Gods And Heroes: Rome Rising

[Fredo]

Après un été un peu calme, voici les dernières news sur Gods and Heroes, publiées sur le forum du site officiel du jeu.

Gods and Heroes est un MMORPG en développement -- la béta ne saurait tarder -- où l'action se passe dans la Rome antique, mais incluant le folklore et la mythologie : dieux à vénérer, créatures diverses comme harpies, faunes, naiades, nymphes, dryades, sirènes, méduses, et autres joyeusetés fantastiques.

Ce qui m'a a priori intéressé dans ce jeu, mis à part le background romain antique et la mythologie, c'est le système de combat et la possibilité de diriger toute une manipule de légionnaires par exemple. Imaginez une bataille où chaque joueur de l'équipe contrôle jusqu'à 8 PNJ (personnages non-joueurs) qui se battent à ses côtés selon diverses tactiques !

Voilà une bien bonne idée que d'inclure un peu de stratégie ou de "wargame" dans les jeux online : être un héros ne signifie pas nécessairement être toujours seul ou impliquant de rejoindre d'autres héros pour partir ensemble à l'aventure, mais posséder ses propres troupes…

Je pense depuis quelques temps que c'est ce genre d'idées, profitant de la puissance des machines toujours en augmentation, qui donnera du sang neuf aux MMORPGs. Il y a encore plein de choses à inventer dans l'univers des jeux de rôles massifs en réseau.

Je garde un oeil sur ce jeu. Voici donc les dernières infos, en attendant :

Computer Gaming World - June 2005

Posted: Oct 10, 2005 4:00 PM 

Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising

Why the Visigoths have an awful lot of Gaul

It’s Like: Legionnaire-coated Diablo.

The Buzz: With the number of MMOs in the works rising high enough to make your head spin, the tendency to want to shout, “No, noooooo! Please! Not one more… nooooooo!” is very prevalent nowadays. For anything to incite instant interest, it seems necessary for it to be encased in the trappings of a fancy license (D&D Online, Middle Earth Online, etc.) or being in the hands of a seasoned and successful developer. And while it may not leap out at a glance, those in the know realize that, in the case of Gods and Heroes, the latter is true. The lead designer of Diablo II, Stieg Hedlund, is in charge of this project, so “seasoned and successful” definitely apply. And Hedlund is backed up by folks who have senior-level roles on Sim City 3000, Asheron’s Call, Earth and Beyond, Uru, and many others.

Set in Rome around 300 BC, the empire is still strong but vulnerable. Your job is to expand and protect the Republic, her interests, and her citizens, and to serve one of the twelve great Roman gods. While Perpetual wants the gameworld to be realistic, it’s not going to go overboard.

“A lot of this has to do with audience expectation,” says Hedlund. “Most people have specific ideas about what Rome is like, and we’d rather just let them have fun with that instead of being pedantic.” The game is also not strictly constrained by historical timelines. “If we need to bend the timelines or other details to include more interesting or more fun creatures, situations, or stories, we do it,” says Perpetual co-founder and president Chris McKibbin.

There are a variety of features – at least in the MMO space – unique to Gods and Heroes, including its brand of squad-based combat; mythology, gods, and god powers that have meaningful impact on gameplay; a fully integrated quest system and Epic Quest path for every character; Dynamic Zones with scripted, single-player game mechanics; replayable arenas; and an Action Combat animation system. They expect the combat system to be second-to-none in its simulation of real-time skill based encounters, and are using something they’re calling the Node-Lock system to ensure the sense of “contact” during battle.

Unlike the gods in games like Everquest, here the gods are very real and very involved in everyday life. There are four groups of three gods each that are called Triads. At some point, you’ll choose a Triad and a specific god who’ll be able to pump you up with all sorts of powers, but they can also demand major sacrifices, homage, and proof of valor, honor, and commitment as well. You’ll need to perform quests for them, and you have to do their laundry. Also, they bicker amongst themselves, and feuding gods may make your life miserable. But a God Meter will tell you at all times about your standing with each of the gods and Triads.

With some 1,250 quests at launch, it looks like the game won’t be hurting for content any time soon. Not only that, they’re promising quests with actual context (rather than “gather me 25 panda brains”). Quests come in three flavors: Rome Quests are offered by Senators, Officials, Generals, and citizens of Rome. God Quests are offered by both allied and opposing gods. Finally all heroes are on a game-spanning Epic Quest path that he or she is destined to fulfill.

The variety of features that aren’t really the norm seem to be what give this title a viable opportunity in this market. “The game is intended to be more than just the sum of its features, though,” says Hedlund, “our real top-level goal is to use those things – and many others – to provide a wealth of different gameplay experiences for many different styles of players.” One thing that’s sure to help is that little throwaway experience called Diablo II. “Some of the central values I brought to Diablo II are the same ones I hope to bring to Gods and Heroes: easy-to-use but powerful game systems, supporting and rewarding different styles of play, and accessibility to a wide audience.” –CY

[Coldstar]

Oui, ça paraît une bonne idée. Mais commander plusieurs PNJ n'st pas nouveau, c'était déjà possible dans Baldur's Gate (même si ce n'était pas un MMORPG).

Ca donne envie… encore!

[Fredo]

Oui, et ça va aussi être possible dans City Of Villains (l'add-on de City of Heroes) où la classe de Mastermind peut diriger plusieurs Henchmen de divers types

[ShoTo]

Qu'est ce qui tu fait dire qu'il ne sera pas annulé en cours de développement comme bien d'autres mmorpg ?