Well, I was watching out for AoC really, CoS was flying way under my radar for some reason, but I gotta say the recent and not so recent stuff that I have now seen really excites me. The game seems well paced without sacrificing substance and I love the CoHish style character customisation/ advancement philosophy. Very nicely adapted to a fantasy MMO.

I am liking the way that crafting seems to be enough to stimulate involvement, trade and the like, but not so deep that it bores you silly... Again, I am seeing a superficial CoH influence here, but nothing wrong with taking the best from whats around you. Building these elements, plus the dynamic combat style, onto a well proven fantasy base seems to be working for this game.

CoS seems to be running where LotR stumbled for me and proves to my eyes at least what a wasted opportunity that game was in it's pedestrian MMO-by-numbers blandness. LotR just lacked the inspiration and passion that seems to make CoS fly.

Of course, I also personally love the Fablesque visuals and the art style is right up my street. AoC seems so dour and serious (while at the same time seeming like a l337 magnet for 14 year olds...) and WAR seems so... again, juvenile, after watching the inspiring high fantasy style of CoS. I realise this is all subjective according to taste, but something here just appeals to me. Plus these guys are Dutch right? Believe me, thats a good sign :)

It's really brave launching an original IP versus the existing and upcoming giants in this market rright now and maybe, like sooo many times before, I will be let down by the finished product, but I am really looking forward to trying this out.

/officially nails his flag to the CoS pole.

Just a quick question though... Are there any future plans for true flight in this game?

Excellent, another convert! Welcome aboard!

As for your question, I haven't really heard much about that. There is some indication that you may be able to get a flying dragon mount, but I'm not really sure if it will really let you fly around within the shards. The areas in the game are built to be very easy to get around, so flight wouldn't really be necessary. If they do add any form of flight, it will likely take place in the deadspell storm. But really, right now all we can do is guess, so the answer to your question is a definate maybe.

Tell me about it!! I used to be conivnced AoC was going to be my game after WAR but after watching the video's and reading the developer's journals i have a sneaky suspicion this could be a surprise hit and one that i shall surely play. Just need to find a good guild so i can get invovled more

Now how could I resist this opportunity for some shameless self advertising!? 

Guild Forums >  http://www.maelseekers.co.uk/phpBB2/

I run the Maelseekers Guild, a Chronicles of Spellborn guild with members mostly from North America and Europe. We are RP friendly (meaning we support roleplaying, but it isn't mandatory) and focus mostly on the exploration aspect of the game. Of course, we will still be involved in other things, (I myself am determined to get a statue from the arena) but our main goal is to go where no man, woman or Daevi have gone before, to seek out new shards and adventures, to peel back the very boundires of the known world! And, of course, have fun. If you're interested, you can check out our forums through the link above.

My interest has been kindled... is there some way to see what this is all about?  I'm going to start looking in on it more, but anywhere anyone can point for info or, better yet, a trial version?

Sadly, there is no trial version, as the game will not be relased until Q4 2007, probably November or December.

However, you can check out the website here: http://www.tcos.com/

It's filled with a whole bunch of useful information, and if you browse the forums for a bit, you should be able to find out everything you need. I highly reccomend that you have a look at the developer journals and videos from the Leipzig Gaming Convention. There's a very good video on this site as well that covers most of the basics, but it's pretty long. It's worth it though.

You can find the video here.

 I hope all that helps.

This is a title I've been waiting for as well (I guess it's the whole fantasy apocalyptic storyline that got my interest).  I applied for a beta slot but nothing ever happen for me. Anyways, I might be wrong but I though they said on the latest video, that the game would be release in Europe first, then the US. Is that true?

Yes, it is most likely that Europe will get the game first, us people in North America might have to wait until Q1 2008. It's a matter of how quickly they can find an North  American publisher that they are comfortable with. If they get one soon enough, we might see a simultanious release.

It really is a terrible tragedy, but you can always import the game and play on the European servers if you can handle the lag.

Ah, cool.  I shall check it out!  Thanks!

Originally posted by mlorriman

Yes, it is most likely that Europe will get the game first, us people in North America might have to wait until Q1 2008. It's a matter of how quickly they can find an North  American publisher that they are comfortable with. If they get one soon enough, we might see a simultanious release.

It really is a terrible tragedy, but you can always import the game and play on the European servers if you can handle the lag.

Well, I guess Europeans have had to wait for American released games, so I guess it's fair for us to wait for once. It's a shame though.

I must admit it myself now....im also a convert

I remember reading about it last winter, but then it was just another future "to be relesed" MMO.

Now i understand how good this game really is. Hope to see you all later ingame.

Any guilds?

Originally posted by mlorriman

Excellent, another convert! Welcome aboard!

As for your question, I haven't really heard much about that. There is some indication that you may be able to get a flying dragon mount, but I'm not really sure if it will really let you fly around within the shards. The areas in the game are built to be very easy to get around, so flight wouldn't really be necessary. If they do add any form of flight, it will likely take place in the deadspell storm. But really, right now all we can do is guess, so the answer to your question is a definate maybe.

To add too what molorriman has said. He is right when players are allowed to use mounts of any kind it will not be used as just a means of faster travel. Thats one of the reasons mounts are not on the devs must do before release list. The areas are built to have less empty space there other mmorpgs. Also another reason why mounts will come after release is because the devs want them to have a real purpose not just to gameplay but to lore. Thats where the Deadspell comes in. gameplay and lore wise players will be spending a good bit of time in there. This is where flying mounts and maybe even player owned shardships will come into play. Which could open the door to all kinds of new features both pve and pvp.

The sleeping giant is awake...now time for the US Publishers to wake up!  Release this puppy in 07' and watch your $$$$ grow.

Originally posted by mlorriman

Sadly, there is no trial version, as the game will not be relased until Q4 2007, probably November or December.

However, you can check out the website here: http://www.tcos.com/

It's filled with a whole bunch of useful information, and if you browse the forums for a bit, you should be able to find out everything you need. I highly reccomend that you have a look at the developer journals and videos from the Leipzig Gaming Convention. There's a very good video on this site as well that covers most of the basics, but it's pretty long. It's worth it though.

You can find the video here.

 I hope all that helps.

Great video, that has really sold me on this game - It's been a long time since I've seen any media for Spellborn, and it seems to have really come together nice. Absolutely love the art style of the game, and the character creation looks to have a ton of freedom, almost CoH style.

So I haven't looked into this game at all, but after watching that video, I think I'll be giving this one a spin.

Count me in