Crowfall

Tuco_sl said:

So when is alpha?

Click to expand...

Summer I believe.

"First release (with partial functionality) will begin alpha testing in late Summer 2015." but we will see.

Alpha begins summer 2015. Beta 2016. Launch should be end of 2016.

If folks didn't see, the interview is now on youtube:

Draegan had audio on hitbox on and music on for the first 3ish minutes, so skip there.

What they've said about "World Bosses" is that they won't exist, or at least not as we know them.

The campaigns are about PvP and they don't want people focused more on nutcupping in order to take down the big badass dragon. Mobs are going to be in game and they will be tough, but they are only there to make the world more dangerous, not as a point of progression. I'm pretty happy about that fact personally.

They actually count the paypal/websites backers that couldnt use KS, so they did hit the 17k backers stretch goal. I'm not sure if they intend to go the ?m??o??n??e??y??p??r??i??n??t??i??n??g? Star Citizen way of offering more and more stretch goals.

Tuco_sl said:

So does that mean they'll pump up the size of a few tigers, give them 100x hp and 10x damage and have them roam around wrecking people just to prove that the world is harsh? Or does that mean they'll have the best resources require you to clear out a bunch of tough spiders before the resources can be scavenged?

I feel like it's too tempting not to put world bosses in. Especially in the apocalyptic last days of a campaign where they seem to want to cleanse the weak while the strong are able to hole up in their fortress.

Click to expand...

I think the simple answer is: Yes.

You'll have to clear out the mines/ect of mobs before you can do stuff there. As the seasons progress, mobs get more challenging and I'm hoping for just regular mobs that will wreck face if you aren't paying attention.

I haven't been this excited for a game in some time, since probably shadowbane.

Vandyn_sl said:

I'm not sure if anyone has asked them this, but I wonder if they are looking and designing it from an esports angle. If true that yea, it's not really all that different from PS2 or GW2. I'm still backing it but I do feel that it's never going to have this immersive 'world' feel like a typical MMORPG. Now to their credit they've been completely upfront about that but I get that sense that's not what everyone wants.

Click to expand...

Draegen talked to them about this in the recent interview to a small extent, and it doesn't seem they're designing for eSports specifically. They basically said whether it becomes an eSport or streaming sensation will really be up to the fans.

They've also said they don't really want people competing for points, because how wide the breadth is for individuals to contribute to their team (crafting, scouting. Etc).

yeah Teekey, I asked that again last night and that was one of the few "we want to look into it" answers.

Well I couldn't resist so I'm building a shadowbane character closest to what I want to play in Crowfall (assuming SB race/archetype limitations aren't in crowfall)

My Version of an Ideal Bloodmagic Confessor

Archetype:
Confessor- Single Target Health Transfer

3 Disciplines:
Blood Prophet- Self Buffed HoT and additional stackable HoT
Gorgoi- AE Life Drain and Flight
Thrall- AE Group Health Transfer

Hey come on man, that's just a template for what I'd like to build in crowfall. Sheesh.

Tuco_sl said:

My ideal world boss in PvP games is one that you can take down by just zerging it. It doesn't do much damage or have goofy mechanics but has enough HP that a good size raid will take a bit of time to kill it. But when you engage it, some notification pops up world wide to indicate that it's being attacked. And the HP of it will be high enough that an opponent, if they are coordinated, would be able to travel to the boss site and engage you before you can kill it. But because the boss doesn't do much damage it's possible to fight off the enemy raid while still fighting the boss (though it'd be a huge disadvantage still).

Click to expand...

I, too, wish they'd just turned on PvP in open world GW2 and forgotten all the separate battlegrounds/match/maps bullshit.

My ideal is similar to yours (but maybe without the world notification of anything). I think PvE for the sake of typical gear/exp gain to get more powerful in PvP is a bad model in many types of PvP systems. But I also value the PvE world as a measure for winning and losing, and a way to introduce risk and reward, etc. So, make PvE have PvP implications (beyond 'gearing up' for PvP separately).

It has never seemed that difficult to me to merge both PvE and PvP in a way that makes more sense than the lame mechanic of simply having NPCs fight for your side. If your guild/group/faction is trying to lock down irondick mine, they can spend resources/cash/points/whatever to add a boost to mining by summoning some big ass orc slave with a hammer that can be killed, or captured and escorted to a rival area by your enemies.

Now, it's not just PvE, but has turned into a fight with PvP implications. Yeah, you're fighting over an NPC, but that NPC and the associated PvE has become a strategic resource for PvP to be won or lost.

Hell, even limit it to a set number of world champions that provide boosts boons, and then let people fight to control them. Or let a group decide to kill it if they feel that's the best decision, encouraging people to team up against a larger force who they know can control the champion, so a one-time assassination mission is formed.

Beyond that, mobs shouldn't be much more than background unless you're clearing them out of an area to set up camp (as a measure to control simply having one player lock down a resource or area).