EM
Lost Ark Final CBT
Exclusive interview with project manager "Jin Jiangshan"
What the EM strategy team brings to you in this issue is an exclusive interview conducted by the Korean media with Mr. Jin Jiangshan, the project manager before the final test of Ark (Korean server). This interview can be said to be full of useful information. It almost covers several issues that players are most concerned about. The interview first gave detailed answers to several questions that received the most feedback from players in the last test (CBT2). For example, test players reported that the Bard was too strong, not only capable of milking but also outputting explosions, and that remote PVE professions were significantly better than melee professions, etc. In the introduction of the final test (Final CBT) and open beta (OBT) content changes, it was revealed that the mount system, guild system, and the latest artifact-level weapons that everyone is looking forward to have not yet appeared on the official website. Let’s take a look. Read the original interview!
Translated by Sina Weibo @ODT Xiaochen
PS: This is the company manager "Jin Jiangshan", that is, this person has made us wait for more than four years…
Smile Gate's new game "Lost Ark" is about to open its final test. Through immersive game scenes and a lot of interesting gameplay, "Lost Ark" has passed the first test and the second test and won praise from the majority of players. The characteristic of the game "Lost Ark" is that players can choose a profession that suits their taste through independent choices, and enjoy the fun of the game as their character grows. Among a large number of games, "Lost Ark" is evaluated as a game that can overcome its shortcomings. As time goes by and the times change, the type of game gradually reaches its limit. In this interview, the game developers mentioned that they will target games that compete with the global market and will add new content that cannot be experienced in other games from the original basis. It is a great honor that we interviewed the project manager "Jin Jiangshan" this time and asked him to talk with us about the interesting content of the Final Test (Final Test)!
[Review 2 Tests of CBT]
During the 10-day test, what content feedback did adventurers provide?
Q, first of all, please briefly introduce yourself to the adventurers.
A. Hello adventurers! I am the project leader of "Lost Ark", Jin Jiangshan. It's an honor to meet you all before the final test starts and share my development experience with you.
Q. In the second round of CBT testing, what main content can adventurers experience?
A. Since the second round of testing time is very limited, most of the testers' time is spent on the road to upgrade. When players reach a certain level, various gameplays will be enabled. For example, the most popular one is what the folk call " "Tower Climbing" gameplay. In addition, there is also the island gameplay. The data collected shows that the number of adventurers who like the sailing gameplay exceeds the expected setting. I am surprised. When we look at the data, it turns out that adventurers are enjoying the joy of sailing, and I can guarantee that in the final test the island gameplay will be adjusted and can be played in many different areas.
Q, until the second round of CBT testing, there were still many people who believed that the reliance on "bard" was too high and there were a lot of opinions. What kind of considerations were there in this part?
A, so far, the bard is the only professional character that supports high HP recovery. This is also part of what we want to verify from the first round of CBT testing. When I went to experience the game using the bard myself , I think this character is closely related to the game. In the dungeon, medicine is usually required to recover, especially in the "Guardian RAID" where there is no safety guarantee except 3 lives, the bard is extremely important. I agree that the recovery ability of the bard will Dependence is generated, so we have fine-tuned the bard's recovery ability, and at the same time we will develop a "positioning" system, which will also be one of the game features of "Lost Ark". In the second round of CBT testing, the bard added an additional option to "Serenade" so that she can maximize her healing capabilities.
Therefore, in the final test, it is expected that the bard's "Serenade" will be adjusted to ensure stability, but the attack power will be reduced. This is also a content condition for successfully balancing DPS output. At the same time, we believe that the bard's healing skills are very easy to control. You only need to press the skill button to restore the HP of the team members. So we decided to adjust its recovery skill to a "specified form". The bard user needs to use judgment to release the skill. In other words, the player needs to enter the correct skill range to obtain the healing effect. We are even considering using it. The healing ability is elementalized, and the amount of treatment is allocated according to different roles. The dependence on the bard may be solved by changing the treatment method.
Q. The output capability of long-range characters will be much higher than that of melee characters. Is there any improvement in this aspect?
A, we can take the bard as an example. There is almost no risk in outputting at a long distance, and the output capability can be maximized. In contrast, the efficiency of the character outputting at close range will be affected, and the character needs to be close to the enemy to barely maintain the output. In this regard, we can also see various "tragic" data, so we will continue to implement the concept of "high risk and high return" in subsequent adjustments.
