In case you do not know, Age of Wulin
is an upcoming martial arts MMO being hosted by gPotato Europe. Don't
ask me if there will be IP blocks, I do not know lol. Along with Perfect
World's Swordsman Online, these are the 2 most anticipated martial arts
MMO this year in China. Developed by China studio, Snail Games, the
Chinese server has yet gone into Open Beta. Just recently, the big boss
of Snail Games, Mr Shi Hai, had a Q&A session with one lucky
reporter. I am just going to summarize the main points said into point
forms for easier viewing. Click here for the official English website! Mr Shi Hai is on the left in the picture below if you are curious.


1. The game has been in development for around 3years, with 2 major changes made in its course so far.

2. Mr Shi Hai said the game is not suitable for those who are already polluted by the typical "garbage MMO".

3. When creating each
character, there will be 8 "novels" for players to choose from. This
actually means there will be 8 different main storyline for players to
choose from. There will be over 10,00 quests, 26 different scenarios
(main storyline scenario, world scenario, clan scenario etc), over 80
big and small martial arts factions, over 10,00 NPCs and around 1000
NPCs involved in the main storyline.


4. In the Chinese version,
players will not be able to give their character funny/weird/rude or
English names. From what I see, the Chinese server actually has a wall
library of words for players to choose from when creating
names. There is an automated name creation function as well.

5. NPCs in the game will not be
stationary at the same spot all the time and will be moving around
(don't expect the bun seller to keep moving around though). Each NPC
will have a different response to player's actions. Of course, players
who chose different "novels" at the beginning will have to meet
different NPCs.


6. Mr Shi Hai continues to talk
about the "Karma" system, or rather the NPC relationship system for
easier understanding. For example, there is this rare skill manual which
shops don't sell. The game's system will record players' actions
towards the NPCs and players' achievements in the martial world. When
the time is right, NPCs will start to give hints and small quests,
eventually leading up to the quest to obtain the manual.

Personally, I think this is an awesome system. While not confirmed,
players might be able to choose and do bad stuff, activating quests to
get the "evil" skill manuals. Hope this will be implemented.

7. There will be no "fixed
strategy" in Age of Wulin. Rewards from quests will differ and given
based on the NPC relationship system. Another example will be some
players walking across a field with no problem, but some others might
fall into a cave traveling through the exact same spots.

8. Age of Wulin is developed
using the in-house Flexi Engine. The game is continuously undergoing
optimization, and while there is currently an active weather changing
system, there is still no day-night feature yet.


9. There will be voice overs for all NPCs in the Chinese server.

10. As for the Wind Steps, the
movement feature where players can travel on water, above tress and
scale walls, players may use this skill to reach every place the eye can
see, including mountain tops, above giant status and more. However,
there is death if players fall from high grounds.


From the screenshot below, there will be 10 skills under Wind Steps. As
mentioned, some will be for walking on water surfaces, some for scaling
tall buildings and some used on the ground. One of it is rather
interesting, which apparently allow players to deflect from walls.
Players may also dive underwater, but there will be a meter bar acting
as an air supply gauge.


11. Much details are crafted
into the environment and structures, so players will not see the same
rock being copy and pasted all over the world (lol @ Final Fantasy XIV).

12. As a MMO without a level
system, players will still obtain "Training Points" from the various
activities they do (quests, interacting with NPCs, talking to other
players etc). I am finding it hard to translate this part, but just be
informed that skills will be upgraded through these points. There will
be no character stats to add as well (seems like equipments will be the
ones adding).


13. Mr Shi Hai declare that
most martial arts MMO are still stuck at the "kill mobs, gain
experience, level up, add stats: vicious cycle, including Perfect
World's Swordsman Online (gasp!). In Age of Wulin, the game will not
focus on all these and introduce something new instead. For example,
there will be 4 basic fighting stance available for PvP and PvE. Each
stance will have its own "counter" from the same group and players who
engage in PvP will be able to observe opponent's stance and predict what
skills he will be using, similar to the scenes in martial arts dramas
and movies. Players will also be able to dodge in time if he guess the
next skill correctly.

14. For combat, there will be the combo system as well, for aerial attacks, chain attacks etc.

15. For the Chinese server, Mr
Shi Hai said that the business model is still being looked into.
Apparently Snail Games is still looking for some sort of new model
instead of just plain cash shop, but at the same time insisting that the
focus will not be on forcing players buying items to aid in their
equipments' upgrades.

16. Next, he talked about the
guild system. Guilds will be able to own their own piece of land,
including setting up a guild base and also placing their guild's name at
the front gate, as seen in the screenshot below. Guild bases will also
provide players with exclusive content and abilities.


Looking at the world map, guilds can also carry out assassinations or
all-out strikes to exterminate another guild or simply takeover it base.
Finer details are not available yet.


