View Full Version : Mortal Online
"Build your own house, or set up a guild to build a keep. With enough power, violence or diplomacy, you and your allies will be able to rule an entire nation."
-MO site.
http://www.mortalonline.com/files/news/default_0.jpg
Genre:
MMOFPS/RPG
Developer:
Star Vault
Website:
www.MortalOnline.com
Forum:
www.MortalOnline.com/forums
Galleries:
Artworks (http://www.mortalonline.com/conceptart)
Pre Release Screenshots (http://www.mortalonline.com/screenshots)
Setting:
Fantasy
Engine:
Unreal 3 + collaboration with Grome & Speed Tree
Net Code:
Epic Games using the Atlas System
Scheduled Release:
Summer 2009
PvP Settings:
The Flagging System:
Detailed version:
http://www.mortalonline.com/files/flagging/MO_Flagging.pdf
Basics:
http://www.mortalonline.com/combat/flagging
Camera: First Person
Safezones: NO
Loot drop: Full Loot System. If you die, you can be looted of all your equipment.
Open or Instanced: Open, they are against instanced zones.
Guild wars-Feature: Yes
Player controlled territory and customizable bases: Yes
Playable Factions: 9 At the moment of writing this article, more to come.
Background Story:
Unknown / Not yet released.
Feature List:
NEXT GENERATION GRAPHICS
With Mortal Online we aim to take the MMORPG experience to a different level by creating a fantasy world that is believable and cruel, and that vision requires both realistic graphics and sophisticated gameplay.
To meet these highly set standards we use a state of the art engine as well as a comprehensive toolbox. Unreal Engine 3 is our weapon of choice, and together with Grome and Speedtree we are able to make our vision a reality: a world of detailed characters, realistic terrain, lifelike creatures and intricate detail all coming together to immerse you visually.
LIVE THE FREE WORLD
In Mortal Online we want you to be free. We create a world for you with a minimum of rules but with endless possibilities, meaning you decide the path and goals of your progress, and where your actions are reflected back upon the world. As you decide the fate of your characters during their lifetime, responsibilities and consequences arise with many different options to choose from:
Do you want to walk the dangerous path of thieves and assassins? Or would you choose the path of the honorable, using law and strength to prevent the murderers from ruling the world?
Choose to be a lone wolf or hermit by finding a secluded place to build your house for storage or studies. Or form a guild with others that desire a keep and eventually a fortress.
Steal from or slay whoever you want and loot their items, but prepare for the aftermath and watch out for the long arm of the law.
Devote your life to a crafting profession and become famous for your reliable quality goods. Discover new formulas and recipes and explore the lands to find unique tools and resources.
Choose to believe in one of the Gods and watch its power grow. Fight heretics and burn their temples to rob their Gods of power. Or start a new cult: with enough believers your God might be powerful enough to enter the Pantheon.
Explore the world to discover new places and name them. Venture into ancient caves and temples to find the buried history of the world, including its forgotten knowledge, spells and items. New resources are to be found everywhere in flora, fauna and minerals.
REAL SKILL, REAL-TIME COMBAT
We want you and your character to be one. Your skills as a player combined with the skills of your character will determine the outcome of any PvP or PvE fight.
In the first person perspective of Mortal Online you virtually perform every action your character does – there is no such thing as automatic combat or your character doing the job for you. Aim and strike anywhere you want, and experience your characters combat skill increase as well as your own.
HISTORY DOESN’T REPEAT ITSELF
Is your goal to face a legendary monster? Well, that is usually suicide – if you can find one. But if your guild would actually manage to kill one, it’s dead. Gone. Rare monsters and quests do not resurrect or come again, whether it’s an ancient beast, a crumbling temple, an island rising out of the sea or a great ritual that fails or succeeds.
You might get away with an item never seen before, or the unique scar that tells about the experience. There are not many of these opportunities but they are usually important enough to affect the whole world and its history. All you have to do is be at the right place at the right time.
Skills & Attributes:
http://www.mortalonline.com/attributesskills
This explains pretty much how everything works.
TL;DR version: The more you use a skill, the better you get at it.
Game FAQ / Answers from the Devs:
http://www.mortalonline.com/faq
http://www.mortalonline.com/forums/answers-your-questions/
Interviews, Press releases & Videos:
Interview:
http://www.mmogamer.com/12/02/2008/interview-a-chat-with-mortal-onlines-creative-director
Press Release:
http://www.aktietorget.se/pressdocs/StarVault/50513/STVA%20B%2020081211%203.pdf
You Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqko1Xuv8wQ
HD version, 720p:
http://warhammerro.no-ip.org/ftp/trailers/MortalOnlineHD.mov
Interview & Gameplay Footage:
http://www.google.com/alerts/feeds/08471405808644869715/16437860178157710184
(the trailer shows in-game graphics, not pre-rendered.)
