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Originally posted by Bruise187Give us a little credit... you will automatically arrive on servers where the majority of your friends (list) and guild members are located. The only time you have to swtich servers (which is easy anyway) is if you WANT to leave the buik of your friends. In exchange, we don't have people who join the wrong server when they sign up for the game and then can't join their friends (or have to jump through hoops to do so). Everyone can go play with any player they wish to, they aren't locked into one server. |
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Originally posted by nightwing70The business model is as yet undecided, but it will not be free. Sorry, but when millions are being spent to develope a game... In the end the pay system will be decided by the publisher, we're just the hard working developer, guys (and girls) who wake up with the shapes of keys impressed in our foreheads from falling asleep while working on the game. |
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Originally posted by dafuzzle No, not like Oblivion. I really don't know of a system that is very much like ours. However, we didn't make it different just to be different, the leveling system in Citadel of Sorcery ties into the entire mythos of the world and into everything from how you fight to how equipment works. it's a very different concept, but one that I am not able to reveal too much about right now. It is too important to the game to release yet. Sorry. |
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I understand your desire for quick facts, but there are also realities that you may not be considering. Here are two: we are fairly early in development, and so some of these things will change over time, and we don't necessarily want to tip our hand to other developers about certain aspects of an innovative new game concept. Having said that, I'll try to answer some of your questions anyway, as best as I am allowed. Players can follow many character class 'suggestions', but in the end, they create their own character class based on the Abilities and Training they complete. There are no level caps. Character creation, well, that one I have to keep somewhat secret, just know you will get into the game VERY quickly, we won't make you choose important things before you understand how they will effect your character in the game. You will, however, get to create the 'look' of your characters's body and choose a name. Abilities come from Five Leagues, and you can mix and match any way you want, but there are advantages and strategies in what you take in combination from various leagues, again, not something I'm at liberty to say more about. Improving those abilities comes from study, which means applying 'study tokens' earned when you level up and also from practice. Using abilities will help increase your proficiency. There are no real caps on improving abilities. There are two types of 'leveling' in the game, Grim and Radiant. These each go up in different ways, therefore you may level up in Grim, but not in Radiant. These each have seperate Abilities to gain and improve. You get multiple skill points per level to distribute. Abilities are not handed out when you go up a level, you decide what ability you want to get, and go quest for it. When you have it you improve it by applying more study points or practicing the ability in action. In other words, we don't want anyone to say, "I went up to level 30 and I got a rock". You get what you want, and improve it the amount you want. As for Gear, it is very important. You build your own special sets of gear, paid for with blood and adventuring to add it to your personal set. All gear can be improved in MANY ways. You decide what and how to make it better, and when to move onto something with more potential. There are aspects of this system that are new and I can't go into how all of it works at this time. This game is based on the extremely robust quest system; therefore player vs. environment is crucial to the game play. We're taking this to a level that we have not seen in any other MMO game. Frankly, we were bored silly with the simplistic and 'grocery list' style quests in MMO games, which is one reason we developed this game in the first place. PvE areas are always free of PVP, completely. We offer a Coliseum where players can fight players, challenging them to single or group duels. Players can even bet on the duel, and spectators can also wager on the outcome. When it comes to servers, we are not going down the standard path. We plan to let Players move between servers whenever they wish, you don't even pick a server to start the game. Therefore, there are no seperate rulesets planned. We take solo play very seriously, there are no adventures that you can't play solo. This does not mean to say that grouping up has no benefit, there are strategies that you can only use in a group situation. However, we never force you to group to play. At this time we're considering the idea of raids, but have not yet decided if we will offer them due to the nature of our quest driven game and other technological considerations. The game is somewhat unique in that there is an eventual grand climax to the epic story you are experiencing. However, we plan expansions that add whole new epic story lines to experience, continuing your character's advancement. Think of this as a big fantasy novel series, in which you are one of the main characters, you will reach the climax of the story eventually, but there is always the sequel. These are the facts that I'm allowed to share at this time. More will come as development progresses. I hope this answers your immediate questions. |
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Originally posted by jagust05This is a long one to answer completely, as months of work have gone into the design to handle this very big issue. I won't go into 'how' we are doing this, but I will answer your question. You can pretty much join up with anyone, any time, on any quest. You can join a friend's personal quest, and for a time, your paths will merge, and whenever you want you can leave that friend and continue your story on your own. What you did while you were with the other player becomes part of your story, but your story is not dependant on staying with the other player. I know this brings up as many questions as answers, believe me, we have spent hours and hours with a host of game designers going around the question of how to make this all work. Just let me tell you, we have it figured out and can offer unique personal quests and group missions (either of which can have multiple players involved). This system is one of the key elements to the game, and one which we are proud of and can't wait to show players. I hope this answers most of your question. The rest may have to wait until you play. |
