Questions by Brian Perry Jr
Answered by Ice Han, Product Manager of Zu Online
Onrpg: How would you describe Zu Online?
Ice Han: Zu Online is a 3D MMORPG which is based on Chinese traditional culture, specifically the cultivation inner peace and wisdom as well as Kung-fu training. In this game, players will play a role that comes to the game world under the direction of gods. There are lots of quests in the game, which will tell players the stories of Zu Mountain. In the game, players are able to learn various spells, take care of pets, create guilds and build mansions, challenge calamity or upgrade to an immortal title, etc. This is the exclusive game world of Zu Online the players will explore for fun and also for their personal goal.
Onrpg: Is this game being developed by your company or another?
Ice Han: Zu Online is developed by Onwind Digital High-Tech Co.,Ltd, a company in Xiamen City.
Onrpg: What classes will be available to players and what is each of their primary functions.
Ice Han: There are five classes (clans) in Zu Online. They are The Sun Warriors, The Moonmaidens, The Swordsmen, The Bead Fairies and The Summoners. But actually, they belong to five clans respectively. Thus, we use “clan” instead of “class” in the game. The Sun Warrior: A defensive class. They are good at acting like a tank. Moonmaiden: They are good at melee attacks. They can also place traps and turn invisible. Swordsman: They are good at casting ranged spells, especially area effect spells. Bead Fairy: A supporting class. They are good at healing. They can also launch formations for summoning minions to help and reinforce themselves. Summoner: They are good at summoning minions to help fight and making durative damage.
Onrpg: What is the ultimate goal of players in Zu Online?
Ice Han: The ultimate goal of players is to safeguard righteousness and transcend themselves by exploiting their own territory and mansion to fight against the leaders of the evil—The Blood Demon.
Onrpg: Will there be any form of crafting available to players?
Ice Han: Yes. In the games, players can not only upgrade gear by using tradeskills, they can also feed pets and create items to strengthen themselves. But to do these, they should gather enough materials.
Onrpg: How will PvP be approached in Zu Online?
Ice Han: Dishonor System: In Zu Online, PK is divided into an honorable kill and a dishonorable kill. A Dishonorable kill will give birth to Dishonor Points. When the Dishonor Points reach a certain amount, the player’s name will turn red. Killing a player with a red name will not cause punishment in the form of dishonor points. What’s more, with more Dishonor Points you accumulate, the player will have a higher rate to drop items and even their exp will be deducted if they meet their demise. Killing low level players will produce a more severe punishment.
Occupy territories: There are lots of resource points in the game world. If a guild member occupies one, his/her guild will obtain glowstones dropped by nearby monsters pro rata.
Occupy mansions: In the game, there are some scenes called “mansions” for players to occupy. A guild having a mansion will have abundant resources. Besides, mansions can be upgraded for giving birth to more functions. These guilds should guard their mansion, or their mansion may be taken by another guild easily.
Freight: There are different kinds of resources around the game world of Zu Online. Thus players can buy in and sell some items at a profit in different regions. But there is great risk during shipping, because once the character meets his demise the character will lose all the goods he is carrying. Other players can also choose to kill the players in transit and rob their goods. PVP Mode: In some special regions (such as at a mansion) or state (such as freight), players will be in PVP mode automatically. The PK between players in PVP mode will gain no punishment.
PVP Contest:
Players can join in in-game contests in the form of party play, such as a monster slaying contest, item gathering contest, etc. The winners of these contests will obtain handsome rewards.
There are also special event contests. Players can get in line to join a special event contest in the form of party play by using an auto-matching system. Then once there are enough groups in line, a special event will be opened for the groups to compete in different forms, such as capture the flag, PK, kill the boss, etc. The winners of these special event contests will obtain rewards too.
Onrpg: Can we expect the same business model with Zu Online as with other games you have released?
Ice Han: We have not decided on the business model of Zu Online yet.
Onrpg: Are there any lessons you have learned from the other games you have published that will be applied to Zu Online?
Ice Han: The final published work of a game is a long course that requires long-term accumulation of diverse resources and constant improvement. We have learnt many lessons from the other games we have published. All of these will be applied to Zu Online. We will also improve our work ceaselessly to offer better services.
Onrpg: Do you have a rough timeframe for when the game will launch?
Ice Han: We anticipate its Alpha Test in the middle of August and a Closed Beta Test in September. The schedule depends on the progress of the game development. And once we figure out the exact schedule, we will announce it on our official website at once.
