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Archeage - The Next Generation in Sandbox MMO's - - GaelicWarlord - 02-23-2012
Archeage is a game currently being developed by XLGames, a Korean Video Game company with the Lead Designer, Jake Song, being the man behind Lineage I. I've been following up on the game ever since there was news available for it. Judging from what I've seen from the Closed Beta 4 Videos, the game is looking stunning. Despite being in closed beta, XL Games is not operating under an NDA and have full disclosure on all the systems currently playable in the game, though a full comprehensive list of features is likely going to change between now and launch.
This game is gorgeous, the environments are very well done, and do not feel like some random generated p.o.s. As if they were artfully hand crafted designed to be real and plausible. The vegetation, the lay of the land, the ocean and the sea floor and sea vegation within the ocean. There simply isn't anything I've seen like this in an MMO, and while I tend to be a person who avoids getting to hyped up over a game, I've been talking to players in the Beta and currently all the features promised are working and in game. Which is an interesting and very ingenious approach, as from what it seems, XL Games worked on getting the engine done and then all features before crafting lore and the world itself. Its been in development since 2006 but and is now coming closer to completion. There is an expected due date sometime within 2012 for Korea, though there are no official announcements on localization and the North American Market. However, Jake Song said in an interview that he the Western Market is a large target audience, and in many more ways than one. While art style definately retains a large bit of that 'eastern' RPG look and feel, there is also a lot of Western Fantasy elements to story and look. Ironically enough, this has transcended culturally in game, between two human races even, The Nuian (Western Continent, and Western Culture influenced. (Very anglo in ethnical appearance) and the Hariharan, (Which architecture and cultural references are very asian as well as ethnical appearance).
These great trends of both Eastern and Western Fantasy being seamlessly meshed together seem to be a good step in the right direction for MMO's, but more importantly so... is the integration of the best of mainstream MMO gaming, with the best of hardcore sandbox gaming. With the proper mix and dosage of both genres, you have Archeage, which is a not too hardcore setting, that is easy for all players to get into, but also has all the great functions of sandbox MMO's that ultimately makes me thrive to play a sandbox MMO.
But what excites me more than a working and proven comprehensive list of features, is all the potential this game has for the RP community. Aside from the two PVE continents (that also feature areas where player settlements can be built) there are also unmapped uncharted islands in the vast oceans surrounding the continents, and as well another huge continent far across the sea to the North that is completely untouched by man... There you can build castles, cities, and with the proper collaboration, create a player ran nation. This game has everything anyone could want. The PVE, the PVP, the exploration, the Sandbox. It sounds too good to be true, but for all those people who have gone into beta thinking there has yet to be a catch, I've been told they haven't found out what that catch was yet.
For those of you interested in finding out more about Archeage, here is a very good unbiased review of the 4th Closed Beta, with an extensive list of features that have been tested in the beta, and a good large number of them having a youtube video to back it up. Take a look!... this seems to be what the MMO industry needs. It might not be WoW big, but it really is the only game that looks like it really has set a goal to change how MMO's are played for the better.
Archeage - Extensive List Of Features - CBT4 Review
Re: Archeage - The Next Generation in Sandbox MMO's - - Gerick - 02-23-2012
Unfortunately this game won't be out for quite a while in the US as Gaelic Warlord pointed out above they just finished CBT 4 in Korea. But I am excited for this game and look forward to the potential it has. (Apparently at one point people were using siege weapons at World Bosses which I thought was funny)
Also there is a Roleplay website that has been started hopefully picking up more as the game is introduced in the American markets.
Also a list of all the skill combinations can be found here with their respective class name. All 100+ classes.
Re: Archeage - The Next Generation in Sandbox MMO's - - Forra - 02-23-2012
I must admit, I am immensely excited for Archeage and I hope desperately it does well.
It seems like the only MMO presently out or in development.. possibly aside from EVE - that's actually chasing the ideal of an online world.
