[Game website] Launching this June, WildStar’s press event kind of got buried under The Elder Scrolls Online’s official launch when it comes to MMO news. MMOGames.com attended the event, and was able to ask a few questions regarding the upcoming game. Read on for for details!
Q: Hi Stephan, so nice to meet you! My name is Collin From MMOGames.com, and I would like to ask you a few questions. Here’s my first one, my first notion I got from WildStar was that it was going to be a PvE focused game.
But as the development has progressed, I have noticed a lot of attention being thrown into the PvP side as well. With features like Warplots, battlegrounds and even arenas, I am a bit surprised. Not too long ago you guys even streamed a PvP AMA on Twitch. So my question is, are you guys going to be focusing on any form of eSports
A: Hi Collin nice to meet you to! And yes, we have had a strong focus on PvE for WildStar. As you must have heard during the presentation, our current focus is on providing enough late game content for the hardcore dedicated players out there, so that we can build a name and consistent playerbase for our game.
There will be plenty of PcPs (post-cap playspaces), public events and daily quests for players once they have reached their cap, and we will be only expanding on this after the game has been launched. As for PvP, we wanted to make sure that there was a good foothold to start things off with.
As for eSports, we have focused primarily on launching the game first. eSports does sound cool, I know the PvP in WildStar does look fast-paced and flashy with all the chaotic telegraphs (skills) going on during epic duels. As you know, games like League of Legends have also delved into eSports, but they have spent a HUGE amount of time, effort and money to make that happen.
We simply don’t have the resources yet to organize any eSports tournaments yet. So just to wrap things up, we are focusing on a smooth launch first.
Q: Okay thanks Stephan. For my second question, I was wondering, since Housing is such an immense feature in WildStar, are there any plans on making a Player Studio, similar to the one Sony uses for their games, like Everquest or Planetside 2? That being, players being able to create and sell their self-made virtual items to other players?
A: The idea of adding a Player Studio to WildStar has come to our attention. We have opted not to add this to our game. WildStar won’t support this because it resembles the Architect tradeskill too much. The Architect is able to create shapes FABkits, decor items for houses and Warplot deployables.
Player Studio is perhaps something we can add in the future, if there is a strong housing item creation community that is willing to support the feature.
Q: And what about having a WildStar app? Where players can check Auction House stuff or an armory app similar to the one World of Warcraft uses?
A: Again, not really something that we have put a lot of attention to. We may someday in the future launch a WildStar app, something like a leaderboard app, or armory or auction house, but like I said earlier, successfully launching the game first is very important to us.
Q: As for the content updating schedule, I have read on the WildStar Reddit that you guys were planning to release new updates / patches every month. Is this correct? Will these updates be content updates or will these primarily be bug fixes, or balancing issues, with content updates having a longer waiting period before they are released?
A: Every month will be a content patch. We have scheduled this and made plans for this coming year. We didn’t want to release too much at launch, because when you release an MMORPG, it’s key to have a content plan so that there is something new to do every time you log into WildStar.
Retention is key here, we are going for the long haul so we have already made up a plan what we will be releasing every month. And this could be anything, from new zones, new quests, new raids, new dungeons, new battlegrounds, you name it. Anything is possible, and we want to make sure the player keeps coming back, and has new stuff to explore when doing so. Like I said, retention is key.
Q: You guys have come up with a very cool payment model. The C.R.E.D.D. system works similar to the system EVE: Online uses called PLEX I believe. Do you think this is something other MMORPG creators will pick up once it has been successful? Was it ever an idea to go free-to-play in the first place?
A: First off, WildStar was never meant to be free-to-play. We believe that if a game is good enough, people are willing to play it, and pay for it. It is like Netflix or HBO. People expect good quality coming from our end, so we will deliver. WildStar is going to be a fun game that is going to be worth playing.
It is a AAA quality game that is worth it’s subscription cost. As for the C.R.E.D.D. system, it rewards players who play the game a lot. They can play for free if they invest enough time per month, which is a pretty neat system if you think about it. If other MMORPGs will pick up on it? I’m not sure. If we are successful with this who knows!
Q: My final question is: Flying mounts. Are they coming to the game or not?
A: We have been asked about this before, and we will not be implementing flying mounts in the game. I know, it sounds weird. A sci-fi game with starships and whatnot cruising around, it just makes sense to add them. However, we believe that having no flying mounts means people have to travel by foot or ground mount, which makes them cross each other more frequently during game.
People on flying mounts stay in the air, and never even get to see each other any more. This takes the adventure and social aspect out of the game. It is not that we are technically unable to add flying mounts. We have hacks now where you can make your character fly, so it is possible. Perhaps it is something we can implement in the future if we change our minds. But for now, ground mounts are the way to go!
