Originally posted by amusedmonkey

I've found this game when I was very bored with MMORPG's I'm playing, to the extent where I downloaded 7 MMO's in 3 days and spent a big amount of money during the last year trying to find something that's not a copy of everything else. It was a website that listed a number of games including those still in development. After I exhausted all the categories literally opening every single game website they had to offer in search for something different I decided to check what to expect from games soon to come and stumbled upon this!

I was amazed and surprised that the promises hold most of what I usually daydream about in an online role playing game. I have read (and re-read) each and every section of this game's website, I even went mental opening the dev's log every 10 minutes to see if there is another update acting like a kid waiting for her christmas present (and I'm 28).

The sample quest on the website got me involved and I felt like I was a part of that story even though I wasn't directly. When I saw the news dated back to 2005 I was a bit concerned that it could be an abandoned project trying to come back to life, but then when I followed the dev log from start to end I saw there was ongoing serious work and no considerable time cuts to endicate devs are giving up, they even report problems they are facing as the project continues to evolve while tweaking and designing their own set of game creation tools. Also noticed available job positions and team growing, and focusing on the right things at the right time instead of building the roof before the foundation is solid or getting lost in unimportant - at this point - details. Add to that not going to a publisher yet which allows fine-tuning of the project before it's rushed into a deadline.

In short I have seen a group of dedicated and highly organized people doing things right while having fun at the same time (the holiday event) instead of some bored devs just wanting to get by and get it done. That means they are worthy of my trust.

Now that said, a few things remain unclear to me and a few remarks :

If you can take part in someone else's quest, how is it going to affect your personal story? Specially if you have a NPC as an enemy but that person has them as a friend? Will the NPC refuse to help the group because you are in it? Or will you be like "disguised" and NPC doesn't notice you but remain your enemy? Or will they become friendlier after you have helped them through this group quest?

Same as above, if NPC's do die (which I think might present a whole lot of logical errors in group questing), will you be banned from participating in a quest that involves that NPC being alive?

If the world is as large as stated won't it be "burren" and lonely during regular hunts with players scattered all over the globe?

Is grouping up for regular hunts (not quests) possible?

If the monsters don't "pop" right back does that mean you would have to run far distances to find them after other players have killed every single monster in that area?

If you are not likely to find the same enemy in the same area how would you know where to hunt and find enemies that suit your current abilities?

It has been stated that the publisher will decide how this game gets published, which worries me a bit because if the publisher decides with selling it as a hard copy only (due to the large size) chances are it's not going to be available in my country and I'm not going to be able to play it unless it's also available through direct download online purchase. And trust me, for a game that's going to set a whole new standard for online gaming you have my paycheck no questions asked.

 

 

Many of your questions are already answered... but I don't mind answering them again :) I think the first part you are missing is that Citadel of Sorcery uses a different server model than other MMOs you may be used to playing. I'd have to write a novel here to explain in detail WHY we choose to make the game this way, but we decided long ago that in order to offer in depth quests that continue personal stories of players that we would have to mix massive multiplayer areas with group play areas. In the simplest of terms, when you go out on a quest you (and your group if you have one) will enter one of the Reflected Worlds. This is the entire world... all of it, every single adventure and place, 'reflected'. (See our World mythos). You can move back and forth between the Reflected Worlds and the Citadel (and some other places) almost at will using our personal portals. However, while you and your group are in an RW you won't run into other players (other than by chat, or if you pop open a portal to let one into your group). Again, I don't want to go into the myriad of reasons why, just trust me that this works to your advantage in our quests and fun game play elements.
I thought I'd start with that before answering your questions, since a lot of them will be answered by that explanation.

1) If you can take part in someone else's quest, how is it going to affect your personal story? Especially if you have a NPC as an enemy but that person has them as a friend? Will the NPC refuse to help the group because you are in it? Or will you be like "disguised" and NPC doesn't notice you but remain your enemy? Or will they become friendlier after you have helped them through this group quest?

A: The game handles this by deciding what NPCs to use based on the current story and the players in the group. Our quests are not set in stone, or linear, therefore, when the quest is built for the player by the Quest system, it will take some of these things into account. However, in the case of a NPC being involved as a 'Friend' of the group leader, and you join the quest later (and that NPC is your enemy) well, you'll have to decide if you are willing to deal with your enemy or not. You could kill him, but he might be helping on this quest. Will you put aside your differences or act on them? It's up to you. The quest will continue regardless of your decision. CoS quests are like that, adaptive to the player choices.