So.. yeah, hope ^^
Re: Archeage - The Next Generation in Sandbox MMO's - - Smiling River - 02-23-2012
Looks very interesting! It seems awesome based on what I read, but I am used to the hype being just that. Does this MMO step away from the typical Korean grind MMO's? Any idea when it would be out in the US? I've yet to read up on the known lore of the world, too but the variety of classes and what they'd be able to do seems interesting.
Re: Archeage - The Next Generation in Sandbox MMO's - - Kylin - 02-23-2012
I've actually been watching this game pretty closely. It's one of the few MMO's that stick out to me. And it seems like a RPer's paradise based on the player-made content they're aiming to create. That said, it's still likely a looong way before it's out here in the West. So I'm mostly keeping it at arm's length right now. But I will be keeping a close eye on its development.
Re: Archeage - The Next Generation in Sandbox MMO's - - Eva - 02-23-2012
With regard to the 100 unique classes, I was really hoping to see something like this with FFXIV. Even the 20 in FFXI made it such that you felt like you weren't a cookie-cutter mold of every other character. One of the things that I've been really put off by in FFXIV is the fact that there are only 7 combat classes. Seems like I can't walk ten paces without running headfirst into a dozen other [insert my current class here].
I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that with 2.0 they'll add a plethora of new jobs to the table for us to choose from, but this Archeage looks interesting as well. I'll have to keep an eye on it as well.
Re: Archeage - The Next Generation in Sandbox MMO's - - Smiling River - 02-23-2012
It would be nice though if they drew comparisons between games to size up the graphics. For example, the graphics are as good as Skyrim, etc etc..
Re: Archeage - The Next Generation in Sandbox MMO's - - Gerick - 02-23-2012
Oskar I wouldn't expect it coming over here for a couple years. It still hasn't released Korea yet and I believe China is the next step for AA but don't quote me on that.
Re: Archeage - The Next Generation in Sandbox MMO's - - GaelicWarlord - 02-23-2012
Yeah, thats the only thing I really wish they'd release some info on. While Jake Song (The Lead Developer), has mentioned in interviews directly targeting the Western Market in the design process for the game, you can pretty much count on a beta being released US side of things until after the launch of the Korean game. There are a few factors right now that really kind of obscure how soon that could actually be.
For one, at the current stage of the beta, there are a lot of things that have not yet been finished. The world was only 30% accessible, (it remains unclear if that means that 70% of it is not yet been developed or just wasn't accessible during the CTB. Though its also kind of relieving at the same time, because the world if it was only 30%, was still quite huge) There are also a few features that have yet to be tested yet, but... most of the big features are already in beta and have been tested in beta.
At this point one can merely only speculate, but I'm gonna go out on the limb to make a rough guestimate that there will likely be two more closed betas, and then an open beta for Korea. It being february, that leads me to believe that the Holidays of 2012 for Korean release. Then add another 4-6 months for localization... So a safe guess would be that we won't see the game before next spring or next summer... which depresses me now that I realize just how far away that is.
In any case, its definately worth keeping an eye on folks. I hope you guys enjoyed some of these links, and thank you to the others who have also chimed in.
Re: Archeage - The Next Generation in Sandbox MMO's - - Forra - 02-24-2012
In reply to Oskar's asking about the graphics.. well, they're good.
I'm not really sure what to compare it to, but I'd put them somewhere in the same league as Final Fantasy XIV, perhaps just a bit below. The developers started work on the Cryengine 2, and recently licensed and moved development onto the Cryengine 3.
Not that I know much about the Cryengine beyond it looking pretty. Does it perform okay?
But yes, I'd be surprised if Archeage isn't at least two or three years from an international release, maybe even coming up five.
Re: Archeage - The Next Generation in Sandbox MMO's - - Smiling River - 02-24-2012
Yeah, thing is 2-3 years from now those graphics would no longer be 'awesome' ><. Even FFXIV graphics now seem a little lack-luster when compared to single-player, but then again new MMOs always tend to have worse graphics than new single player games. I am glad FFXIV is getting a face-lift come 2.0 though, it'll need it.