Inspector Schmidt - The Ebbing News

We know that there are many different types of gamer. Some people need lots of action and adrenaline, some want to really rack their brains to solve a quest, some just want to enjoy themselves and indulge in the story.

Of course, there is no game that really satisfies everyone. That's not our aim either. It's clear that we cater for players who enjoy story, excitement and puzzles. Nevertheless, for The Ebbing we thought it would be nice to give our players a few options to customise their gaming experience.

[h2]Different game modes for all types[/h2]

In story mode, the quest log gives you plenty of clues as to what you need to do next to solve the case. It is ideal for people who simply want to immerse themselves in the story and solve exciting puzzles.

Detective mode gives you fewer clues in the quest log and you are responsible for writing down your findings yourself and not losing track. Who have you already questioned? What information are you missing? This mode is for hardcore detectives.

If you have to sneak past enemies, you can also adjust the stealth difficulty. This also allows you to set how exciting these parts of the game are. If you get scared easily (and don't like doing that), this setting is basically your tension regulator.

If our dice skill checks are trying your patience a little too much, we now offer to simplify them or even switch them off completely so that you can get even more involved in the story.

What type of gamer are you? Let us know!

Are the days of barricading yourself in your teenage room for weeks on end, playing your favourite new game, gone forever?

Have unnecessary distractions such as work, friends, family or sport crept into your everyday life in recent years and increasingly outstripped gaming?

How annoying. It happened to us, too.

We often just don't have the time to really immerse ourselves in the big, epic stories of the big game studios. How nice it would be if there were compact RPGs with a gripping plot and gameplay that wasn't overly complex ... hang on, is that what The Ebbing is?

Well, yes! Yes it is :)

Developed by people with the same problems as you, Inspector Schmidt - The Ebbing can easily be split over several evenings. Our quests are structured so that our Inspector Schmidt questions one suspicious person after another in order to solve the case.


[h2]Always the same drill ... Where are nuances?[/h2]

Of course, we didn't approach the development of The Ebbing with this in mind. But at some point we realised that we had all developed a bit of CRPG fatigue (CPRG = Complex Role Playing Game), partly because the games take up so much time. Compact, story-driven RPGs like Disco Elysium are few and far between.

Another aspect is that most RPGs always tell the same epic story: Good versus evil, David versus Goliath, world-changing conflicts that ONLY YOU can solve. Stories that deal more with the shades of grey between black and white are apparently rarely suitable for the masses and are therefore often not told by the big game studios.


[h2]An RPG with a complex story is no walk in the park for indie devs[/h2]

However, writing a story game as an indie developer is almost impossible without an absolutely heroic effort from the storywriters and narrative designers: Narrating interpersonal conflicts is not easy. Writing quests that contain no logical flaws and work in any order is almost the final boss of the art of writing.

No wonder there aren't many of them. Why we do it - good question. We just love it too much ;)

What has been your favourite RPG in recent years?

We are delighted to be exhibiting at GG Bavaria shortly before the release of Inspector Schmidt - The Ebbing. Come along, bring your friends and play the Ebbing demo as well as the demo of our next title, Medieval Frontiers.

Only two weeks until the release of Inspector Schmidt - The Ebbing! As a little sneak peek, we want to give you a few insights into our working methods - and talk about what has changed compared to A Bavarian Tale.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

In today's video, our communications person Julia spoke to character and 2D artist Hanna about the creation processes of our NPCs and the Choose Your Own Adventure parts in The Ebbing:

• What do our creation processes look like?
  
• How and where do we research in order to portray people historically accurately?
  
• How do we translate the 3D character models into a coherent 2D version?
  
• What have we learnt and done differently for The Ebbing?
  
• Who is Hanna's favourite NPC?
  

Have fun watching! We look forward to your comments and follow-up questions, either on YouTube, here on Steam or on our Community Discord.

Only a few more weeks until Inspector Schmidt - The Ebbing is released! We're looking forward to it - are you?

We've taken a lot from the feedback on our Ebbing demos and of course A Bavarian Tale. It's really amazing how much you get into a tunnel yourself and no longer perceive things neutrally. That's why your feedback, which reaches us either via Discord or here on Steam, is incredibly important to us! As a result, we've reworked some aspects of the gameplay, added new mechanics, but also let things go. And of course, some things have stayed the same.



[h3]At least 5 different endings[/h3]

In The Ebbing, your decisions also influence the outcome of the game. Depending on who you make friends with in Havstedt, you will gain information that will help you solve the case.



[h3]Even more detective work[/h3]

With the revised Detective Sweep, you can make sure that you haven't overlooked anything in a room. You can now also inspect elements and examine them for hidden clues, just as you can find important clues in furniture.



[h3]Improved stealth mechanics[/h3]

Our stealth mechanic in A Bavarian Tale was ... definitely one of our wilder experiments as First Time Game Devs. That's why we completely reworked it over The Ebbing and built some very nice quests around it that will hopefully keep you on the edge of your seat.



[h3]New: Combination and number puzzles[/h3]

Some information is hidden behind tricky combination and number puzzles. In The Ebbing, it's no longer just your interpersonal skills that are required in dialogs with the NPCs, but also your deduction skills.

[h3]No longer included: Fistfights[/h3]

Yes, we know you loved the music during the fights in A Bavarian Tale. However, the fistfights themselves were one of our most buggy mechanics and didn't really add much to the story. Since we know that there are quite a few RPG players who would like to play a game without combat mode, we're going to give it a try. Our Inspector Valentin really isn't a powerhouse - otherwise he wouldn't have become a civil servant.

What is your favorite gameplay element from The Ebbing demo or the prologue? Play it and let us know on our Discord server!