PvP, Territory Control and... PvE - all at the same time!
Since launching the Kickstarter, one of the most common questions we get is “Does PvE factor in to Territory Control at all?” In fact PvE in general has been a topic of much conversation. The concept of territory control is pretty well understood by most backers. Especially when it comes to RvR / Faction vs. Faction type scenarios. But it’s also clear players want some really good PvE to go along with the PvP experience.
Well, we are very happy to tell you today that you can expect some AWESOME PvE encounters in the midst of Territory Control and in the middle of a potential PvP fight!
The collision of PvP, PvE and Territory Control
You and your guild arrive upon the shores of this unexplored island and in the middle of the island you see a GIANT Etherea Shard protruding from the ground. It is plain to see that this is the control point of the zone. Your guild rushes straight to it, and with no one else around to challenge your claim to the land… your guild leader clicks on the giant shard to claim it!
But… a giant troll rushes down a mountain and heads straight toward your guild!
Your guild quickly moves into battle formation, your main tank skillfully gets the attention of the troll, and the battle begins. But just as it appears that the battle is under control, another figure arises… The lord of the Earth Elementals who is also trying to claim the land! That is right, not only will players be interested in controlling certain territories… but special raid mobs will vying for control as well!
In the midst of the chaos, many players begin arriving on their boats to join the battle. The battle quickly evolves into Humans vs. Orcs vs Troll Lord vs. Elemental Lord!!! Whoever survives the battle and claims the land will control the new island!!
THAT is the type of action we are providing in Hailan Rising. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, check out the screenshots to show this already working in the game (clearly we are continuing to polish these systems - but the core of this mechanic is built in to the game).
While all of that is great and awesome, Territory Control also affects the long term game economy. The owner of each territory determines which players have strategic access to certain parts of the world for PvE.
The Island Worlds
Below is a map of the game world. Notice that the island “Elian Respite” is outlined in blue. This indicates that your faction owns the island – and that it will be relatively safe for you to travel there. Now, notice that “Backbone” is red. This obviously indicates that it is enemy controlled and it is probably advisable that you travel with some heavily armed friends if you plan a visit.
You may also notice that “Shores of Ashken” is green. This shows that the island has become vulnerable, meaning that the owner of the island must be ready to defend it. This is actually the zone that contains the above Troll / Elemental battle mentioned above.
Every single territory in the game has its own requirements to both obtain and defend. Some are strictly PvP based, some are PvP mixed with Tower Defense, some are King of the Hill, and some involve PvE. The variations are endless, and the final design will partly be driven by community feedback on all these systems.
So if this sounds fun to you (how could it not?!) then we would appreciate any support you could show for us! Thanks as always for reading. We look forward to seeing you in Hailan Rising!
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Funding Unsuccessful This project reached the deadline without achieving its funding goal on November 17, 2012.
Funding period
Oct 18, 2012 -
Nov 17, 2012
(30 days)
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- Website: reloadedproductions.net
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Design and name an entire in-game armor set, made up of 5 separate items. Again, you can name these items after yourself or give them any cool name that you desire. You will work with the design team to define the stats and names of all the components. You and a designated clan will also get permanent access to the Public Test Server to test all unreleased content. You will get a special email address monitored by the game team for priority access to give game feedback to the team. Finally you will receive 10 of the $150 level awards, each with a unique Sapphire Aura (you will have up to a year after game launch to designate the 9 friends who will be powered-up with this reward).
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Regular access to a designated person on the development team and access to the game's producer. You will be able to give feedback on game systems, and have the ability to make design modification suggestions. You will be credited in the game credits as a benefactor. You will have a Territory Control point and a Shrine named after you and/or your character and/or your clan, and your characters will be worked into the game lore. You will also get permanent access to the Public Test Server for yourself and your clan. We will fly you to our studio in California (we will cover any airfare in North America) - where you will be the focal point of a photo shoot to turn you into a 3D digital model, which will become a high level boss character in the game (don't worry; you have the power to decide how 'similar' you want the character to appear to your actual self once it's skinned, textured, outfitted with some crazy monster parts and put in the game). You will be able to name this character anything you like, and you will also be able to create the backstory and lore of your in-game character. Finally you will receive Early Development Alpha Access, and 10 of the $150 rewards for yourself and your friends, each with a unique Sapphire Aura (you will have up to a year after game launch to designate the 9 friends who will be powered-up with this reward), and 40 digital serial numbers for the same items as in the $100 level (without any physical DVDs being shipped).
Estimated delivery: Dec 2012
Comments
Creator Grant Normandin on November 7, 2012
I love to explore and then sometimes I love to join a party and sometimes PVP so this suits me very well :) Besides all this I can see many folks joining the community some to fight monsters some to PVP some to chat some to explore with a friend or solo .This is going to be in my opinion the best game the world has ever seen because so much has gone into the mechanics and visuals and because they take the time to listen to me etc :) Also some will like the safe zones perhaps there are even safe zones that allow both races to hunt together party and chat etc :) This is great one could sail to explore and swim to explore and maybe visit caves and forests ect and well having this many Islands already working and more being planned is a dream come true. I know that there will always be times when both need to work together ( events etc) but it will be interesting to see the unique builds and people from all over the world being a community. :) Sounds VERY VERY fun.
