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Runes of Magic Interviews: Chapter II Expansion Interview
MMORPG.com Managing Editor Jon Wood had the opportunity recently to ask a few questions of Matthias Fellinger, the Product Manager for Runes of Magic about the upcoming Chapter 2 expansion to the F2P game.
By Jon Wood on August 03, 2009
Hello to all mmorpg.com readers! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to tell you a little about the upcoming Runes of Magic Chapter II - The Elven Prophecy. My name is Matthias Fellinger, I'm the Runes of Magic Product Manager and am coordinating the game's progress and communications with our developer, Runewaker Entertainment. Enjoy!
| MMORPG.com: | How much land mass does this expansion add to the game compared to what was there before? |
| Matthias Fellinger: | Looking at the new world map we released a few days ago, you can see that the new areas we are adding with Chapter II are huge. For example, the Aotulia Volcano is almost the size of Sascilia Steppes and Dragonfang Ridge combined! And then there are the rainforest area of the Savage Lands and the new starting area, the Elven Island. The release of Chapter II itself will be something new as well. We are already releasing content f the new chapter in August by opening the new zone Weeping Coast zone, packed with a massive amount of new quests, and we are raising the level cap to 52. So all of our players will get a taste of Chapter II before launch and can prepare for the big release with lots of new content in September. |
| MMORPG.com: | How much new content will this expansion add? |
| Matthias Fellinger: | I think it´s pretty safe to say that we are adding content for every type of player. We are offering a completely new race, the Elves, and two new classes, Warden and Druid, which don't just allow for a new gameplay experience, but also extend our innovative dual class system as well. There will be lots of new instances for groups as well as for raid parties, giving you an intense PvE feeling with complex boss fights and some very nice loot. For PvP-players, we will implement new game modes and improve our current ones, so expect some nice player versus player fights. We will raise the level cap to 55 and, as mentioned before, add new areas with a massive amount of new quests for all you explorers out there. We are also working on new features like the "pet system," which we are already very proud of, that will add a completely new game experience. And - as always - we are working on improving the existing content we already offer in game. |
| MMORPG.com: | Will the expansion add any new races or classes to the game? |
| Matthias Fellinger: | The Elves will become a playable race in Runes of Magic with their own starting zone, the "Elven Island," and other zones including the rainforests of the Savage Lands. Of course, the Elves will add their heroic but tragic lore to the world of Taborea. Along with the Elves, we are offering two new classes, both representing the Elves' close connection to the powers of nature. The Druid is very versatile with his abilities and can be played in very different ways. Using Natures' power, druids can support their group or themself and have a wide range of healing spells available. They also possesses strong and powerful magical attacks, making them frightening opponents. The Warden will be our first "pet class," although that may not be the correct description, because they command the spirits of nature, meaning they have the power over woodland plants that support and strengthen themselves with the power of the forest. So, maybe the term "plant class" would be more accurate for this class. It's their duty to protect the Elves, so they are excellent close combat fighters as well. So having a "plant class" combined with a fighter is a very special and powerful combination for our players to try out. |
| MMORPG.com: | Will there be any statistical advantage or disadvantage to playing as an elf? |
| Matthias Fellinger: | At the moment we are not planning any statistical advantages or disadvantages when playing an Elf. One could argue that with the Warden and the Druid as their exclusive classes, Elves might have an advantage, but then they do not have access to the Priest or Knight classes. The goal is for it to be balanced, and at the same time, introduce a new race that is very popular among fantasy game players. |
| MMORPG.com: | Can you give us the Cliff Notes version of the story behind the expansion? |
