ZAM Gets Rift Update 1.3 Details from Hal Hanlin
Staff Writer Paul "LockeColeMA" Cleveland sat down with Design Producer Hal Hanlin to discuss Rift's upcoming content update.
This week I had the chance to chat with Design Producer Hal Hanlin and get some details on Update 1.3: Waves of Madness, the major content patch that's launching in Rift on June 22. In his own words, Hanlin is the guy who is responsible “primarily for the content of Rift.”
Keep reading after the jump to learn more about Addons, free realm transfers, guild banks, new artifacts (and the fun rewards associated with them), the world event, the Hammerknell raid and more!
I started our discussion by asking about one of the major technical changes coming soon after 1.3: Addon support. Hanlin noted that Addon support currently on the public test shard is “at a very rudimentary level.” Trion Worlds is “working closely with the community, implementing ideas that both sides want. We're trying to avoid a bot factory,” so for now what is allowable is very stringent.
As time goes on and the team receives more feedback, other Addons will be allowed in the game; but for now they're “trying not to introduce a ton of features at first.” Trion is promising to police Addon usage very diligently, although I didn't receive the exact details on how this policing will occur.
Another technical feature added in 1.3 will be free realm transfers. “The transfers are pretty generous. Gameplay on populous servers is more enjoyable, which is great!” Hanlin said. Trion has a “continuing ramp-up of trials and promotions” to entice new players, and the transfers will be sure to allow players the freedom to be with their friends, avoid queues and have a large player base with which to quest.
“We don't want to limit players who leveled up on PvP servers and decided, 'oh, I don't like PvP,' ” Hanlin said, so transfers will be allowed regardless of realm designation. Currently the restrictions are planned to be one transfer per week.
When it came to in-game features, the first on the list was guild banks. Coming in 1.3, guilds will have guild banks accessible in the main cities. Hanlin said the only limitation is money; “Guild bank tabs aren't based on guild level, just on how much money you have available to purchase them.”
He said the team consciously chose to make the banks available only in Sanctum and Meridian “to give guild members a hub.” But they always take feedback into account and if they think it's worthwhile enough, guild banks could potentially be available in other locations far in the future.
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