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[Column] ArcheAge: The Trion Worlds Connection
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
ArcheAge is one of the most keenly anticipated titles slowly making its way to the west. With the recent announcement that Trion Worlds would be handling the publication of ArcheAge in the West, hearts began to pound. We have some thoughts to share about that and then await yours in the comments.
Trion Worlds has kept quiet since the announcement that it would publish the English version of ArcheAge in a number of territories. James "Elrar" Nichols explained that "the strategic rollout and execution of our plans needs to be calculated and concise" because of ArcheAge's status as both a new intellectual property (which means it has no safety net) and a Korean MMORPG (which means it comes with certain cultural nuances and stigmas).
Read more of Victor Barreiro Jr.'s ArcheAge: The Trion Worlds Connection.
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Comments
Interesting read and is a subject that has been on my mind as well. When will we see Trion start talking about Archeage? More importantly, will they hold strong to the game's core and ignore the instant gratification/themepark crowd?
I feel the best thing they can do it paint a picture of the game, what it is actually trying to be and set expectations accordingly. I do know for a fact that there have been a lot of uniformed specualtion about Archeage that I am dying for Trion to address. In addition, if they do indeed plan on releasing this year, I hope they start talking soon because at least looking at this site it has fallen to the wayside a bit in favor for CU or TESO. I see threads from players describing their perfect game but yet Archeage isn't mentioned and what they describe is staring them in the face.
I am guessing we will start seeing a lot more from Trion post Defiance release.
Any graphical, audio, or gameplay restrictions not seen in other mmos but found in FFXIV can be blamed on one thing.
PS3
While this is true, being a archeagesource regular, I can tell you that he isn't allowed to say anything of substance as of yet. We at Archeagesource are all waiting on new news since Trion has announced publishing rights. Most Archeage news is actually coming from players playing the KR retail.
I expect a lot more after Defiance releases and they are a bit further down the field of localization.
AA isn't going to be the perfect game everyone wanted. But its still going to be great compared to its competition this year.
I expect it to fix many of its glaring issues; toning down CC, adding many more housing spaces, shrinking ocean safe zones, creating the potential for more asset loss, expanding the player city zones, and fixing and reimplementing the siege system. All of these things can be done before release, especially at the rate XL games dished out content in its CBs.
Those are the big things. Fix those, and you have a genre dictating MMO.
Let's internet
Wow a balanced and realistic opinion, sorry you don't belong here at MMORPG.com... j/k
In seriousness, I very much agree with you plus the game has been out less than 2 months and XL Games has been making changes on a weekly basis. By the time it releases here, a lot of this will be smoothed out even though honestly I would take it as is in it's current state because you will still have far far more to do than any other MMO out there atm and to come.
Glad to see we're on the same page Victor - I know many are super excited to learn more and dive deep into the world of ArcheAge, but trust that we're taking the time to do things right
Though I totally agree - the proof is in the pudding, so in that case I look forward to us all enjoying a metric ton of tasty pudding, haha!
And while I might not post here that often, I do read. Thanks for everyones continued thoughts and enthusiasm, really excited to get the ball rolling.
Have a wonderful weekend all,
James "Elrar" Nichols, Community Manager
James "Elrar" Nichols
Community Manager
Trion Worlds, Inc.
www.archeagegame.com
www.facebook.com/archeage
www.twitter.com/ArcheAge
I can understand why Trion isn't saying anything right now. It's just too early and they are busy with Defiance. But I personally feel they need to start soon, because of what the writer was talking about. There is a huge stigma against Korean MMO's, so most of the western audience won't even give AA a shot and just go with TESO. Trion needs to communicate and tell people that it's ok to play AA.
Another thing is this game tries to appeal to everyone, but it's just not working. The PVP's are upset that there are way too many restrictions, the PVE'ers are upset that there is too much forced PVP. Harcores complain there there is nothing to do, and casuals complain that the game is too hardcore...lol
This is just a suggestion but I think for AA to be successful here in the west, there needs to be different server types. That way people can enjoy what they like the most.
There should be 3 server types :
PVP hardcore Servers - No safezones, Full loot, bigger grind. A place where hardcore players can lick their chops.
Normal PVP Servers - Like what the ruleset is now in Korea. For those that like a bit of PVP and danger.
PVE Servers - A place where casual carbears and RP'ers can go to enjoy the world and not have to worry about being forced into PVP.
I don't think its a race between teso and AA at all, Trion wants to do it right and understands the western audience and wants to be sure they do it right when they do make an annoucement (Witch I think will be failry soon).
I am a PvPer and from what I have read and seen I am not upset about PvP at all, in fact in this early of a stage I think they have a jump on anything out there now. Unfortunetly there is a fine balance between "hardcore" and "casual" gamers, but a game like AA can be as hardcore or casual as you would like depending on how much time you decide to put into it.
Essentially the game doesn't "try" to appeal to everyone, in reality if they take thier time (as they are) to do this right they WILL apeal to everyone.
