NEOCRON Interview
2002-02-14
Logan interviewed Jens "Nemesis" Bremmekamp, Community Manager for Neocron, Reakktor Media's upcoming futuristic MMORPG, about various aspects of their game. This is a reprint of an interview originally found at Logan's site Reckon! news - more of these excellent interviews will be published here at RPGDot in the coming days
Q: How smart are the mobs/NPC's/bots? Is the mobs behavior static, or is there a psuedo random component? Do they ever run to get help?
Currently they do not run for help but different monsters already use different strategies. Upgrading the appropriate scripts either before launch or at a later time, to make someof the mobs "smarter", will not be a problem though, due to Neocron's great extensibility.
Q: Name three things which intrigue YOU about the gameplay.
The item researching / recycling / construction aspects of the game. The implant skill and realted items, and the fact that you can implant other characters than your own if you have the required skill. The combat system which allows for much more tactical variety and finesse than conventional MMORPG combat systems, while at the same time being very skill dependant.
Q: What is your personal favorite aspect of Neocron?
The story and the background setting. :) I've always been a fan of the darker side of science fiction, "darker" like in "post-apocalyptic" and "cyberpunkish". Neocron takes the aspects we all liked about Mad Max, Bladerunner, Gibson novels and SciFi RPGs and mixes them into a highly appealing world. A world about which, I'm sure, many of us have fantasized now and again to spend some time in - well, not a whole life, granted. ;)
Q: Aside from it not being done, on store shelves and currently selling like hotcakes, what is your least favorite aspect of Neocron?
I know that you probably won't believe me now, but I don't want to lie either, so: can't think of even one.
Q: What things are being done to help the newbie? A tutorial like Everquest use to have, etc?
There will be a Tutorial, yes, which will by the way be playable offline, so you can get a glimpse at the game before you even register your game account. Further more we aim at drawing new people actively into the game instead of letting them create their characters and then just leave them standing helpless wherever they just spawned in the game world. When creating your Neocron character you will always start in your own apartment. There you will be pointed to your HomeTerm, which is your private communication link to the city networks of Neocron, and which already contains some emails from the NPC organization you joined upon chreating your character and some spam-like informations about what there is to do in the city. From this point on you will often be pointed in specific directions which you can follow up to, if you decide to do so, so no one should be left standing there without any idea of what to do next.
Q: Is it possible for PC's to get bounties from a game mechanism to go hunt down other PC's who have been naughty?
The main problem here is letting the game decide who's been naughty and who's been nice. Normally this is not possible without being unjust to a certain amount of people. But on the other hand such a bounty system would surely be nice, so we are looking into implementing it nonetheless.
Q: What elements are in place to stop me from buying 2 accounts, 1 Mr. Respectable, and 2 Mr. Reprehensible, and keep my "woods guy" out slaughtering everyone, and use my good guy to resupply?
None. If you can and want to afford two accounts, we will definitely not stop you. Especially since just "slaughtering everyone" is not an offense of our rules of conduct. However, should you exploit bugs as a means to your ends, regardless of your number of accounts, you will surely get into trouble.
Q: What is being done to move us from the widely perceived 'leveling treadmill' that most MMOLG's (AO, AC, EQ, DAOC) embrace?
For instance killing monsters is by far not the only way of accumulating experience points (I guess 'leveling treadmill' refers to the endless killing of different mobs to advance, right?). You can gain experience by using skills, which means you can become more experienced by a wide variety of actions. This includes, but is not limited to, fighting, researching items, constructing items, using PSI powers, implanting/deimplanting items etc. Also you are able to gain experience points by doing missions for NPC organizations.
Q: In games which allow PvP combat and have levels (AO, EQ, DAOC for example) most people have found 'whoever has the highest level wins'. Will it be possible to defeat people of substantially higher level than you through skill alone?
A definite yes. The hard task for us will be to balance the "substantial" in "substantially higher level" to avoid giving anyone too much advantage over others, be it because they can develop their character more quick than other players or because their mouse-skills are better, etc.
Q: Besides killing people/critters, what can I do? Is the tradeskill system window dressing or a money sink? I.E. is the game set up so ONLY someone seriously gimped for fighting can obtain enough skills to become a master crafter, and thus create (notice I said create) the uber swords of the game.
As I said before, since killing monsters is by far not the only way to develop your skills, you don't need to be a fighter to become a good tradesman.
Q: Are there NPCs to interact with? If so, how varied are they? How many character models will there be for release?
There is a multitude of NPCs to interact with, besides the standard NPC vendors. You can talk to the NPCs in the faction headquarters, who all have different duties and will therefore respond to you differently. Some of them will even give you missions, if you prefer this way of getting your work over browsing through the assignments at the JobTerm. Then there are NPCs on the streets and in public buildings who might give you clues about the ongoing storyline or have general information about the City, its inhabitants and its leaders.
Q: In AO, everyone got a lame appartment to put furniture in. Sadly, the furniture was buggy, showed up wrong, disappeared, etc. Additionally, if you forgot what building you were suppose to be in, you were in trouble as you'd never get back to it, etc. Additionally, the apartments you got were merely separate zones you had to yourself. What will Neocron do to make apartments better?
Your apartments will be furnished. :) It's not unlikely that there will be additional apartment add-ons for the players to place by themselves, but by setting you up with a full-featured apartment from the start the player has a place to call home, a headquarter so to speak, and it spares us from having to hurriedly make up some code for furniture. ;)
Q: Will you have areas in your world which are extraordinary? IE - Dreamscapes, floating castles, etc?
