News From Alex van Kaam Being back playing EQ again I figured I might as well start the news with another MORPG game: http://www.darkageofcamelot.com/, the official Dark Age of Camelot page, many screenshots and of course a FAQ: What is Dark Age of Camelot? Dark Age of Camelot is a massively multi-player online role- playing game conceived and developed by Mythic Entertainment. Set in the Kingdom of Albion in the years immediately following the death of King Arthur, players of the game enter a world in chaos, where Arthur's peace has been shattered and dark forces threaten the Kingdom. Unlike traditional role- playing games in which a player's greatest challenge is fighting computer- controlled monsters, players in Camelot will come face-to-face with their greatest challenge yet, other players. In Camelot, players must choose to be members of one of the three Realms that are striving for mastery in this chaotic world: The Britons, the Celts, or the Norse. The Britons are the former kingdom of Albion, once ruled by the great King Arthur. The Celts are from the wild and magical western island of Hibernia. The Norse are the large barbarians from the lands to the north of Albion. Building upon the foundation laid by such great games as EverQuest, Asheron's Call, and Ultima Online, the game features 3D-accelerated graphics with movable camera, multiple class and race combinations, and has built in and balanced team Player vs. Player (PvP). Unlike its predecessors, in Camelot, PvP conflict is an integral part of a player's experience in the world, not an afterthought. When will Camelot be done and when will beta testing start? The game is slated to be complete by Fall 2001. The game's beta program has been under way since September 2000. Currently we are in the third phase of beta testing. There also is a nice list of all the races to be found in the game: Realm of Albion Because Albion is the remnant of King Arthur's kingdom, the races that players can choose from in this Realm are all based on the Arthurian Legends. Briton:The standard human of Albion, good at many things, able to be of many classes -- the quintessential jack of all trades. Avalonian:A taller, thinner, more austere and intelligent human, hailing from the magical city of Avalon. More adept at magic than the other Briton races. Saracen:Hailing from the desert sands far to the south, the Saracen is the descent of Sir Palomides, one of Arthur's most devoted knights. Saracens excel in anything that involves dexterity and quickness. Highlander:Large kilt-wearing men and women from the northern Highlands of Albion. Highlanders are big, strong, and exceedingly loyal subjects. They are especially good at armed combat. Realm of Midgard The Norse inhabitants of Midgard are hardy mix of human and creature, but all are rough, tough, and love battle. As such, the Norse are the best fighters, but have the weakest magic, which is mostly limited to the priests of their different gods. Norseman:Common man of Midgard. Tall and strong, loves the snow and ice of his native land. Norsemen are good at just about anything, but do not excel at any one task. Dwarf:Wise, short, and stocky creature hailing from the underground caverns of Midgard. Dwarves make good priests and fighters. Troll:Huge, strong, and slow, the Troll is one of the largest races in all three Realms. Due to their large size, Trolls have a natural advantage in physical combat. Kobold:Mischievous, quick, and small, Kobolds are natural at any task involving feats of dexterity, sneaking, and other Rogue-ish skills. Realm of Hibernia The Realm of Hibernia, located on an Island just to the west of Albion, is a combination of nature-worshipping humans and magical elvish "Undermountain" creatures. The two forces have joined together to fight their common enemies. In general, Hibernian races are more attuned to magic (both natural and supernatural) than the other Realms, although they are not quite as good at armed combat. Elf:A tall thin beautiful humanoid creature with haunting magical eyes who specializes in magic. Celt:The human character of Hibernia. Celts are close to nature, and are naturally good at combat, nature magic, and song. Firbolg:Huge humanoid creatures, rumored to be a mix of man and giant, Firbolg are wood-dwelling and are as attuned to nature as Celts. Because of their size and strength, they are naturally very good fighters. Lurikeen:Small and extremely quick and dexterous, the Lurikeen are a race of magical creatures that come from the same Undermountain area as the Elves, who they slightly resemble. Lurikeen are naturally adept at stealth, hiding and magic. The guys over at http://www.voodooextreme.com/articles/insidethewallsofcamelot .html also have up a truckload of screenshots.... and boy do they look good !! The people at Verant (EverQuest) are also working on Star Wars Galaxies, another MORPG game: http://starwarsgalaxies.station.sony.com/. They also have a FAQ and here is some info about from it, about this game: 1.02 What is the game going to be like? First and foremost, it is going to be Star Wars. We are trying to capture as many aspects as possible of life in that Universe. Players will be able to fight stormtroopers, hang out in a cantina, build droids, and explore the galaxy... We want each player to become whatever he or she wants to be, from a shop owner to a bounty hunter to a galactic hero, or even all of the above. 