Sol Invictus
Erudite
Tags: Flagship Studios; Hellgate: London
If you have the May issue (What's up with that? It's not even April.) of <a href=http://www.pcgamer.com>PC Gamer</a>, you'll be delighted to know that they have a tiny preview of the <a href=http://www.flagshipstudios.com>Flagship Studios</a> game. If you haven't heard, Flagship Studios is made up of the former Blizzard executives Bill Roper, David Brevik, Kenneth Williams, the Schaeffer brothers and Mike Huang, all of whom were responsible for unarguably the best action RPGs of all time, Diablo and Diablo 2.
<br>
<br>
They're apparently hard at work at delivering what they deliver best, an action CRPG and have announced their latest title in this issue of PC Gamer as Hellgate London, with artwork that graces the cover of the magazine. Intrigued? I know I am, but I'm not intrigued enough to buy the rag, so here's what it's all about (ripped from <a href=http://fs.kokeeno.com/gameinfo.php>Flagship Follower</a>):
<br>
<blockquote>
<br>
<b>Release date</b>: 2006
<br>
That's all we know so far.
<br>
<br>
<b>Genre</b>: Role-playing Game
<br>
The screenshots of the game in PC Gamer were very decieving. It looks very much like it is a first-person shooter, but Flagship backs up the fact that the guns are really just "spell delivering systems." Bill Roper also states that Hellgate: London is "Diablo II set in a modern 3D world and played from a first-person perspective." It will indeed have melee combat, and they do plan on having a third-person perspective for this combat mode. A difference from current FPS's, is that hits, misses, and damage will also be based on characters stats and the stats of the weapons you use. So, as PC Gamer says, "Your mad Counter-Strike skillz won't help you here."
<br>
<br>
<b>Setting</b>: Modern day London, with a post-apocalyptic twist
<br>
The game is set in a demon infested London, 5 years after an epic battle between the demons and the human race. Guess who won. London was chosen because of it's "natural dungeons" such as subways, aqueducts, and left over bomb shelters from WWII. And yes, that was St. Paul's Cathedral in that concept art piece.
<br>
<br>
<b>Storyline</b>: Linear (but not quite so linear as Diablo II)
<br>
They say it will be linear, but less linear than Diablo II. This will be done by having randomized paths and quests that the player can take. Like in Diablo II, the surroundings will be generated randomly, so that it has the replayability of their other games.
<br>
<br>
<b>Leveling System</b>: Common RPG
<br>
They are guesstimating around 50 levels will be available at retail. The skill system sounds much like Diablo's. When you level up, you get skill points that you can put into class-specific abilities.
<br>
<br>
<b>Skill System</b>:
<br>
Their prototype sounds something like this: There are three categories with each class: Vengeance(offensive), auras(passive), and combo moves(triggered by making a critical strike).
<br>
<br>
They are still playing around with the direction of their skill system. One idea is to have a maze-like system that eventually leads the player into a subclass of the player.
<br>
<br>
<b>Online/Single-player</b>:
<br>
While the game will be <b>mainly single-player</b>, they do intend to make an online component(they have said something to the likes of Battle.net before) with support of 16 or even 32 players. Bill Roper hasn't ruled out some sort of competetive mode. A ladder system maybe?
<br>
<br>
<b>Tidbits</b>:
<br>
"A game that looks like Doom 3 but has the quest complexity of an RPG."
<br>
<br>
Character's appearance will be customizable in sex and looks.
<br>
<br>
Loot systems will be much like Diablo II's, where items will drop off your fallen foes. All items will have unique attributes. Even two identical items will have varying accuracy and damage.
<br>
<br>
Can you say rune words? Weapons will also have slots to add modifcations to add to your weapons, much like the runewords in Diablo II. They also say there may be a Horadric Cube-like system for making your own "relics."
<br>
<br>
Inventory will be handled just like any other RPG, with a paper-doll screen that allows you to drag and drop your gear.
<br>
<br>
There will be NPCs throughout the game that may aid you in your combat.
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
These guys are, sure as hell, not another CLICK Entertainment (responsible for that horrible Samurai-themed Diablo clone). That was made by some QA guy who tried to cash in on the Blizzard name. Credit where credit is due, visit <a href=http://fs.kokeeno.com/gameinfo.php>Flagship Follower</a>, where I grabbed the details. Thanks <b>Karka</b>.
