IGN Exclusive Interview - Part 2

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May 05, 2008 - The Warring States period in ancient Chinese history began around 475 BC with the death of the king of the Zhou, the last ruler of the Shang Dynasty. As the name indicates, the next two and a half centuries were marked by almost continuous armed conflict as a number of feudal realms sought to expand their influence by defeating and annexing each other. However, there was more than just bloodshed. Interestingly, the turmoil allowed for social changes. In addition, philosophy flourished, with many new schools of thought arising. Of course, the more powerful nations gradually conquered their smaller neighbors. From about 338 to 288, a time of more rapid consolidation took place that saw the formation of rival Eastern and Western empires. From that point, the hostilities increased until the former emerged triumphant; in 221, the country was finally unified.

Object Software's Phoenix Dynasty Online takes place during the later part of this period, in a gameworld based on this historical context and also incorporating elements from myth and legend. The Zhou Emperor sits on the throne in Sun City, although he's a figurehead with no concrete power. His warlords not only ignore him, but also plot to take his place. When he disappears, nothing stands in their way except each other. The colorful massively multiplayer title, which launched in China in 2006, is currently available in North America on a free to play basis. With an expansion having recently been added, it seemed like a good time to delve into the project by questioning Marketing Director Engputer Young and Product Manager Danny Qin of publisher Ingle Games together with one of the team leaders, Manager of Development Zhang Boqiao.

Includes seven exclusive screenshots

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Jonric: Does Phoenix Dynasty Online impose penalties when your character dies, and do they differ if it happens in PvP?

Danny Qin: When your character dies, the penalty is that you will lose some money, experience and gold. These are the same whether you are killed by the monsters or other players. However, if your name has become red and you get PKed, you will lose your equipment, so don't be too naughty in the game. We set it like this because want players to challenge the equivalent monsters, and not to abuse PK.

You can make your items using different levels of materials. You can also use the five element theory when crafting so that you get pieces with the attributes you want.

Jonric: Can we expect to see and interact with many non-enemy NPCs? What kinds of roles do they play, and how important are they?

Danny Qin: Yes you can. There are over a couple of hundred types of NPCs. Many provide various services for the players, such as pharmacy, blacksmith and warehousing, and also fulfill many quest-related functions. There are also some special ones, such as the Mysterious Merchant who sells very unique items.

In addition to these neutral NPCs, there are also some very interesting ones that take sides. For example, there are those that help to guard a city in a guild war, or act as spies for certain states.

 

 

Preparing for battle 

 

Jonric: Does the game have any kind of system for mounts and other types of pets? What varieties are available?

Danny Qin: There are two kinds of pets; one is mounts, and the other is creatures summoned to fight in battles. The former are available for all classes. They're designed according to the Four Symbols in traditional Chinese legend: the Azure Dragon, Vermillion Bird, White Tiger and Black Tortoise. Horses are the most common type, and players can get one as soon as level 5. Mounts have unique fighting skills and special attributes as well as movement speed bonus. Most can be obtained through normal play.

Priests have the ability to possess other pets. Summoning them is a skill unique to this class. It's acquired by completing a special quest, and upgraded by obtaining certain skills book and enough magic arts. Each element (metal, wood, water, fire, earth) is associated with two specific types of pets. For instance, a metal priest can summon the Tiger and Golden Ape. It's possible to use two pets at once; a character's capacity increases automatically as it advances.

Jonric: What major activities are there aside from combat? Is crafting important, and how feasible is it to specialize in it?

Danny Qin: The major activity aside from combat is item crafting. There are four types players can choose - blacksmithing, armor crafting, jewel crafting and leatherworking. When you don't feel like fighting, you can set up a booth in the main city and level up your skills by making things for other players.

If you don't like grinding and leveling, you can train your character to be a crafting master. You will be highly respected in the game since other players cannot purchase comparable items from the vendors.

 

 

Crafting interface 

Jonric: Do players have access to a broad assortment of weapons, armor and other items? Is it possible to upgrade them? What are some cool examples?

Danny Qin: Phoenix Dynasty online has a large variety of equipment. The better the gear you have, the more powerful your character is. You cannot upgrade individual pieces, but you can make your items using different levels of materials. You can also use the five element theory when crafting so that you get pieces with the attributes you want.

I think currently coolest items are the wedding clothes. They are really amazing stuff, and a lot of players are eager to get them.

Jonric: Since Phoenix Dynasty Online uses the optional purchase business model, how do the items for sale differ from those available through play?

Engputer Young: We know the importance of a balanced economy. So, the items we pick for sale cannot influence it too much. Equipment from the cash shop and the gear available through play determine a player's power, which means you need them both. Besides that, we also sell some surprising things, for example, a panda mask.

 

 

Mount Tai as sunset

Jonric: How does your magic system function? What are the major differences in this aspect of your game design?

