The MassiveOnlineGaming Squad

So what's the secret to their preliminary success? We contacted Darren Allarde, Associate Producer for Gala-Net Inc., and asked him a few questions. Okay, so we asked him more than a few, but we can't help it if we're excited to learn more about this amazing game! We learn why there is no mini-map, when mounts will be implemented, what Closed Beta Test 4 will bring and much more.


Part one of this interview can be found after the jump below, with a second part coming soon.


Massively: With Closed Beta 3 going full throttle, we're already thinking about Closed Beta 4. What can we expect with that third stage of closed beta?


Darren Allarde: First, thanks so much to everyone who's participated in the beta so far! The Allods gamers are quickly becoming some of the most awesome gaming fans out there.


If there's one closed beta you'll want to participate in, it's going to be Closed Beta 4. This is where we'll be unlocking the one thing that everyone has been waiting for - Astral ships!


Astral ship management, Astral exploration, further story development between the League and Empire, and new zones to explore – all for you to experience. There will also be a couple of major surprises for Closed Beta 4 that I'm not yet at liberty to discuss, but it'll be a whole lot of fun for those who experience it.


We also plan on having some pretty entertaining community events and will continue to do our sweet giveaways with Razer.




What are the plans for mounts? Will we see them at release?



Mounts! Yes! Mounts will be available when we launch. Expect mounts sometime early this year!


Many players seem to be asking for two basic gameplay features: a mini-map and auto attack. While I can't agree with the auto-attack request, are either of these features set to enter the game before launch?


I knew these questions were coming! I'll start off by saying that these features are not currently in the game due to specific game design philosophies. It's not like Astrum Nival decided they would just skip these two features because they'd rather work on tweaking Goblinball.


There is no mini-map in Allods for three specific reasons:


Reason one, once players become adjusted to a specific zone or territory, there's little to no need for them to continue to monitor the mini-map. In fact, what ends up happening most of the time is that players will frequently press the "M" button to bring up the full map to figure out where they are. Astrum Nival has also added all the appropriate flags and markers in order to find trainers, quests, vendors, etc.


Reason two, mini-maps do not work well in multiple level dungeons and instances because a mini-map is flat. Mini-maps work well for a flat 2D space, but once you go up to the second or third level of a dungeon, managing a mini-map becomes a bit tricky.


Now the third and most interesting reason why Astrum Nival has decided to not go with a mini-map was more of a philosophical game decision. Once a mini-map is implemented, players tend to focus their eyes on a small portion of the screen, thus giving them little opportunity to experience and learn about the world as a whole. They end up becoming extremely reliant on a mini-map and lose an important opportunity to understand the direction of where things are.


With all that said, since a mini-map has been such a requested feature, Astrum Nival is brainstorming new features that players have requested but also make sense for the game. The idea of a map overlay is in consideration.


Now for the auto-attack portion of the question. The idea of auto-attacking makes sense for the first few levels of the game when your character only has 2 or 3 different skills. However, as you level up, even as early as 10 or 12, you'll have enough skills to cycle through that your basic attack becomes obsolete, hence making auto-attack superfluous. The strategy on how you use your different skills at the right time will be a primary focus of combat.


Again, it's important for me to note that these features aren't in the game because engineers are being lazy or we'd rather play Rock Band on our breaks. There have been significant debates and real thought as to whether or not these features should be included.


Will the item shop be used for the normal non-imperative game content like cosmetic items, travel, inventory space and XP bonuses, or will there be certain game mechanic advantages you can purchase?


The initial set of cash shop items in Allods will be items that are built to assist players throughout their quests. You can expect items like bags, mystery boxes, rune removal kits, fashion and decorative items, talent respecs, and so on. We can expect to eventually see XP bonus items in the future.


I'd like to say that managing the cash shop in a subscriptionless game, especially one like Allods, can be very tricky. We have to be extremely mindful to introduce items that do not allow players to buy success, but instead assist them throughout the game. Also, items that we introduce into the cash shop that directly affect the game mechanics will be items that are well thought out and make sense for the game. We're not just going to throw some wacky 500% health and mana increase potion into the cash shop just because we think it'll make us a lot of money.


You can read the full article here:  http://www.massively.com/2010/01/11/an-interview-with-allods-online-cbt4-and-beyond