Which brings me to another reason why we did go for cross platform. We are only a small team compared to the big companys, but we are extremely tech heavy team with some really good developers. And we are always looking for challenges. Therefore we took on the challenge to develop one of the first real cross platform PvP games on a very high quality (meaning having all the necessary features a sandbox MMO deserves).
Kind regards,
Stefan
Not sure how many people I speak for here, but considering the games that have come out in the past four or five years, it would be impressive if you managed to do that with just one platform. :-)
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
I'll hold judgement until I get a chance to play it myself but my main concern is the cross-platform aspect. Someone in this thread said that it will "revolutionize the way we think about mobile games". While that's great for mobiles, what might be considered "revolutionary" for mobiles might be simple, clunky and archaic for PC gamers.
Full loot open PvP in a game where gear determines pretty much everything that your character can do? Gosh golly gee willickers, I don't see how that could possibly be a problem!
/sarcasm
/facepalm
Enjoy your status as a niche game. Such a shame too, as the other features sounded pretty darn good.
It's a sad day indeed when a family is too afraid of reprisals to publicly thank somebody for saving their lives.
Originally posted by achesoma I have to ask. What's the point of cross platform for such a niche style of gaming? Honestly, this just looks like a shameless cash-grab to take advantage of those so desperate for a good sandbox.
If the technology exists to do it, what's the point in not doing it? Platforms like Unity allow developers to develop cross platform games with very little extra effort.
My point is why go for such a niche market as full loot pvp sandbox when not even a standard cross platform mmo has been done yet? My perception of mobile device gaming is casual, cheap thrills and cash grab. So they're trying to combine causal mobile gaming with hardcore sandbox? There just seems to be a disconnect. I'm not foreseeing a very large audience for this. Maybe I just lack vision or I'm slightly too left-brained lol.
Full loot open PvP in a game where gear determines pretty much everything that your character can do? Gosh golly gee willickers, I don't see how that could possibly be a problem!
/sarcasm
/facepalm
Enjoy your status as a niche game. Such a shame too, as the other features sounded pretty darn good.
Nothing wrong with being a niche game, you throw the word out like is its a insult. Not all games need to be made for all players, buthurt comments are childish.
The obvious full-loot gear oriented micro-transaction questions aside, I think it is overstated to label this a "true cross-platform" game as a unique and defining perk.
I can think of a few games off the top of my head that offer cross platform gaming and most with native clients. Those without native clients still work on cross platform. If that is supposed to be in reference to mobile device platform that isn't even unique and it is misleading in how it's presented. Either the mobile users are going to be at a horrible disadvantage or they aren't getting the same "true cross-platform" experience that the more powerful clients will have.
Anyway, good luck.
Hi Torvaldr,
we do NOT want to take the claim for being the first corss plattform MMO out there. At least I know Vendetta Online which was there befor. If I did make this impression I apologize, this was not my intention.
However to a certain degree I think we will deliver something which is at least not very common and from a gaming experience something more refreshing.
FYI: Albion Online will be playable as a native client as well! The experience will be the same through all devices (despite the different controls)
Kind regards,
Stefan
PS.: What other games do you know which are cross platform MMO's?
Originally posted by Astrina Full-loot PvP took this game right off my radar. The rest looks like it would be quite fun, especially the crafting. Sadly, I won't be checking it out, but I do wish you luck with your game. We need more old school in gaming again.
Dude... It is going to be F2P. Why not try it? It's not like you have to invest anything more than a little bit of time. You might find that you like it. You need to be open to trying new things, otherwise your life as well as your gaming life will be boring.
I think this game sounds awesome! I will definitely be trying it out on my Ipad and my computer! I think the idea of having a cross-platform game is a refreshing idea, and if done right, I can see only success for that mechanic!
I appreciate the hard work you guys are putting in! Sometimes I feel that developers are unfairly treated in that, I feel a majority of the gaming community doesn't realize the effort and time needed to create an MMO, good or bad.
I do have one question at the moment! I read on the website that industry buildings are owned by players and that the price per usage of the building is also set by the player. It also says that they can be used by everyone. If one of these buildings was built within your guild owned territory, would that mean that only your guildmates could use it? Would there be any benefit to building an industry building in the neutral areas?
This game looks and sounds great, but I have an issue with the "full loot pvp". I sort of liked Aion, but quit playing it early because people flew to top level, then made it their quest to repeatedly grief low level players. I loved UO, but I am not ashamed to say that when there was the split, I stayed my butt in Trammel. When I WANT to PvP and risk my gear, I could, but I was no longer forced to watch over my shoulder for the guy who has way too much time on his hands and thinks it's hilarious to ruin other's gameplay experiences. Will there be safeguards to this full loot PvP? Like murderer flagging from UO? Or severly lowered stats for players entering certain areas to retard the griefing? I'll still play it. It looks super. But I have a feeling that after my 9th time getting picked off by PK Joe and his band of roving windowlickers, you're gonna lose a ton of playerbase.
