Exclusive Interview with Max Schaefer
We’d like to thank Max Schaefer for taking time out of his schedule to give us this exclusive interview on Mythos. The answers to some of the questions were more exciting and informative than any of us at Mythos Guru could have expected. Read on!
1. What plans do you have to implement aspects of the game that will place emphasis on group / party play?
The biggest immediate one is the implementation of the Overworld, which just went up on the new Mythos Test Center today. It takes all of the overland instances outside of towns and combines them in a contiguous, shared, and fixed terrain. It groups players together naturally, provides exploration and better quests. Further down the road, we’ll continue to tweak the Epic maps (now Runestones) to keep group advantages. Also, guild features have just begun, we expect to do quite a bit with them.
2. As there are plans to support Asian players with localized servers, are there any plans to support the European players with a server based in Europe?
We will definitely support Asian players with localized servers. For Europe, we’ll probably get there eventually as well. But our priorities are to finish the game here in the USA first, then assist our Asian partners with those terrirories.
3. Are there going to be any other differences between the races besides elemental resistances, such as race-based crafted equipment or racial achievements?
No, we generally want to keep the differences in the classes rather than races, but some minor tweaking may be done with the races. Nothing planned immediately, though.
4. Will there be a stronger emphasis on the uniqueness of items, whereby players will actually hunt for specific items to bolster a specific build?
Yes, we’ll be revamping drop rates, and create super-rare items that require a lot of hunting. Also we intend do some variation on set items. We realize there isn’t much of a “directed hunt” mechanic in the game right now, and we’d really like to work that in.
5. How many zones are you planning on having in Mythos before the game is released?
Our current plans are to start with the existing three zones. However, the new Overworld features allow us to extend the total content available in those zones quite a bit. So we’ll have about 50 levels of content to go through at launch.
6. Are there any plans to add Set Items into the game?
See above! 
7. Hellgate recently introduced the concept of expertise rankings for high level players. Will a similar feature make its way into Mythos?
Yes. Player rankings of various sorts are important for longevity, long-term goals, and player community interest. We’ll do a lot of them, and the tech developed for HG gives us a good head start.
8. In Player versus Player combat, besides open Death Match, what other forms of PVP are being planned for the future of Mythos? Furthermore, are there any plans to add a ranking or reward system to inspire players to actively participate in PVP?
The first new form will probably be a “capture the flag” type competition. PvP isn’t just about randomly killing each other, it’s any way of pitting player against player, or group against group in competition. We’ll continue to experiment with new ways of doing this as long as we’re developing Mythos.
9. Are there any plans to add support for a web-based profile system for players to show-off their characters and equipment load-outs to their friends outside of the game, similar to those in other online RPGs?
Yes. We’re slightly behind right now in web-based features like this, but are accelerating our efforts with the knowledge that these are very important and cool features for a game like Mythos.
10. What sort of marketing or advertising campaign are you planning towards the release of the game; we saw a huge advertising campaign for Hellgate, so can we expect to see something similar for Mythos?
No. It will be nothing like Hellgate, at least in the USA. Asia will be different, but here in the USA, we’re working without a publisher and with only a small budget that is devoted to development. This leaves us unencumbered by artificial schedules and gives us the flexibility to do what’s right for the game on our own time. So we’re relying on a somewhat unconventional process of using lots of PR, word of mouth, and viral marketing techniques like the invitation system. By the time we’re near launch, however, the process for localizing into Asia will be predictable enough to commit to some serious marketing, so it will probably be a more conventional launch there.
11. In light of recent bad press towards Hellgate: London, how do you plan to separate Mythos from being bundled within the same genre and to get people more excited about it?
The only way to do so in the long run is to deliver a tight, fun game with great value. The fact that it’s free to download and play lowers the barrier to entry and provides people a risk-free way to see for themselves what all the fuss is about. Also, HG and Mythos share so much technology that all of the lessons we’ve learned and bugs we’ve fixed in HG have translated into making Mythos tighter from day one.
12. Are there plans to accommodate the players who were recently excluded from the beta to be able to play on the North American servers when they go live or are you looking at region locked options?
We’ll work with our partners to develop the best policy for everyone. No final decisions on that have been made yet, but we want to give our partners every opportunity to use their expertise in creating a large community.
13. Some of the character builds at the moment seem more powerful than the others. Are the plans to try to balance these out in the Closed/Open Beta or are these going to be balanced on an ongoing basis with the actual gameplay being the first priority?
