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Imperator : Combat System Preview
Posted Jun 01, 2005 by Dana Massey
At E3 this year, the first half of Mythic's "dog and pony show" displayed Imperator, a sci-fi MMORPG where Rome never fell. However, weeks before E3 we had released this preview based on a visit to their HQ. So, I asked, why spit that back at you again? Instead, we trapped a member of their design team, Mike Lescault, and had an in-depth discussion about one aspect of the game: the combat system.
;) Imperator is set in a sci-fi alternate earth reality where Rome never fell and the republic is locked in an inter-stellar war with the Mayans – who left Terra (Earth) years before, leaving a plague in their wake. This setting immediately differentiates the game from most others. It is not fantasy in any way. The characters look realistic; there are no wizards or magicians – only people. Although some games obviously leap into a similar setting – namely Star Wars Galaxies – this change alone provides them with comparatively uncharted waters to explore and create something new in.
The first thing players notice in Imperator is that there is no auto-combat. If you wish to attack an enemy, you need to select an attack. As you fight, you lose energy and gain focus based on what feats you choose. The various combat moves work off one, or both of these things. This combination ensures players need to pay attention and strategize their combat. For example, do they wish to work the whole fight and build up to one giant pay off move that zaps all their focus or would they prefer to play it safe, and use more, but smaller moves that use only a portion of their hard-earned focus? |
You can read the full article at this link.
