stefan-ramirez
Latest
PAX 2011: TERA producers reveal server vs. server endgame content
This year's PAX Prime doesn't feature an En Masse Entertainment booth for TERA, but the company did host an informational shindig for journalists and fans at its offices in downtown Seattle over the weekend. Producers Chris Hager and Stefan Ramirez ran the show, and the presentation focused heavily on the action MMO aspects as well as the game's depth. The show started with a repeat of the recent Castanic healer video, and from there Hager and Ramirez set about profiling the game's mechanical aspects (including the combat, glyph, and crystal systems). The presentation was geared towards folks who haven't really kept up with TERA, as there wasn't much discussed that we haven't known about for a while. Aside from the action talking points, we also got bits about story, the details on the political and vanarch systems, and some info on the argons. En Masse also trotted out the first mention of its plans for server vs. server combat. The system is designed to provide additional endgame content via PvE and PvP. "It's going to have players from other servers coming to your territory, on your server, and invading your space," Hager explained. He went on to mention how guilds will need to ally with one another to repel the invaders, and if the alliance proves strong enough, take the fight back to the invaders' home turf. En Masse was very coy about the details on this new system, and we expect more information will be forthcoming as we move toward TERA's spring 2012 release date. Finally, we managed some quality hands-on time with the game during the event, so check in with us periodically this weekend and we'll bring you a detailed report. Massively's on the ground in Seattle during the weekend of August 26-28, bringing you all the best news from PAX Prime 2011. Whether you're dying to know more about SWTOR, Guild Wars 2, City of Heroes, or any MMO in between, you can bet we'll have it covered!
TERA E3 recap video explains political system
E3 2011 is a distant memory, but En Masse is still getting a bit of mileage out of the event thanks to a newly released TERA video compilation. The trailer shows off portions of the closed-doors media presentation from this month's trade show, and the footage is heavy on action combat and lush sequences featuring the game's gorgeous visuals. The clip also devotes a good portion of its running time to the recently announced political system, and producers Chris Hager and Stefan Ramirez fire off some pretty tantalizing soundbytes relating to player interaction and the possibility of affecting the game world. "That means getting votes, buying votes, smearing your opponent, taking out your competition, raising taxes, making tons of cash money, controlling your province, putting players in prison, running your own events, managing your own towns, and just doing whatever you want," Ramirez says. Staying in power to continue doing whatever you want is the trick, of course, and the video spends a good amount of time detailing ways to maintain control over your province. While it all sounds pretty spectacular, it also raises plenty of questions (like, how is all of that going to matter in an MMO that lacks serious consequences in terms of a death penalty or gear/stat loss?). Whatever the answers, we can't wait to learn more. Check out the full video after the cut.
GDC 2011: TERA Smuggler's Hideout video details party dynamics
GDC 2011 has come and gone, but the next week promises to bring a ton of additional coverage from the recently concluded show. GameTrailers has weighed in with its new video recap of En Masse Entertainment's TERA presentation, which took the form of a demo party running through the Smuggler's Hideout dungeon. You may remember Smuggler's Hideout from our own GDC coverage last week, and now you can feast your eyes on the visuals as well as a few of the party dynamics that TERA brings to the table. The gameplay is narrated by associate producer Stefan Ramirez, and he highlights the different class roles, paying particular attention to the Priest character he's controlling. TERA's action combat features a bit of a learning curve if you're used to traditional MMORPG healer classes. You can't tab target your group mates and spam heal buttons, and you'll need to move around quite a bit in order to maximize your AoEs and avoid taking damage. Check out all the details after the break.
TERA producer talks console controllers
Love them or loathe them, it seems console controllers and MMORPGs are a match increasingly made in developer heaven. DC Universe Online was designed from the ground up to allow players to toss their keyboards, and now En Masse Entertainment's TERA is looking to join the party, according to a new dev diary by producer Stefan Ramirez. Ramirez details the genesis of the TERA controller experiment, outlining its tentative beginnings through a successful demo at last year's Game Developer Conference. "We were very excited to see that people wanted this. TERA's combat is something that can be played on both the keyboard and mouse, and controller, equally. It's fun, fast, and just plain feels right," he recently told GameZone. Ramirez acknowledges that some testers (and En Masse devs) still prefer the traditional mouse/keyboard combo, but he also hints at something of a minor revolution in MMO control schemes, thanks to the pairing of TERA's action combat with the player's choice of controller. "This could help blur that [PC vs. console] line a little more," he says.
En Masse shows off PAX TERA demo video
En Masse Entertainment has taken the wraps off a lengthy video edit of their PAX Prime 2010 TERA press demonstration. If you missed the game convention, as well as our coverage of the cultist refuge, you can sample scenes from the demo that have been cut together and made available on YouTube. The video, featuring a look at several boss fights as well as the interior and exterior of the cultist's refuge, runs right at six minutes in length and is underscored by some cheeky narration courtesy of producers Sam Kim and Stefan Ramirez. "TERA is deep, it doesn't just have a story, it is a story. Progression isn't just about levels, items, or skills but about moving the story forward and finding out more about the world and your role in it as a player," Kim notes. In addition to the usual footage of TERA's combat, there are also some interesting shots of the environments and what looks to be harvesting mechanics in the form of butterfly gathering.
Extensive TERA E3 demo video unveiled
If you're a fan of TERA but weren't able to make it to E3 2010, you can still check out portions of the lengthy press demonstration video that En Masse Entertainment showcased a couple of weeks ago in Los Angeles. Gametrailers has an edited version of the video, narrated by producers Sam Kim and Stefan Ramirez, which takes viewers on a whirlwind tour of TERA's action combat as five of the game's eight classes are shown battling through a scenario to take down the evil Captain Marduck. "Keep in mind that this isn't a trailer, it is a cut down version of our demo and it is built entirely from footage captured from one of our sessions. We're going to boil this down to a five minute recap that gives you a taste of the experience," Ramirez notes. The video highlights the berserker, warrior, slayer, sorcerer, and priest classes. Check it out after the jump, or at Gametrailers.
