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NDoors Interactive | Play Now
Action MMO | Genre:Fantasy | Status:Final  (rel 10/30/08)  | Pub:NDoors Interactive
PVP:Yes | Distribution:Download | Retail Price:n/a | Pay Type:Free | Monthly Fee:n/a
Desktop Client | System Req: PC 

Atlantica Online: Considering The Turn-Based MMO, Part 3

Kim Tae Gon, Producer of Atlantica Online writes this second developer journal in our series for the game. In this journal, Kim tells us a little bit more about the company's decision to create a turn-based MMORPG.

We have heard comments about Atlantica's combat system like, "How can we play a MMORPG with a turn-based system? Won't turn-based be tedious and time consuming? Why did you choose an old-school style rather than the modern real-time action?"

We believed that a turn-based MMORPG could be fun, especially after considering the pros and cons of such a game, which I discussed in the last developer's journal.

Here are some of the issues that factored into our thinking as we tried to maximize the pros and minimize the cons during the development process.

  1. A player's turn needs to be limited so that he or she doesn't needlessly take up too much time. Long, drawn-out battles, where you're constantly waiting for your opponent to finish his or her turn, would be unacceptable. Limiting a player's time to shorten battles has another effect: it adds pressure on players, adding more excitement to the action.
  2. The time it takes to complete a whole battle needs to be limited as well, so that battles don't drag on. We thought the average time for most battles should be two to three minutes, and up to 10 minutes for really tense battles. Long battles can be taxing on players. If there are a lot of battles, it becomes even more draining on players. And the longer the battles, the more it would take time away from a player to be involved with the game's community activities.
  3. Atlantica Online Screenshot

  4. With the pressure and excitement that the turn-based action can generate, it's also possible that someone might be more prone to getting fatigued from playing, especially if he or she is playing for many hours. The strategic element of the turn-based battles might also add to some fatigue. Therefore, we would need to provide players a variety of other things to do besides battling. Systems for crafting, the markets, guilds and other community-related content must be deep and exciting, so players can get immersed in other parts of the game other than fighting turn-based battles.
  5. Since the number of turn-based MMOs is very few, and some players might not be used to a turn-based game, other elements in the game must be familiar or simplified, so as not to overburden new players with many things to learn. In addition, we would want to minimize the stress caused by players having to figure out other aspects of the game. For example, some players might get annoyed if they are unable to find a specific NPC or location. To help with that, we could just provide a function that simply takes a player to the location or NPC he or she needs to go to. Another option is to have a function where players can access information relatively easily, rather than forcing them to search out some website or game magazine for the information they need.
  6. Watching a turn-based battle could get dull, if it's as if players are looking down on a chessboard, waiting for their opponent to take a turn. Therefore, we would need to have interesting camera movement and camera angles that heighten the excitement of the action. Once players become familiar with the turn-based combat and how much fun it can be, how the action is displayed won't matter as much. However, that's not the case for first-time players. We still need to make a positive first impression, which is important when it comes to people choosing new games to play. Exciting visuals must be included to highlight the action of the game.
  7. As I mentioned last time, there can't be large-scale party activities in a turn-based game, since it would be difficult to coordinate many people taking their turn. But as a MMORPG, this is not a game to be played alone; cooperation and competition with other players is a must. Therefore, other ways for players to party must be found. One such way is to implement a system where both allies and enemies can join a battle at any time, even during the middle of it.
  8. Atlantica was designed with e-sports in mind even before it went into development. Games are more popular than ever, and competition among gamers has never been fiercer. Atlantica's combat allows for great competition using a system that manifests both skill and strategy. It also captures the intense showdowns that progress gaming into a spectator sport. But to be successful in e-sports, the game has to be well-balanced. So we implemented a system using divisions to ensure fair matchups to optimize both player and observer satisfaction.
  9. A player gets a short break when their opponent takes his or her turn, and that time could be spent doing other things in the game, like community-related events. Of course it's not enough time to participate in anything that requires complicated communications. But there could be enough time for players to engage in some informal, quick conversations with friends, guild mates or similar level players via a chat window.