1.03 Is this a multiplayer-only game? Yes, this is a massively multiplayer online game set in the Star Wars universe. You play a character in a virtual universe. Players will be able to adventure solo while online; grouping is not required. (That is not to say that players will be able to play "Han Solo" however) 1.04 What is a MMORPG? MMORPG is a terribly long acronym for "Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game". It is used to classify games like EverQuest and Ultima Online. 1.05 Will this be EverQuest in Space? No. Star Wars Galaxies is being designed from the ground up to be its own game. Although many of our designers have learned a great deal from games such as EverQuest, Ultima Online and Meridian 59, we are dedicated to making a new game designed to work well with the Star Wars universe. They also have some pretty cool screenshots at: http://starwarsgalaxies.station.sony.com/media/screenshots.jsp Next on the MORPG list is http://www.adellion.com/, what the game is all about you can read right here: World Size Adellion is a massive world, with two square miles added for each person that joins. Should he join the ranks of Rahkzan the Terror, his plot will be given to him in the south. In turn, should he align himself with the Council of Salandorf, he will be given land in the north. Time Time flows constantly, as it does in reality. Seasons very similar to our own will pass in succession. However, time passes quicker in the world of Adellion. In fact, it passes exactly twice as fast. This means twelve hours in a real-life day, fourteen days in a week, and so on. Years are measured differently in this land however, as there are only fifty-six total. (Four real time weeks.) Movement Movement is effectively limited, as in RL. You will find no glorified marathon runners here. As your character travels, he or she will occasionally need to stop and rest. Under normal circumstances, a person will only be able to travel twenty miles per day. With a horse as mount though, that number is effectively doubled. Economy The Adellionic economy will be intricate and detailed. One of the main aspects of any economic activity is the number of peasants living on your land. As you become more wealthy, peasants will be attracted to your area. Besides performing menial labor that you would otherwise be forced to tediously complete, these loyal followers will be more than happy to serve you in any way they can. Besides your wealth, peasants will of course reproduce, also adding to the number that work under you. The economy will not be stagnant or dead at any time. It will change dynamically, based on entrepreneur player's actions. If something is high in demand, the prices will go up. However if it is plentiful, the prices will quickly fall. You will not be forced to buy or sell goods from large cities. Players may trade among themselves, or at markets outside of the cities themselves. If something costs too much in one shop, go to another! There are many buildings that can be used within your plot of land. However, there is a limit to the number of builds allowed on each plot. If you reach your limit and want to expand, you will either need to sign a pact with another player, or use the underhanded method of real estate gain -- steal it. Building will not come cheap however, and those with expansive kingdoms will be few and far between. All of this will effect the economy. Military The history of Adellion is a history of war and bloodshed. Though you may build yourself and your home through peaceful means, you have the choice to enter in the continuous wars that will come across the kingdom. Remember however, that those who live by the sword, also shall die by the sword. Choose your path carefully. In any case, the governing of military is complex, challenging, and (hopefully for you) rewarding. You will have to recruit from your pool of peasants, to form an army. These peasants of course, will not fight your battles for free! You will have to not only supply food and such for their sustenance, but gold for their enthusiasm. Lack in either of these things will result in valuable soldiers deserting your cause. Be careful not to recruit so big an army that you cannot support them. It would be quite unwise to assemble a massive horde of bloodthirsty soldiers, only to realize that you have not the gold nor the equipment to support or outfit them for battle! Command with wisdom. Ordering your troops will be a relatively simple task, especially if you choose the path of valor and fight with them. Movement orders can be quickly given and carried out, though if you shy away from the battle line you will find your army less responsive. You may have to send a messenger to your army to give orders, which can significantly add to the time until they accomplish the task! A messenger on horseback can take six hours to reach your army with orders, if you should hide twenty miles away. Thus, it