NEW GAME PRESENTATION http://www.mortalonline.com/files/presentation/MortalOnlinePresentation.rar
UPDATE:
Interview & Gameplay Footage:
http://www.google.com/alerts/feeds/08471405808644869715/16437860178157710184
This looks like it has potential
Indeed it does :) I'm quite happy with what they showed us until now and if they keep their promises to us...well... I think we'll have the best fantasy mmorpg/fps out there :P
It definitely looks that way! It would be nice to have a captivating game to replace the complete lack of any decent games out atm
hmmm seems worthy of playing for a bit but its still a bit early to give a definant though. Im loving the way the system is going to work. I miss fully lootable corpses.
Update from the devs!:
Alpha Combat System in short
This is a description of how combat works in the Alpha (2008-12-01). Everything is subject to change.
First of all, many of the features described here might not sound much compared to a “regular single or multi-player FPS”, but are in fact a minor revolution to include in a MMO, and we are very proud of them!
We are of course aware that there are a lot of stuff that could be improved if there were no limits, but please remember that a lot of things are made a certain way because it’s the only way, or because the system is the lesser of two evils
Also, most features described here have corresponding in-game skills. These skills may affect everything from chances of success, damage, speed, or whether or not you are able to execute a certain action at all. But as they are too many to include and would further complicate the description, we decided to leave them out.
Targeting
You never have to target someone to attack them. Targeting is used for keeping track of enemies and/or friends, letting you see their names and status (although very limited). It is also used for certain skills and spells.
- Hold target button and hover the target-crosshair over character(s) to see their names.
- Release or tap target button to add target to target list (and make that target the “active target”).
- Target list shows each targets healthbar but without numbers.
- Target list shows each targets flag/color.
- Target list may contain several targets.
Stamina
The Stamina Bar has two values, Current Stamina and Max Stamina.
Max Stamina is the long-term value (the "length" of the bar itself). It's representing your general condition and is affected by for instance how long you've been active without resting or food. The Max Stamina is your "stamina cap" that determines how much Current Stamina you can possibly have. It's worth to mention that the cap itself won't actually be affected until you've been going without rest for quite some time.
Current Stamina is the short-term value (how "full" the bar is). Current Stamina is used for many actions, like jumping, sprinting and combat actions. It drains very quickly, but also refills in a short time. Your actions also slowly reduce the Max Stamina until you rest.
Combat Stance
In Combat Stance you are preparing yourself for incoming blows as well as for dashing them out yourself. You will automatically draw your pre-selected weapons (if any, unarmed fighting is also possible). In Combat Stance you move much slower by default, and sprinting costs more stamina. Your defense is higher and you have a small chance to auto-block incoming blows.
Depending on what weapon you wield, there may be up to three different stances to switch between: 1. Default. Used for slashing/sweeping/cutting. 2. Thrust. Used to precisely aim thrusts and prods. 3. Ranged. Used for throwing and shooting.
Attacking
An attack consists of two "phases": charge and release.
By holding the left mouse button (LMB) you charge your attack (for a minimum of 1/2 sec but for as long as you want). As long as you charge you are open for attacks, blocking as well as auto-blocking is disabled, although you may move around freely. When you release LMB, the attack comes instantly, followed by a "recovery" that leaves you vulnerable as you cannot strike or block/parry during that time either. Charging currently does not affect amount of damage (it probably will affect it slightly later on) but enables you to fully control the attack, as you’ll strike instantly upon release.
The two phases are also used when simply clicking the LMB, although they are handled as one seamless move: The attack will be charged and then immediately released when the charge is completed (minimum 1/2 sec).
Running and attacking will result in a “power strike” that is different depending on the weapon you wield, but it drains a lot of stamina.
The first thing you’ll learn in MO’s combat is that timing is crucial, and simply spamming the LMB won’t help you in any way. The slight time it takes to charge an attack (whether you hold or click the LMB) makes the combat feel a bit non-instantaneous at first (compared to average shooters where bullets are fired directly when clicking), but opens up for much more tactical and “realistic” combat, as well as manual blocking.
Blocking
Active blocking/parrying is a very difficult feature to handle in a MMO due to server response time and network traffic. We’ve had to make several compromises (like attack-speed and the chance to auto-block) but are very proud to have a working manual blocking-system.
Blocking is done by holding the right mouse button. It takes approximately 1/4 of a second to enter “blocking-state” (raising your shield or weapon). Likewise, it takes about the same time to exit blocking when you release RMB. It’s pretty fast, but not instant. Holding RMB slowly drains stamina, and so does every blow you manage to block.
Blocking will absorb damage (but the shield or weapon used to block will sustain damage). When blocking, there are three different outcomes:
1. If you are struck from “behind”, blocking will not help at all.
2. If you are struck from the “front” or “side”, blocking will absorb only a small amount of damage.
3. If you manage to block the blow with the actual shield- or weapon-mesh, you’ve made a Perfect Block. A Perfect Block drains less stamina, reduces the damage done to your shield/weapon, and gives you a chance to follow up the block with a special counter-attack if you time it really well.