Atlantica Online Screenshot

These are some of the issues we considered as we decided to pursue a turn-based game, which guided us as we designed and developed Atlantica. We had very few models to follow when producing a turn-based MMORPG, so we had to learn on our own, through trial and error. And we had to execute it right the first time. We didn't want to be one of those companies who introduce something new and groundbreaking, but then fail and lose out to the second and third companies that come into the marketplace later, after learning from our mistakes. That is why we are keeping a development-oriented attitude and focus on Atlantica, even after launch. We plan to keep the game fresh by supplying more content, but more importantly, by responding to players' feedback to make the game better. So please feel free to share your thoughts here in the MMORPG.com forums. We hope you give Atlantica a try, and keep coming back again and again. You will be rewarded.

More Atlantica Online Features:

Atlantica Online - First Impressions With Ripper X Media added on Thursday August 11
Atlantica Online - Content Update Interview Interview added on Monday January 25

More Dev Journals:

The Secret World - Deck Templates Dev Journal added on Thursday February 09
TERA - Vanguards Lead the Way Dev Journal added on Thursday February 02
Rise of Immortals - Ukkonen - An 'Electrifying' Personality Dev Journal added on Saturday January 21

More Features:

Guild Wars 2 - Micro-Awesomeness Column added on Tuesday February 14
The Free Zone - Is F2P Ruining Korea’s Youth? Column added on Tuesday February 14
 
 
gaeanprayer writes:

Atlantica fails, sorry.

 

Any game that tells its players how much they are allowed to play in a day (Stamina) is crap. And no, I don't care that you can get minute amounts of Stamina back by pvping and teaming up with others or any other number of things that FORCE you to team up and FORCE you to PvP.

 

Either let your players play your game or gtfo.

New Post Quote
11/26/08 12:50:03 AM
 
Theocritus writes:
Originally posted by gaeanprayer

Atlantica fails, sorry.

 

Any game that tells its players how much they are allowed to play in a day (Stamina) is crap. And no, I don't care that you can get minute amounts of Stamina back by pvping and teaming up with others or any other number of things that FORCE you to team up and FORCE you to PvP.

 

Either let your players play your game or gtfo.


 

        LOL ive been playing about 2 weeks and havent been forced to do anything.......The stamina system is different but you get used to it........I think they did alot of the things they did to fight bots and gold sellers.....

New Post Quote
11/26/08 12:54:46 AM
 
wh0astar writes:
Originally posted by gaeanprayer

Atlantica fails, sorry.

 

Any game that tells its players how much they are allowed to play in a day (Stamina) is crap. And no, I don't care that you can get minute amounts of Stamina back by pvping and teaming up with others or any other number of things that FORCE you to team up and FORCE you to PvP.

 

Either let your players play your game or gtfo.

 

How far did you go in this game? Do tell.

Coming from a level 96 player at the moment - I personally believe this game is quite a great experience and I still anticipate for more content. It's addicting. Challenging. You merely only need 50 fame points from pvp BUT it's not required. It can be done in Sparring Hall a couple of times, then you'd be able to get into higher level dungeons to continue on your quests. Are you implying you don't like challenges? Stamina has not been an issue for most of us. It regens every 10 minutes without battles. Just auto-craft, share information on monsters and craft skill training. It's not that hard, really. As you get to higher level, some quests rewards you with more stamina along with other stuff. ;]

You are NOT FORCED to be teamed up in anything, BUT it's much better if you are in a party with someone for bonus exp. Many people team up for long-distance parties, even. I don't see what you're complainin' about. You merely haven't went that far in the game to experience much more so basically your opinion towards this review is irrevelant. My apologies :)

New Post Quote
11/26/08 1:44:22 AM
 
punkrok42060 writes:

Sounds like communism has made its way to the MMO world.....

New Post Quote
11/26/08 6:12:07 AM
 
Hogemann writes:

Awesome game, just it.

Craft system is fair, but I'm afraid that the "GM item give away" thing will ruin the economy of the servers, because only the players that are really ONLINE at the event get those items( and this is a good thing! ), but imagine this situation, 50 accounts logged from a farmer to get those items. The economy will collapse dragging down the prices. This fact makes easy to a "pro" farmer to get his trade money. Most of the items come, only if are lv 20 or above, but reach that level its pretty easy.