17. When players log off, they
are not really "offline". Their characters might be used by other
players as slaves, used as a deliveryman or aiding someone to finish his
quest. Players will hence find themselves in a different location when
they log in again. Of course, this system will have its limitation and
will only be activated once certain requirements are met. This system
will also allow players to have "rare" encounters, which will provide
them good rewards.

18. The game has already been
licensed to various regions, including Taiwan, Europe, Korea, Hong Kong,
Russia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. North America was
not mentioned.

Since the release of its first beta test on October 8th, Age of Wulin has attracted much attention from swordsman fiction fans. Age of Wulin is a 3D martial-arts MMORPG developed by Snail Game. Featuring Chinese-stylish scenes, colorful life skills, interaction between players and NPCs and vivid martial-arts world, Age of Wulin
has gained the recognition of many players. To help players get a
better understanding of game settings and enjoy themselves better in a
pure martial-arts world created by Age of Wulin,
Snail Game is kind enough to publish a game guide for newbies, which
gives a detailed introduction to 10 kinds of gameplay, including martial
arts, chance encounters, forbidden zones and guild war.

• More New MMO Details @ New Games Frontier
  

Martial arts in Age of Wulin are classified into moves,
Qigong and Qinggong and moves fall into void, real and stance moves,
which promote and restrain each other as well as enhance the
maneuverability of combats. Qigong is related to rhythmic breathing, and
can improve characters’ strength, HP and other attributes. Qinggong
enables players to move more swiftly and make in-game combats full of
variability.



Challenge grounds and forbidden zones are best places to
get training, materials and equipment. When players reach a certain
level, they can accept 3 quests from a wushu master, which will lead
them to 3 forbidden zones. In terms of challenge grounds, the game
provides exclusive storyline quests to give players guidance. In the
meantime, players can strike up friendships easily there.


Aside from constant fights and emotional relationships,
Age of Wulin creates a real martial-arts world where players can make a
living by labor. The in-game life system reflects a real life in ancient
times to some extent, striving to bring players different gaming
experiences. 15 available life skills boost the communication between
players and enrich their in-game daily life.



Guilds and sects play an indispensable role in a
real martial-arts world. Dedicating to ensuring players the deepest
impression, guilds and sects will shock players with several innovations
based on first-class graphics and lifelike buildings. Furthermore, the
conflict between the good and the evil, and the dispute between
different guilds put the whole game world into disorder, and also arouse
gratitude and resentment between players.

The chance encounter system passes on martial-arts
cultures. Different chance encounters can be activated in different
ways. It may be a game of chess that you cannot solve even though you
beat your brains out. It may be a box you can open easily or a dialog
within easy reach. Additionally, it is likely that you gain nothing
after falling from a cliff with your face badly bruised. In a word, it
depends on your luck.


The offline system is creatively developed by Snail
Game. After players shut down the game client, their characters will log
into the game again and travel across the game world together with
other online ones. From a certain point of view, characters can never go
offline. Meanwhile, online characters can interact with offline
characters. Offline characters may serve in a restaurant, learn
factional skills, go fishing, fell tress, reclaim wasteland, mine ores
and so on. They can even be kidnapped and sold by other players.
Certainly, a successful kidnapping is not so easy. Some righteous
players are always ready to help the victim.

Shu wrote:

They can even be kidnapped and sold by other players.
Certainly, a successful kidnapping is not so easy. Some righteous
players are always ready to help the victim.

lol, that sounds interesting

Quote :

Offline characters may serve in a restaurant, learn
factional skills, go fishing, fell tress, reclaim wasteland, mine ores
and so on.

I'm sure people will prioritise on serving in a restaurant instead of going out to save the world. Features are pretty unique in overall... Will be fun to try the game out.

p.s. overuse of bloom ><

Forseti wrote:

Quote :

Offline characters may serve in a restaurant, learn
factional skills, go fishing, fell tress, reclaim wasteland, mine ores
and so on.

I'm sure people will prioritise on serving in a restaurant instead of going out to save the world. Features are pretty unique in overall... Will be fun to try the game out.

p.s. overuse of bloom ><

Personally, I kinda plan to level up musician and art so I would rather my character go and sell her works at the street etc when am offline LOL.

As for bloom, I believe ALL chinese mmorpg got that problem lol.

Facade wrote:

Shu wrote:

They can even be kidnapped and sold by other players.
Certainly, a successful kidnapping is not so easy. Some righteous
players are always ready to help the victim.

lol, that sounds interesting

not really -_- i bet vynch and some others will wait for me to go offline then kidnap me just for fun zzzzzzzz

on the other hand i can kidnap them as well to make them clean my house lol

your worst enemy is always your friends heh

Age of Wulin
is an MMORPG that emphasizes on realistic kungfu world, and the game
features unlimited PvP (all areas except the beginner's village are open
for PvP) so that players can duel it out anywhere they want, just like
the kung fu masters in Chinese novels. Of course there will be a
punishment system to protect low level and non-PvP players. Read on to
see more details.


