As revealed at Gamescom, WildStar is a sci-fi adventure with design elements that art director Matt Mocarski says is inspired by "animated films such as Atlantis, The Secret of Nimh, and Princess Mononoke," anime series like "Naruto and Full Metal Alchemist" and "comics such as Hellboy, Battle Chasers, and Tank Girl." So, at least you know that the developers have been doing their homework.
WildStar will have four classes -- Explorers, Soldiers, Scientists and Settlers -- and promises to deliver a "future fantasy" type of adventure.
WildStar features 4 different play styles which include Explorers, Soldiers, Scientists and Settlers.
* Explorers are rewarded for climbing high mountains and revealing hidden caverns.
* Soldiers earn rank and glory by conquering hordes of enemies.
* Scientists collect the darkest secrets of the planet to unearth the story behind the Eidan disappearance.
* Settlers build a new life on an extraordinary world.
Here are some of WildStar’s main features.
* Immersive World, Extraordinary Style: Discover a world deeply layered with mystery and challenges – a world brought to life with unforgettable and unique visuals.
* Player Paths: Decide not only who your character is, but also why he or she is coming to Nexus. Going beyond the choices of character race and class, your path defines your character’s motivation – and unlocks unique content catered to your preferred playstyle.
* Momentum Mechanics: Our world of high adventure and daring action is brought to life through Momentum Mechanics which immerses players in a world stacked with content, challenges and rewards. Players do not simply quest or fight a monster – they stake their claim on the world in a manner of their choosing and are rewarded for making bold advances towards packs of enemies. Storylines, mini-challenges, surprise events and a reactive world all layer on top of each other to create an immersive experience that rewards players for playing the way they want to play.
* Epic Mystery: WildStar’s grand story continues past the level cap, with elder game content that captures the best elements of the greatest RPGs. Players embark on an epic tale with memorable characters and gripping conflicts whose story continues episodically into the future.
This layered implementation sounds neat in theory, but the hour of hands-on time I had with the game didn't show it off very well. I got a few simple "challenge" objectives that rewarded me with bonus XP for killing mobs I was slaughtering for a quest within a time limit, but they were trivial to complete. It was the first hour of gameplay in a pre-release MMO, so I'm not about to throw the whole concept under the bus, but Carbine's so-called layering gets an incomplete grade from me so far.
what we know about Wildstar is about to grow exponentially as the team told me they’re planning on revealing more and more as we round out 2012 and head into 2013.
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Our in-game demo (I was not piloting as I had at PAX last year) begins in Algoroc, a level 6-14 zone that is right next to the Northern Wilds, a snowy site where we spent last year’s PAX Prime playing. Chad takes our Aurin Esper high above the ground with his dev powers and shows us the Northern Wilds in the distance. It’s here that I’m reminded how Nexus will be completely seamless and open. No zoning from one area to the next. There will be instancing used for some dungeons (though many encounters will take place in the wide open reaches of the world), but by and large players will be able to walk from one corner of the world to the next without seeing a loading screen.
Chad and Mike then remind me that a lot of work has gone into the combat since I last saw the game. A year ago it was standard tab-targeting with a fair amount of dodging when enemies gave off tells of their attacks. Now, the game uses something called “Free Form Targeting”. The best way for me to describe this is that it’s like SMITE. You can still target something like you normally would only now many of your skills and attacks will have areas of effect. There’s one spell for the Esper that has several magical daggers shooting out at the enemy, and it takes up a column of space so that anything in the area, not just one enemy will be hit. Other attacks might be conical; some may be able to be targeted on a specific area, and so forth. All the while you’re able to freely move while fighting, and indeed must do so to stay alive.
The enemy has just as many location based attacks as you do, and as we’re shown a low level boss of Algoroc named “Stalagmite”, I see just how challenging the action is going to be in Wildstar. There are telegraphs for just about every enemy in the game, things they do before they attack, and indicators on the ground where you shouldn’t be when the animation is over. When you’re lower level, the telegraphs and animations take longer, giving you time to react. But as you grow in power, the enemy becomes less forgiving and you’ll soon find that your reflexes are going to be your best tool of survival. It’s all very action-oriented, without becoming a button mashing effect. You’ll have to pick your best skills for each group of enemies, just as they’re programmed to pick their best, and the victor will be the one who can out maneuver the other. Oh, and you can program your dodge to be any button you want, or even my personal favorite: “the double-tap”.
On a PvP Ruleset server, PvP flagging is determined based on the zone your character is in. If you are in a zone that is affiliated with your faction, you’re not flagged…but you may voluntarily flag yourself. If you are in a zone that is affiliated with the opposing faction, you are flagged for PvP.If you’re in a zone that is shared by both factions, you will be flagged for PvP. You’ll have plenty of opportunity to run into your enemy in a shared zone and slay the day away If you try to go into an opposing faction’s city, you are flagged for PvP (though, this is redundant on a PvP server, because you’re likely in that faction’s zone anyway).
