As we mentioned on Monday, NCsoft gave us the chance to talk with Chris Hager, Associate Producer of Aion, about some of the games more notable features. Unfortunately, they're still unwilling to talk about crafting which is somewhat of a concern considering how far along the game is. Hopefully they're holding out for good reason. It'd be a shame if Aion was a disappointment to the crafting community.

Tamat : Hello Chris! Thank you for sitting down with us to talk Aion.

Chris : Hi Tamat. Thanks for the chance to tell you and your community more about Aion.

Tamat : Can you give us some information about the games back-story?

Chris : The world of Atreia was once a peaceful place inhabited by a single, enlightened race.  Long ago, that race entered the great Millennium War against the evil Balaur, and the resulting cataclysm literally ripped the world apart into two halves.  Over the centuries, as the races of each side developed physical differences to suite their specific environments, they also developed a bitter hatred for one another.  The Asmodians live in a cold and shadowed land, and their hearts grew to match their new landscape.  The Elyos enjoy a green, vivid world covered in sunlight. This only helped feed their arrogance over who is to blame for the shattering of the Tower of Eternity that once joined the two lands as one.  Each side blames the other for the great cataclysm and the shattering of their once peaceful world.

Only in the recent past have both factions discovered portals that lead to the area where fragments of the Tower still exist.  Through these portals, both the Asmodian and Elyos began their fight face to face.  However, within the Abyss zone, they also came face to face with the Balaur, who were thought to be all but extinguished after the Millennium War.  As these two factions fight one another and the Balaur, they begin to learn the true history of the destruction of the Tower of Eternity, and who really is to blame.

Tamat : How does Aion mesh with some of the other games that NCsoft has published? What sets this title apart from other titles under the NCsoft umbrella?

Chris : I think Aion fits very well in the library of titles that NCsoft offers, and we believe Aion hits a very high benchmark in regards to quality and attention to detail.  We also feel Aion is a natural progression when compared to current NCsoft games, and is a great addition to our portfolio of AAA titles. Aion is distinct with its stunning graphics, strategic flight system and the depth to which characters can be customized from the time you create your character to the time you reach the end game.  Aion does nothing but complement and enhance NCsoft’s growing library of titles.

Tamat : One of the first things that attracted me to the game was the breath taking graphics. Since the game is running on the CryTek™ engine, what kind of minimum system requirements will players be looking at?

Chris : As you said, from a visual perspective Aion is simply amazing.  Aion is running on a highly modified yet stable version of the CryTek engine.  Since the CryTek engine has been released it has gone through many updates, and a main benefit of that is that Aion will run well on a wide range of systems.  In addition to the engine, the developers and artists have done a fantastic job of getting the most out of the graphics by using very detailed textures and other tricks to keep system resource usage relatively low.  While we have not released min specs yet, players will not need to rebuild their 2-3 year old machines to run Aion well.

Tamat : Let’s talk about one of the games features, PvPvE. How will this work and what can players expect out of this long term?

Chris : PvPvE describes the combat action that players will face when they enter the Abyss zone.  The Abyss is the converging point of the conflicts between the Elyos, Asmodian and Balaur.  Here the two player factions meet and battle one another for fortresses and control over the Abyss’ many areas (hence the PVP).  The Balaur, however, are the X factor.  They are an NPC race controlled by an advanced AI.  Depending on several factors, the Balaur could choose to side with your faction, side with your enemy, or fight against all who oppose them.  The exciting part is that as the determining factors change, so will the Balaur’s alliance.  Players can expect to fight against foes one minute, then side with them the next as the balance of power in the zone shifts. 

Tamat : Is it safe to say that the Balaur will bring a unique advantage to their allies? Can you go into some more detail?

Chris :  I think there are some distinct advantages to having the Balaur on your side.  When fighting others, it’s always good to have extra muscle with you!  Any faction that has the Balaur fighting with them will need to be extremely cautious, however, because you never know when they will turn on you.  An advantage can quickly turn to a disadvantage in the case of the Balaur.

Tamat :  Players will have the choice between four classes to start; but as they play, they will be given a choice to specialize their class further. How does this work?

Chris : There are actually eight different classes in Aion players can choose from, but players will begin by picking one of the 4 main class archetypes.  We feel this is important because we want players to be comfortable with how their selected main class plays, and to become familiar with the game mechanics before making an important decision such as a class specialization.  Once players learn the ropes of Aion and their selected class, at level ten they will be able to select from one of the class specializations and really get to focus and learn their chosen profession.

Tamat : This sounds a lot like the way EverQuest II was setup initially. Unfortunately the system didn’t work out so well for that title. How will this differ in Aion to be an enjoyable process for all?

Chris : The Aion class system classes continuously builds on previous classes, so when you’ve mastered your base class and then choose a specialization, you won’t have to entirely relearn how to play your character.  There will be changes yes, with what skills your character now has access to and which way you choose to play, but it will all be familiar from when you were learning in earlier levels.  By splitting the character classes into a base profession and a specialization, this helps players not be overwhelmed by learning their class specialties, game mechanics and story line, and instead lets them enjoy learning the game without being bombarded with new information.  Our goal is that this will be a smooth and natural learning curve for players so by the time they are comfortable with one aspect of the game, another is introduced to keep them engaged and learning, without having to learn an entirely new way to play when there is a choice for players in how their character evolves.

Tamat : Aion boasts moving away from two-dimensional ground combat putting players into the sky with air combat. What can we expect and in which ways has Aion taken advantage of the CryTek™ engine with this feature?

Chris : The flight system in Aion definitely takes strategic combat to a new level.  Because of the CryTek engine’s capabilities, we are able to design a robust flight system that will really make players think differently about combat.  There will be several strategic factors that players will need to take into account for flight combat.  Flight duration, speed and opponent skills are just a few of the many factors players will have to think about and adjust equipment for accordingly.  Once again, because of the CryTek engine’s flexibility and the skill of our developers, the flight combat feels natural and really allows players to focus on the strategic aspect of flying and the actual combat, versus having to learn an awkward flying system that does not work well.  In essence, because of the engine design and the developers, air combat will be seamless and natural transition for players and allow them to enjoy the game.

Tamat : What does crafting look like for players in Aion?

Chris : Crafting in Aion is very cool, but we aren’t at the point where we are giving out details on the system just yet.

Tamat : Alright Chris, thanks for taking the time to talk to us about Aion. We’re looking forward to seeing it in person!

Chris : Thanks for having me.  We’re really looking forward to getting the game out into player's hands and letting them enjoy Aion!

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