Questions by Markus Nivasalo (Thas), Onrpg Journalist
Answered by Jeon II, The Man in Charge

Cloud Nine is a MMO by Mgame, the makers of Scions of Fate and the heart pounding fps game,  Operation 7. It takes place in the world of Holy Land of Lunatia, that has been cut in two by the gods. It will offer plenty of new things for a game in the free MMO market, such as the epic class system, and the raids that require a huge group of people. We were lucky to enough to get an interview with Jeon II, the man in charge of all this.

Onrpg: Hello! Could you please introduce yourself?
I am Jeon Il in charge of North American Cloud Nine Service from the Cloud Nine Foreign Project Team.

Onrpg: Could you tell us a bit about the two nations in the game and about their relationship?
There are two nations in Cloud Nine which are Primus Union and Ganav Libero. While the Ganav Libero pursue freedom and creative life, the Primus Union value law and honor. Each nation’s beliefs are so different that its causing conflict between them, so they are always battling each other. Ganav Libero was born as wanderers and travelers crowded into one region and eventually five elders came together and formed a nation. Most people in Ganav Libero farm and hunt for a living and create what they need with mysterious magic power. Their lifestyle supports freedom and living without bounds. On the battlefield they never fight in a certain manner or with typical maneuvers. They use innovative tactics to surprise their enemies and conquer with invincible minds and spirits. Primus Union was formed when hundreds of merchant guilds became united by a man named “Vakaven Kahharl”. Primus Union is the center of trade and crafting. This nation is the largest, and is still growing. However, since many guilds were united by one absolute authority, this nation’s rule is strict and faithful. Primus Union fights for loyalty and honor on the battlefield so they refuse to ambush or use vulgar tactics. To win, is to win with strength alone.

Onrpg: Can you give us a brief description about the 6 classes in the game?
Sure. Thieves can wield a rapier or dagger and shield.  They are the main damage dealers of Cloud Nine. Monks can use knuckles or a mace and shield.  They are the combat leaders of the game and also a good party supporter. Magicians can use a two handed staff or a one handed staff with a shield. They are the elemental masters in Cloud Nine. Priests can use a two handed staff or a mace with a shield.  They are the healers and buffers of the game. Hunters can wield bows or dual pistols.  They are the long ranged marksmen of Cloud Nine. Warriors can wield a two handed sword or a one handed sword with a shield.  They are the tanks,  and can be melee defensive or offensive.

Onrpg: Is it possible for any race and class to join whichever nation they want, or are there restrictions?
The simple answer is yes. The users will select their nation first and then race and class last. The only drawback, is when the user selects their nation, all characters of that account must join that nation. So players still need to be careful when creating their first character.

Onrpg: Are all the classes playable by all the races?
Yes. All the races may select from Warrior, Thief, Hunter, Magician, Priest, and Monk.

Onrpg: Are there any differences between the races other than the looks? As in, are there any racial skills for example?
Each of the three races have their own unique race skills that characters are given in addition to their class skills. There are even differences between male and female skills for the same race. So, you can say that there are actually 6 different race skill trees. There are many skills for the users to choose from and players may find some benefit certain classes more than others.

Onrpg: Will Cloud Nine offer the players any kind of PvP?
Yes!  Both nations may freely battle each other on the field at any time. This has a big effect on player’s Fame Points. There will also occasionally be a Nation War, where players from either faction will be put in a death match type battlefield. The Level Party War is for two parties of opposite factions.  One party will announce a challenge and any party from the other faction can accept.  The player’s levels are then balanced. Lastly, Requital is a war between Guilds who have grown enough to have a Guild House. It’s all about the war between nations, so users will always be fighting with their faction’s reputation on the line.

Onrpg: Can you tell us a bit about the crafting in Cloud Nine?
There are 3 types of production systems in Cloud Nine which are Metal Production, Jewel Production, and Medicine Production. Metal Production is for necklaces, earrings, and accessories, and Jewel Production is for creating gems that can be applied to weapons or armors to add extra abilities. Medicine Production allows players to create healing and buff potions. Each character may learn one production skill and in order to obtain the materials they will have to hunt, gather, mine, fish, and even extract them from other items. Acquiring materials is possible for everyone, but if used well, taking the time to be able to produce rare items will give players an advantage over others.

Onrpg: The pet system in Cloud Nine seems very interesting so far. Could you tell us more about it?
Cloud Nine is prepared with a huge variety of pets! As players defeat monsters they will collect Monster Cards for their Monster Book. The Monster Book is used to store and view all the player’s cards. When a player completes a Monster Book they will receive a reward. This reward item can tame a monster. If it succeeds, the monster will become their pet. Users can capture any monster on the field or in dungeons, including bosses, and summon them as pets.  In addition, once caught, the pet can grow and evolve into forms not found in the wild. We are ready with many monsters with many types of abilities, and if the user searches, they will find their own special pet that no other user has.

Onrpg: Will the game be solo friendly or more group based?
It’ll be more of solo play at first. The quests will provide items and experience points just enough for the user to continue progressing through the game. But, as the player proceeds further on, and their level gets higher, they will require higher ranked items and in order to obtain them, they will have to find a party and focus on the dungeons. We have developed many dungeons and even created new ones specifically for this version of the game.

