Massively interviews NetDevil on PvP and more in Jumpgate Evolution
We got the chance to catch up with NetDevil Producer Hermann Peterscheck on everything Jumpgate Evolution this week. With the game coming up fairly soon, we thought up some rather specific questions that had been floating about in our brains over the past month or two. Exploration rewards, mining, cockpit view, PvP and more are waiting just after the break.%Gallery-18375%
Massively: How is development going for Jumpgate Evolution, what's the team's current focus?
Hermann: Development is going really well. We have recently added a few new members to the team and we are seeing great progress. Our current focus in on Battlespace which is our PVP arena system. It's really promising and I think that people will enjoy it a lot. Aside from that we're working on more content which is always being added in the production phase. Beyond that we're working on our medals/achievement system, doing more deep work on crafting and economy issues and making AI more interesting to fight (this is an ongoing thing).
We've yet to see cockpit views, are you aiming for a functional-over-flashy cockpit view or will immersion be a bigger factor?
Our goal is to always make sure that function comes first, especially with anything that is UI related. Pretty graphics are obviously important but with things like cockpits, UI or anything that conveys information function comes first.
Is there a reward system planned for exploration-orientated players?
Yes. Aside from the reward of seeing lots of interesting things we've got a pretty nice map in the game. Since our sectors are big it's pretty easy for us to hide things in non-obvious locations. With the power of the internet it's unlikely that things will remain a secret for long, but we can keep adding new things to find as well.
We've heard that mining in Jumpgate Evolution plays out a bit like a puzzle game. Could you walk us through the basic mining experience?
It's more like an Easter egg hunt. Basically once you equip a mining laser and get the proper mining license, away you go. Now you have to scour asteroids to find the proper nodes which appear throughout space. The more common nodes are quite easy to locate, but rarer ones can be quite difficult to find. Also, you never know what kinds of materials might come from nodes, so that adds an exploration mechanic as well.
Guild details have been a bit scarce so far, are there any finalized features or in-the-works stuff you can share with us?
This is something that we are currently working on. Right now we want to make sure that people get the guild functionality they expect based on experiences with other MMOs. We've got lots of ideas for extended functionality but you will definitely have guild names, rankings, basic stats, MOTD, joining, leaving, and so on.
Will Jumpgate Evolution have built-in voice chat?
Yes.
From what we've heard so far, Jumpgate Evolution has conquerable PvP sectors. What are the basics of taking over a sector and why will players want to participate in these captures?
We're still working on this piece but the plan is to have battle platforms which can be assaulted and defended. Taking them over will have Nation-wide benefits.
A while back you said that you liked the Warhammer Online scenarios for their instant PvP action. What are your thoughts on balancing the popularity of world PvP with easily accessed insta-PvP?
I think they are both valid forms of PvP. The danger is that if one form is superior in rewards or playability that it takes away from the other. Currently we are focused on the Battlespace scenarios to iron out all the problems that occurs with such a massive features. Many of those rules will apply to world PvP but world PvP will have different rewards and objectives than Battlespace. Also, nothing prevents you from just good old fashioned dog-fighting, and it's nice to get experience from doing that s well.
Are there plans in place to offer tangible rewards for PvP play such as experience and superior loot?
Yes. PvP will give you experience, special points and reputation that you can use to get access to special loot.
Of course, we've got to ask about closed beta -- will we see a wider access beta sometime before the game launches?
Soon™.
Thanks for your time, you cheeky man!
