TERA has recently been unveiled and there is already quite some hype surrounding it.

Information about the game is hard to get and it's all spread around the internet. By making this thread I hope to inform you a bit more about TERA and hopefully get you a bit excited about the game.

- What is TERA?

TERA is a game that was previously known as project S1. It's a very ambitious Korean mmorpg that is currently under development by Bluehole studio. TERA stands for The Exiled Realm of Arborea.

- What is Bluehole studio?

Bluehole studio is a studio found in 2007 by Byung-Gyu Chang and former core members of NCsoft including the Lead game designer, producer, Lead game programmer and Lead Art Director of Lineage 2, a game which at one point had over 3 million subscribers.

- What makes TERA differ from other MMORPG's?

Information is still hard to come by, but there are already some things that are known about TERA. The most obvious aspect is the way TERA handles combat. TERA is an action mmorpg. This is not an mmorpg where you will click on the enemy player and hit the 1 - 2 - 3 key. You will have to aim your attack. If you miss, you miss. Likewise, you won't be able to just hit the "taunt" skill key and expect a monster to attack you. Tank character will have to stand in front of fragile classes to protect them from enemy attack.

You can find more about this here:
www.youtube.com/watch

and here:
www.youtube.com/watch

- How big will the game world be?

While we don't have any hard facts avaible, there is reason to believe the game world will be enormous.

To quote the developers website:

"MMORPG is a game enjoyed simultaneously by numerous players. For long-term enjoyment, initial content volume must be augmented on a timely basis. TERA will appeal to end-users seeking continuous content support without the sacrifice of high quality graphics. Even after a week… a month… a year… the game will pull the player deeper to the virtual world.

The goal is to achieve the world's highest concurrent user load per server!
Players in TERA will not only experience battles with higher concurrent users, but also encounter a revolutionized interaction system for political and economic professions. TERA will offer a stable, non-disruptive in-game social life."

There won't be any zoning, players will be able to move through the world seamlessly.

- A more detailed describtion of combat

As I already mentioned, the games battles are real time and player skill plays a huge role. You will have to aim your attack and dodge enemy attack. The game will introduce Omni direction attacks. Distance and direction must be coordinated for weapons and spells to work. Healers must also continue to find new battle positions to cast their spells. Also, depending on body weight ratio between a mob and player, an enemy hit will register a fall-back reflect. There won't be any targetting. Also interesting to note is that it seems healing is done primarily through Area of effect spells.

According to Bluehole this is just the tip of the iceberg and more information about the combat system will be released later.

- What is known about PVE?

Not much yet. So far we know there are boss fights, as can be seen here

Bossfight:
www.youtube.com/watch

- What is known about PVP?

Nothing.

- What about the visuals?

TERA is one of the most visually impressive mmorpg's announced thus far. Not very surprising, the game runs on the Unreal 3 engine. The team has had a huge amount of experience with the Unreal engine due to the fact Lineage 2 used the Unreal 2 engine. Whether you like Lineage 2 or not, Lineage 2 was one of the most impressive games from a visual standpoint when it was released in 2003.  It was able to put litterly hundreds of characters on screen at once and still look stunning.

Some screenshots of Tera:













- What races are there?
 While the names of these races are still unknown, there seems to be a human race, a big bulky race that look a bit like the Galke from FFXI, a small bear like race and what seems to be an elvish like race.

- What classes are there?
I have no solid information on this but from what we can see of the videos there are warrior tank like classes, melee damage dealing classes, healers and ranged magic damage dealers

- Will there be a western release?
While a western release remains unconfirmed, there is enough reason to believe this game will be released in the west. To quote the Bluehole website:

"Bluehole Studio's vision is to become the preeminent MMORPG developer in the global market.
At the heart of Bluehole's mission is to create a world-wide blockbuster MMORPG.
To accomplish its goal, Bluehole started with an intense focus to acquire the core strengths of a preeminent MMORPG developer.
From early on, the company attracted the most prominent of industry professionals that shared the vision to create the next flagship MMORPG for the global market.
Bluehole is firmly established with pioneers and innovators in the MMORPG industry to creat a globally renowned game."

- Other notes
It's important to keep in mind this is still a work in progress. The UI is still very rough looking and there will probably be more information on the different kind of classes. The game has been in development for 2 years, with 100 people working on it and a budget that, according to bluehole's website:"The projected budget and human resource requirements exceeded industry norms."

The official gameplay trailer:
www.youtube.com/watch
Note: make sure you click on "Watch in HD" to get the best quality.

If you have any more information about this game, feel free to post it here and i'll add it to the OP.

- Links

Bluehole studio website (English): bluehole.net/eng/index.html
Tera Online website (Korean): tera.hangame.com/

Another asian item shop grinder?

Originally posted by RedwoodSap

Another asian item shop grinder?

Nope.

Originally posted by Gameloading

Originally posted by RedwoodSap

Another asian item shop grinder?

 

Nope.

So it's a subscription game, no microtransactions?

