Created 1 years 83 days ago
by
Harlequin
Started RPG's in the early 80's with games such as D&D, Stalking the Night Fantastic, Gamma World, Marvel RPG, Star Trek RPG, Shadowrun, Witchcraft RPG and others. In the mid 90's got into online RPing, founded and ran the largest & most popular Vampire IRC room on Dalnet which I ran for many years. Then about 2000 ran my own Ultima Online RP server for a few years then moved on to running a Neverwinter Nights RP server. I then moved onto running gaming community/news sites. My last being nwn2news.net which was a news & community site for the then upcoming Neverwinter Nights 2 game. I did that for 3.5 yrs it got on average 8 million page views and 20K unique IP hits a month. Now I have moved on to the WoD MMO
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Merit: 10 Flaw: 2
- Currently 5.00/5 Stars.
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World of Darkness Blog
Harlequin's Bottom Line
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As many of you know, we had some images that were brought to our attention via a hot tip from our contacts page. However it was kindly brought to our attention that they were leaked accidentally from an ex-employee of CCP and we heeded the request (not demand) to remove them. However out of fairness to those that felt the rug pulled out from under you I am going to give my analysis of these images to give you an idea of the direction they are heading. I must preface all of this by saying the images we got a hold of are 2 to 3 years old and in software development that is an eon. It is VERY possible what I am discussing has changed or/and improved. But I still think the theme and feel will stay and there is something to be said of that and worthy of discussion.
First two images are character creation and what seems to be character selection. As far as character creation not a lot of info can be gained. We see a default female avatar in the foreground leaning against a bar in a club. We also see some NPCs in the background mingling with each other. The GUI simply asks us to choose the gender of our mortal and skin tone (3 shades light, med, dark). There is a cell to enter a name with a button to generate a random one. Also there are a row of buttons on the bottom asking to select some kind of, what I will call, “profession” for lack of the proper term. As best as I can read them they are; Investigator, Socialite, Artist, Junkie, Mafioso, Executive, Veteran, Scholar.
In the screen shot Investigator is selected and the description reads; “Insatiably curious, unrelentingly persistent and obnoxiously nosy, the investigator has earned a reputation for rooting out the truth in a situation, no matter how convoluted. Some secrets are not meant to be uncovered, however, and the truth has a way of becoming a very dangerous prize. Starting Traits: Intelligent, Agile”
Interesting side note, there is a frames per second meter in the corner which reads 17.81. This in the character creation screen with the default avatar and 7 NPCs. While this may worry some keep in mind this is from a pre-Alpha state before any kind of optimizations most likely. Many of us heard about the rough shape performance wise of Incarna when rolled out in EVE. This is perhaps what they were dealing with a few years ago when this screen was taken, the low FPS. I am confident things are better on the front. But none the less it is worth nothing.
On the character selection screen it is pretty strait forward. There is a small menu on the bottom with character names and their clan (or professions if not apparently sired yet) to select and the character in question on display taking up most of the screen. Also we notice a nice cityscape in the background looking very bloodlines-esque in theme. An old cathedral surrounded by gothic themed stonework buildings. Directly behind the PC is an old, twisted leafless tree.
The next 2 images are different angles of the same personal haven. Browns and tans are the color scheme for the most part. It seems to be a one room studio/flat with tan patterned wallpaper and hardwood floor. Some half opened moving boxes scattered about as if the PC just moved in along with a non-descript couch and coffee table, wrought iron framed bed, and desk/office chair work area. Opened file cabinet near the bed, some posters, wall art and a few book cases scattered about. Also a small closet by the doorway with hanging clothes in it. Above the desk is a bulletin board with various wanted posters and newspaper clippings attached to it.
The next two images are color maps of what seems to be 2 areas of a city. Each one details an area of about 4 to 5 square blocks. One is labeled as “Phoenix wharf” and has placed names that implied to me it might be Chinatown. Names such as “Golden Orchid Fireworks Factory” and a location of “Dragon Gates”.
