Dean Moses of Spring Creek Sun has interviewed Thomas Riegsecker of Basilik games: - a snippet:

What games will you be playing this summer? Most likely it will be a blockbuster title from a developer backed by a big-budget publisher, who has—undoubtedly—hurled many thousands of dollars into its creation. But does a train really run better on a track made of dollar bills? Moreover, does it run smoother than the rest of the engines in the yard? Lower budgets do not correspond to bad games. Independent developers are not only making games with lower budgets—they are also creating great ones.

One such studio is Basilisk Games, the developers behind the Eschalon Trilogy. The Spring Creek Sun (SCS) talked to the company’s founder, Thomas Riegsecker about forming an independent company, life in creating games and advice on how to make your own games.

Spring Creek Sun: What motivated you to start up Basilisk Games and become an independent developer?

Thomas Riegsecker: Childhood obsession. Like many kids growing up in the 80’s, I was at the forefront of the video game revolution with the Atari 2600, ColecoVision, and the first wave of home computers. Video games were an important part of my life and always have been. Then, sometime around 2005, I found myself jobless and decided it was time to follow my dream of making an RPG (Role Playing Game). It never occurred to me to try to get a job in the game industry. From the beginning, I always knew that the only way I was going to be happy was to start my own game studio, so that I could do what I wanted.

SCS: What were the inspirations behind the Eschalon Trilogy and how did you make it stand out from other RPGs?

TR: I was heavily inspired by the Ultima series of games. You’ll need to be in the 30-and-over crowd to remember those games, but back in the 80’s the greatest computer RPG series in existence was Ultima 1-5. It was a transcending experience to explore the massive, open world of Britannia. That kind of RPG was lost through the years as actionRPGs and MMOs (Massively Multiplayer Online Game) took over, and so with Eschalon I wanted to recapture some of that feeling. (...)

Spotted by Couchpotato - Thanks!

I stopped following Eschalon: Book III after the games release, and it seems I missed the short announcement last month about a new patch.

Better late than never, heh? Version 1.021 has a handful of bug fixes, grammar and spelling corrections, and exploits closed.

The three Eschalon games are on sale at Good Old Games for a day. The games are sold at $2.39, $3.99 and $9.99 respectively.

Basilisk Games has released a new patch for Eschalon: Book III. 

Eschalon: Book III updated to version 1.021

See the downloads page to grab the update. GoG and Steam versions will be updated soon.

A formal changelog can be found here, but essentially we fixed bugs and exploits, though there is some additional support for mods.

Also, check out the growing mod collection here: http://basiliskgames.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=34

GameBanshee's Steven Carter has posted a new review for Eschalon: Book III. The review is three pages long so I will just post the conclusion.

Conclusion

Overall, while the Eschalon trilogy didn't win a lot of awards or appear on many top 10 lists, all of its games have been solid, and Book III is no exception.  The campaign might take you 25+ hours to complete, and with all of the options for character builds, and with the fundamentally different ways some of those builds play, that means you might spend 50+ enjoyable hours with the game, which is a good deal at its $20 asking price.

That being said, Book III is very similar to Books I and II, so if you didn't enjoy those earlier games then you won't like the new one, either.  But since all of the games are similar, that means you could pick up Books I and II (which you can often find for $5 from online retailers) and inexpensively test out if the series is right for you.  I enjoyed the time I spent with Eschalon, and I'm quite sad to see it end.

Gamesauce interviewed Basilisk Games' Thomas Riegsecker abouth the history of the Eschalon games, how the indie games market changed over time and what in his opinion made the Eschalon series a success.

If I am honest about what has made Eschalon a minor success, it’s because it is a game series that caters to a very narrow spectrum of gamers. Many of our customers are over 30 and grew up on pre-Diablo style role-playing games, and they are looking for a very specific type of gaming experience now. These are the customers I focus on because if I tried to appeal to the mainstream gamer mass, I would be neglecting the customers who have supported Basilisk Games from the start. It’s a challenging path to follow, and more than once I drew the ire of Eschalon fans for trying to add a feature that I hoped might draw in new customers. Catering to this niche market has limited the game’s appeal to the general gaming audience, though it is the very reason for Eschalon‘s successes as well as its failures.

Basilisk Games has a post on the games forums I missed from last week that a new patch is now available for Eschalon: Book III. Here are the patch details.

