Interview JeuxOnline with Erling Ellingsen

Hello



Here's an interview of Erling Ellingsen we made at the Festival du Jeu Video in Paris.

It was a filmed interview (we don't have the video yet, i'll give you the link as soon as it's ready), so this is sort of a summary with the big lines. I hope you'll enjoy it.





I. Trades

JoL : How will the Tradehouse system work ?



E.E. : It will be rather close to the system of WoW. For example, you get your items directly by message windows.

II. Guilds

JoL : Is it possible for the guilds to have a system of recognition (such as a guild emblem on your cloak, or so) ?



E.E. : It's in progress. We don't still know how it will be implemented.



JoL : Will it be possible for the leaders of a town to order to the NPC guards to attack at sight the members of a defined guild, or any particular person ?



E.E. : No.



JoL : Will there be a system of sub-guilds as in Shadowbane? (For instance a nation = a gathering of guilds who can themselves have sub-guilds)



E.E. : No.



JoL : Can guilds build buildings which increase the skills of the members of the guild (fountain of power, totem of strength etc.)?



E.E. : Yes : every type of building will allow you to obtain bonuses on tradeskills and/or class. For example, Temples increase the healing effects of the priests of your guild, and the Casters' Towers are used by the alchemists but also confer bonuses to the Rogues.

III. Character

JoL : Once the skill points are distributed, can we respecialize them? Exploit points?



E.E. : We shall see, according to the returns of the players during the beta.



JoL : Will it be necessary to eat, sleep, or rest? If yes, with what frequency?



E.E. : No, that will not be necessary. There is no maluses if you do not realize these actions.



JoL : Will actions as sleeping or eating bring bonuses (disconnect in an inn in WoW gives a 200 % bonus to exp, which is good for casual players)?



E.E. : We are still looking for the best means to reward players who make regularly breaks.



JoL : Can we add a "proc" effect on the weapons?



E.E. : Of course.



JoL : Will our characters be able to swim?



E.E. : Yes.



JoL : Will it be possible to dye our armors?



E.E. : No, at least not at the release of the game. This is to avoid bad-looking sets.



JoL : The weapons on the back of the characters seem to be "stuck" on them (for instance, the first weapon available: the wooden oar). Do you plan to set up "strips" to give a more realistic side to the game?



E.E. : No, because it isn't really a priority, but if we have the time, why not.



JoL : Will the name of a player marked over his head betray his position if this one is hidden from the sight of the others (for instance, if he is hiding on the knees behind a bush and his name appears in big red fluorescent characters, floating over him)?



E.E. : When you are hidden [Note from redactor: all the classes can go in stealth mode], it won't be possible to see your name.

IV. Corruption system

JoL : Will this system affect in a deep way the background of our character?



E.E. : About this system, there will be various effects : for example, you'll fall on your knees, or you will be harassed by devils. As for the possibility of being transported in hell, we won't tell you anything more than you already know, because we wish that the players discover these contents by themselves.



JoL : How will be made social relationships with characters corrupted by magic? It is difficult to imagine them roaming serenely, especially as Conan's background is associating the magic with the "terror".



E.E. : The system of corruption being at the moment a short-time effect, it will not interfere at all with the relations between characters.

V. Environment

JoL : Will there be meteorological effects in the game and if yes, which ones?



E.E. : There will be effects such as rain, snowfalls, and fog.



JoL : Will there be sandstorms ?



E.E. : No.



JoL : What about seasons ?



E.E. : No neither.



JoL : Will there be mailboxes for players? Will there be notice boards for the business?



E.E. : You will have access to mailboxes but there are no notice boards (the business is made by the system of Tradehouse).



JoL : How will be managed the footprints in the snow or in the sand (how long they last, strategic influence)?



E.E. : There are no footprints.

VI. Technical :

JoL : Shall we have the choice to play in English? If yes, do we risk to have complications with the updates, or any other problems?



E.E. : The maintenance services being localized, it would be difficult for you to play in English while you are in France.



JoL : Will AoC be, in average or long-term, playable under Mac OS or Linux?



E.E. : It's not planned at the moment.



JoL : Will AoC be optimized for multi-core CPUs? Not only Dual core, but will it manage as well 4 cores or even more? In other words, is the code optimized / planned for the multi-threading technique?



E.E. : AoC is effectively optimized for dual-core and the quad-core optimization is in progress.



JoL : Can the Quebec players buy the game in French and play on the European servers?



E.E. : Needs to see with Eidos for this question.



JoL : Will Dreamworld (the graphic engine of Age of Conan) be optimized for Dx10.1, which should be available at the release of the SP1 of Windows Vista?



E.E. : I must say that I don't know.



JoL : Will it be possible to play on a PC and on a XBox with a unique subscription?



E.E. : This is being discussed with Microsoft. I can't say nothing more for the moment because nothing is defined yet.