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Originally posted by TedDansonActually, none of that is true for Citadel of Sorcery. If you followed one of our enemies around you would discover that they have their own agendas and will almost NEVER repeat the same thing. I say 'almost never', because if it were a guard at a gate who was supposed to walk back and forth, well, as long as he was on guard duty he would do so. However, once off duty he will go about other business. Today he might join a raiding party that is going to attack a Citadel outpost, but tomorrow he might just go hunting in the farmlands to try to get an easy meal. The point here is that enemies have changing goals and varying intelligence. They will never stand around and wait to be killed... they get on with their business. How we are doing this is one of the technologies we have been working on for three years. I know you have probably never seen this in other MMO games, and becasue of that you thnk that it can't be true. Unfortunatly there is nothing I can say that will convince you, too many other games have 'cried wolf'. So I will say this, when it comes out, play the game and see for yourself. Until then, why tell us what we can't do? At MMO Magic, we don't believe in setting limits. |
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Originally posted by mike470 This is a mouse and WASD contolled game, though we've added a few additions to the standards (without taking away the standards as a choice). Our system also uses the cursor to allow you to interact with the world based on cursor changes to let you know your current option. As for an example of a Quest... hmmm... OK, I'll try to simplify one I worked on yesterday down to something that won't fill pages. Hard to do, this quest design was twelve typed pages of content. You are sent a message from the local military commander (since you are a kind of 'special agent' for the Citadel army). When you meet with the commander he tells you that he has a diplomatic mission for you, and sends you to a small kingdom far out into the distant lands. There you are to convince the King of this small country to swear fealty to the Citadel. He also tells you that you are to use ANY means necessary to get this mission accomplished, including: bribery, threats, assassination, blackmail or just your good looks. On the way to this Kingdom you are going down the highway when you are ambushed by cutthroats. After the battle (I'm assuming you win in this case) you search the bodies and find little treasure, but a note telling them to bring the head of the Citadel Emmesary to the Inn of the Saucy Wench, back room, this evening. (Yes, time matters in our game as time marches on and the world and days change). You now decide what to do, continue your mission to the Kingdom? Or go to the meeting at the Saucy Wench to see who hired the guys to kill you. (or just to note... anything else you want to do. You do not have to do this mission, but there are always consequences to your choices... pissing off the commander might have some of those consequences). If you decided to go find out who tried to kill you... now you go to the nearby town and... well, do you go in the front door or check the back alley? Let's assume you go in the front door (the back will have other consequences). You go to the back room and open the door. A guy is seated inside, but with one look at you he tries to bolt out the door. You could let hiim go, or attack. So you attack... and after a moment of battle he surrenders. Do you accept his surrender, or kill the bastard? Well, killing him has a certain enjoyment, he did send guys to kill you, but you accept his surrender. You can ask him why he sent the guys to kill you, or demand the money he was supposed to pay them. Let's say you tell him you want the money. He tells you he hid it in the back alley. Now... do you let him lead you there, or kill him, or question him further? It's again up to you. If you follow him into the alley, you are attacked by the men he put there to kill the cutthroats he sent to murder you. That was a loose end he was hired to 'fix ' . If you win the battle, the guy begs for his life and tells you he knows where the soldiers are that paid him to have you killed. This quest goes on from here... through many more battles and adventures until you reach the throne room of the king himself. You can use the information you gained through your various choices along the way there to your advantage and increase your chance of getting him to swear fealty to the Citadel. This is a BRIEF version of this quest... I had to leave out lots in order to get it in here in a short form. However, even from this you can see how this is an adventure you live, not one you read about. There is action and battle and actaul plot! You make the decisions, and live with (and hopefully through) the consequences. This is what Citadel of Sorcery is about, game play.
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Originally posted by dafuzzleAs you might expect, that is an answer that we, like many developers, can seldom answer at this stage of development. We hope to start some player testing later this year, and will setup signups for that on our web site fairly soon. But the fact is we have tackled this project differently than other games I've worked on. We spent an inordinate amount of time on the design and technology, rather than hurrying into the graphics and level building. This means that in some ways the project is far along, and in others just getting started. Please be patient and I promise that we will do our best to give you a game worth playing, rather than a pretty picture that gets boring in three days once you've seen what there is to see. |
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Originally posted by dafuzzle Yes, I'm on the development team, and I would be glad to answer most questions. |
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We're so glad you are interested in Citadel of Sorcery . You're right, we aren't a grind, but don't for a second think we're not about exciting combat. The fact is, those monsters you want to kill won't be standing around waiting to get whacked. The smarter ones may be setting an ambush to attack you! The game concentrates on exciting adventures, rather than grinds or linear plots. And we are speding a lot of time designing a Quest system that gives you quests beyond what you have come to expect from MMOs. I'd be glad to tell you more about the game play. The game has been in design and production for a while now, but yes, there is plenty yet to create in a game this big with this much game play. Be aware that screenshots are early, and are from the prototype; there is a lot of graphic punch yet to come. Example, no characters from the actual game are shown in the screenshots (but are coming soon). And though the graphics will be far better in the end, they are not what is most critical to this game. Game play is our main focus, and will aways be the main focus. |
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Poll: could a good sandbox game keep your longterm subscription?