Eschalon: Book III Version 1.02

VERSION 1.01 CHANGES

[Fixed] Forgotten spells are dropped from Quickselect so they can't be cast
[Fixed] Alundar's dungeon closes (under certain conditions) if player leaves that map.
[Fixed] Shrock unlimited Skills Permit Bug
[Fixed] Unlimited gold bug from Logi in Rockhammer
[Fixed] A couple badly placed swicthes causing problems when people used powder kegs / Minor map adjustments
[Fixed] Command + Q exits game (MacOS)

VERSION 1.02 CHANGES

[Fixed] Pressing ESC at end-game decision autoselects "Path A" and allows game to end.
[Fixed] Killing Baelgar opens his gate permanently.
[Fixed] Returning to Akadai Underground without a Fetid Grubb Tumor will magically drop one so you can leave.
[Fixed] Opening Kingspawn's chest angers Kingspawn.
[Fixed] Fire alone does not trigger switches.
[Fixed] Script error when hitting switches.
[Fixed] Set content items generated with appropriate materials.
[Added] Ability to load .map files within /mod folder.

Download link for Windows version. Must have a Basilisk Games Registration code: http://basiliskgames.com/files/eb3_setup.exe

Corwin played Eschalon: Book III and shares his opinion on the game.

We're told that good things often come in three's, so after enjoying the first two Eschalon iterations from small Indie developer Basilisk Games I was eager to play this third instalment. I'm pleased to say I was not disappointed. Was it a perfect experience? Of course not, but it was certainly a very enjoyable one.

Strategy Informer has the next review that I could find online for Eschalon: Book III. Unlike the last two reviews the reviewer does not like the game, and gave it a 6/10.

Eschalon: Book 3 is an RPG that defeated me entirely. It may be that I have to hand in my badge and my D6 after making that admission. Memories of my crackpot custom party finally defeating Wizardry 8 or traversing the lands of Avernum and being granted access to the Tower of the Magi are sullied now. Eschalon: Book 3 is for masochists, statisticians and the truly hardcore - those made of sterner stuff than I. It's not a game I can recommend to anyone, but I can't truly tell you that it does not get better, such was my failure. If you've played the previous games in the series, you may fare better and perhaps Book 3 will be the final chapter of a journey you started back in 2007 – if so I wish you luck. But for me it was an exercise in humiliation, battered to death by flies and blobs of assorted colour, as kitten-kidnapping bandits shattered my resolve.

Softpedia is the next site that I could find this week to post a review of Eschalon: Book III. Judging by the score of 8/10 they enjoyed the game. Here is a part of the review.

Eschalon: Book III is certainly a worthy iteration of the old-school role-playing game design paradigm, with its seamless turn-based to seemingly real-time gameplay, its rich lore and generally good dialogue writing, its pen-and-paper-inspired character progression system, and its unforgiving difficulty. Although it has some pitfalls, such as being linear while at the same time having you aimlessly wander around, the cumbersome interface and punishing difficulty, it’s a game that offers many hours of fun exploration and a rewarding and deep gameplay experience.

Real Gamer Newz has posted a new review of Eschalon: Book III, and going by the score of 9.7/10 they like the game. Here is part of the review.

The Final Verdict for Eschalon: Book III is don’t skip this one. RPG veterans will be pleased with the fresh experience, somewhat familiar gameplay, and extensively prepared final product allows the player to worry about just enjoying the game rather than dealing with bugs or design oversight. Escahlon: Book III is a game which players can sink tons of time into. If making characters in a Roguelike RPG that feels high tech, polished, and yet almost Retro at the same time sounds interesting to you then you should buy this game right now.

Basilisk Games has posed an update on their forums about modding Eschalon: Book III.

Eschalon: Book III MODS: Text Files

Everyone- this is step one for modding. There will be more releases in the coming weeks.

Below is a link to all the text files used in Book 3. I have put these up because I am getting a lot of requests for language translations. If you want to translate Book 3 into your native language, here's where you start.

A few rules:

- DO NOT add any extra page breaks or carriage returns into the text. Yes, you can extend or shorten blocks of text when translating, but you will break the game if you add additional carriage returns.

- DO NOT translate any of the script code. Script code may look like:
A keyword inside angle brackets.
give_item (Erubor's Letter) A series of keywords with other keywords inside parenthesis.

- DO NOT look at these text files unless you want to have the storyline revealed to you.