The other map is labeled “3 Walls” unsure what part of or what city it might be but there is a bridge that is labeled to connect to Phoenix Wharf and has locations such as “Barber Shop”, “Bada Bing” (Soprano’s reference?),“Entry to Crypts” and “Meat packing plant”.
All the other images are non-textured interior and exterior goth themed mansions and clubs.
In conclusion, overall while these are VERY early images those that are from in-game I am impressed all things considered. I think they are without a doubt on the right track when it comes to theme, mood and ambiance of the game. And when some official in-game images are released if these are a sampling, we should all be extremely pleased. While I know not seeing these pics is difficult, I hope this written preview and first impressions conveys some sort of consolation.
I think we should have a good deal of faith in Chris and his team from what we saw and have confidence they are on the right track.
Feel free to post your thoughts.
15 Comments
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0 Merits
jlcrowl
1 years 78 days ago
Great review here, Harly. I'm particularly interested in the "Starting Traits: Intelligent, Agile" part. We knew they were talking about taking steps away from the PnP games, but that sounds almost like they might be thinking about axing the trait system as we know it... ::waits patiently for next drop::.
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0 Merits
Harlequin
1 years 78 days ago
Keep in mind this was a prototype system. That could just be some custom stat system just to give the feel. I doubt they programmed the entire V20 rule set just for a prototype. They may have used a lite-version of the stats, mechanics just to give a feel not a exact representation. Just my thoughts.
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1 Merits
1 years 76 days ago
If these "Traits" are what are going to be in the game, it has the potential to completely change how we think of MMORPGs. Instead of stats, we get descriptors, like in Mind's Eye Theater. Maybe that would mean that if you have X Trait, you can do things, such as "Handy" means you can fix machines and reroute electrical systems, etc, etc. If you're "Agile", that means you can do special combat backflips and maybe climb more quickly that other characters. Each character can choose, say, six descriptors at creation, and that's their character. So Rick Gentle, for example, would be "Suave", "Lady-Killer", "Ham-Fisted", "Tough", "Beclawed", and "Impressionable", describing him as a character in a very different way than simply saying Charisma 3, Subterfuge 3, Brawl 2, Fortitude 2, Feral Claws, and 3 Willpower. If we were defined by these kinds of traits rather than "hard" numbers... Hmmmmmm... An interesting idea, at least.
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-2 Merits
Nigama
1 years 83 days ago
Bah humbug! This is the second time you've done this to us, Harl. You are one of us, the fans, you're trying to be one of the suits at CCP. They won't ever let you into their club. As the most visible WoD MMO fan site you have an obligation to us, the fans, to show and NOT hide any information you hide. Please, I know it's a futile plea, but I beg anyone with any information to NOT share it here first as Harlequin will only BURY it. Please, SHARE in several other places first before bringing it to WoD News (as said as that makes me to say, it's become a reality). Nigama (a sad panda)
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-7 Merits
Harlequin
1 years 82 days ago
For the record, the first time you mention should be clarified. The video of TGM 2011 panel is what I assume you refer too. The bottom line, it was more a delay than anything else. We all knew the video from TGM was going to surface. At least a dozen people took video of the MMO panel. Thus it was only a matter of time before a copy found it's way to YouTube. Which it did. I knew that was going to happen, you did and probably CCP as well. Only a matter of time. So me not posting my copy was pretty moot in the big picture as the end result was the same. Now as for the more recent issue. I take some offense at some of the vitriol you toss my way to be honest. If you think my actions are for selfish or anti-community reasons you need to take your head out from the sand to be blunt. EVERY-DAMN-THING I do on this site is for the best interest of the community. However sometimes I need to look LONG term and NOT short term. And that requires some, as a result, short term sacrifices. As for why I decided to pull the images when Chris sent me a email; From someone who has been a observer of s/w development for some time I thought, as I told CCP Chris, even the prototype looked really good for what it was. And really showed a positive direction in concept. However, I understand his fears someone that does not have the background of him or I could easily NOT see the potential I saw. And thus walk away with a bad taste in their mouth thinking the rough prototype is what will