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Camelot Unchained talks physics
It's time to learn about Camelot Unchained's 13th foundational principle. That might sound awfully far down on the list, but the foundational principles -- this one happens to be physics -- are as important as you make them. In Camelot Unchained, physics supports an overarching goal of unique player experiences. The dev team wants things to happen to players that may have never happened to any other player. That comes from chaos, but the problem with chaos is that it leads to players feeling like they're at the mercy of a cruel and whimsical higher power, rather than existing within a set of defined and understandable rules. That's where things like physics come into the picture. Camelot Unchained's physics system will create predictable actions (like bits of walls falling to pieces when they're bombarded), give them consequences (like those bits falling on the ground and potentially on players who are between the bits and the ground), and set them loose in the world to interact with other predictable systems. The result? A set of interconnected systems that make your game experience way cooler without torturing players with invisible dice rolls. Head over to the dev blog to get the full read.
Jacobs: 'I don't want F2P/B2P items in Camelot Unchained'
Mark Jacobs is a busy man these days, but thankfully he's not too busy to take a few moments to answer our questions about Camelot Unchained. After yesterday's two-pronged Kickstarter tiers announcement, we wanted to clarify a few things including whether or not CU's crowdfunding drive will accommodate entry-level price points as well as the status of the game itself. Jacobs also pulls no punches about his desire to keep XP boosts and other F2P/B2P items out of the game. "I just don't want to see those types of items in our game," he tells us, "even if we could make some additional money by including them." Head past the break for all that and more.
Massively Exclusive: Camelot Unchained unveils pledge tiers, seeks feedback [Updated]
If you're following Camelot Unchained with bated breath, you'll want to click past the cut to read our exclusive dev diary from City State founder Mark Jacobs. In it, he outlines the thought process behind CU's Kickstarter pledge tiers and associated rewards. Those rewards include miniatures hand-painted by the City State dev team, in-game items, and the opportunity for backers to contribute voice-over work to the game. Those are just the tip of the iceberg, too. Jacobs says the tiers and rewards may change based on player feedback, so be sure and leave your comments and questions after you've had a look-see. [Update: Jacobs has posted a new dev blog on the official site to clear up some of the questions folks have had about the double dose of tier announcements today.]
Camelot Unchained's team puts gameplay over graphics
City State Entertainment co-founder Andrew Meggs shares a tough question that any smaller MMO team has to answer from time to time: What happens when you have to choose between graphics, gameplay, and performance in developing an MMO? In a new blog post, Meggs says that for Camelot Unchained, graphics are the first to go on the backburner. "When it comes down to the sheer number of [polygons], any time we have to choose between that and delivering on our core gameplay, we're going to choose the gameplay," Meggs writes. "That requires certain sacrifices." Even so, Meggs said that the team is adept at putting a lot of personality and flair into the graphics it creates, it's just that the focus is creating a game that lasts: "We know that we're building a world for characters to live in, not a theme park for tourists to visit."
Dig through the sand(box) in the latest Camelot Unchained devblog
Camelot Unchained continues its foundational principles series of dev blogs with entry number 11, in which Mark Jacobs talks about what exactly constitutes a sandbox game and the philosophy behind the sandbox elements in Camelot Unchained. He starts off with a clarification that "CU is not a true sandbox MMORPG" because "a true sandbox MMORPG would allow the player to build out his stats, skills, alter the world, etc. without most of the fixed conventions and limitations that are found in CU and most other RPGs." Regardless, Jacobs believes that his studio "can learn from and adapt the concept of [sandbox games]." Jacobs goes on to talk about how and where he decided to implement traditionally sandboxy elements into Camelot Unchained and where he decided it was best to go a different route altogether. For instance, he argues that "in a true SBRPG a player's actions within the game would dictate evolution and progression." Jacobs claims that while CU earns some "sandbox points" because of its relatively unrestrictive class system, it loses some simply because it utilizes a class system. He spends the rest of the post running through the game's list of features and explaining the rationale behind the sandbox elements (or lack thereof) in each one, so if you want to get into the nitty-gritty of Camelot Unchained's sandboxiness (which is now a word), settle in and read the full post at the game's official site.