When holding RMB, an alternate attack can be triggered by LMB. (If you are using a shield for example, this will trigger a shield-bash.)
Auto-blocking
Most weapons and shields will give you a small chance (modified by a skill, of course) to auto-block incoming blows. An auto-block happens instantaneously, and is there to compensate for not being able to block instantaneously yourself.
Dual-wielding
One-handed weapons may be combined with a shield or another one-handed weapon (or for instance torches). If a shield is equipped, it will automatically be used for blocking by RMB instead of the weapon (although the weapon might still be used by the auto-blocking system.) When dual-wielding two weapons, tapping a direction and then LMB will “charge” the corresponding weapon. When charged, simply releasing LMB will make a standard attack, but tapping RMB will instead execute two quick strikes in a row.
Shooting
Shooting is of course aim-based. Unfortunately it’s too early to tell if we will be able to have simulated trajectories and arcs, but if it’s in any way doable we will.
Armor and Hitboxes
We are excited to announce that we’ve managed to have as much as 10 individual hitboxes(!) per character in the Alpha. This means very accurate hit-detection, and also that the armor of each body part is used when calculating damage. Additional effects for striking different parts may be added later (such as greater chance for knockback when hit on legs or feet, critical hits on head, chance of being disarmed when hit on hands etc.), but so far only damage is in. On a side note, equipping and un-equipping armor pieces take time, and although it isn’t as slow as in real life it’s definitely not recommended to do during combat.
Magic
The majority of spells that deals with real-time PvP have been classified as “Battle Magic”. By reducing the number of Battle Spells (to about 20), we’ve managed to work out a system where strategy, tactics, actions and reactions define the outcome in a mage-duel. There are very few, if any, “buffs/debuffs”. There are very few types of damage or resistances in PvP (no fire, water, earth, wind, holy, unholy etc.). In short, you have to have good coordination and you must really try to read your opponent to be successful. In many ways, it’s comparable to old UO
(The Battle Magic is separated from the other Magic Schools that deals with semi- or non-direct PvP magic, like summons, enchantments, music etc. Also, in PvE creatures will deal different types of damage and there will be different kinds of resistances and spells to affect them. But those systems will not interfere with the PvP.)
We are currently evaluating two types of spell casting:
1. The first system is based on targeting, where you switch between the targets in your Target List. Some spells are simply auto-aiming, some requires that you face the opponent, and some requires that you actually aim and “hit” them.
2. The second system is based on aiming-only, like a FPS. The first system means that once you’ve targeted your opponents, you have to use coordination (and sometimes aiming) to be successful, but in a way it’s less “fps-interactive”. The problem with the second system is that aiming-only gets very twitch-based and more like a shooter. Also, the number of Combat Spells will probably have to be even more reduced - compare it to a FPS-game where you have to keep track of 20+ weapons and how to counter them while moving around :P
This will definitely be tested and worked on during this phase.
Mounted combat
We have worked hard with the first-person view on mount, which is what we are using now in the Alpha. This also means there’s a good chance there won’t be a third-person view in MO at all. Mounted combat works in exactly the same way as described above, although the control scheme is a little bit different. You can use different stances, attack, block, shoot, dual-wield and cast spells etc. The higher the velocity of your mount, the more damage is added to your strikes as well as an increased chance to knock opponents over. Hitboxes are separated, meaning you can hit either the mount or the rider.
Fatalities, Mercy and Death
If the last blow that hits you and makes you reach 0 HP isn’t extremely heavy (which would instead result in a spectacular bloodbath), you will enter a semi-unconscious state where you are only able to speak. Your opponent may hit you once more and then you die - perhaps s/he even decides to end it in a really theatrical way - or s/he may decide to spare or bargain with your life. If you are left alone, you will eventually regain a couple of HP but be much weakened.
Update:
New Race - Sidoians - there is no description yet!
A few more screenshots have been added to the site, you should really check them out! :)
http://www.mortalonline.com/files/screenshots/08_LucusQuies.jpg
http://www.mortalonline.com/files/screenshots/01_KhuriteVillage.jpg
http://www.mortalonline.com/files/screenshots/09_TindremSewers.jpg
http://www.mortalonline.com/files/screenshots/02_FightingPlayers.jpg
http://www.mortalonline.com/files/screenshots/03_DeadPlayer.jpg
http://www.mortalonline.com/files/screenshots/04_AggressivePlayer.jpg
http://www.mortalonline.com/files/screenshots/05_SalutingPlayer.jpg
http://www.mortalonline.com/files/screenshots/06_AbandonedTemple.jpg
http://www.mortalonline.com/files/screenshots/07_VicaCaducus.jpg
edit: fixed links
I hope it looks as good as they're showing :)
The whole blocking concept in an FPS seems like a pretty good idea as well
A few updates for the community here :D
Nothing new on features/closed beta ...but we have something else instead!