Onrpg: Could you tell us about the Class Change system?
There is no class promotion system in Cloud Nine. The user will choose one class to play and that will remain the same throughout the whole game.  Instead, there exists a secondary class. When a user completes a certain quest, they may select another class to be their secondary class.  This will allow the player to have another class to play the game with on the same character.  Some skills will be shared between both classes, so determined players will be looking for the best class combination.  Also, we are currently developing an Awakening system that will enhance this feature further.

Onrpg: Will there be any dungeons or raids in Cloud Nine?
There are so many dungeons in Cloud Nine! There are some which require a party to enter, some  that anyone can enter, and even ones the user can enter by themselves or with a party.  Furthermore, there is the PVP dungeon where the battle between the nations collides, and raid dungeons which require a large group of players.

Onrpg: Is it really possible for players to turn into monsters?
Yes. Players will obtain an item called the Monster Transformation Card through either hunting or completing a certain quest.  The players will gain access to new skills and abilities when they transform into a monster. They can be a lot better than the skills and abilities that they are currently using. Additionally, they are different for each monster that the user can transform into, adding even more variety to the Cloud Nine experience. Also, when a player transforms, a monster or another player may mistake them as a real monster and end up attacking. Even the user’s ID will appear as the name of the monster.  Players need to be careful; there are both advantages and disadvantages to becoming a monster.

Onrpg: Are you planning any kinds of updates yet? Like new classes etc?
Like we have said above, we are preparing the Awakening System, which is part of the class system. Also, we are developing even more features such as the High Class Improvement System to make the game even more enjoyable. We are sorry to say that we do not have any plans on creating another race or class at this time

Onrpg: Will there be any kind of subscription model in Cloud Nine?
Cloud Nine will be free to play with micro transactions, similar to other free to play games.

Onrpg: When can we expect a beta?
I’m not sure, there is no schedule set up right now, but we are looking forward to meeting the users as soon as possible, so we’re doing our best.

Onrpg: Thank you for your time.

Orion’s Belt Interview: Back To The Roots
Questions by Vincent Haoson, OnRPG Journalist
Answered by Nuno Silva, Creator and Developer of The game Orion’s Belt

One of the best things about a game is when you find that the people working behind them not only work to get a daily living but does everything for the love of developing and giving the best gaming experience for us subscribers.

This is what the people behind Orion’s Belt has done and the dedication behind the game is the main reason why it has fared this far. We here at OnRPG have been given a privilege to talk with Nuno Silva, the creator and developer of Orion’s Belt. We were able to get him to talk about the game’s humble beginnings, how it has become what it is now and a little about what’s in store for the game’s future.

On how the game started out

OnRPG: Can you tell us a bit on the background of the game’s development? On how it started as a degree project into what it is now?
Nuno: In college we needed to make a web project. Everyone choose to create an online store of some kind. So we decided to innovate. It was 2003 and Browser Based Games were starting to emerge. So we decided: Why not, let’s create a Browser Game! At first it was a school project, but after it was delivered to our teachers we decided to make it available on the internet so everyone could test it. Then, in 2008, we had the support of a company called PDM&FC and we decided to make a new version of the game. This new version brought lots of improvements regarding the last version, a new design but always maintaining our board based battle system.

OnRPG: Was the game originally meant to be released commercially?  Or were unforeseeable circumstances made you think that it was worth a shot?
Nuno:  At first with was just for fun. But we soon realized that Browser Games were a growing market and, in 2008, when we decided to make the second version of Orion’s Belt Browser Game, we decided to make it commercial.

OnRPG: How did you guys come about with the Chess-like battle system for Orion’s Belt? Was this battle system all part of the overall plan for the game or was the battle system included as you developed the game?
Nuno:  When we built the first version of Orion’s Belt Browser Game, we wanted to innovate. All the games at that time (and now) were always the same thing: the one that has more units wins. Because we all played chess and also played heroes of might and magic, we come up with an initial idea of making the battles on a board. We had a first version of the battle system that was not so addictive and didn’t have much strategy. But after some meetings and a lot of brain storms, we came up with the battle system that we have today. This was about 4 years ago. So it was always part of the overall plan. And the battles are the part of the game that the players love the most.

On the developers inspirations

OnRPG: What were the games that inspired you in creating Orion’s Belt? What elements of the said game or games were used in Orion’s Belt?
Nuno:  There were 3 games that marked the first version Orion’s Belt Browser Game: The management of the deceased Dark Galaxy Browser Game, the Battles of heroes of mighty and magic and, of course, Chess. When we made the second version, more games served as inspiration like World of Warcraft, Travian and common Real Time Strategy (RTS) games.