| Matthias Fellinger: | Once, during the war against the Nagas and the Demons, the Elves and the humans fought together as allies. After their victory, they used magical artifacts to establish a ban shield to imprison the Nagas in the area around Aotulia Volcano. One of these artifacts was the Elven sword "Arclight." After the downfall of the kingdoms, and being threatened by the "Guardians," a powerful human creation that went terribly wrong, the Elves retreated to their island and the forests of the Savage Lands. As if this wouldn't have been enough already, the elves are cursed by the "The Curse of the Elven Twins." This curse drove an elven twin, in attempt to do good, to use "Arclight." By using this holy sword, he destroyed the ban shield that held off the evil Nagas. Now the Nagas are trying to take over and have started to spread across the world of Taborea threatening Elves and humans alike. Facing a possible war in the North of Candara, Yabis'an, king of the elves, once again calls his allies, the humans, to arms. And now, it's up to you to overcome this new challenge! |
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| MMORPG.com: | How often can players expect to get these content expansions? |
| Matthias Fellinger: | We are publishing free content updates on a monthly basis and are planning to release additional new chapters on a regular basis - also free of charge. |
| MMORPG.com: | What qualifies Chapter II as an expansion rather than an update? |
| Matthias Fellinger: | We're continuing to extend the lore of Taborea by adding new content, a new playable race, two new player classes, a large physical extension of the existing world, many new quests plus other, yet undisclosed features. With all of that, we think that Chapter II - The Elven Prophecy qualifies as an "expansion," although, we don´t like the word "expansion" for our free content updates. Imagine the world of Taborea like a large book with many chapters and we've just reached the second one! But, since Runes of Magic is free to download and play, everyone is invited to check out our new content and features. So why not see it with your own eyes? New zones, raids, instances, classes, elves, quests, improvements and much more will be out very soon! |
| MMORPG.com: | Your press release quotes the number 1.5 million players. Is this active players, players active in the item shop, or players who have ever signed up for the game? |
| Matthias Fellinger: | That's the number of accounts that have been created. This is quite usual for a free-to-play game, because the game is free to download and play, and some players might just register to give the game a quick spin. Also a lot of people play regularly, some only a few hours a month. We think that this is one of the huge advantages of Runes of Magic: No matter how often and how long you play the game, there are no costs involved and there is no complicated process involved as there is with subscription games, such as pausing your subscription for the holidays. Nevertheless, we are seeing a significant increase in the number of active players every day and have already added several new servers since launch. We even offer localized servers for Spanish and French speaking players and offer our website and forums in Romanian and Dutch. Thanks everyone for reading, and I hope I got you interested in checking out Chapter II! If you have any more questions, everyone is welcome on our official forums and fan sites. |
;)
I have been playing Runes of Magic for just over 2 weeks on a pvp server as a Knight Warrior. I honsty gave this game a far try. Unless you play a Mage or a Rogue this game is garbage for pvp. I feel someone should of paid me money to play this crap. I do not know what almost ever single mmorpg i play that has plate wearing classes that do damage with big large 2her hit for less then a tooth pick of a dagger and with ROM it hold strong to this tradition where casters and undergered rogues will wtfpwn anything and live to laugh about it.
The game is garbage and to anyone considering to play this pos game roll a rogue or a mage if you want to enjoy yourself.
don't listen to cypress--hes prissy and gives all mmo's bad reviews except for wow.
Who are you ? I even give wow a bad review. Eve i gave a great review, but hey if you like playing a 2her dpser this game Isn't for you and I clearly pointed that out in my first post. As for the prissy part. Who are you again ?
Runes of Magic is awesome. For how young it is and what it has had to follow it is one of this years biggest triumphs! It has provided a lot of people a lot of fun in this ailing economy I'm sure. Keep these expansions and game tweaks coming!
Runes of magic to me was like a PBJ sandwich. Its not going to surprise anyone at the same time, not many people hate a classic PBJ. Generic, simple, been there done that, but heck its free 2 play (Until high levels) so what the hell something casual to play once in a while.
This game is not too bad,it is good for a F2P,but it needs some serious fixing.There is obvious memory leaks and i am pretty sure they know it,yet nothing is being done.There is broken quests,they have gone quite awhile being broken,so not much if any effort shown there.
What they do keep right up to date is the constsnt push for item mall specials and the yare banking on a new areas/classes to keep the 50 level vets interested or to get them to reinvest into the item mall.