The Swamp caves look pretty much like a LSD trip to me, though I never experienced a real one. :p
Q: What would you say to people to rid them of the fear that the game will not become a 'gank fest' that drove so many customers away from UO?
You always have the option to protect yourself from unwanted PvP by implanting yourself the Law Enforcer chip. With this implant you cannot be harmed by other players and cannot harm other players yourself. Of course implanting/deimplanting this chip is not a matter of seconds to prevent it being misused in PvP combat.
Q: Aside from the ability to buy a guild building, what features will be coded into the game to allow guilds to be more than just 'glorified chat channels'?
A short overview of what's planned for guilds:
missions specifically for guilds
guild headquarter apartments
guild vendors where guild members can sell their goods to other players
more things which I don't want to mention here because it's not decided yet if they will be there at release. :)
Logan note: Excellent answer. I could personally care less what is not at release. Once I get into the game for a couple hours or a couple days I can decide whether I want to give it another month. Stuff that people talk about 'oh this will be comming in a future patch' is complete vaporware to me. By the current standards of the industry, the first upgrade patch happens about 3 months after release. By then I will have discovered if the game is good and (sadly in the case of DAOC, AO, WW2OL) moved on never to return.
Q: The FAQ mentions the subway as a means of travel. Will this actually be a zoning process or will it be possible to have a running gun battle on the subway?
Since the subway is fort he most part a safezone you cannot have a gunfight there. It's not a zoning process either, it's a part of the world like all other locations - you enter the subway corridors, walk to the train, enter it, sit down, wait for it to arrive at your destination, get out, and leave the subway system. You won't need to buy tickets though. :)
Logan comment: Pity on two accounts. First, buying tickets would have been a good long term money sink. Not all money sinks need to be large sums on a one time shot. The best ones in my experience are the little things you never notice. Each time you pass through the turnsty a mesly 10 credits is deducted automatically from your account. Combine that up with many, many other money sinks and you begin to have the semblence of an economy. Second, pity about the no gun fights thing on the subway. It would be nice to have a game where if you jumped off of the subway you'd take excessive damage (probably die) and have a great gunfight on the moving train.
Q: It mentions in the FAQ that you can fight underwater - will there be nifty places to explore underwater as well? Will using certain types of weapons underwater be less effective, not work at all or even have determental effects on the user (ie like trying to fire a pistol underwater with your head underwater)?
Gampleywise water has more of a decorative function right now, I'm afraid. After all this is not Seaquest Online. :) You never know what might be added later though...
Q: 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 nervious masses?
The content issue is very important for us. We definitely plan on delivering as much game content as possible and I think we can at least come up with as much as our competitors did. Our personal aim is to do better, of course.
Q: From reading the FAQ I noticed that when you die (or PK someone) only items from the 'quickbelt' will be able to be looted. In EQ, only worn (as opposed to inventory) items could be looted in PvP. As a result, people would hastly unequip items from their person and stuff them into their inventory when they thought they were going to die. Anything to prevent people from unequipping things from their 'quick belt' if the situtation looks grim?
Not right now, we will have to wait and see if this becomes an issue in Neocron. Quickbelt items are only lootable if you have had your LAW Enforcer chip deimplanted, by the way. (Logan note: Fair enough) And in my opinion an experienced PvPer will have a hard time deciding in the fraction of a second, 'Should mak a last try to defeat my opponent or should I try to move all my stuff into my inventory?', since in such a situation a fraction of a second will matter much for the outcome of the duel.
![Display full image](gallery/69/Screenshots/tn_SHOT003_DRAGONFIGHT.jpg) | Q: From the FAQ: "Will some weapons be player crafted? Yes, a lot of the cooler objects need to be constructed and some of their 'ingredients' are to be obtained by questing." - In DAOC they had said (prior to release) that the best items of the game could only be made by crafters. In reality they meant 'eventually, crafters would be able to make the best items'. In Neocron, at release - will the best things only be able to be made by crafters? How many different types of crafts will there be? Will one person be able to master all of the crafts?
If you mean "the best" as in "the best regular items" (as opposed to "unique or rare items") then yes, only crafters will be able to make those in Neocron. The items you find on monsters and can buy at NPC vendors do their job, mostly, but player made items are just so much more effective.
Logan: not as good of an answer here. I'd love to find a game that got rid of the NPC vendors entirely. In DAOC, PC crafters make goods that are 90-100% quality. NPC vendors sell stuff that is 85% quality. The 5% difference is simply not worth the trouble to go and find a vendor, do a trade, etc. Also, it cuts any possible profit to the artificial level determined by the NPC merchant. Logan sad.
Q: From the FAQ: "What is Neo-Frag? NeoFrag is non-lethal combat system available in Neocron through arenas in Pepper Park. Playing NeoFrag costs money, but the great thing is while you cannot get killed, lose skills or items on you, you can gain experience when you win. Killing other players while playing NeoFrag does not affect your SoulLight." - Any plans on televising matches within Neocron so that we can watch our favorite gladiators on the big screen?
Not at the moment.
Q: One problem that seems to consistantly plague new games coming out is the 'we didn't expect this many people' syndrome. How will Neocron handle this? How many people are they expecting to jump on the servers for the initial release? How many do you think you can handle if (when) the number of players wildly exceeds your initial expectations? Will all the players be funneled through a single 'log in server' or some such?
We want to optimize the server software to the extent that it can handle about 2000 people simultaneously online. Many companies whose games had the above 'syndrome' (right now I can only think of two anyway) aimed for much higher (and, considering that they use TCP/IP, highly unrealistic, in my opinion) numbers.
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