Originally posted by RedwoodSap

Originally posted by Gameloading

Originally posted by RedwoodSap

Another asian item shop grinder?

 

Nope.

 

So it's a subscription game, no microtransactions?

While it's not confirmed yet, big budget high profile mmorpg's such as Aion, Blade & Soul, Lineage 2 and TERA are usually subscribtion games.

No payment plan has been confirmed but expect this game to have a monthly fee.
 

Yet ANOTHER! Cut-N-Paste Asian grinder - seen it all before, they are all copies of each other, they all play the same, look the same and even sound the same.

Big pile of souless crap in a shiny box.

Why are the weapons in asian games always oversized? Does it have something to do with an asian male stereotype?

Originally posted by RedwoodSap

Why are the weapons in asian games always oversized? Does it have something to do with an asian male stereotype?

My cousin married an asian man and she said that yes in fact the stereotypes are true. But she also said she has dated alot of Americans that fit the same profile haha.

Never said anything bad about the Brit she dated though.

Originally posted by RedwoodSap

Why are the weapons in asian games always oversized? Does it have something to do with an asian male stereotype?

Ofcourse not, the only reason it's done is for aesthetic reasons. Big swords simply look cool, that's the only reason.

Originally posted by Vortigon

Yet ANOTHER! Cut-N-Paste Asian grinder - seen it all before, they are all copies of each other, they all play the same, look the same and even sound the same.

Big pile of souless crap in a shiny box.

Why do you even bother replying if you're not even going to read the post and watch the videos? The vast majority of asian games don't have action paced gameplay like that.

You can't possibly be enjoying life with such an ignorant, close minded way of thinking.

What I have a problem with, is people that take a glancing look at a title, and sum it up with bias. They did/are doing it with Aion, and now with TERA. There is no excuse with people saying such things as "just another asian grinder/ itemshop FTL" type comments with Aion as there is plenty of information available to bluntly say that those people are full of it.

However with TERA, the game is barely just poking its head on the radar, and people are already spouting bias without there being any information either way. Just because it is asian, doesn't mean it will always be "a lame itemshop/ grinder". Did Lineage 2 have an item shop? Is AION a grinder? The answer to both is an emphatic NO! Therefore, this is a plea for people to hold off on attacking a game until there is actual information to back up your claim. It only makes you look like the biased idiots this board is known for (you know who I am talking about).

Originally posted by Gameloading

Originally posted by RedwoodSap

Why are the weapons in asian games always oversized? Does it have something to do with an asian male stereotype?

 

Ofcourse not, the only reason it's done is for aesthetic reasons. Big swords simply look cool, that's the only reason.

I don't think oversized weapons look cool, it looks childish. I like realism in my virtual world.

Originally posted by RedwoodSap

Originally posted by Gameloading

Originally posted by RedwoodSap

Why are the weapons in asian games always oversized? Does it have something to do with an asian male stereotype?

 

Ofcourse not, the only reason it's done is for aesthetic reasons. Big swords simply look cool, that's the only reason.

 

I don't think oversized weapons look cool, it looks childish. I like realism in my virtual world.

Well a lot of people do think big swords look good. Some games just don't like to limit themselves to realism.
 

Originally posted by RedwoodSap

Originally posted by Gameloading

Originally posted by RedwoodSap

Why are the weapons in asian games always oversized? Does it have something to do with an asian male stereotype?

 

Ofcourse not, the only reason it's done is for aesthetic reasons. Big swords simply look cool, that's the only reason.

 

I don't think oversized weapons look cool, it looks childish. I like realism in my virtual world.

What is real about ape looking greenskins and demon spawning elves in starships that came through wormholes?  I take it you play A Tale in the Desert 3, then?

I've played Lineage 2 for a few months and I don't think that game would be something I'd find enjoyable.  I've watched the movies you linked and I'd really have to see more of it to make a proper call but as it stands now there's something about the "feel" of it all that just doesn't suit me.

Glad you brought it up though.  I'm sure at least some people will find something in it that they like.  As for me I think I'll just observe from the distance to see what happens.

Originally posted by Vortigon

Yet ANOTHER! Cut-N-Paste Asian grinder - seen it all before, they are all copies of each other, they all play the same, look the same and even sound the same.

Big pile of souless crap in a shiny box.

You didn't look at one single thing he posted did you?

20 paragraphs worth of saying "Nothing much is known yet, except it's pretty".

Originally posted by grunty

20 paragraphs worth of saying "Nothing much is known yet, except it's pretty".

Very cute, now actually read the post please.

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Originally posted by Gameloading

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Originally posted by grunty

20 paragraphs worth of saying "Nothing much is known yet, except it's pretty".

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Very cute, now actually read the post please.

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When there's something to look at other than pictures, I might.

Originally posted by grunty

 

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Originally posted by Gameloading

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Originally posted by grunty

 

20 paragraphs worth of saying "Nothing much is known yet, except it's pretty".

---

 

 
Very cute, now actually read the post please.

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When there's something to look at other than pictures, I might.

There is, go ahead and actually read the post.