Full loot open PvP in a game where gear determines pretty much everything that your character can do? Gosh golly gee willickers, I don't see how that could possibly be a problem!
/sarcasm
/facepalm
Enjoy your status as a niche game. Such a shame too, as the other features sounded pretty darn good.
Note the lack of the word non-consensual in the context of pvp. Then let your snowflake rage melt.
Originally posted by Dalaimoc i stopped reading after "full loot pvp" and "all gear is player crafted" - good luck with your niche game
Exactly. I have NO interest what so ever in yet another narrow niche, free for all full loot PvP game. That meme has been done to death. Speaking of which, I'm surprised they didn't add perma death in with it...<face palm>
I do have one question at the moment! I read on the website that industry buildings are owned by players and that the price per usage of the building is also set by the player. It also says that they can be used by everyone. If one of these buildings was built within your guild owned territory, would that mean that only your guildmates could use it? Would there be any benefit to building an industry building in the neutral areas?
Hey wsmar,
it could make sense to build storage buildings outside of your guild territory near resource hotspots. However building outside your territory always comes with the danger of the building getting easily destroyed.
As it stands right now it will probably be possible to allow others (none-guild members) entry to you guild territory so they can use their buildings. Our vision is that I can earn money by owning an industry building at key points and giving others access to it.
But I also have to say that this is a mechanic not extensively tested yet and probably will see some changes (ofc improvements) coming to it. All mechanics around trading/sellling require a larger player base and our tests have been mainly around 100-200 people so far where the conflicts between each other are that strong that they do not want to sell each other stuff
Originally posted by Dalaimoc i stopped reading after "full loot pvp" and "all gear is player crafted" - good luck with your niche game
Exactly. I have NO interest what so ever in yet another narrow niche, free for all full loot PvP game. That meme has been done to death. Speaking of which, I'm surprised they didn't add perma death in with it...
Perma Death can be an interesting Design Decision. See Day Z or Haven & Hearht or even D3 in Hardcore Mode.
By the way we are absolutely aware that we are producing a niche product, but this is mainly because we want to build the game we think is missing in the MMO-landscape and even more important the game we would love to play ourselves.
So that takes out one part of the problem, seems to be nicely implemented. I hope there'll be spying spells that target a whole area :-) that makes things interesting. What about gear swap or carrying capacity limits ?
The tier system you are advocating in the starter/pvp zones breaks down once a few (2-3) high tier characters enter the newb zone. Anyway one more favourite analogy from Eve, did you think about suicide ganking ? I.e. lots of tier 1 player swarming a high tier player and basicaly strip him ?
Sorry forget about these questions.
So when you change one piece of your gear, and by that only changing one spell still all cooldowns are triggered. Important is that we are testing exactly these kind of things. So in case we find out it is not enough we will increase the cooldown so that item swapping according to whom you are facing is not an option.
And regarding the Newbie Zone issue, remember that maximum is Tier 4 and due to the linear progression it is not as bad as in other MMOs even when 3 T4 players will show up. The key is that T4 has already a very high value in terms of ingame curreny. In recent tests we saw that even the hardcore DF guilds were cautious with which items the equipped while running in the open territories.
Great, seems you have (almost) all bases covered :-) I am starting to like what I see so far ...
WOW! This is amazing news for the mobile gaming market.
My big question how high end of a mobile device will someone need to run this? Will a high end smart phone run the game well enough for say moderate in game activities?
Silly how people jump in just to inform everyone how niche full loot is and how they'll not be playing the game.
Newsflash:
1) A game can be niche and still be good. It can even be commercially successful. Not everyone need to cater to the lowest common denominator, you know. And besides, it's not like it takes a nobel prize winner to reach the conclusion that full loot is niche - do you guys expect people to be impressed by your amazing analytic skills or what?
2) No one gives a flying f***k whether you'll play the game or not, or at which phrase in the article you lost interest. You are not important, and your personal preferences are moot in this type of discussion. Ima start going to PvE games forums and just spam "lost interest when I read PvE" and "omg why do they have to make all these games PvE we want a PvP game naow" posts.
WOW! This is amazing news for the mobile gaming market.
My big question how high end of a mobile device will someone need to run this? Will a high end smart phone run the game well enough for say moderate in game activities?
Hi Shauneepeak,
first of all let me clarify that for the release Albion Online will not be available on Smartphones. The reason being is the small screen size of smartphones. The interface and buttons would be just too small to press them on a smartphone. But from a technical perspective it would run, most smartphones use similar chips but have a lower resolution so they are very often even more powerful then a tablet. Of course there are exceptions, especially Sony just released a very powerfull tablet.
