 
May 8, 2008 -
New Forums Coming!
On
Monday, May 12
we are turning out the lights in
The Drunken Lizard
Pub, Basilisk
Games' official forums. The forums will be down while we upgrade the
software and apply a fresh coat of paint, and if all goes well we
will reopen later that day. The new software gives us more features
than the previous version, and the updated look is quite nice!
We
anticipate that all posts and accounts will transfer over smoothly.
If you have registered in the past and haven't visited recently,
please stop in next week and make sure your account has transferred
over correctly.
April 23, 2008 -
Finnish print magazine Pelit praises Book I
This news is
actually a bit old now as the review was printed a few months ago,
however we were just notified of a scanned version of the review
posted online by the publisher. We received an 84/100 and
high marks for the game's presentation and level of challenge. There
are some nice screen captures with the article that are worth
viewing if you want to learn more about the game.
The review can be read here:
http://www.pelit.fi/uploads/pics/Eschalon_66-67.pdf
April 14, 2008 -
The saga continues...FIXED!
UPDATE:
The
forums are back online! Thank you for your patience.
April 13, 2008 -
Forums are down
The forums took a crap today. They will be offline until we get them
fixed, which should take no more than an hour or two. Sorry for the
inconvenience.
[update 5:42pm EST]:
The good news: we have a current backup so when the
forums are restored, nobody's posts will be lost. The bad
news: our web host is timing out before the backup file can
be fully uploaded, so the restore process is failing. We are still
working on it and hope to have it resolved at some point this
evening.
April 10, 2008 -
Dagon's Lair digs Book I
Another positive French review of
Book I
has been posted up on Dagon's
Lair. Now is when that semester of French you took in high
school is gonna pay off!
Direct
link:
http://trienbach.free.fr/lair/softs/eschalon1_FR.htm
March 30, 2008 -
The Codex reviews Book I
Infamous (or should that be
"notorious"?) role-playing game website
RPGCodex has reviewed
Eschalon: Book I.
Frequently known to shred games that don't meet their demanding
standards, the Codex managed to get some enjoyment out of
Book I
and summarized their experience saying this: "To
sum up, Eschalon: Book One shows that its makers, Basilisk Games,
definitely have the potential to make a great, old-school cRPG title."
Thanks Codex! To read the full review, click the link below.
Direct
link:
http://www.rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=170
March 19, 2008 -
CNR.com to distribute Eschalon: Book I
for Linux
CNR.com, the one-click digital
software delivery service for Linux, is now distributing
Eschalon: Book I.
The press release can be viewed
here. If you are a Premium CNR user,
you can purchase
Book I for
Linux at
a reduced price!
February 26, 2008 -
A French Review
Book I
has been reviewed by the popular French culture blog
L'Ombre du Z
and given a rating of four Zs, which equates to "Come get some!". I
can't read French nor do I fully understand their wacky rating
system, but they seem to like the game.
Check it
out here:
http://ombreduz.wordpress.com/2008/02/01/game-other-des-gobelins-et-des-hommes/
February 19, 2008 -
PC World Article
Matt Peckham, famed
PC World "Game On" blogger, has
added Eschalon: Book I
to a list of his favorite indie games with a small review. Here's a
clip:
"Eschalon's world may not quite be Ultima-sized, but it's big
enough, with a story that doesn't hold your hand or force you to
tackle missions single-file. Give it a look if you miss this sort of
thing, and know that it's called "book one" because it's the first
in a planned trilogy. Plenty more to come, in other words. And why
not? Like bell bottoms, sideburns, and platform shoes, there's no
reason old school RPGs like this can't make a comeback."
The full article can be read here:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,142594/article.html
February 8, 2008 -
Review Round-up
It's been a while since we posted
any news, so we thought it'd be good to post some review scores that
we have found around the net...
