Sacred - Interview
Gorath, 2004-01-22

It seems action-RPGs are everywhere we turn but few manage to distinguish themselves from the crowd.  German developer Ascaron Entertainment's Sacred looks like it might have the making of one of those few games to break the mould.  Ascaron's prior projects include well-received games like Patrician III and Port Royale but Sacred is their first foray into RPGs.  We talk to Game Designer Dr. Michael Bhatty to gain a better insight.

RPGDot: Sacred is an action RPG. What makes your game stand out of the crowd?

Dr. Michael Bhatty: SACRED features several unique elements: We have horses not just for travelling but also for combat, we have combos, combining the characters combat moves and spells, a large borderless world and a compelling story line, to begin with.

We feature six new characters, which might bear partly resemblances to heroes well known, but who appear in a different form.  The Gladiator is the close combat expert, using a variety of slashing, stabbing, cutting weapons and very cinematic specials moves like hard hits, stunning hits, bone breaking throws to knock an enemy out or auras to repel his attackers and many other things.

The Battle Mage is skilled with magic AND the sword, so he can use a range of element based spells or he can defend himself in close combat.
The Wood Elf is the typical ranger, but she uses besides her special bow attacks magic of nature to entangle opponents in poisonous roots, cast explosive spheres of thorns or conjures a unicorn as a companion.

These were the three well-known heroes in a new outfit, but we have also three new characters: The Seraphim (a very beautiful blonde) are descendants of the mystical angels of the Elder. She uses heavenly magic like lightning to weaken her foes, before she strikes them down with swirling blades, power-jumps or boomerang-blades. However, our angels have mythological background, which can be uncovered during the bonus quests, giving a more technological insight into the origin of these angels.

The Dark Elf is the Martial Arts expert, using exotic blade weapons and claws to fight in close ranged combat. He is also an expert in using traps and bombs, which explode on impact, initiate poisonous fogs or simply stun the victim, stepping into it.

The most exotic of our characters is the Vampire Lady. Usually, she appears as a knight with sword and shield, giving credits to her high defence abilities. But if the gamer chooses to let the "beast out of the cage", she morphs into a vampire, attacking with powerful claws, spitting blood to weaken her opponents, conjures a vampire wolf or simply turns a recently decayed into one of her followers. Of, course, if she changes her form during daylight while outdoors, she takes damage from the sunlight, so this option has to be experienced very carefully.

RPGDot: Please give us some technical details about Sacred. (A few keywords: system requirements, supported screen resolutions, surround sound. Feel free to mention other aspects if you think they help our readers understand Sacred better.)

Dr. Michael Bhatty: The screen resolution is fixed at 1024*768. We are using a 3D-world with high resolution 2D graphics to get the best of both worlds. Of course, all objects for interaction are 3D like doors, chests, barrels and our large variety of compelling friends and foes, while the level textures are 2D to give more details and organic impressions of our environment.

To play SACRED you'll need at least a Pentium III, 800 MHz with a 32MB graphics card and 1 GB space on your hard disc as well as 128 MB RAM. However, we recommend a PIII with 1 GHz or higher, 256 MB RAM, 64 MB graphics card and 1.5 GB hard drive space.

RPGDot: How important is Sacred´s story? What did you do to make it really interesting?

Dr. Michael Bhatty: The story of SACRED supports its nature of being an action-RPG and therefore it will lead the gamer through a series of events, which are intertwined. As a big fan of Hollywood action an being an academic admirer of Anglo-Saxon and American literature I chose to write a very cinematic structured storyline, referring to Anglo-Saxon mythology and history.

We start with a plot every fan of sword and sorcery fantasy knows and (usually) loves: The evil necromant Shaddar conjures a Sakarra-demon, a demonic Lord of the Realms of Dead, but due to his arrogance (he's not checking a flawed magic circle one of his servants accidentally damages) the demon got free and turns against the mage...

So far so good, but here our story really starts, as this events start a series of orc wars, rebellion in our kingdom, political intrigues of several border barons and nobles, the dark elves, who obliterated the dwarves long ago and occupy some cut-of-part of the kingdom, we have the exiled mages, who are succumbed by a sect, serving the cult of Sakarra and much more.

When we start the game, we have to uncover more and more of the plot, because the demon ravaging the world has a goal of its own. But unfortunately, in its wake this lord of hell raises the long forgotten dead. While one part of the story line focuses on the rebellion against a militaristic throne robber, the other part displays hordes of undead, conquering the realm of men.

RPGDot: Please tell us something about quests. How many main quests and optional quests are in the game? How complex are they, is there more behind them than just item transport, with or without combat? Do some of them have multiple solutions?

Dr. Michael Bhatty: We have a complex system of different quest systems. The main quest leads the player through the world and has to be solved. Side quests are optional. Here we got side quests bound to a specific region as well as a full pack of random quests. When the gamer solves five or more quests a designated region will be set as "pacified", his reputation will be raised, he will get better trade conditions etc.
However, during the main quest, pacified regions might turn over again, when the undead swarm the realm. This corresponds well to our large, borderless world, as we are nit using world sets but a vast kingdom, where you are free to explore and might return to a previous area.