Anyhow, despite this the min requirement for the game will be an iPad3 (which is probably equivalent to a Tegra3 + 1gig ram on Android). When I say "min requirement" I mean an enjoyable experience, so no crashes or anything alike.
Originally posted by Scot Anyone actually played this, I think MMOs which can be played on a mobile/cellphone are another nail in the coffin for the genre. But it would be good to see what players think, what concessions did they have to make to the UI, graphics and so on to allow the game to be on a mobile? Or do mobile players simply play at a disadvantage? Or do they keep all the platforms separate?
Hi Scot,
Here some thoughts regarding your concerns:
when using the word mobile we mean tablets with the power of an ipad3 or better as min requirement. AO will not be launched for smart phones since the screen would be to small to display the UI (buttons would be tiny^^).
with streaming you can get UO onto your iPad and then you might see that it actually is quite playable and enjoyable with the touch interface
Of course we do NOT keep the platforms seperated. It is all one massive world.
But of course when it comes to hardcore PvP "Mouse + Keyboard" is always best choice compared to tablets BUT the difference is not as big as for instance with Xbox controller vs Mouse/Keyboard when it comes to FPS games.
Knowledge is the key in AO, it is more important when and which button to press instead of having these ultra hard reaction times. If we would play tonight 1vs1 I would easily kill you (while playing on a tablet and you on PC) just because I know the game better then you do. Still reaction times aren't bad as well
We just recently ran our 15 Alpha Test. All of these tests where done with guilds we have never met before. A few of the guild members posted here already. Have a look at our FB page to see which guilds these have been eventually you know someone and can ask him.
Kind regards,
Stefan
Thanks for the response. It is good to see your multiplatform approach was built from the top down, using the best form of computer and the best way to play it. A PC with mouse and keyboard. I have got the impression over the past few years that in an effort to maximise players companies had started to design from the bottom up, catering for the platform that was least capable so as to maximise playerbase. No matter what problems that caused the game.
Good to see that when designing for multiplatforms some gaming companies are showing how it should be done. I don't expect twitch to win every time, but I do expect players using a less responsive and less flexible control system to accept they are going to find it somewhat harder to control the game.
Comments
Not sure how many people I speak for here, but considering the games that have come out in the past four or five years, it would be impressive if you managed to do that with just one platform. :-)
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
I'll hold judgement until I get a chance to play it myself but my main concern is the cross-platform aspect. Someone in this thread said that it will "revolutionize the way we think about mobile games". While that's great for mobiles, what might be considered "revolutionary" for mobiles might be simple, clunky and archaic for PC gamers.
Just my 2 cents.
Full loot open PvP in a game where gear determines pretty much everything that your character can do? Gosh golly gee willickers, I don't see how that could possibly be a problem!
/sarcasm
/facepalm
Enjoy your status as a niche game. Such a shame too, as the other features sounded pretty darn good.
It's a sad day indeed when a family is too afraid of reprisals to publicly thank somebody for saving their lives.
My point is why go for such a niche market as full loot pvp sandbox when not even a standard cross platform mmo has been done yet? My perception of mobile device gaming is casual, cheap thrills and cash grab. So they're trying to combine causal mobile gaming with hardcore sandbox? There just seems to be a disconnect. I'm not foreseeing a very large audience for this. Maybe I just lack vision or I'm slightly too left-brained lol.
Nothing wrong with being a niche game, you throw the word out like is its a insult. Not all games need to be made for all players, buthurt comments are childish.
Hi Torvaldr,
we do NOT want to take the claim for being the first corss plattform MMO out there. At least I know Vendetta Online which was there befor. If I did make this impression I apologize, this was not my intention.
However to a certain degree I think we will deliver something which is at least not very common and from a gaming experience something more refreshing.
FYI: Albion Online will be playable as a native client as well! The experience will be the same through all devices (despite the different controls)
Kind regards,
Stefan
PS.: What other games do you know which are cross platform MMO's?
A medieval sandbox MMO
http://www.facebook.com/albiononline/
2014 Q1-Q2 closed beta, 2014 late or 2015 release (last I heard anything which was a while back).
Dude... It is going to be F2P. Why not try it? It's not like you have to invest anything more than a little bit of time. You might find that you like it. You need to be open to trying new things, otherwise your life as well as your gaming life will be boring.
Hey Stephan!
I think this game sounds awesome! I will definitely be trying it out on my Ipad and my computer! I think the idea of having a cross-platform game is a refreshing idea, and if done right, I can see only success for that mechanic!
I appreciate the hard work you guys are putting in! Sometimes I feel that developers are unfairly treated in that, I feel a majority of the gaming community doesn't realize the effort and time needed to create an MMO, good or bad.
