Devil Whiskey FAQ
- What is Devil Whiskey?
- What do you mean by ‘party-based’?
- What do you mean by ‘turn-based’?
- What do you mean by ‘grid-mapped’?
- What do you mean by ‘3D’?
- What do you mean by ‘role playing and adventure game’?
- Is Devil Whiskey multi-player enabled?
II. Devil Whiskey Product Details
- Is Devil Whiskey free?
- Enough! How much will it cost? When and where can I get it?
- Will I get anything else if I purchase the full game?
- Will Devil Whiskey be available internationally?
- What payment methods will you be accepting?
- Will there be a Linux version of Devil Whiskey?
- Is the Linux version a port? Will additions/improvements be ported to Linux?
- Will the Linux version cost more?
IV. Devil Whiskey and Open Source
- Are any Open Source libraries used in the production of Devil Whiskey?
- If Devil Whiskey uses Open Source libraries, don’t you have to release the source code?
- Isn’t that unfair to the Open Source community? You’re using Open Source libraries, but not providing source to the community in return!
- Wait – you *are* going to release Devil Whiskey under an Open Source license, just not right away?
A: Devil Whiskey is a party-based, turn-based, grid-mapped, 3D role playing and adventure game, based on the interactive play styles of the popular role-playing games of the late 1980’s. It is a completely original title, developed by the minds at Shifting Suns Studios, LLC, and brought to you, the fans of a style of gaming that has since been deemed ‘old’ by the industry, but that we believe can still provide hours of enjoyment.
Q: What do you mean by ‘party-based’?
A: By ‘party-based’ we mean that a party, or group, of characters are created and work together under the control of a single player to accomplish the goals of the game.
Q: What do you mean by ‘turn-based’?
A: Put simply, we mean that no action will occur within the game without the user being a part of it. Time doesn’t pass unless the user is interacting with the game, combat is based on a set of decisions about character actions and proceeds on a turn-by-turn basis. We believe this older technique allows for a much more relaxing and enjoyable experience when playing these types of games, and several of us have greatly missed this type of game in recent offerings from the major publishers.
Q: What do you mean by ‘grid-mapped’?
A: The ‘grid-mapped’ nature of the game refers to the fact that all the maps within the game are placed on a strict grid of squares. All movement is in fixed increments, and all turns are 90-degree. This allows the player to focus on the game and the storyline instead of having to worry about navigating complex polygonal maps with often cumbersome interfaces.
A: The 3D nature of Devil Whiskey Is evident in the complex generation of the high quality graphics used to display our simplified interface. The map is presented from a first-person perspective, using OpenGL rendering to accomplish real-time 3D display. Very high resolution textures are used to improve the appearance of the various elements within the game, as well as various techniques for creating shadows, lighting effects, and weather effects. The emphasis is on ease of play, but this doesn’t mean that the graphical representation of the game cannot be up to modern-day standards.
Q: What do you mean by ‘role playing and adventure game’?
A: This one is pretty self explanatory. The game consists of two fundamental elements, intended to provide enjoyment for you, our fans. As a role playing game, the player finds herself involved in the evolution and advancement of the various characters that make up her party. With appropriate investment, a considerable attachment and personality can be attributed throughout the course of play to each of the party members, and the player can make choices to reflect those personalities if they wish. This allows for rich role playing within the constructed game world of Devil Whiskey. The adventure aspect is represented through the plot and storyline provided by Devil Whiskey. There are plot progressions, riddles, side-quests, and a great many places to explore within the game. All of these provide choose-your-own-adventure type interaction possibilities, leading to a rich storyline. We hope that we have managed to strike a balance that represents the best of both worlds, and can provide many days of entertainment.
Q: Is Devil Whiskey multi-player enabled?
A: No, it isn’t. A turn-based game is poorly adapted to simultaneous multi-player capabilities, as either every player would be waiting on every other to make each move, or time could not be synchronous. In our quest to develop a role playing and adventure title that met the requirements we set out for it, we decided that the turn-based nature of the game was more important than enabling multi-player functionality. We may very well develop a multi-player addition or even a separate multi-player title within the same game world at some point in the future. If that would interest you, please contact us.
II. Devil Whiskey Product Details
A: No, it isn’t. We will be releasing a fully-playable demo containing one sub-quest, the beginning of the main plot, most of the classes (with a level cap at 13), and the majority of the rest of the features of the game. This demo will be free to download and play. If you like it, we ask that you support us and the rest of the contracted developers who have worked on the game, creating everything from the original artwork and audio tracks to the full game engine, from the manual and story content to the storyline and map design. You can show support by buying the full game, which will get you 13 complete bard songs, each performed on multiple instruments, all the monsters, full advancement (new skills, spells and abilities all the way up to level 50 for each class!), and a much larger world of plot, story, and exploration.
