Camelot Unchained Preview: Power to the Players
Dec. 7, 2016Camelot Unchained Preview: Power to the Players
The game’s setting is focused on the tearing of something called the Veil, a barrier that separated the real world with another world of mysterious magic. After the cataclysmic tear, dragons and violent storms ravaged the world, distorting and changing humanity. Afterwards, beings called the Emmisaries came through and bestowed immortality to the races of the world appointing 3 kings,Arthur,SigurdandNuadawho formed their ownRealms, as well as a central world of peace called Camelot. However, Camelot fell, and the 3 realms were torn apart and remain as 3 separate islands.
Players will choose their realm, fight for control and then work to rebuild the world. The RvR (Realm vs Realm)/PvE dungeon of the game pits all three Realms fighting and dying for temporary control of its secrets, hidden wealth, and power.
Your choice of Realm is vital because theclassesandracesare different for each faction. Additionally, many aspects of the game are geared towards building realm pride. Players will be able to build, protect and fortify their own structures and siege, destroy, loot and pillage structures of other Realms.
The Realm of theArthuriansstrives to be the embodiment of nobility, honesty, and righteous strength. They believe they are destined to save the world, not purely through conquest but through virtue and greatness of spirit.
The Realm of theTuatha Dé Danannstrives to become one with nature. They revere the forest for its fierce beauty and its unyielding grip on life. The forest is more than the home of the Tuatha Dé Danann; it is their deep-rooted mother, their broad-boughed father, and their protector.
The Realm of theVikingsfollows the path of blood and steel to greatness. In the tall peaks of windswept ice they make their homes, waiting for the moment to conquer the lands below.
Beyond the appeal of the realm struggle, the game offers the chance for players to build their own unique home, fort, or castle, rather than just buying one. The game features a building component calledC.U.B.E.which stands for Camelot Unchained Building Environment, a hybrid online/standalone building game, which is being developed as part of Camelot Unchained. Early backers can already access this portion of the game. It features easy to use physics that allows players to construct structures and lay the foundations of towns. They also become the target of destruction from competing realms.
The game’seconomyis similarly going to be player driven. Players will be able to play as a dedicatedcrafter classto gather, refine, and craft everything that they and their allies need. With no traditional auction house or shop system, the crafter class is being designed to play a vital and rewarding role in the game’s economy. Players will have to earn theirloot; it won’t just be lying in a big shiny on the side of the road, nor will it be tied to some hopeful drop after grinding a dungeon day after day.
Incombat, the game will allow forabilitycombinations that can target players and structures. These abilities can also interact with other abilities to create additional effects. A fireball could hit a waterball to create a steam cloud, which can then be pushed over an enemy to do some unique damage. These kinds of combinations allow an extra creative layer of gameplay depth and will make the battlefield and ever changing experience as they combine with yourstats,boonsandbanes.
TheAbility Building Systemallows you to create abilities with specializedAbility Components, which allow for a high degree of customization in how you want to play. You mix components based on theequipmentyou want to use, such asweapons, how you want to use it and extra modifications such as range or area of effect. An ability can haveprimary,secondary,modifier, andmodalcomponents to it, giving a dizzying variety of customization.
The Tri-Realm system is a PvP centered design that will feature large scale battles as a focal point for the gameplay experience. Players will battle the enemy Realms on a scale from small skirmishes to massive battles featuring hundreds of players.
In the game’s A.I.R. (Action, Interaction, Reaction) system, ability effects are treated as objects within the game. Abilities, projectiles, spells, and others can all interact with nearly everything in the world, and they all change based on that interaction. The game’s in-house Unchained Engine builds off this by bringing large-scale, real-time battles between players, server-based physics using Nvidia’s PhysX system, and large draw distances, while procedurally generating the terrain on the fly. So far, they’ve managed a 500 player battle pre-beta and are aiming even higher.
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Emergence
Editor at Fextralife. I look for the substantial in gaming and I try to connect video games to the emotions and stories they elicit. I love all things culture and history and have an odd fondness for the planet Jupiter. I think my dogs are pretty awesome too.
Yea, CSE (developers) seem to be well aware of their niche. They have no problems communicating that the game is not for everyone, and very strong “built-in” following from DAoC & WAR will take care of decent population numbers.
I don’t think they’re empowering them to do whatever they want and become gods with no consequences. They’re empowering them to make the choices that determine the landscape of the world. So the players determine the economy, who controls the land, what the land looks like, how their abilities behave in combat. But those are all done within the confines of consequence. After all, your faction can lose key territory and all your stuff gets razed to the ground.
This sounds super ambitious, and while I understand the value developers place on the input of its target players, that has more often than not been the greatest downfall of projects like these.
In my experience, players don’t really know what they want. They want to feel empowered to the point where their gameplay choices areoverpowered, and quickly get bored with themselves. They want a challenge, and then quickly give up when things seem utterly unfair and punishing from their perspective. They want sweet graphics, fully customizableeverything, and never ending success completely devoid of failure, that always feels rewarding, meaningful, and fullfilling.
This looks really interesting, but I have a hard time imagining a game like this being very successful. Hope I’m wrong though.
