Over the past few months, Chinese developer Snail Games had released bits and parts of the game features found in the upcoming sandbox survival martial arts game, Age of Wushu 2. Powered by Unreal Engine 4, Snail Games recently touched on another topic, factions and schools. Since Age of Wushu 2 is touted as a sandbox title, how do these 2 features provide players with freedom?
Factions
Snail Games mentioned that factions can be divided into 3 main branches, with the biggest known as school, followed by family clans (such as Murong family, Gongsun family etc), and finally camps (such as bandit camps in the mountains). All 3 are fundamentally similar, with players able to train and learn martial arts, but it all boils down to their influence in the martial arts world.
According to the development team, the higher level a branch is, the more systematic the skills learned are; on the other hand, the lower level branches will have access to more unorthodox skills. Unorthodox skills do not mean they are weak, but it depends on how players utilize them. Beggar Sect, Salt Gang, Murong Family, Quanzhen Sect, and Wudang Sect were briefly mentioned as well.
It is important for players to recognize which faction or branch players and NPCs are from based on their appearance. For example, a player might come across another character while riding at night. If he can’t be sure which faction he is from, it would be risky to launch an attack. Although members of a faction might wear similar clothing, there will be differences as well. Stay alert!
Schools
As mentioned above, schools are the biggest branch of factions. In other games, schools might just occupy a static plot of land, allowing players to interact with NPCs and complete quests. This is different in Age of Wushu 2, as representatives of various schools (players and NPCs) will always be moving around the massive world, each interaction triggering different events and consequences.
Currency system
At the start of the game, there will be no formal currency system, as players will have to barter for goods (trading of 1 item for another). As the game or server progresses, players might then come up with a more stable currency to be used for trading, such as sea shells, ores, or other minerals. All these will likely evolve into silver and gold once the mining technique is passed down to the masses.