Q: Enough! How much will it cost? When and where can I get it?
A: The demo and full game are both available now! See our main Devil Whiskey web page for details and purchase options.
Q: Will I get anything else if I purchase the full game?
A: Yes! The $25 spent on Devil Whiskey will get you many things, including access to our exclusive Devil Whiskey update site, Rennibister Hall. There you will find product updates, new quests, new maps, a construction kit (the same tools we’ve used to produce the content in the game!), the ability to submit your own maps and content additions, and all the latest Devil Whiskey information! There are likely to be other benefits as well, which will be announced on the main Devil Whiskey site, so stay tuned!
Q: Will Devil Whiskey be available internationally?
A: Yes! We will be offering Devil Whiskey to all customers, world-wide. We have yet to decide on a final means of distribution for the physical product, so we can't promise that it will be available via any method other than international delivery from the US. If this turns out to be the case, most international customers will want to purchase the download version (as international shipping and tariffs can be quite expensive), but both products will be available to all our fans, wherever you may be!
Q: What payment methods will you be accepting?
A: We will be accepting, at a minimum, PayPal. We have explored a number of alternatives, and are still investigating our options, but we have found that PayPal, especially in recent months, is a solid financial transaction mechanism and provides us with everything we need. If this presents a problem for you, please let us know!
Q: Will there be a Linux version of Devil Whiskey?
A: Yes! The Linux version will be released at the same time as the Windows version. It will have been tested to work on most of the latest distributions, and is being released in binary form (using the old Loki setup stuff, actually).
Q: Is the Linux version a port? Will additions/improvements be ported to Linux?
A: The Linux version is actually the same code base. There are fewer than 100 lines that are ‘#ifdef’ed around in order to get the code to build, and they all deal with the fact that POSIX standard calls are in different places or have slightly different formats under Windows. Since the code base is the same, future improvements and additions will certainly be provided on both Linux and Windows platforms. See the FAQ section below on ‘Linux and Open Source’ for more details on the various compatibility libraries we’ve used.
Q: Will the Linux version cost more?
A: No. When purchasing for download, you will be able to select either the Windows or Linux version, or, for no additional cost, both. If we proceed with physical distribution, then both versions will be provided in the same box.
IV. Devil Whiskey and Open Source
Q: Are any Open Source libraries used in the production of Devil Whiskey?
A: Yes. In fact, we use SDL, SDL_image, SDL_mixer, SMPEG, Python and zlib, all of which are open source. The various SDL libraries provide the basis for the operating system abstraction required for simultaneous Windows and Linux availability.
Q: If Devil Whiskey uses Open Source libraries, don’t you have to release the source code?
A: No. All of the libraries we’re using fall under either a BSD style license or the LGPL. Under the BSD style license, we aren’t required to do anything other than keep the copyrights in place. Under the LGPL, we are required to distribute the source of the version of the library we use in the game, but as long as we don’t modify the library and we use it only through dynamic linking, we do not have to provide source or object files for our code. We provide, as part of both the demo and full game distributions, the complete source to the exact version of each LGPL library included with Devil Whiskey.
Q: Isn’t that unfair to the Open Source community? You’re using Open Source libraries, but not providing source in return!
A: From one perspective, this is true. However, Shifting Suns Studios has put considerable time and effort into the development of Devil Whiskey, and the many individuals who have contributed deserve to be compensated. In order to help ‘balance the scales’, so to speak, Shifting Suns Studios has committed to the following two actions: first, a considerable donation, derived from the sales of Devil Whiskey, will be made to the SDL development effort, and second, after we've sold enough copies to properly compensate the many artists and programmers who've worked so hard on Devil Whiskey for three years, we will be publishing the full source code under an open source license (the exact nature of which has yet to be determined).
Q: Wait – you are going to release Devil Whiskey under an Open Source license, just not right away?
A: That’s right! We will be releasing Devil Whiskey under an Open Source license after we have sold enough copies to pay the many hardworking professionals who have donated their time for so long. This is not to say that the content, such as the original artwork, audio, movies, maps, cut scenes, etc. will be available for free, but anyone who wants a copy of the source code will be able to get it. We hope in this way we can both compensate the many that have built this game and provide useful code to the Open Source community.