Creator adam smith on October 28, 2012
@Mike Palladino These are very valid concerns indeed, and concerns that we have gone to great lengths to address in the design of the game.
I've actually just finished up an interview with mmorpg.com in which they had many of the same questions. I'm looking forward to that interview being published as it will shed much light on this subject. But for the time being, I will address the concerns that you have present right here =)
Some control points are indeed designed to change hands multiple times a day. The control points that can be owned and defended by only an individual are up for grabs 24/7. This is meant to encourage an all out PvP frenzy for the solo player that doesn't want to join a large guild. If a player only has 30 minutes to log in on a given day, this play style presents a fun fast paced challenge at any given time. However, any individual who takes control of one of these points (even if only for a few seconds) will be granted a lifetime bonus (+1% to HP or whatever the specific control point grants).
You assumed correctly in regard to the world map. That is only a portion of the game world. One of the great things that our island based design allows for is the release of new "zones" (we call them islands - a bit different than other MMORPGs) quickly. Do expect a rather large game world comprised of many more zones that what a normal MMORPG would present you with. Also, we are going to be releasing new islands OFTEN. No six months or a year waiting around for new content and new land to explore. We will indeed have larger expansion packs, but we are going to be releasing new lands almost monthly.
To answer your 3rd paragraph - Some control points will indeed be decided by a single giant battle. Some control points will have a scheduled time to defend on a weekly basis. Each control point has a specific time and way in which it must be conquered or defended.
And to keep the PvE accessible to all, we have specific non-PvP zones (such as Shrieking Caverns) that will be have no barrier to entry. There will be no possible hostile territories to go through in order to get to these zones.
Another great point you bring up is the new player experience. A new player will certainly have to climb the ladder of player skill before being able to decide on which territory control points to focus. But, the great thing about Hailan Rising is that much focus is shifted away from guilds, and more onto a faction as a whole. So if I am a new player, and I have an Orc character... I probably would want to concentrate on faction specific control points. This mean that I would not have to be a part of a group, or a raid, or a guild... but, by default of being an Orc, I already have hundreds or thousands on my side that I can go to war with. Trust us, the new player will have much to fight for!
It is indeed a new twist, as you state, for MMORPGs to do this. It really is a mechanic that has been thrown out of modern MMO design. But we are really looking forward to seeing you in our game world, and we're hoping you will love it! I'd encourage you to swing by our official forums and introduce yourself to our community. Believe it or not - our community is troll free and willing to help all new comers learn about the game. Many of our playtesters are there and can answer many of your questions also.
Thanks for the support!
Creator Francis Quatrevert on October 27, 2012
" In the midst of the chaos, many players begin arriving on their boats to join the battle. The battle quickly evolves into Humans vs. Orcs vs Troll Lord vs. Elemental Lord!!! Whoever survives the battle and claims the land will control the new island!! "
The Race vs. Race is without doubt my favourite type of PvP. The ennemies are easily distinguable and it often leads to a larger scale of PvP which is more thrilling in my opinion!
Creator Mike Palladino on October 26, 2012
The concept is interesting but I have to wonder if it would work in practice when playing on a packed server. Territory control could continuously be changing hands multiple times every day if not properly defended, thus making the entire escapade pointless if you're only going to reap the benefits (whatever those may be) of controlling the territory for a few minutes. This would be especially problematic if the entire server is a collection of nine islands as shown in the world map presented above, in which case everyone is vying for the same locations and ultimately whoever has the larger guild or better equipment wins. Depending on how the concept of 'strategic access' works, a solo player could end up stranded in only neutral territory for fear of coming into conflict with the guilds that control the major areas of the map.
That said, if the map above is just an illustration and not the full map of the world, meaning there can be any number of islands randomly generated and spawning and subsequently controlled, the equation becomes more balanced, which I'm thinking might be the case from the way the first paragraph of the situation was worded.
There's also the matter of control, how often it changes hands or if it even changes hands at all. If the control of the island is solely dependent on one large battle when the territory first spawns and is locked into that, later players coming into a game will be at either a disadvantage or an advantage depending on their faction, or will have nothing to do with control of territories as they've all been claimed. If territories are constantly shifting, then again, how does that effect game balance and access to PvE for later players who might be just beginning or playing the game solo? Simultaneously, what's stopping the first players to arrive in a territory who have already dealt with the mobs and other factions and are ready to claim their prize from being overtaken in their weakened state by a completely healed guild who was waiting in the wings for their chance to strike? Perhaps that's simply a tactical question, of course, but something else to take into account I suppose.
That said, as far as I know it's a new twist for MMOs to incorporate territory control at all, so there are a lot of factors that I'm still wondering about. It's all well and good to explain how it will work in practice, but without getting into specifics and mechanics there's a lot for the players to ask about. Take from that what you will. I'm looking forward to hearing more about the concept.