Besides these farmers fact, the game its great and I recommend it for a deeper look if you enjoy play Tactics Ogre, FF Tactics series, Shinning force or other turn based game. ( shinning force FTW!!! ) 

New Post Quote
11/26/08 9:30:33 AM
 
Wizardry writes:

I wish to give my take on there combat system in hopes,they may one day improve it or outright change it.

First of all ,i have no problem with any sort of idea as long as it is challenging and i feel like i have control over the combat.The way Atlantica plays out it was more like luck based than anything challenging or turn based.I think the reason is because you are controlling too many players and your fighting more than one.It ends up not a real turn base system either because you have a time limit[can't remember what it was ]havn't played it in quite awhile,but i think it was around 20 secs but felt more like 15 secs.

There is too much guess work when deciding how much damage you need to deliver to kill a mob and whi is going to attack your guys,it was all a guessing game with not a lot of time for planning.All i ended up doing was button mashing or using the higher skills when they came up,because they meant auto more damage ,not much thinking there.

Over all the combat system is too easy and does not really play like a skillfull turn based system.The old system where by you have a group that fights one strong mob and you have a tank and control hate ,the healer controls there healing,the DD players know how to play there role and the whole combat goes down a ton more challenging and skillfull AND ORGANIZED.

IMO most every game has a LONG road to climb before they make a good challenging combat system.

New Post Quote
11/26/08 4:04:25 PM
 
grndzro writes:
Originally posted by gaeanprayer

Atlantica fails, sorry.

 

Any game that tells its players how much they are allowed to play in a day (Stamina) is crap. And no, I don't care that you can get minute amounts of Stamina back by pvping and teaming up with others or any other number of things that FORCE you to team up and FORCE you to PvP.

 

Either let your players play your game or gtfo.

 

I agree Stamina = Fail

And I played from the opening beta till CB2 when they added the stamina system.

All the stamina system has done is open the way for RMT by limiting the public's ability to farm for themselves,

 

Now what would have been 1 useless bot farming for mats everyone can get easily by just putting some time in farming we have 4 bots farming for something the community needs and jacking up prices.

New Post Quote
11/26/08 8:52:39 PM
 
Rehmes writes:

Im only lv 57 atm but i have yet to encounter any issues with the stamina system. I have yet to get near 0 and that stems from up to 6+ hours of playing. You get a good amount of xp in quests. And the party system helps to keep the stamina from dropping too far down.

Giving away some presents (5) will give you one stamine point per. So at least in my case i have yet to find an issue with it.

Though i dont think its the best game ever, ive found it to be very fun, and i like the idea of different party compositions. I cant wait for the addition of new mercs along the way since that will make it much better imo.

New Post Quote
11/27/08 1:46:23 AM
 
Aspenglade writes:

I agree that the stamina system is a pain.  Sure you can give away presents or do some teaching/share info or PVP to get back stamina but it doesn't give back much at all.  Give away 5 presents and share 5 info and you get back 10 points max.  You can't get any more that day from doing either of those activities and 10 stamina points is only 10 fights.   After that, you're back to 0.

 

Combine that with the maximum daily limit of boxes being opened and the game gets to be pretty freaking frustrating.  It got the the point that just to be able to open my material, equipment, and enchanting boxes I had to create alts and mail them the boxes to be opened then send the items back to my main.

 

The turn based fighting system was cool for 35 or 40 levels but after that it just came down to being boring and another grind.  I got to 48 and found I was bored to tears most times so I levelled the last 2 to 50 and submitted for ndoors to buy my character back from me.

 

Sure the crafting system was interesting and had tons of crafting things to do but most things you craft are worth significantly less than the parts used to make them due to massive undercutting in the market.  Combine that with massive point costs (500000) points to make items in late teens levels of crafting and it a combat system that ends up being same ol thing every fight and it gets very dull.....for me at least.  YMMV.

New Post Quote
11/27/08 11:18:18 AM
 
Belsameth writes:
Originally posted by Wizardry

I wish to give my take on there combat system in hopes,they may one day improve it or outright change it.

