The Chronicles of Spellborn

Now, I want this game to succeed, if only to encourage more indie devs to get involved in the genre and give it the shot in the arm it so badly needs, but I have worries.

This isnt a troll, this is an honest attempt to get some clarification and lay some hard doubts to rest.

1. Is it group or solo orientated? I have had a chat with some on the official boards about this, and they tell me this game is soloable, but the lore will bring people together to play it as groups. Is this still true? Was it true in the first? I honestly do not think the world needs a solo anti-social consentual PvP quest grinder... Will this game reward co-op play in any way?
2. Is the crafting still more like a collect and hand in quest then 'real' crafting as seen in games like EQ2 etc? I remember, a long while ago, being under the impression that you simply went to a NPC, got a container, filled it with the (collected) ingredients, and then handed it back to him to gain the item... Is this still the case? If so, this sounds a LOT like EQ2's Collection system, whch of course exists alongside that game's real craft system. Is this impression correct?
3. Is Itemisation (or lack of) still a big selling point for the devs of this game? Reading the FAQ and, again, talking to some on the official boards a while ago, it seems to me that although physical appearence wont be defined by stated equipent, (invisible) Sigils will just take the place of seen gear. They will be dropped, quested, traded it seems... just like normal gear in other games... there will be common and rares ones it seems also... jusk like normal gear in other games... So they are it seems, in everything but name, normal gear. Is this right still?  Why are people saying this game hasnt got itemisation in it, when Sigils are obviously just that?
4. Do Sigils still have minimum effect on the character's stats, as I have heard some say? If so, then why am I going to be motivated to collect them and use them? If the item/ Sigil motivator is taken from a MMORPG such as this, then what is being put in it's place? Are the devs relying on Lore alone to motivate me to play and stay with the game in the long term?
5. Will the rarest of the components for crafting Sigils etc still come from the PvP zones? Will this force me to PvP, even if I do not choose to in order to get the best gear, if I want that of course?
6. Is this game a challange? What is it's core demographic? Is it 8-80, keeping the game as ez mode and non fail penalised as possible to allow for the widest possible player base for the largest possible return? Or is it for gamers that prefer a learning curve, fail penalty, and challenge?
7. Are there support classes in this game, such as buffers and healers? Or are all the classes self dependent with a little of everything, but all done in a slightly different way? Is there CC in TCoS? To put it short, are the classes defined, and is zerg play encouraged, or not?

Like I say, I love the look of TCoS, and will always try and support indie devs, but is TCoS just a budget WAR/ AoC in terms of gameplay?

Like I say, not looking for a fight, just a little insight :)

I think the bigger question is what exactly the purpose of PvP is supposed to be in this game. Is it Arena-style? Is it Battlegrounds style? I think it's pretty obvious that it's not sandbox style, since the game is not designed for it at all. I haven't seen a single feature in this game that makes it sound fun, and the sole reason most people are interested in trying it is, like vesavius said above, "it's not gear based."

If that's the case, what makes it different from your standard FPS game? If it is in fact gear-based after all, then what was the point of them flaunting and touting "it's not gear based" all these years if they were lying the whole time?

This is not intended as a troll but I really think this game is going to die before it's even released.

Aye you guys have some good questions there that i was looking for answers on.

I have a couple friends who are thinking along with me about checking this game out BUT what about the PVP one of them is so dead set against pvp it would stop him from playing i know.

Now i understand there is some pvp areas on each server  which i have no problem with but i hear its in the gathering areas which you will need to go to that will kill it for my 2 buddies i know this but it might be the way it is.

But anyway mostly just looking for some answers like the posters above me .

Also i have been playing eq2 for just about 4 years now( just recently quit tho) and i really like the monthly game updates to spice the game up some will this game have any of that ?

Originally posted by vesavius

Now, I want this game to succeed, if only to encourage more indie devs to get involved in the genre and give it the shot in the arm it so badly needs, but I have worries.

This isnt a troll, this is an honest attempt to get some clarification and lay some hard doubts to rest.

First all of this information can be found on the main site and in the forums.

1. There is confirmed Group and solo content. and a FFA pvp server has also been confirmed for release.

2.  you are right crafting is just selling junk loot.

3 and 4. yeah they do offer minimal stat bonuses but that small boost could make a huge difference with the combat system like it is.  The whole idea of combat in the game pvp or pve is based on picking the right skill for the situation and being able to hit your target with a twitch based system. itemazation would tottally ruin the stratagey and in turn the fun of combat.  so the small difference in stats would make a difference but not enough to actually take the human skill element out of the combat system.

