Asheron's Call 2 Interview

Part 2

RPGDot: How smart are the mobs (mobile objects, aka monsters)? I mean, if I keep showing up at their daycare center, luring single young monsters away to a nasty death, can I do this forever, or do they eventually take action? Is the mobs behavior static, or is there a psuedo random component? By this I mean, if I shoot a mob with an arrow, A) It always chases directly at me, back to the waiting hoards for slaughter, or B) 70% give chase, 20% attempt to use an evasive maneuver, and 10% run for help?

Judith: The monsters in AC2 are far more intelligent, and dangerous, than the ones in AC1. Creatures will have the capacity to respond to threats based off of their level, race, and method of attack. In addition, there will be different variations of existing creatures. Here's an example: The Scowl Drudge you see running at you may not be the brightest creature in the cave, but when its leader, the Murk Drudge is around, watch out. Things could get hairy when it shows up, orienting all of the Scowl drudges to attack your weakest member. Consider yourself warned. Dereth is full of wonders.

RPGDot: Many games have attempted to slow their rate of level advancement by introducing downtime. Players are very concerned about it. In EQ, downtime was severe - up to 20 minutes. In DAOC and AO, it is under 1 minute. I view this as an excellent trend. In your FAQ you say " We intend to keep the pace of the game swifter than other MMORPGs currently are, with dramatically reduced downtime." Will downtime for anyone at any level be less than a minute?

Judith: At the lowest levels, yes. At higher levels, it's still very fast

RPGDot: In AO, we were introduced to vehicles. These were not independent things that could be parked, stolen, sat upon, etc - they were very lame morphings of the character into the vehicle (ie man becomes car). In SOL (EQ) this will be repeated. In DAOC, their vehicles amount to buy ticket and sit on horse till it gets to the destination (whereupon it disappears) or jump off enroute. Will your game have vehicles? Will the character models 'morph' into the vehicle, be forced to only go along vehicle routes or will the vehicles be completely separate from the characters?

Judith: Again, you are entering a world recovering from a huge cataclysm. At first, there will be no vehicles.

RPGDot: Will characters be able (upon release) to make vehicles?

Judith: We do not currently plan on providing vehicles for the launch of AC2.

RPGDot: Enchant items?

Judith: Currently, there are skills that allow for temporary enchantment of items, causing them to be lighter, or to do more damage. As for making items with more permanent enchantments, that is beyond the basic crafter. Over time, it is likely to be rediscovered.

RPGDot: Will you have item degradation?

Judith: Items that are gained through the treasure system will not have item degradation. Items crafted through the craft system will inherently degrade, for their increased effectiveness comes at a cost. In addition, there will be a method that crafters and non crafters can pursue that will allow them to make their weapons stronger for short periods of time, but ultimately resulting in a less potent weapon. With increased power comes greater cost.

RPGDot: What about vehicular combat (the pride and joy of ALL vehicle owners)? Can I run someone over with an ox cart? A dragon?

Judith: We do not currently plan on providing vehicles at the launch of AC2

RPGDot: From the FAQ: " Yes, various systems of location-based player vs. player (or "PK," for player killing) combat will be in place. By location-based, we mean that approximately 10% to 20% of the world will be clearly marked as side "conflict areas,"..." What will be done to prevent 'zone (border) line camping'? In other words having people jumping back and forth between the 'safe' area and 'unsafe' area?

Judith: Border jumping only hurts the jumper - if one person is in a PK area, and the other is across the border, the person from within the border can attack the person outside at range, but would only get a shot or two at best before the other person can rectify the situation.

RPGDot: Will you have areas in your world which are extraordinary? IE -Dreamscapes, floating castles, etc?

Judith: Trust us when we say that the entire world looks extraordinary. Hilltop vistas never looked so amazing, and some of the things we've created for you to look at from those hills will take your breath away.

RPGDot: Name three things which intrigue YOU about the gameplay.

Judith: Why just three?
i. Being able to create a very customized character based on the skill tree.
ii. The ability to fight really HUGE monsters.
iii. Fighting intelligent monsters that are able to cooperate in their attack against me/group.
iv. Group tactics / party goals.
v. Even short play sessions can yield noticeable advancement.

RPGDot: Is there a maximum amount of vitae (xp) one can lose from dying?

Judith: There is no maximum amount at the moment. However, we are still in the process of game balancing and this may change over the course of the beta.

RPGDot: Will there be static spawns? Static loot?

Judith: Both static spawns and loot will exist, as part of quests and other special encounters.

RPGDot: What is your favorite aspect of your game?

Judith: Combat! Customizing my skills, working out my own combos of attacks and counterattacks makes everyone's tactical experience different and fun.

RPGDot: Aside for the fact that the game is not yet out, what is your least favorite aspect of your game?

Judith: Least favorite…? Not having enough time to play the game!

RPGDot: From the FAQ: " Yes. Characters can now swim..." Naturally, the important question is 'Can characters swim underwater or are they confined to dogpaddling on top of the water? If they can swim underwater, will there be anything interesting there? (Shipwrecks, dungeons, etc)?

Judith: When a character plunges into the water you may get a glimpse of what lies beneath, but then you will float to the surface where your avatar will be able to swim. Players do not have the option of diving down and exploring.

RPGDot: In the FAQ, it mentioned that characters won't have any encumbrance factors to deal with. As one of the major goals of PvE is the accumulation of gear, will the players have bank accounts to store more booty in? Will they be able to purchase additional bankspace or must they rely on 'mule accounts'? (ie characters made but never played, just to hold more 'stuff').

Judith: We've provided each character with a generous amount of storage space, so hopefully that won't be too much of a problem. In addition, keep in mind that the new craft system means that a lot of common materials will be highly transmutable. Why carry a dozen different types of things when you can carry one and make what you need when you need it?

RPGDot: How will long distance travel work?

Judith: The portals of Dereth, familiar to AC fans still exist and still transport players from one end of the world to the other. The main change is that thanks to the new graphics engine, portal space is now VERY pretty.

RPGDot: One of the major problems customers face with all released games is that of content. 2001 has a bad year for releasing games with actual content (AO, WW2OL, DAOC) - what can you say to reassure the nervous masses?

Judith: One of the things that makes AC so strong is that players will not only have the content that's available to them at ship. We also will continue to have the monthly "live" updates, so new quests, features, and other content will continually be added.

RPGDot: What is the most important thing you've learned from the failures and shortcomings of other MMOLG's?

Judith: The best lesson we've learned is that the choice of what not to do is as, if not more important than the choice of what to do. If it isn't fun, it shouldn't be there. Downtime? Not fun. Making irrevocable choices that I don't understand? Not fun.

RPGDot: To get our readers a bit into the 'business angle' of the MMOLG- what was the biggest hurdle you believe new designers have to hurdle when pitching the game to a producer?

Judith: Being overly ambitious and unfocused in scope, and underestimating the complexity of supporting simultaneous numbers of players at one time.

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