In Empire of the Golden
Phoenix, magic will be a very important part of the gameplay. In this article
we will cover some important aspects of the magic system. First of all, the
magic system in EotGP will be much more complex than the standard RPG "click
an icon on the action bar" scheme. In EotGP we will introduce a mouse
gestures-based spellcasting system.
Q: What does this mean?
A: Basically, the player
will have to click and drag the mouse to form a certain pattern for the spell
to be cast successfully.
Q: How will the controls for
this system be set up?
A: First of all, you asign a
spell to a quickslot bar from the spellbook. Then, you use a hotkey (4, 5, 6,
7, 8, 9, 0) to select that spell during gameplay, much like in a shooter you
would swap between weapons. What follows is a click-and-hold, then drag the
mouse to form a certain pattern, a rune. When the pattern is complete, the
spell is cast.
Q: How does this affect the
gameplay?
A: Well, in EotGP we prefer
to resort to a combination between the player's reflexes and the character's
skill. The longer it takes for the player to "draw" the rune, the
longer it takes for the spell to be cast.
Q: Will there be spell
combos?
A: Yes, there will definitely
be spell combos. If you learn certain skills, you can chain up several spells
to be executed in quick succession, without having to press a hotkey to switch
between various spells.
Q: If a spell takes so long
to cast, then what am I supposed to do if I am swarmed by a group of enemies?
A: Empire of the Golden
Phoenix is mainly a stealth oriented game. Which means that if you're swarmed
by a group of enemies, you've done something wrong.
Q: Will the player be able
to combine magic with melee attacks?
A: No. Because of our magic
and combat systems, it would be impossible to combine these two.
Q: How many spells will
there be?
A: There will be several
templates. However, with the addition of spell combos, the possibilities are
very numerous.
Q: Will there be spell
scrolls in the game? If so, how will they work?
A: Yes, there will be spell
scrolls in the game. Their purpose, however, is not to fulfill the role of
"beginner's magic". Spell scrolls bypass the mouse gesture system,
allowing for one-click casting. However, due to this, they will be rare and
very expensive. Also, a spell scroll can only be used once.
Q: Will there be enemies
that can only be killed with magic?
A: Yes and no. In EotGP,
each type of enemy must be faced with a different strategy. If you can simply button-mash
a cockroach, it doesn't mean this strategy would work against an elven royal
guard. Each type of enemy will have a number of strengths and weaknesses, kind
of like the bosses in many classical action games, only more generalized. But
all enemies can be defeated in multiple ways, as this is still an open world
game and we want to give the player to customize his character's skills as he
or she sees fit.
Q: What about creating
spells? Will it be possible in the game?
A: Again, yes and no. While
the basic runes themselves are predetermined and cannot be altered, the player
can learn the skill to chain up a number of these runes for casting in quick
succession in a certain order. This works in a similar way to the spell creation
systems of other games. However, due to the fact that each spell in a chain is
cast individually instead of all being cast at once, remapping the order of
these spell chains will sometimes be necessary. This adds whole new gameplay
possibilities. Such an example would be a chain of Stun > Firebolt >
Heal, which can be remapped to Stun > Heal > Firebolt. This minor change
could have dramatic effects, depending on the situation, as there are also
counter-spells for most of the offensive spells and some NPCs will be prone to
use them. As an example, there will be a counter-spell to the Stun spell which
will deal some damage to the player.
Q: If you can chain up
spells, won't this provide an easy way to kill stronger enemies? (Stun >
Firebolt > Stun > Firebolt)
A: No, as you can't add the
same spell in a chain twice.
Q: What types of magic will
there be?
A: Aside from the classical
elemental magic, necromancy, healing and buffs, there will be a whole new array
of spells dedicated to stealth.
Q: Do you have to choose
between magic and melee in the game?
A: No. You can, of course
perfect one, but you can train both areas. There will be no class system in the
game, we are opting for a free character build.
Q: What will be the role of
magic in the game?
A: Magic will be a skill
available only to the most powerful characters. Basically, there is no
dedicated mage order. In Ayrhed, the setting for Empire of the Golden Phoenix,
it will usually be the powerful and influential who have access to knowledge on
magic, (Generals, tribal leaders, royalty and nobility and of course, elves.)
other than that, no further information on the role of magic in EotGP can be
revealed right now, as it would be a major spoiler for the story.
Q: Will there be item
spawning in the game?
A: No, there won't be any
spells that spawn items.