As the game entered it's beta phase a new counter appeared on the websites homepage... it was a simple, 50 day, counter with a nice looking background...
....until someone noticed that the background actually changes from time to time...
some speculate that at 00:00:00:00 will be the end of the world, others say it will be the beginning of closed beta others say it will be a new trailer ... we don't really know.
(uploaded some pics with the backgrounds that were changing on the counter... it's actually really interesting and if you can decipher the writing / song then please tell me :) )
And now Dev talk time!
Discussion: Hiding the complexity and creating mysticism
Usually mmo games reveal much details about the surroundings and characters that players encounter or participate with. This is something I would like to hide.
For instance, when looking at your sword, one would see its attributes in abstract descriptive representation instead of numerical absolute values. Like "My broadsword feels heavy and somewhat sharp, and it looks like to be in fine condition". What about damage? I'd need to experience and learn that.
This way game would be more unpredictable and knowledge about world and it's behaviour would become even more valuable. For example, warriors might ask smith to propose a weapon for them when they describe their need.
Answer:
Most values and details dealing with combat will be hidden, or rather presented in "abstract" form. Also, depending on the skills you have, the more detailed these abstractions will be.
For instance, if you have no skills with a sword whatsoever and pick up a sword, you will probably only see a ? in the damage-tab. The name displayed will be: Sword (1H). And if you have no Blacksmithing-skills at all, and no appropriate Evaluation-skills either, you will see a ? in the craftsmanship-tab as well.
When you get accustomed to swords and thereby gain in sword-skill (or by getting better at crafting swords), the damage-tab might give you information such as:
Blunt Damage: Very Poor
Piercing Damage: Excellent
Slashing Damage: Good
And the name of the Sword will have changed to: Tindremic Rapier (1H)
Likewise, the craftsmanship-tab will reveal details on the level of craftsmanship with the appropriate skills.
We use this system for most items in MO. For instance while strolling through the forest you may pick as many Flower(s) you like. But unless you have some skill in Botany or Herbalism, you won't know their name or use.
There are some exceptions to this, like weight, that will show you exact numbers or details regardless of your skills.
Next one!
Q:Will there be a hard cap at skills and why ?
Take eve for example. They don't even have a soft cap because of the multitude of the skills you have. It would take you around 20 years to train all the skills atm in the game. I'm not asking for this, but as in eve, you can have top skills in gunnery / ships and still be beaten by a guy with lower skills.
All I'm asking is the possibility for my char to learn everything, even that would be practically impossible because of the time needed to be invested in such a thing.
And the answer is...
There will be no limit to how many Secondary Skills you can train, and it will take a very long time to train them all. However, you can if you like to. What you cannot do, however, is having them all "active" at the same time, as they are controlled by your Primary Skills:
It will take you a very short time (one-two weeks?) to max out the Primary Skills of your choice. This will enable you to get into the game quick and really make a difference - meaning there will be only player skill between your newbie Swordsmanship-skill(100) and the veteran's Swordsmanship-skill(100). However, depending on the veteran's Secondary Skills, he might be able to fight longer, or make a tad more damage (10%). Those Secondary Skills will not make or break your fight (only in very rare cases), but they will make a difference in the long run.
Retraining/untraining your Primary Skills will only take as long as training them for the first time. The Secondary Skills dependent on the Primary Skills you untrain will be disabled, but they will "remember" their values until you unlock them again. So, basically, you can have all the skills you want, if you train for a very long time, but you cannot have them all at the same time as that would indeed make you a one-man blacksmith-sorcerer-tamer-warrior-thief-hunter-whatever.
edit: Rewrote the first part of the description, as it could be interpreted as if there weren't a cap on the values of Secondary Skills. There is a cap for each individual Secondary Skill, but no limit to how many you can train.
The answers were given by Dev Mats Persson.
If you have any questions feel free to ask me and I'll try to get you an answer asap.
p.s Vote for MO on mmosite.com in the Most Anticipated (http://contest.mmosite.com/gameprize/prizeitem.php?item=3) and best graphics (http://contest.mmosite.com/gameprize/prizeitem.php?item=4) categories ! :D
EDIT:
it seems the upload doesn't work because the files are too big, here is the FF version:
http://files.filefront.com/Backgroundrar/;13212315;/fileinfo.html
http://files.filefront.com/BGSUBrar/;13212423;/fileinfo.html
http://files.filefront.com/mocounterswf/;13212443;/fileinfo.html
MO was shown once again on the TV!
It doesn't show much of the game ... it just explains a little more how it is made.
The game footage you can see on the screen is from a pre-alpha (yes pre alpha) game build, so much has changed since then.
The crosshair and some of the bars on the screen are for testing only,they won't be in game!
