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Dark Age of Camelot: Labyrinth of the Minotaur Q&A

EA Mythic's Director of Community Relations Sanya Thomas recently sat down with us for an interview on their recently announced Dark Age of Camelot expansion, Labyrinth of the Minotaur. Unfortunately, there were a few questions she was not yet ready to answer fully. Nonetheless, for those that cannot wait, here is what we learned.

image MMORPG.com: The press release mentions Minotaur holding a two-handed weapon in a single hand. From a gameplay perspective, how do you intend to balance this?

Sanya Thomas: I put in the grab bag Friday that we have some ideas we think are terrific, but after five years of this, we're very aware that our best plans may not survive beta. Sorry not to be more specific, but we're at a point where we need to do play testing before commenting further.

MMORPG.com: What has the EA deal meant to the evolution of this expansion’s focus and design?

Sanya Thomas: We hired more developers. The people we already had on the project can now focus on specifics, while the new people can get up to speed with live game improvements and patches. But honestly, EA's presence will be felt mainly on things behind the scenes - distribution, etc.

You can read more here.

Dana Massey
Formerly of MMORPG.com
Currently Lead Designer for Bit Trap Studios

Comments

  • jmillerdlsjmillerdls Member Posts: 42
    It'd be great if the EA lady would actually wait until she could say anything before agreeing to do an interview.  Waste.

  • XyangXyang Member Posts: 216
    Yeah no shit... Didn't learn anything new there.

    What deserves to be done, deserves to be "well" done...

  • checkthis500checkthis500 Member Posts: 1,236


    Originally posted by jmillerdls
    It'd be great if the EA lady would actually wait until she could say anything before agreeing to do an interview.  Waste.

    *Mythic* lady.  She's been with them forever.  And if mmorpg.com says "hey we'd like to interview you" why would she say "no"?

    ---------------------------------------------
    I live to fight, and fight to live.

  • HocheteHochete Member CommonPosts: 1,210
    Sounds interesting(ish)... but certainly not enough to drag back many customers.

    Why are they still even bothering with DAoC? It's replacement has already been announced in the form of WAR, they might aswell just leave it to die a slow, dignified death.


  • HellFragHellFrag Member Posts: 14
    Originally posted by Hohbein
    Sounds interesting(ish)... but certainly not enough to drag back many customers.

    Why
    are they still even bothering with DAoC? It's replacement has already
    been announced in the form of WAR, they might aswell just leave it to
    die a slow, dignified death.







    i know 15,000 people that would disagree


  • GorukhaGorukha Member Posts: 1,441
    15000 people isn't exactly a healthy population considering DaoC used to sport alot more. Oh and DaoC's replacement exists and it's called woW.

    It's better be hated for who you are, than loved for who you aren't.
    image

  • GonodilGonodil Member Posts: 335


    Originally posted by Gorukha
    15000 people isn't exactly a healthy population considering DaoC used to sport alot more. Oh and DaoC's replacement exists and it's called woW.


    Yeah, it would be if WoW's PvE and PvP didnt suck so bad.

    Don't know what you kids see in that game.

  • frankyz669frankyz669 Member Posts: 50


    Originally posted by Gorukha
    15000 people isn't exactly a healthy population considering DaoC used to sport alot more. Oh and DaoC's replacement exists and it's called woW.


    I have a distinct feeling that the subscriber base is slightly larger than just 15,000. 

    Also, WoW - while it is a rather good game -  just does not stack up when it comes to PvP and RvR.  It definitely is no way a replacement to DAoC.

    As for WAR - that's at least 12 to 18 months away.  In this industry, that seems to be a lifetime.  If they didn't add content to DAoC and make it interesting to the subscriber base it wouldn't be a slow dignified death.

    It would be a quick bloody death. 

    I have a feeling that when WAR comes out DAoC will take yet another hit, and if WAR is everything that it's supposed to be with PvP and RvR which Mythic has done the best in MMORPG's - then you might see DAoC go to the wayside. 

    Until then, you should enjoy this game.  It's still the best PvP/RvR out there. 

    "I have live my life by these nine simple words: It sounded like a good idea at the time."
    --Livingston Taylor

  • sairuscosairusco Member Posts: 133


    Originally posted by Gorukha
    15000 people isn't exactly a healthy population considering DaoC used to sport alot more. Oh and DaoC's replacement exists and it's called woW.



    Well imo wow is much more limited then daoc (no housing, less races & classes etc just a mmorpg for starters and a decent one) and beside that wow is entirely drawn in comic style while daoc is more realistic. I would rather say WAR and wow are related but not daoc and wow (at least graphically).

    Before reading the interview I knew there wouldnt be too much info in it, I already knew all the meaty parts of info would be served at the Las Vegas roundtable, so no suprise there. (It only seems fair to tell the most dedicated people to a game the first info imo)

    I just hope there will be some engine improvements in the expansion, the graphics of DAOC are very nice in general, but when playing the game this game still feels sort of clumsy (traveling on horse back or boat for example, it moves in straight lines and the animation is far from smooth)
  • XyangXyang Member Posts: 216


    Originally posted by Gorukha
    15000 people isn't exactly a healthy population considering DaoC used to sport alot more. Oh and DaoC's replacement exists and it's called woW.

    MMOGCHART.COM FTW... Try to get some relevant information next time instead of throwing stupid numbers in the air. The population of Daoc is still over 100k, so their work for a new expansion is totaly justified for the current loyal fan base, no matter if that brings new people or not.

    What deserves to be done, deserves to be "well" done...