If you manage to translate all of the game, send the files back to us and we'll post your "language pack" online. Please note that this will only translate the external text of the game, not the internally generated messages or graphic files (such as signs or some menus). We will address these other translations later as we prepare the game for more generalized modification. However, the majority of the "important" text (quests, dialogs, books and skill/magick descriptions) are right here in these text files, so translating these will make the game fully playable by non-English speaking people of your region.

http://basiliskgames.com/files/eb3_text_files_100.zip

Basilisk Games has a new post on their forums about the launch of Eschalon: Book III.

So, what the hell happened last Friday?

Friday (Feb 14th) we launched Eschalon: Book III early in the morning. The web traffic was already starting to affect our site even before the launch, but we went ahead and announced it anyway. While we waited on the game files to be mirrored on to other sites, we had put local copies up for the first customers to be able to get (big mistake).

The demand was too great. You animals began grabbing the files like they were the last bottles of water and the world was about to end. The traffic crushed our website.

We called GoDaddy and were given some very bad advice: we were told that in order to fix this problem, we needed to upgrade our hosting platform (they should have just reset our connection and let us take the files offline). We were told the switch would take a couple hours, and that it would be transparent. This was misinformation by the GoDaddy "sales and support" staff. Here's a helpful tip: anytime a company combines "sales" and "support", you are going to get horrible advice. We later found out migrations actually take 24-72 hours, and it wasn't transparent...we'd be down the entire time.

Worse, the GoDaddy first-tier support technicians did not know what they were doing. We were moved from our Linux server to a Windows server. This caused the migration to fail and have to be restarted. After the first move to the new Windows server, we needed to switch again back to Linux, which is another migration of 24-72 hours.

Read the link for a more in-depth FAQ.

Basilisk Games sent news that Eschalon: Book III is now available.

Eschalon: Book III Launching - Fantasy Survival RPG

February 13, 2014 - This is classic roleplaying – no cutscene melodrama, casual gameplay, or social shenanigans. Basilisk Games invites you to share its unabashed love for old-school RPGs with the February 14 release of Eschalon: Book III (Windows, Mac, Linux).

Available for purchase at:

http://basiliskgames.com/purchase
http://store.steampowered.com/app/257870/

Eschalon: Book III is not the RPG for armchair dragon slayers or lazy achievement hunters.  Drawn from pen-and-paper traditions, the Eschalon series revels in the mysteries of dangerous landscapes and the triumphs of hard-won battles.  It rewards the tactical and ingenious, and leaves the careless to suffer the consequences.

A fusion of turn-based fantasy and survival gameplay, players will contend with hunger, sleep, equipment degradation, and even skills altered by weather. With multiple game-paths and solutions to obstacles, Eschalon: Book III emphasizes meaningful character development and true roleplaying.

Although no prior knowledge is necessary, Eschalon: Book III brings the trilogy to a close as you seek to uncover your past, the secrets of the Crux stones, and the true identity of the Orakur.

Features:

• Classic style, turn-based RPG inspired by pen-and-paper gaming.
• Unrestricted character development with impactful choices.
• Open world with no level-scaling and more secrets than you will ever find.
• Disease, hunger, weapon breakage – actions have serious consequences.
• Hundreds of new items, spells, and game engine updates.
• Developer tools for creating maps and advent

The press release fails to mention the game is also available on GOG.com.

Here are two more previews for Eschalon: Book III.

Die4Games

Eschalon III is an old-style classic RPG game from Basilisk Games. It is the third book of the Eschalon trilogy where you can get secrets, riddles, puzzles, and creatures which players could enjoy while they playing. It is very impressive game if you want to play old, classic and western-style RPG.

All Games

Overall, Eschalon Book 3 is a fun game if you enjoy a seriously difficult RPG. Its story is based around total mystery, its world is entirely unknown, and it is seriously freaking hard. You don’t enter the game feeling like the messiah from on high that all have awaited. Instead, you feel like some jackass with minor combat skills being thrown into a situation that you are not prepared for and hardly understand. This makes Eschalon Book 3 a realistic and engaging game.

Here are two new video previews for the soon to be released RPG Eschalon: Book III.

IndieRPGs Craig stern has the first video review.

Craig takes a look at a late pre-release beta of indie wRPG Eschalon Book III

Next Cram Gaming has the scond video, and a small text preview.

We take a look at Basilisk Games' retro style turn based RPG and determine whether this third and final book in the series is worthy of your time

The Gaming Nexus posted a new preview of the soon to be released Eschalon: Book III.

