Hey folks,
Mason here. Getting tired of me yet? Well I’m back for more updates on what the team is up to and where CU is headed. What you need to know is that we are refocusing the team's efforts on improving what’s there and iterating upon existing mechanics, rather than dedicating time to wholesale new content or ‘nice to have’ elements. We want CU to be in a place where you can enjoy the core game loop before we return to working on delivering new ways for you to engage.
Coming Soon
As many of you know, some of our goals for improving the core game are to reduce the time it takes to reach the battlefield, make those engagements feel more meaningful, and help guide those that are just getting started. Over our next few updates you can expect to see a few things from us, specifically.
CU at its core is a PvP game, and it shows by the lack of mobs. But the Home Islands don’t have PvP, so what are you supposed to do? We want these areas to boost realm identity and prepare you for your fight against the other Realms. The addition of more hostile mobs to the Home Islands will not only provide you with early game experience, but targets to test abilities and party unity. If you don't have much interest in gathering, NPCs will drop rudimentary crafting materials for you instead. Rest assured, those who wish to focus on gathering and crafting will still be rewarded for their efforts.
It’s dangerous to go out alone, so why not take someone with you? From the battlefield to capturing Keeps, teamwork is a must. However, we understand that interacting with the current UI can be frustrating if not outright confusing. We want your party and warband UI to be responsive, convenient, and bug free. On top of that, we are introducing new ways to invite players to your party. Do you have a guild or are you recruiting for your warband? Simply right-click a player’s name in chat and invite them to join.
Not sure what to do or where to go? The royal vender has basic item quests for you to earn gold, and they'll track your personal participation in the realm wars. However, it’s not enough. We’ll be adding an in-game help panel to guide you around the world and provide some basic knowledge about how CU works. All of this leads to us jumpstarting our quest system to give you introductory, daily, weekly, and even long term quests for you to complete.
Additionally, we are currently working on implementing improved Texture Streaming, which will dramatically reduce Camelot Unchained's memory usage across the board. This should significantly improve performance for a wide breadth of players, and also reduce crashes (hopefully to zero) for people coming in on older rigs and/or less powerful graphic cards, which is and will remain a key focus of our team moving forward. This isn’t all that we're doing based on your feedback. I could go on, but I also wanted to share our long term vision with you too. We are building our plan to provide you with many more features and endgame content, from what you’ll be able to do this year and well beyond. So let’s take a short trip through some of those items.
Looking to the Future
More Classes
Want the best armor and weapons available? Hire a Crafter for your guild. If Assassins are getting you down, train a Scout and become the hunter instead of the hunted. If you want more magic, channel the strength of the beast through the power of Shapeshifters. Prefer someone else to do the dirty work? Become a Spirit Mage and summon powerful creatures to your side.
Contested Lands
Our current and future focus will be improving the existing zones rather than working on new ones. We’ll continue to fill out the zones to build their identity and also provide you with new things to do. There will be a focused effort on making balance changes and adjustments based on feedback. Expect to see more NPCs and events added to the world.
Siege
Gates are great, but what’s a war without trebuchets and ballistas? From siege engines to manned scorpions, we want raids on enemy Realms to be destructive and impactful. After all, what are resources for if you can’t build weapons of war?
Character Customization & Equipment
Your equipment is one of the most important pieces to your character. You will continue to see new weapons and armor to craft to improve their combat capabilities. Stronger armor will look visually more impressive and is visually distinct, you’ll know who to avoid if you're not ready. However, characters are more than just stat blocks swinging weapons. We understand that there’s a natural attachment to the characters you build, and the journey you undergo with them. It’s our goal that you will be able to pick and choose the right look for your character and there will be new races on the way to choose from.
Social Systems
Send and receive mail from your friends, allies, and guildmates. Create a friends list of your trusted partners to raid and play with.
King’s Rewards and Personal Achievements
Need those bragging rights? Win and you will be rightly rewarded. Lose, and your King will send aid to help turn the tide. How well you and your allies do in battle will be reflected in the Realm Wars. Gain points, earn rewards, and show off your achievements to the world.
In Closing
I know that it’s a lot to take in and it’s still not everything that we have planned. I’ll be working closely with the team to get you a new roadmap with the above info on it, as well as when you can expect it. Until then, we ask that you wait a little longer while we focus on resolving some top priority issues for the current game, then we’ll get right back to building the fun stuff.
Thanks again for your patience and all of your support!
- Mason, Producer on Camelot Unchained