MMORPG.com: Graphically, Roma Victor does not have the flash of some other games. What do you say to those who seem to like your game concepts, but are critical of your visuals?

Nick Witcher: A critical response is understandable but I think a little unfair. We have only ever released candid live screenshots of real players and NPC's within the test. We don't release screenshots that are more concept art over a true in-game experience. The graphics settings are set low for testing reasons, but as the test progresses, we'll be turning those up, but not before we're ready. Tech issues first; eye candy second.

Some of the main in-game graphics features have yet to be fully implemented, such as the dynamic lighting and shadows, which by release will only get better.

Of course, we realise that we still have some work to do and we will be putting in a major effort, in time for the final release when we'll move to a different publishing process, especially for promotional materials.

We are also constrained somewhat by our ambitions and the ambitions of our community. Having hundreds of players involved in large-scale first-person battles simultaneously and advanced features such as real-time combat, soil fertility and realistic weather patterns, to name but a few, means that we may never be able to reach the level of eye candy that some of our competitors enjoy but then we believe that they'll never have such an immersive game experience as Roma Victor.