This game has Huge potential and Trion should not be racing for throne from teso..... literally two completley different games. Both of witch i will presumebly purchase, but only one has the potential to keep me a paying customer for years to come.
Normal PVP Servers - Like what the ruleset is now in Korea. For those that like a bit of PVP and danger.
this is my type
the original is better...
Hm, this is a reaction to the bad "review" of the game where one dude played up to level 20 and listed all the things he didn't like
and forgot to add
a massive list of cool things to do that you CANNOT do in any other MMORPG.
I'm quite fed up with the negativity of people who either didn't try the game at all or tried it for a very limited time.
I know it isn't all roses (can't be when the game released clearly in unfinished state for whatever reason) but it's still BIGGEST potential in mmorpg gaming for this year IMHO.
NEW IDEAS that can refresh the STALE state of MMORPGs
I don't agree when people say that it's a race between TESO and AA, they're fundementally different games. I think anyone who is expecting TESO to have all that much sandbox included will be disappointed, it looks like a fantastic game but it won't be the sandbox Elder Scrolls game people may have assumed earlier on.
I also don't agree with the guy saying that they need to ignore the themepark/instant gratification people, either though. I'm a fan of both sandbox and themepark games and many people I play with want the hybrid game that AA has always been intended to be. We have done the lopsided approach tens of dozens of times over all these years. We've had the pure themepark games, we've had the pure sandbox games and in the end both leave more to be desired due to the lack of a strong presence in both elements. You cannot have a massively popular game that is really grindy, and feels way too much like a job and a chore in order to progress and see the fruits of your labors. That's not saying you shouldn't have to exhert some effort, but it should be FUN effort and not "let's make this a giant pain that bores and frustrates people to tears all the time" because you're not going to keep all that many players that way, especially in a game that is supposed to function like a living/breathing world as worlds require inhabitants, AKA people. Otherwise you're just left with a sparse community and a game that feels like it's in limbo all of the time.
ArcheAge needs BOTH the themepark and the sandbox and BOTH elements need to be equally strong and fluidly work together in order to avoid the sense of disconnection and fragmentation between the two.
I agree with sh0x when it comes to the siege system, CC, and housing spaces in particular, these are things that people are frustrated with in Korea. And with Victor on combat, it just isn't engaging enough at this point, it feels lazily put together and it very well may of been since the game is such an ambitious game.
Lastly, I hope Trion stays very true to the story and lore of the world and it's cultures. Too many port overs end up completely sucking the life out of the original stories and lore and making them feel soulless. A heavy emphesis on building the game world, story, and lore goes a long way in enriching any game/IP, ArcheAge has some very exotic and unique cultures in it, and I don't want to lose any of that, or for the importance in these areas to be brushed off to the side. Archeage is a 2013 release and potentially a 2014 release everywhere else, it needs to feel like one and these are all things that are extremely important in this new generation of MMORPG's.
agree
The definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.
Hero Evermore
Guild Master of Dragonspine since 1982.
Playing Path of Exile and deeply in love with it.
This game has so much to live up to, noticable by the many Archeage avatars popping up around this site from posters. A little bit of advice.. it will not and can never be the saviour of a supposed failing genre and if you think it wil be you will be severely disappointed.
Personally I hope Trion just translate the game and do not attempt to Westernise it.
This doom and gloom thread was brought to you by Chin Up the new ultra high caffeine soft drink for gamers who just need that boost of happiness after a long forum session.
the only change from the korean version im interested in is the generic questing system. TERA is a good example that no matter how good your game is, if you add that horrible decade old questing system your game automatically feels old and generic, which is the last thing you want your game to be compared with as a developer.
I 100% agree with you! TERA is the main game I was referring to when I said the western developer/publisher/whatever sucked the life out of it, but their questing system was always old and generic. Extremely, extremely boring.
I'd be breaking NDA of another game if I said what it was, but this specific upcoming game that I speak of has almost the same old/generic questing system but they've actually had the dialogue in the text box voiced over (not all that many fancy dialogue trees, but additional conversation/insight options are available for people that want it) and the best part about it is you can accept the quest and just keep playing if you want, and you have the option for the voice-over/dialogue to finish playing while you're already off doing the quests. It was really refreshing, because like many people I LOATHE the old fashioned text-box OK/Decline quest system from the stone age and have been happy to see so many new games working to upgrade and revamp that portion of MMORPGs. They should feel like RPG's in this area of content and maybe for games that are being brought over here that already have an established (outdated) questing system could recieve an upgrade like that which will make it much more immerssive and modern.
ArchAge is an Asian game. Sure. But it's not your typical cartoony Aion / Tera. It's more of a "Age of Conan detail meets Asian".
However, they are certainly going to have to toughen up the males. They look too dang sassy. Fighting hordes of evil is just lame when the hero has perfectly plucked eyebrows and Beiber-like hair.
How can infomation be hard to come by? The game is already out, the gaming community is international. Find some Korean players who can talk English, both still playing and those who have left Archage. From that you should be able to do a decent review now.
My concern is this is going to be launched and covered on sites like this as if it is a new game, it is not, do some digging.