Forward Compatible Podcast: Missing Worlds Media Interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSizrrJP5fg
I took notes from it so you don't have to sit through the half hour of podcast if you don't want, but you have the link above just in case. Basically, FCP interviewed MWM concerning the Phoenix Project. So here's the questions, their answers, and even time signatures in the video in case you want to open the video and get more specifics.
Q1) Who are you and what are you working on? (about 2:00 in)
A1) Blablabla we already know this answer. Next-gen superhero MMO.
Q2) When did you know "Plan Z" (create a whole new game) would take effect? (3:30)
A2) Started discussing Plan Z right away. We came together around mid October. Then by November/December, we congealed it and started organizing.
Q3) Roughly, how far into development would you say you are? (4:12)
A3) Roughly on schedule?
Q3B) Are you guys close to Alpha yet?
A3B) Not for some time. The first thing we're looking to make is the avatar builder. This has been a staple for any superhero mmo; it's almost a game unto itself. So we're going to release that first, and for that, we're aiming sometime middle of 2014.
Q4) As far as the core mechanic, how will the gameplay compare to CoX? (4:54)
A4) CoX and Champs are both slow compared to newer games (such as East Universe Online or Neverwinter), but the newer games also feel more twitchy / FPS feeling. The goal is to be more active than CoX without getting a twitchy / FPS pretending to be an MMO.
Q4B) Are you drawing inspirations from other MMOs out there? (6:00)
A4B) A lot. We've been spending lots of time studying other games to see what works and what doesn't. Getting back to what you asked earlier, people aren't going to walk into our game and be all "Oh, this is a clone of CoX". Instead, people will walk in and be all "Oh, I can select my super powers, I can build my character the way I want to and I enjoy the feel of it..."
Q5) Can we expect a moon base or an underwater level? (8:38)
A5) Not initially. While that would be interesting stuff, we want to just build our core zones and get a solid basis we can expand upon.
Q6) Speaking of core zones, do you plan to have seamless map loading (Like in WoW)? (9:19)
A6) Yes. (short version of what he said)
Q7) Are you doing a kickstarter? (10:30)
A7) Indeed. Though we wanna have at least something to show for it before we do a kick starter, rather than promise on a maybe.
Q8) How are you handling travel powers? (11:16)
A8) Just about any superhero travel power you can think of should be in there. Though flight for sure since that's the power people comment on the most. ;)
Q8B) I always wanted to swing like Spiderman...
A8B) The engine can handle it. The only challenge will be animation. If we can make a power work, we're going to get it in there.
Q9) How many classes do you guys have planned currently? (12:55)
A9) We took a look at how other games did their archetypes, then we stripped down what CoX did. You essentially have 3 core mechanics that were reflavored. So Stalker, Scrapper, Brute all functionally the same. So we came up with the idea of Classification (Your primary ability) and Specification (Your secondary ability). It comes down to about 18 "classes" you can play. Then you can thoroughly customize them on top of that.
Q10) Are you sticking with traditional good guys v bad guys? (15:00)
A10) While there will be a very clear choice between good and evil, as you make choices, your character will work through a sliding scale and settle on an "alignment" you enjoy playing. (Sounded to me kind of like a mix of CoX and KotoR)
Q11) You just had your first panel in Seattle. How'd that go? (16:35)
A11) Quite well. We had a great time. We ran into people who hadn't hear of us until then. We got some new ideas, such as picking up trophies from accomplished missions that you can keep in your base and such.
Q12) Base items, eh? So you ARE planning bases/hideouts? (17:33)
A12) Absolutely. In fact the SECOND product along our release schedule that we're planning after the avatar builder is the base builder. We are using the same tools to build the world as we are to build the base builder, not only to speed up progress and save time, but also to allow you to be able to build scenes and such you see throughout the game.
Q13) After the con, what kind of support have you guys seen? (18:32)
A13) The community has been very supportive all throughout. The con didn't increase that by
much, but the community at large did get a lot more excited after the con.
Q14) What kind of art style are you trying to accomplish? (19:30)
A14) For now, we're trying to not go
fully realistic, mostly because everyone right now is trying to get as close to realism as they can. We wanna stand out. So we're going for semi-realistic style. We're also trying to allow much more flexibility with character creation so you can have overweight or anorexic characters. Trying to have as much customization as possible while still staying within the *general* realm of reality.
Q15) How do you plan to stand out from what's available? (21:22)
A15) Well we've mentioned the base builder and how you'll get trophies from missions to put in the base, sort of advancing the story of your character. We plan to examine what it is superheroes and supervillains do to advance their own stories. So heroes don't typically walk up to you and say "Can you please give me a mission? Thank you for the mission!" and then go do it. Not in comics, anyway. We're working on something called the "leads" or "clues" system (still waffling a bit on the name); You gather the leads, put them together and discover a mission. Mechanically, it's kind of like a craft system. You get leads by talking to contacts and/or street sweeping. "Oh look, you beat up these thugs and found a matchbox with your arch-nemesis' face on it". You can even pick them up during missions are at missions conclusions and realize this mission leads to another.
Q16) Will we see an enhancement system? (23:58)
A16) Yes. We call it the "boost" system. It's
similar to the CoX thing, but it's still in the works. But we are aiming for a way for you to basically be able to alter your character enough that they will start one way and by level cap, wind up completely different.
Q17) Are there going to be billboards for Ford? Easter Eggs? (25:52)
A17) Easter eggs? Yes. What are they? We're not going to reveal. As for product placement? We'll definitely be looking into that. (No joke... getting funding from big companies would be real nice)
Q18) Any exclusives you care to share with us? (27:10)
A18) At this moment, no.
Q19) Anything you guys wanted to add before we end here? (28:47)
A19) Power customization. In CoX, you could color your power and have alternate animations. We're looking a lot into the custom animation where you will be able to flow seemlessly from one power to the next. One of the things we're looking at having for our C-Store is alternate animation sets for your powers. So instead of shooting fireballs from your hands, maybe you'll have a phoenix behind you that shoots fire, or maybe you shoot arrows with flaming tips that explode. One of the things we were looking at was the people who wield guns. What if we have animated weapons? Like rotating barrels, clips popping out, etc.
And then the show ended with plugs for facebook and such.
Meanwhile, Titan Icon v 1.2 updated with the ability to wander around Atlas (or Mercy Island if you choose villain) after character creation. Still no use of powers, but pressing "1" allows you flight (fastest possible flight). You can access the download here:
http://www.cohtitan.com/forum/...hp/topic,7288.0.html
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:08, Fri 19 July 2013.
