Questions by Vincent Haoson, Onrpg writer
Answered by Mike Min, Producer and Chris Keswani, Marketing Manager
Uforia, the company that has provided us with amazing games such as Nostale and three kingdoms has brought another epic MMO that is centering on the war of Gods and the human-like beings they both protect.
Red War is the new MMO from this company and we here on Onrpg had an opportunity to talk to two people who are working behind the scenes with the game.
Onrpg: What is the current situation of your Closed Beta?
Chris: We finished our Closed Beta recently. The feedback we received from our players was phenomenal. Our developers have taken these comments and are currently working on implementing these improvements. The Open Beta will be held within one week from now and I encourage your readers to visit our official website for more details.
Onrpg: What are the problems you faced as the closed beta is on-going?
Mike: We didn’t face any major problems fortunately. The main barrier for players was that the graphics and we lost a lot before they even gave the game a chance. Feedback from players that actually played the game was very positive though, and we are working hard on fixing and implementing the bug fixes and suggestions at the moment.
Onrpg: Did you take any elements from other Uforia games and include it into Red War? What are they and why?
Chris: Red War: Edem’s Curse is a unique game compared to our other titles. It is of course a MMO, but the features and game play are specific to this game. All games in our line-up have completely different background stories and are not connected in any way.
Onrpg: Can you give us the background story for Red War?
Chris: Red War: Edem’s Curse has quite an interesting background story. It starts off with a rift between two Gods. One of them, Astila, helps human-like beings escape to a new world in order to escape from the hardship and suffering of the other God. This other God, Qelain, has control over the group of human-like beings that the first God was not able to help escape from the original world. The game follows the conflict of these two groups and it is up the player to help the Edem (the chosen warriors) battle against the forces of evil and bring peace to the entire universe.
Onrpg: Can you give a brief description of the three classes?
Mike: The three main classes are the Ranger, Mage, and Warrior. It does not sound like a lot, but once you reach level 20 each class branches off into a skill different tree, with unique skills and specializations.
The Ranger focuses on speed, and can move around significantly faster than the other two classes. They’re a versatile class that can specialize in both melee and ranged weapons. Both types do a lot of damage, and have access to different stuns as well.
The Mage is the typical “glass-cannon”, capable of causing lots of damage but being easy to kill. And although all 3 classes have AoE attacks, the mage is the AoE specialist. Eventually they split off into the Black Mage and the White Mage, with the Black Mage specializing in debuffs, and the White Mage specializing in buffs and heals.
The Warrior is the typical kill first, ask questions later class. They can run head first into combat, and have the stamina and defense to survive. They can either specialize in spears and axes, which cause high amounts of damage, or swords and shields for their defensive capability.
Onrpg: It seems that the game only has three classes in the first stage; will there be additions in the future? Why or why not?
Mike: We will not be adding new classes in the near future. What we are looking into is creating new skill trees and specializations for each class. For example, a new “Red Mage” tree, which will combine different elements of the Black and White magic lines. So although we will be keeping the base 3 classes as is, there will always be new content added for each individual one.
Onrpg: As of the moment what is the most favored class of those who are going through the closed beta? Why do they say so?
Mike: I am not sure there is one favored class to be honest. We had a good mix of all three classes during the CBT, and they all seemed happy with the balance between the three, and the capabilities of their class.
Onrpg: What are the key features of the game?
Mike: A couple of the major features include the Red War Tournament, and the Castle Sieges. The Red War Tournament occurs three times a day, and is basically an all-out, team-based PvP match. What makes it unique is that all players are set to level 80 at the start of the tournament, and they can reallocate their stats as they see fit. This make the tournament not a contest of who has more high-level players, but one of team-work and skill.
The Castle Sieges are a big feature of the game as well. These are Guild versus Guild PvP matches that fight over different castles and territories. The winners of the Siege actually do own that castle, and can use it as bragging rights, and just as a place to hang out with their guild-mates. Each castle also has a dungeon underneath it that the castle owners can access for free. They are great places to level up with your guild and earn nice items and gold as well.
Onrpg: What are the features you have in the game that are conducive for a healthy community?
Mike: We have plenty of dungeons in the game that require a party to complete. There are plenty of unique items and bosses in them as well, which encourages players to interact with one another, and form groups to conquer them.
We also have chat rooms that players can create very easily. It’s a nice place to hang out with friends, and can be protected by passwords for privacy.
And like I mentioned earlier, the Castle Sieges are very rewarding, and really encourage you to find active guilds and encourage teamwork as well.
Onrpg: What do you think is the game’s main attraction for players?
Mike: Judging from the feedback we received during Closed Beta, players really like the fact that the game is almost like a Diablo MMORPG. It really does have that look and feel, and people that are looking for that sort of experience are sure to love Red War.
Onrpg: What additions would you include when the game goes live?
Mike: We’re hard at work fixing the bugs that were discovered during Closed Beta. We’re also creating a new town and dungeon that players didn’t get to see during the CBT, and a nifty new system that I can’t disclose at the moment.
Onrpg: How long do you think it would take till the game goes live?
Chris: It is hard to say really. We want to make sure everything is perfect before we go live, so we’re taking a wait and see approach to it.
Onrpg: What made you say that it would take the game this long before it goes commercial?
Chris: As is the case with any game in open beta it is difficult to predict when all of the improvements will be implemented and tested. We have a very comprehensive review and implementation program in place so that our developers and us are constantly in contact regarding the changes they are making. However, sometimes certain implementations take longer than expected.
We really want to make sure that we do not release the game commercially unless these improvements have been made and therefore would rather take a bit more time to make sure everything is just right.
Onrpg: What are the things you will let players experience once the game goes open beta? Would there be character wipe-outs after the OBT?
Mike: There is one major system that we’ll be adding to the game sometime during Open Beta, along with different maps and dungeons. We’ll be having plenty of events as well during the period.
Chris: And no, there will be no wipes after OB has ended!
Onrpg: What can players expect in the succeeding months ahead?
Mike: Plenty of new content! We have loads of things we are working on at the moment, and will be adding new and exciting things based on player suggestions as well. I am especially excited about adding new skill trees, it will really add another layer of depth, and I’m sure that the players are going to enjoy it as well.
Onrpg: Thank you for your time!
Mike and Chris: It was our pleasure.
