Today on Twitch, Mark Jacobs and crew at City State Entertainment are unveiling the many systems for their upcoming MMORPG, Camelot Unchained. Today, the first stream is all about the stats system. We sent CSE some questions in advance, and you can find the answers below. Be sure to watch the livestream over at http://Twitch.tv/citystategames.
MMORPG.com: If items won’t have stat bonuses what will crafters have control over while making weapons and armor?
Mark Jacobs: Our crafters will be able to change a wide array of an item’s characteristics. For example, let’s say a Master Crafter wants to make a very special sword for a very wealthy client. First, we hope he will be able to change the look of the weapon so it doesn’t look like every other powerful but not Excalibur-level one. Second, he will be able to choose the materials he uses to make it, which could make it lighter (faster swing), more resistant to damage (needs repair less often), sharper (more damage) and a whole lot more. Also, he will be able to put a little of himself into the weapon using our soul system. This could result in other changes besides just the small sampling I mentioned above.
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MMORPG.com: There are a lot of primary and derived stats but only 4 secondary seems like it should be a primary and mass should be a derived. Do you plan on more secondary stats?
Mark Jacobs: These are the ones we are starting with, but they are not necessarily the final list. As we continue with the game’s development, I’m sure we will make some changes to both the primary and secondary statistics. .
MMORPG.com: Health mentions parts of the body. Will players take more damage based upon where they get hit at?
Mark Jacobs: That is one of the things we are going to be experimenting with right from the start. While such systems have been used in pen and paper RPGs forever, they are rare in MMORPGs. We hope this type of system works as well in the game as it looks like it will on paper. As always though, time will tell.
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MMORPG.com: Is encumbrance going to dictate how much a person can carry? I take it we won’t have super-duper bags of carrying everything you own into battle with you.
Mark Jacobs: Yes, encumbrance will be the final arbiter as to how much stuff you can have on when you set off to adventure in the world. Right now, there are no plans to have SDBC that have no weight. This would mean players could venture forth while carrying the enough equipment to equip an entire platoon of warriors, which would run afoul of our vision for this game. Besides, that’s what pack animals (or third-stage Giants) are for. :)
MMORPG.com: Will certain classes be required to have certain minimum stat levels or can we create our player however we want?
Mark Jacobs: Classes will have certain minimal stat requirements before you can be admitted to them. However, these levels will truly be low enough so no one will feel we are using the minimum required stuff to disguise a different kind of system while at the same time promoting the “choices matter” philosophy. For example, if you are simply too weak to pick up a sword, you won’t be able to play a fighter-type class. OTOH, you also won’t have to spend all your stat points on strength (and other possible required stats) to join this class either.
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MMORPG.com: If we realize during the course of play that we really gimped ourselves can we reset our stats or will we have to reroll a new character?
Mark Jacobs: Respecs will not be easily available. Is it possible we will have a limited system so that if you mess up during creation, you can reset things? Yes, but this “Whoopsy Respec” would be limited to a relatively short time (days, not weeks) after character creation.
