Funcom's been pretty quiet since its GDC reveal of The Secret World. Today, though, lead designer Martin Bruusgaard has dropped the smack down on the information void via a lengthy blog post on the game's official site.
You'll probably want a couple of caffeinated beverages for this one because Bruusgaard has a lot to say about The Secret World's abilities, skills, gear, progression, and crafting systems. We would try to summarize it for you, but we'd still be typing this time tomorrow, so suffice it to say that basically every mechanical question you have about the game is at least touched on in this post.
There are plenty of interesting tidbits too, like the fact that TSW is shaping up to be one of the more non-linear experiences to be found among the latest crop of AAA MMORPGs. "The players are free to go wherever they want from the beginning, but they will most likely get their ass handed to them in the more difficult zones," Bruusgaard explains.
Reader Comments (11)
Posted: Mar 26th 2012 11:52AM fallwind said
so excited to see these details! Looks like crafting is shaping up to be quite the key feature
Posted: Mar 26th 2012 11:53AM Anatidae said
I like the sound of this blog post from Martin.
It brought my opinion of the Secret World up a lot.
I am now very curious at the sandbox elements they will be putting into their world and how fleshed out everything might be. I am really hoping that developers realize that there is a HUGE potential in sandbox play that works alongside themepark play. I believe there is a potential for a great mixture.
The key is, sandbox isn't PvP. PvP can be part of it, but just letting people kill one another doesn't create a sandbox.
It brought my opinion of the Secret World up a lot.
I am now very curious at the sandbox elements they will be putting into their world and how fleshed out everything might be. I am really hoping that developers realize that there is a HUGE potential in sandbox play that works alongside themepark play. I believe there is a potential for a great mixture.
The key is, sandbox isn't PvP. PvP can be part of it, but just letting people kill one another doesn't create a sandbox.
Posted: Mar 26th 2012 12:00PM Ardanwen said
Sounds great. Can't wait to get my hands on that ability wheel.
Posted: Mar 26th 2012 12:15PM Saker said
Seems interesting, looks like a huge amount of options I just hope there's enough guidance for new players to be able to get their heads into it and know what they're doing.
Posted: Mar 26th 2012 12:25PM FrostPaw said
All that choice and players will still all fall into the same copied builds because they just want to be told what is best.
Gamers today just think they want choice, the fear of choosing differently and not being 100% effective in one aspect of the game freaks them out to the point they give up free will and become sheep.
Gamers today just think they want choice, the fear of choosing differently and not being 100% effective in one aspect of the game freaks them out to the point they give up free will and become sheep.
Posted: Mar 26th 2012 1:10PM Valdur said
Everything I have read and see in videos looks and sounds fantastic except the animations.TSW is definitely one of its kind.
Posted: Mar 26th 2012 2:56PM Machineman said
I gotta say, Funcom has really gone a long way to redeeming my faith after the AoC fiasco. This system looks sep & complex... and I love the sandbox-iness of it... Lord please let this game show the rest how it's done.
Posted: Mar 27th 2012 1:35AM Celtar said
I loved how combat felt and played in AoC, and how it looked as well. The game though over all came off as half baked and the crafting system sucked so badly. I've watched a few TSW videos and the combat in comparison looks rather weak in my opinion. Specially when I compare it to how the graphics of combat looked in AoC.
I'm hoping that Funcom will ramp it up, make it look more interesting because right now combat looks boring from the player side of things.
I'm hoping that Funcom will ramp it up, make it look more interesting because right now combat looks boring from the player side of things.
Posted: Mar 27th 2012 5:38AM blackcat7k said
Looks great, sounds like it will make for some unique characters.
Though I really didn't hear Bruusgaard go into how they would make the 525 abilities competitive and not devolve into a core set of powers that you MUST have because the rest are pretty much trash (Champions Online I'm looking at you.)
Are the powers just going to be animation and FX re-skins of each other, and how will they handle balancing of them? Will there be a core set that all other abilities are judge by or will they use some other metric? Then again withn 525 abilities I guess it won't matter if some are lackluster.
I do like how the crafting system seems to be as free and open as the abilities though. It seems like will be much easier to make the character the way you want instead of hoping for an item to match your build.
Though I really didn't hear Bruusgaard go into how they would make the 525 abilities competitive and not devolve into a core set of powers that you MUST have because the rest are pretty much trash (Champions Online I'm looking at you.)
Are the powers just going to be animation and FX re-skins of each other, and how will they handle balancing of them? Will there be a core set that all other abilities are judge by or will they use some other metric? Then again withn 525 abilities I guess it won't matter if some are lackluster.
I do like how the crafting system seems to be as free and open as the abilities though. It seems like will be much easier to make the character the way you want instead of hoping for an item to match your build.
Posted: Mar 27th 2012 10:25AM Tatwi said
If they add housing and player operated vendors in them then I'll accept TSW as a replacement for SWG (even though it lacks spaceships). Having to visit a vendor in a house means people will actuallt SEE other people's homes, unlike EQ2 where you can pick broker items anywhere. At the very least, a discount should be given for local pickup, to encourage this kind of community gameplay in mmos (visiting houses was one of the best part of swg).
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