Camelot Unchained is all about pride
When you play Camelot Unchained, Mark Jacobs wants you to be proud. Not just about your decision to play his game, but about every individual choice you made in playing that game. He wants you to have pride about your race, pride about your server, pride about your guild, possibly even pride about your choice of keyboard. That's the entire point of the latest development blog post: pride and the elements that build up to player pride. Jacobs argues that there are two sides to making every part of a character a source of pride. In many cases, such as with races and factions, it's important that the lore be appealing and resonant with players. In other cases, such as classes, it's more important that each feels powerful and unique while still feeling as if it needs something more. The entry goes into detail on several points about pride, ranging from factions to servers, and if you're eyeing the game in anticipation, it's worth looking through the points of pride.
Camelot Unchained on building community
Creating an atmosphere and incentives for players to rely on and help each other out is paramount to building a strong community, says Mark Jacobs in his latest Camelot Unchained dev blog. "Part of our job as the designers and developers of CU is to put systems in place to create interdependency that encourages players to work together so that they not only have the most fun but also enjoy the quickest ways to success within the game," Jacobs writes. His post explains how the team is using both crafting and housing as ways to bind players together organically rather than force them to group due to sheer necessity. Even if players don't want to engage in these systems, Jacobs envisions a connection between such straight-up warriors and the crafters/builders as all can benefit from helping each other out.
Camelot Unchained plans to bring random back
Mark Jacobs knows the problem with your games: They're too predictable. What MMOs need are some good old-fashioned chaos. What happened to the days when you would turn in a quest for which the reward could be endgame armor or it could be a piece of moldy cheese? Let's bring that back into style! All right, not that far. The latest Camelot Unchained development blog is all about randomness, however, with Jacobs laying out another design principle centering around the need for a strong random element in play. Jacobs sees a need for unpredictable outcomes as one of the core elements of a game, something to keep you playing because the game cannot be expected to run a specific course every time. This extends to both the combat system and the state of the world in general, with the former embracing more factors than simple levels and the latter being a bit more dynamic and unpredictable. If you're interested in reading more on this point, take a look at the full rundown at the official site.
The Game Archaeologist: Origin stories of modern MMO studios
A good origin story always captivates me, especially when it gives me a new perspective on something I've come to appreciate over the years. I love looking back at actors' first few films or hearing about how, say, Atari and Microsoft got their start. With MMO studios, these origin stories abound and are equally fascinating to me. For example, who would've known that the makers of a couple of SNES titles would one day be running the largest MMO in the world? Or what if few gaming hobbyists in the '80s hadn't created MUDs and then gone on to revolutionize online PvP play? Today we're going to go back to the very beginning of several modern MMO studios to see when and how they came into being. Who knows... it might change how you see them forever.
Camelot Unchained dev diary details crafting
Camelot Unchained's series of dev diaries on the game's "foundational principles" continues today with a post on principle number seven: "Crafting should be fun, useful and not induce Carpal Tunnel Syndrome." Well, that does sound like a reasonable principle, but how is the team going to go about implementing that principle in practice? For starters, crafting will be "the only reliable way to get armor, weapons, and most items" within the game. The post emphasizes that there are no "rare drops" and that "the whole 'Oh look, I just killed a nightingale and it dropped a full suit of purple armor' is so last decade." Players will also be able to create a "'crafting-class' character with separate crafting-based... leveling tracks." The CU devs also hope to ensure that crafters are able to build a reputation on their servers through the "naming/signature (hopefully visual as well as textual) of items, rewards from their server's ruler, etc." The full piece goes into much more depth than we have the space for here, though, so if you want all the details on Camelot Unchained's crafting philosophy, head on over to the game's official site.
The Daily Grind: Should gender and race matter in MMO character creation?