I can already tell that Eschalon Book III will be quite similar to the first two installments, but that isn’t a bad thing at all. The developers have had two games to test the balance and depth of their RPG system and Book III seems challenging but fair. We’ve seen plenty of indie platformers push difficulty to extremes, but there aren’t a lot of throwback RPGs yet. In that respect the Eschalon series is exploring a kind of nostalgia that is a relative rarity, at least for now. Fans hungry for more uncompromising adventure won’t have to wait long: Basilisk plans to close out their trilogy on February 14.

Basilisk Games is offering six free copies of Eschalon: Book III on launch day.

Win a copy of Eschalon: Book III on launch day!

We’re giving away six (6) copies of Eschalon: Book III on launch day! All you have to do is follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook, or be a registered member of our forums. We’ll randomly pick two people from each of these groups the day before launch and send them a Registration Code to unlock the game. You’ll also have the opportunity to download the game a couple hours earlier than anyone else!

Details: Follow us on one of these sites before February 13. We’ll send you a private message if you are selected. We will not use your name or identity for promotional purposes, though it’d be great if you reposted your lucky win. Enter all three places to increase you chances. If by some freaky chance you win more than once, you can keep the extra copy or gift it to someone else.

Canadian Online Gamers previews the beta version of Eschalon: Book III.

The graphics are presented to you in an isometric view and definitely harkens back to games like Ultima Online. I liked the overall look, and everything is well-animated too. They also use day and night cycles to their full advantage, because when night comes it gets very dark, so it’s handy to have torches on you at all times. Before I learned this lesson, I found myself wandering around in the dark barely being able to see, and then getting jumped by some creature!

The game’s audio surprised me with just how good it was and how suited it was to the game. I was treated to some really good music as I traveled the world. Not to be outdone, the sound effects work nicely too, and fit well with everything you interact with.

I have to admit I was surprised by my experience with Eschalon: Book III. It was a nice trip down memory lane, and makes me want to go check out the first two games in the series. Fans who want an experience that may bring them back to earlier days of PC role-playing games should check this game out.  It’s scheduled to be released on February 2014!

The people at 3rd Strike have taken a look at Eschalon: Book III and thought it had old school fun, plenty of exploration and enormous depth.

It’s perhaps that depth I described above that made Eschalon the gem people like me came to love. Everything starts during character creation. Gender, race, religion and profession decide what traits you start out with, while you’re free to choose between all of the game’s skills. You’re free to do as you want at this point and while creating a mage-warrior hybrid has always increased the difficulty of Eschalon somewhat, it’s still a perfectly viable choice.

That same ability to choose your own style is present in the entire game. Pretty much the entire world is made available from the start, so wandering into a dungeon or area ages before it could be considered safe, is something that’s bound to happen to anyone who’s keen on exploring.

It’s all very much risk vs. reward and nothing gives the same satisfaction as disposing of a powerful enemy early on, or discovering a carefully tucked away secret. The world is littered with quests, loot and dungeons so there’s always something to discover.

GameBanshee has posted a new preview for Eschalon: Book III.

So far I'd say that Book III looks pretty good.  It definitely feels like an Eschalon game, with the content I saw leaning more towards humor and oddness than character depth and emotional catharsis.  For example, while The One looks like he'll be the end boss for the game, you don't see or hear from him at all, and instead you complete offbeat quests where you rescue kittens and deal with snapping clams.  Book III's tone might be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what you're looking for.  I enjoy quirky games, and so it works for me, and I also prefer games where you start your character fresh (the earliest levels are usually the most interesting as you're guaranteed to have gaps in your repertoire), and so that's a bonus for me as well.

Basilisk Games has a new thread were you can discuss the storyline to prepare for Eschalon: Book III. If you never finished the first two games it will contain spoilers.

Since we have less than a month to go for Book III I might as well post my list of questions regarding the storyline. Some of them might be answered. Some of them might be irrelevant. I will come back to this topic after finishing Book III. If you have any of your own please post them in this topic.

With more detail compared to the Examiner preview Softpedia provide their thougths on Eschalon: Book III, which is to be released a month from now.

The graphics are the usual package, isometric 2D tiles and sprites, but they look very nice, the color palettes are varied enough from one environment to the other, there are many visual effects for what's going on in the world, in and out of combat, and they all look pretty nice.

Overall, a lot of work has been put into providing a detailed world that really comes across as believable and alive, including day and night cycles and lighting effects, that really add to the game's visuals as well as having an effect on gameplay mechanics.

Eschalon: Book III so far seems to deliver a strong and detailed old-school role-playing experience that doesn't just play on nostalgia, tangible improvements having been made to the classic system, and it comes all wrapped up in a quaint, but gorgeously detailed, 2D world.