Assistive Gaming: No Score - "Highly Recommended"
GamerDad:
4.5 / 5
MacWorld: 3.5 / 5
pcigre.com
(Serbian): 82/100
GameBanshee: 7.6 - "Independent RPG of the Year Runner Up"
Gamespot: Critics Score: 7.9 Users Score: 8.4
Scorpia's Gaming Lair:
No score - "...those who want to play the 'old-school
way'...Eschalon is for you"
There is also a printed review in the current issue of PCFormat
magazine with a score of 72/100. We want to thank PCFormat for
giving us a bit of space in their magazine! We'll post more scores
and reviews as we find them!
January 14, 2008 -
New CDs available!
We ran out of
Windows and Mac CDs this past weekend, so instead of reordering a
new batch of each, we've decided just to put
all three versions
on one CD
and that sell that instead!! You've read correctly: buy
Eschalon: Book I
on CD for any platform, and the CD you receive will have the
Windows,
Macintosh
and
Linux
versions on the disc. Linux fans, here's your chance to finally get
the game on CD! You may notice the price of this CD is a couple
dollars more than the previous CDs, which is due to the slight
increase in duplication costs for the multi-license disc and new
packaging.
Head
over to the purchase page and get your own
copy today!
December 21, 2007 -
Eschalon: Book I for Linux now available!
The
purchase links for the Linux edition of
Eschalon: Book
I are now
active!
December 19, 2007 -
Final Linux demo and Linux Release
We have posted the final Linux
demo which can be downloaded
here. The full Linux version should be available to purchase
sometime this weekend, so stay tuned for our announcement if you've
been patiently awaiting it.
December 14, 2007 -
E:B1 Windows Update 1.04, Linux beta demo
The newest patch for the
Windows version of
Eschalon: Book I is
online. You can grab the patch over on the Book
I page, and the fixes can
be seen
here.
This is a minor update, just to get the Windows version up on the
same level as the newly released Macintosh
version.
We've also posted a
link to the beta version of the Linux demo. We are still
trying to work out some problems, but if you are a Linux user and
want to give the demo a try, download it and let us know how it runs
on your system.
December 11, 2007 -
Eschalon: Book I for Macintosh is RELEASED!
The purchase links
for the Mac version are activated! Download
links for the demo will continue to get
updated as more hosts put it up.
December 5, 2007 -
Eschalon: Book I Updated Windows Demo
We have released an updated demo
of Eschalon: Book I
for Windows (version 1.04) which contains all the latest bug fixes
plus 2 additional maps not included in the original demo. You can
find links for it on the Book I information
page; links will be updated as mirrors are added.
December 3, 2007 -
Eschalon: Book I Macintosh Release Date
Basilisk Games has set
December 11, 2007 as the official release date for the Macintosh
version of Eschalon: Book I.
The Macintosh demo will be made available on that day as well. Also,
we have created an updated Windows demo that contains 2 more maps
than the original demo had (over 2 hours of additional play time)
and a ton of bug fixes. We will be releasing this new demo in the
next couple days.
November 29, 2007 -
Eschalon: Book I Windows 1.03 Update
The newest patch for the
Windows version of
Eschalon: Book I is
online. You can grab the patch over on the Book
I page, and those of you who are curious about the fixes can
find them listed
here. Also, we are going to announce the release date of the
Macintosh version next week, and the Linux version is going to be
closely behind that!
November 24, 2007 -
Another small update to Eschalon: Book I
We have posted the 2nd patch
to Eschalon: Book I
bringing the game up to version 1.02. A list of fixes can be found
here. Many of these bugs were rather obscure and would probably
not affect most of you, but it is our goal to get all reported
problems fixed as quickly as possible. This patch is complete, so
you do not have to patch with 1.01
first. In fact, we have removed that link because patch 1.02 is all
you need.
Download: < link
removed, get the 1.03 update >
The full
version is already patched and ready to download, so why are
you still playing the demo? Join the fun and get
the full version!
Finally, the Mac beta test application page has been removed. We
have enough applications and will begin contacting people soon.
Testing will begin next week and should be fairly short (testers
will be playing version 1.02 as well). That means we should have a
Macintosh release date confirmed in the next two weeks!
