Well met, fellow Crusaders, the time has come, once again, for us to talk about Eternal Crusade, the upcoming MMO/Shooter hybrid being developed by Behaviour Studios, in Montreal. If you recall, our last article, bemoaning the lack of communication between the devs and the community, was published on the same day as Nathan Richardsson’s “State of the Crusade” post. After that, this last Friday, there was a mini-Twitch, which provided our rabid community with even more information, thus completely discrediting the article. That’s the nature of journalism, I suppose, but I am going to go with the idea that our article inspired him. Yeah, that’s the ticket. In any case let’s take this time to look at what we learned.
The State of the Crusade speech Is Nathan essentially explaining to the community the changes that have been made, or are coming, in the way information will be disseminated and shared. No longer will we receive “filler” information, or see “new” footage unless it contains something that is actually new. The team is currently very dedicated to getting the work done, and that means little to no time remains for non-game related work. This also takes us to our second point; no longer will there be Early Access Modules. Developing them takes time away from the production of the actual GAME. What we will get now will be Founder’s Beta, a more complete version of the final game than an early access module, and one that will be closer to the final product, when we finally see it.
Another point that Nathan wants to drive home is that the transparency will still be there, but it will be more concrete. Behaviour wants to move away from making statements that they need to amend later, as the situations change and develop. The community will still have plenty of influence that they can share with the devs, usually in the form of lively discussion about various systems that are in development.
Last week’s mini-Twitch also had some new information to share, most importantly more information about the upcoming fifth sub-faction votes. Each Founder will have ONE vote for each faction, choices being limited to a handful of offered sub-factions. The Eldar can choose between Yme-Loc, Altansar and Mymeara, three fairly underused and underrated factions.
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Maugen Ra, Savior of Altansar, and my favorite Phoenix Lord
Altansar was caught in the Eye of Terror for ten thousand years, until, at the start of the 13th Black Crusade, the Phoenix Lord Maugen Ra, found his way back to Altansar and led them back into the galaxy, to oppose Abaddon and his forces. Sadly, there was to be no happy welcoming from the other Eldar craftworlds, Altansar had spent so much time in the Eye of Terror that none of the other Eldar trusted them. The fact that the Eldar of Altansar never remove their helmets and only speak in whispers has only served to reinforce the Eldar distrust of natives of the Craftworld.
Yme-Loc is also located close to the Eye of Terror, and the natives are considered to be amongst the best of the Eldar craftsman and artisans. The denizens of Yme-Loc favor the use of massive war machines in battle, like Titans and Engines of Vaul. There is also talk of an ancient weapon capable of destroying entire continents, which doesn’t bode well for the other factions, should Yme-Loc win the vote for the fifth sub-faction.
Finally, the craftworld of Mymeara is the third craftworld up for vote. Mymeara’s claim to fame is its long, arduous struggle against the Orks. Vast numbers of Mymeara’s population perished in these wars, and the craftworld itself was only saved by the efforts of Irillyth, the Phoenix Lord of the Shadow Spectres. I am not a big fan of Mymeara, nor Shadow Spectres, as I find them somewhat cheesy in the tabletop game, so my vote will be going to Altansar.
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Jain Zar, newly revealed faction leader for the Eldar in Eternal Crusade
Also revealed was the leader of the Eldar faction on Arkhona, the Phoenix Lord of the Howling Banshees, Jain Zar. Jain Zar was chosen due to her renowned aggressiveness, and to provide a little more female presence in a game where female presence is in limited quantity. The role of faction leaders is still being hotly debated by Eternal Crusade forum goers, with arguments ranging from they will serve as sources of missions and exposition (cool looking as they might be), all the way to that they are super-units that will become available to the most successful players after a long (long) time, and only if certain conditions are met. Personally, I do not think players will get to play these faction leaders, as their presence on the battlefield would be too game-changing. I think these leaders will serve to advance the Crusade, and provide some background on each faction’s motives, as well as to add some cool flavor to each faction, in the form of a colorful and charismatic hero/leader.
Remember, you can join the conversation about the development and future of Eternal Crusade, just go the official website, register for the forums, and jump into whatever threads catch your eye. We will talk again soon, so stay tuned.
