Hands On with Chronicles of Spellborn from Leipzig GC '08

[RadarX]

Bringing together a number of unique mechanics, the Chronicles of Spellborn promises to deliver innovative AI and combat to the MMOG world. At this years 2008 Leipzig Games Convention, Ten Ton Hammer was given a hands on to see just how the game plays and what features it provides. Will it appeal to the gaming world, and what makes it truly stand out from the rest? Read on as we jump in and learn the ropes.

It was hard not to be impressed by an NPC given the ability to think and act, but Spellborn's current combat system is in a class of it's own. First, it steps away from "target locking" which is standard in every other MMOG. While you could highlight your target, the determining factor of whether you hit your opponent or not was where you aim your targeting reticule giving it almost an FPS feel. Once again, it rated extremely high on the coolness factor, but how functional would a system like this be with high latency?

Hands On with Chronicles of Spellborn from Leipzig GC '08

[Sardu]

Even though I've read about the combat system before, it's interesting to hear some of the things they're doing with the AI to make encounters more compelling. As much as I still tend to prefer the concept of being able to split pulls ala EQ to keep things more manageable, this sounds like it would add in an interesting level of challenge without making things too complex. What would be awesome is if once you took down an NPC tank, the healer would run away shouting "Train to zone .. move it or lose it!"