I think Frogster needs to get the game in full working order before pushing anything else.I also think the game could use some better explanations,i would bet there is a high % of players that do not understand a lot of the mechanics.Heck i know most are confused by the crafting for the first time.They should add a tutorial for crafting and for the whole aggregator/runes ordeal.I mean how can they expect to make money off of ideas that people do not understand?the simple answer is they won't lol.
This is sad because i am going on the line as to say probably 90% of the players do not understand the Aggregator/tokens/runes/stones stuff,maybe even higher like 99% lol.
I love this game. My new favorite F2P. But yeah, I agree with the guy above. They need a tutorial for crafting. I'm completely lost in this concept. Anyone want to shoot some tips or meet me in game?
~R~
Want a tip? Spend lots in the item shop, it will save you a huge grind.
Wizardry & Cypryss are DEAD ON. The game is full of bugs & totally unbalanced. Those who say the games amazing are either delusional, low level, or they're playing Mage/priests just like 60% of the server. At least in pvp thats all you need & if your into pve all you need is a knight(tank), priest/whatever & some mages, thats it, why take anything else. They come out with new features without fixing whats broken about the game. You guys who think ROM's badass, ask some 50/50's who dont suck, you know the guys who 1 or 2 shot you, or knights with 20k hp how much $$$ they spent on their guys. It maybe be F2P, but its not Free 2 Pwn
lol F2PWN
Wow, I haven't played this game before, don't really plan to either, but it seems great that a lot of content is being pushed out. That's not always good but with such a young game it seems like a good move. I also like how they just add large updates every month so the game continually grows.
I spent in the item shop, i got scammed too.
“We think that this is one of the huge advantages of Runes of Magic: No matter how often and how long you play the game, there are no costs involved and there is no complicated process involved as there is with subscription games, such as pausing your subscription for the holidays.”
Omg, yes it is really hard to stop a subscription by pressing a button and start it again by pressing another one.
There are no costs involved? They don’t have a Cash shop then? This is a blatant lie and shame on the reviewer for allowing him to get away with it.
Anyone interested in playing this game should read the posters here. This is supposedly one of the best F2P games and it lacks content, PvP is totally unbalanced, memory leaks, broken quests and a item shop which scams you. But heck at least you don’t have to press a button to stop your subscription during the holidays!
I got into this game pretty well. At the end I had a 50/50 Knight Mage and a 40/40 Warrior Rouge. The duel class system is what kept me playing. The waaaay over priced item mall, memory leaks and overall bad serverside performance is what made me leave. Maybe in this new release they will fix some issues. But I really doubt. As popular as it is, it is still just a F2P and will never be as good as P2P imho
i've hard-core played RoM as all class combinations at different servers during months. i made 3 50/50 chars and many medium-levels. i must say i really enjoyed and keep doing. i tried almost all other english mmos even p2ps, always i came back to RoM. in additon to all its beauties:
- it's free-to-play and pay-to-win (thx for wizlmtz)
- PvP is unbalanced and unfair
- crafting is waste of time
- lack of a complex pet system
i hope they will adjust them with chapter II
LOL
Well atleast its F2P.
That's pretty much dead on. Why would i as a player pay more money out on a F2P game to increase the overall effectiveness and performance of the class(es) that i am playing vs a P2P mmorpg that only requires me to grind and forces me to group ?
Logically when looking at a F2P and for the most part these are mmorpgs that couldn't get funded to be pushed for a P2P mmorpg. Personally i believe the item shop should be used to enhance your game experience not determine the overall effectiveness of that class you are playing and the only F2P game out there so far that i have seen do this is Battlefield Heroes.
I decided that i would get my level 25 Knight/15 Warrior to 50/50 to give it a fair enough review but, as it is right now off face value I am not too impressed with this game.
These are just a few things that i have noticed. Now don't get me wrong, I believe Runes of Magic could end up being one of the best mmorgps out there that is F2P but, lots of work in just these areas i mentioned needs to be addressed aside from memory leaks, quests not working the way they should in some areas ( I haven't personally found these quests of as yet, I'm pretty sure they do exist) and balance aside there is quite a few things really going for this mmorgp.
