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Exclusive: Biosfear Q&A Feature
Derek dela Fuente
03/12/2003
MMORPG may not be that big in England, however Tiscali is hoping to change that...
Shortly to go online in the UK, as well as a number of European territories, following the dedicated German version, comes a new MMORPG, Bisofear created by a leading Korean, Seoul-based developer, Nako Interactive. Already this title is amongst the top 3 MMOGs in Korea as well as in Asia â“ a country known for appreciating all that is best in online games. TVG spoke with Tiscalia/Bisofear spokesperson, Andreas Lober, in a Q/A session to find out more on the game and its technicalities.
Biosphere is a futuristic, sci-fi, fantasy game which looks like it offers more than your bog standard MMORPG!
TVG: To get the ball rolling, if you had to pick one unique feature from Biosfear what would it be?
I would say it has to be the âsiege of the castleâ. This is a massive battle
between guilds, where several hundred gamers can take part at the same time. The winning guild will take over the castle, can levy taxes in the area, modify the strength of some monsters in the area and erect towers along the castle walls in order to be better protected against attacks by rival guilds. Also, the guild, which owns the castle, has the possibility to send players to jail as a punishment for âunlawfulâ player killings.
TVG: A Korean team created the game, so is it very much an Asian focused game?
No. It is mainly the style of the graphics and the mix of fantasy and science fiction, which is relatively âAsianâ. Gameplay is global.
TVG: Presently there are many great MMORPG around so does Biosfear offer anything new within its content that others may have missed out on?
Everybody who is bored with trolls and elves should have a look. The castle sieges offer some great frenetic action. And players can hatch pets that are so cute - and help you fight. Also which other MMORPG can you pick up and have instant fun with?
TVG: Please tell the readers the basic story and premise to Biosphere, who do you assume and what are some of your objectives?
In the year 2357, the earth is destroyed by pollution. 500,000 people have been evacuated on a spacecraft and reach a new planet, where the living conditions seem
to be similar to the earth. However, for hundreds of years the races native to that planet have been fighting a deadly battle. It is only when a mutant alien race arrives that they unite and team up with the humans to fight the invaders.
TVG: Why Fantasy RPG, there are so many online? What interesting RPG ideas are presented and from the outside Biosfear presents itself as a rather complex experience. How steep is the learning curve of the game and do you feel this might be a problem for many new players?
In fact, BiosFear is not purely fantasy, but it is a unique blend of fantasy and science fiction elements. Thus, depending on the race you choose, you can go for technology (humans) or magic (Aidia, Kailipton).
The game is very easy to get into. If you are familiar with Diablo, you can go and kill the first monsters within minutes! Also, an online-manual is always available for help and the first steps of the player are followed by auto-help. It is only very gradually that more complex aspects of the game are introduced.
: Please give the readers a little insight into the quests and qualities of the world?
BiosFear begins as a very straightforward game â“ go and get some monsters! Players may choose to join a party or a guild, but most parts of the game are also playable alone. (Of course, being in a party or a guild always helps!) In the line of thought of this fast-paced, action-packed concept, most quests are rather basic. One major part of the game is the castle sieges, already described above, as they lead to a lot of âpoliticsâ within the game.
TVG: Also how large is the playarea, and how varied in terms of types of terrain, architecture is it?
The play area consists of a lot of subsequent areas which are constructed mainly like in a single player game. I.e. it is only after you are strong enough you have got a chance to go to the deeper dungeons. From your starting point, you can teleport to two more areas. From these destination points, paths lead to the main dungeons. Even players of level 200+ do not stand a chance to get to the last world.
The setting varies from a rather friendly outside world with picturesque islands to dark dungeons, medieval castles to finally Paros, the legendary castle in the sky.
As the game is constantly updated, new features are always added. At least once a year new areas will be added. We expect the next set of new levels in spring 2004.
TVG: How easy will it be for players to meet up and interact and can you give us an overview to the cast within the world?
It is easy to form a party and join a guild â“ pressing a few keys will do. It is advisable to form parties with different races and combine strengths, e.g. Bulkans are good for blocking attacks, Kailipton are excellent distance fighters and Aidia have valuable support magic. They are also good with magic stones, and humans can create mechanical gear. NPCs are limited to auxiliary functions such as selling and buying items - it is the players who are the heroes!
Also, there is a very wide variety of items and monsters as you progress through the game. Be warned, though - they will not all be revealed at the first instance.
TVG: Tell us about character creation and progression of skills?
The player can expect a simple and fast start into the game. Just start with choosing the race, gender and the name of your character and change the appearance a bit, and you can get started.
All races do have different abilities. All skills learned can be used during the whole game. There are unique skills for every race, for example one race can learn how to hide, another race has access to mighty party spells.
During the game, you might get the chance to change the gender of the character, select a new hairstyle or âreskillâ your character - but that will not be cheap!
TVG: What are some of the exciting events in the game and some of the main objectives?
It all depends on you. Do you want to see the whole exciting world of BiosFear as quickly as possible? Then just âlevel upâ your character and explore it. Your rank might appear on top of our ever-updated ranking lists - in Germany, and there are players online more than 10 hours a day to stay in the Top 20! Do you want to care for a pet? Buy an egg, breed it, feed your little friend and then he will be most loyal to you. Or do you want to join a mighty guild, and take over the castle? Be aware - you need to be a high level character to survive, but while the action is fast and frantic, the right strategy also plays a major role.
TVG: A little please about the combat system.
BiosFear offers the whole range: Melee, distance, magic and tactical combat gear. All the abilities are balanced on each other and every race offers other advantages in combat over other races.
TGV: and a little also about some of the monsters and cast!
Biosfear offers the player variety and imagination - from poisonous scorpions to mother dragons, several hundred monsters are waiting for you. I will not tell too much, but our world comprises very strong monsters, some of which can only be beaten in party play. The mighty war giant can launch multiple attacks at the same time and kill a whole party of high level characters in the fraction of a second if they do not apply the right tactics. Solo fighters must fight hard in many dungeons and areas to survive against the intelligent monsters. But donât be afraid, the new player will get enough time to learn how to fight.
TVG: What server would the UK market be going through, and what are the costs and min PC spec?
There will be servers dedicated especially to the English version of BiosFear, hosted by Tiscali Games. Tiscali's pan-European Internet-backbone guarantees that also players from other European countries have excellent connectivity.
The game can be downloaded for free. After the end of the open beta phase, there will be a monthly subscription fee amounting to EUR 6.95 for one month or EUR 29.95 for six months (or the equivalent in English Pounds).
System requirements are the following:
Minimum Requirements:
Memory: 64MB of RAM
CPU: Pentium II 300 MHz
Video Card: 8MB 3D Acceleration Card
- Recommended:
Memory: 128MB of RAM
CPU: Pentium III 800 MHz
Video Card: 32MB 3D Acceleration Card
TGV: Will the game also be in other languages?
The game is also available in German. We will set up a French web page. More language versions might follow, but this has not been decided upon yet.
Check out www.biosfear.co.uk for more info
