When target="_blank">Warrior
Epic
, the upcoming MMO from Possibility Space
and True Games, went into closed beta testing a few months ago, players
clamored to get into the game and really try out the many systems
touted by the WE developers. Now the game is nearing completion and the
developers are preparing to open their doors to the public sometime in
2009. Ten Ton Hammer's Danny "Ralsu" Gourley has been following the
game in every step of the development process, and he recently had an
opportunity to chat with Brice Lucas, Senior Web Designer/Developer and
Community Manager for WE, to check up on the progress of the game and
find out the nitty-gritty details behind some of the combat systems in
the MMO. Enjoy!




Ten Ton Hammer: How did
the alliance between Possibility Space and True Games come about, and
what does this mean for the development of style="font-style: italic;">Warrior Epic
?


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Brice Lucas,
Senior Web Designer/Developer and Community Manager

Brice Lucas:
Gage and Bob, the CEO’s of Possibility Space and TGI were
introduced by mutual friends and, after some lengthy conversations, it
was determined that the culture, direction, and overall goals of both
of our companies were aligned.  I have had the pleasure of
working for Possibility Space and TGI and can say that the partnership
will enable us to not only make Warrior
Epic
a better game, but to also expand on the way that we
interact with our community. 



Ten Ton Hammer: What is
the focus for the team as the start of open beta approaches, and how
has input from the closed beta testers affected the game?




Brice: Our
core focus will be getting a high ACU (Active Concurrent Users) on our
servers and fixing any major bugs prior to an official release.



Our closed beta was awesome, primarily because of the unfiltered
feedback that we got from our users.  Playing with the
community in person enabled us to get some incredibly valuable
information.  Everyone wanted to help us make our game into
something that they would love. While individual feedback would
sometimes deviate a bit from what was possible, there was a certain
degree of consistency in the overall consensus regarding certain
aspects of our game.  When there is consistency among the
views of thousands, you can safely wager that making the appropriate
changes would be well received.



While open beta is planned, True Games will first re-launch closed beta
in February to gauge the overall quality of the player
experience.  We humbly hope that players from our first CBT
will return to test our improvements and changes to the game.



Ten Ton Hammer: In past
gameplay videos (like
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/15964" target="_blank">
the old trailer),
Warrior Epic
has looked like a dungeon crawler. Can we expect to collect a lot of
loot and that doing so will be one of the driving forces in the game?




Brice: There
will be tons of loot in Warrior
Epic
, and an insane level of customization for just about
everything you find… but style="font-style: italic;">Warrior Epic is not
focused on grinding and looting. Our game is focused on playing with
friends and kicking their asses in PvP or using strategy to make it
through a quest.  In typical RPG’s you just keep
finding gear that does more and more damage to whatever enemy you hit
it with.  In our game, new weapons and equipment will enable
you to formulate new strategies for existing or yet to be hired
warriors thereby giving you a different experience depending on what
you have equipped and whom you have it equipped on.


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An exclusive
look at a Warrior Epic player character.

Ten Ton Hammer: Speaking
of the videos,
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/47187" target="_blank">the
new video kicks ass.
It portends drama and makes the upcoming action in the game all the
more appealing. Will the story be very deep for style="font-style: italic;">Warrior Epic
?
It’s usually secondary in dungeon crawlers.



Brice:
I’m glad you love the new videos, we worked hard on
them.  The world of Warrior
Epic
is still in its infancy stages, but will be fully
realized as the game develops.  We really want our players to
be immersed in the lore and culture of the game and that can only be
done through great story telling.  As an example, I have
included one of the short stories from the
game.   



Ten Ton Hammer: One more
question based from videos.
style="font-weight: bold;"
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/28754" target="_blank">The
Faustus video
seemed to show off the art style of style="font-style: italic;">Warrior Epic
and
some of the dungeons. Can you tell us more about the decision behind
the art style and how varied the locations we see in the game will be?



