Berlin, Oct. 10th 2008 - Using
your skills effectively is the key to survival in an online roleplaying game like Runes of Magic. Therefore, the user interface of Frogster’s
upcoming MMORPG keeps all important information and functions directly
at hand. Players can also tweak the interface freely to their personal
needs. Adjustable hotkeys offer quick access to all skills of the
character and can easily be equipped via drag & drop. Players are
also able to activate as many action-bars as they want, allocate the
desired number of hotkeys to them and move them freely on their screen.
Smart online gamers can also assign keyboard shortcuts to their
hotkeys, so that they can rapidly react in crucial situations. Using
these possibilities wisely, players can build their own combat set out
of the entire pool of skills, in which the different actions for
healing, melee and ranged combat, buffs, debuffs and special skills
will find their place depending on the character class. Besides those
crucial abilities, players can insert emotes to their action-bar to
alleviate the communication with fellow adventurers. After all,
challenging somebody to a PvP duel looks much cooler, if it is
accompanied by the right gesture, and the winner of a grand fight has
all the right to raise its fist into the air to celebrate victory.
An ingame video illustrating all functions of the user interface is
now available on the official website. Interested players can still
register for the closed beta using this link.
Macros and Add-ons
Players can also assemble
macros in Runes of Magic to gain fast access to mighty attack or heal
combinations. Using macros, they can string together a series of
commands, with which they are able to sequentially use items or skills
to achieve customized effects. Players can for example combine a debuff
with an attack targeting the weakness they just created, use small or
larger heal combinations on their comrades or combine actions for
opening attacks or emergency situations. There are virtually no
boundaries for creativity here. Players with programming skills can
apply further modifications using script languages like Lua and XML.
Lua scripts can be embedded into macros or used in add-ons, which
players can tailor to their own needs with some XML knowledge.
Maps & Quest Log
Different maps of the game
world Taborea do not only offer a helpful orientation about the
shortest way between settlements, mines and other interesting places,
but can also display quest givers. Who wants to be guided to them or to
the next quest target, can locate them using the world search and
activate a convenient navigation system. This handy online GPS can even
be activated for different targets and then indicates the direction
with differently colored arrows.
To complete accepted quests, a small mini-map in the upper right
hand corner of the screen shows useful information about merchants,
monsters, raw material deposits and other interesting objects. In case
players lose track of their objectives, a look into the quest log will
show all relevant information for their missions including the promised
rewards. Players can manage the status of each quest here or abandon it
altogether. Selecting a monster, NPC or player with a mouse click
brings up the portrait of your target including a status display. A
simple right click opens the menu for social interactions like trading,
group invites and much more. Moreover, Runes of Magic offers the
possibility to view additional information about Taborea’s creatures
such as names, titles or energy values – or to cast off all displayed
text information if the player wants to have an unspoilt view of the
world. Thus, the user interface can also be completely switched off.
In the backpack of Runes of Magic travelling adventurers store their
complete inventory like spare weapons, armor, potions, quest items and
other loot. With a few convenient functions they are able to quickly
straighten up all items. Besides a view of the complete inventory, the
backpack can separately show equipment, runes, crafting materials and
potions or sort the inventory according to these categories. And if you
really have to throw away something, the dust bin function is a
convenient way to get rid of useless stuff.
Runes of Magic – a world full of wizardry and adventure
With an
extensive range of features Runes of Magic prepares to redefine the
standard of free-to-play MMO games. Right from the launch Runes of
Magic will convey its absorbing story in over 600 quests embedded in an
atmospheric world. Players can choose from six main classes. Combined
with a secondary class they dispose of 36 individual character classes
over all. All characters possess unique skills with impressive combo
attacks and can use mounts in the later stages of game play. A
particularly attractive feature for guilds and players is the
possibility to arrange their own virtual homes with individual
furnishing. Thanks to an extensive crafting and reputation system,
thrilling PVP as well as demanding dungeons and boss-monsters, no
wishes remain unsatisfied. The Taiwanese developer Runewaker has
developed Runes of Magic according to western MMO standards within a
time frame of three years. The studio will provide new challenges for
players every three to four months with free add-ons and updates.
To see the looks of the new interface, visit the ONRPG Screenshot Section.