ship. Having been in s/w development many moons ago I understand his point of view and the reason I choose to heed his request. I ultimately have a responsibility, not to CCP as you imply, but to the community. And I felt it would be, at the very least, a failure as a community leader to show images that were never meant to be released that in the end, put the game in a bad light. That does a disservice not only to the members here, but the community and all the devs who work on this. EVERYONE. As it will very possibly scare potential new members to the community away. And that is the total opposite of what we clearly want. We want to foster and nurture the community to grow not do the opposite just because we want short term instant gratification. And that means sometimes taking one for the team, and perhaps even play the bad guy. My job isn't loyalty to CCP but to the community and best interest in the long term health of the game. And lets be honest, this builds my reputation with CCP as a news site that sees long term and not out to screw them just for easy traffic or gratification. Don't you think down the road this will come back around to benefit us long term when time for real exclusives, interviews, media and info comes out? But lets play ball your way and play out what would happen to their logical conclusion. CCP asks me to remove the images, I respectfully say "Sorry I am a news site and this is news". So yes my site blows up with a exclusive, everyone sees old screen shots that were not meant to go public, and some of you rejoice. However just as many, in essence, say "WTF is this crap?!?! since 2006 and this is what you came up with?!?" Chris has to go into damage control mode for at least the next 6+ months explaining time and time again these are a prototype images and not anything near final. Many people don't even bother to engage, they just see the images, not impressed and write the MMO off without saying a word. It isn't until after DUST ships he is able to counter the images with more recent images to show how far they have come. But by then, it is too little to late for many people who may have jumped on board before, but now were turned off by the leaked images and left following the game/community. And out of this entire mess do you think this site would have a blue chance in hell in getting ANYTHING out of CCP as much as a quote never mind a exclusive considering the issues and damage we caused that they were forced to clean up? What exactly is the point of this site if I burn bridges with the ONLY dev/game we follow? This is NOT my first time at the rodeo. I have founded SEVERAL successful online communities and gaming news sites. If you think that scenario is way off base you are sadly mistaken. Because I have seen it play out EXACTLY like that many times over the past 20 yrs years with various games/devs and sites/news entities. With all that said I do not and will not bury anything. I do not jump to CCP's beat. Respect and earned trust is a two way street however. And I have to walk a fine line between all these variables. You can't undo shooting yourself in the foot, or in this case blowing your whole damn leg off. Again my NUMBER ONE job and this site is for the long term (not short) health of this community and game. And that means, at times I need to make some tough calls. But if you think the members here will not be rewarded for dealing with all of this you are, frankly, mistaken. Now if you want to have people send you hot tips and burn bridges with CCP by posting such on Vampire Planet, go ahead I invite you to do such. While I am getting exclusives down the road we'll see how long you guys enjoy being the pariah of the community simply because you only cared about short term gratification. I hope I dispelled any and all misconceptions and misunderstandings. And if anyone wishes to continue this I will be happy to via PM or the forums if you would like. :)
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1 Merits
1 years 82 days ago
On the note of the quality of the images that weren't supposed to be released, I'd like to say again that I'd be happy with another game made with the Source Engine, so long as there's a game. On the note of censorship/not burning down bridges... Well, I don't know what I'm missing, so I am sanguine about it. However, I do not think it would be at all out of place to release some more stills from the teaser-trailer from years ago, or even some new concept art. Those kinds of things aren't coded or subject to drastic engine changes, but it would be a nice peace offering, so to speak. Nobody is going to complain if the game doesn't look exactly like the concept art.
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0 Merits
1 years 54 days ago
On this note, the stills from the in-game footage you posted in the Gallery DO look very similar to the concept art in the same section. The concept art is a little blurrier, but if I didn't know what the stills were stills, I'd probably mistake them for more concept art.