Q. Adventurers have many complaints about the lack of warehouse space. Will there be changes to the warehouse system?
A. We are working hard to expand the space of the warehouse system, but if we simply increase the storage space, even adding 200 spaces cannot solve the fundamental problem. So from this perspective, we first expand 20 storage spaces. And store cards as consumables. With continuous optimization, we also modified the NPC data so that adventurers can use the warehouse during the adventure journey. Based on the feedback from the second round of testing, I think after the adjustment The warehouse system is more convenient and faster than before.
Q, Rubik's Cube and gambling are contents that are enabled at high levels. I am curious whether these are the preferences during the CBT test or are there other intentions?
A, these contents can be considered as a measure of CBT only for the time being. We will consider whether to include it in the public beta version through continuous testing and feedback. Of course, the gambling gameplay content may be interesting, but I don't want it to be forgotten or used for other functions. We have the concept of integrating various data, player experience feedback, suggestions and opinions to fully satisfy the different tastes of adventurers. Some gameplay methods may be more time-consuming, and we will also take special actions to deal with these problems.
Q, I’m curious about the meaning of the “slave emancipation” system. Can you briefly talk about it?
A, if you want to understand the intention of liberating slaves, first you need to pay a certain amount of gold coins to free the slaves. If you do this, you will receive a letter. In the letter, you can get a good prop or something else. No. Rewards aside, the idea of freeing slaves is a good thing, right? There will also be a limit on the number of freed slaves in OBT, and the effort will not occur as frequently as before. In CBT, you can obtain the permission to liberate slaves through a stormy 4-person team, which is also the fastest way to obtain it.
Q, which "Guardian RAID" were defeated in the second round of CBT testing?
A. Some adventurers experienced the "Guardian RAID" dungeon (natural disaster dungeon) gameplay in the second round of testing. To be honest, we did not predict such a situation. We originally expected it to fail at 20% HP. But adventurers never fail to surprise us with their resilience. Since the actions of the adventurers have shown that most adventurers will have fun with this gameplay, we decided to enhance the attributes of the guardians in the final test, and the adventurers will encounter a more powerful guardian RAID.
PS: For the kill video of the natural disaster dungeon in the third stage of the second test of the Korean server, you can obtain the address by replying to "Natural Disaster Video" in the official account.
Q. When players take pictures of beautiful scenery, they will always encounter various inconveniences, such as the UI display that cannot be removed. Will there be any changes in this regard?
A. In the last round of testing, many adventurers did encounter a lot of inconvenience when shooting and recording beautiful scenery. In the final test, we added a UI removal function to better capture the beautiful scenery and also We hope that adventurers can use these functions more and help us complete functional testing.
[Final CBT] Coming soon
Looking forward to a new Lost Ark
Q, Lisa (GM) announced a plan blueprint in her letter, but this time it was decided to combine the third round of testing with the final testing. Is there any special arrangement?
A. Generally speaking, CBT is a way to publicly complete the test content to a certain extent, and then slowly complete the final shape of the game by announcing the time of the next CBT, but we feel that such repeated testing will not be helpful. , Lost Ark needs to get better and more adventurers need to join.
In most cases, adventurers can enjoy the interesting content brought by PVP battles and RAID dungeons, but there is still a gap between CBT and OBT. We also conduct simulations on internal servers. Without a large amount of experience data, how can we know which ones are better? The place is unreasonable? What areas need improvement? For example, the bard's healing ability is unreasonable, so we believe that it is key to let more people participate, and merging the two test periods is also to complete the purpose here.
In short, we verify game content through CBT testing and then optimize it. In the last round of testing, we received a lot of feedback, and we will not miss a single detail when reading it. We hope that in the next final test, adventurers can provide valuable opinions before the open beta of our Lost Ark OBT. .
Q. Interaction with adventurers has become an important factor in game operation recently. So how does Lost Ark communicate with adventurers?
A, yes, it does matter. Communicating with adventurers is one of the core of a game operation. If the game content experience is not good, reasonable solutions can be made in the shortest time through communication with adventurers. Making games and experiencing games are also interrelated. Players experience various different gameplays created by designers through growth levels. This process can reflect a good direction. In the final test, our staff will also enter the Arkworld with the players to experience the game. Integrating into the players is also an important factor.
