News Manager Keith Cross recently had the opportunity to get his first look at the upcoming MMORPG, The Chronicles of Spellborn and shares his thoughts on the new game's combat, equipment, death penalty and more.

At this year’s GDC, I finally had the chance to take a look at The Chronicles of Spellborn. Ever since last year, when Managing Editor Jon Wood went to the Netherlands to tour the Spellborn studios, he’s been telling me I need to see this game in action. One reason Jon encouraged me to see this game is because it’s one of those games that doesn’t get a lot of attention compared to other MMOs of its calibre. Spellborn is nowhere near as hyped and publicized as other triple A games that are currently in development. The other reason Jon has been bugging me to see this game is because it’s full of innovation. There isn’t really one big innovative game mechanic, or revolutionary idea in Spellborn, but more of a collection of small improvements and tweaks to the standard quest based MMORPG model that look like they add up to something special.

Read it all here.

I've always been very interested in this game, any news on a U.S. release date and/or publisher?

Last I heard they didn't have immediate plans to release in the U.S. at the same time as Europe...

Any updates on that?

But from everything I have read on their website, including their absolutely fantastic behind-the-scenes developer journals, these guys really seem to know what is going on. They understand all aspects of the MMO and communicate this and their desires for innovation and creativity, instead of merely following convention.... And more importantly, not innovating for the sake of innovation, but only changing what needs to be changed...

Other games are changing basic MMO mechanics and calling it "innovation" but really it's just a marketing tool to say "Hey we are doing this different! Buy our game!"

I do hope this game is the sleeper hit many of us want it to be, and I hope it's released in the U.S. too so I can hop in and start playing!

I still think this game will beat AoC and WAR in so many aspects. Personally I think this and Aion will be the games of 2008.

Originally posted by daemon

I still think this game will beat AoC and WAR in so many aspects. Personally I think this and Aion will be the games of 2008.

I actually think the opposite thought for the exact same reasons you probably do. Both Aion and Spellborn are esoteric, high concept games. I don't think they will appeal to the average gamer or at least to a large portion of the average gamer. Part of this is the art design as well.

I do however think that both spellborn and Aion will be good games and have a loyal following.

I know for sure that this game will be the PvP game to beat for some years to come. (eventough it will be mostly PvE based) While its great deep lore and quests will sattisfy another part of the population.

But best about this game, is its fresh ideas and combat engine. For the first time people will not feel like playing another MMORPG, but they will feel like playing a fresh game,  I think that many old time MMORPGérs that like action paced games will end up with this game.

While I was not that excited about COH's enhancement system I do think this one will be very intriguing .. especially the ancestral mage with multiple pets following him or her around .. pretty neat ..

"Full of innovation"?  Really?  *thumbs through dictionary*

Innovation:  the introduction of something new

Let's see ...

Character generation similar to CoH.  Check.

Clothing has no effect on stats, as in CoH.  Check.

Enhancement system copied from CoH.  Check.

Manually dodging attacks, as in DDO.  Check.

Crosshairs for targeting, as in Tabula Rasa.  Check.

Combos with starting moves and finishing moves, as in Vanguard for god's sake.  Check.

Cylinder thingy ... hm, I guess that's new.  This game is chock full of (one) innovation!

Don't get me wrong -- I fully support the the elements they stole from CoH.  I wish more games would go that direction.  But please let's not use the buzzword "innovative" where it clearly doesn't apply.

Copying good elements from successful games is smart, but it is NOT innovative.

(P.S,  To the MMORPG.com staff:  PLEASE learn to use spell-check.  It's not that hard!)

No reason to split hairs. Either you are attracted to the game style or you aren't. There's only so much innovation that can be added and each game that adds even one that is liked, adds to further enjoyment of the MMO. I suppose I'm greatly attracted to the art style and eagerly have been waiting, hoping Spellborn didn't turn into vaporware as so many other games did last year.

Thing is ... there is not much room left for innovation.

Trick is ... combining all good aspects from the different games into one.

Catch is ... everyone has a different taste and a different perspective about what is good/fun.

Anyways .. I'm eagerly looking forward to this one ...

