Face of Mankind Interview

Part 2

RPGDot: Will you support vehicles that players can control?

Marko: We are still thinking about the decision to let players pilot vehicles. So it is not possible to tell you anything exact at this moment.

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

Marko: No.

RPGDot: Will you have item degridation?

Marko: As this is an important topic in an economic cycle, it will find some place in Face of Mankind. We plan to implement making old and often used weapons and items less effective than newer ones.

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

Marko: There are special places that only play a role for the story. There is a large space station and a moving space cruiser you may enter if you are a member of specific organisations.

RPGDot: What excites you about playing this game?
What is your favorite aspect of your game?
Aside from colonies, what would you say the major differences are between this game and the upcoming Neocron?
What do you believe the biggest enticement(s) of your game will be over other MMOLG's in this genre (AO, Neocron, etc)? [IE what will make people choose this game over another in the same genre?]

Marko: Face of Mankind has truly unique features for a massively multiplayer game. We did a lot of fine-tuning already in existing massively multiplayer gameplay elements, like the complex and realistic ranking structure and the fact that only your real abilities will influence your rank level. But the most unique feature is the comprehensive economic system behind the world of Face of Mankind. The economic system will influence all the game elements and even the story itself. This brings a lot more new features into this genre and combines tactical and strategic gaming elements with campaigns and combats.
Face of Mankind addresses those players who want to experience a new level of role-playing. We would like to call it "story role-playing" (SRPG). The game offers many opportunities to play different gaming elements and a change from fighting to economic strategy if the player wishes. Rising within the rank structure offers so far unknown tactical gameplay. Leaders have to take care over their crowd and their tactical knowledge will directly influence any mission results.
The game has an ever-evolving plot that changes as the players do, and so it always feels like you are a part of something.

RPGDot: I am generally excited about online games, especially massively multiplayer online games. I like the potential of player communication, competition and cooperation. But I never found a game that really excited me in all its aspects. Mainly the gameplay and the interface upset me. This was one of the main reasons why the Face of Mankind project was founded.

RPGDot: Will there be static spawns? Static loot?

Marko: There are no static item spawning points. Even the spawn points of the NPC´s won´t be the same, they are constantly changing.

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

Marko: Well, you will not believe me, but the sole negative aspect is that Face of Mankind is not yet out. But this is only a matter of time now.

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

Marko: Nothing. The most important topic in Face of Mankind is being part of an epic story, but aside from organisation memberships, it is also possible for players to group themselves. This is no official gameplay element, but we will not forbid players to build their own clans in addition to their organisation memberships. Game friendships and alliances are always welcome and make the game a more humane experience.

RPGDot: How will long distance travel work?

Marko: Traveling is possible with Vortex Gates in Face of Mankind. All these gates are connected to each other and all places are reachable from every gate. The player will have to choose his or her destination and confirm the price for the travel.
Positions of friends or teammates can be found easily. You can check this in your ComLog, an all-round tool in the game for messaging, banking and information exchange.

RPGDot: In some upcoming MMOLG's, they have a toggle one must use if one wishes to exit 'combat mode' for such things as talking, crafting, etc that makes the interface rather awkward. Will Mankind have this? What sort of modifications can be made on the interface? [Will one be able to choose between a fixed point mouse or a 'hold right click' to move the viewpoint ala Everquest?]

Marko: There will definitely be no toggle to start or exit combat mode. It is your fault if you are typing in action and do not concentrate on your fights. From this point of view Face of Mankind is quite realistic.
The interface will have two different kinds to use the mouse - Normal mode and controlling mode. In normal mode the mouse is always used as free-look to change your view and rotation and to fire weapons. When using a terminal like Face of Mankind's Market Terminals, Production Terminals or the Vortex Gates the mouse cursor will be shown to control the buttons and windows. You may exit very easily using the Escape key to return to normal mode.

RPGDot: From your web page: "...will present you a world of 5 huge cities on earth and several distant colonies in outer space. As a player you are part of an epic evolving storyline." In addition to the 'Vortex Gates' will players be able to ride a space ship up to the colonies?

Marko: Piloting a space ship to the colonies is not possible, but there will be special areas to visit like space stations and a huge space cruiser.

RPGDot: What are the death penalties? Will you lose experience? Skills? Items?
From your web page: "If a player is killed, he begins either the game from the start and has nothing then or can reproduce himself." Will this be like Anarchy Online where one goes to a 'save character' booth and pays credits to 'save'?
From the web page: "In both cases it will last at least 3 days." I have no idea what this means - it is in the part about character death.

