Asheron's Call 2: Fallen Kings Updated Preview
We take a more in-depth look at what this online RPG sequel has to offer.
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.
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- Microsoft Game Studios
- Turbine Inc.
- Fantasy Online...
- Release: Nov 20, 2002
- ESRB: Mature
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