would normally be wise to stay close to your army. Your forces will staunchly forge across any type of terrain that you wish them to cross, unless there is a moat or wall that would prohibit them. Judge wisely the strategic movement of your men. There are many things that you must oversee in the building of your legions. Cost to equip each member, food and gold to support them, and another very important factor -- Type of soldier. There will be different types of units that you may train your peasants as. A well balanced army will be much more effective than a randomly selected horde. Government The Council of Salandorf is not only made up of men who lead with wisdom and power, as appointed their positions. The five most powerful players in the land will also be given a strong voice in the council, with five votes apiece. Those who have risen to that stature will obviously be those who are shrewd and wise. The Council reserves the right to make the decision to revoke authority on one who seems only to lust for his own gain! Under those five kings, the next twenty-five most powerful members of the populace will also carry one vote each. It is in this way that we hope to decide important matters, including declarations of war, appointing of officials, and so on. Diplomacy Under normal circumstances, the Council will have no part in inter-personal diplomacy. It is up to you to initiate and uphold your status with other people of the land. Some nice screenshots can be found at: http://www.adellion.com/newest_screenshots.html Over at http://www.voodooextreme.com/games/interviews/ cthulhuinterview/ they have an interview with one of the people working on Call of Cthulhu which looks like to be one very nice game based on H.P. Lovecraft's stories: Voodoo Extreme - A lot of people when they first hear about this game think its going to be an RPG thanks to the well known pen and paper game. What's the reaction like when you tell them it's a first person action game? Andrew Brazier - Well, it's not strictly an action game - there are action elements, but there are also elements of adventuring, puzzle solving and RPG as well. It's certainly not Quake III with Lovecraftian levels. I talked to a lot of fans of the RPG at E3 and they were generally very pleased that a game was being made from the RPG license. Voodoo Extreme - Is the game based directly on one of Lovecraft's stories or have you created your own tale inspired by Lovecraft? Andrew Brazier - The designers have created a new original storyline which is influenced by Lovecraft (and his locations) and the RPG but has new characters and a new plot. We didn't want to just steal one of Lovecraft's stories - besides being lazy, they don't translate ideally into good gameplay anyway (most of his protagonists run away or die of shock when the monsters appear) Voodoo Extreme - What other influences have gone into the game design? Andrew Brazier - Lots - in addition to the mountain of RPG sourcebooks we have we also look at classic horror films and of course other horror games to provide inspiration. Voodoo Extreme - What character will the player use in Call of Cthulhu? Andrew Brazier - You play Jack Walters, who is a Private Investigator seeking to uncover more about the dark secrets of the mythos. He also has a bit of a gap in his history - which will be explained during the game. Voodoo Extreme - What environments will the player get to explore in the game? Andrew Brazier - There are lots of different places to visit and explore, such as Innsmouth (the cursed fishing village), an undersea city, a cultist mansion and even the Esoteric Order of Dagon Temple. Voodoo Extreme - Call of Cthulhu is taking a different approach to the player HUD and also for its weapons. Can you be more specific as to what you have planned? Andrew Brazier - Basically there is no HUD on screen throughout normal gameplay. This is because we didn't want anything to encroach on the player's experience of what he is seeing. So there is no beating health gauge or ammo counter - this info is available via a separate screen (when the game action is paused), but for the majority of normal gameplay the player will be relying on feedback from the control system to gauge the health of his character. If you're walking around leaving blood everywhere, you can guess you're pretty badly injured.... I always loved the Alien movies and I must say the original Alien vs Predator game was fun to play as well... except when you played the Alien... :-). Over at http://www.cgonline.com/previews/alienvpred-02- p1.html they have a preview of the sequel and if it is as good as it sounds then it should be a great game: Aliens Versus Predator 2 takes places almost entirely on LV-1201, the location of a 10,000-year-old natural alien hive. Monolith wouldn't reveal any information about the alien or predator storylines but they did explain the basic plot and how the marines get involved. Marines, we are re-tur-ning! After the colony on LV-426 is destroyed in a nuclear blast at the end of Aliens, an expedition led by someone named Eisenberg visits the alien infested "space jockey" ship. This ship was the source of the eggs that