First of all ,i have no problem with any sort of idea as long as it is challenging and i feel like i have control over the combat.The way Atlantica plays out it was more like luck based than anything challenging or turn based.I think the reason is because you are controlling too many players and your fighting more than one.It ends up not a real turn base system either because you have a time limit[can't remember what it was ]havn't played it in quite awhile,but i think it was around 20 secs but felt more like 15 secs.

There is too much guess work when deciding how much damage you need to deliver to kill a mob and whi is going to attack your guys,it was all a guessing game with not a lot of time for planning.All i ended up doing was button mashing or using the higher skills when they came up,because they meant auto more damage ,not much thinking there.

Over all the combat system is too easy and does not really play like a skillfull turn based system.The old system where by you have a group that fights one strong mob and you have a tank and control hate ,the healer controls there healing,the DD players know how to play there role and the whole combat goes down a ton more challenging and skillfull AND ORGANIZED.

IMO most every game has a LONG road to climb before they make a good challenging combat system.

 

It's 30 seconds with 9 mercs.

Either way, ttry PvPing. It takes a lot of skill and fast thinking to win and not just random hitting of abilities.

Ofcourse PvE is diffferent (Tho trying your best always works better then "random" button mashing) but in which MMO isn't that the case? :)

 

Overal I am really enjoying it. It cought me completely off guard too as I expected Korean Grind Fest 2956297654. Instead I got something that I've beeen playing extensively for longer then I play most P2P mmo's.

New Post Quote
11/27/08 11:21:32 AM
 
Kien writes:

Why I won't play this game

 

(from the license agreement):

Current fees for using the Service are published in the billing section of the Web Site. All fees are stated in U.S. Dollars. NDOORS may change its fees and billing methods at any time effective immediately after notice of the changes are posted on the Web Site. All changes will be posted on the Web Site and you are responsible for reviewing the billing section of the Web Site to obtain timely notice of such changes. If any such change is unacceptable to you, you may terminate your use or our service in the GZ Outlet store. Your continued use of the Service after posting of the changes on the Web Site will deems you accept such change. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT YOU ARE FULLY LIABLE FOR ALL CHARGES UNDER YOUR ACCOUNT AND ONCE YOU AUTHORIZE US OR OTHER DESIGNATED PAYMENT SERVICE TO CHARGE YOUR SELECTION OF PAYMENT METHOD FOR A CERTAIN AMOUNT, SUCH AMOUNT SHALL UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES BE REFUNDABLE IN WHOLE OR IN PART, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, UPON TERMINATION OF YOUR ACCOUNT FOR ANY REASON, TERMINATION OF THIS AGREEMENT, TERMINATION OF THE GZ OUTLET AND/OR THE DISCONTINUATION OF THE SERVICE. For further information on billing, please see the Web Site. If your use of the Service is subject to use or sales tax then NDOORS may also charge you for such taxes, which will be in addition to the rates and charges published in the billing section of the Web Site.

 

Uh... Sorry... but I don't plan on checking the web site every day to make sure they aren't suddenly charging me $100.00/hour to play the game....

 

New Post Quote
11/30/08 9:47:22 PM
 
Aspenglade writes:

Considering the game is Free to Play, they'd need your billing info to charge you.  So unless you buy stuff in the item mall, you would be safe.

New Post Quote
12/01/08 1:58:25 AM
 
Kien writes:
Originally posted by Aspenglade

Considering the game is Free to Play, they'd need your billing info to charge you.  So unless you buy stuff in the item mall, you would be safe.

Of course you would be correct 99.5% of the time. Maybe I'm a little over cautious because I'm the type of person that actually, always, reads agreements. I'm not sure why the lawyers felt the need to insert such an aggressive clause in the agreement since its highly unlikely the company would take legal action against the thousands of people currently playing the game for free.

I noticed they installed stuff on my computer even though I rejected the agreement. Hurmpf. IE, which I don't even use, popped up on its own and then quickly disappeared. On start-up, computer kept popping up a box saying it couldn't connect to the server and would I like to retry? Had to use system restore to get rid of the junk.

New Post Quote
12/01/08 6:52:40 PM
 
Wizardry writes:

I went no further than the first two points because it became obvious that the point reason/premise to gaming was missed.