2) Same as above, if NPC's do die (which I think might present a whole lot of logical errors in group questing), will you be banned from participating in a quest that involves that NPC being alive?
A: No quest requires any specific NPC to be alive therefore; we CAN and will let you kill your enemy NPCs if you can manage it. You are never banned from joining any quest in CoS.

3) If the world is as large as stated won't it be "burren" and lonely during regular hunts with players scattered all over the globe?

A) Yes, it would be if we let you go anywhere in the world at launch, which we won't. Sorry, but the size of the planet is one thing, the areas that you adventure in are another. Think of it as the middle ages and you are in Europe going on adventures. The New World (America) has not been discovered yet (it's still over there though). Eventually, you WILL get access to other territories and continents, but in the proper progression. The shear amount of playable land we are starting with is, well, massive. We didn't build it that way to use it all right away; we built it this way because we constructed a planet, rather than drawing a map. Once we have the planet, we will go exploring and see where we want to develop first. With the amount of room we start with, we don't think we'll ever run out of new areas to develop and open up to players.

4) Is grouping up for regular hunts (not quests) possible?

A: You can group for all game play in CoS. Eight is the maximum though.

5) If the monsters don't "pop" right back does that mean you would have to run far distances to find them after other players have killed every single monster in that area?

A: Other players can't kill your monsters, you are in your personal or groups current RW. It's all for you. However, also remember that CoS is not a grind game. We don't put monsters out on a grid for you to kill, wait for them to pop, and kill again. First off, it's boring, and artificial. In CoS even monsters have their own agendas. You will cross paths at times for random encounters, sure, but mostly you will be hunting them, or they will be hunting you. There is a war on, and Morphael's creatures are taking towns and villages, creating new footholds in Citadel territory, doing raids and kill parties. You are part of the forces trying to hold them back. You'll have to discover what their plans are today, and deal with them. Are there times that you might go a long distance and not run into enemies? Sure, it's possible, since things are on the move and we can't completely predict what will be where when. But, you'll never have a problem finding a fight if you want one. Use your tracking skills and start hunting your prey... they probably crossed your path and headed for a nearby village to attack... or maybe they are kidnapping people in the area to create new monsters in a cave nearby. Just talk to the locals, find out what's been happening recently, and go get into an adventure.

6) If you are not likely to find the same enemy in the same area how would you know where to hunt and find enemies that suit your current abilities?

A: The world is divided into territories that match up to your current abilities. As you progress up the Citadel Tiers you will open up new territories to adventure within more suited to your current skill level. However, our game is adaptive and even if you go back to lower Tiers the adventures there will still be challenging. (and there are NEVER gray monsters in CoS).

7) It has been stated that the publisher will decide how this game gets published, which worries me a bit because if the publisher decides with selling it as a hard copy only (due to the large size) chances are it's not going to be available in my country and I'm not going to be able to play it unless it's also available through direct download online purchase. And trust me, for a game that's going to set a whole new standard for online gaming you have my paycheck no questions asked.

A: Don't worry so much, the client will be downloadable, we’re pretty sure about that. :)

I believe you two are talking about separate things, let me try to clarify:

In Citadel of Sorcery there is the Epic storyline and there is also the player's personal story. Personal stories continue indefinitely, but the Epic story has an eventual climactic ending.

The game will only launch with the one Epic story, though we will be hard at work on the Sequel story immediately. I wouldn't worry about this too much if I were you though, since other MMOs you have likely played launch with no ongoing story at all. Remember typical MMOs are the same every day, time never moves on, nor does any story.

Also… our epic story is… well, epic. That means it is a long journey that you won’t run out of quickly. We anticipate an average player taking over a year to experience all of the epic story fun. By then we should have a sequel story ready.

