Quite a few articles and interviews for Stargate Worlds have appeared on various MMORPG sites in the past few weeks. Joe Ybarra, the VP of Product Development for the game, has done a number of these interviews. Stargate Worlds is being developed by Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, and is still in the internal development phase. Read on for a summary of interesting info from the articles and interviews.

Storyline and Setting

• The game is set between roughly seasons 3 through 8, but will include new content developed purely for the game. (Ten Ton Hammer)
• The worlds in the game are dynamic and evolve through gameplay. Some of the worlds are taken from the show while others are creations of the development team. At launch there will be dozens of planets available to explore, but access will be limited in some cases by missions and storylines or by faction. (RPG Vault)

General Gameplay

• The game is focused on the following three points: exploration, tactical combat, and “replayability”. (GameSpot)
• You can choose to play a good character or an evil character. (MMORPG.com) There are two different types of Jaffa, good and bad. The good will use tretonin, while the bad will have a symbiote. (The Escapist - Part 1)
• The Asgard race uses robots, essentially as pets. (WarCry)
• Leveling will not be “arduous”, the emphasis will be more on the leveling experience and content itself. (The Escapist - Part 2)
• Players can choose from four crafting “technology trees” covering biology, engineering, physics, and electronics. Some skills are culture specific, while others are shared by all races. Crafted items include item enhancements (like telescopic sights for guns or improved energy relays for staff weapons), consumables (like ammunition), and base items (guns, clothing, and armor). (RPG Vault)
• Crafting will be completed through “minigames”. (GameSpot)
• Naquadah will be the basic currency in the game. A player-driven economy which utilizes auction houses and NPC vendors is planned. (RPG Vault)
• Gameplay will include travelling between worlds, and quests will keep you moving around between them. (Ten Ton Hammer)

Combat

• The Zat’nik’tel (”Zat”) weapon will be in the game, and you can modify yours. (The Escapist - Part 1)
• Many types of weapons will be available, and combat will be dynamic with lots of weapons going off and ducking and covering. However, the game will not be a first person shooter. Combat revolves around small teams. PvP will be “intense”. (MMORPG.com, RPG Vault)
• The PvE portion of the game will be focused around exploration. (MMORPG.com)
• There will be small groups for combat as well as Commands, which are like guilds. Command vs. Command wars are a goal for the team. (MMORPG.com)
• PvP combat will be gated by location. There will be both PvP and PvE servers. Players are not forced to participate in PvP. (RPG Vault)
• The game was designed for soloing, but small groups are encouraged and provide new dynamics like XP bonuses and group specific items. (Ten Ton Hammer)
• “Death” in Stargate Worlds is incapacitation. Once incapacitated, players can be revived by others or choose to spawn at a nearby aid station. Attributes and regeneration are decreased after being incapacitated. (RPG Vault)

Development

• The developers plan to launch the game in 2008, with a beta test planned by the end of this year. (GameSpot)
• The first expansion planned for the game will be Stargate-Atlantis, and is scheduled for about a year after the initial release. (MMORPG.com and WarCry)
• Content will be added on a regular basis. (MMORPG.com)
• The first playable version of the game (for developers) is planned for the end of the month, which will take the team into full production.(MMORPG.com)
• The screenshots currently appearing on the website are from the “visual target”, which is an area designed to show all the artistic features. (WarCry)
• Code, interface, and design all are being outsourced in part to other companies. (WarCry)
• Cheyenne Mountain is still in negotiations with several potential companies for publishing deals. (WarCry)

Sources

• WarCry Interview With Joe Ybarra
• GameSpot Interview With Joe Ybarra
• Ten Ton Hammer Interview With Joe Ybarra
• RPG Vault Stargate Worlds Sneak Peek #1
• MMORPG.com Interview With Joe Ybarra
• The Escapist Interview With Joe Ybarra - Part One
• The Escapist Interview With Joe Ybarra - Part Two

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