OnRPG: How did those games inspire you in creating Orion’s Belt?
Nuno:  Well chess and Heroes of Mighty and Magic influenced the battle system a lot. Dark Galaxy influenced the management in the first version. But in the current version we decided to bring up a new kind of management, more addictive and balanced. Travian influenced the management just in terms of layout (we wanted to have a city were player could see the building being built and evolve). Warcraft influenced in several ways like quests and Fights against Mobs. Finally, RTS games influenced the creation and exploration of the universe.  If you play Orion’s Belt you will notice that you have concepts like fog of war or line of sight in your planets and Fleets. This is a common feature of all RTS games. But mainly, although these games influenced the development of Orion’s Belt, I must say that great part of the ideas came from the community and they helped a lot. This is a game made with the community, for the community.

On the player response

OnRPG: Seeing that the game started out as a project how did you market the game?
Nuno:  First we decided to bring all the players that had registered in the previous version. It was an excellent beta testing for the game. Then we started to make buzz in the internet sending press releases to Blogs, Game Sites, MMO sites and even television and magazines. Finally, after the initial buzz, we started to make advertisements and partnerships in several gaming sites in order to attract new gamers.

OnRPG: What were the things you had to adjust game development, technical and logistics wise when the game had to accommodate more players?
Well the first thing was to buy a new server. We tested Windows and Linux environments to see which one you be the faster. After almost a year running in linux server and because the great number of players, we will soon migrate to a new, more powerful server, this time in windows. Regarding the game development, after the initial beta release, we started to make almost daily releases for 2 months with new features and bug corrections. Today, because we have a stable version of the game, we only add new features in a monthly base in order to correct all the problems faster and make the current version more stable.

OnRPG: Were you expecting the game to get have such a strong following? What do you think made people come and play Orion’s Belt?
Nuno:  Well, that was always our expectation 🙂 We tried to make a game that would be an alternative to all the games in the market. Different game play, new concepts, different strategies and handsome units and weapons. And normally, the players that stay at least a week, playing the game and exploring its potential, always like it. And it’s addicting (especially the battles)!!!

On tournaments and meet-ups

OnRPG: For the record, this would be my first time experiencing a browser game that starts face-to-face meet-ups and tournaments. How did things reach up to this point?
Nuno:  We had always had a nice relationship with the players. We treat them all has equals. We don’t benefit the ones that pay and forget the ones who don’t. We try to resolve everything within a day or, at least, talk to them and give them some feedback. The Tournaments are also a great way gather players and there is always a lot of fun surrounding them. I can say that I made a lot of friends within the game, persons that always believed in Orion’s Belt, and after 4 year still play in the tournaments and love to do it. So all this factors contributed to have an excellent community around the game, a community that loves to play it and loves to give new ideas.

OnRPG: Was it always like this? How was the player turnout before?
Nuno:  Well, in a certain manner it was, but in the past we were very few. Now that we have thousands of players, the tournaments and meet-ups are bigger and funnier.

OnRPG: Do you plan on supporting tournaments and meet-ups in the future? Would this be an annual thing for the game?
Nuno:  We hope so. The game tournaments and meet-ups are very important to us and motivate the players to play even more. We expecting to have at least 1 meet-up a year and several different tournaments were one of them will be a tournament with prize money.

OnRPG: How big are you expecting the future tournaments to be? Are you seeing the game tourneys to eventually be part of gaming conventions in the future? 
Nuno:  We are testing a new kind of tournament this year for the first time, with prize money of 2000€ (http://intergalactic.orionsbelt.eu/). We expect to have at least 1000 players playing this tournament. If it all goes as expected, we will start to organize this kind of tournaments every year and start to bring the top 10 players to Portugal were they will battle face to face in the same room. So the players will win money, travel and play their favorite Browser Game.

On further game development and the future

OnRPG: You’ve just released the new beta version of the game, how have things gone since then
Nuno:  We added a lot of new features and spend some months making them stable. We can say that Orion’s Belt came out of the Beta and it’s on a final state.

OnRPG: What were the changes you made from the old version?
We had a lot of bug correction, several new features like team tournaments, quick tournaments, a more visually appealing Universe and the Universe Relics. These features boost the game even more. First we added the concept of battles 2X2. Now players can gather up in teams of two and battle in the tournaments. It’s a new kind of battle in a new kind of board (12×12 Square Board). The quick tournaments are 1×1 tournaments with only 16 persons that are always available to register and play. We improved even more the universe so it could be more functional and more visually appealing. Finally we have the Universe Relics that produce rare resources that are distributed to all players of the alliance that controls it. So the strategy has increased and the battles between all the alliances are more alive than ever.

OnRPG: What’s in store for Orion’s Belt in the future?
Nuno:  We have 2 big releases to make. The first is a visual upgrade. We know that some parts could be better organized and more visually appealing. So we have a team of designers working in order to take Orion’s Belt User Interface one step ahead. The other is one of the biggest releases until the moment. We will add fleets of Mobs to the universe that will be controlled using artificial intelligence. Players will have to destroy these fleets in order to obtain certain items to complete quests. We will also add 2 major bosses and 2 smaller ones. With the mobs, 2 factions will appear in the game (the Space Force and the Mercs) and around 70 new quests will be created. We hope that this new feature will add one more reason so that new players can join Orion’s Belt Browser Game.

OnRPG: Thank you for your time!!!
Nuno: Thank you!