T.E.R.A.

[Lucavi]

Yeah, chopping down lolis to make them regret their character choice, if but only for a moment, will be enjoyable.

[Bombur]

Yeah, chopping down lolis to make them regret their character choice, if but only for a moment, will be enjoyable.

Who would want to chop something down that is just sooo cute!..lol

[Alderaan]

I'm with Lucavi on this one.

Something about loli's with bunny ears just bothers me.

[Lucavi]

Who would? I would. Innocent eyes and panty shots have no place on the battlefield. PVP is about fighting and winning, not about who can do the cutest peace sign and "Yatta!"

[Kupo]

I fully support the differences if they're done correctly. It'll be a task to do so, but it'll be so very impressive if they manage to pull it off. With the way they seem to be seeking to change and revolutionize everything, I think its an undertaking worth the potential results.

With a game like this, it'll be pretty apparent early on about what needs to be tweaked and what doesn't, and besides, isn't that what beta tests are all about?

You know what? You guys have convinced me.

Now that I know the size differences go beyond just hit boxes, I gotta say this could be a lot of fun. I also like the idea that Lancer (Plate Tank) would probably be better suited by a large race (who cares if he gets hit with a shield that big?) whereas Warrior (Evasion Tank) would be better suited with a race that makes him as hard to hit as possible (even at the cost of lower defense).

I also like the idea that one can be a bit more "hybrid" with either class by choosing a different race than the norm. For example, a human Warrior may get hit more than a Loli Warrior but when he does get hit, he takes less damage due to better defense. And a Loli Lancer may not be able to attack as well and may take more damage but will also evade more often to make up for it. As long as they can provide these kind of options to all classes, I'm up for the idea.

As long as we are theorycrafting, I would also like to see the races with less range be slightly faster too in order to add to the concept that they are sacrificing attack range and physical defense for evasion defense. It would make sense too that the giant Baraka would have best reach/highest defense but be slower than the small animal people with less reach/less defense. The other races would fall somewhere in between those two extremes.

[SilverBreeze]

Something interesting I found while reading around...

If there are major differences in hitboxes so that those of a physically smaller race have a smaller hitbox and therefore are harder to hit, this would be an advantage. Conversely, because these races have shorter limbs compared to larger races, it is more difficult to attack enemies, and this would be a disadvantage. These elements would have a big impact on game balance, and certain races would then be preferred or avoided, and those who wanted to play the disadvantageous races would become frustrated with TERA.

However, simply ignoring the visual differences between races would create a potentially worse problem: lack of authenticity and immersion. This has been a large point of conversation and debate among TERA’s developers. In the end, we decided to make the hitboxes and attack ranges as close to the same size as possible across the races, although not completely equal, so that players would not get frustrated while playing the game.

For example, Barakas and Amani have slightly smaller hitboxes for their size, while the hitbox for the Popori is slightly larger than their size. There is still a difference, but it isn’t as major as the physical size of the model would lead one to believe.

The attack range went through a similar balancing process. The attack animation for the Popori is indicative of their slightly longer attack range, while Amani and Barakas hardly move forward. When they attack, the ranges for races have been appropriately modified and balanced to match their animations.

In short, we tried to make the game as balanced as possible while still maintaining the individual flavor of each class. Therefore, hitboxes and attack ranges have been configured in such a way that they are similar without being gamebreaking, but are not exactly the same size.

Also, play your lolis if you want. They may be cute and cuddly, but this is a real woman, something to fear on the battlefield.

http://www.terafans.com/uploads/1276...4_4_695810.png

I think I will call her, Destroyer of Lolis. Run away you little bunny girls, I will consume your delicious souls.

[Kupo]

^Very interesting. Thanks for finding that info. This sounds like a good balance/compromise to me.

[arus2001]

I actually find it funny they speak concern over realism and authenticity, then implement a system completely opposite of what that logic should dictate (bigger hit ranges/boxes on lolis, smaller hit ranges/boxes on biggun's).

[Charismatic]

what

[Bombur]

I actually find it funny they speak concern over realism and authenticity, then implement a system completely opposite of what that logic should dictate (bigger hit ranges/boxes on lolis, smaller hit ranges/boxes on biggun's).