Danny Qin: Each class can use various kinds of magical skills. They range from common ones to sub-skills, from major to minor. They can be acquired from skill books and quests. Once a particular one is learned, you just need to use mana to cast it. You can level them up by collecting more books to learn from.

The game will always keep you busy and always bring you challenges. You can start guild wars, do team and guild quests, craft items, refine materials and so on. Our GMs frequently hold activities for those in different time zones.

The biggest difference from the other games is the element aspect. You need to gain magic arts to level up your associated skills. Each element has its own unique ones, so players have a lot of variations available.

Jonric: What's notable about the quests in Phoenix Dynasty Online? Are there various types? Do you offer any as part of GM-driven events?

Danny Qin: Quests are all designed based on actual history and legends. There are various types related to states, skills, guilds, teams, collections, errands and so on. They offer different rewards ranging from experience, gold, equipment and materials to special titles. Most repeatable assignments are at least partly randomized so players will not feel like they are repeating them. We will continuously add more optional tasks for high-level characters to keep the system fresh.

We have already held several kinds of successful GM events successfully, such as stakes on GMs, Hide and Seek, First Wedding Ceremony, crafting contests in the game, and writing contests in our forum. We will continue to do these, and will add more to entertain our players.

 

 

Snow town 

Jonric: How important is short-term grouping? What is the maximum number of characters that can be in a party?

Danny Qin: Teaming up is always quite advantageous in the game, and can bring extra experience to the players so the whole group will level faster. The maximum number is 10; this is based on the leader's reputation. We strongly suggest that players group up to undertake the quests since the most require teamwork.

 

 

Grouping 

Jonric: What level of technology do you employ for your client, and also for your servers? What is your capacity per cluster?

Zhang Boqiao: The game uses a 2.5D graphics engine that most hardware configuration can run smoothly. Since a computer with quite low specifications is sufficient, a lot of players call it a laptop MMORPG. 2.5D means players don't have the functionality to of shift the visual angle; however, we use a 45 degrees view that's comfortable for them.

We have very mature server technology from many years of programming it. One server can hold 800 to 1,000 concurrent users while maintaining smooth communication of data for them all.

Jonric: What would you like readers who aren't members of your community to know about your goals and efforts in this area?

Engputer Young: We are trying to build a friendly, dynamic, supportive community. The players' initiative and active participation are greatly appreciated; therefore we have a where they can help each other with quests, share experience, trade in-game items and talk about their hobbies, and where we can listen to their ideas, hold some forum activities, and have new bugs reported.

We also building an MSN community group. It works like a chat room, and helps to makes our overall communication more effective. Also, there are some guilds that have their own websites and use voice chat tools for guild wars and team quests. In this respect, we are not alone in building the community; the players will also help.

 

 

Duel 

Jonric: What are the key directions in which we can expect Phoenix Dynasty Online to evolve over the coming months and the longer term?

Engputer Young: To integrate lots more fun stuff into Phoenix Dynasty Online is the key direction. We just released our first expansion pack. It lets players get married, and adds advanced quests plus a refining system. In the next one, we will raise the level cap from 100 to 120, bring instances into the game, and release a new life skill, master and apprentice system.

In the third one, we will implement gameplay more related to items, such as legendary artifacts, creation formulas and a decomposition scheme. The good news is that since updated versions of Phoenix Dynasty Online have already come out in Chinea, we won't need to wait too long for them.

Jonric: Why do you seem to feel this title will be especially appealing to the serious online gamers here in the west?

Engputer Young: Phoenix Dynasty Online is well designed, as we mentioned. This game is a really good choice for hardcore gamers who like to challenge themselves, especially for those who love to solo. I bet they will need to team up with others. They also love to learn new things, so the five element system will give them a whole new concept they'll need to study, remember and use in training their characters.

The game will always keep you busy and always bring you challenges. You can start guild wars, do team and guild quests, craft items, refine materials and so on. Our GMs frequently hold activities for those in different time zones. So, you will never have to play alone. As for soloing, if you can do it, you are really hardcore!

 

 

Five element fairy realm 

Jonric: Are there other features or elements you'd like to mention, or any concluding comments you'd care to express?

Engputer Young: I think players need to download this game and explore it by themselves to see more of its features. We invite everyone to come and try it out, and we welcome all kinds of suggestions. Our community is a mature one, and all the players love to help the newcomers out. I bet you will get to know many friends here, even some lifelong ones. So come and enjoy Phoenix Dynasty Online today.

Since Phoenix Dynasty Online is available in North American as a free to play release, anyone interested in exploring its features can do so pretty easily. As for what's available to see and do within the historically- and mythologically- themed gameworld, we'd like to express our appreciation to Engputer Young and Danny Qin form regional publisher Ingle Games and to Zhang Boqiao from developer Object Software for telling us in this informative interview.