November 21, 2007 -
News and an update to Eschalon: Book I
We have the first patch online
to update Eschalon: Book I
to version 1.01. This patch is only for the Windows full version
of the game, not the demo. Thanks go to all the players
who have taken the time to
report
these issues so that they
could get fixed.
Download:
< link
removed, get the 1.03 update >
The full
downloadable version has already been updated to 1.01 as well, so if
you purchase it today you'll be getting the latest and greatest
version right from the start! If you have held off on buying it,
now is a
great time to
get yourself a copy!
Also,
we need some Macintosh testers! The Macintosh version will begin
testing next week, so we need to get a few people lined up to give
the game a run through. Follow the link below to fill out the
Macintosh beta tester application.
Link:
Macintosh Beta Tester Application
November 19, 2007 -
Eschalon: Book I for Windows is RELEASED!
Come and get it!
Purchase links are activated! Download
links for the demo will continue to get
updated as more hosts put it up. Please join us in the
forums for
discussion on the game and the future of the series!
November 17, 2007 -
RPGWatch First Impressions!
Brian 'Dhruin' Turner of
RPGWatch fame has posted his
impressions of
Eschalon: Book I after a
week of playing around with a pre-release copy. Here's a small clip
from his article:
"The
first thing that strikes you is the production values – this is a
beautifully crafted game that doesn’t just set a new benchmark for
indie CRPGs, it would be perfectly at home on retail shelves if it
wasn’t for the fact that 2D games have been long abandoned."
Get over
to RPGWatch and check out the
whole article!
Direct
Link:
http://www.rpgwatch.com/show/article?articleid=70&ref=0&id=126
November 7, 2007 -
Purchase page updated
The
Purchase page has been updated with pricing information as well
as tentative information on what extras we will put on the CD
version.
November 5, 2007 -
Eschalon: Book I Release Date Set !
The official release date for
the Windows version is
November 19, 2007.
The beta test has gone very well and the testers have done a great
job of finding bugs and offering balance suggestions. We've fixed
all the concerns raised in the previous builds and we are currently
doing a final run through on the Release Candidate. As long
as no major flaws are discovered (which is highly unlikely) we will have the
game ready to download on November 19th!
October 8, 2007 -
Beta testing application period ends
We have ended the beta test
application period and want to truly thank everyone one who applied!
The response was literally overwhelming and we now have several
hundred applications to sift through to find just a dozen people
to help us.
It may
be up to a week before we send out the first group of notification
emails to the selected testers. Watch your inbox!
October 1, 2007 -
BETA TESTERS NEEDED!
We've reached the point where we
need to bring in a few people to help us test the Windows version of
Eschalon: Book I. We have posted an
application
that you must fill out to be considered for the beta test.
More information about
the test can be found on the application page.
Direct
Link:
http://basiliskgames.com/betatester.htm
September 11, 2007 -
Tiny Update
We just wanted to give a tiny
update to those of you who stop by regularly looking for news. The
first beta release is in the hands of our internal test crew and
it's getting torn to shreds as you read this. Actually, they are
giving great feedback and the game looks as if it is wrapping up nicely.
Barring
any huge problems, we will finally post some information on the
semi-public beta test before the end of September. We'll be looking for
a dozen people to run through the game and help us get it
ready for everyone else. Stay tuned.
July 31, 2007 -
Additional trailer links
The response to the "teaser"
trailer has been incredible! Thanks go out again to
GameBanshee for hosting the
video and promoting it for us.
Since it was released, a number of people have emailed to tell us
it's been posted in several other locations. If you've had trouble
viewing the trailer, try one of these alternate streaming links or
download it directly to your computer.
Streaming:
YouTube
GameTrailers
Downloadable:
StrategyInformer
GameBanshee
July 30, 2007 -
Basilisk Games newsfeed now available
For those of you who want to keep
up with our news but are too busy to check our website every day,
we've now added an RSS newsfeed! Just click the RSS button above to
subscribe. Yeah, we know this should have been done a year ago... but
better late than never, right?
July 23, 2007
- Eschalon: Book I Trailer Released!
GameBanshee is hosting the premiere of our video trailer
for Eschalon: Book I. Get over there and check out!
