Questions
by Garrett Fuller, Industry Relations
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Answers
by Slava Zatuchny, Marketing Director for Silverlode Interactive
In the beginning there was only one type of massively multiplayer
online game, the MMORPG. However, as time has passed we’ve
begun to see other genres aside from the RPG attempt to break into the
MMO gaming sphere. The latest on this last has been SAGA, an MMORTS
created by Silverlode Interactive. To find out more about this recently
released game, Ten Ton Hammer’s Garrett Fuller interviewed
Slava Zatuchny, Marketing Director for Silverlode. Enjoy!
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Eight months of
beta-testing has led to a crash-free release for SAGA.
Ten Ton Hammer: SAGA has
successfully been put on the marketplace for consumers to buy. How are
things running in the game?
style="font-weight: bold;">Slava Zatuchny: As
far as MMO launches go, we’re top-tier. No server crashes in
weeks. There are, of course, some bugs in-game, but we’ve
taken care of the bugs that we considered most important. The SAGA
development team is getting bigger and bigger, such that
we’ll be adding a lot of content, features, and of course
meticulous bug-fixing for years to come. We feel that the SAGA
we’re releasing is (after eight months of beta-testing)
finally ‘ready’, but by no means
‘complete’.
far as MMO launches go, we’re top-tier. No server crashes in
weeks. There are, of course, some bugs in-game, but we’ve
taken care of the bugs that we considered most important. The SAGA
development team is getting bigger and bigger, such that
we’ll be adding a lot of content, features, and of course
meticulous bug-fixing for years to come. We feel that the SAGA
we’re releasing is (after eight months of beta-testing)
finally ‘ready’, but by no means
‘complete’.
Ten Ton Hammer: SAGA has
been classified as an MMORTS. Can you tell us about the design of the
game from a player’s standpoint?
style="font-weight: bold;">Slava: From a
player’s standpoint, as you say, I think the easiest way to
describe SAGA is “World of Warcraft, but with
armies…” Not literally, of course. But we tried to
combine everything we liked in MMOs with everything we liked from our
favorite RTS games. So, take a standard RTS, say Age of Empires or
Battle for Middle Earth; that means mass battles with buildings and
tech upgrades and troop upgrades and multiple factions and special
abilities and ranged vs. flying vs. melee and walls and gatehouses and
cavalry and campaign trails and PvP mode… and everything
else you typically find in an RTS (big breath!). Now make that game
persistent, where the cities you build and the battles you fight are
all part of an MMO world that keeps going, even when you’re
offline. Your buildings are constructing, your resources are being
gathered, your peasants are working, your guild war is
continuing… Add questing (both solo and multiplayer partying
with friends), XP for your troops (like MMO characters) to level up,
thousands of weapons and armors won in quests, an auction house, a
constant online player community, in-game email, more than a thousand
preset quest scenarios, etc. and you can start to get a feel for what
an MMORTS has to offer.
player’s standpoint, as you say, I think the easiest way to
describe SAGA is “World of Warcraft, but with
armies…” Not literally, of course. But we tried to
combine everything we liked in MMOs with everything we liked from our
favorite RTS games. So, take a standard RTS, say Age of Empires or
Battle for Middle Earth; that means mass battles with buildings and
tech upgrades and troop upgrades and multiple factions and special
abilities and ranged vs. flying vs. melee and walls and gatehouses and
cavalry and campaign trails and PvP mode… and everything
else you typically find in an RTS (big breath!). Now make that game
persistent, where the cities you build and the battles you fight are
all part of an MMO world that keeps going, even when you’re
offline. Your buildings are constructing, your resources are being
gathered, your peasants are working, your guild war is
continuing… Add questing (both solo and multiplayer partying
with friends), XP for your troops (like MMO characters) to level up,
thousands of weapons and armors won in quests, an auction house, a
constant online player community, in-game email, more than a thousand
preset quest scenarios, etc. and you can start to get a feel for what
an MMORTS has to offer.