Camelot Unchained, Mark Jacobs' upcoming RvR-based MMO, is dipping into the old-school well in more ways than one. One design feature that caught my eye is the promise that racial and gender choices will influence character stats. MMO players are pretty used to the ancient RPG idea that some races or species are going to be better at magic or archery or punching people in the face or pressing Will of the Forsaken than others, but non-cosmetic gender differences are something that very few MMOs embrace. Even accidental gender imbalances send players into a tizzy. The implication in CU is that these initial starting stats will be changeable based on what characters actually do, such that an Elf woman who does nothing but swing hammers will bulk up or Viking thug who practices his poetry will see that reflected in his charisma skill (I am making these examples up). But the idea that my character might start at a stereotypical disadvantage still bugs me and makes me wonder how many min-maxers out there will just play to those stereotypes because they feel they must, thereby homogenizing the character makeup of the whole game. What about you guys? Do you think that gender and race/species should matter in MMO character creation as it matters in certain other RPGs? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Camelot Unchained: Balanced classes out, rock-paper-scissors in
In his latest lecture series on Camelot Unchained game design, Mark Jacobs discusses his team's approach to class design for the title and how it won't go with the flow of most MMOs. In fact, he says that the effort to carefully balance classes has proved a detriment to the industry, and as such, Camelot Unchained will pursue a rock-paper-scissors structure. Why is Jacobs going down this route? In short, it just doesn't fit an RvR-focused game. "[Rock-paper-scissors] lends an element of unpredictability and it gives us so much more freedom to explore different classes/abilities without worrying about having everything equally balanced 100% all the time," he wrote. Jacobs finishes his lecture by saying that the studio is adapting CCP's development model: "Start small, iterate and then build, baby, build."
Camelot Unchained aims to be unattractive to gold sellers and farmers [Update]
Mark Jacobs has never been a fan of gold farmers and gold sellers, famously going on a warpath against them in his previous titles. He renewed his vows against such practices today, saying that he will do everything he can to make sure that such behavior doesn't prosper in Camelot Unchained. "While it certainly would be nice to have those extra subs the gold sellers/farmers bring to the table," Jacobs wrote, "I will not compromise the integrity of the game or the enjoyment for the vast majority of the players by making it easy for them in Camelot Unchained even if it leaves some money on the table." The team is planning on countering gold selling and farming by creating tools to battle it and making the game more difficult to generate a profit. "As an RvR-focused game, CU will be less attractive to them from the onset since earning currency in CU not be as easy as earning currency in a PvE game," he said. [Update: Jacobs is a busy little bee today. He's just posted a second dev blog discussing how leveling will work in a PvP-centric game.]
Some Assembly Required: The sweet sorrow of choosing a new sandbox
Late last year I penned a piece that looked ahead to 2013's most promising sandbox titles. Recent developments have necessitated that I add to that list, which is simultaneously staggering and somewhat stressful. My new MMO home is lurking in one of these games, but I must choose, and choose wisely! Help me out after the cut.
Camelot Unchained dev blog: 'Choices matter'
City State Entertainment has put up a new Camelot Unchained dev diary that continues the Foundational Principles series of posts. Today's devblog is about foundational principle number four, which is that "choice matters." Well of course it does, but how are the Camelot Unchained devs going to provide choices to their players? The post provides a few examples of the way players' choices will affect their long-term gameplay. For starters, Camelot Unchained will feature "a full stat allocation system" that will allow players to completely customize their characters' attributes. Race and gender will also matter: different races will have different stat maximums/minimums, and of course, various racial proficiencies and deficiencies. However, it's not mentioned exactly what effect a character's gender will have. The post also mentions players being able to take various advantages and disadvantages for their character such as in a number of pen-and-paper games, which will allow players to further tailor their characters as they see fit. For the full post, which also includes an example of what might happen if a mage decked out in metal armor decides to cast a lightning spell, head on over to the official site and check it out.