June 20, 2007 -
GameBanshee Interview
GameBanshee has just posted their
interview with us regarding, what else, Eschalon: Book I.
There is a new screenshot included with the article so pop over and
check it out!
Direct
Link:
http://www.gamebanshee.com/interviews/eschalonbooki1.php
June 14, 2007 -
An independent observation
An independent observation:
one lucky forum member who has
been following our progress from the start was recently invited to a
"look and feel" test of the demo for Eschalon: Book I to give
us his opinions. This allowed us to see how a member of our target
audience felt about the game at this stage of development. Want to
know what he had to say about it? Read his post
here.
Direct
Link:
http://www.basiliskgames.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=331
April 10, 2007 -
Creatures within
Want to know
a little more about the creatures you see in the screenshots or may
have read about in a previous interview? Follow the link below and
read up on the names and a brief description of just a few of
the many creatures you will encounter on your journey across the
world of Eschalon. Consider it a mini survival guide.
Direct
link:
http://www.basiliskgames.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=285
April 3, 2007
- RPGCodex discussion
Somehow we forgot to
update our News page with our latest
interview!
Although this was posted last week, head over to the
RPGCodex and read up on the
development of Eschalon: Book I as well as three other indie
RPG titles (if you haven't already done so).
Direct
link:
http://www.rpgcodex.com/content.php?id=143
March
23, 2007 - Minimum system specs for
Eschalon: Book I
Many people have asked
about the minimum system specs to run Eschalon: Book I when
the game becomes available. We have been doing some testing on
various machines and have
come up with some target
specs
here. We will continue to test and update this information as
needed.
Direct link:
http://www.basiliskgames.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=118
For
those of you who need to hear it every so often: yes, the game is
coming along splendid and is looking better every day. We're tempted
to throw a release date out but it is still just a little too early!
February 14, 2007
- Mac|Life article
A quick thanks goes out to
Mac|Life Magazine for a small
blurb about Eschalon that they printed in their March 2007 issue
(page 86). Also thanks to Jason Compton of
Planewalker Games for
kindly pointing the article out to us.
January
18, 2007 - Forums back online!
The forums are back, but
the link to the forums has changed (we had to configure the forums
in a new directory). Update all links to
here. Thanks
everyone!
January
17, 2007 - The forums have suffered a
critical hit.
It appears our forums may
have been sacked! We are trying to figure out what happened and we
should have them back online soon.
December 27, 2006
Withingames.net has posted
a new interview with us regarding Eschalon: Book I. They also
have a new screenshot to go with the interview, which we've added
here as well. Read the
interview here!
December 13, 2006
Just a small website
update to start the new year off fresh.
Progress on the game
continues unabated. Although we may be quiet for weeks at a time,
rest assured we are still working night and day on this project. Mac
fans: this past week we did our first test port to MacOS and it was
very successful. The game runs great on MacOS X!
Thanks to everyone who has followed our progress throughout 2006 and
has contributed to the project through suggestions and donations.
November 11, 2006
After a significant amount of prodding by our
visitors, we've posted
3 new screenshots of
Eschalon: Book I. For this round of screenshots, we've
focused on the game's updated interface.
The state of the game continues to be: looking good and coming
along nicely!
We've
still got a bit of content to create, lots of play balancing to be
done, and polish to be applied. At this point it's unlikely that
we'll make a 2006 release, but we're getting so much closer! For
more information on the game and small updates that don't always get
posted here on the front page, please check out the
forums.
October 10, 2006
RPG Vault
invited Basilisk Games to participate in their feature called
RPG
Roundtable where we got to throw our opinion into the mix as to
why we think RPGs aren't made today like they used to be. Our
response was posted today in
Part 2.
A very special thanks goes out to RPG Vault editor Richard 'Jonric'
Aihoshi for the invite. It's an honor to have our opinion included
with so many veteran RPG developers.
August 30, 2006
We've started a
Q&A
thread in the forums which has generated a lot of great
questions. If you've been wanting a bit more information about the
game, please take a look.
August 9, 2006
The forums are up (in rough, primordial form).
