Disciples II - Q&A

Disciples II: Dark Prophecy Q&A With Danny Bélanger, Designer, Disciples II

GameSpot: Will Disciples II allow for larger adventuring parties (more than four to six)?

Danny Bélanger: We considered increasing the size of party from six to eight units, but finally decided against it, because we thought it would decrease the RPG feel of the game. We also feared that increasing the amount of units would unbalance the game, take lots of time to calibrate, and add little to gameplay.

GS: Will Disciples II's units have more than one ability in combat? For instance, instead of clerics only being able to heal, will they also be able to attack undead enemies?

DB: There will be many new attack types in Disciples II, some units will now be able to poison, summon, transform, change form... As for each individual unit, they still have one attack in battle. Since we have over 200 units in the game, we wanted to keep the battles as simple as possible for the player, since the minor attack would have been a lot weaker than the major one.

One major addition is that leaders will have the possibility to use items in battle creating more variety in their attacks; a fighter leader could use an item that casts a spell for example, replacing his actual attack.

GS: Will the sequel's technology tree be revisited and rebalanced? Previously, there were choices that didn't seem completely balanced; for instance, there didn't seem to be much reason for the Legion of the Damned to upgrade to templars (who would get wards) instead of berserkers/anti-paladins (who were much tougher and seemed generally more effective in combat) or to witches (who used fear, so that you wouldn't gain many experience points from combat) instead of sorcerers (who could become much more powerful).

DB: All the branches have been revised and rebalanced. We are adding 50% more units to each branch of every race and considering some ideas to make each branch more attractive. For example, the witch will have a new attack type more suited for battle, she will transform enemy units into inoffensive creatures. We are looking at removing maximums for unit upgrades, which means that the Dark Knights could still gain experience after reaching the last unit in the branch.

GS: Will the sequel's technology tree perhaps be more open-ended? Will there be many more branches in the technology tree; that is, many more choices in the sort of upgrades available (instead of just witch hunters or knights, something like witch hunters, knights, mercenaries, or cavaliers)? Or will players be able to recruit units from multiple paths (getting both witch-hunters and knights, for instance) of upgrades? Or both?

DB: As I mentioned earlier, there will be 50% more units in the branches, increasing the amount of upgrades for each branch. There will be lots of upgrades possible, adding lots of replay value in the game. For example, we are adding the Elementalist to the Empire's mage branch, and he will summon Air Elementals in battle. We felt strongly about retaining the exclusive concept in the upgrade branches while increasing the amount of possible upgrades for the units. The exclusive branching is one of our major strategy elements.

GS: Will Disciples II have thieves? If so, what kind of new abilities will thieves have?

DB: Of course, thieves were an important part of Disciples: Sacred Lands and we have many ideas to improve the concept. We are presently looking into a couple of possibilities to make the thief even more interesting.

GS: How will magic items (artifacts, spellbooks, banners) be handled? Will using them become "free," instead of requiring a skill (such as artifact lore)? Will they be retuned/rebalanced (in the previous games, banners - which granted bonuses to all party members - seemed more advantageous than artifacts and spellbooks - which only conferred bonuses to the leader unit)?

DB: The leaders will require abilities to use items as in Disciples: Sacred Lands. Each leader has a "paperdoll" management system that increases the amount of items a leader can possess. The player will be able to use artifacts, banners, tomes, boots, potions and new item types specifically for battle. There are 2 new "slots" specifically for battle items. There are three new item types that can be used in battle: potions, for boosts, healing, and reviving; the other types create spell-like effects (imagine summoning a creature in the midst of battle).

GS: What are the new playable factions in Disciples II, if there are any?

DB: The four original races are present in Disciples II: Dark Prophecy and we have added six new races. These races are made up of the neutral units and are "half-playable" - which means that they do not have a capital but they have their own AI. The player chooses a race from the four original, but during the game, a party of goblins could join your race. This same goblin party could then move beside a party of orcs or trolls and not engage in combat because they are from the same race.

GS: Will all of the units from the first game appear in the sequel? How many new units will there be?

DB: All the original units will appear in the sequel and we have added another 50. There are more than 200 units in Disciples II: Dark Prophecy.

GS: Will there be new types of spells? Will you be able to cast spells in combat?

DB: There will be new spells in Disciples II. New "strategic" spells have been added and items that use mana in battle. What is unique about Disciples II: Dark Prophecy is that a leader can use items in battle. For example, if a leader's regular attack is useless against a werewolf, the leader can use a lightning wand against the werewolf.

GS: Will there be new building types and more building options in your castle?

DB: All the original buildings are available in Disciples II and we've added more to increase the variety of units the player can upgrade to.

GS: Will there be additional victory objectives?

DB: This is where Disciples II really shines. We have included a complete set of objectives in the game. The objectives are a sub-class of our event structure. This means that the quests are more dynamic and alive. For example, you meet a character that offers you an item in exchange for allowing them to join you, later on something may happen and they may betray you. The events provide us with an almost endless array of possibilities to create interesting quests. The possible objectives are endless: Escort a messenger, find an item, capture a city...

GS: What's the plot of Disciples II? How will the campaign be structured?

DB: The story of Disciples II: Dark Prophecy happens around a decade after the original game. Each race has an individual story and a campaign of seven quests each, almost twice as many as in Disciples: Sacred Lands. Each race is confronted with the Dark Prophecy and must vanquish this new menace.

GS: What is the artist Patrick Lambert's role in the project? Will he be providing all of the new art for the game? Does he design the units himself, or does he work with existing designs?

DB: Patrick Lambert is the conceptual artist for Disciples II and provides all the 2D color art for the game. Patrick creates all the character designs and has come up with 200 new character concepts for Disciples II.

GS: What do you believe to be the best new feature of Disciples II?

DB: There are many improvements in Disciples II; the battle system, neutral race turns and events. I would have to say that the main map will seem more alive with the moving neutrals and the events. There will be many more surprises on the main map, creating a world that's even more dynamic than the first.

GS: Is there anything else you'd like to tell us about the game?

DB: The neutrals units are not static anymore, which means that a party of Trolls will not necessarily wait for you to attack, they could charge you during their turn if you approached their lair too closely. Leaders have upgrade higher in Dark Prophecy, which means that the leaders will have more attributes.

We are really looking forward to showing Disciples II for the first time at E3. People have been anxiously waiting to hear the latest news and a see small glimpse of what the sequel will look like. The team is proud of what it has accomplished so far and is excited to get the public's feedback.

GS: Thanks, Danny.