Though it's controversial, Snail Game still decides to let players to
PK each other freely, what's more, they also designs a kidnapping
system that allows players to kidnap gamer whose can be handed over to
certain npcs for in-game gold. PvP and kidnapping will surely cause lots
of "crimes" which will hurt newbies. Thus there's a crime level and a
prison system to deal with players who kill/kidnap too many low level
players. Once a player's crime level reaches certain point, he/she will
be listed as wanted and hunted by both AI enforcer and players.


Once a player is arrested and put into prison, he will have three
options: accept the punishment, win your freedom through gambling, and
buy over the authority with money - all the three options will reduce
your crime level. There is death sentence in the game. Prisoner with
10,000 crime points will be beheaded if he can't manage to bribe the
guards.



shu:guess we cant make offline char do anything we wanted afterall pffft hehe.still pretty interesting system.if a person make too much enemy.their char can be hunt down when they are offline in which u can hand them over to enemy faction npc who seek their punishment which will earn u reward while doing it

I wonder.. beheaded means character deletion? Or can't access the character for a certain period?

Also, for kidnapping, what will happen to the kidnapped players after they're sold.

Eg: I kidnapped Shu and sold him to the npc. When Shu logged in, where would his character end up on?

LOL

NEVER LOG OUT

NEVERRRRRR

think will end up in prison if u are kidnap when offline.then u either have to do a prison break by gambling with the prison warden or stay in jail for a period of time or pay the fine like how we get out of jail in monopoly board game heh

=p snow i dare u to keep ur char online forever heh.ur lappy will end up in flames ^_^

and vynch i knew when i receive ur spam call its due to this thread heh.one day i gonna pick up the call and make u spend money lolz

o_0 what's a spam call?

Snow wrote:

o_0 what's a spam call?

Means, random phone Shu for no reason.

Key Game Features

The whole world covers an area of 20,000 sq. meters, similar to WoW's size
Most of the sceneries in the game are based on the real scenes
Watching the duel between two kung fu masters can earn you EXP
There won't be shining effects for the skills but real kung fu
You can block and dodge in the combat
No traditional MMORPG concepts like tank and healing classes in the party
There will be solo dungeons as well as party dungeons

Key System Features

8 player factions, including Shaolin, Wudang, Emei, Beggar, Tang Clan, Junzi Hall, Royal Guard and Paradise Valley.
5 player abilities: Kungfu, Medicines & Poisons, Weapons, Body Channels, and Community
3 player levels
Robust Equipment system
5 Battle systems
Mounts and Pets with Level-ups
No Classes



Jumping out of the traditional “warrior, mage and priest” class system and creatively bringing forth a classless concept, the game reconstructs a complex and variable martial-arts society and breaks through the traditional way that reflects characters' strength through levels.

Intellectual DIY Online Society

Players are not only martial-arts learners, but also a part of the game society with different social statuses. Such a social system makes the game world extremely vast and colorful. Even though players don't know martial arts, they can live happily until death and lead a unique knight-errant life in the game. Their characters can keep growing up no matter they are online or offline.



Random Events

Various martial-arts skills that can change one's life are no longer confined to one faction or one weapon, but not all players are qualified to learn them. Players need a certain amount of good luck to trigger random events through the interaction with NPCs and the choice of branch storylines. The offline function also ensures more stories and diversified random events.

True Martial-arts Community

- No classes: All in-game skills can be learnt.

- Game Balance: Based on skills instead of classes.

- Win or Loss: Depends on skill proficiency rather than numerical values and skills. Therefore, the game has some characteristics of controllable fighting games.

- Players live in a community, not simply log into and out of the game. With the realization of the network structure, random events can be triggered, and enough NPC AI skills and rich life content are needed.

- Players enjoy enough freedom in terms of growth, combat and reputation. The immersive storyline leads to multiple development directions. Combats should be carried out in a 3D environment by use of more skills like dodge. Besides, players should be free to create their factions and hold martial-arts championships. Multi-events work in concert with multiple community statuses.

Interaction

About the marriage system, in Age of Wulin, you can even marry with NPCs, but not all of them. About how many NPCs will be available, the developer hasn't decided yet. But there is an interesting, and perhaps controversial topic about the marriage, that is should those who choose Shaolin(the faction of monk) be able to get marry? The developer hasn't given an answer yet...

There will be mini games in Age of Wulin that allow you to interact with NPCs, for example, playing chess.



The game will have housing system. For individuals, they can have their own houses and for guilds, they are able to build guild houses after occupying a sacred mountain (there will be 8 mountains in the game that can be captured).