led to the demise of the crew of the Nostromo in the first movie, and the colonists in the second. So it's no surprise that his expedition is wiped out. But Eisenberg himself survives under somewhat suspicious circumstances and manages to preserve data from the space jockey ship that points to LV-1201, where he discovers the alien hive and sets up a research station. The human storyline begins after the home crew loses contact with the research station and sends a group of Colonial Marines to find, rescue, and evacuate any human survivors. Over at http://pc.ign.com/previews/3550.html is yet another preview of Wizardry 8, I also check the Wizardry page at http://www.wizardry8.com/ and there has been no news on the game since April 27th..... too strange that a finished game can't get a publisher !!?? For those of you not in the know about the game... here is a part of that preview: Remember when Wizardry 7 was released? No? Really? That's okay, I couldn't remember either. Although I think that's mainly because I think my family still had an Apple IIe, and I was still playing Karateka and Spy Hunter. Okay, so maybe it wasn't that long ago, but 1992 certainly seems like a long time doesn't it? Wizardry 7 was released again in 1995 Wizardry Gold which was compatible with Windows 95, but nothing totally new from the series will have graced shelves until Sir-Tech Canada finishes and releases Wizardry 8. Those looking for a throwback to the old days of first person party RPGs should be looking forward to this one as long as they don't mind the upgrade from the bitmap graphics to a new 3D engine. The story will put players right back into the mix of things where it left off in the last game way back when. Your brave band of heroes has been chasing the Dark Savant, the evil punk that managed to get a hold of the Astral Dominae, a nifty little bauble that gives it's owner considerable power. The Astral Dominae is one of three powerful artifacts that were hidden around the universe by the Cosmic Lords, the creators of all that is. Now legend has it that whoever brings those three artifacts together will be granted the power of the Cosmic Lords and pretty much be cock of the walk. That's where you come in. Your band of adventurers has been called upon to help keep the three pieces from Mr. Naughty Savant. How you begin the story really depends on whether you managed to save your characters from the last game. You can import your party from Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant, or from Wizardry Gold. The beginning of the game will be different depending on what your faction was like from that game. If you don't have saves from the last game, then you'll be able to jump right in and start with a brand spanking new crew with a different beginning for you. Any way you look at it though, you'll end up on the Cosmic Lords' first planetary creation, the world of Dominus. For those that don't remember the original games, they displayed a pretty intriguing mix of sci-fi and fantasy that continues over to this game. While your party primarily uses swords and sorcery, everyone manages to travel around the galaxy via spaceships. Back at http://www.voodooextreme.com/games/previews/lod/ they have a preview/review up for Diablo II, The Lord of Destruction. Here is a small part: I received a copy of Diablo II: The Lord of Destruction yesterday and played it for the last five and half-hours straight. I would still be playing now, but my mouse hand is numb (click, click, click) and a bit out of shape from not smoking (um, playing) any Diablo II the few months. I'm not going to go into full preview mode at this point, but I thought I'd share a few thoughts on the upcoming expansion, which should be going gold later this month. Out of the two new character classes the expansion offers - druid and assassin - I chose the later, as after checking out the druid with all of his bizarre spells and abilities, I was a little overwhelmed. So, I created a female fatale assassin instead, which can be best described as a mix between the amazon and rogue classes, with a little sorceress tossed in for good measure. The assassin has three skill trees to choose from - martial arts, traps and shadow discipline. Martial arts skills are pretty self-explanatory and focus on combat, while shadow disciplines are dedicated to assassin type skills. Traps are an eclectic skill-set that doesn't really seem to fit the image of an assassin, offering up arcane spell abilities of mostly a defensive nature. I haven't really had a chance to try them all out yet, so we'll cover those in more detail a little later. Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal preview can be found at: http://pc.ign.com/previews/15962.html and another one can be found at: http://www.pcgamerweb.com/previews/pc/bg2throne.html and a 3rd one can be found at: http://www.gamerevolution.com/previews/featured/pc/ baldurs_gate2_throne_bhaal.htm This is probably gonna be a huge hit again, although I can't shake the feeling that it's a been there done that..... I still have to start BG II myself.... and Heart of Winter too... although I fancy the last one more than BG II Alex - o -