Using these interlinked systems we have over 300 different quest, which involve all forms of narrative excitement like treason, love stories, ladies in distress, revenge, solving murder, reconnaissance, message deliveries, escorts, search & destroy and many more forms. Of course, as we have an action RPG each quest involves combat in its purest form.

RPGDot: Which multiplayer modes does Sacred offer and how many players can play each of them?

Dr. Michael Bhatty: SACRED features several multiplayer options for LAN and internet. You can play the story campaign with up to four players or a free game without the main quest with up to 16 players. As the multiplayer section is an important part of the game, we have included several interesting multiplayer-only enemies, which are to be defeated in a team effort.

Currently we are setting up our game server for lobby activities, allowing gamers to establish their own games on secured servers to play via the internet.  Another important thing is the PK-option. We allow player-killing, if the according lobby-button has been checked. However, we encourage something even better: PK-Hunting! A hunter is a player, who slays a player-killer but no civilians (that is other innocent players). You could say, we are setting up the paladins of the web game play, with the motto "if you hit them, we will hit you!"

RPGDot: How many different items are in the game? Can weapons be enhanced or modified? Please explain.

Dr. Michael Bhatty: We have over 1500 different items within the game, several rare and unique as well. Also, there are sets included, referring to armour and weaponry. But more important, we allow the imbuing of items and smith options into armour and weapons. Therefore you can not only imbue rings, amulets or spells but you can also sharpen, strengthen or harden your blade, which will produce some very individual weapons, especially for multiplayer purposes.

To do this, you have to find a smith, who will offer you the options for a price. Weapons and armour that can be upgraded have a different number of slots, wherein the skills or items can be implemented. The best part: We considered it very important, that you can choose to remove an item as well, if your want to keep a thing for a better weapon later on.

RPGDot: You included horses in Sacred. How will a horse affect combat and game play?

Dr. Michael Bhatty: Horses in SACRED aren't for travelling faster only. Horses add to the defences and other stats if you are mounted. As SACRED is focussing on combat, you can also fight with long-range and close-range weapons from horseback or cast some spells.  If a combat art is not available from horseback, you can repel an opponent by charging into him, using a horse special move. As there are so many different types of horses (faster one, stronger etc.) it is a good thing to keep up your riding skill, which allows you to ride these mounts.

RPGDot: How do attack combos work?

Dr. Michael Bhatty: Combos are created from the original special moves and spells, allowing each gamer to create his own attack-style. For example, when you play a Seraphim, you have access to combat arts like lightning, power jumps, and several close combat hits.

If this complies with your attack style you can build a combo like the following one: call lightning - force jump - roundhouse hit - attack against one opponent. Each of these combat arts can be played individually, but combined in a combo they are very powerful. Image now a group of enemies in the distance (you can see them earlier, if you zoom out). Now with but one right-click you trigger the combo let's say at the leader of that group.

First the leader will be struck by lightning, and the group runs towards your position to attack you but as the combo carries on, you jump to the lightning-struck leader and hit him hard when landing. Meanwhile some of the group might be in close-combat range and now we unleash automatically the roundhouse attack, hitting several opponents at once. To finish the leader our combo unleashes a series of slashes and stabs against the leader.

RPGDot: How big is the world? How many different areas are there? Can you access the whole world at the beginning of the game?

Dr. Michael Bhatty: You can access about 70% to 80% of the world of Ancaria from the beginning. The rest will be accessible during the main quest. This world has a very topological setup therefore featuring over 16 political regions or over 25 geographical ones. We have vast deserts of sands, rocks, oasis, beaches; we got swamps in the darker areas, volcanic areas and misty mountains with needle trees, icy ranges and lush green kingdom sites. It features a lot of very nice places, when your move offside the main quest paths, as your can explore very interesting areas here. Of course, not all of SACRED is outdoors. We have cities and villages, where you can enter every building and dungeons, ranging from small animal caves to vast underground fortresses of the dark elves or the capital sewers.

RPGDot: What about replayability? How long is Sacred? Will storyline and quests change depending on the chosen character?

Dr. Michael Bhatty: You can play SACRED in about 35 hours per character if you just skip the side quest and go straight on with the main quest. However, with the side quests you are up to 100 and more hours. Each character starts the story in a different spot, according to his character: The Gladiator in an arena, the Seraphim and a monastery, the Wood Elf somewhere in the forests (accompanied by the Dark Elf!) or the Mage at a magic circle, while the Vampire hides in an old mansion. Each character has its unique start, defining his or her personal background. At several points during the story there are hidden bonus events for such designated characters. The Seraphim might discover where her order came from, information lost for 40.000 years in this vast world, full of exciting fiends and foes, fortune and glory!