Ten Ton Hammer: There are
several factions in SAGA; can you talk about how they fit into
different play styles?
style="font-weight: bold;">Slava: SAGA
currently has 5 races/classes, so to speak, which fit into 2 opposing
factions. The Order is made up of three sub-factions: Light (Giants),
Machines (Dwarves), and Nature (Elves). The Brotherhood are the sworn
enemies of the Order, and have two sub-factions: Magic (Dark Elves) and
War (Orcs). For those of you who notice an imbalance (3 vs. 2),
here’s a bit of a spoiler for our friends at Ten Ton Hammer:
We’re working on an expansion set, which will release a new
sub-faction to join with the Brotherhood, and restore balance to the
world. Search the quest storyline for hints about this new mysterious
faction…
Anyway, back to the question at hand. The five sub-factions correspond
to very different play styles:
currently has 5 races/classes, so to speak, which fit into 2 opposing
factions. The Order is made up of three sub-factions: Light (Giants),
Machines (Dwarves), and Nature (Elves). The Brotherhood are the sworn
enemies of the Order, and have two sub-factions: Magic (Dark Elves) and
War (Orcs). For those of you who notice an imbalance (3 vs. 2),
here’s a bit of a spoiler for our friends at Ten Ton Hammer:
We’re working on an expansion set, which will release a new
sub-faction to join with the Brotherhood, and restore balance to the
world. Search the quest storyline for hints about this new mysterious
faction…
Anyway, back to the question at hand. The five sub-factions correspond
to very different play styles:
War (Orcs) is aggressive
and strongest in melee, both in attack and defense. War is typically
played by commanders who most value honor, courage, and strength, and
are strong in all facets of battle, especially in rush attacks and
capturing enemy buildings.
Magic (Dark Elves) is proficient in the dark arts. The Dark Elves have
powerful spells, but their troops have less hit points and armor. Magic
players are masters of control and subterfuge, a formidable combination.
Light (Giants) are strongest in defense, healing, and flying units.
They are champions of justice and order. Light players are cooperative
and social, and are a good complement to any team battle.
Nature (Elves) is powerful at ranged attacks, is the fastest faction,
and has reasonably strong magic, but is weak in melee fighting. Nature
players make quick strike attacks and are good at tactical maneuvers on
the battlefield.
Machines (Dwarves) is the faction of industry and technology, powerful
at ranged attacks, but slower than their Nature faction allies. What
the dwarves lack in magic they make up for in guns and steam-powered
tanks. Machines faction is best played by methodical, calculating
players, who form careful plans and execute like clockwork.
and strongest in melee, both in attack and defense. War is typically
played by commanders who most value honor, courage, and strength, and
are strong in all facets of battle, especially in rush attacks and
capturing enemy buildings.
Magic (Dark Elves) is proficient in the dark arts. The Dark Elves have
powerful spells, but their troops have less hit points and armor. Magic
players are masters of control and subterfuge, a formidable combination.
Light (Giants) are strongest in defense, healing, and flying units.
They are champions of justice and order. Light players are cooperative
and social, and are a good complement to any team battle.
Nature (Elves) is powerful at ranged attacks, is the fastest faction,
and has reasonably strong magic, but is weak in melee fighting. Nature
players make quick strike attacks and are good at tactical maneuvers on
the battlefield.
Machines (Dwarves) is the faction of industry and technology, powerful
at ranged attacks, but slower than their Nature faction allies. What
the dwarves lack in magic they make up for in guns and steam-powered
tanks. Machines faction is best played by methodical, calculating
players, who form careful plans and execute like clockwork.
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Collecting units is
one part of the business equation for SAGA.
Ten Ton Hammer: Players
have the chance to collect their units and build their armies, similar
to a collectible card game. It seems very exciting for gamers, how does
it work?
style="font-weight: bold;">Slava: SAGA is free
to play, with no subscription fee. That being said, we encourage
players to buy Booster Packs from our website (www.playsaga.com), which
each provide 10 additional troops and/or spells to a player’s
army. That way, players can pay as much or as little as they choose,
without ever having to regret the subscription fee that just keeps on
deducting even when they don’t have time to play.
If players want to spend fifteen dollars a month for a
‘subscription’, at least in SAGA they get to have
the fun and excitement of owning and opening a bunch of booster packs.
If they’re lucky, they’ll get a Dragon or a Mech
Giant or even an armored zeppelin…
The collectible model has worked for years in tabletop strategy gaming:
think miniatures games like Warhammer, or card strategy games like
Magic: The Gathering. It’s only natural that an RTS would
utilize the same model online. Even players who aren’t used
to collectibility seem to warm up to it very quickly.
We, the developers at Silverlode Interactive, have been careful about
making sure that players who spend more don’t have an unfair
advantage. Players willing to spend some time trading in the market, or
questing for treasure to trade for troops and spells, or buying troops
with gold earned through resource collection, can achieve exactly the
same result as a player who buys a lot of booster packs.
