2nd interview with En Masse Entertainment
Here is english version for those who cannot read in polish. Polish version of the interview is presented here: (part1) (part2)
Hello Jason!
Thank you for another interview with us. The previous one was a hit among our readers, and I guess this one will be too. Take your time to sit with Brian and the rest of the gang and try to enlighten us about all we and our readers want to know about TERA.
Q: Let's not talk about fans being unhappy with choice of European publisher this time. The only question we are going to ask about it now is: Will we have the same westernized version of TERA En Masse is dedicating so much time and effort to make, or will Frogster localize the game straight from Korean version?
A: Frogster will publish the Westernized version of the game created by En Masse Entertainment.
Q: Everyone knows that the most important part of the game is so called END GAME, but game producers oftentimes forget about making it rich enough. What will it be like in TERA?
A: There will be high-level end-game instances, of course, and a lot of the end-game depth will come from the political system. Because of the effect that politics will have on the overall world, there will be quite a bit at stake—a good historical point of comparison might be the last days of the Roman Republic, before Julius Caesar and Octavian turned it into the Roman Empire.
Q: We already read about political system, but is that all? Does that mean that people who reach max level will be restricted to endless PVP?
A: Not at all! There are instances for groups to participate in, and if you'd rather avoid politics, you can get together with groups of friends and go kick a little ass in the battlegrounds.
Q: How about PvE servers? Will there be enough endgame instances and world bosses to provide players with enough fun after reaching max level?
A: We’re working on making the journey and destination equally fun.
Q: Will there be instances requiring multiple parties to complete? Something similar to raid instances in other games.
A: Right now, we’re balancing most of the PvE elements for parties of five players. We will look into expanding this after launch.
Q: When we talk about instances: Will they all be static in a way that other games instances’ are static? What I mean – will there be some random element in the layout of the dragon's lairs or dungeons, preventing you from perfecting the instance with your eyes closed?
A: Instances won’t be random in that respect, but TERA’s combat system is extremely hard to manage with your eyes closed, because your foes respond and adapt to you and your party's actions. In turn, you must adapt your tactics to your foe's patterns. Even if you fight the same mob several times, chances are they will never repeat the same attack pattern precisely because of placement, random elements, and of course the fluid nature of the action combat.
Q: Another thing is how long will those instances be? Our experience in FGT shows that instances that are shorter but much more intense than in other games are also much more fun. It also lets you have fun when your time is limited. Will all instances be like that, or will there be ones that are longer for those who prefer spending more time for a greater prize?
A: This is something we’re still working on balancing. Obviously we want to provide the maximum range of experiences for players, whether you’ve got the entire weekend or a just a couple of hours to play.
Q: Homunculus' are interesting solution, but aren't you afraid of what they mean? All towns and hamlets will be probably littered with wild amounts of those creatures. With well organized Auction House it seems to be obsolete and irritating, although some players seem to like the idea. Are you thinking about making some more restrictions on where Homunculus' can be deployed?
A: We’re definitely working on refining the Homunculus system and exploring other options for selling goods.
Q: Speaking of Homunculus – they look strange and childish for game that is going to be rated as 18+, only Darling looks semi decent. Wouldn't it be wise to replace their models with something fitting more to the theme of the game for western audience?
A: We’re looking at expanding the variety of Homunculi.
Q: The theme of the female Popori is coming back like a boomerang. On our forums, as well as on others they are being laughed at because they look like 13 year girls, but more that they look like totally different specie than male Popori. Aren't you afraid that it will ridicule the game in the eyes of players that are not yet so die hard fans of TERA like we are?
A: We’re aware that there are different cultural tastes, and it’s something we’re working on in the Westernization process. Lead Writer David Noonan has this to say about the female popori:
“Most poporis have taken on the forms of woodland animals—fitting given their role as protectors of the world’s wild places. The female-looking poporis are more like dryads or wood nymphs, and they’ve taken on the appearance of the original goddess of the wilderness in tribute to her. (There’s a whole mythology about that, which we gradually reveal in gameplay.)”
Q: You gave some information about introducing mounts before. Can you say us something more about mount system in TERA? Will there be great choice of mounts to choose from? We have seen some white dogs here and there (Labrador race or similar), and they were big enough to work as mounts. Wouldn't that be cool?
A: It would be pretty cool! Mounts are something we’re still working on. Just to set expectations, we will likely launch with fewer mount options and add them in as we go.