Originally posted by Lord.Bachus

I know for sure that this game will be the PvP game to beat for some years to come.

I need a reason to PvP (like PlanetSide's empire-based territorial control system) not just mindless killing to prove who's got the biggest....

No. It is not just arena based, however that  is a big part. Certain areas of the world, like the most desired mining locations, will be open PvP.

I'm interested in this game.  It seems just a bit different than your average MMO.  Sure I'm looking forward to and will probably play War and AoC (barring a major upset), but this is looking promising as well.

I probably won't play this if it even releases in the U.S.

With that said, I like the direction it sounds like they are going. If it holds up after release I might give it a shot 6 months or so after it comes out.

I like the way they seem to be working skills and such, and the costume design/non gear dependent route sounds kind of cool.

We'll have to see if reality holds up to concept though, just as with any other game.

I wish them the best of luck! We need more good games out there.

D.

 Ive been following Spellborn for a while, and it just keeps looking better.  I will play this when it launches to give it a shot. Somehow I do not think ill be disappointed.

<blockquote><i>Originally posted by raykor</i>
<br><b><p><blockquote><em>Originally posted by Lord.Bachus</em> <br />
<strong>
<p>I know for sure that this game will be the PvP game to beat for some years to come.</p>
</strong></blockquote><br />
Correct me if I'm wrong (oh please let me be wrong) but isn't the PvP in this game almost exclusively arena-styled encounters?  If so, that just doesn't appeal to me.</p>
<p>I need a reason to PvP (like PlanetSide's empire-based territorial control system) not just mindless killing to prove who's got the biggest....<img src="http://images.mmorpg.com/images/emoticons/emt2_banana.gif" alt="" /></p></b></blockquote>
<br>
There will be outdoor pvp zones as well (where fighting most likely will be for resources). Another features that has been announced (though it won't be added until some time after release) is shard conquest.

Basically, when a new shard is discovered, guilds can fight for ownership over it. What they have explained is that conquering shards will be done by getting resources from some points in the shard and moving them back to the point where you entered the shard. There will be certain key points on the shards that your guild has to control if you want to pass them.

From what I understand this feature has been moved back until past release because the devs were not happy with the reset system that they had (I think that originally each shard would reset once a month) and because the shard conquest is targetted at max level players so it would be useless until there were enough players to compete.

I have been "following" the game and I'm really keen to play it. I'ver signed up for beta but wasn't lucky, since I had a laptop at the time (weak GPU) and I can't change those details now.

If they get the gameplay right, and everything indicates they will, with skill >> gear, then this will probably be the game that captivates me. I'd love to know when it's coming out...

The things I like:

-You can look however you want, your appearence (equipment) has no factor on your characters power. Mages can wear plate, tanks can wear cloth, etc.

-Action packed combat. Manual dodging and aiming, but not button mashing or true FPS combat. The Skill wheel thing is such a good idea...

-No death penalty, but buff for staying alive. It's called "positive reinforcement" and in my humble opinion, is a much more of a motivating factor then DP.

-Focus on story and setting. What game doesn't benefit from having good lore?

-Interesting and "outside the box" classes. Everyone is able to dish damage, heal in some form, and be defensive / supportive if they so choose.

-Many annoyances thrown out. "Junk loot" from mobs can be broken down and sold straight from your inventory, no running back to town to sell the junk from your inventory.

-many more I can't think of at this moment

Things I dont like:

-No confirmed U.S. publisher or date! AHH

-Not sure how PvP will work out... could be bunny hopping / mountain dew fest craziness.. which could be good or bad, just have to wait and see

Tbh the video and world looks quite boring. The fight seems uninspired to me. Maybe its my tremendous age, but this running and dodging... no thank you. And the world seems quite lifeless to me, somehow. Something I will most certainly pass.

Originally posted by Elikal

Tbh the video and world looks quite boring. The fight seems uninspired to me. Maybe its my tremendous age, but this running and dodging... no thank you. And the world seems quite lifeless to me, somehow. Something I will most certainly pass.

To each his/her own. I prefer a wait and see attitude. There is much appeal in this game for some people, not for all of course. So many comments are off the mark. People tend to think only their opinions are important.