Since last March, Ten Ton Hammer has been closely following the
progress of one of our favorite F2P games,
style="font-style: italic;"
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target="_blank">Mabinogi. Published by Nexon
America, the cute-looking Mabinogi has an incredible amount of depth
once you get past the "cuddly" exterior, and we're happy to report that
even more features and options have been unlocked with the recently
released expansion, "Pioneers of Iria." Recently, Ten Ton Hammer caught
up with Nexon's Matthew McCullough, Assistant Game Producer, to talk
about the newly released content and what players can expect from the
updated
game.
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Elves and
Giants were introduced in Pioneers of Iria.
Ten Ton Hammer: The
content in Iria seems to add a lot of breadth to
style="font-style: italic;">Mabinogi; players
get new races, dungeons, monsters, and a huge continent divided into
three distinct geographical regions. Is it safe to say the goal was to
give players of all levels more to do rather than focusing only on raid
content or starter areas?
Matthew McCullough:
Absolutely. After reading our forums and GMs overhearing conversations
in game along the lines of, “Guess I’ll go and do a
Baol clear,” or “Another Rabbie
run…” we’re happy to offer players new
ways to enjoy themselves in-game. Among things we’re excited
to see players experience is the new dynamic dungeon system as well as
all the exploration quests. There’s just more to do now, and
that’s kind of refreshing. We’re also proud of the
beginner Elf and Giant quests which help familiarize new players on how
to play the game. The later parts of the Elf and Giant
‘tutorials’ feature more difficult beasts for
veteran players.
Ten Ton Hammer: Given how
large the new continent is (thrice the size of the old one), is there
any concern that the players will become too spread out? Will grouping
and social interactions suffer because of so much land mass?
Matthew:
Much like how ancient civilizations mostly formed near water sources,
we’re confident that players will naturally come together
near common places. We expect Qilla Base camp, Filia, Vales, and then
of course, Tir Chonaill to be common gathering points. Of course, with
how the new Mana Tunnels work (players can set up shops nearby, in
addition to travelling) we expect certain central Tunnels to develop
into social areas as well.
Ten Ton Hammer: Will we
see any new methods of travel to cover these vast expanses in the new
land? Perhaps some new mounts or flying vehicles?
Matthew:
We’ve released ostriches and sled dogs as part of the
Pioneers of Iria expansion. White Ostriches can carry two passengers,
and while Black Ostriches only carry one, riders can occasionally
engage their special sprint ability. Sled dogs can deploy their sleds
in the snows of Physis, and they’re an awesome way to travel
around the Giant homeland. We aren’t opposed to introducing
new mounts ahead of the release schedule in other services, but for the
time being, we’re satisfied with the mount options available
to players.
Ten
Ton Hammer: How much
are the changes that come along with Iria due to player feedback? How
much does our input affect the design direction of
style="font-style: italic;">Mabinogi?
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style="font-style: italic;">Nexon was reading and listening
to their player base when Iria was being localized.
Matthew: A
lot of our efforts for the past few months have been focused on getting
Pioneers of Iria to the player base. We do read our forums and GMs keep
their ears open. Player feedback is always valued, and although we
cannot entertain every idea, well-thought out suggestions are often
presented to the team. The idea of an expansion to a free-to-play game
is probably the most relevant request from our player base. North
American online gamers are used to massive updates. Look at any popular
MMO and it features major updates – and typically charges
their subscriber base a pretty penny to pick it up at a retail
location. Pioneers of Iria delivers that same experience for free,
although we won’t be opposed to our players going to 7-Eleven
or Target or one of our other retail partners to pick up a Nexon Game
Card!
Ten Ton Hammer: In Danny
Gourley's
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/37563" target="_blank">July
7, 2008 Top Ten Free-to-Play Games column
style="font-weight: bold;">, he noted that his character
aged a little too fast to play Mabinogi
casually. A common complaint I hear about the aging feature is that it
forces players to spend money on rebirth in order to maximize AP. Is
this changing any with Iria, or do you like the system as it is?
Matthew:
You’ll be happy to know that we now have free age and level
“rebirths” available with Pioneers of Iria. At age
20, you can reset age and level for free! Players who wish to change
their looks and rebirth sooner (no less than a week from the last
rebirth) may do so through a character card.
Ten Ton Hammer: What can
you tell us about the new Elf and Giant races? Are they going to be
available for free? How do they differ from standard humans?
Matthew:
Elves and Giants are awesome, and both have their strengths. Elves are
pretty quick on their feet, the fastest of the three races. While the
lumbering Giants are a bit slower than Elves, they’re still
faster than Humans. Each race has an exclusive ability, Mirage Missile
for Elves and Stomp for Giants. Humans have also gained access to the
famed Final Hit! Each race will cater to a player based on his or her
preference. If you like in-your-face action-action-action, Giants
should suit you well. Is scampering around in the back lines, peppering
your foes with arrows more of your game? Elves! A Jack of all trades?
Humans have you covered. Players will receive a free
“assistant” card once they choose a side from their
account. New players have the option of creating a new character, Elf,
Giant, or Human.
Ten
Ton Hammer: In one of
your other free expansions, you added the pseudo-class the "Dark
Knight." Are we going to be seeing any other additional classes in the
new Pioneers of Iria expansion?
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Elves and
Giants can transform into Falcons and Beasts.
Matthew:
Elves and Giants have access to transformation which allows them a
similar Paladin/Dark Knight transformation: Elves feature the Falcon
mode while Giants can roar into Beast mode.
Ten Ton Hammer: How close
will the US version of Mabinogi
be compared to the Korean version of the game after the release of
Iria? Will the game ever see only a month or two in-between releases?
Matthew: The
Korean game is still a little ahead of the North American service.
Ideally, we’d like to be caught up by the end of the year;
perhaps a month or so into 2010. Once we do catch up, we'll look into
adding exclusive content for our North American players in addition to
localizing Korea’s updates as well.
Ten Ton Hammer: One of
the best traits of Mabinogi
is its depth and the ability to do so many things in the game to keep a
player occupied. Are you adding any more systems into the game? If so,
can you describe them for the players?
Matthew: No
more waiting for that lousy owl! Quest boards are quick and easy ways
to pick up quests. Exploration quests are a fun way to explore the
landscape and net some extra AP at the same time. Speaking of
exploration, keep your L-rods handy, you’ll need them to find
the dungeons of Iria. The dungeon boss system is revolutionary as well.
Depending on the item you drop to create your dungeon, you’ll
get a different boss. We also have a lot of exciting in-game events and
web events coming down the pipe for our players.
Ten Ton Hammer: Is there
anything else you'd like to tell the Ten Ton Hammer readers and
style="font-style: italic;">Mabinogi fans?
Matthew:
We’d like to thank our devoted fan base and players, as well
as TTH for all their continued support for the past year. We hope
you’re enjoying the pioneering of Iria. A lot of hard work
went into it and at the end of it all, our players having a great time
in this unexplored land is the best payoff we could hope to receive.
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Mabinogi Game Page.