I kinda find it funny as well. Just look at this Boss Video, you see the bigger hit ranges/boxes on lolis, so they stand farther back. While the smaller hit ranges/boxes on biggun's, so they stand up close.

[Kupo]

^ Cool video. Thanks for posting it! I assume your comments were /sarcasm since it makes sense for ranged classes to stand back regardless of race (I wrote that for those who may not have got it).

I actually find it funny they speak concern over realism and authenticity, then implement a system completely opposite of what that logic should dictate (bigger hit ranges/boxes on lolis, smaller hit ranges/boxes on biggun's).

I think you misunderstood what they are saying. The Loli's don't have bigger hit boxes than the Baraka. The proportion is bigger but the actual Loli hit box would still be smaller than the Baraka hit box. In other words, a hit box 100% the size of a Loli is still smaller than a hit box 70% the size of a Baraka.

A fair compromise between realism and gameplay.

[SilverBreeze]

Yeah, reading comprehension is fun.

[Vimes]

On targetting again, because there were some concerns after the translated TIG interview:

"TERA's combat system hasn't changed and action remains a crucial element to the game. There was a mistranslation in the article where the phrase 'lock-on system' was used instead of 'lock-on skill,' which was the original context of that statement. We are committed to making adjustments to TERA based on player feedback, but the game will still offer all the depth of an MMO with the intense action combat system. This will not change," said Matt Atwood, director of public relations for En Masse.

[Lucavi]

It sounds like they're taking a great approach to the issue at hand. They essentially mirrored my thoughts, and its great to see that they've even taken size into account when designing the attack animations.

So many games with good potential on the horizon. This upcoming crop is looking to be the best in a long, LONG time.

[Rulke]

KOBT starts today! (well, 1/11/11 but its tues in Korea already). Not sure what time, noon maybe? Anyway, here is a link to a page with a nice list of people who will be doing live feeds. If you are curious as to what gameplay will be like (Korean gameplay anyway) one of these might suite your needs.

If all goes well, release is iminant and maybe we'll see some more testing over here soon!

[Elites]

Is there an alternative link to the open beta client besides their main page? their download speed is super slow. I bought a open beta account through one of those 3rd party sites that i bought previously korean mmo's from.

[Rulke]

Hm.. try page 3 of this thread, has a few other options I think.

[Rulke]

Update about NA release from main site:

Happy new year guys! We've been posting a lot lately but wanted to make a nice big sticky post about some important TERA-related news.

There's been a lot of rumor and speculation recently about when the North American and European version of TERA will release. So when are we launching? The answer is: TERA will come when we're satisfied that we're done Westernizing a great game.

Our focus with TERA is on quality. The reason you guys are here is that you want a great game – you expect it. We're not going to give you anything less just to get TERA out the door. En Masse is about delivering a quality game experience for North American audiences, and we've still got a ways to go before we're done with TERA.

We haven't been sitting around twiddling our thumbs in the meantime though. We've been running a rigorous series of internal tests on game content and balance. We brought in some local playtesters for an initial 'what does a small group think' session, one of our last steps in the testing process. As a result of this there's a big list of changes that are due to be implemented to our client. But that doesn't mean you have to wait forever to see TERA.

- We want you guys to see how far we’ve come and the hard work we've done. There will be a community play event before the summer so select community members can see the game before the final changes are implemented.

- There's still all the backend stuff we're working on too. You guys can help with this too in a much larger stress test before we enter the beta cycle. We want you to abuse the heck out of our hardware and help us make sure we're fully prepped for launch!

We'll keep you up to date about when you can expect to see our play events and stress test!

Let us know if you have questions!

If you haven't made an account over there and are interested at all in TERA, I would suggest making one as its probably best chance to get in on any of these upcoming events.

[Katlan]

Sounds late a late summer / early fall release by how they are talking. I do wonder about all this internal testing though. They are westernizing the game and changing a lot of things around to fit a western audience (what Korean vs NA/EU ppl like), but I'd assume the hardware and the engine should be pretty solid since that's just a port of the Korean stuff. All in all, I'd like to hear them layout what they are changing from the Korean version

[Rulke]

^ I am very bummed to hear about the probably later release date as well. Was hoping for spring. They have alluded some changes over the past months/year but I don't know how long all that stuff takes and what it involves to do so.