Post by telvannas on Mar 12, 2006 8:39:35 GMT -5
Since edit on the game forums isn't working I've decided to post it here! ;D
General Issues
DrWalnut Q.Is Africa a skill or class based game?
CaesarsGhost A.Africa is a skill based game.
KillMePlz Q.How nice are the graphics?
Tracy Spaight A.Africa will be built on Rapid Reality's Aura 3-D Engine. You really have to see it in real-time to appreciate how powerful this technology really is, but you can get an idea from the recent screenshots from our other MMO title, The Chronicle:
www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/setView/screens/gameID/196/setStart/1
KillMePlz Q.What ways are you preventing an inflation?
Tracy Spaight A.We're studying that now.
KillMePlz Q.What sort of interactions with the NPCs will the players have? Can they fully control regions and be able to purchase houses? How do we acquire regions if this is so? How many factions are there or is it a neutral-to-all at first and then basically guilds (or in Africa tribes) ruling Africa?
Tracy Spaight A.Our Emergent Artificial Intelligence system should allow for this kind of interactivity. Our NPCs will remember your deeds and they will talk to one another -- word gets around. The NPCs in Africa have their own goals. They may decide to wage war on a player faction. Or maybe they'll just kill all the humans. We haven't decided how many kingdoms and tribes will be included at launch. Players can have houses.
KillMePlz Q.Does gold some how drop from monsters like every other game?Or is it more realistic like SWG where animals can be skinned for their raw materials and such?
Tracy Spaight A.Creatures will carry items that it makes sense for them to have. Many will have nothing on them but their skins, claws, or other body parts -- which players might gather for crafting or reagents.
KillMePlz Q.How exactly is the Skill Tree arranged?
Tracy Spaight A.We did some brainstorming on this back in October, and came up with a pretty cool solution. More on this later.
Caravanseray
altex44 Q.Will there be any kind of trade routes between towns? There will be merchants and caravans?
Tracy Spaight A.Many commodities can only be acquired through trade between regions, so trade will be an important part of the game. Players and NPCs can lead camel caravans across the deserts. The rewards can be great, but so too are the dangers ...
lioness Q.What will you be able to do with caravans? (The original post wasn't a question
)
Tracy Spaight A.You'll be able to swoop down on carvans like Dark Cloud in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. If you can defeat the guards, then you can make off with their trade goods and camels.
The AHaggar mountains in central Sahara will be a good place to set up a bandit kingdom.
Crafting
lioness Q.Will we have to gather dye plants or special resources to make dye colors?
Tracy Spaight A.Dyes in the game are made from plant, mineral, and animal products, which players have to gather and process.
DrWalnut Q.What game would you compare this to for importance of crafters in the in-game economy and the general fun factor in crafting? Where would you place crafters in the economy and will they be fun enough to play as well as make a profit?
Tracy Spaight A.Crafting wares, running a shop, and leading caravans across the Sahara will be a central focus of the world. Our monsters aren't going to drop full suits of plate (that always struck me as weird) or other items they wouldn't plausibly have. So if you want a cool Kreish throwing knife or a Zulu stabbing spear, you're going to have to seek out a skilled weaponsmith.
Our goal is to create a crafting system in which the player doesn't have to churn out thousands of useless noob items (I made about a million leather gloves in UO) to advance in skill. Instead, each item will be its own accomplishment. We'll have more on this in the coming weeks.
Music
DrWalnut Q.How is music going to be done in the game?
Tracy Spaight A.Music and dance are central to African cultures, so both will be central to our world as well. Music can empower warriors (like buffs), bring rain to the fields, ward off evil spirits, and even infuse items with special properties.
I can't reveal how we're coding real time drum circles (I don't understand it anyway), but I expect jamming with a group of friends will be a lot of fun. We're going to have a vast library of sampled instruments which can be modified and combined in compelling ways. I'll leave you with this thought: talking drums.
Gathering
Deunan Q.Will you actually be able to take cattle and slaughter them for food or are they just big cows that are there for aesthetic value?
Tracy Spaight A.You can raise cattle, goats, and sheep. You'll have to move the herd between pasturage and watering holes and protect the animals from predators and thieves. You can shear the sheep, milk the cows, or cull the herd for leather and meat.
Fighting
DrWalnut Q.Does this game have twitch based combat, like a FPS with melee?