Latest Camelot Unchained dev diary touts 'no risk, no reward' philosophy
Mark Jacobs does not want to hold your hand in Camelot Unchained. Or spoon-feed you. In fact, he doesn't want to make the upcoming RvR-centric unduly easy -- he wants you to make mistakes. In his most recent dev diary, Jacobs ruminates on Camelot Unchained's third foundational principle of no risk, no reward. How will this philosophy be put into practice? The diary gives three examples. For one, there will be no magical glowing lines to lead players to quest areas or NPCs and maps will be very simplistic. Players will have to explore and learn the terrain on their own to be able to navigate the world. Next, the auction house is abolished; while a commodities market might be introduced for gathered resources, crafted good will be sold via player-controlled shops or in specific areas of town. The third example involves class respecs: To allow for flexibility in the class-based system but to help prevent flavor-of-the-month switches, limited respecs will be available to players, though difficult to acquire.
City State talks Camelot Unchained skills, progression, and more
Ready for round two of the foundational principles behind Mark Jacobs' Camelot Unchained? Good, because City State is back with an RvR-centric blog entry designed to whet your appetite for the upcoming PvP title. The piece starts off with an example of how crafters will serve an important purpose in the game's "TriRealm" dynamic. "As an RvR-focused game, hummingbirds won't be dropping rare and unique items; well, unless you consider bird poop rare and unique," the dev blog explains. "You will get rewards for killing other players, other players' helpers, and some stuff in the world, but it won't be gear and we will also not offer tokens." Skill progression is also on today's menu, and City State says that Camelot Unchained will reward you based "on the activities that you are participating in directly." The dev blog also hints at "you are what you do" gameplay and says that the team favors classes for this particular MMO. There's a lot more to today's post, including bits about zerging, crowd-control, housing, and crafting, so head to the City State site for all the details.
Camelot Unchained's Jacobs: 'This is the wrong time to be safe'
It's been a big week for fans of three-faction PvP, RvR, and Mark Jacobs. Development on Camelot Unchained is in full swing, and City State Entertainment has released a new dev blog that touches on one of the game's foundational principles. Jacobs is pretty blunt in his assessment of the current MMORPG landscape and his desire to see Camelot Unchained move away from it. "I don't really care if MMORPGs have been evolving in a certain direction whether over the last five years or fifteen years," Jacobs writes. "All I and the team care about is what will make this game great, and that will mean taking chances with the game's design and again, being willing to piss some people off." In terms of specifics, Jacobs says he's not opposed to putting in "some features that some people might not consider fun (like true day/night cycle, slower and different leveling systems, extremely limited fast travel, no PvE leveling/gear grind) because I believe that will make this a better game for our niche." He also says that he'll go into further detail regarding Unchained's risks and potential rewards over the next few weeks.
RvR Unchained: Mark Jacobs returns to Camelot
It was no coincidence that Mark Jacobs was open to talking about his Warhammer Online experiences with us recently. If you deduced that it was the prelude to his MMO comeback attempt, you were right. Jacobs' City State Entertainment announced today that it's working on a new MMO under the working title of Camelot Unchained. And yes, it will be RvR-focused with three realms duking it out: Arthurian, Tuatha Dé Danann, and Viking. Camelot Unchained will tie RvR conflict into player housing and a dynamic economy as well. Because this tightly focused concept may prove to be too difficult to draw publisher support, the 13-person studio is turning to a future Kickstarter campaign for support. Obviously, we have no shortages of questions about this project, but we contained ourselves to the 10 most burning queries that we presented to Jacobs. Read about the future of Camelot after the jump!
Reminiscing about Warhammer Online with Mark Jacobs
When it comes to the 2008 phenomenon of Warhammer Online and the story of its rise and fall, there's one obvious source for the full dish: Mark Jacobs. The former big kahuna of Mythic Entertainment is now CEO of City State Entertainment, and while Jacobs is no longer in the WAR business, he's still passionate about making games and talking about his past experiences. We sat down with Jacobs to look at WAR and what he thought went right and wrong with the title. Even today, many gamers are passionately divided on the game's build-up to release and design decisions. Some lay the blame at Jacobs' doorstep, while others admire the passion and vision of this MMO creator. So what does Jacobs have to say when put to the question about WAR's outcome? Find out in this exclusive interview!