  • barakbg1barakbg1 Member Posts: 3
    its a pretty cool game realy worth to try it :-)
  • Seeker728Seeker728 Member UncommonPosts: 179

    Actually, this press release surprised me, mainly because with WAR coming out, I thought DAoC would gasp it's last final breath and be done.  DAoC has lost a great many subscribers from it's debacle of a xpac (Trials of Atlantis) which took the game in a direction few wanted to see the game go.  I had left DAoC late in 2003, the TOA xpac and the many nerfs my faction had endured had pretty much destroyed any hope of enjoyment I would get from the game.   Not to get embroiled in a debate of what needed nerfing and what didn't, or that TOA xpac was the best thing since sliced bread;  the point is it doesn't matter, my feelings are what they are as these changes impacted upon me and pretty much destroyed my enjoyment of the game. 

    I took a 8 month break and I went back briefly for a two week trial period to my server of Guinevere and found it a ghost town, whatever my feelings might've been about DAoC, it seemed that enough other players for their own reasons, felt much the same way.  And it wasn't just my server that had half the population it used to, several others did as well.  Then WoW came out, and I've pretty much stayed with it.  For a while I'd check back with DAoC to see how it was doing, nostalgia was always strong within me about DAoC while playign WoW because DAoC did PvP far better than WoW did.  I also liked the whole RvR playstyle of DAoC which WoW with it's 2 factions still doesn't even come close to being able to touch.  I play WoW now, I have my issues with it, and I'll be first in line to agree that it's PvP is half baked and it's fixation on 40 man raids was detrimental.  However, Blizz is responding with changes to the PvP system and the xpac does seem to intend to address almost all of the ciriticisms I've had of the game. Whether or not they effectively address them will remain to be seen. 

    So now I see this press release and though it's vague and doesn't have a whole lot of information, it did make me raise an eyebrow and get curious.  Something that DAoC hasn't been able to stir in me for a very long time.  Whether or not it manages to lure me back is unlikely, there are still a fair bit of things that I don't wish to deal with, the sterility of the character models for example (I swear the character models were designed by some rabid extreme left wing feminazi) as well as having this feeling that when WAR comes out, DAoC will still wind up gasping, choking, and dying.  WAR looks to do everything that DAoC did, only better, as well as everything WoW tried to do, only better.  I know my perception on that is flawed...there is no way to tell if WAR will be better till it's actually played by me and expeirenced, but none the less, the effort that DAoC is seeing from the developers does actually surprise me and makes me wonder about it's profitibility being much higher than what I had thought it to be given the low subscriber numbers I see these days.  Just goes to show, one doesn't always know nearly as much as one thinks one does eh?

    Even peace may be purchased at too high a price, and the only time you are completely safe is when you lie in the grave.

  • GonodilGonodil Member Posts: 335


     the sterility of the character models for example (I swear the character models were designed by some rabid extreme left wing feminazi)

    Obviously all female armor must look like a metal version of a bikini, with D cups and nipple impressions.

    So pathetic kids will have something to drool at.

    Also guessing you played midgard....the overpowered whiny realm, where "fun" equals radar, speed hacks and having classes be tons better than any other realm.

    So sorry your fun was taken away!

  • ArawniteArawnite Member Posts: 163


    Originally posted by Gonodil


    Also guessing you played midgard....the overpowered whiny realm, where "fun" equals radar, speed hacks and having classes be tons better than any other realm.
    So sorry your fun was taken away!

    Um..all realms used radar and speed hacks, each realm had it's superior classes. The only one that seems to be whining is you...
  • toriatoria Member Posts: 75
    have played daoc off and on for about 4 years, and have neevr found a game that I really like except this one,  even though daoc has problems I still go back log in everyday and play it, my friends are there which is mostly why, and really what game doesnt have problems.

    Looking forward to the new expansion there doing seems kind of neat reguardless if people dont like the game or havent really tried it, i will always play it for the style of play.

    although the server i play doesnt have rvr, my server is unique where you can go to all three realms, do lots of things thats why i play.



    Playing daoc and loving it totally..
    have Played
    Eq,Eq2,WoW,Coh,Cov,
    and other..
    which i have forgotten..

  • EffectEffect Member UncommonPosts: 949

    Originally posted by Xyang

    MMOGCHART.COM FTW... Try to get some relevant information next time instead of throwing stupid numbers in the air. The population of Daoc is still over 100k, so their work for a new expansion is totaly justified for the current loyal fan base, no matter if that brings new people or not.

    If that's the case then I wish they would fix or change Camelot Herald. Those numbers on there do not inspire confidence in the game or it's population.

  • WolfmeisterWolfmeister Member UncommonPosts: 50

    problem with daoc for me isnt the pve content but rather they allowed the uber groups to have extreme power, stack that with hibernias stuns, chanter bomb groups and bainshees... along with the best tanks, similar capabilities for CC and support... and you have an unstoppable realm.

    In 2 years the scales have been tipped way too much toward the hib side and mythic hasn't fixed it yet.

    Even if they did it still doenst fix the fact that ubergroups can instapwn entire realms, which of course is just stupid.

    So while DaoC potentially has the best pvp around, it doesnt, it sucks instead.

    We are the Founding Fathers in this virtual world in which we create. As such it seems we must do what our Founding Fathers had to do.. in order to let our fellow gamers have a fair shake.

  • DwarfDwarf Member Posts: 1



    Originally posted by Gorukha
    15000 people isn't exactly a healthy population considering DaoC used to sport alot more. Oh and DaoC's replacement exists and it's called woW.



    Wow can't hold a candle to DAOC per TOA. PvP Blowes and no End Game unless you love raiding. It's more atune to EQ with mindless PvP then to DAOC
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