Trion Worlds Talks Gamescom: A 3-in-1 Interview

MMORPG.com:

Can you share with us what you'll be showing at Gamescom this year? Traditionally these shows are about the players, so what's new that we'll be getting our hands on?

Adam Gershowitz:

As always we've got a ton of exciting things in the pipe for our upcoming patches. For Gamescon we'll be doing a sneak peek at some of the features of our 1.5 patch, which will be focusing on "Endgame for All" content. Specifically we'll be showing people our new Chronicle instances, which are targeted towards solo or duo sized groups. We will also be showing our next weekend warfront which takes place in Hammerknell, as well as discussing a number of really exciting features we're planning but are not quite ready to show live.

MMORPG.com:

What's the new Warfront all about? Can you give us some more details on the mechanics or setting?

Adam Gershowitz:

Weekend warfronts are a way for us to spice up the normal warfront grind with fun new gameplay, and bonus rewards. Our first Weekend Warfront map takes place in Whitefall Steppes and introduces a new game mode called Escalation.

Escalation has similar mechanics to a traditional CTF map (Steal an object and bring it back to your base) but focuses on breaking many of the stalemate conditions that makes capture the flag frustrating. Each team needs to return three Power Crystals to their cannon to fire it and wipe the other team off the face of Telara.

Power crystals are periodically spawned from the giant air rift in the middle of the zone, and the longer the match goes on the more crystals available to power your Cannon. In addition just returning the crystal to your base won't mean you win the map, you need to defend your cannon & its power crystals. If you don't then the other side can deep strike into your territory and steal them right from under your nose!

MMORPG.com:

How about some of the other "Summer of Rift" features? Will we be seeing the Chronicles of Telara stuff in action at PAX or Gamescom?

Adam Gershowitz:

Definitely! Players will get their first look at Chronicles of Telara at Gamescon. We'll be showing our first (of many) Chronicle instances. Players will get a sneak peek into Hammerknell and a deeper look into the story behind the corruption of King Molinar and the fall of Hammerknell Fortress!

MMORPG.com:

What will End of Nations be showing at gamescom? Will we finally be seeing more the fabled PvP in this MMORTS?

David Luehmann:

Gamescom is a big event for Trion, and the biggest part of our presence will revolve around the next content reveal for End of Nations. We will be showing a new PvP map variation that pits teams of 8 players against each other in an epic clash. We will also be focusing on (or revealing) the End of Nations PvP Meta-game. In these matches, the winning faction takes control over a territory after a sequence of successful battles against the opposing side. After these battles take place, the territorial control will shift to the faction that is victorious with the overarching goal of world domination against the Order of Nations. Each day at Gamescom the demo stations on the floor will be fighting for control over three different sections of Australia.

MMORPG.com:

What else might gamers get a peek at during the event? Will all of the Commander classes be playable?

David Luehmann:

We will be hosting live demos, PvP tournaments and a fan event on Saturday night so attendees will have a great opportunity to get full access to EON during Gamescom.

MMORPG.com:

How close are we to a wide-scale beta test? We're all getting just a tiny bit anxious for End of Nations to start making noise.

David Luehmann:

We're deep into the development process and the game is coming along spectacularly, but we don't have any news to share on a launch timeframe for End of Nations. You can expect to see a lot more exciting reveals in the near future!

MMORPG.com:

What can players expect to see from Defiance at the show? Has there been a lot done since the big unveiling a while back?

Rob Hill:

Defiance isn't quite ready for its player debut, but we will have it at the show to demonstrate to important retail partners, industry partners, and television partners. This will be the first time the game will be shown in Europe, and we will be playing live with players across the ocean! We have made a lot of progress since E3, but a lot of work still lies ahead!

MMORPG.com:

How's the development coming, and when does the team think they'll be ready to share more about both the show and the game?

Rob Hill:

We are really digging into the interconnections between the game and the show, which is one of the most interesting elements of this project. Just prior to Gamescom, we hosted a group of show writers, who came to our offices to get a demo of the game and to mingle with the game writers and share ideas! No word on when the next big announcement will be, but www.defiance.com would be the place to watch for such things.

MMORPG.com:

Lastly, if there's one thing you want us inpatient fans to know, a tidbit of info you can offer, what is it?

Rob Hill:

We recently completed another overhaul of our in-game weapons to make them more interesting both in terms of visuals and stats. We'd like players to see a gun and quickly tell what kind of ammo it takes and what kind of damage it can do.