Here is the translated version (oh,btw ....it's in swedish :rolleyes: )
Announcer:
Now we're about to enter into the mind of a game designer. Right now he's building a virtual fantasy world on the Internet. (Yeah, right?) This of course means trolls and swords, as usual when it comes to Fantasy, however the source of inspiration is a bit unusual(?).
In the woods
Mats:
I work as creative director, or game designer, and my company is working on a MMO-game called Mortal Online.
I'm working on both the development-pipeline itself, the game world, the environments and the "feel" of the game.
MMO-games, Massively Multi-Player Online - you connect to a server together with other people and play together, so that you can communicate, fight or cooperate with other players, unlike in many other games where you are playing alone.
In these online worlds we are usually rather free to do what we want, and we don't always have to follow a predefined path. In Mortal Online we are aiming for a world that allows for a great deal of freedom.
Reporter:
What do you get your inspiration from?
Mats:
Above all else I think it comes from our own world. I get inspired by books, movies, music, but a lot of the times it's about re-shaping reality. It could be our history; the twelve law tablets of Rome, that we recreate in our game but make them thirteen instead. Or emperor Nero that was suspected of having burned Rome to the ground; that might have actually happened in our game, although of course the name of the emperor wasn't Nero.
Inspiration can be how the geology of a place in the real world have been impacted after a meteorite strike, or after the eruption of a volcano, stuff that looks unrealistic or otherworldly - we actually have "sci-fi" and "fantasy" places in the real world, and using those places as a "canvas" for our fantasy world can be a good way to start. We then might add those extra ingredients that makes it feel really "fantasyish" or unique..
..maybe it wasn't just a meteorite, maybe it was a punishment from the gods, but you never know?
Mats:
This is a rather interesting find, because we happen to have a creature in the game that is a rotvalta (Swedish name for "an uprooted tree"). Or, rather it lives beneath/inside the fallen trees. Wind may not be the only thing that makes a tree fall in MO, as there are parasites living in some trees, taking them over and making them fall - so that they can stretch out their tentacles, hidden and camouflaged among the roots. ..if this had been Mortal Online I guess we'd been in trouble sitting here.
Mats:
Mushrooms and fungi are really interesting. They exist almost everywhere and behave in peculiar ways. For instance, a large number of insects living in rain-forests have corresponding parasite fungi - fungi that has specialized in invading and taking over the mind of a specific insect-species. The only thing that's lacking is to give the fungi, or their spores, some form of intelligence or collective consciousness, and all of a sudden we'd have an extremely creepy mechanism/creature to use in the game.
There are ants that grow mushrooms in their anthills or caves, and then harvest them. This is of course a cool concept to use when making an insect-society, or any troglodyte society. It's also easy to twist this idea, and have a society that grow large fungi (polyporus) in gigantic trees, hollowing them out to be used as living quarters.
At the office
Mats:
These are our swamps, or marsh-jungles, and this is where you'll find one of our lizards races. (I should have said "several reptile species". I got a bit confused as I suddenly realized we don't have a Swedish word for them. Anyway, they are known as the Cold Broods.)
..like, here
This civilization grows a form of polyporus in the giant trees, and use them as platforms for their nests.
Hannu:
(Mumbles something inaudible about "nature".)
Mats:
You can see it in this pre-visualization.
Mats:
I really like to experience what I'm about to try to convey to other people. For instance if we are implementing riding in the game, and want it to feel believable, I really think it's important for me to get out and try riding myself. Not because I can, not that I would be good at it, but because I would learn small details and get a feel for it, that I could then possibly transfer to the game..
..when you research something and look for facts..(continued below)
At Malmo Castle/Dungeons
..I can look at Malmo Castle or Malmo Dungeon at a distance, I can be there to experience it, I can read it in books. I think these are different experiences, but I think you need all of them to make a believable setting. I absolutely do.
I believe environment and atmosphere is really important in a game, although you might not even notice or think about it. Consciously, for some players it's very important, for others it doesn't matter - as they're going straight for the "action". But the history and atmosphere/conceptual direction of the game must be a solid framework that the players can rely on and fall back on. That's how I want it to be.
UBflAPdVwZQ&hl
http://www.mortalonline.com/
The counter has reached it's final 24 hours... *builds up the hype*
As many already expected a new gameplay video has been launched and beta signups!! So go get there and sign asap!
http://www.mortalonline.com/beta/
would be nice if at the Guild you write (not MO guild, just guild) Furious angels ...this way they will see that we're indeed a group, thus our chances will be higher to enter :)
The movie is at www.mortalonline.com
For those who want to download the movie : http://www.gatefans.com/MO/720Pmov.mov
Youtube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1D79oUUp8
Discuss.
looks very good, we will see how ranged combat,
territory fights and pking works, so i´ll have a look oat this game, maybe the next neocron :p
Ok. This month has brought us the latest newsletter with a little surprise... They made a presentation about MO and some of the features...