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1 Merits
Harlequin
1 years 82 days ago
Totally agree Rick. I am going to look into that and see if more concept art, stills can't be pried from their hands. :)
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0 Merits
Noah
1 years 83 days ago
DAMN! I can't believe I wasn't on to see this > _ < Hope I can find this somewhere, however o A o;;;
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1 Merits
Amenat
1 years 83 days ago
I wish I could have seen the images but I logged on too late for any of that. I'm glad you added as much detail as you did to give a good idea about what was seen in the images. It gave me a good mental picture for what they are doing ingame. I can't wait for this game to come out and I would be first in line to be a beta tester when it does. By Chris's comments about the game it seems another few years for even a good beta version to come out. However when it does it will be a great game to play. I hope they adopt a lot of attributes of VtM:B that would make it a real twist on the MMO's. Not many are like that and the few that are are either old or very ghetto. If they have updates every so often that would rev up fans enough to keep the fans salivating over the game until release. Don't take too much though, waiting is not fun after awhile. :P Anyway, I hope that they have professions or job-like opportunities like VTM:B has. The computer database in a haven should have emails from npc's randomly for money making/experience opportunities, hit lists from the bail bonds, ect. Half a dozen npc's who could become your ghouls or blood dolls (unless players are for that). Great, we can scale buildings and jump from roof to roof, what about breaking in? Can we remove vent covers and crawl through to get into apartments and steal stuff from them to pawn later? Hidden passage ways to launch surprise attacks from? Can we crawl through sewers and get into places others are barred? Do players get to design thier own haven/apartment after they get it? If we choose to be a unallied with any haven or faction can we get our own place underground or in abadoned buildings like bertram tung? Will there be a turning system or do you wake up vamp after a short skipable video plays?
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1 Merits
1 years 83 days ago
I sure hope "profession" means "archetype" and not "class". I also sure hope this means our characters will have actual Attributes, and not just a list of "qualities" or "merits/flaws". How about +1 to Intelligence and Dexterity at character creation instead of LARP-style adjectives? I would've preferred to see full-on Natures and Demeanors, but since I didn't even get to see these leaked pictures before you all took them down, that's wishful thinking at best. If they are indeed going with this model for character creation still, then I wonder if this means this is how mortals are created, and vampires get something different. Say, vampires get to choose their Attributes, but mortals are shaped by their life experiences, like a career as an Investigator. The player haven sounds like what they're trying to do with the Incarna Captain's Quarters - you got your media center, your cosmetic housing (like a bed and couches, which you probably won't need to actually sleep in), and a sort of information center that connects you to the game's infrastructure, like bounty lists, bank access, basically what a computer and a cell phone should handle for the WODMMO. It's kind of interesting that this might be taking the form of an outright notice board, but maybe that has something to do with an "Investigator" concept, like a detective plotting out a crime spree.
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1 Merits
Valamyr
1 years 82 days ago
It does seem to mean "Archetype". Those visible in the pulled media for -mortals- are: Investigator Socialite Artist Junkie Mafioso Executive Veteran Scholar The second screen shows clearly these 'go away' to be replaced by Clan on the character selection screen once a character is embraced. It certainly affects starting stats and flavor though. The flavor text for the Investigator is as follows (very WW-book-like writing) Insatiably curious, unrelentingly persistent, and obnoxiously nosy, the Investigator has earned a reputation for rooting out the truth of a situation, no matter how convoluted. Some secrets are not meant to be uncovered, however, and the truth has a way of becoming a very dangerous prize. Starting traits: Intelligent, Agile.
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0 Merits
Harlequin
1 years 83 days ago
Please note a few things, *I* termed it "profession" not anywhere in the image. 'Archetype' could work just as well for a label in defining the titles I saw. Also that seemed to only be the first screen for character selection. There was also a "next" button on the bottom. So just like Bloodlines I assume there were a few pages to create a PC. I am sure the following screen or two would have shown a stat sheet. Hope that clarifies.
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