Examiner delivers a very positive preview of Eschalon: Book III.

What this title really accomplished during the playthrough, was land the marketing message for the game thus far; made us yearn for a title that we could put a ton of time and care into a character, while being challenged and rewarded. Eschalon: Book III comes at a time that is extremely conducive of indie success, and it won’t be hard to imagine this finale being one that becomes the most successful for the series, and perhaps gets gamers to take a look in the old way-back machine for some context to newer and upcoming titles. One thing is for certain about Eschalon; this Examiner thinks it’s worth it to check out, and RPG fans will be well at home with this title.

Basilisk Games has a new forum post with information for gamers willing to help Beta Test Eschalon: Book III.

"WHAT IS THE SCHEDULE FOR BETA TESTING?"

- Starting this Saturday, January 11, we will select two people to test the game.

- Every Saturday thereafter we will have a new version to test which will be comprised of fixes from the prior week as well as finalized content that will be freshly added. We will bring in two new testers every Saturday to play this latest beta, and any previous tester from prior weeks is welcome to re-test as well, but will not be obligated to do so.

- We will continue this weekly testing schedule until the week before launch. This means if you apply now for a beta tester position but we don't contact you this week, you still have a good chance at being a tester later on. Be patient and watch for an email from us!

“SO HOW DO I APPLY FOR A BETA TESTER POSITION?”

It's very simple really. All you have to do is send an email to info AT basiliskgames DOT com. The subject must say “Beta Tester Application” or your email will not even make it past the initial filter. In the email you must tell us about yourself. What games you like to play, have you ever beta tested anything before, what do you do for a living, etc. We also need to know the important things like your real name, your Drunken Lizard Pub username (if applicable), and where you live (city/state/country).

Other than the information requested above, you need to convince us that you will be a good tester for our game. Are you a real fan of the series or just someone looking to get a free copy of an unreleased game? Will you stick it out through the whole test, or get bored after a couple days and then disappear?

Formatting, spelling, grammar and punctuation is important (it's the attention to detail that we're looking for). Convince us that you are the right person for the job, and you'll likely get chosen. However, depending on how many emails we get, we cannot promise anyone a spot on the beta testing team. Don't take it personally- if you don't get contacted it's not that you aren't awesome, it just means we received more applications than we had openings for. There are approximately 10 beta tester spots available and in the past we have averaged 75-100 qualified applications for beta testing.

Basilisk Games has sent out a new press release with news that Eschalon: Book III will be released on Valentine's Day, February 14^th, 2014.

Basilisk Games Announces the release date for "Eschalon: Book III"

Indianapolis, IN - December 3^rd, 2013 - Basilisk Games, Inc. is proud to announce that Eschalon: Book III is expected to launch on Windows, Macintosh and Linux platforms on Valentine's Day, February 14^th, 2014.

On February 14^th the game will be immediately available, worldwide and DRM-free, through our website at http://basiliskgames.com. Eschalon: Book III was recently approved through Steam's Greenlight service and will be available on most major distribution portals on or shortly after its worldwide Valentine's Day release.

“The last game of the Eschalon trilogy is in the final stages of development now and is expected to wrap up in time for next Valentine's Day” said Thomas Riegsecker, CEO of Basilisk Games. “It is really an exciting time for us to see this project finished, and for everyone waiting to see how the trilogy comes to a close.”

Basilisk Games is expected to begin semi-public Beta Testing of Eschalon: Book III in early January 2014 for fans who want to help balance the game before its release. More information on the beta test program will be posted on the website at http://basiliskgames.com in the coming weeks.

Basilisk Games has released a teaser trailer for Eschalon: Book III.

Eschalon: Book III is the third and final game in the Eschalon series, scheduled for release this 2013 holiday season. Eschalon: Book III brings the trilogy to a climatic end as you seek to uncover the mystery of your past, the secrets of the Crux stones, and who the Orakur really are. You'll traverse miles of virtual wilderness and dungeons, filled with secrets and danger, in an unparalleled role-playing experience designed to feel like a true pen-and-paper RPG.

Eschalon: Book III is now on Steam Greenlight and can use your vote to get it released.

Eschalon: Book III brings the award-winning RPG trilogy to a climatic end as you seek to uncover the mystery of your past, the secrets of the Crux stones, and who the Orakur really are. You’ll traverse miles of virtual wilderness and dungeons, filled with secrets and danger, in an unparalleled role-playing experience designed to feel like a true pen-and-paper RPG.

