As you have already noticed, last week was dedicated to GamesCom 2009. In spite of all these events and his busy schedule Martin “Amboss” Rabl took the time for a small interview with Arcatera. This is English translation of this interview.
Arcatera:: Who will be the customer support in the game?
Amboss: Our Game Masters for the European version will be sitting in Brighton and delivering in-game support.
Arcatera:: Do you make extra patches for EU / NA or will we get the same patches as the Koreans? Will they be released simultaneously?
Amboss: The patches will be linguistically adapted of course. A simultaneous publishing scenario would be ideal, but because of the translation, we can not promise that. We shall translate the patch, and update quickly. But we are talking about weeks, not months.
Arcatera:: When will the German server lists be published?
Amboss: The names of the servers will probably be announced at the same time with the pre-selection.
Arcatera:: How many servers can we expect at the start?
Amboss: How many servers will be available at the start is unclear so far. But the reality is that there will be servers for different areas. I can’t tell you how this will be regulated. I don’t know a lot about the technical side of the servers exactly. We have to ask other people for that.
Arcatera:: Is the end content in PvE made for casual players or there are also serious challenges for hardcore gamers?
Amboss: There will be enough content for both sides. Of course, attention is paid to casual gamers, but it also has content that even we could not conquer without using cheats.
Arcatera:: Will it be possible to swim?
Anvil: There is possibility we’ll introduce it, of course. But, at the moment, other things have priority. New content is more important to us now.
Arcatera:: How are the rights to the Legion Bank setup and determined? (see various options in WoW)
Amboss: This is currently under development and not yet final.
Arcatera:: Will it remain at 3 Legion levels?
Amboss: At the moment there are 3 Legion levels, but more are possible. Whether and when this will happen, I can’t tell you yet.
Arcatera:: Is there a maximum player limit within a Legion?
Amboss: It is currently at 90 players. We have to see whether it is necessary to raise this limit.
Arcatera:: Are alliances among legions possible with special features in the game?
Amboss: No, this is not possible and not planned.
Arcatera: Will there be weekly Server down times like in WoW?
Amboss: To be honest I can’t tell you anything yet. Currently, the servers run very stable. We’ll see if it will be necessary to shut down the servers regularly.
Arcatera:: There are many new elements in AION that we haven’t seen previously in any other MMO. Do you think that AION will significantly influence the MMO scene?
Amboss: I think that AION will affect the scene. We’ll see how strong it will be. But I think that AION offers many new things which will change the MMO scenery.
Arcatera:: Are there any plans for the housing system? – For a legion (see GW), or individual houses (see RoM)
Amboss: Currently it is not possible yet.
Arcatera: Many MMORPG’s have mounts. Why is this not the case in AION?
Amboss: It is important to us that things fit into the game. Daeva have wings, but they glide and not fly in the real sense. At the moment we do not see the necessity to implement mounts. If we have the feeling some mounts or transport should be implemented to the game concept and the atmosphere, we will bring them into play.
