Citadel of Sorcery Correspondent - Introduction
Citadel of Sorcery Correspondent Mike Balent pens this article that introduces players who may not be familiar with the game to the differences between CoS and other MMOs.
Introduction:
Citadel of Sorcery is an MMORPG currently in development. The game offers many unique features, and is finally breaking the mould of the countless clones in the market today. CoS will be a game that can challenge your mind, where decisions you make will affect your future, for better or for worse. Time to explain how I believe MMO Magic (the developers behind CoS) plan on doing this:
Quests in Citadel of Sorcery:
The quests in CoS are the true glory of the game. Let me start off by saying that these quests are not boring, uninteresting, linear quests. None of the “retrieve 10 pieces of fur from the wolves 15 miles away” quests that seem to flood today’s MMORPG market. These are no mindless quests that you can do when you are half asleep…Instead these quests will make you actually use your mind. The quests will make players have to think before they make every action, and players will NEVER be doing a linear, boring, uninteresting quest again!
Interested? Thought so, it only gets better from here on out.
Firstly, all quests can be done alone. No player will ever be forced to group for quests (or for many other activities). Now, this does not take away the option of grouping. While CoS always has the option for soloing, players can just as easily get in a group of up to eight and quest. The grouping option is always there, but you can always solo for any quest. That way, whether you feel anti-social or very social, there is always an interesting quest for you to do.
Now, onto the key part of the quests: the actual quests and the storyline. Within the evolving history of the ongoing world, each player has their own personal story. Every player creates their own unique story by the choices they make, and nobody else will ever be doing exactly the same quest as you (unless they are literally joining you in your quest). This means that you follow your own personal story, which nobody else will ever do. Even though these quests further your own personal story, it is possible to have other players join your quests as well. This will end up affecting all players’ personal stories.
The thing is; this story isn’t written in stone from beginning to end. Every single action you do will affect the outcome of your story. For example, say I was given a quest to help save a town under siege. Now, if I decide to help this poor town, and ended up saving the townspeople, perhaps they would help me later in return. If I needed help defeating an evil army, perhaps they would return the favor and help me. That is just a possible example of how every action can somehow affect the future story of your character. No one will ever be able to predict your story, or attempt to ruin the surprise for you; no one will ever know the outcome of the next event until it happens.
Also, many of these quests aren’t small. They can actually take one to two weeks (actual time) to complete! But there is no need to worry; there is no rush in completing these quests. There is a special system that automatically stops your storyline until you decide to continue it. For those wanting a shorter group mission, these are available as well. And when you don’t want the deep involvement of a Quest or Mission, you can always go on an adventure. These have to do with getting involved in the changing world as it happens, and what you do matters to the progress of the world!
Reflected Worlds:
Now that we went over some of the quest information, it is time to explain about where these quests are done, and explain about the Reflected Worlds.
All quests will be done in Reflected Worlds. The Reflected World is a true reflection of the real world. Though you may think this means an instance, truly it is very different from instances you see in other MMO games. When you travel to a Reflected World the whole world is there for you to enjoy. This means that you can travel anywhere in a Reflected World, and you are never limited to certain areas. Up to eight players can go into the Reflected Worlds at once, and players can come and go as they choose.
Now, there seems to be a lot of hate towards instances. It is really a matter of opinion if it is worth the payoff. The Reflected Worlds are a part of the world story, more on that later. These Reflected Worlds allow for a unique personal story with interesting quests that are an actual challenge. You even get to try a new kind of crafting system. On the other hand, if you are looking for a grinding game, with linear, boring quests, then I suppose you won’t like the Reflected Worlds system in CoS. For me the better game play is worth these massive instances without a doubt.
NPCs:
NPCs play a rather large role in Citadel of Sorcery, and can have an effect on your own personal story.
NPCs never stand around in the same spot day after day. They never continue to do the same actions constantly. Now, of course, if someone’s job was a farmer, then most likely they will be in the farm all day. After the day is over, they may pack up and go inside for rest. Or maybe they will go out for the night with a group of other NPCs. Or, perhaps they are planning something evil in the night, an attack against a rival farmer who has been selling his crops for a lower price. As you can see, the NPCs’ life goes on; they do not wait for you to do something. They live on with their life and are very active at all times…..whether for good or for evil.
NPCs can also give quests to players, but the NPC will ONLY give this quest to you. If you are asked to take on an evil religious cult (since you somehow received a reputation for slaying evil cultists) then he will only ask you for your help. If another person talked to that NPC they would not receive this quest. If you had not fought an evil cult in the past, then the NPC would probably not have asked you for help with his problem. What you did in the past may affect the future of your character, and the future quests you receive. Every decision you take may change your character’s story.
Conclusion:
Citadel of Sorcery is a truly unique MMORPG. It is unlike anything on the market, and finally breaks that mould of clones that some of us hate so much. CoS is for the gamers who are interested in something new…a game where what you do has an effect on your future, and life always moves on. Where NPCs actually live their own lives, moving from place to place, doing daily activities. Where there are challenging quests that take determination and thought to complete, where one must think before every action. For these reasons, and many others, is why I believe that CoS will be a great MMORPG.