I felt that my first post did not give a justified review of this game nor did the time i have played for Rune of Magic and wanted to give another go at both. Now that being said, I plan to take another 2 weeks and try to get my Knight/Warrior to 50/50 to see if the game improves my first initial thoughts and opinions on it.
There is some other aspects of the game i also enjoy like elite skills for example but, given my lower levels i felt that giving a review on different aspects are not warranted as of yet.
These are only my personal opinions on Runes of Magic thus far and should be taken as such.
Cypryss
Cypryss,
this is not a review related topic and excuse me, it seems you didn't give enough time to get the mechanics of RoM. i don't wanna defend this game against you here but it's obvious that the questing is easiest, double-class is avant-garde, making your own equipments is difference maker, end-game is endless and community is really populated maturely. housing, elite skills, frequently added instances and items, guild functions, raid funs, auction economy etc. are great features that are related to an another issue.
i just hope Frogster makes some adjustments to increase our pleasure, even to make us spend more real money ^^
...waiting for something free to play, play to win, pay for comfort, luxury and time saving and all for fun.
and i'm quite sure that RoM is closest one to all of these in market.
You can't get mad because they want to get paid... seriously. This isn't communism, they made the thing to make a buck for themselves such is the way of the world. You wouldn't hand out lemon-aid for free in the summer out of the goodness of your heart. It's a privilege to play a game like this from start to finish without spending a dime, even if you aren't at the top of the "UBER LIST". Buy a horse, buy a cool sword, if they are 20 bux each is that so bad? Depends on a lot of variables. If you want to spend 200 bux on endgame armor or whatever and in a p2p game it would cost the same over time for the equivalent and the time and risk to obtain it is it worth it? Obviously some people are buying the items for those prices so as far as supply and demand go it's the players faults for allowing the market to rise 8 ) I haven't seen anything negative about this game that holds any water at all except people mostly wanting stuff for free lol. Personally, I haven't had much problems running this at all with 4 gigs memory on Vista32. If it crashes once in 4 hours, log back in. No biggie.
It's all about people feeling the need to spend whatever it takes to be number 1. If you are just content to play for fun and to pass the time and put money into it occasionally when you feel like it you'll be just fine. You don't always have to be at the top of the list to have fun, you just have to be on the list somewhere.
Your right for those of us living in a capitalist society, and in such a society the consumer has the right to vote with his feet. F2P (Micro Tans) games are clearly poorly constructed cash cows, play them at your peril.
Product manager? Was he the one who introduced two different cash shop items that had different functions but had the same name and icon? Way to confuse and rip off the customers!
www.runesdb.com/search.aspx
+1
some comment of my own:
the game itself is about as good as it gets for a f2p but if you play it long enough then you can see a lot of wasted potential, wasted because of sheer greed and how intricate the setup is to try to make you spend (lots of) cash for some basic comfortable playability. you can play for free but it might just disturb you too much how complicated and time consuming this gets. basically it's a polished asian grinder, polished but not western yet.
basically just at the end of the betatests the whole skillprinciple was reworked and what little balance existed was washed away in the blink of an eye. despite of protests and topplayers leaving the game the developers have afterwards continued into the wrong direction. it's mainly about new content now but it's build on the flaws which are obvious for gamers but not for 'product managers' who don't play like a player does (this article is just another piece of salestalk and quite funny for someone who's been around in game for a while).
if you follow the eu forums then you'll also find out that the community and customer support is lacking because despite of some capable managers there it's as good as cut off from the financial management and development or simply dictated by them and money seems to be the main concern ; which is still better than the US side according to those players who want to tell their story on the eu forums. they talk about mass censorship and mass banning of criticism.
basically it's a good game which keeps you occupied for months but for the 21st century it's all to clumsy how this game is run from the start and the greed is just disturbing. the funny thing is : they could make a lot more if they simply adapted their marketing ways to a western standard instead of a blatant asian money trap.
while this productmanager is spawning his message lots of players from the first hour have already left and others are just waiting for improvement instead of new flashy content.