In any case, we find that players with the better strategies typically
win, regardless of who has the rarer troops.
to play, with no subscription fee. That being said, we encourage
players to buy Booster Packs from our website (www.playsaga.com), which
each provide 10 additional troops and/or spells to a player’s
army. That way, players can pay as much or as little as they choose,
without ever having to regret the subscription fee that just keeps on
deducting even when they don’t have time to play.
If players want to spend fifteen dollars a month for a
‘subscription’, at least in SAGA they get to have
the fun and excitement of owning and opening a bunch of booster packs.
If they’re lucky, they’ll get a Dragon or a Mech
Giant or even an armored zeppelin…
The collectible model has worked for years in tabletop strategy gaming:
think miniatures games like Warhammer, or card strategy games like
Magic: The Gathering. It’s only natural that an RTS would
utilize the same model online. Even players who aren’t used
to collectibility seem to warm up to it very quickly.
We, the developers at Silverlode Interactive, have been careful about
making sure that players who spend more don’t have an unfair
advantage. Players willing to spend some time trading in the market, or
questing for treasure to trade for troops and spells, or buying troops
with gold earned through resource collection, can achieve exactly the
same result as a player who buys a lot of booster packs.
In any case, we find that players with the better strategies typically
win, regardless of who has the rarer troops.
Ten Ton Hammer: SAGA has
a great interface for players to build up their cities and territories.
Can you tell us about the design of world building in SAGA?
style="font-weight: bold;">Slava: A well-built,
carefully designed city and territories makes a huge difference in SAGA
battles. The most obvious features are walls and defensive structures
like towers, keeps and strongholds, which fire at your enemies and can
be vital to success on the battlefield. Less obvious is the role of
houses, which (as usual) provide housing for peasants, but also can
summon peasants during battle, and increase the morale of your troops
in general. Farms increase troop stamina, lumber camps and stone
quarries for building hitpoints, etc. Not every feature we intended has
been implemented just yet, but it’s all coming soon.
The buildings themselves also serve as the interface elements, when not
in battle. Clicking on the market building (oddly enough), takes you to
the in-game auction house and market interface. The stronghold is where
you organize and equip your armies, set orders for your peasants, and
send out espionage against your enemies. The temple is where you
resurrect fallen troops, the pigeon roost for in-game email, the
university for tech upgrades, etc.
Each city has four shrines round about it. If all four are captured or
destroyed, the battle is lost for that player. This helps prevent
players from hiding inside their cities rather than defending their
lands. On the other hand, it’s not a great idea to let your
enemies pillage your outlying gold mines and lumber camps and farmlands
either. SAGA is persistent; it’s going to cost money to
repair those buildings, not to mention the resources the plunderers
have made off with.
Capturing enemy buildings is an essential part of SAGA battle.
Capturing buildings increases your command points, and lowers the
command points of your opponent. Command points are the value that
determines how many units you can field at a time. More command points
= larger army on the field = victory.
carefully designed city and territories makes a huge difference in SAGA
battles. The most obvious features are walls and defensive structures
like towers, keeps and strongholds, which fire at your enemies and can
be vital to success on the battlefield. Less obvious is the role of
houses, which (as usual) provide housing for peasants, but also can
summon peasants during battle, and increase the morale of your troops
in general. Farms increase troop stamina, lumber camps and stone
quarries for building hitpoints, etc. Not every feature we intended has
been implemented just yet, but it’s all coming soon.
The buildings themselves also serve as the interface elements, when not
in battle. Clicking on the market building (oddly enough), takes you to
the in-game auction house and market interface. The stronghold is where
you organize and equip your armies, set orders for your peasants, and
send out espionage against your enemies. The temple is where you
resurrect fallen troops, the pigeon roost for in-game email, the
university for tech upgrades, etc.
Each city has four shrines round about it. If all four are captured or
destroyed, the battle is lost for that player. This helps prevent
players from hiding inside their cities rather than defending their
lands. On the other hand, it’s not a great idea to let your
enemies pillage your outlying gold mines and lumber camps and farmlands
either. SAGA is persistent; it’s going to cost money to
repair those buildings, not to mention the resources the plunderers
have made off with.
Capturing enemy buildings is an essential part of SAGA battle.
Capturing buildings increases your command points, and lowers the
command points of your opponent. Command points are the value that
determines how many units you can field at a time. More command points
= larger army on the field = victory.