5. no idea

6. seeing as all dungouns rely on equal parts puzzle solveing and monster bashing they are said to offer quite a challenge. and watching some ai videos of NPC's useing tanks to block you and getting rooted it looks like it could offer some pretty unique challenges aswell. probably not an EQ1 lose all your loot to a big rat type of a challenge though.

7. full class break down on the website.

hoped this helped

Originally posted by vesavius

1. Is it group or solo orientated? I have had a chat with some on the official boards about this, and they tell me this game is soloable, but the lore will bring people together to play it as groups. Is this still true? Was it true in the first? I honestly do not think the world needs a solo anti-social consentual PvP quest grinder... Will this game reward co-op play in any way?

That is an awful lot of questions. I prefer to take those one at a time.

We are facing the problem that this game is still in closed beta, so we must rely on what the devs say is their intention. However, they did not tell us  more than that the game will have both group and solo content. Anything else being said, also on the official boards, is pure speculation. So there is no answer to this question yet, except that we will have to experience this for ourselves when the game releases. Or trust the experiences of other players when the beta becomes open.

Originally posted by vesavius

Is the crafting still more like a collect and hand in quest then 'real' crafting as seen in games like EQ2 etc? I remember, a long while ago, being under the impression that you simply went to a NPC, got a container, filled it with the (collected) ingredients, and then handed it back to him to gain the item... Is this still the case? If so, this sounds a LOT like EQ2's Collection system, whch of course exists alongside that game's real craft system. Is this impression correct?

I would not compare it to the EQ2 collection system. The thing about crafting is that there are no crafting professions in this game.

Crafting in this game is a 3-4 tier process.

First you will need a recipee. Recipees can be gotten in several ways. They can be looted from mobs. Some can be bought from vendors. Some are quest rewards. And last but not least, you can loot broken items from defeated mobs, bring those to a crafter and he will give you a recipee to make that item for it. (And you can trade recipees, of course).

This mechanism allows for a variety in rareness of recipees and in ways to get hold of them.

The recipee tells you what you need to make the item. So the next step is collecting the ingredients. Collecting is done by killing mobs, by mining and by harvesting. Or trading.

When you got the ingedients, you return to the Forge and there the crafter will make you the item on showing the recipee and giving him the ingredients.

In the case of armour the last step will be to dye your armour in the colours you prefer.

In the case of weapons you will add Sigil stones to your new weapon.

You can use the item yourself or sell it to other players.

Whether or not you think that is real crafting is a matter of opinion. I think it is. You are free to think otherwise, but the above is a pretty accurate description.

Originally posted by vesavius

Is Itemisation (or lack of) still a big selling point for the devs of this game? Reading the FAQ and, again, talking to some on the official boards a while ago, it seems to me that although physical appearence wont be defined by stated equipent, (invisible) Sigils will just take the place of seen gear. They will be dropped, quested, traded it seems... just like normal gear in other games... there will be common and rares ones it seems also... jusk like normal gear in other games... So they are it seems, in everything but name, normal gear. Is this right still?  Why are people saying this game hasnt got itemisation in it, when Sigils are obviously just that?

Because people, you included, are confused. Itemisation is not a selling point for the devs. The fact that you will be able to wear (dress to impress) what you want without being hindered by the stats of your gear is. So they use the Sigils to seperate stats from the gear.

Originally posted by vesavius

Do Sigils still have minimum effect on the character's stats, as I have heard some say? If so, then why am I going to be motivated to collect them and use them? If the item/ Sigil motivator is taken from a MMORPG such as this, then what is being put in it's place? Are the devs relying on Lore alone to motivate me to play and stay with the game in the long term?

That is two questions.
 

It is not that Sigil's will have a minimal effect. It is that Sigils will not be very effective in gaining the upper hand in fighting other players, mainly because those players will have Sigils too. There is a post about this in the stickies of this forum. Sigils will improve your effectiveness in certain areas but not in all. So players will have to select Sigils that fit their play style best. However, a player with Sigils will probably be a greater foe than a player without any Sigils, but still player skill will be able to overcome that to some extend. It remains to be seen to what extend.

Now the second question. What developers want you to do is to have fun. No doubt you know better what that is than any dev for yourself. What they give to keep yourself busy with is indeed a rich lore and quest system (take for example the special trainers), but also PvP, Arena fights, Shard conquest for expansions and world events. We will have to see how it all works out though.