The Pub at MMORPG.COM « General Discussion 12/13/07 11:01:07 PM
Originally posted by airheadI'm pleased to tell you that this is not years away. Our Quest Generator creates Quests for the players, these cannot be looked up on a web site as they are made for the player at the time the player begins the Quest. The AI behind the NPCs is also very possible, as we already have this system in the works. Two years on technology and design, that's what we've spent to get here. You say, 'that's what developers should be doing', right you are, and that is what we ARE doing. If you would like to see a list of the kind of things you can do in the game, look on our web site and read in the 'Cos Q and A' section, look under 'Design' and read some of the questions people have already asked us about the design of the game. We're not doing the impossible, we're just trying harder. Jatar
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Poll: could a good sandbox game keep your longterm subscription?
The Pub at MMORPG.COM « General Discussion 12/13/07 10:24:18 PM
Originally posted by airheadI could not agree more. What current MMOs call Quests are grocery lists. Who wants to do that? But... what if an MMORPG gave you real quests instead of these useless grocery lists? What if a Quest was like this...
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I agree with most of the author's points, but I do have one issue... solo play. In my opinon, we play games, any game, to have fun. Forcing someone to group up in order to play isn't the best solution. I am the lead designer on an upcoming MMORPG and this is one of the core issues we have dealt with in our design. In my opinion, a good game offers great solo play and great group play, but does not force one or the other on the players. There are times players want to group and times they do not, why should they be forced to group? I can't think of a reason. Think about the issue this way, why would you want to group up? The first reason is for social interaction, and if you are feeling social, that's fine. But many times in life you are entering a game to escape people, not be forced to interact with some strangers. Just because this is an MMO world should not mean you have to be social. The MMO aspect ALLOWS socal interaction, but it is not the only reason to play. The fact is, we're trying to bring a fantasy world where people can live through epic adventures. How they do that should be up to them, not forced upon them. Other reasons to group include using group tactics rather than single player tactics, which can be vastly different. However, why not make the game so you can experience both? Finally, does it lessen your game experience if someone you don't know solo plays the game while you group play? Why should you care what they do? If you feel that grouping is the most fun, then by all means, group. But other players may have a more enjoyable experience playing on their own, and if so, more power to them. In our MMORPG we are designing the game to allow solo or group play for ALL adventures. However, when it comes to those adventures I do agree with your point about being an RPG. Adventures should be wonderful stories that pull you into the world and advance your own character's story. You should feel that what you do in the world matters in some way, and that what you are doing is in someways unique. So our game will give you what you asked for, story driven, full range, exciting quests in a living world (not a static world like current MMOs). We feel it is time to bring real RPG adventures to the MMO worlds, which have really gotten quite boring with their 'fetch 10 of these' type quests. As for crafting, we're going to change that completely as well. No more standing in front of a forge for hours. Sure, you can improve every item you own, but you will do it through adventuring, not standing around. Designing a new MMORPG experience is not easy, but as you stated, there are serious game play issues with most current MMOs and all the clones. We're attempting to make the next evolution of the MMO experience. Feel free to stop by and ask us questions, or drop us a suggestion, I think you'll see that much of what you are asking for is already addressed. Jatar |
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Originally posted by Danmann
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Here is a fun idea, what if you could rename any player to anything you want? In other words, if you ran into somebody named God Hater or something, and you were offended, you could right click on them and choose 'rename'. Then type in any name for this player you want. This system is used in some non-game chat software. From then on you would see that name over their character, and that name if they send you a message, and when you send to that name the game automatically sends to the player. Everyone else will still see the original name (unless they too rename the player). Now, when you are offended, you can fix the problem yourself. Players who aren't offended can leave them as they are. Another nice feature, you can change a long name to something short and easy to type. Your only limit would be that you can't rename someone to the same alternate name you used on another player. Of course, in voice chat you might have a little difficulty if you renamed someone Bonehead and use that to refer to them... Jatar CitadelofSorcery.com |
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There is an MMO being made that is innovative and fun, Citadel of Sorcery. Here is a link to a post in another thread that explains why... see post 17 on that page. |
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Ahhhh I'm dying from boredom here!! What is the next big thing?