So what is the difference between your personal story and the Epic story? Think of the Epic story as the major events going on in the world, where your personal story is how your character moves through that world situation. If I was comparing this to, say, the current status of the United States, the Epic story would be something like the election of President Obama, the economy problems, etc. You have a personal life or your own that is going on during this time. Your life is what happens to you, the friends and enemies you make, what you personally get involved with and effect. You have a life right now, and Obama is president. Other people have a different life, but Obama is still president for them as well. Of course, in CoS, your character’s personal story is going to eventually get involved with the movers and shakers of the world. That is not quite so likely in the case of your real life,  

When you have completed the Epic Story of CoS, you can still continue to play. Eventually (when you choose, or when it’s available) you’ll want to move on into the Sequel Story. Alternately, you can start a new character and although the Epic story would be the same, the new character's journey through the world will likely be quite different. When playing CoS you don’t go through the exact same quests as any other player.

The thing is, I just don’t know of a down side to this story system, it gives you FAR more story than any other MMO you have likely played. It also gives you far more variance to the game from what other players experience. When you complete the Epic Story, you can continue to play, start over, or play the Sequel story when it comes out.

Alternately, you can play other typical MMOs and experience NO ongoing story and repeat the same day over and over doing the exact same things that other players did, with no effect on the world what-so-ever. It’s your choice. I plan to have a lot of fun creating my own story while moving through the Epic storyline of CoS.

Well, there are a lot of questions in your posts, I'll see what I can do to answer some of them.

First off, Alchemy… certainly we don’t have alchemy in the way you are describing. Just like our system for improving items, we do not want players forced to spend time running around to collect ingredients. This would include plants to use in alchemy. You will be able to create your own potions, but that involves a different system of which we haven't released much information yet. 
Abilities (including spells) will not have that kind of 'cost' either. Normal abilities use a self replenishing system (not mana), and the more powerful the Ability, the greater the cost. However, there will also be some extremely powerful abilities for special occasions that have a different kind of cost (sorry, can't release the details of that yet).

Anyone can use any kind of weapon or armor. There are no character classes in CoS, and therefore, no class restrictions. However, just because you can use an axe or a sword or a bow, doesn't make you great at it. You will need to practice and study whatever you wish to excel in when playing CoS.

Mundane equipment is found while adventuring, both from drops and from treasure. You can also quest for a specific item you wish to obtain, though you have to gain the knowledge of something in order to quest for it. This means you cannot look up some item on a web site that someone else got and quest for it, your character has to gain knowledge of it during game play in order to quest for the item (more on that later).

You can buy magical items from shops, but not mundane. Just because it's already magical, doesn't mean you can't improve it though. To improve a mundane or magical item you collect things from quest rewards, or purchase them from other players or from shops. However, you do not stand around and craft the item; instead you take it to the proper artisan and decide what you want made. There is a cost to have the work done, but that's all there is to it. No standing around for hours doing any repetitive 'work'. This is a game, not a job. We are all about in depth interesting and enjoyable quests, not repetitive grinds or time sinks.
NPC shops will sell equipment that you want (at times). The reason for this is simple; players will be selling equipment they find on quests to the shops. There are rewards for this, which will encourage players to sell good stuff to the shops. Players will then be able to purchase that same equipment from the shops. In addition, the shops will occasionally sell special items to players that have built up a good rapport with them, items not sold to the shop by players.

We are spending a lot of time and effort to make a good game economy, yet add some new elements while also cutting back on the typical outside farming that happens in many games. The exact system we are using to stop some of this is still being kept under wraps, but I will tell you that there are economic elements of the game that cannot be farmed, purchased, traded or otherwise abused by outside forces. We want the players to excel in the game because they play the game.

Well, I'd love to answer your question... but.... at this point we are developing the game.  It will be up to the publisher to decide the financial model.  We're only concerned with making the best game possible.   If I was going to guess (and this is very shaky territory) I'd guess a subscription model or buy and free to play with pay for expansions.  But again, that's a guess and this probably won't be up to us in the long run.  

That's the best I can do for you at this point, but thanks for the question and your interest in CoS.

Jatar 

Though these two web sites are in early stages (and which is first really doesn't matter) we appreciate people starting up guilds and information sites about the game.   We'll be stepping up support for these sites in the future. 

Guilds are an important part of any MMO community, and we're still striving to find ways to add more to the Guild system in the CoS design.  It's an area in which we're spending a lot of thought.  We want to support Guilds as much as possible. 