Q. I want to know what the final CBT is centered on?
A. If the purpose of the second round of testing is to test the gameplay of the game, then the central content of the final test is to focus on optimizing the functional system of the game. Of course, other copies and PK gameplay will also follow. Enter. Although I am developing a mobile game, I will still develop an automatic tracking system so that players can get the most gaming fun. I don’t think this is a bad thing, but for PC games, this feature will make most people become Laziness, in serious cases, will hinder the fun of the game. I hope to receive suggestions and opinions from adventurers before OBT is opened to help our customers overcome the difficulties.
Q, will the upgrade process in the final CBT test be shorter than the second round of testing? For example, adding transportation tools (mounts)…
A, yes, the final test of the upgrade process will be slightly shorter than the second round of CBT, and transportation tools will be added. In fact, we have been studying this aspect for a long time. At the beginning, we were still considering whether this was necessary? After seeing the feedback from the second round of testing, I became convinced of this. In the final CBT test, you can obtain mounts by completing level 15 special tasks. By reducing unnecessary time on the growth journey, players can have enough time to fully experience the true fun of the game.
Q. How is card battle played?
A, this is a mini game where you can enjoy the dual charm of PVP and PVE. When you create a monster, you can make some slight changes to its appearance and reuse it as new content in the game. So we designed a card monster similar to the monsters in each region, and also added a card collection system. Each game is not just about killing and killing, it is also necessary to add interesting little gameplay.
Collect types of cards, form sets, and use your brain power to defeat your opponents. The more cards, the greater the winning rate. Of course, what should you do if you encounter a stronger opponent than yourself? The quality of the cards does not 100% determine victory or defeat. Skill coordination and card combination are also the keys to victory.
Q, RPG games have different designs in fashion, so does Lost Ark have a fashion system that can be freely matched?
A, it is still in the development stage. As you mentioned, unique fashion design is also an integral part of the game's aesthetics. We are considering designing a fashion system that can reflect the characteristics of each character. It is a symbol and a representative. If If you can't even achieve free matching, then what's the point.
Q, I would like to ask you to briefly introduce the two new professions that will be introduced to you in the final test!
A, first of all, she is a qigong master. As a dual-posture profession, everyone must be able to feel her charm. Normal attack is a long-range attack with sensing technology. It can also be used as an auxiliary skill according to the tripod mode set by the player. The qigong master's unique ability "Golden Gang First Attack" is to absorb the natural breath and explode powerful moves. His own ability can be increased by up to 3 stages. During the period when the Qigong Master has the Golden Gang First Attack Amplification Ability, his own attributes will be fully improved and he will try his best to suppress the enemy and inflict fatal damage.
The second new profession is Hawkeye, a character who uses mechanical bows and arrows. He has many control skills. Although he is a long-range profession, his close-range capabilities are not inferior. If Hawkeye engages in close combat, please remember Special marks are superimposed, and a large amount of damage can be caused through these marks. Therefore, during the battle, not only the simple long-range output, but also the close combat is a compulsory course for being an eagle eye. One of the charms of Hawkeye is that he is not a difficult profession to operate, which is why most adventurers are looking forward to Hawkeye.
Q, I want to know whether this test supports 11?
A, this test also applies to 11. Lost Ark has used many resources and technologies based on DX9 to improve the quality of the graphics. The PC game function is more focused on smoothly playing game content on different specifications, so we are constantly optimizing it.
Q. Lisa (GM) did not mention the navigation system in her letter. Is there any change in the final test?
A. In the navigation system, there are still flaws in some places. Based on the data collected, we have made adjustments to varying degrees. First we added a more realistic feel during sailing, adjusting the appearance of functions such as rescue and diving. For example, depending on the ability of the crew, the level of diving is different. The closer the depth is to the bottom of the sea, the better the items can be obtained. In the danger zone, we are considering how to adjust the difficulty level. The ultimate goal is to allow players to experience the joy of sailing through organized distribution and props that are organically combined.
Secondly, the ghost ship part is also the focus of player feedback. We will adjust the location of the ghost ship and make it random. In the final test, players can experience the fear of dangerous seas, where your ship may be destroyed, and there are all kinds of unimaginable dangers. At the same time, a milestone system is launched to help players complete their ark planning.
