Path to Zenrai Interview

Part 2

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?

Michael: Vehicles will be completely separate from the players and they be player controlled in direction and speed as well. We have a wide variety of mounts for players, some that even have the ability to fly.

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

Michael: Yes and Yes provided they have the needed skills.

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

Michael: Absolutely, for example while mounted on a flying mount you can do battle with enemies that are also airborne and attack things on the ground although your skill is greatly reduced when doing so.

RPGDot: Will you have item degradation?

Michael: Yes, we will have item degradation to help further stimulate the in-game economy.

RPGDot: Will you have areas in your world which are extraordinary? IE - Dreamscapes, floating castles, etc [Clive Barker's Undying had some interesting ones if you've ever played that.]?

Michael: Personally I can't say any one place is more special than the other seeing as I've designed the* *entire world, I can say that some of the truly special places in the game are there for a purpose and aren't useless. For example I hear the lone mountain on Hyouden Island (which is covered by a never ending blizzard) has some special things about it ;)

RPGDot: What excites you about playing this game?

RPGDot: What other on-line games do you or have you played? What excites you about those games that you have/had played?

Michael: I've played most of the online games to find out what I like and what I don't like so I can accurately put into Zenrai what is good while leaving the worthless crap out of it. I have to say that mythic did a good job with DAoC but the problem is (as is with most online games) to keep it from getting repetitive and boring, something we have spent very long and hard hours to make Zenrai not become.

RPGDot: What are the death penalties? Will you lose skills? Items?

Michael: That all depends on you really, in the underworld you will be given 3 choices. Each a quests one easy, medium, and hard and depending on which quest you choose you will regain life upon completion of the quest with different penalties depending on which quest you chose.

RPGDot: What is your favorite aspect of your game?

Michael: The Building system without a doubt.

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

Michael: The long development ;)

RPGDot: What features will be coded into the game to allow guilds to be more than just 'glorified chat channels'?

Michael: There will be many in game features for clans, allowing them to gain poloticial power, pick emblems, and a wide variety of different features especially for clans.

RPGDot: How will long distance travel work?

Michael: You will have to ride a mount or walk, there will be no instant teleportation over long distances.

RPGDot: Will terrain affect my battles and movement beyond what has been done in other MMOLG's? [Example: Mountains being 'movement prohibited' and water that must be swum.]

Michael: Here's an example, you are a warrior and you on a beach when an archer on a hill attacks you, you try to run but the sand from the beach hurts your speed so you can't get away fast enough and die.

RPGDot: From the FAQ: "Will I be able to build houses? Yes, you will not only be able to build houses but customize the exterior and layout." Are you using the 'Lego' building block style or is it more of a menu of what is available? Like style one, style two, etc?

Michael: When a player decides that they wise to build a structure they first must find a spot where they wise to build. When they choose a location they then must travel to a town and get a prospector. Then they must travel to the location they chose with the prospector. When they arrive the player right clicks the prospector and the camera is zoomed out to an RTS (Age of Empires, Warcraft III type) type view of the area. The player then clicks and drags a square as big as they want for the plot of land. After they have finished selected how big the plot is they are given a list of building types such as Tavern, Home, Palace, and ECT. They select the type of building they want and a list of pieces comes up such as corner A, B or C or Roof A or Wall C. They then select what pieces they want to place where and how many, being confined to the space they chose for earlier. They can combine pieces next to each other, and can also stack them for more layers. Players can also choose from a list of pre-made establishments. Once the exterior of the building is made the player then chooses doors and windows and where to place them. After that they pick colors and signs. Once the exterior is completed and they select done they are taken to the interior. This is handled the same as exterior with Hallways, doors, and bars, ECT. (Furniture and decorations not included) Once the interior is complete the character is taken back to character view, but their home is not built yet. The prospector will inform them how much the land cost, if any, and then will sell them the blueprints of their home. The player then can choose a few options, to hire builders and to buy the required supplies. Players can choose to buy supplies and not hire builders and can hire builders and not buy supplies (Note: different supplies will be needed to build different types of buildings)

RPGDot: Will there be on going maintance costs required to upkeep buildings?

Michael: No, Buildings will not require ongoing maintance unless damaged and in need of repair due to the fact buildings are not exactly cheap, or easy to obtain.

RPGDot: In your FAQ you mention weather. Weather is a pretty standard thing in modern MMOLG's. My question - will weather actually matter aside from limiting vision? Will snow accumulate? Make the ground a bit slippery? Etc?

Michael: Well for one it will effect your character in many different ways, snow can make you freeze to death, heat can make your character too hot and die of heat stroke, lightning can strike you, and fire can burn you. Those sort of things :)

RPGDot: From the FAQ: "Will there be any safe zones or guarded areas for new players? No, but there will be harsh consequences for killing new players." Can we have an example? Are they talking about banning people for killing new players?

Michael:The harsh consequences is The Enforcer I mentioned earlier, and I wouldn't recommend attacking him either :)

RPGDot: From the FAQ: "Will I be able to macro? No." Here is a different question - "In order to build my skills will I have to perform any dull repetitive action that will make me want to macro?

Michael:No

RPGDot: From the FAQ: "Will there be massive in-game guild support? Yes, there will be massive in-game support for guilds and clans." Can we have a couple of examples?

Michael:Guilds can establish official ranks, purchase emblems from an NPC and then put that emblem on just about anything, and establish control of a city, stronghold, or village.

RPGDot: From the FAQ: "Will my Character age? No, characters will not age although things will happen to your character the longer they are online." Like what? Missing limbs? Scars? White hair?

Michael:Well some will grow, obtain scars, and we even hope to make them gain and loose weight although were not sure if we can do it just yet.

RPGDot: From the FAQ: "Does a GM have special abilities? No, besides moving quickly to a spot flagged for gm help and talking to people from far distances." Are these GM's equivalent to 'guides' within other games? What happens if the players become unhappy with a 'GM' and kill him? Will there also be 'GM's' who work for the company itself? What title will they hold?

Michael:GM's will indeed be guides and aid in basic customer service for players, there will also be a GM team that is officially hired by TMD and they will be called the senior GM's. No GM's can be killed while in GM mode.

RPGDot: Will housing be able to be built 'anywhere' or are there predetermined sites one must build on? Will housing be in the regular world or in a separate zone?

Michael:You can build anywhere the terrain permit

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?

Michael:The Path to Zenrai will be so immersive you won't ever have to play another Online game.

RPGDot: What do you consider the most important lessons you've learned, both as gamers and as developers, from other online games you've played?

Michael:To make the game for the public and not for the profits.

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?

Michael:Engine building/licensing without a doubt, it's the reason most games end up going vapourware.

RPGDot: Any additional comments you would like to add?

Michael:We are always taking comments and suggestions on our forums and look forward to talking with people as more and more of you become interested in the game.

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