That being said... we are also concerned about the solo players of the game world as well.  To that end we've come up with a system where they are automatically enrolled into one of the game garrisons.  These act as a kind of generic guild where there are no PC leaders or officers, but have the basic amenities of a Guild.  

The idea here is simple.  For those who want to customize their Guild (in all ways) and have certain friends or types of players, etc.  They can do so.  But solo player types don't have any game play disadvantages by not belonging to a guild, since they belong to a garrison.

Remember, CoS is a game that supports social play as much as possible, but never forces it on anyone.  Play in  groups or solo, it's your choice.

Feel free to ask any questions about this, or drop your opinion, love to hear from you.

 Don't worry.   Everything we have promised so far will be in the game.  There are many other areas of the design that are still in flux, and those are the things we are holding back until they are a more 'firm' element.  For example, you won't find a list of the player abilities anywhere... because we will be changing and tweaking these for some time to come.  You'll also noticed in my previous posts in other threads that I sometimes just say I can't talk about that yet.  Again, this means that we can't talk about it because it might change.  

If I ever do talk about something that isn't firm, I always mention 'don't hold us to this, it's still in design'.  So, when I do tell you something will be in the game without reservation, you can be confidant that it will.

I haven't posted on MMORPG in awhile, thought I'd stop by and just say hello, and answer any questions anyone might have.

It's been a busy time at MMO Magic, so I and the other team members have been nose to the grindstone so to speak. I'm sorry that there haven't been a lot of new details released lately, but the truth is that we are at that stage where we have already released most of the information we want to release at this early point of game development.

One thing some people have asked me is 'why did you release any information this early?'. The answer to that is complex and simple, depending on how you look at it. Simply put, CoS doesn't use an existing license. It is a brand new world and concept, not relying on previous stories, books, graphic novels, TV shows or bubble gum wrappers. Because of this we felt it was necessary to let people in on the game earlier than we would normally so that some word could spread about it. In addition, we felt that some heated discussion early on by game players could possibly help in the design. Waiting until we had already gone far down the path would mean it would be more difficult to make changes.

Of course the down side to all this is that we have to show the game in early stages and some people will not understand things like early screenshots not being all spiffy and pretty. You have to take the good with the bad. We just felt it was more important to get the buzz going early, and hear from the game players than it was to worry about people grousing about graphics and when the game will release.

So, to that question... when the game will release...we have no idea; really. How could we? We're revamping and putting ever aspect of an MMO through R&D to make a new kind of game. This means that estimates of completion are ridiculously difficult to make accurately. So, we're not even trying. The game will get finished when the game is fun to play and is solid. When the servers have been tested thoroughly, when you don't have to buy a half finished game and suffer. We won't be having early Beta tests in an unfinished world. When we finally do have a Beta, we will consider the game finished, and use the Beta just to test and see if CoS is truely finished. All this means you will have to be patient. What other choice to you have :)

What we have done, and will continue to do is be honest with the game public. We even post game development logs on our web site to let people know exactly what is happening on the project, from day one to present.

So… on that note if you have any questions or things you want to discuss or add to or about the game, let us know here on MMORPG, or through the Q&A system on our www.citadelofsorcery.com web site. We try to answer everyone promptly.

Or... just post a question in this thread.

 Thanks.  The xmas trees were just a quick add in for the party (obviously), as were other decorations around Tier 1.  Much fun was had by all during the scavenger hunt around the city.  A few of the player races were added in right before the party (first time more than humans were seen).  Basically, just the Gargoyles and Verduren races.  The Waerians, Jenmos and Tyven are still being modeled, though we finally settled on the look of the Jenemos recently and got the concept art approved.  Ony the Tyven are still in concept stage now.

We'll add some new art to the web site soon so you can see some of the new race concepts.  Meanwhile, there has been a LOT of progress on the game recently.  We'll be posting  in the devlog on the web site around the end of the month to give everyone the heads up on progress as well as a new crop of screenshots.

will the magic be element based or magic shcool based

Element types:fire, wind, light, dark...

Magic School: abjuration, conjurer, necromancy

First... as to your idea on beams... unknown.  We're still doing a lot of design work on player Abilities.

