Project V4 was first teased by developer NAT Games back at G-Star 2018 by global publisher Nexon. Perhaps due to Nexon dropping out of G-Star this year, a media preview was held yesterday at Nexon’s Pangyo building to introduce Project V4 for the first time. If you did not already know, NAT Games is the studio behind HIT and Overhit, 2 successful mobile games published by Nexon. It was mentioned that a “proper” media showcase will be held again later this year, with an official launch in South Korea scheduled for November.
Here is a quick summary of Project V4 before we go into the Q&A section:
• V4 is a PC-quality and “photo-realistic” mobile MMORPG crafted using Unreal Engine 4
• Players assume the role of devil hunters
• 6 playable classes each with its own unique combat resources and systems
• The 6 classes are Knight (sword and shield), Magician, Blader (daggers and swords), Warlord (2-handed hammer), Axler (mixed-range using axe and guns), and Gunslinger
• Players will be able to switch between 5 different camera modes
• “Inter-server” is a key feature of V4, where players from different servers engage in PVE and PVP together. Each player’s server will be displayed along with their character names.
That is the brief introduction to Project V4. Seen below is the Q&A content (selective translation) between the development team and the invited media outlets:
Q: How did the title “V4” come about?
A: The exact meaning of “V4” is “Victory For.” As you can see, there is a word missing after “For.” The aim is to allow players to set their own goals in the game.
Q: From how the game looks, it seems that the requirements will be high.
A: V4 is developed using Unreal Engine 4, and there game itself is quite large with many systems. Hence, it is indeed not a low-spec mobile game. For a smooth experience, devices such as Samsung Galaxy S7 or Apple iPhone 7 is required. This is the requirement for “seamless” gameplay, though phones with lower specs can still play the game at a lower fidelity setting. We are still working hard on optimizing the game, so please wait for launch.
Q: We heard that V4 received very favorable and positive results by Nexon’s in-house testings. Which areas of the game received good feedback?
A: Graphics and art scored the highest, and convenience of gameplay also received good evaluations.
Q: Can you tell us more about this “inter-server” system?
A: Similar to other mobile titles, players select servers and start their journey. In V4, players from different servers can meet on the fields and play together. Not all servers will be matched, as several selected server are tied together and form a “server group.” This is our vision of “playing with as many players as possible” in V4.
Q: There is no faction system found typically in mobile MMORPG titles. Is there a reason for this setup?
A: We did consider setting up a faction-based RvR system. However, in a mobile MMORPG where disconnection happens easily, we felt like there are more negatives which will likely cause population disparity between factions which can lead to the game’s collapse. Instead of factions, the “inter-server” system will give players a better sense of belonging and fight for server pride. With multiple servers in a “server group”, PVP will not be constraint by imbalanced faction strength in a single server.
Q: What content does this “inter-server” system affect?
A: This system is still being tested, but most interactions will be made within the same server. We are aiming not to let this affect the economy and value of items in each server through the trading function. Various experiments are being carried out right now to identify which game content will least be affected by server-to-server interaction.
Q: There are rumors that V4 is based on the same worldview as HIT. Is this true?
A: During the development of V4, there were several concerns internally about using the HIT worldview. However, we can say that there is no official link between HIT and V4. The development of V4 is definitely influenced by the action and camera direction of HIT, and the experience through making HIT was used as reference too.
Q: It seems that all 6 classes are rather aggressive, even the Knight with sword and shield. Are the specific roles for tanking and healing?
A: We do not intend to create classes by classifying them into roles such as tankers, dealers, and healers. However, various skills to support the party or player’s own character, such as heal, shield, buff are under development.
Q: Other mobile MMORPG titles focus heavily on live skills such as gathering resources and also party play. Is V4 any different?
A: V4 does have living content and a party system. But instead of forcing players to party, the game will let players decide if there is a need to do so. Players will not lose much without partying.
Q: How do players get equipment in V4?
A: V4 emphasize playing in the open field maps, so we think that getting drops out there is an enjoyable experience.
Q: What are the PVP modes available in V4?
A: The PVP concept we have now is not arena-style 1 vs 1 or 3 vs 3 etc, but rather PVP which happens naturally on maps when fighting for resources. Other than Guild vs Guild as the game’s flagship PVP mode, guilds can also fight over field bosses.