Balance is continuous and ongoing. Virtually every new build has balance tweaks, and we expect that to be true forever. Many trends and discoveries are made well into a game’s life regarding more effective ways of combining skills, weapons, and technique to maximum effect. We consider this an area that’s never finished.
14. Regarding the crafting system: You have always stated that the ‘pay-based’ crafting ingots will not make a player more powerful, but just provide enhancements to the gameplay. How are you planning to attract a Western audience to this sort of system where players may have to buy a lot of things that may only enhance the game at a level that isn’t overpowering to game balance?
We’re OK with pay-based merchandise providing faster leveling and luckier drops, and more efficient adventuring. Aside from that we intend to sell things that are just fun to have. Mostly, we want Mythos to be a fun game for everyone to play, and then we’ll persuade our players to buy items based on making it even funner.
15. One of the main comments that we usually hear from current beta testers is that as a game, Mythos is very easy to pick up for the casual player and get into. How are you planning to appeal to the more hardcore players who will get through the game quickly and want end game content?
We’ll turn our attention to end-game content when we’re comfortable with our basic level of content. We have lots of ideas, like retirement systems, the hunt for special items, mentoring, as well as long-term guild objectives. End-game content will determine the longevity of Mythos, so we take it very seriously.
16. With the current plans for the persistent Overworld, we are expecting to traverse through some very large maps in Mythos. We have heard mention of some sort of waypoint system to travel between places that the player has explored. Will there ever be plans to introduce any kind of mounts later on in the game’s development, along with areas that do not have waypoints, in order to add the element of exploration into the game to cater to the more “adventurous” players?
You got it! Mounts are on the way!
17. Other MMOs and online RPGs live off their content of raid dungeons that can take hours for groups of players to complete. Are there any plans for dungeons of that caliber to be added into Mythos? Likewise, will there also be linked dungeons and missions in which a player might have to collect a series of keys in various dungeons that will ultimately unlock the door to a final, master dungeon?
While some forms of raid content are fun and we’ll try to do them, one of the attractive features of Mythos is that it doesn’t require that you sacrifice your real-world life to enjoy your virtual life. That being said, we are planning to link quests in the way that you describe as a way of providing long-term goals in bite-size chunks that you can do over days, or all at once if you want to a serious gaming session.
18. We know that there is a system in Mythos that allows a player to retrain his or her skills, a feature which is currently limited to a total of being performed 5 times. Are there any decisions being made yet on whether this will be implemented within the final in the game or will this change? Likewise, are there any plans to implement these in the form of trade-able items, like a Decanter of Stygian Water, as it were?
We are evaluating the best way to do skill retraining while still making skill choices meaningful. We do not want to allow unlimited skill retraining, but a tradable skill retrainer is a possibility.
19. Are there any plans for world wide events for Mythos, such as attacks on towns by enemies or quests that only appear certain times of the year, if only to add a sense of immersion into the setting of the game with the real world time?
Absolutely. Our tools for these are still being developed so I don’t have much in the way of details for you.
20. There has been talk of ingot-bought items such as player housing and guilds. Are there more plans on any other features that will be added to players that are more on the aesthetic side of the game?
Yes. Cosmetic items and clothing, guild “special effects”, pets, and more are all planned. Plus a TON of ideas for player housing and guild enhancements.
21. Are there plans for test servers for players once the game goes live like in Hellgate, and will there be benefits to players who play on these over the standard servers?
The Mythos Test Center just opened (quietly to avoid a rush) last night! We’re keeping it quiet for now so that it’s plenty solid before we publicize it. By nature the Test Center will be less polished than the live build at any time, but with the giant changes due to the Overworld, we want to keep it somewhat quiet so we can see if anything blows up.
22. In your own opinion, what is one race you would really want to add into Mythos that won’t necessarily make it into the game, but is something you envision as being great fun to play?
Aliens!
23. How many character slots are being planned for release and will there be ways for us to acquire more and what will your policy be on people making multiple free accounts?
We’ll provide plenty of slots – the fact that new accounts are possible, given the free nature of the game, it makes no sense to have onerous limits on character slots. There will eventually probably be a way to extend the number for a given account, but we’ll begin with a generous number.
24. Last, but not least, here’s a question that’s on EVERYONE’s mind: can you clue us in on when Open Beta will begin?
Not for at least a month. We’re doing some extra work on billing security and customer support tools and things like that, and we really want to get it right for our eventual launch, so we’ve pushed our OBT date out just a bit. This only means the game will be better when we start, however.
