This week we’ve seen the release of the Summer Event – The Shadows Of Beltane and so far the response from you the players has been very positive. I think we’ve got a great balance of gameplay, challenge and rewards that will keep you happy for some time. It can be very difficult for any developer to please their entire player base and with most games genres such as first-person shooters and puzzle games balancing can be a very tricky job to get that sweet spot.
With MMORPGs such as Celtic Heroes we’re faced with an even more complex proposition; there are almost infinite paths through not only the game world but also the level progressions plus we have different classes to contend with. There are also the players’ individual personalities to consider as well. Even in the most tight-knit clans and communities you can encounter wildly varying play styles even with similar classes.
It is entirely feasible to write an algorithm or system to automatically calculate the delicate balance between the Mobs, player armour and weapon items not to mention the various way of gaining buffs but this would leave the players with a fairly sterile and cold system lacking in any sort of nuance. This is where our game balancer, Max comes in. Max is a designer with a very good head for figures and numerical systems their interrelations and how they affect each other. He plays a key role in quests and events from the beginning considering the intended level ranges for the content and how we best challenge those players and subsequently reward them. As mentioned previously this is no mean feat as there are so many ways to play the game and eventually someone will find an obscure way to use an item that has unintended consequences. It’s Max’s job to ensure as far as possible that if this happens it doesn’t unfairly unbalance the game to any player’s advantage or detriment. Once we have an idea of the levels the content is aimed at he’ll look at the best ways to distribute XP and drops and the buffs they provide. This does mean he spends a lot of his time with his head buried in spreadsheets. Not the most exciting of tasks but it has to be done. Luckily he does indeed seem to enjoy it (we only hear the occasional sob or swear word from coming from his desk).
Max also keeps a close eye on the forums to see how the content has been received once it’s been released as well as looking for other posts that might indicate the balancing is slightly off for an item or a mob. The balance of the game is something that is fundamental to ensure it’s fun to play and keep you engaged so it’s a never-ending process and one that we’re happy to spend the extra effort on to do manually rather than relying on an automatic solution.
Gelebron’s Tower is progressing well. The art team have put together some reference materials and sketches to give the rest of the teams an idea of the style of the architecture and scope of the area they intend to build. The designers have put together their ideas for how they want the gameplay to progress from area to area and across the various floors of the tower. In order to maintain the momentum of fighting across the tower floors a certain amount of space is needed to house the mobs. We don’t want the mobs to be too squished in and conversely we don’t want them floundering about in an empty space. The designers have given the art team some rough measurements of the space they need to provide to house the relevant gameplay and the next step is to produce ‘grey box’ levels using this info to make an example level. The designers will use these level to ensure there’s a nice pace of gameplay for a generic level and the artists can go ahead and build on the basic geometry to make it look beautiful
Other big features have also started to gain traction. One of our new hires, a senior designer has picked up the reins for the mounts (see what I did there?) and begun planning for the crafting system. At the moment we’re in the process of identifying the key items that must be present in both of these projects. These are the things that really define the systems to make them stand out that’ll really excite you guys and want to be part of it. We have some very interesting ideas about making mounts a key part of the gameplay whether you’re soloing or in a group if you choose to use one. They’ll also be something very cool to be seen on riding around Dal Riata.
With crafting we’re exploring some ideas to make this fit the way you want to play. Sometimes you may just want to hop on and chip away at a few resources while chatting to friends or while you’re waiting for that boss spawn. Other times you might feel like devoting a few hours to really getting your levels up and creating that fantastic item that’ll help you on your next boss encounter or get you a nice return if you sell it. This is something we’ll be spending some time thinking about so that you can adjust your approach to crafting to suit your situation.
P.S. We hope you are enjoying the Shadows Of Beltane. We’ve been talking with Phil who’s shared some of his ideas for the events to come over the rest of the year that build on the background of the current Summer Event. We’re in for some exciting times as Summer will soon begin to wane and gives way to Fall as the struggle to control the elements continue.