Tracy Spaight A.I like the idea of an MMORPG in which the skill of the player behind the keyboard, rather than the artificial stats of the character, can make a difference in combat. I definitely don't like the click-the-button-and-go-eat-a-sandwich style combat that we see so much of in so many of the MMORPGs on the market. It's not engaging.
We have the ability to make an FPS style MMO. We're discussing several game mechanics for combat now. We'll have more on that in the weeks ahead.
KillMePlz Q.What sort of weapons and variations of classes are also being presented?
Tracy Spaight A.You can get a glimpse of some of the weapons you'll find in the game by reading African Arms and Armor and Zirngibl & Fischer's Afrikanische Waffen. You'll also see weapons from the Arab world.
Magic
flaky Q.What will magic be like?
Tracy Spaight A.Expect to see lots of nature themed magic -- including the ability to call lightning bolts down from the sky. Warding is protective magic. Amulets and charms can ward against things like the evil eye, Jinn, or witchcract.
Aquatopia Q.It seems that one of the goals of the game is to provide a realistic view of historical Africa. Is that possible if you include magic in a game? Or is this game going to be historical from the perspective of the Africans themselves?
Tracy Spaight A.Good question actually. The game is historical in the sense that it takes as its backdrop medieval Africa and the kingdoms of the period. But our world is also filled with magic, amulets, protective charms, magic weapons, and fantastic creatures -- many of which you can read about in Egyptian curse tablets, Greek magic papyri, accounts of Arab travelers, and from the tales of African peoples.
We're designing out the magic system now. Expect a strong emphasis on nature themes ...
Nature
Fizz Q.Will this game feature strictly real creatures (such as animals or monsters) or will it be very mythish based with man eating scorpians and such... or a mix of both?
Tracy Spaight A.As you travel through the deserts, grasslands, and jungles of Africa you will encounter lions, elephants, gazelles, and other wildlife native to the regions.
Other, more fantastic creatures are drawn from Herodotus, Pliny the Elder, and other ancient authors, as well as accounts of Arab travelers, medieval map makers, European explorers, and the stories of African peoples themselves.
z80 ParaNoia Q.Will this game have hyenas?
Tracy Spaight A.Yes, there will be hyenas wandering the savannah regions. Just be careful she doesn't go feral on you ...
EDIT:Made easier to read.
General Issues
DrWalnut Q.Is Africa a skill or class based game?
CaesarsGhost A.Africa is a skill based game.
KillMePlz Q.How nice are the graphics?
Tracy Spaight A.Africa will be built on Rapid Reality's Aura 3-D Engine. You really have to see it in real-time to appreciate how powerful this technology really is, but you can get an idea from the recent screenshots from our other MMO title, The Chronicle:
www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/setView/screens/gameID/196/setStart/1
KillMePlz Q.What ways are you preventing an inflation?
Tracy Spaight A.We're studying that now.
KillMePlz Q.What sort of interactions with the NPCs will the players have? Can they fully control regions and be able to purchase houses? How do we acquire regions if this is so? How many factions are there or is it a neutral-to-all at first and then basically guilds (or in Africa tribes) ruling Africa?
Tracy Spaight A.Our Emergent Artificial Intelligence system should allow for this kind of interactivity. Our NPCs will remember your deeds and they will talk to one another -- word gets around. The NPCs in Africa have their own goals. They may decide to wage war on a player faction. Or maybe they'll just kill all the humans. We haven't decided how many kingdoms and tribes will be included at launch. Players can have houses.
KillMePlz Q.Does gold some how drop from monsters like every other game?Or is it more realistic like SWG where animals can be skinned for their raw materials and such?
Tracy Spaight A.Creatures will carry items that it makes sense for them to have. Many will have nothing on them but their skins, claws, or other body parts -- which players might gather for crafting or reagents.
KillMePlz Q.How exactly is the Skill Tree arranged?
Tracy Spaight A.We did some brainstorming on this back in October, and came up with a pretty cool solution. More on this later.
Caravanseray
altex44 Q.Will there be any kind of trade routes between towns? There will be merchants and caravans?
Tracy Spaight A.Many commodities can only be acquired through trade between regions, so trade will be an important part of the game. Players and NPCs can lead camel caravans across the deserts. The rewards can be great, but so too are the dangers ...
lioness Q.What will you be able to do with caravans? (The original post wasn't a question
)Tracy Spaight A.You'll be able to swoop down on carvans like Dark Cloud in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. If you can defeat the guards, then you can make off with their trade goods and camels.