As to your question about our magic system... well, yes and no, or neither, and both.  CoS has five Leagues of knowledge.  Two are based on types of magic, the Spirit League and the Magic League.  The Spirit League uses spirits, which can grant you some possible elemental types of magic, and necromancy, etc.  When using spirit magic the user may verbally invoke a spirit, and use their hands to try to contain the energy siphoned off or given by the spirit before releasing it.  The greater the ball of energy the more powerful effect this magic will create.

Meanwhile, the Magic League is more about using actual spells.  When a Magic User casts a spell they may have a voice element as well as actually writing magic runes in the air as letters made of fire.  The more letters, the greater the spell.

Anyway, in either League, there is a visual element that tells an opponent a little about what is coming once the magic is released... which gives them a chance to do something about it... or get the hell out of dodge.

 OK, I'll have the web guys post a couple on the www.citadelofsorcery.com web site later tonight.  

There is one group shot with about eight or nine of us that shows some of the new characters.   There is a verduren female and a couple gargoyles as well as some humans in that shot.

And... an xmas tree :)  We shot it in front of the Spirit League building.

Well, both.  You have abilities to parry attacks and interupt spells, as well as movement to help you avoid attacks as well.  There are also abilities to speed yourself up, or slow down your enemies.  

In the UI there is a small graph that shows you if you are faster or slower than your opponent, so you can see if running will do any good.  If not, you can attempt to slow them down or speed yourself up.  So you can't run from everything, but sometimes it's a good idea, and sometimes you can do something to make running possible.  There are lots of strategic elements like this in our combat / movement system.

I agree with you, Pellagren.  Movement is critical to strategic battle, and movement speed is a feature affected by many elements in CoS.  Or course, you want to go as fast as you can, but what you wear, and how much power you choose to use, what special abilities you employ, etc. all have affects on your movement.

Happy Holidays to all.  

May all your wishes come true.  My wish is to see all of you in Citadel of Sorcery soon.

Jatar

Loyal fans... you know who you are, after all, you have already sent us email to get on the Beta test list (even though that is NOT yet near).   You know who you are because you can't wait to see if we're telling you the truth about this game, or blowing smoke up, well, where smoke shouldn't go.  

Yes, you know who you are, and we're starting to figure it out as well.  But... as for THIS holiday party, only team members will be joining the holiday game, but... it won't be long before we do allow just a few people into the world now and then for some early testing.  

Don't you dare ask me when, or bother hopping up and down and saying, "me, me, pick me," like some donkey from a Shrek movie.  We, like Santa, are compiliing our own list of those who are naughty or nice, and we will invite a few to early testing.  It's a double secret list, my lips are sealed, not even torture or gorgeous women could... wait, how gorgeous?  Sorry, my mind wandered... no, not even they could pry the list from my fingers!  

But eventually, we'll contact a few people to let them help us test some early features.  In your heart, you already know if it will be you.

 Well, let's talk about time and the calendar of the game.  

Citadel of Sorcery is not a static world, as we've mentioned before.  Thus each day of the world is a 'new' day, the next in the CoS calendar.  The world's calendar runs on a four season schedule, with 91 days in each season.  Therefore, today might be the 12th of Winter.

Why is this important?  Because today, the 12th of Winter, is a different day than the 11th.  And on the twelfth, it might be the Tyven great egg stealing holiday, or the 12th could be the day that one of Morphael's commanders planned to invade a Gargoyle settlement.  And it also might be the day that the annual holiday market and carnival started in Westbrook.  It might also be the day that the recreated harvest new bodies by the full moon.  It is also the day of the week that farmer Jones takes his goods to market, the day a mad wizard releases his magic plague, and the day your enimies plan to ambush you.  But... tommorrow, that will really be something different. 

The point being, in CoS  today is not like yesterday, and tomorrow will be different still, new things happen today because it IS the 12th of Winter.  

So, I hope this answers your question, of course there are holidays, and every other type of event you can imagine, something different every day.  There is never (and I mean never) a day in CoS where something new isn't going on in the world. 

 There will be an official update on the www.citadelofsorcery.com website some time next week.  We've been working hard on a new milestone build, and getting ready for our company Holiday party.  :)  

Since many of our staff are in different states (and countries) some people are attending via the CoS game world, where there is a virtual scavenger hunt for prizes going on during the party.   We'll have many systems there for people at the physcial location of the party to log in and meet virtually with the other team members.    Hey, if you have a virtual world, why not use it?