Combat

Each martial-arts skill has its unique actions and will produce special effects so as to enhance the striking feeling and approach the level of action games. Providing traditional controls, the game is easy to pick up and allows players to experience vivid and gorgeous martial-arts effects.

For PvP, first there won't be physical levels but the skills and players' kung fu will have different levels. And then you can expect to have free PvP but will get punish if you kill too many "low level" players. Except for 1 vs. 1 PvP, there will be faction vs. faction, guild vs. guild, and kung fu tournament. Your skill level and the kung fu you learn decide your fate in PvP but good control and luck are also important since block and dodge are available in the game.



It's possible to take your opponent down by one shot (something like critical attack). There are over one thousand different kinds of kung fu in the game, and theoretically, you are able to learn all of them.

True 3D

Based on the true 3D technology, things can be destroyed in the game, such as towers, pavilions, trees, stones, etc.

Life skills

11 life skills or subclasses have been announced: Miner, Woodsman, Hunter, Fisherman, Farmer, Blacksmith, Goldsmith, Tailor, Apothecary, Poison Expert, and Chef.



Blacksmith will be one of the most welcome professions in the game. Since many of the top class weapons can be made by blacksmith. But don't expect easy money from making weapons because you have to buy materials from the others and you have to know the economy well.



As an apothecary, you are an expert of herb and fungus. You travel across the world to collect herb and have the opportunity to get rare species when crafting.



A hunter will require more hard works. You need not only courage, but also combat skills for you have to fight some dangerous beasts. You can produce leather and meat as a hunter.

Being a farmer, you will be really busy. You have to keep an eye on your farm, or there will be someone comes to "visit" your farm.

Woodsman and fisherman will provide you useful materials, too, and of course you have the opportunity to get rare items, just like the other professions.

Sub-profession



Sub-profession is just one of the parts that consist of the spare time in the game. In Age of Wulin, there is a very special system that will grant you "free lunch". Under this system, everyone has an opportunity to get an ultimate kung fu scroll that changes you from nobody to kung fu master. Of course the "free launch" requires luck, but more important, it requires a good perception. If you are careful enough you will find the clue. For example, an ordinary NPC, even a beggar on the street could be a retired kung fu master and all you need to do is talk to him and he may tell you a place, perhaps a cave, where he hides the scroll. This is the developer's purpose, they want to make miracle happens.

Traveling

Except for horses and boats there is a very special way to travel, the floating kung fu - a kind of famouse kungfu that allow you to glide on the water and dash on the roof top quickly.

As to the mount, the developer tries to introduce all of the mounts that appear in the classic kungfu novels. Mounts won't be available in battle.

About the auto navigation, the game will apply a half-auto navigation system that won't disappoint casual gamers.

In Age of Wulin, players can no longer rely on level and class but only their skills. Weapons and equipment don’t play a vital role, but they can also boost players’ strength by 20%-30%. Therefore, players have to do more practice to improve their skills, which is the same in reality: persistence is always the most important. So Age of Wulin creates the Never Offline system. After players quit the game, their characters will automatically go online and do what players instruct before they log out, such as training, working, setting up a stall and so on. Characters can even interact with others, like kidnapping and rewarding.


Taken from: http://news.mmosite.com/content/k/2011-12-13/three_creative_systems_in_age_of_wulin_3.shtml

never offline system is very sexy ^^

i like battle system here also.just skills and no physical lvl hehe

I posted that paragraph because (As bolded above) it clearly states that the player AI don't random do chores BUT do what as it's instructed by the player.

Still, I believe this is even better cause I'll be raging if my character ending up working as a servant (Servant of Shu to be exact) when am offline.

:0

:p
will never do that to nivy.

esp when u know my number and I know u will make the best out of it if I do heh

Shu wrote:

:0

:p
will never do that to nivy.

esp when u know my number and I know u will make the best out of it if I do heh

That's why you're my adorable Shu.

I like the sound of kidnapping lol... i will kidnap Shu and sell it back to aetherius member muahahaha... Shu get ready to be auction muahagha

will log off in places u can't find
-_-

I believe everyone will be looking for Shu when he is offline. I think I'll check Shu's location through guild UI.

Shu wrote:

will log off in places u can't find
-_-

shu, Professional Stalking is my businesss, im sure I can find u

Katzyuke wrote:

I like the sound of kidnapping lol... i will kidnap Shu and sell it back to aetherius member muahahaha... Shu get ready to be auction muahagha

How much u selling for?

Evocator wrote:

Katzyuke wrote:

I like the sound of kidnapping lol... i will kidnap Shu and sell it back to aetherius member muahahaha... Shu get ready to be auction muahagha

How much u selling for?

Not sure let, need to check out the market for Shu first