One that is really interesting is the Blood Mix feature.... which allows you to customize your character in any way you want. You can be a 'pure' Blainn (http://www.mortalonline.com/files/races/Blainn.jpg) or you can mix it up for example your mother was the offspring of a Tindremene and a Khurite and your father was a Kallard... This will grant your varying starting attributes and will drastically increase diversity and character customization.
Ofc, there are more things described in the presentation which I suggest you watch :)
http://www.mortalonline.com/files/presentation/MortalOnlinePresentation.rar
p.s Total # of races atm is 8
Mortal Online Beta phases
The closed Combat Beta is going as planned, we’ve been inviting players from the community each week since beta started. If you haven’t got an invitation yet please be patient, so far we are doing this in a relatively small scale.
The test phases have been great for Mortal Online; we are getting a lot of good feedback on combat, movement, crafting, balancing, latency and stability. We are very happy with the stability of the server and the clients.
Even though our movement prediction system is not yet in place we have also got very good test results from US players on our EU server. We didn’t expect US players to actually be able to compete in our real time combat system, but they have shown it’s very possible, so far.
We’ve had some great testing sessions, and it’s been lots of fun for us to see what kind of crazy gears/weapons people come up with on the battleground. We’ve also had our a* kicked by some real skilful players. Here’s some screenshots from the beta.
Within the next few weeks we are going to switch to our release build, which is the next step in our testing phase. As this build contains the complete prediction system we will soon have some information about what kind of ping players will need to be able to compete at the same terms as the rest in our real time combat.
Don’t forget to still sign up for the beta if you haven’t done so yet, it’s not too late to be part in the different beta phases.
Mortal Online Release Plan – Shop Opening Soon
PRE-ORDERS AND BETA
For several weeks the Combat Beta has been up and running on our first server with very good results, and now we're excited to announce the release plan for Mortal Online. On June 29 we will open up our shop for pre-orders of the game, also giving you access to the Beta Phases.
Our goal from the very beginning has been to develop Mortal Online with a close and honest connection to the community on our forums. With the Combat Beta showing good and stable performance we have reached the point where we feel it’s time to take the community interaction to the next level. It’s important for us as an independent company to know how many of you are committed to buy and try out the game, and we also want your feedback during the next crucial steps in development. All 10.000 users pre-ordering the game in any of the formats available will be given free access to the Beta Phases until the official launch of the game.
Please note that the Beta Phases will run on a server in Europe only. It’s fully possible to access this server from all countries; however we can’t guarantee the speed and performance over long distances.
During the coming Beta Phases, users with a pre-order will be able to follow and participate in the further development of the core features for release. They include, but are not limited, to:
- The full Myrland continent
- At least 9 races, male and female
- Blood mix and character customization
- Main features of the skill system
- Full PvP, full loot
- Full melee and ranged combat
- Basic magic combat
- Mounts and mounted combat
- Basic GUI for the crafting system
- Resource gathering
- Basic Guild mechanics
- Basic player housing
- Basic NPC mobs and wildlife
- Hidden/secret features
We strongly feel that we want these features to have reached a “polished and proper” state before starting the monthly subscriptions, but as always when it comes to game development it’s hard to estimate how long this will actually take. That said we are aiming to reach this state (and start the monthly subscriptions) in Q4 2009, when all the core features above should be in place and thoroughly tested.
BETA QUEUE AND GAME VERSIONS
We have decided to make 10.000 copies of the game available on June 29. The Beta spots will be divided into blocks of 2.000. Every second week, starting July 6, we will accept a new block of 2.000 players into the Beta until we reach 10.000 accounts. This will be done on a first-come first-serve basis, meaning the earlier you book the earlier you’ll get in.
There will be three different versions of the game in the shop:
1. Digital Download Only
2. Boxed Version
3. Limited Edition (999 numbered copies)
All versions give you free access to the Beta phases. Access to digital download is not limited to the Digital Download Only version. More info about the different versions will be made available in the shop before it opens.
Mortal Online Races
We are showing you a sneak peak of a playable races in Mortal Online.
Ending notes
That´s all we have to offer this time. Don’t forget to check the for upcoming releases and other fun stuff. We developers are active on the forums whenever possible, to read or answer your questions and comments.
______________
I've outlined some of the more important info...but do read everything it's a nice read :P
More about the features and how everything will work is presented here:
http://www.mortalonline.com/files/presentation/MortalOnlinePresentation.rar
it's a powerpoint presentation about MO... enjoy :)
Remember on the 29th is the preorder... if you dare to preorder a game :))
Mortal Online Combat Beta Review
by Lachrymose
Character Creation
Upon entering Mortal Online’s combat beta, I was first prompted to create a new character. The character creation allowed me to first choose a race, and then combine that race with one of the other available races via the blood mix system. I tried out some of the many combinations, and some mixes were clearly more noticeable than others. For instance, mixing a Half-orc with a Tindremene will result in a relatively unique look, but the effects of mixing a Tindremene with a Kallard aren’t quite as noticeable. However, once racial attributes are unlocked, I imagine the less cosmetic mixes will prove useful.