The AHaggar mountains in central Sahara will be a good place to set up a bandit kingdom.
Crafting
lioness Q.Will we have to gather dye plants or special resources to make dye colors?
Tracy Spaight A.Dyes in the game are made from plant, mineral, and animal products, which players have to gather and process.
DrWalnut Q.What game would you compare this to for importance of crafters in the in-game economy and the general fun factor in crafting? Where would you place crafters in the economy and will they be fun enough to play as well as make a profit?
Tracy Spaight A.Crafting wares, running a shop, and leading caravans across the Sahara will be a central focus of the world. Our monsters aren't going to drop full suits of plate (that always struck me as weird) or other items they wouldn't plausibly have. So if you want a cool Kreish throwing knife or a Zulu stabbing spear, you're going to have to seek out a skilled weaponsmith.
Our goal is to create a crafting system in which the player doesn't have to churn out thousands of useless noob items (I made about a million leather gloves in UO) to advance in skill. Instead, each item will be its own accomplishment. We'll have more on this in the coming weeks.
Music
DrWalnut Q.How is music going to be done in the game?
Tracy Spaight A.Music and dance are central to African cultures, so both will be central to our world as well. Music can empower warriors (like buffs), bring rain to the fields, ward off evil spirits, and even infuse items with special properties.
I can't reveal how we're coding real time drum circles (I don't understand it anyway), but I expect jamming with a group of friends will be a lot of fun. We're going to have a vast library of sampled instruments which can be modified and combined in compelling ways. I'll leave you with this thought: talking drums.
Gathering
Deunan Q.Will you actually be able to take cattle and slaughter them for food or are they just big cows that are there for aesthetic value?
Tracy Spaight A.You can raise cattle, goats, and sheep. You'll have to move the herd between pasturage and watering holes and protect the animals from predators and thieves. You can shear the sheep, milk the cows, or cull the herd for leather and meat.
Fighting
DrWalnut Q.Does this game have twitch based combat, like a FPS with melee?
Tracy Spaight A.I like the idea of an MMORPG in which the skill of the player behind the keyboard, rather than the artificial stats of the character, can make a difference in combat. I definitely don't like the click-the-button-and-go-eat-a-sandwich style combat that we see so much of in so many of the MMORPGs on the market. It's not engaging.
We have the ability to make an FPS style MMO. We're discussing several game mechanics for combat now. We'll have more on that in the weeks ahead.
KillMePlz Q.What sort of weapons and variations of classes are also being presented?
Tracy Spaight A.You can get a glimpse of some of the weapons you'll find in the game by reading African Arms and Armor and Zirngibl & Fischer's Afrikanische Waffen. You'll also see weapons from the Arab world.
Magic
flaky Q.What will magic be like?
Tracy Spaight A.Expect to see lots of nature themed magic -- including the ability to call lightning bolts down from the sky. Warding is protective magic. Amulets and charms can ward against things like the evil eye, Jinn, or witchcract.
Aquatopia Q.It seems that one of the goals of the game is to provide a realistic view of historical Africa. Is that possible if you include magic in a game? Or is this game going to be historical from the perspective of the Africans themselves?
Tracy Spaight A.Good question actually. The game is historical in the sense that it takes as its backdrop medieval Africa and the kingdoms of the period. But our world is also filled with magic, amulets, protective charms, magic weapons, and fantastic creatures -- many of which you can read about in Egyptian curse tablets, Greek magic papyri, accounts of Arab travelers, and from the tales of African peoples.
We're designing out the magic system now. Expect a strong emphasis on nature themes ...
Nature
Fizz Q.Will this game feature strictly real creatures (such as animals or monsters) or will it be very mythish based with man eating scorpians and such
... or a mix of both?Tracy Spaight A.As you travel through the deserts, grasslands, and jungles of Africa you will encounter lions, elephants, gazelles, and other wildlife native to the regions.
Other, more fantastic creatures are drawn from Herodotus, Pliny the Elder, and other ancient authors, as well as accounts of Arab travelers, medieval map makers, European explorers, and the stories of African peoples themselves.
z80 ParaNoia Q.Will this game have hyenas?
Tracy Spaight A.Yes, there will be hyenas wandering the savannah regions. Just be careful she doesn't go feral on you ...
EDIT:Made easier to read.
