Feature: How Sacred 2 will change hack-and-slash gaming (2 of 2)
Will you be able to "farm" bosses, and what is Ascaron's perspective on the controversial topic of "boss farming"?
AE: There will be differences depending on which game mode you play. In the single-player campaign, because the bosses are part of the story, they will stay dead after you kill them.
If you play the "free" (non-story) mode, then the bosses will re-spawn after a certain amount of time. In the online modes the bosses will be re-spawned after you have closed the server and started a new one. Because this is not a persistent world, the player does not have to wait until re-spawn, and can just start on a new server to fight the boss again.
Inventory management is a sore spot in many hack-and-slash action RPGs, with some players complaining of "Tetris-y" inventory screens, and others liking the old-school Diablo II feel of an intricate inventory. Where does Sacred II fall in regards to its inventory?
AE: The inventory will have a "sort function" so that no Tetris playing will be necessary, which means that all items are displayed in a classical screen. It's easy to sort your inventory items to keep them aligned.
Item management has been streamlined, making it more accessible.
We also have stackable items, as well as the ability to dispose of items to get gold directly without the need of a trader. You can also quickly clean up your inventory by pressing a key and clicking on an object to immediately throw it out. In other games, you often have to drag and drop the items, one by one, which takes a lot of time and is annoying.
Hellgate London was seeking a similar goal to Sacred II, in that it tried to expand the notion of Diablo-style hack-and-slash RPGs. Unfortunately, Hellgate Lodon was panned by critics and fans alike. What mistakes did Hellgate make that you won't make with Sacred II?
AE: Rather than criticize someone else's work, let's instead comment on our game's advantages.
Our world is very detailed, and is created by hand, so there's no randomly generated, procedural stuff. Everything is hand made by our team of level designers and graphics designers. The world has 12 regions, and the environments change seamlessly as you move between them. So when you travel, you can go from green tundra, to desert, to jungle, to coastal environments. There is a real feeling of being immersed in a realistic environment. There's no hard interruption because of loading different areas.
Moving between environments, like this lush forest, will be seamless.
From an architectural point of view, even the dungeons and upper world are connected. The world, even though it's a fantasy one, is believable. Every house in each region follows a detailed design document describing the leading class, the ordinary people, the way they live, the architecture, and the lifestyle. Sacred 2 has the most detailed level design I ever have seen, and reflects the work of 32 level designers and three years of work.
Another advantage of Sacred 2 is that it will not cost money to play on our dedicated, closed network servers. We offer LAN, instant co-op, open net, and a lobby that is the central point of the Sacred 2 MP. There is no plan at all to have either monthly fees, or two "classes" of players, paying and non-paying. We will offer new quests, items, and armor as downloadable content on the Xbox 360 and PC. This will be the only "paying" part, plus buying the game off course.
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Don't miss part II of our interview with Ascaron Entertainment on Sacred 2 next week... in the meantime, find out more about the game in our preview.
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