Ahh sunny Brighton! As it's so close to our EU office, we're going to swing by the Develop Conference with Executive Producer, Jeremy Gaffney. Unlike our other events, this will be more focused on panels and talks and less about playing the game. So UK gamers get yourself to Rezzed or save up your pennies and head on over to one of the other events listed below...
Gamescom 2013: Cologne, Germany 22.-25.08.2013
For those of you who aren’t familiar, Gamescom is held in Cologne, Germany, and is one of the largest collections of gamer fanatics in the world. I just took a look at the design specs for our booth, and let me tell you- it’s going to blow your mind. Not to mention the content we are creating just for this event. It will include super-sexy new announcements, hands-on gameplay with content you’ve never seen before, and a whole host of special events that will give our fans from Germany and the rest of the world the opportunity to spend quality time with the WildStar development team. We are finalizing our stage plans and offsite event opportunities, so more on that to come.
PAX Prime: SEATTLE, WA AUG 30-SEP 2, 2013
Now if you haven’t heard of PAX, you really need to spend more time online. If PAX East was any indication, this year promises to be an AMAZING show for us. Like Gamescom, we have packed our schedule with wall-to-wall activities, and of course hands-on gameplay of only the freshest WildStar content. This includes Developer Panels, amazing offsite activities, and something I’m particularly excited about: We will be hosting the very first Beta Tester only panel at our booth, giving you the chance to ask (almost) all the questions you have about what it’s like to work with the development team as a WildStar beta tester. Content questions? Game mechanics? You name it, they will most certainly probably be able to perhaps say something about it. Like Gamescom, we are working to finalize all of our events, which includes a very special secret giveaway, around PAX Prime. We’ve got so much to share, they had to add another day to the event to show it all! (Ok, they didn’t consult us on that one, but we are taking credit anyway).
There are a lot of other event plans to share with you in the coming days, but were just a little too early in the planning process to say much more. You know how planning events go; it can be downright Comi-Cal.
If you're not much good at aiming, the game does have systems in place to help. Some of those systems may or may not be in the final build, but the team is definitely aware that not everyone is good at twitch gaming. One of the major features in the current build is an option to automatically face your target when you activate an aiming ability. At first players have tended to use the option, but with more experience most prefer to turn it off and allow more freeform aiming.
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WildStar still has its sights set on releasing later this year, so fans should keep their eyes open for any further development on the game's mechanics. For now, you can keep your eyes peeled for big reveals coming out of San Diego Comic Con tomorrow.
WildStar Online will not be Free-to-Play. It won’t be Buy-to-Play like Guild Wars 2, either. What does that leave, boys and girls? That’s right, you heard it here first: WildStar will operate via the classic subscription model, with a tasty EVE-like caveat Carbine is calling CREDD. Last week we caught up with Jeremy Gaffney to chat about the revenue model for WildStar and why Carbine is betting on the subscription model over the new hotness of F2P and microtransactions.
Quest objectives are no longer listed as "Kill 6 Squirgs." Instead, you gain progress across a bar the more creatures you kill. I can already hear most of you saying "So what? Big deal! You just changed it visually so that you could mess with our minds, this doesn't actually change the fundamentals of questing." Well, sure, I guess the cynics could look at it that way, but the true benefit becomes clear once we add in two extra features:
Creatures of varying difficulty can now count for more or less quest credit rather than every creature incrementing your kill count by one. Kill a Squirg? Maybe you earn 16% towards your quest objective. Take on a MEGASQUIRG DESTROYER™? Suddenly you've completed 40% of your quest with one badass kill.
Open tagging is now in the game. See a dude or dudette having trouble with a critter? Run over to help them take it down, and you'll both gain XP, quest credit, and loot for it. Even if you're not grouped with them!
The final two WildStar classes have been revealed. During a conference call recently, Carbine Studios confirmed that the rumored Medic and Engineer classes will in fact appear in the MMO.
They join previously confirmed classes Warrior, Esper, Spellsinger, and Stalker.
We’re excited to finally share that WildStar will officially launch on June 3, 2014! Only a few more months until you can visit planet Nexus.
Pre-orders for WildStar begin on March 19th. To get all the details of the awesome pre-order bonuses you get, including headstart, beta access, and A FREAKING ROCKET HOUSE, check out our pre-order page! http://www.wildstar-online.com/en/preorder
As of today, the NDA for WildStar has officially lifted! Anyone in the beta is free to talk about their experiences, share screenshots, video, livestream, blog, tweet, vine, haiku, and more!
Carbine is giving players good incentive to snap up a copy of the game now, as the pre-order bonuses include early game access, a rocket house, a mini-ship housing decoration, a 10-slot inventory bag, and character/guild name reservations.
Pre-order customers will get to start playing the live game on May 31st
If you try to go into an opposing faction’s city, you are flagged for PvP (though, this is redundant on a PvP server, because you’re likely in that faction’s zone anyway).