• Dozens of fan-requested features and updates to the engine and rule set.
• Hundreds of graphic updates including re-rendered tiles, new spell effects, and enhanced environment effects. New sound effects and music in crystal-clear HD audio via an updated sound engine.
• Expanded stats for creatures give them new abilities, defenses and vulnerabilities. Combat will require new levels of strategy.
• New spells and hundreds of new items for you to discover. A huge world filled with secrets, riddles, traps, treasure, and glory awaits you!
• Book III is not a dumbed-down “RPG for the masses”. Rapid button clicking won’t save you here. Eschalon pays honor to the greatest RPGs of the past, with unlimited character development options and freedom to explore the world as you wish. The difficulty of the game does not scale to your character.
• Developer tools to be released shortly after the availability of the game. Build your own maps and make your own adventures!
• Single player only, like a great RPG should be.

Basilisk Games informed us they have updated the Eschalon Book III site with a new screenshot showing a shipwreck.

Today Basilisk games officially announced Eschalon Book III.

Basilisk Games Announces the development of "Eschalon: Book III" For Windows, Macintosh and Linux

Indianapolis, IN - November 19, 2012 - Basilisk Games, Inc. today officially announced the development of the third and final game in the Eschalon trilogy: Book III.

“It feels great to be able to announce that we are developing the final game in the Eschalon trilogy” said Thomas Riegsecker, CEO of Basilisk Games. “Although we've never hidden the fact that we've been working on it for some time, we can finally unveil a bit of the game to our fans who have waited so long to hear more about it. Announcing Book III on the fifth year anniversary of Book I’s release just felt appropriate.”

Eschalon: Book III is being developed for Windows, Macintosh and Linux computers. It features numerous fan requested updates and brings the trilogy to a climatic end. Currently scheduled for a Summer 2013 release, a more specific release date will be announced on the Basilisk Games website early next year. Visit http://basiliskgames.com for more information.

About Eschalon: Book III

Eschalon: Book III is the final game in the award-winning Eschalon RPG series, following Book I's release in 2007 and Book II's release in 2010. The Eschalon RPG series features sprawling, open-ended game worlds and almost unlimited character development options. Book III brings the series to a climatic end as you seek to uncover the mystery of four powerful gemstones and your clouded past. No experience with either of the first two games is needed to enjoy this final chapter in the Eschalon saga. More information on the game can be found online at: http://basiliskgames.com/eschalon_book_iii

We all know it's coming but Basilisk has tweeted they will "formally" unveil Eschalon: Book III on November 19th. Hopefully we'll get some media on that date:

We're nearly ready to "formally" announce Book III with screenshots and some game info. Check our website November 19th. Yes, finally!

Basilisk Games has a short update on their site, promising they are "moving forward at full speed" following some delays:

Sorry for the lack of recent updates to the front page. We have just begun a special “Summer Crunch Session” to get Book III back on schedule after a small delay in production due to moving the studio. All is well and production is moving forward at full speed. We’ll use this post as a reminder to follow us on Twitter and/or Facebook to keep up with minor news that is not important enough to post here. Also, the Community Forums are a very active hub of fans and sometimes we drop update tidbits in there, so be sure to stop in from time to time.

Basilisk Games has kicked up an update for the New Year, explaining development of Eschalon: Book III was slow in 2011 for business and expanded production reasons - but a 2012 release is still "possible". A partial snip:

And while development of Book III is in full swing, continued sales of Book I & II are still extremely important to us as the ongoing revenue keeps the bills paid. It eats up quite a bit of our time promoting our games and working to get Eschalon as widely available as possible. Mac App Store, Desura and OnLive are three of our newest partners. Many of you may also remember our efforts earlier this year to get Humble Bundle to give us a spot. We are still trying to convince them that we'd be a great addition, so don't be afraid to send them an email to let them know you want to see us included in the next bundle.

Oh yes, and to top it off, during all of this we moved the studio a couple month ago to give us more room. This is still somewhat ongoing as we're awaiting some additional equipment and furniture. Growing the studio is ultimately a good thing, but it pretty much brought all development to a halt for several weeks.

What this all means is: YES, Book III is coming!! We really blew our development schedule in 2011, missing almost every deadline we set for ourselves. But 2012 will be a productive year for us, and we are working hard right now to get everything together to make the formal announcement. This requires a press release, logos and artwork, screenshots, and we need to be able to answer questions when requests for info and interviews come our way. We certainly think that a 2012 release for Book III is possible, but we can't make any promises to anyone right now.

Thanks, Black Rune!