Ten Ton Hammer: SAGA is
an independent game, what is it like building the entire world from the
ground up and seeing it grow to launch?
style="font-weight: bold;">Slava:
It’s unbelievable. We’ve gotten the chance to make
the game of our dreams, and we won’t stop until
it’s the best game we can make it. I made movies for years
before creating SAGA. It’s not much fun to watch the movies I
make. But playing SAGA is great, I’m a total addict.
We’re all thrilled to be lucky enough to be doing what we
love best.
On a less effusive note (that last paragraph was more enthusiastic than
I like to be in a printed interview), there are a lot of questions that
I’ve been waiting three years to get answers to, and
it’s a relief to finally have them answered. Is MMORTS the
future of RTS? (It absolutely is.) Can we stay in budget without
cutting features? (No we can’t, so we kept the features,
raised the budget…) Will SAGA development ever end? (No, it
won’t. We’re making an MMO, so prepare to work on
it for the rest of our lives, patch after patch, expansion after
expansion…)
It’s unbelievable. We’ve gotten the chance to make
the game of our dreams, and we won’t stop until
it’s the best game we can make it. I made movies for years
before creating SAGA. It’s not much fun to watch the movies I
make. But playing SAGA is great, I’m a total addict.
We’re all thrilled to be lucky enough to be doing what we
love best.
On a less effusive note (that last paragraph was more enthusiastic than
I like to be in a printed interview), there are a lot of questions that
I’ve been waiting three years to get answers to, and
it’s a relief to finally have them answered. Is MMORTS the
future of RTS? (It absolutely is.) Can we stay in budget without
cutting features? (No we can’t, so we kept the features,
raised the budget…) Will SAGA development ever end? (No, it
won’t. We’re making an MMO, so prepare to work on
it for the rest of our lives, patch after patch, expansion after
expansion…)
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An expansion for SAGA
is already in the works.
Ten Ton Hammer: Talk a
little about the elder gods and the lore in SAGA. What would you like
players to know?
style="font-weight: bold;">Slava: Interesting
you would mention the Elder Gods… They’re all dead
in this, the Second Age of Gaia. Or are they? One Elder God is still
imprisoned in the center of the world, watched over by daemonkind.
The five factions in SAGA each have a God, and each have their own
Gods’ interests in mind. Each of the five younger gods
created their chosen race to inhabit the world, and the Saga of endless
battle and war began. The allegiances of Order and Brotherhood formed
an imbalance that will right itself in time.
The backstory will come out more and more as the story unfolds through
the quest lines. We have many quests to release over time, and the
story will lead to expansions and new alliances in the future. Player
involvement in the story will keep things spontaneous, as quest lines
are completed and faction objectives are met. I’d better not
say any more about this just yet…
you would mention the Elder Gods… They’re all dead
in this, the Second Age of Gaia. Or are they? One Elder God is still
imprisoned in the center of the world, watched over by daemonkind.
The five factions in SAGA each have a God, and each have their own
Gods’ interests in mind. Each of the five younger gods
created their chosen race to inhabit the world, and the Saga of endless
battle and war began. The allegiances of Order and Brotherhood formed
an imbalance that will right itself in time.
The backstory will come out more and more as the story unfolds through
the quest lines. We have many quests to release over time, and the
story will lead to expansions and new alliances in the future. Player
involvement in the story will keep things spontaneous, as quest lines
are completed and faction objectives are met. I’d better not
say any more about this just yet…
Ten Ton Hammer: Are there
any plans for material post-launch? Expansions, patches etc?
style="font-weight: bold;">Slava: *laughs* Yes,
yes, and yes. Our team is growing every month. We have big plans for
SAGA in the future. Expansions will add new factions, new features
(such as tournaments in the very near future), and weekly patches will
continually add content and balance as the Saga continues…
yes, and yes. Our team is growing every month. We have big plans for
SAGA in the future. Expansions will add new factions, new features
(such as tournaments in the very near future), and weekly patches will
continually add content and balance as the Saga continues…
Ten Ton Hammer: Is there
anything you’d like to say to the readers at Ten Ton Hammer
about SAGA that we have not covered?
style="font-weight: bold;">Slava: Check us out
at www.playsaga.com. SAGA’s a little different, but if you
know RTS and you’ve played an MMO, you’ll catch on
fast. The RTS is dead. Long live the MMORTS.
at www.playsaga.com. SAGA’s a little different, but if you
know RTS and you’ve played an MMO, you’ll catch on
fast. The RTS is dead. Long live the MMORTS.
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Saga Game Page.
