With the closed beta ending at the end of this month, and official launch on the horizon, we felt it was time to sit down with the folks at NDOORS and discuss their upcoming title, Atlantica Online .  We chatted briefly with Peter Kang, CEO of NDOORS Interactive, and here's what we learned:

Allakhazam: Will players be able to explore the world like your traditional MMORPG? For example, the ability to swim in bodies of water freely and climb mountains, etc. for better views of the world.

Peter: Atlantica Online isn’t like traditional MMORPGs in that you can’t explore the world by doing things like swimming in bodies of water. The Atlantica world is unique in that it’s based more in reality, with the Earth’s continents being the same land masses in the game. Real-life locations are places players will have to travel to during the course of the game. Locales like the pyramids of Egypt and Bran Castle in Romania, which is believed to have been the home of Count Vlad of Dracula mythology, are a few of the places where players will have to battle enemies like mummies and vampires to find the fabled lost civilization of Atlantis. It’s a globe-hopping adventure and players will be able to explore many of the locations in-depth. But it’s a world that’s not completely fictional, with players getting to interact with places like the Great Wall of China and India’s Taj Mahal in a whole new way.

I’d also like to add that two of Atlantica’s features, the turn-based combat system and the ability to acquire mercenaries who help you in battle, are not the norm in MMORPGs, and help to distinguish our game further from traditional ones.

Allakhazam: How will Atlantica Online play in comparison to the more traditional turn based RPG such as Final Fantasy III, Chrono Trigger and Breath of Fire?

Peter: It’s true turn-based. You have up to 30 seconds to assign a move for your main character and up to eight mercenaries. Then your opponent has his time to make his moves, and you have to just sit and watch the impact those actions have on your characters’ health points. It alternates like that for the entire battle. There is nothing else dictating which move gets made when.

In the combat action, there are some strategic and spatial similarities to Chrono Trigger, in that you have your characters in a specific formation and how certain moves you make will attack and impact the formation of your opponent. But we think we’ve been able to put together an exciting and fast-paced brand of action. Our development team in Korea spent most of the three years it took to create the game on the turn-based system, and fine-tuning it for an online game.

Allakhazam: It was announced that player teams of 3 will be able to control up to 27 characters. Does that mean the end game content will be doable with as little as three players or will there be content for larger groups of players? i.e. Guild Raids.

Peter: Actually, it is conceivable for one player to reach the end game and save the world by finding Atlantis alone. But we want players to partner with others. In the main storyline, PvE combat is the means to uncover the clues leading players Atlantis. It will be extremely difficult to get past some monsters and find the clues without partnering with up with other players.

But there are other community aspects to Atlantica. We’ve built upon the town and guild management system of an earlier NDOORS game, “Luminary: Rise of the GoonZu,” and players can form guilds, which in turn can take over towns. Certain areas in the game, with special items, will only be accessible by guilds. A guild can work with other guilds in other towns and form nations. A player can then become king and decide to wage war on other nations. Atlantica has a rich RPG environment players can get immersed in without having to take part in the Atlantis quest part of the game.

Allakhazam: Are there any plans for an integrated spell/skill combo system? Will teams be able to strategically use their abilities together for a more powerful outcome?

Peter: Yes, that will be possible. There are special magic skills that can only be unleashed with a certain combination of mercenaries. But it doesn’t even have to be with other players. If you control the right mercenaries in your own crew, you alone can take advantage of those special skills.

Allakhazam: What about PvP, will there be any to speak of? Any plans for such content?

Peter: Oh yes, there will be plenty of PvP for players who want to take on other players. It’s open to all, including players at Level 1. Players at lower levels can even challenge higher-level players to test their skills. If the higher-level players are up for it, they just might gain some items pretty easily. For newer players, PvP might be a good way to familiarize themselves with the turn-based combat system and learn how to best utilize their mercenaries.

There will be tournaments for players to engage in some PvP. PvP will also come into play when nations declare war on other nations. Some of the PvP action will be held at what we think is a fitting site: Rome’s ancient Colosseum, when it wasn’t so ancient.

But for the most part, PvP is optional. You can just focus on getting to Atlantis without doing any PvP.

Allakhazam: Let’s talk expansions! Are there any future plans to expand the game's content in either patchable or purchasable forms?

Peter: The level cap in the closed beta will be 80. Then that will go up to 100 for the open beta. Later, there will be expansions with level increases in increments of 10. And there will be content more tailored for North American audiences, bringing part of the journey here to North America.

Allakhazam: We can’t wait to give it a try! Can you tell us when in July we can expect to see Atlantica go live?

Peter: The closed beta begins on July 18, with an exclusive preview period for FilePlanet subscribers beginning on July 15. A few weeks after that, we expect to go into open beta.

It’s great to hear you’re anxious to give it a try. We hope you enjoy your trip to Atlantis!

Allakhazam: Thanks so much, Peter. We're looking forward to it!

Andrew "Tamat" Beegle
Editor-in-Chief
Allakhazam.com