General Discussion

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.