PAX Gameplay Video

JC-Smith · September 2013

Hello everyone,

I know a lot of people have been asking to see an alpha gameplay video. MMO Hut posted one today with some footage from PAX: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4_4Sel53-w

gamekid2k · September 2013

I couldn't tell from the video. Is it tab target/auto attack or aim target?

JC-Smith · September 2013

It's both. Most of that video was shot in what we refer to as Action mode, but you can switch between Action and RPG Modes at the press of a key.

RPG Mode works like most every other MMORPG. You can click or tab target. You have ability bars (like the ones you see there) which allows you to click on abilities to use them, etc. Basically it's just like EQ, WoW, GW2, etc control wise in that regard.

Action Mode controls like a shooter (you can toggle between various camera angles and first or third person, and there is also a customizable camera). The mouse controls where your looking at like in a shooter, you aim and shoot. The left mouse button is for normal actions, right mouse for Momentum based actions. You can hold CTRL (this is all remappable btw) to toggle either of those actions into a defensive action. Momentum is available in both modes and is a reflection of how things are going for you (positive or negative). As good things happen it rises, as bad things happen it decreases. You can consume some of your Momentum to use more powerful abilities, but it generally consumes some momentum when you do.

Both modes are exactly the same to the server. Whatever you did in action mode on the client is translated into the RPG mode call before it sends it to the server. It's just alternate control schemes based on how you prefer to play. Action Mode is still abilities based, it just throws your abilities into a stack and automatically determines which one to use.

Holophonist · September 2013

Originally posted by gamekid2k
I couldn't tell from the video. Is it tab target/auto attack or aim target?

There's both, but from what I understand the "Action" mode is more like games like neverwinter and less like darkfall. In other words, I don't think bullets are actual projectiles that either physically hit or miss, but rather it's just a question of how you're targeting things. So in action mode, you control it like a FPS or TPS but really you're still just targeting things.

JC-Smith · September 2013

That is correct. There are no projectiles. There is line of sight for both RPG and action mode though so you won't be able to fire through things. The easiest way to describe the two would be this:

In RPG Mode you click a target, it sends the target information to the server. When you then click an ability it sends the ability you clicked to the server to fire it.

In Action Mode when you click to fire on someone it then goes through your deck of abilities to find an appropriate ability. If you are firing at a new target from last time then it tells the server to switch targets when it sends the ability to the server. If you fired at the ground or at a wall it never sends the ability to the server at all, and instead just plays some FX for your client of you firing at the ground or swinging your weapon at thin air. When you fire in action mode it always plays your FX immediately client side, and then contacts the server to validate any action that happened. The server then sends out those FX to other players who could see them, or additional FX that you might need client side. This makes it feel like everything is happening instantly, but its a bit of smoke and mirrors. It should also be noted that action mode understands that you are not always going to hit a moving target, so it gives you a little leeway. If you are shooting close to something it tries to determine what you were aiming at.

To the server both modes work in the exact same way. It's just receiving information on what player or area (for AoEs) was targeted, and what ability was used.

What we like about this approach is that it allows players to control the game in whichever mode they feel is best for them, without lagging out the server any additional server load if they choose Action Mode. It also allows players to switch modes if they feel that one is more effective for certain situations. For example they might want to use action mode if they are pursuing a target and firing at them, but maybe they would rather have the more fine tuned control of RPG mode when they are sniping and stationary.

Holophonist · September 2013

This seems as good a time as any to ask a question I've always wondered about: Is that kind of "action targeting" easier to implement/program than actual aiming with projectiles and collision etc?

I wasn't sure if it was a technical limitation dictating your decision on what type of system to use, or if it's a deliberate decision because more people probably prefer the more "forgiving" nature of the the system you're using as opposed to a more free-aim system like Darkfall's or countless single player games.

Karteli · September 2013

The Action / RPG button toggle sounds very similar to Fallen Earth. While perhaps something than can be gotten used to, it never felt fully fluid, and thus affected my immersion.

This game looks like it has come a long ways though, since the past Alpha videos I've seen. Very polished looking, and the depth of skills looks really nice!

At the very end though, there was a quick graphical demo of character creation, which looked more like pre-defined models / sizes. Hopefully this can be allowed to be more flexible (provided I was understanding what I saw .. it only lasted a few seconds).

Thanks for sharing the video!

Holophonist · September 2013

Personally I'm willing to put up with some limitations on things like character creation and the targeting system in exchange for a deep sandbox game. The genre doesn't need more polish, it needs more depth.

JC-Smith · September 2013

Originally posted by Holophonist
This seems as good a time as any to ask a question I've always wondered about: Is that kind of "action targeting" easier to implement/program than actual aiming with projectiles and collision etc?

I wasn't sure if it was a technical limitation dictating your decision on what type of system to use, or if it's a deliberate decision because more people probably prefer the more "forgiving" nature of the the system you're using as opposed to a more free-aim system like Darkfall's or countless single player games.

They are the same to program, but it's easier on the network to not use the projectiles. Having lots of fast moving projectiles which need to be networked are harder on the server and cause lag. But also it allows us to have two modes, and both to be treated the same on the server. With regards to being more forgiving, that is also true. We've found through testing that it was also best to give some aim assistance (so if you miss but your close it hits) or else it made it too difficult to use action mode against moving targets, vs. RPG mode where you just targeted and fired.

JC-Smith · September 2013

Originally posted by Karteli
The Action / RPG button toggle sounds very similar to Fallen Earth. While perhaps something than can be gotten used to, it never felt fully fluid, and thus affected my immersion.

This game looks like it has come a long ways though, since the past Alpha videos I've seen. Very polished looking, and the depth of skills looks really nice!

At the very end though, there was a quick graphical demo of character creation, which looked more like pre-defined models / sizes. Hopefully this can be allowed to be more flexible (provided I was understanding what I saw .. it only lasted a few seconds).

Thanks for sharing the video!

Those are not predefined models or sized, he was clicking the Randomize button to randomly choose between looks. You can find a more detailed look at character creation here: http://therepopulation.com/index.php/news/113-video-preview-of-character-creation

Holophonist · September 2013

Originally posted by JC-Smith
Originally posted by Holophonist
This seems as good a time as any to ask a question I've always wondered about: Is that kind of "action targeting" easier to implement/program than actual aiming with projectiles and collision etc?

I wasn't sure if it was a technical limitation dictating your decision on what type of system to use, or if it's a deliberate decision because more people probably prefer the more "forgiving" nature of the the system you're using as opposed to a more free-aim system like Darkfall's or countless single player games.

They are the same to program, but it's easier on the network to not use the projectiles. Having lots of fast moving projectiles which need to be networked are harder on the server and cause lag. But also it allows us to have two modes, and both to be treated the same on the server. With regards to being more forgiving, that is also true. We've found through testing that it was also best to give some aim assistance (so if you miss but your close it hits) or else it made it too difficult to use action mode against moving targets, vs. RPG mode where you just targeted and fired.

Excellent. Thank you.

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PAX Gameplay Video

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