Massively catches up with the Atlantica Online team
Atlantica Online is truly a unique F2P game that has enjoyed a fair bit of success since its launch late last year. We showcased the game in February of this year and figured it was about time to see how the game is doing six months later. In fact, we often get emails from readers asking for more Atlantica Online coverage, so the interest is certainly there from your end. Now knee-deep in a pretty remarkable competition, the NDOORS devs also explain a bit about how this contest has fared and how close they are to awarding that new car to a lucky winner.
So follow along after the jump to read the brief interview and be sure to check out our complete coverage of the game for more information.
Massively: Last we spoke, in February of this year, Atlantica Online was enjoying some solid post-launch success. How has the rest of this year been treating the game?
NDOORS: We've enjoyed strong support from our userbase and a community that has been very welcoming to our new players. Atlantica Online continues to offer unique gameplay that cannot be found in any other MMO, which has led to our continued success.
June saw a mid-year update to the game, bringing several new and enhanced features. Is there a regular update schedule in place right now?
Lately, our concentration has been on providing the highest quality patches possible. Our QA process has become more rigorous, and unfortunately, this has resulted in an increased period of time between each update. To help increase the speed with which we can implement new content, we've opened a test server to a select group of players, and look forward to providing the next update in the very near future.
How do you feel about the recent popularity of F2P games with cash shops in North America? Do you think it will become as much of a success as it is in the East?
It's good to see our North American audience open up to alternatives to the subscription model. Unfortunately, there is still a slight stigma to F2P games that they are of lesser quality, but that is not the case with Atlantica, as our game is comparable to many other top subscription-based MMOs. It's difficult to say just how successful the F2P business model can be over here, but it definitely looks promising. To that end, we will continue to provide the highest-quality gaming experience we can.
The "Unlock Your Way to Atlantica" mega-event that is currently taking place has been a huge summer promotion for the game, but it has also seen some players win some huge prizes such as various consoles, PCs, gaming hardware and eventually a brand new car. Can you tell us more about this contest?
Certainly. The mega-event revolves around collecting keys to unlock great in-game prizes. Players get keys for playing the game, and on weekends we've been running events to give players the chance to get even more keys. After enough keys have been collected and used, we hit milestones, at which point we award some random users real-world prizes like the ones you mentioned above. Furthermore, the server that makes the most effort to get us to a given milestone gets some bonus experience time, and when we reach the milestone, one lucky player will drive off in a new car!
Since this contest will end when 2 million keys have been turned in, how close are you to reaching that goal?
It's been a long road, and the time limit is up – luckily for us, we have a community of enthusiastic players who have put their all into unlocking the final milestone. The goal of 2 million keys is just in reach.
What can we expect in the future of Atlantica Online?
The developers are always working on new features and content. There'll always be new mercenaries coming out, with more in the works beyond the three new ones we've already announced (Hwarang, Minstrel, and Punisher). New gameplay features like the Tactical Battle System and the Housing System, battles for territory control on the universal Titan server, and as always, new dungeons and quests are on the horizon.
Thank you for your time!