Q, how many new islands will be added in the final test?
A. It is expected that more than 30 new islands will be added in the final CBT test. I personally think that islands with different properties will be a new way to overcome the limitations of RPG games. In the second round of test data, only 17 people experienced the unknown and mysterious island. This is not just fear. Each island has different gameplay. I believe these gameplays can meet everyone's needs.
Q. Will there be any consideration for adding new content to the guild system?
A. Currently, the guild only provides community functions. We will also release new announcements in OBT, which include battlefield gameplay content. However, if too many gameplays are added in a short period of time, it will be difficult for players to adapt. Therefore, we will gradually open various new features to improve players' experience of the game.
Q. The previous letter did not mention the balance adjustments between professional roles, especially the strength of the Warlord profession in PVP. So, have the PVP abilities of each profession been adjusted in the final test?
A. "The Overseer… is very strong…" After adjusting the bard, we also had to adjust the Overseer. Through feedback and suggestions from players, the role of the Overseer was naturally included in the balance adjustment. But if the strength of the Warlord is due to his attack power and defense power, simply lowering the values of these two aspects will definitely not solve this phenomenon. Therefore, as the adventurer said, the "downward" adjustment is made when balancing the profession. The concept needs to be changed, and changing the skill mechanism is also one of the elements of balance.
The defensive power of the Overseer can be said to be top-notch in the game. The Overseer's shield is used as a breakthrough point to change the charging mechanism of the shield. When the shield fails, the opponent can get a chance to resist and counterattack in a short period of time. Of course, the same is true in dungeons. The immunity effect of the shield is a great advantage, so we will delete the immunity effect of the shield in certain circumstances. By making adjustments in this direction, I think we can establish a truly balanced environment, rather than simply reducing a character's ability value.
Q. Regarding Guardian RAID, in addition to the four-person team, is there a multiplayer mode (World BOSS)?
A. Large-scale RAID gameplay has been tried internally. This gameplay requires a large number of people to join. During the test, we compared the situations of 4 and 8 people and found that many settings will be blurred, such as Chaos Gate. In the 16-player gameplay, some players don’t know what to do. So we have to start from the root, not just to increase the number of people, but also to adjust the mechanism so that every player can participate.
Q. When players gather together, they often cannot see clearly the location distribution of players. How can this be improved?
A. In gameplay like Chaos Gate, when people are densely gathered together, they will be frequently knocked down by simple attacks, which loses some of its characteristics. Therefore, it is necessary to add a task allocation mechanism, but it is currently very difficult. It is still under development. In other words, there is currently no way to perfectly solve this phenomenon. We will try our best to overcome this limitation.
Q. Many players are concerned about the material requirements for artifacts in the second round of testing!
A. Artifacts are weapons that evolve through certain specific materials. They are used for CBT testing. Players can obtain them by completing special tasks on specific continents. We will also adjust them in OBT.
Q. In the latest publicity picture, will the new guardian become the final BOSS?
A. In the letter from Lisa (GM), players can learn about 3 new guardians. These guardians are waiting for the challenge of adventurers. By overcoming various difficulties, they can achieve victory. Although this process is very difficult, I I believe adventurers have the perseverance.
Q. What is the operating philosophy of the Lost Ark game?
A. Every player will go through a process of growth and will also pursue higher-end equipment. However, Lost Ark will not allow players to only use money to obtain equipment. Through tasks, activities, and lucky points, players can obtain whatever they want. I think this is what most players want to see. Moreover, the activities we designed are not repeated every day. It is meaningless for players to experience repeated content every day. Based on this concept, Lost Ark will not only be in the Korean market, but also in the global market. Become a competitive game.
Q, can you reveal the expected opening time of OBT?
A. New announcements are expected to be released within this year. It can be seen from this test that one of the reasons for the merger of the third round of testing and the final test also indicates that OBT is coming. When reading the feedback from players, I deeply feel that players want Lost Ark to be better, so we will work hard and be committed to bringing a perfect Lost Ark game to players.
Q, this interview ends here. On behalf of the adventurers, I would like to express my gratitude to you!
A. Lost Ark still has a long way to go on the world stage. I hope it can go further. This is inseparable from the support of players, so in the final test, I hope more and more players will like this game. ,thank you all.
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