There are many different types of faces, hairstyle, tattoos, etc. to choose from, and several customization options can be used, such as changing the size of the nose, ears, mouth, forehead, etc. Overall, I was impressed with the character customization, as it offers quite a bit to make your character appear unique. In addition, players are able to select from a range of heights. At the moment, I see no reason to choose anything other than the tallest height, as the benefits gained from having a large character greatly outweigh the benefits of choosing a smaller character. Henrik has explained, however, that this is only because attribute points have not yet been unlocked. Increasing your character size will cost attribute points that could be used to increase your dexterity, for example. In addition, you will be able to create a smaller than normal size character to gain more than the default attribute points, which allows for even more variability when creating your character.
First Impressions
The very first thing I noticed after finally logging into the game is that the first person view is absolutely incredible. I think Star Vault has really succeeded at creating a more realistic first person view than any I’ve ever seen. I spent my first couple minutes in game just admiring the unique perspective and the motion blur as I looked around.
The small island we were placed on looks impressive, especially for being a temporary beta test island, and for some reason, I just can’t get over how incredible the sky looks (something I don’t think I’ve ever really noticed in an MMO). Some of the other beta testers and myself had a lot of fun exploring the island and finding a few hidden ruins. Traversing the island is no easy task, so although the island is relatively small, it certainly seems large. Not only are there mountains and other land formations obstructing any straight paths across the island, but navigating the island is very difficult until you’ve walked around it enough to really familiarize yourself with it. At one point, I broke off from the group to do a little solo exploring, and I quickly realized that I had no idea where I was. For me it was a really unique experience in an MMO because there was no radar in the upper corner showing me where I was on the map. There was no arrow pointing the way to go. I was actually lost, which made for a truly immersive experience, and this was only on the tiny test island we were placed on. I can only imagine what the immersion of being lost in a much larger and inhabited world would be like.
Armor & Weapon Creation
Weapon creation at the moment is impressive. Crafting itself hasn’t been unlocked to players, but NPC crafters allow us to choose which type of material to use for each piece of a weapon (handle, core, blade, etc). In addition, when creating armor, not only do you choose which type of material to construct the armor out of, but you also choose how much material to use when creating the armor. Using less material obviously makes the armor lighter and less cumbersome, but it also provides less protection.
Needless to say, there is a seemingly endless amount of combinations to choose from, but the trick is to determine which combinations are most effective, as some combinations just aren’t very practical. For instance, attaching a great blade to a dagger handle will result in a strange looking and ineffective weapon, and although creating a sword made out of pure gold certainly looks fashionable, it will do little damage and require the majority of your stamina to swing it (if you’re able to swing it at all, that is). The amount of options given to the player is incredible and really adds to the involvement of player skill, as players will have to determine the best gear compositions for their particular playstyle.
The only ranged weapon that can be created in the current stage is a recurve short bow. I learned from talking with Henrik that the bow should be constructed realistically to achieve the maximum effectiveness. I began scouring the internet to find instructions on how to create my very own recurve bow, and I found a very useful online guide and applied some of the same construction concepts to my in-game bow. The result was a bow more powerful and stamina efficient than any other bow I had managed to construct up to that point, which I found amazing. I am excited me to see what other realistic concepts like this will be used elsewhere in the game.
Melee Combat
To put it simply, melee combat is a lot of fun. Circle strafing and spamming the left mouse button is definitely not the strategy to use in this game, as you will run out of stamina very quickly and be rendered helpless. Attacks can be “charged” so that you can release at the precise moment to hit your enemy, which adds to the skill based strategy of combat. Furthermore, blocking can be very effective, as achieving a perfect block (aiming directly towards the incoming attack with a block) will mitigate a very significant amount of damage that would have otherwise been dealt by the attack. The current prediction system needs a considerable amount of work to ensure that the client side location of players match up with their server side location. It has been frustrating to attack an opponent directly in front of you, only to have the attack miss him. Fortunately, I’m told that the prediction system has been fixed and the corrected system will be implemented in the next build.
At the moment, weapons are imbalanced, so some weapon types are far more effective than others. However, I imagine weapons and armor will be balanced throughout the remainder of the beta.
Ranged Combat
Again, we only had access to one type of bow, so I have little exposure to all that ranged combat has to offer. At the beginning of the beta, kiting was extremely easy to pull off, but by the second build, that was taken care of. However, I feel that at the moment, archery is a little too underpowered because bows drain a bit too much stamina in my opinion. Again, I expect an appropriate balance will be found during the beta process.
Barring any balancing issues, I think ranged combat is fairly good. There is a circular targeting reticle that gets smaller as you pull back the bow string. The circle indicates where your arrow may fly, so the smaller the circle, the more accurate the shot will be. I’m told that the targeting reticle is still being worked on, however, so this likely won’t be exactly what we see on release.