First of all,the reason the battles are not waiting for others is because it is designed for SOLO,so you are not waiting for anyone anyhow.IF it was based around grouping,then it would become skillfull and tactical to see how each player reacts to the mobs,it leads to different opportunities.

example..i am playing FFXI,i see my thief all of a sudden run behind the mob, i know right away that means SNEAK ATTACK, i can line up the weapon skill to match it depending on what Renkai i want.If there was a TANK in front of the THIEF as well i would know they are setting up a SATA,so i would help by lining up and taking hate.I know there is a lot of mindless players that just want games they can SPEED level ,for some reason they find fascination in that,but i also know there is a lot of gamers out there looking for tactics/challenge and team work,and INTERESTING battles.

Second point....they seem to be eluding to battle as being boring and DRAWN OUT.well guess what?why not make the combat INTERESTING and tactical so it does not feel boring and drawn out,there way of thinking is the EASY way out and very simplistic gaming.I would say that way of thinking caters to VERY young gamers ,like maybe the age group of sub 12.

I am sorry but i commend them for trying to be a little different,but they are thinking too much along the realms of F2P gaming.

I have not played this game in quite some time,but was it not also the game where you could just push an icon and it would AUTO run/walk you to your quest?I found that distracting as i got REAL lazy and ended up not learning any of the surroundings or maps.

 

 

New Post Quote
12/04/08 3:25:48 PM
 
LoboMau writes:

This game was a very pleasant surprise! Im enjoying every minute! And You know what is cool?...Its Free!

New Post Quote
12/10/08 7:15:55 PM
 
L2Dominion2 writes:

Since the producer is reluctant to give me this info I will ask it here....

 

Which "anti-cheat" (rolls eyes rolf) add-on program is deployed with this game.

I Have taken the stance that no game with craftware like HackShield/GameGuard/Punkbuster is installed on my family-PC.

 

I simple refuse my family computer to be at the mercy of some intrusive non-working anti-cheat root-kit-ish like add-on that usually breaks official or populair anti-virus/firewall software.

LineageII has it's crapware in the form of GameGuard (real cheaters use L2Walker I am told).

Rapplez used Hackshield but have changed to GameGaurd recently so I am guessing we will have Rappelzwalker soon too.

So lets hear it.

 

Can this game be played on a Vista x64 Machine?

Will it run in a VMware client?

Does it need administrative rights from the start to be able to install it at all? (Give-away that the game comes with root-kit-like software aka crapware)?

Does the game allow parental control to be deployed?

Can you play it on MacIntosh/*nix PC's?

Will the crapware be installed automatically when the game itself is removed from the computer or does it involve registry prunning?

 

Cheers,

 

L2Dominion2

 

 

New Post Quote
12/11/08 7:29:12 AM
 
Wizardry writes:
Originally posted by L2Dominion2

Since the producer is reluctant to give me this info I will ask it here....

 

Which "anti-cheat" (rolls eyes rolf) add-on program is deployed with this game.

I Have taken the stance that no game with craftware like HackShield/GameGuard/Punkbuster is installed on my family-PC.

 

I simple refuse my family computer to be at the mercy of some intrusive non-working anti-cheat root-kit-ish like add-on that usually breaks official or populair anti-virus/firewall software.

LineageII has it's crapware in the form of GameGuard (real cheaters use L2Walker I am told).

Rapplez used Hackshield but have changed to GameGaurd recently so I am guessing we will have Rappelzwalker soon too.

So lets hear it.

 

Can this game be played on a Vista x64 Machine?

Will it run in a VMware client?

Does it need administrative rights from the start to be able to install it at all? (Give-away that the game comes with root-kit-like software aka crapware)?

Does the game allow parental control to be deployed?

Can you play it on MacIntosh/*nix PC's?

Will the crapware be installed automatically when the game itself is removed from the computer or does it involve registry prunning?

 

Cheers,

 

L2Dominion2

 

 

Haha guess what TCOS uses?  game guard.As a matter of fact TCOS is full of freeware.I agree that no game should respected that uses gameguard.I have NEVER seen it work once,it is always hacked EASILY.IMO it is only in these games as part of an insurance clause to prevent them from getting sued if players all start getting hacked and private information is stolen.

New Post Quote
12/13/08 8:03:13 PM
 
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