CDV Editor's Day 2008

Well anyway, they graciously invited me to tag along with them to the University Club (you should take the virtual tour, it is such a cool place) where the event was to be held and watch them set up. Sadly, I was exhausted from my over 6 hour flight (we had to sit on the tarmac for over an hour waiting for a gate to open up since another plane had mechanical difficulties at the gate we were supposed to debark at). So I chose to go rest in my room for a bit, of course I'm totally regretting that choice now... but live and learn right?

The next morning I walked down to Starbucks to grab my morning coffee and then circled back to go to the University Club, you've got to love the convenience of a big city, Starbucks was one block down from the hotel and the University Club was only three blocks in the other direction. They aren't kidding when they talk about the huge hills in San Fran though! The whole four blocks from Starbucks to the Club was up a steep hill! So anyway I get to the Club and as soon as I walked into the lobby a couple of guys jokingly accused me of stalking them. Apparently I had been following them since I left the hotel; I was so caught up in checking out the city however that I didn't even notice. It turns out that they were John Talley, CEO and Greg Meador, Studio Director for Mock Science and they were going to the event to do the presentation for Lawn Games.

The "Library" @ the University Club

The XBOX 360 Character Selection Screen

CDV Sacred 2: Fallen Angel Cover Art (retail box)

I borrowed this pic from Randy's review, this is me chatting with the guys from Mock Science.

I borrowed this pic from Randy's review as well, this is me watching a game in the Billiards Room while chatting with Greg from Mock Science.

My Room

The Characters:

I loved the descriptions of the characters (which have a bit more history to them) that CDV included in their press kit so I'm just going to quote them verbatim...

High Elf: The High Elf is a free Elf, among those who fled northwards from the troubles in the south a long time ago. The nobility still retains power there, where they manage to maintain a tenuous (and slowly dwindling) control over streams of T-Energy. The High Elf is a member of one of the ruling families and as such she is slightly smug and arrogant. This is not entirely without the ability to back it up, as she is knowledgeable of ancient spell craft and masters a broad array of fighting techniques.

Shadow Warrior: The Shadow Warrior was once a proud warrior serving in the elite house guard of his sovereign during the numerous battles of the Elven Empire. Having died in battle, he thought he had attained peace at last, but his soul was raised and he returned to Ancaria against his will. Finding himself bound to an undead body but retaining his sharp wit and combat ability, he yearns to return to the golden halls of the Elysium for eternal rest. He excels in heavy armor and hand-to-hand combat, but his deathly status has also granted him a unique affinity for powers related to the undead.

Ancaria:

It has been mentioned before how huge Ancaria is, over twenty-two square miles! But what I would like to add is that some areas can only be reached by using mounts, teleportation, ships or other yet unrevealed ways. Also there are two levels of caves, dungeons, prisons, sewers and other such places beneath the main landscape.

They also went to great lengths to make the entire game, from the layouts of the towns to the personalities of the NPCs, as realistic as possible while still being true to the fantasy nature of Sacred.

Regions of Ancaria:

This part again I will quote verbatim from CDV's press kit...

Human Region: The human's region is economically similar to Medieval England with politics venturing into the Reformation. The countryside is hardscrabble farmland, difficult to plough, and not an easy place to grow crops. It is surrounded by mountains; humans naturally covet the more fertile High Elf territory to the south, but are kept in place by a wall that the High Elves have constructed. The forests in the human regions are thick here, good for hunting game and hiding outlaws. Economically, the region is in bad shape; the land isn't good for farming, and humans are prevented from getting to better lands by the Elven Wall. The nobility resides in stone-hewn castles and keeps, and a sense of near civil war pervades through this land as multiple factions compete for limited resources.

Orc Region: The Orcs live in a land similar to the northern Scandinavia in the summertime - frozen tundra, but without the snow. There are no tall trees; the only vegetation to be found is small shrubs, dwarf trees, mosses, and stubby grasses. There are no proper roads, only dirt tracks. Their buildings are created out of what is readily available - wood, fur, leather, and similar simple building materials. Their culture is war-like and achievements in battle are the greatest honor to their society. They see the influx of mutated creatures and monsters as a test by their gods and do not understand or readily master the T-Energy. Hating technology, they've been defeated in battle in the past and were pushed into this territory by a coalition of Elves and Dwarves. The Orcs cover the southern lands, but their clan structure has made it impossible for them to organize themselves into a cohesive fighting army. They occasionally make raids into the human territories.

Troll Region: The Trolls live west of the Orcs in land that is much the same as their warlike neighbors. Even less social than Orcs, the Trolls live in small groups or alone, but their lack of numbers should not be an encouragement to travelers: Trolls are huge, thuggish creatures, capable of crushing a man's bones to dust with one swift stroke of a club or mace-like fist.

Marshland Region: This area is swampy and treacherous. Wandering Will-o'-the-Wisps can set fires as the swamp gas here easily combusts. The terrain is flat and soggy; in some places it is open to the sky and looks like a river of grass. Some woods dot the area, with spindly trees and moss hanging down from overhead. Lizardmen live here, mutations of humans who became isolated from the rest of the world long ago. They are a very primitive people, living communally in tents or other makeshift platforms that rest on stilts in the swamps. Villages are few and far between because of the scarcity of dry ground, and traveling along or by night is foolhardy.

Desert Region: Dry and sandy, this region is sparsely populated; settlements are few and far between as water is very scarce. Scorpions, snakes, a coyote-like variant of the wolf, and many more dangerous creatures roam the area, along with plenty of the undead. There are a few outposts scattered around, centered mainly on oases. It is here that the player can find the merchants to trade rare spells and unique equipment. The area is also stocked with forts and caves that are ripe for exploration. Nomadic desert tribes roam the region, having adapted to the inhospitable environment better than most.