Overall Conclusion
My overall impression of Mortal Online’s combat is that it still needs a considerable amount of work on gear balancing and the prediction system, but it has a tremendous amount of potential once those things are perfected. However, even with those imperfections, melee combat was still very enjoyable overall. Ranged combat shares that same potential, but again, I feel there is still a bit of balancing to do before it is perfected.
Character creation is better than the majority of MMOs I’ve played, and so far we haven’t even seen all that there is to offer, as attributes have not been added to the beta client thus far, and only cosmetic changes are available.
The aesthetics of the game are very impressive, and again, the first person view is absolutely amazing in my opinion. Despite the graphical settings being locked below the maximum settings (for beta only I’m sure), Mortal Online is definitely one of the most visually appealing MMOs I’ve played.
Other than a few other minor bugs and tweaks, the little amount of gameplay that we were given access to gives me very high hopes for Mortal Online. I’m very excited to see the improvements that are made in the next client and gain access to more features and a large portion of the actual world.
MO System Requirements (an estimation)
Please note that all options and scaling are not yet in the game, meaning the requirements will change over time.
Minimum configuration (1024x768, detail reduced)
OS: Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Windows Vista
Processor: Intel Pentium 4 3Ghz or equivalent
RAM: 1GB
Video card: ATI Radeon 9800/nVidia GeForce 6600
Video memory 256MB
Hard drive space: 5-25GB
Recommended configuration (1680x1050)
OS: Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Windows Vista Service Pack 1
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz or equivalent
RAM: 2048MB Dual Channel DDR2
Video card: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT or equivalent
Video memory: 512MB
Hard drive space: 30GB
Beta testing and gameplay
The Beta is starting July 20 with the features from Combat Beta active, as well as a few new ones. The very first steps have to do with architecture, back-end and network-performance. To begin with, we are aiming to test:
MO Updater (auto-patching system)
Account System, Login, Logout
Character Creation (The “human family” only, like Tindremenes, Khurites etc, male and female)
General Network and Server stability and speed
Crowd congestion tests
Seamless World-streaming
Updated Prediction System
Sound
Client System Performance
This is not very fun from a gameplay-perspective, although crucial from a technical standpoint. To make you run around in the world and have some feeling of purpose in this crude beginning, we are also testing:
Attribute balancing, basic Skill gain (a few example skills)
Further real time PvP, Melee and Archery Combat testing and balancing
"Vendor-crafting" (you bring resources to a vendor, who then crafts stuff for you according to your instructions, like in Combat Beta). The Skills and GUI (Graphical User Interface) for the "real" crafting is still in development
Very basic resource-gathering (refining, prospecting etc will be in together with crafting later on, meaning at the moment you will get magically pre-refined resources when mining, etc)
Fundamental AI-behavior, a few creatures
World traversing, Swimming and Combat Swimming
Around 32km^2 of the Myrland continent
Basic banking (global at first, local if we manage to get it in before this weekend)
Local chat (no languages)
The Flagging System (complete with temporary insta-guards in guard zones)
That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. These first important steps will be the foundation of the game, and updates will come quickly and at a regular basis once we are confident most of the above is working in the new massive environment.
Please also remember that both your possessions and your Characters can be wiped from the server at any moment, and that this may happen several times during the Beta.
You're in for a rough ride, but we are excited for those of you who want to embark on this journey with us!
/the MO Dev Team
The Game can now be bought via the Mortal Online store here (http://www.account.mortalonline.com/)
Good news. Mortal online can be bought here (https://account.mortalonline.com/) and there are 2 types of the game atm.
Boxed version priced at EUR 68.69(VAT EUR 13.74(
and the digital download version priced at EUR 49.94(VAT EUR 9.99)
exploration vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CZTIJ0MPrg
character creation vid:
http://www.dailymotion.pl/zanzimovies/video/16693182
Roaming exploration vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u251S_VseAE
These are all beta footages.
humm, can we still download the beta and try it because i'll not pay for anything unless there is a demo/trial/beta to see if I like it otherwise that would be money down the drain...
you have to preorder the game to get into beta... you can still download the game if you want to, though you won't be able to play.
I will post videos/screens/news from the game when I have more info available ...
Atm, if you've watched the videos you'll see that the level of detail of the terrain (mountains, water, CLOUDS THAT F'IN MOVE, etc) is very high...even though there are no shadows ingame yet and so on.
Yes it looks lush, I love the water and the mountains in the distance and the clouds, I think I'd have fun just exploring that landscape but I won't buy it until I've experienced for myself what the game is like because I'm very fussy with things like interface, character controls, quests, levelling etc.
I'll just wait until enough people have played it for there to be a free trial, pretty much as I did with world of warcraft which I installed for a 10 day trial hated it after 2 hours and uninstalled. Shit I would have been pissed had I actually bought the game when it was released...
vBulletin® v3.8.4, Copyright ©2000-2010, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.