Horizons: Empire of Istaria Preview

There is a slew of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) coming to the market over the next year. Horizons: Empire of Istaria from Artifact Entertainment hopes the differences in their offering will put them on the top of the heap.

MMORPGs while being similar in basic design differ greatly in details and take a while to acclimate to as a new player. Bearing this in mind, Artifact took two days last week (each tour was an hour and our host was David Bowman) to guide members of the press though game basics. Sort of a Cliff Notes for Horizons in real time if you prefer. I got the game CDs a few days before my appointment on Friday so of course, I installed them and jumped into the game. The first thing I did was create a new character from the nine player races available: Humans, Elves, Fiends, Gnomes, Dwarves, Half-Giants, Saris (cat people), Sslik (Lizard Men) and Dragons. Character creation is cleverly implemented. You start in front of an archway that opens into a human village with a male and female human standing in front of you. In the upper right hand corner, basic stats are displayed with an explanation what classes or vocations humans excel. Clicking on one of the other race's names in the bottom right hand corner causes your perspective to suddenly turn and head down a stone hallway lined with torches to one of eight other archways, each housing a different race. As the races change, so do the settings around them and the music that plays. It is a simple thing that had a large effect on me. After customizing my character's looks, height and weight I slipped into the online world and began poking around. The starting area I spawned in had large stone signs that directed me to my trainer, crafting areas and a small hunting ground. After playing with the settings for a bit, I logged out and killed time until my appointment with David Bowman on Friday.

Play Day

When I enter the conference call I find out the 1st level mage I created is not going to be used for the demo. Rather, a 30th level fighter complete with plate mail was created for me. I also find David, playing as an adult dragon, waiting for me in the town square. He escorts me over to an anvil in the crafting area to teach me how to make a weapon. Before David had a chance to tell me how to create the sword, I did it on my own. The current crafting interface is self explanatory and allows you to play with settings that affect the quality and durability of the item.

Crafting is a huge part of Horizons. Every structure, piece of armor, weapon, tool or anything else that appears in the game can be crafted by players. Similar to Star Wars Galaxies (SWG), items you make can be put on consignment merchant so other players can buy them. Unlike SWG, if you just want to get rid of the item and get some cash, you can sell it to another merchant for the rock bottom price. Crafted items, of course, require resources that can either be mined, harvested or bought. This gives more flexibility to players who may be burned out on the grind of killing monsters and would rather play another role either as crafter or a resource merchant.

Next we headed over to a meadow that had some lower level monsters wandering around. These monsters were no challenge to my 30th level fighter but served as a good demonstration of some of the combat styles. Currently each race has 250 animations with more to come as the game progresses. As I was slicing through weak zombie warriors and maggots like a hot knife through butter, David summoned a monster that was more of a challenge. After a battle that was more rewarding it was explained that the lower levels mobs that we were playing (and the sort that you usually see in other games) were not the only things we would be seeing. Each monster has a specific AI or personality that is assigned to it. Some are non-aggressive and wonder about. Other monsters in the game, regardless of level, are aggressive and will attack players on sight. But others, and this is what is really cool, will wander through the world and recruit other monsters to join its group as it begins its rampage. As this leader travels along and finds other monsters that are tougher or better suit the group, it will kick the less valuable monsters out of its group to make room. Finally, there is a smaller group of high level monsters that know the monster population for the entire world. These monsters act like commanders who will realize when players are making a dent in specific area and will try to direct a concerted effort to counter the players' progress. The world will react and respond to an area that is heavily farmed by players. This is an exciting concept!

David next took us through a glowing portal to a floating island. Soaring far above us were two more islands. David explained that some areas in the game are only accessible to the player by flight. Dragons are able to engage in limited flight after they have achieved Adulthood. Other races have the ability to travel to these areas with powerful spells. The in-game engine supports six kilometers of space, four above and two below. This allows for sweeping vistas and the ability to go seamlessly from one place to another without having to wait as an area loads. To demonstrate this we transported to a Dwarven town. We were able to see how the game was able to go from an outside environment into an underground setting without having to wait for a new area to load.

As we wound up our tour, we were taken to a final area called a Blight Maelstrom. These areas can appear anywhere in the world over a period. These are dark and foreboding areas that herald the approach of evil. From within the center of the storm a structure grows like a mess of brambles. Inside the structure lies a portal that monsters spawn from and pour out onto the surrounding countryside to destroy and pillage. Players will have to band together and wade though the ravaging hordes of beasts to the very heart of the structure in order to shut it down. At the center of the storm, plants lie dead and twisted, dark clouds swirl in vortex overhead and lighting crashes around you. These Blights will not appear at random. The whole point of the game is to get players involved in the world and the stories that take place there. Each 'Shard' or server will have two Game Masters assigned to it that can decide when things happen and spawn creatures. The idea is the Game Masters will help create an environment that, as players gain levels, build structures and advance, they do not feel like they are on the usual level treadmill they have witnessed in other games. You are getting better as a character to assist in the fight against the monsters and advance the story in the world. Because of this, the game focuses solely on Player vs. Enemy combat (PvE). David explained that Player vs. Player (PvP) combat is very difficult to integrate into a PvE game. The two types of games are just too different to integrate into a single game and expect them to be an enjoyable experience. David stated that they will be releasing a PvP product but it will be released at a later date. If Artifact is able to pull all of the single player game elements together as they described, PvP will not be missed. There will be enough ongoing interaction by the world that players will feel that they are being challenged by the game and rewarded for their actions.

The hour went by too quickly and we found ourselves back at our starting point near the forge. The Beta is still on going and they are adding more to the game world each day. Horizons is slated for a release this winter. If there is one thing I could tell by the guided tour was that these guys are passionate about this game. You can tell when David or any of the other team members talk about Horizons, that they are making a game they want to play. It is clear in the music, the artwork and in the detail of game mechanics that this is a labor of love. Hopefully, in less than three months time, we will all get to share some of the love. (I'm sure we'll get to share some love sooner than that. - 2Lions)