The Pub at MMORPG.COM « General Discussion 9/21/07 12:18:16 PM
I'm a professional Lead game designer with fifteen years experience. I'm just as bored with MMORPGs as you are. However, I have dealt with some of the biggest publishers in the industry, and I know what the reason is behind the lack of innovation. Publishers are just not generally willing to take any risks with their money. It's that simple. WoW has 9 million subscribers... that's over a billion dollars in revenue a year. A BILLION. Other publishers look at that and drool. They think that if they make a better WoW they will get all those people (and money), for little risk. I realized all this several years ago, and when I left my Lead Designer job at another game company I decided to break this MMO mold. In order to accomplish this I had to take all the risks for a new type of MMO game away from the publishers. So, I gathered a core group of professional game developers with similar frustrations, and we set out to create a new MMORPG experience. This game has been in development for three years now, in utter secret. But the time for complete secrecy is coming to an end. We have constructed a new game engine from scratch, designed to handle a new type of MMO experience. And though the technology behind this engine is cutting edge, technology really isn't the most critical part of the project. NPCs live in this world; they don't stand on the same street corner every day. They have jobs, lives, and do different things on different days. World history is made every day as time marches on. There is a war going on in the land, and territories change hands, battles are fought, and you can go there while any of this is happening. Your character has a unique story and life. You don't do exactly what everyone else does. No two player’s journey through this world will be the same. Quests are NEVER grocery lists… of the ‘bring me 10 rat tails’ variety. They are full, interesting, and exciting quests based on the player’s personal history and current events in the game. These quests tie into the ongoing life of your character, weaving a unique story of your own. This is an extraordinary world where each time you visit a particular village, different events may be transpiring. Monsters and opponents in this game have their own agendas; there are no ‘grid’ monsters as this is not a ‘grind’ world, it’s a living world. You may run into a troop of marauders, or an ambush on the road ahead by your personal enemies. You never know what to expect even if you have traveled this same road many times. The world is alive and very personal for each player. I can't really go into all the innovations in this game in a post like this, as they are too numerous. We have been building this game with our own small team in a day and age where that is nearly impossible, but this is no garage game. The core team members are all professionals. The idea is simple, take the MMORPG where it has never gone before, give players a deeper and richer experience, change nearly EVERYTHING about MMOs… break the mold. But the problem was that no publisher would bankroll this game... at least as a concept. It has WAY too many innovations (read ‘risks’). I even understand their fear. So, we just had to take away the scary part, we just built the damn thing without them. We created the new technology to show it works. We tacked the problems with making a dynamic world functional. We redesigned the entire idea of how a Quest is made, and played in an MMO, and it works. And when the full game play experience can be play tested to prove that players like it and want more from their MMO experience, we will have reduced the final risk for the publisher. We shouldered the risk, now they can cash in on the rewards. At least, that's the idea. Because, yes, we still can’t finish it without a publisher. They can afford the needed advertisement, servers, shelf space, etc. So yes I’m with you… I'm bored with current MMO games, but I'm doing something about it. Be patient, (or not, either way you'll have to wait until we're finished) and we will release something new, and if nothing else, I promise it will be nothing like WoW or any of the other MMORPGs currently out there. I'm breaking all the rules to make a game that I want to play, and hopefully, so will you. Interested? We will start releasing more information about the game soon, but you have to realize that we don't want to let all the innovations out quite yet. Everything has its time and place. There is only a splash screen at the website currently, but we will start some news and blog information on the CoS site in the very near future and then some screenshots and game discussion to follow. Eventually, there will be forums and Beta tester signups, etc. If you are interested, check by the site once in awhile and stuff will start to appear shortly. The title of the game is Citadel of Sorcery. www.citadelofsorcery.com |
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I'm on the design team on a new MMORPG project that is currently in production. No, I'm not here to hype the game, and will not mention the title. I am, however, interested in opinions on one of our game concepts, which happens to tie into this topic. We're considering a type of crafting through questing. You would obtain an item on a quest. If you like the item, but would like to have it improved, you could go on further quests specifically to gain features for your item. Example: the item might have a crafting value assigned, call it 1000 points. How you use up these points is up to you. If this were a sword, and you went on a quest to the fire pools of Manitoc, you could dip the sword into the special pool at the end of the quest and that would add fire damage to the blade, and use up 100 points of the crafting value. In this system you can choose what you want to add to your item, and then go on a quest to get that feature added. This is quest crafting, as opposed to standing in front of a 'forge' and clicking on ingredients over and over. You don't have to be class of crafter, you just have to complete the quest to add the feature. The question is, would this system of item improvement through questing appeal to you as players?
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