Brice: I
have always said that we have some of the most amazing artists working
on our game… and with Feng coordinating the creative
direction of our team; it is definitely turning out to be very
unique.  I love the variety of monsters being put into style="font-style: italic;">Warrior Epic. 
Everyone has heard of ogres and dragons… but who has heard
of a Slonard?  The game is thick with creativity…
it permeates everything, especially some of the locales. 
Every environment in Warrior
Epic
will offer up a completely different experience than
the others.  The beasts will be different, meaning that you
will have to re-think how you approach a quest with any particular
warrior.  Who will you bring?  What will you equip
them with?  You will really have to master the environments
before you are able to be a truly effective player. 


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The Warrior
Hall is a key element of your character progression in Warrior Epic.

Ten Ton Hammer: How will
the combat work? Will it be action-based or turn-based? Why?




Brice: Our
combat system is a prime example of us responding to the wishes of our
community.  In earlier builds of the game, we used a
turn-based system that did work well but also removed some of the
player interaction from the game.  In heeding our
community’s requests, we decided to go real time…
which gives you quite a bit more control over combat situations in the
game.



Ten Ton Hammer: One of
the highly-touted features of WE is the Warrior Spirit System, which
allows players to place the spirits of their deceased warriors into
their weapons to unleash powerful special attacks. How has this system
been refined since its inception?




Brice: The
spirit system feature is bananas.  Initially, the mechanics of
it were limited to equipping the spirits of up to three fallen warriors
onto your chosen hero prior to going into battle and summoning them in
times of need to devastate all they touched.  However, we have
now expanded the system to include a spirit weapon infusion
mechanic.  Basically, every weapon and piece of equipment in style="font-style: italic;">Warrior Epic can be
leveled up by infusing the spirits of fallen warriors into
them.  These infusions not only increase the base stats of the
gear, they also add entirely new attributes… cosmetic and
functional.  



Ten Ton Hammer: Another
key feature of WE is the Warrior Hall. How customizable are these
halls, and how many warriors will we be able to house in it? Can other
players visit our Warrior Hall?




Brice: All
quests are launched from a single Warrior Hall.  Meaning, if a
group is meeting up for a quest, campaign run, or PvP match…
they will do so in one player’s hall.  The halls are
incredibly customizable and can make or break a group.  In
other games, your strength is typically defined by how much of a badass
your most powerful warrior is… but in style="font-style: italic;">Warrior Epic
it’s all about the hall.  Building on an armory,
apothecary, or shooting range will increase the effectiveness of
EVERYONE’s warriors when they quest from your
fortress.  They will be able to see your trophies and your
accomplishments while they are part of your group, so if your castle
makes you look like a titan… people will be more likely to
play with you.


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With Warrior
Epic, players will be able to download portions of the game via a type
of peer-to-peer system.

Ten Ton Hammer: The
Download on Demand feature that allows gamers to download the game in
pieces as they need it in a sort of peer-to-peer system is listed on
the updated website. Is it safe to assume that early testing of that
feature went well? How big is the full client, and will a full download
option be available?




Brice:
Testing the DoD system went well during the first CB.  We were
able to isolate many bugs and fix them accordingly…
especially during the Play Days.  The full client currently
sits around 1GB (gigabyte) and will be available as an alternative
download option on the official site.



Ten Ton Hammer: We know
the gates for WE open in 2009. Will players be able to get in without
invitation (is it a true open beta), and will you group with us on the
first night?




Brice: Of
course I will group with you guys on the first night!  There
will be another Closed Beta due out VERY soon, after which we will jump
into Open Beta and proceed to the full launch.  Be sure to hit
me up in the new forums next month and stop by our IRC channel sometime.



Ten Ton Hammer: Finally,
WE currently sits at the number seven spot in my
style="font-weight: bold;"
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/Top10F2P" target="_blank">Top
Ten Free-to-Play Games
based on its features and the awesome job the Possibility Space team
did in interacting with the community before the old forums closed. How
do you think the game will compare to the other titles on that list?




Brice: style="font-style: italic;">Warrior Epic will
offer something completely different than the other games on your
list.  The micro-transaction market has a LOT of room to grow
and I am excited to see that genre diversify with new and exciting
titles.  We are here to show the world that you
don’t need a bloated, $40 million budget to make an excellent
game and that micro-transaction based models are not only a viable
business model in western markets, but that it can be done well without
exposing users to progress locks or subscription fees.


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Warrior Epic Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

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