If you have the May issue (What's up with that? It's not even April.) of <a href=http://www.pcgamer.com>PC Gamer</a>, you'll be delighted to know that they have a tiny preview of the <a href=http://www.flagshipstudios.com>Flagship Studios</a> game. If you haven't heard, Flagship Studios is made up of the former Blizzard executives Bill Roper, David Brevik, Kenneth Williams, the Schaeffer brothers and Mike Huang, all of whom were responsible for unarguably the best action RPGs of all time, Diablo and Diablo 2.
<br>
<br>
They're apparently hard at work at delivering what they deliver best, an action CRPG and have announced their latest title in this issue of PC Gamer as Hellgate London, with artwork that graces the cover of the magazine. Intrigued? I know I am, but I'm not intrigued enough to buy the rag, so here's what it's all about (ripped from <a href=http://fs.kokeeno.com/gameinfo.php>Flagship Follower</a>):
<br>
<blockquote>
<br>
<b>Release date</b>: 2006
<br>
That's all we know so far.
<br>
<br>
<b>Genre</b>: Role-playing Game
<br>
The screenshots of the game in PC Gamer were very decieving. It looks very much like it is a first-person shooter, but Flagship backs up the fact that the guns are really just "spell delivering systems." Bill Roper also states that Hellgate: London is "Diablo II set in a modern 3D world and played from a first-person perspective." It will indeed have melee combat, and they do plan on having a third-person perspective for this combat mode. A difference from current FPS's, is that hits, misses, and damage will also be based on characters stats and the stats of the weapons you use. So, as PC Gamer says, "Your mad Counter-Strike skillz won't help you here."
<br>
<br>
<b>Setting</b>: Modern day London, with a post-apocalyptic twist
<br>
The game is set in a demon infested London, 5 years after an epic battle between the demons and the human race. Guess who won. London was chosen because of it's "natural dungeons" such as subways, aqueducts, and left over bomb shelters from WWII. And yes, that was St. Paul's Cathedral in that concept art piece.
<br>
<br>
<b>Storyline</b>: Linear (but not quite so linear as Diablo II)
<br>
They say it will be linear, but less linear than Diablo II. This will be done by having randomized paths and quests that the player can take. Like in Diablo II, the surroundings will be generated randomly, so that it has the replayability of their other games.
<br>
<br>
<b>Leveling System</b>: Common RPG
<br>
They are guesstimating around 50 levels will be available at retail. The skill system sounds much like Diablo's. When you level up, you get skill points that you can put into class-specific abilities.
<br>
<br>
<b>Skill System</b>:
<br>
Their prototype sounds something like this: There are three categories with each class: Vengeance(offensive), auras(passive), and combo moves(triggered by making a critical strike).
<br>
<br>
They are still playing around with the direction of their skill system. One idea is to have a maze-like system that eventually leads the player into a subclass of the player.
<br>
<br>
<b>Online/Single-player</b>:
<br>
While the game will be <b>mainly single-player</b>, they do intend to make an online component(they have said something to the likes of Battle.net before) with support of 16 or even 32 players. Bill Roper hasn't ruled out some sort of competetive mode. A ladder system maybe?
<br>
<br>
<b>Tidbits</b>:
<br>
"A game that looks like Doom 3 but has the quest complexity of an RPG."
<br>
<br>
Character's appearance will be customizable in sex and looks.
<br>
<br>
Loot systems will be much like Diablo II's, where items will drop off your fallen foes. All items will have unique attributes. Even two identical items will have varying accuracy and damage.
<br>
<br>
Can you say rune words? Weapons will also have slots to add modifcations to add to your weapons, much like the runewords in Diablo II. They also say there may be a Horadric Cube-like system for making your own "relics."
<br>
<br>
Inventory will be handled just like any other RPG, with a paper-doll screen that allows you to drag and drop your gear.
<br>
<br>
There will be NPCs throughout the game that may aid you in your combat.
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
These guys are, sure as hell, not another CLICK Entertainment (responsible for that horrible Samurai-themed Diablo clone). That was made by some QA guy who tried to cash in on the Blizzard name. Credit where credit is due, visit <a href=http://fs.kokeeno.com/gameinfo.php>Flagship Follower</a>, where I grabbed the details. Thanks <b>Karka</b>.
.