Marko: Comparable. Actually, we are still thinking about the character death. We had very comprehensive thoughts about the death of a character. Our goal is to make death an experience to avoid. We want to increase suspense in missions and thus death should be feared by everyone, just like in real life. The actual status is the following:
If your character dies you will loose everything that you carried in your bag. Your bag-size is limited, so you will not loose everything you possess.
Re-spawning is only possible if a gene image was taken from your body before. How this will be done is not yet fixed exactly. This gene image reflects the status of your installed implants, health and protection power. If you die you will be re-spawned in your flat after a recreation time. Within this time it is not possible for the player to enter the world. We are still thinking about the recreation time and will keep this topic for beta-testing.

RPGDot: From the web page: "Anyway, senseless slaughtering is prevented." In what way is 'senseless slaughtering' prevented by either starting from scratch or the ability to 'save'?

Marko: Senseless slaughtering is not only prevented by the way we plan to realize the player's death, but more by the way we have implemented combat and PvP into Face of Mankind.

Slaughtering or extreme PvP in MMORPG´s mostly is the result of too mighty characters, or even players who just want to kill someone in such a virtual world.
Face of Mankind is NOT skill based in the usual sense as we know from other MMORPG´s. You can´t hide yourself behind a mighty skilled character who is able to fight everyone easily. To beat someone you will need your real abilities, must be good and fast.
Also, death is punished more than in other games, explained in the answer before.
So, a player who is just running around and killing people will very soon be a victim, watching the scene from the opponent side.
Additionally there will be our L.E.D., the Law Enforcement Department to bring justice on the streets. Slaughter or murder is just seen as being a "normal" part of the street life. And in this way it is handled like all other illegal acts.

RPGDot: From the web page: "The player can trade with everything having a value, because a money exchange is possible all the time." I don't know what this means. Does it mean "Characters will have a secured trade window available" or does it mean "Characters can sell things to NPC's to get money" or does it mean "Characters can take any item they are holding and convert it to money without the assistance of NPC's?"

Marko: No, it simply means that players may trade with each other all the time. If you want to sell something to another player this is allowed, because an exchange of items and money transfer is always possible.

RPGDot: From the web page: "The illegal component makes the game more complex and more exciting." In what way? How would NPC's or PC's be able to tell if a PC is carrying something 'illegal'?

Marko: Illegal game components always provide more conflicts players need to solve. NPC's and PC's are not able to see if someone is carrying drugs, but there are police forces and intelligence institutions that could act undercover. Law Enforcers of the L.E.D. could organize an undercover mission to find out who is trading with drugs. That is what I meant makes the game more complex and offers exciting role-playing.

RPGDot: From the web page: "The player can change the clothes if he carries them in his bag. The carrying of objects is limited and depends on the size of the bag. Movement speed is thereby limited, too." Will players have access to banking facilities? If so, will the banks all be magically connected or will I have unconnected accounts? (By that I mean if I put a laser rifle in a bank on Earth will I be able to take it out from the bank while I am on a colony?)
Will it be possible to rent extra bank space?

Marko: You will keep the items you are not carrying with you in your own flat. This is reachable from all Vortex Gates around. There will not be any bank terminals to keep your items like known from other MMORPG's. There is a limit to this, but I cannot give you an exact value at this development stage. I guess you won´t be able to blow up the capacity.

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 nervious masses?

Marko: Well, Face of Mankind is full of content. There are loads of storylines and dynamic content to offer players a huge variety of roleplaying possibilities.
Like told before, Face of Mankind is more an SRPG (story roleplaying game). Each organisation will have its own storyline and campaigns that change or renew every week. Campaign leaders and even usual mission team members will influence these storylines with their acting.

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?

Marko: The most difficult task is to always find the right compromises. Making games is always about finding compromises. Sometimes you have to find a way around possible difficulties. Designing a massively multiplayer game has to do with a lot of technical knowledge and experience. You must be aware that everything can happen, and you have to be prepared for these.

RPGDot: Any additional comments you would like to add?

Marko: Creating a MMORPG like Face of Mankind is an exciting area to be working in. We feel strongly that it will be one of the key games that truly implement players into an epic storyline. Finally, we would like to thank RPGDOT for giving us the opportunity to tell their readers a little more about our title.

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