Thanks go out to the clever visitors who found the "secret entrance"
early and helped test the boards out over the past couple weeks.
August 8, 2006
RPG Vault
has just posted their
interview with us regarding Eschalon: Book I. There are
three new screenshots posted with the interview, so head straight
over and take a look at it. We want to send a special thanks out to
RPG Vault editor Richard 'Jonric' Aihoshi for giving us this
coverage.
June 21, 2006
Brand new screenshots for Eschalon: Book I
have just been posted! These screenshots have completely replaced
the previous ones because so much has changed that
the old screenshots were simply not an
accurate representation of the game anymore. Please note that even
these new screenshots might evolve a bit more before release
(hey, what can we say...we're perfectionists). Some of the information
about the game has been updated as well.
The State of the Game
and The Release Date: We get tons of email asking "how's
the game coming?" and "when are you releasing it?". Here's what we can
tell you: Book I is progressing very, very nicely. The "To Do" list gets smaller on a daily basis...well, on
some days the list actually gets longer, but that's what making a game
is all about. Overall though, we are extremely excited with how the
game looks and plays at this point.
Unfortunately, we still
have a considerable number of things to do, including testing and
play balancing, before we can call the game finished. There's also all the great
suggestions that you hardcore RPG fans have been sending in to us...we really
do consider all your ideas and try to implement any that will
help bring Eschalon closer to feeling like a classic CRPG.
So what does all this
mean?
Well, after a lengthy review of the state of the game, we've determined that despite our best efforts we are not
going to be able to meet our previously
posted "summer" release date. It is also impossible to
accurately determine when we will be finished with it, so we have decided not
to toss out another release date until we know we can adhere to it.
Don't panic! This is not some major delay for the
game; simply put, we are not going to be done with it when we
thought we would and we need a little more time. We
promise to keep everyone
informed on the game's development so that you'll know the release
date as soon as we know the release date. The best way to
stay in the loop is to check in with us regularly.
What's to come:
We're thinking about putting together a FAQ, so
if you have any questions about the game, our studio, or indie game
development in general, send 'em in! Also, you can expect more
screenshots to be posted throughout the summer. The next round of
screenies will show off some more of the interface such as the NPC
dialog window, the alchemy mixer window, etc.
April
20, 2006
The people demand an update! Sorry for being so
quiet lately, but don't you worry: the game is still in full
production mode. Lately we've been improving the tools (the map
editor and script engine) used to make the game maps, and before that a
new lighting engine went in that not only looks nice but is used to
determine ToHit and Hide In Shadows abilities based on
how well you can see your enemy and vice-versa. Okay, we admit, some
time has been spent playing
Oblivion as well, but we swear it's for research purposes
only. Anyways, expect a big Eschalon update sometime in May and
thanks to everybody who stops by regularly just to check in.
March 16,
2006
Ukrainian game magazine
Gamplay
has written a preview article about Eschalon: Book I in their
April 2006 issue. We have just seen the article which looks very
nice (thanks Sergey!) but we have no idea what it says because it is
written in - you guessed it - Ukrainian. If Gameplay magazine is
sold in your country (I can't find it anywhere in the US) pick up a
copy and let us know what it says!
March 9, 2006
No news is good news! Book I is
progressing very nicely and we'll have a big update in a few weeks
with new screenshots and updated game information. Stay tuned!
February 13, 2006
RPGDot has
just posted their
interview with us. Stop by and check it out!
Also, many people have inquired about beta testing and the spring
release date. To be honest, the spring release date was set almost a
year ago and has never been reevaluated. Unfortunately, based on our
current status, it will most likely become a Summer 2006
release date with the Mac version appearing a few months after
that. We're sorry! As gamers ourselves we know this news sucks, but
there is no way we're releasing the game until it's properly ready
to go.
As for beta testing: yes! Check back often because later this
spring we
will post a link to sign up for beta test spots.
February 5, 2006
RPG Codex
recently posted their
interview
with us regarding Eschalon: Book 1. If you've been wanting more
information on the game, head over and give it a read.
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