those who acquire the ability of using the Portals can travel in an instant to any other Portal that they have visited before. The secret of their use is shared only to members of the Arcanum. A Portal has been constructed in every city across the land. Strict laws about entering unsanctioned Portals are in place. This is because some were created in the Old World and may lead to destinations that no longer exist. Further more, the Order of the Triad keeps strict control over portals in cities they control. The Order Magi have created spells that limit who can travel to and from them.
Through the use of the Portals, the player can travel between the Regions easily. Each city contains a Portal that can be used simply by touching it. However, the Portal will only react to those who have “bound” themselves to it. Only those who have been bound to a Portal themselves can give this ability to another. Started from the first Mages, the secret has been passed on to those deemed worthy.
- Leveling System (click to expand)
Project Serpent moves away from a typical skill-based leveling system to a custom Experience-Based Leveling System. This allows for more emphasis on a character’s class. This new system affects more than just character levels. We feel that this will not only bring back that old action feel (like Hexen 2 had), but add a new level of uniqueness to the project.
Experience is gained through multiple means. Defeating monsters, killing NPCs, and completing quests are just a few examples. After reaching a certain amount of experience, the player will progress to the next level. This total will be displayed on the Miscellaneous Statistics page in-game. The amount of experience gained will be shown in the upper left corner when it is achieved.
Several factors of the original game (Oblivion) will be affected by this new leveling system. Hit Points and Magicka Points per level have been increased and are gained retroactively. At each new level Attributes will raise a certain amount depending on the player’s class. Starting at the 5th level, and advancing every 5 levels, each class gains a special ability.
Upon raising 15 skills, a bonus is conferred upon the player. This bonus is similar to Oblivion’s level up system. When this happens, the player may choose three attributes to increase by a few points. This is just a bonus and does not increase the player’s level.
Level
1 – 10 = Beginning Levels
11 – 20 = Advanced Levels
21 – 30 = Expert Levels