Q: This is an odd question for us, as our command of English is far from being perfect, but this has been crossing our minds many times and we never seen it answered. As far as we understand: person can be exiled, but not territory. How come the Realms of Arborea are Exiled? What does that really mean?
A: That’s a VERY good question and your command of English serves you well here. Territory cannot be exiled, therefore the “realms” in question couldn’t be exiled either unless they were people. Or part of people, or part of some entity.
But fiction-hints aside: you may have noticed "The Exiled Realm of Arborea" subtitle disappearing from our website, and we’re probably just going to drop the subtitle outright and stick to TERA.
Q: In some recent interviews Brian was giving some information about leveling up. As far as we understood it there will be main story arc that is pushing you to explore parts of TERA as well as some additional optional story arcs that let you differentiate leveling when doing that with multiple characters. How strong will be the story arc connected with ability to explore new areas? Will I have to progress in the same way we had to progress through certain levels/quests in a manner we had to progress in the Island of Dawn to be able to go to Velika, or will i be able to explore entire continents freely? Of course i realize that going to high level area with my newbie will probably get me killed in the instant, but will there be other obstacles than that?
A: Apart from the Island of Dawn, there won’t be any open world level-restricted areas. That being said, you’re right: if you wander into the wrong part of the world as a lowbie, you’re not going to last very long.
Q: We haven't had enough time to really dig deep into crafting during FGT, and it seems there will be changes made to it anyway. How important role will it take, and what means do you have to prevent situation that comes to the game after some time that crafters are hardly able to sell anything because the market is over-saturated with goods, and cost of the materials are much higher than finished goods?
A: Crafting will play a very important role in the game, and we’re trying to balance the system so that the short-term economy is just as good as the long-term, evolving economy. We always want crafting to be something fun that people can choose to participate in with associated rewards, so we’re working to find a balance for that.
Q: Speaking of the economy. Do you think you have enough money sinks to prevent cosmic inflation? I know it's hard to balance it the way that at the same time players won't feel like they are poor like the next beggar around the corner.
A: The short answer is yes. We could (and will) do a feature on building in-game economies, because it’s a very complex problem. We’re attempting to make things expensive enough that there’s a reward for purchasing something, while at the same time making sure there is enough wealth in the system so that players never feel disenfranchised—all while maintaining a very laissez-faire approach to the in-game system, letting player-generated economies grow themselves with minimal input from us. In-game political leaders will have a large degree of control over their local economies as well, but that’s a completely different topic.
Q: We are really curious about that new Glyph system presented at the ComicCon. It definitely adds to the possibility to customize your character, something big part of community was demanding loudly. While it might add depth to the game, it also makes us wonder if tweaking your characters with Glyphs won’t bring some troubles in balancing the game? Also your initial idea that there are no need for different builds as in the end everyone is playing the same “best” build, seemed pretty reasonable. How do you make sure that there won’t be one “Uberbuild” everyone will use, making entire idea of character customization as pointless as in other games?
Presentation of TERA on fan event during ComicCon -
new interface: modying skills by glyphs.
A: There are always going to be min/maxers in any game, and any time you give players a choice about how to build their characters someone will deconstruct the game mechanics to find the “uber” way to make the character. But TERA is an MMORPG, and people may want to build out various parts of their characters to emphasize different elements that they’re interested in. For example, your warrior might also be great at crafting, while another player might want a warrior who is a PvP Machine and so may choose different glyphs altogether.
Q: Achievement system is another element announced recently. It is very popular in so many games, but what we think it suits more single player games than MMOS. “If you don't like achievements don't bother with them” seems not to be an answer to the problem because in online worlds everything people do is influencing other gamers. For example in other games achievement hunters were spoiling PvPers fun, because they were joining battlegrounds not to fight in them, and help their team win, just to complete this or that achievement. Do you have plans to avoid that annoyance in TERA?
TERA Associate Producer Stefan Ramirez presents
recent changes to the game during ComicCon's fan event.
A: The way we structure the achievements will help avoid that to some extent. Sure, there’s always going to be "that guy" who wants to be the first one to hit 10,000 PKs, and he’ll probably embarrass himself in the process. But by making achievements more interesting and fun, we can make them a game enhancement for those who are interested, rather than just something that people feel they have to earn by participating in behaviors annoying to other players.
Q: Thank you for the time, and all those answers! We will be staying in touch with you, looking forward to meet in game again!
A: You’re quite welcome!
/Jetboy and BlackIguana