I do have one question at the moment! I read on the website that industry buildings are owned by players and that the price per usage of the building is also set by the player. It also says that they can be used by everyone. If one of these buildings was built within your guild owned territory, would that mean that only your guildmates could use it? Would there be any benefit to building an industry building in the neutral areas?
Are you an Alpha tester? Developer?
Or are ya trollin'? :P
_________
Currently playing: Black Desert Korea (Waiting for EU)
Always hating on instances in MMOs! Open worlds, open PvP, territory control and housing please. More persistence, more fun.
Note the lack of the word non-consensual in the context of pvp. Then let your snowflake rage melt.
<a href='http://signs.swtor-tools.com'><img src='http://signs.swtor-tools.com/generate/12493.png'></a>;
If everything goes well: Closed Beta in Q4 2013
If there are more problems: Closed Beta in Q2 2014
When we will release is hard to say, hopefully 2-3 month after the closed beta started, but this all depends on our findings during Closed Beta.
Kind regards,
Stefan
A medieval sandbox MMO
http://www.facebook.com/albiononline/
Exactly. I have NO interest what so ever in yet another narrow niche, free for all full loot PvP game. That meme has been done to death. Speaking of which, I'm surprised they didn't add perma death in with it...<face palm>
Hey wsmar,
it could make sense to build storage buildings outside of your guild territory near resource hotspots. However building outside your territory always comes with the danger of the building getting easily destroyed.
As it stands right now it will probably be possible to allow others (none-guild members) entry to you guild territory so they can use their buildings. Our vision is that I can earn money by owning an industry building at key points and giving others access to it.
But I also have to say that this is a mechanic not extensively tested yet and probably will see some changes (ofc improvements) coming to it. All mechanics around trading/sellling require a larger player base and our tests have been mainly around 100-200 people so far where the conflicts between each other are that strong that they do not want to sell each other stuff
Kind regards,
Stefan
A medieval sandbox MMO
http://www.facebook.com/albiononline/
Perma Death can be an interesting Design Decision. See Day Z or Haven & Hearht or even D3 in Hardcore Mode.
By the way we are absolutely aware that we are producing a niche product, but this is mainly because we want to build the game we think is missing in the MMO-landscape and even more important the game we would love to play ourselves.
Kind regards,
Stefan
A medieval sandbox MMO
http://www.facebook.com/albiononline/
Great, seems you have (almost) all bases covered :-) I am starting to like what I see so far ...
Thanks for all the answers.
Been in one major alpha test :P.
WOW! This is amazing news for the mobile gaming market.
My big question how high end of a mobile device will someone need to run this? Will a high end smart phone run the game well enough for say moderate in game activities?
Silly how people jump in just to inform everyone how niche full loot is and how they'll not be playing the game.
Newsflash:
1) A game can be niche and still be good. It can even be commercially successful. Not everyone need to cater to the lowest common denominator, you know. And besides, it's not like it takes a nobel prize winner to reach the conclusion that full loot is niche - do you guys expect people to be impressed by your amazing analytic skills or what?
2) No one gives a flying f***k whether you'll play the game or not, or at which phrase in the article you lost interest. You are not important, and your personal preferences are moot in this type of discussion. Ima start going to PvE games forums and just spam "lost interest when I read PvE" and "omg why do they have to make all these games PvE we want a PvP game naow" posts.
Hi Shauneepeak,
first of all let me clarify that for the release Albion Online will not be available on Smartphones. The reason being is the small screen size of smartphones. The interface and buttons would be just too small to press them on a smartphone. But from a technical perspective it would run, most smartphones use similar chips but have a lower resolution so they are very often even more powerful then a tablet. Of course there are exceptions, especially Sony just released a very powerfull tablet.
Anyhow, despite this the min requirement for the game will be an iPad3 (which is probably equivalent to a Tegra3 + 1gig ram on Android). When I say "min requirement" I mean an enjoyable experience, so no crashes or anything alike.
Kind regards,
Stefan
A medieval sandbox MMO
http://www.facebook.com/albiononline/
Thanks for the response. It is good to see your multiplatform approach was built from the top down, using the best form of computer and the best way to play it. A PC with mouse and keyboard. I have got the impression over the past few years that in an effort to maximise players companies had started to design from the bottom up, catering for the platform that was least capable so as to maximise playerbase. No matter what problems that caused the game.
Good to see that when designing for multiplatforms some gaming companies are showing how it should be done. I don't expect twitch to win every time, but I do expect players using a less responsive and less flexible control system to accept they are going to find it somewhat harder to control the game.
"Imbalance leads to griefing. Griefing leads to suffering. Suffering leads to hatered. Hatered leads to the Dark Side."
There, fixed it for you.