Seraphim Island: In the frozen north, individual Seraphim have entered a self-imposed exile on a volcanic, crystalline island. The Seraphim have a militaristic, hierarchal society, and those living here have retreated to this forbidding corner of the world to be left alone, no longer interested in the squabbles of the mortal races across the rest of Ancaria. The Seraphim still have to observe their task as keepers of Ancaria, which The Creator assigned to them. However, they fulfill this task with lessening interest and use their lethal skills instead for hunting powerful creatures to pass the time.

Jungle Region: A narrow coastal road skirts this region; the jungle itself is impenetrable until one comes across the ancient ruins here. Here, archaeologists hack away at the lush undergrowth to uncover buildings that made up the capital of the Ancient Elven Empire, investigating the disappearance of this once-powerful society. No civilized beings dare to live here; the thick undergrowth hides many things, both beautiful and beastly.

Dryad Island: Home to the Dryads, this is a subtropical island of incredible natural beauty. Dryads live in trees, among the waterfalls, gardens, well-tended forests, pristine lakes, and sparkling pools. They have lived on their own on the island for thousands of years, fostering a matriarchal Amazonian-style warrior society. The Dryads descend from the Ancient Elves, having split away from them because they disliked the T-Energy and were distrustful of those who used it. Their magic is a blending of voodoo and naturalistic magic, based on potions and spells.

The Wasteland Canyon: This region is battered, post-apocalyptic land where the T-Energy runs unchecked and corrupts and mutates nearly everything. Hordes of demons, mutants, and cyborgs are naturally attracted to this area of great power that has run amok. Dragon skeletons dot the area, causing many to wonder what could have brought down such fearsome beasts. Despite efforts to the contrary, little civilization has taken root here - just scattered settlements haunted by near-dead people, barely eking out a living from the tired soil. And there are rumors of even greater power awaiting those that can traverse and survive these lands...

Character Development:

Each character has 15 Combat Arts, which can be bought from rune merchants, traded or found in drops and other loot. Unlike Sacred 1, you don't just level up the spell in a single way by reading (eating) rune after rune. As you play your combat arts will level up and you can customize how you want to improve them. I'll quote an example from the press kit to explain it more clearly: "For example, the High Elf may call down a meteor shower. At its initial level of specialization, a few meteors for light damage to multiple enemies are summoned. The meteor shower may be modified, however, so that fewer but more powerful meteors impact a limited number of enemies, or so that many small meteors do damage across a wide area to many opponents at once."  Each and every combat art has its own skill tree for individual modification.

Character Menus

Rune Dealer

Inventory  |  Stats  |  Skill Choices  |  Combat Arts  |  CA Upgrade

Another fabulous addition to the character creation is the ability to choose a deity to "worship" when you start each new character. There are 6 deities to choose from and each will grant you the ability to unlock special side quests and grant you extra combat arts as you work your way through the game. These will be specific to the deity you choose.

The Deities

Creatures:

Once again, for clarities sake and because they wrote it much better than I ever could I am just going to quote the press kit verbatim for this section... Are you getting tired of the word verbatim yet?

The world of Ancaria is rife with dangers and threats. Over a hundred different archetypes exist, each in a number of configurations and with special abilities and behaviors. These encompass wild life, reptiles, insects and arachnids, elementals, undead, lycanthropes, demons, dragons and a broad range of humanoid and mutated forms thereof. Special bosses ensure a climactic battle occurs before players can complete each of the regions and ultimately complete the game's main quest. Each species has unique attacks and resistances. Some respond only if attacked, others hunt in packs or formations. Opponents are aware of the player or party's strength and avoid hopeless situations unless given no other alternative - or, in some cases, until enough support can be organized for a massed attack. Opponents may also react differently based on a character's chosen path by supporting, attacking or warily ignoring the player (and party). Morale also plays a role. Fell an attacking group's leader -- each with a special type of attack and tactical preference -- and the group of enemies may momentarily lose courage; that is until another member of the group can adopt the role and attack using its own combat style.

Game Modes:

Here is one of my favorite additions to Sacred 2! You no longer will have to choose whether you want to play SP or MP, whether you want to do the main campaign or just mess around with your friends exploring the world and leveling your characters. You can jump in and out of any game type with a single character and the system will save your progress, items and stats as you go back and forth between the styles.

I'll give an example so you will all be sure how great this is:  Let's say you are playing a SP game with your Seraphim and following along the main campaign when your friend instant messages you and asks you to play with them for a bit in MP. You can take the SAME Seraphim, leaving your SP campaign game and taking it into a MP game with your friend where you can collect great gear and level up a bit. Then when your friend leaves you can take that Seraphim, with all the experience and gear collected, back to your SP campaign game and start playing again right where you left off while staying in possession of any benefits you gained during your MP play session. This does mean however, that your character will be stored on your computer rather than a server... so just a hint, MAKE BACKUP FILES of your characters often just in case your computer dies!

There will be four types of MP modes available:

Free Mode: This is pretty much like Sacred 1's Closed MP... you get to play with your friends, access the whole world immediately, but won't have access to the main campaign.

Multiplayer PvE Arena: Here you will be able to fight against specific groups of enemies, round after round, along side your friends and have your status in the arena tracked in the PvE Arena leader board.

Multiplayer PvP Arena: Here you can fight one-on-one against your friends and have your status tracked by the PvP Arena leader board. How exciting will it be to enter the PvP Arena with HC characters and permanently destroy your opponent's character for insane bragging rights?!?

Shadow Warrior          |          Seraphim          |          Shadow Warrior          |          High Elf          |          Shadow Warrior

Yes there will be a chest that is available to all characters for easy muling!