Asheron's Call 2: Fallen Kings Updated Preview

The last time we checked in with all of you about the upcoming online RPG sequel Asheron's Call 2: Fallen Kings, we went over the different races that will be playable in the game, as well as some of the skills. We were fortunate enough to recently be paid a visit by members of Asheron's Call 2's dedicated production team, who not only demonstrated some of the more-advanced areas in the game for us, but also gave us a sneak peek at the upcoming beta event that's currently under way. According to producers Ken Troop and Ken Karl, one of the most important things that the production team is trying to achieve is really giving players a sense that they're important in the game's wide world of Dereth, and that their actions have a definite impact upon what happens in that world. Judging from what we've seen so far of the game's advanced areas, dungeons (known as "vaults" in Asheron's Call 2), and the way that the game's powerful graphics engine can change the appearance of the landscape on the fly, it looks like Asheron's Call 2 may very well accomplish this goal.

Confused yet? If you're not familiar with online role-playing games, you may not know that Asheron's Call 2 is an online role-playing game, and that much like other online role-playing games, it lets you create a character from a fantasy race and then go off and explore a colorful virtual world online with hundreds, and sometimes even thousands, of other players just like you. Until now, the problem with games like this is the fact that, when you play them, you're just another face in the crowd. In other words, instead of being an important figure in an overarching story that unfolds over the course of your adventures, you'll often be just another wizard or knight, along with thousands of other wizards and knights.

But the developers of Asheron's Call 2 are taking plenty of measures to make sure this doesn't happen in their game. For starters, they're making absolutely sure that players don't all end up doing the exact same thing or following the path of least resistance by, for instance, repeatedly hunting down the a particular type of monster that drops the best loot when defeated. The developers can do this by carefully monitoring how many players are in each area of the game, what level they are, and what they're doing. If players get bottlenecked in a certain area because, for instance, they all want to use the same resource forge to craft items like weapons and armor, the developers can build up another forge nearby to help keep players moving.

But that's just one example--the developers want to make sure players aren't all doing the same, boring thing, but they also want to make sure players have some really interesting things to do. That's why the developers also plan to use Asheron's Call 2's powerful graphics engine to literally change the face of the land, from a smoldering ruin to a thriving community. When players first begin the game, they'll find that the fair world of Dereth (and each of its cities) has been laid to waste by the forces of unknown attackers, and, if players so choose, they'll be able to investigate the source these attacks, as well as help rebuild and resettle the world's ruined towns by reviving them as centers of trade. The developers have already implemented crafting forges that will change over time with use. That is, if many players constantly use a crafting forge to create weapons and armor, over time, the forge will not only grow more powerful and more effective, but it'll also grow larger and emanate powerful magical energy that will be indicated by colorful particle and lighting effects, while a forge that never gets used will become broken-down and dilapidated. The team eventually plans to build in this sort of functionality for other buildings in the game, allowing players to more directly help rebuild the world of Dereth.

A Do-It-Yourself Kingdom

Of course, for those who are less interested in home improvements and more interested in high adventure, there are the vaults of Dereth--huge underground dungeons that will contain great treasure guarded by fearsome monsters, as well as new information about the game's story and clues about the next steps that eager young adventurers should take in their quests (shown in a brief cinematic scene that will play after the vault has been conquered). The game has three major playable races--humans, lugians, and tumeroks--and players of each race will eventually discover through their time in the vaults that their ancestors were all assaulted in their respective homelands by mysterious foes. Players who want to seek out the source of their ancestors' problems will be able to follow the game's story by conquering vaults in succession. And, as it turns out, the production team plans to constantly add lots of new areas to the game after release, including new vaults with new quests and clues.

Then again, there are also players who may wish to seek power and wealth for themselves. As in the original Asheron's Call game, one of the best ways to have a network of powerful allies is to join an allegiance--a player organization that bears some resemblance to a medieval lord-and-vassal system. But in Asheron's Call 2, players can also choose an alignment by siding with one of the three major kingdoms of Dereth: Order, Shadow, and Dominion, which correspond roughly to good, evil, and neutral, respectively. Belonging to an alignment will not only open up new quests, but it will also put your character on the battle lines for player vs. player (PvP) conflicts. Unlike the original Asheron's Call, which had a single, free-form PvP server, Asheron's Call 2 will have safe areas, in which no player combat is allowed, and contested areas, in which players from opposing alignments can settle their differences. But the developers apparently weren't satisfied to simply designate a few PvP areas and leave the rest up to players, since many of Asheron's Call 2's contested wilderness areas will contain valuable resource mines that can provide high-quality raw materials for craftsmen. Keep in mind that Asheron's Call 2 won't actually have any regular storekeepers--all items will be either found from monsters or crafted by players, so taking and controlling mines can really help the standing of an enterprising group of players. But what do you do when you need to go to sleep for the evening and leave your mine unguarded? Fortunately, Asheron's Call 2's mines will be defended by powerful guardian creatures that, once defeated, will be converted to your cause and will defend your mines for you, even in your absence.

These and other features are already being implemented into the final phases of the game's beta test, which is currently under way. Currently, the development team plans to run a story-driven quest in the beta that involves capturing powerful magic shrines that, like mines in the final game, are defended by guardian monsters. We've also already taken some advance looks at some of the most fearsome and powerful monsters in the game, including tyrants--gigantic, reptilian creatures that will require a team effort from powerful, organized adventurers to defeat. Judging from what we've seen, players who don't care to trouble themselves with stories or quests and simply want to create and develop powerful characters will also have their work cut out for them.

Asheron's Call 2's many disparate elements really seem to be coming together, and if what we've seen is any indication, the final game will offer players a huge amount of variety. If players wish to simply go out, kill monsters, gain an experience level, and then quit, they can do that. But if they're looking for alternatives, they'll be able to craft powerful items, explore ancient dungeons, battle for turf in player vs. player battles, and participate in the game's overall story, which will change on a regular basis, just as it did in the original Asheron's Call. And the development team has plenty of other plans in place, including faster travel on mounted creatures, item storage banks, seasonal weather changes, and branching story arcs in which different players on different servers can actually experience different outcomes to the same major storyline. We'll see how the final game turns out when it's released in November.