I'll post a picture next week of the virtual team in the world together by one of the holiday decorations in Cos.

 The truth is, you will be able to look up some things on spoiler sites about CoS, but they are as likely to mess you up as to tell you what's going to really happen.  Our adventures are not completely random generated, we felt that to make our adventures as engaging as possible, each one must be designed by a human writer.  

However, once the story is created it goes through a process that breaks it down to component parts that are fed into the Quest Generator.  Now many things are altered and changed so that the final output for one player is different than for another.  Add to that the multiple route possibilities during the quest based off the player's choices and the number of permutations is... well, large.  Therefore, even if you read about a similar quest online that another player wrote up, and you tried to follow in his footsteps, his choices will likely not work for your version.    

Our goal is to create an ongoing story for each player that is unique.  Not just a bunch of unconnected quests.  This means that what happens to you as you play will change and color the quests you go on in the futrure.  If you piss off some nasty cult, they will make it their business in the future to make your life hell.  If you help some NPC on a quest, he may help you in the future.  Yet each player has different enemies and friends, all based on their actions as they play.  This fact alone changes each quest you go on and makes it different for you than for another player.

Anyway, this is just a brief discussion on how quests work in CoS.   For an early taste of what quests are like, I suggest you read the 'Tour' on the www.citadelofsorcery.com site.

Originally posted by crazyst3ve

will there be some way to "empower"  your weapon or make it stronger? if so will it be a time based limited amount?or unlimited or a use based?

this meaning...

will there be way a spell can be cast non your wep that will make your wep absorb this power and unleash it on the opponents for a few min and then slowly die away.

or will it be where you will have a relic attached that has 150 uses and once these are up it will lose it's power and die away making you now need to get a new relic.

or will it be that you will attach or 'refine' being the word we are used to in the world of RPGs. Where you will be able to upgrade your wep with items that will give a permanent bonus on your wep allow you to take out enimies with not only a certain weapon type but also a bonus of damage or extra honing(for sword) or extra weight(for hammer)

and if so will these items be found in the world, will they need to be brought, or will they need to be traded with several rare items? or will you win them in tournament

or will the weapons not be able to be upgraded and will be the same for anyone who uses that weapon with no customizing in this regard

 Both of the other answers are correct, but I'll also answer you more specifically.

1) Empowering your weapon: Yes, through the use of Grim and Radiant power. The effect is not time based, once done, it remains.

2) No relics, though we do use talismans and charms that can be worked into the object to add powers, once worked in they cannot be removed (though there is a way to save ONE of the powers you put into an object by destroying the object to extract it so you can use it somewhere else).
There are also other items, runes and gems that do other things if added to your object. All items can be found by adventuring, indeed, you can even go on an adventure to find something specific you are seeking (not just random drops) Of course, you can also trade for them, and win them in tournaments.

Also... spells can be added to your object for a one time use. This is nice in that you store the spell ahead of time, and even if you run out of concentration to cast a spell, you can use the previously stored spell as a 'backup'.

And yes, there is more... our object system is very robust allowing for a LOT of customization of your equipment, from look to function. I've only barely touched on the system here (we won't release greater detail until later; some things have to be savored).

So, no need to cry, just get yourself an object with great potential and start working it into something stupendous!          

Currently the Trident3D engine uses a DirectX 9 rendering system.  At this point we're intending to continue to support that in the release of the game.  However, we are also planning on writing an additional renderer to support DX10 and even DX11.

So most decent systems currently being used for gaming will work with CoS, however, if you want to take adventage of the DX10 and DX11 features, you might want to have a faster system.

Finally, and most importantly, what I just said is not written in stone.  We won't promise anything until the game has gone 'gold', but we like to at least try to answer questions when we can.  This way you know what we're currently thinking, until that thinking changes :)

Originally posted by girlgeek

Hmm.  I have never even HEARD of CoS, and can't find anything about it on MMORPG.com.  Maybe I just didn't take enough time to hunt?

www.citadelofsorcery.com

We're also listed on MMORPG in the game list:

Citadel of Sorcery