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Q: When will it be released?
A: The most prevalent answer is: "When it's ready" and we should
just learn to accept that. For those that can't, here is a little - very
unofficial - insight as to why that is.
Until a publisher (who will be the one to set the release date)
is signed, any answer, that anyone might give is pretty much a WAG (wild
assed guess). So, rather than wasting my time telling me fairy tales, I
for am content to hear "when it's ready". Because, to me, that alos means
they won't be rushing to meet some meaningless deadline - they will be
releasing the best game possible.
Rick Rice
"Of course that's just my opinion, I could be wrong" - quote by
Dennis Miller
Note: the rest of these questions (or at least most of them) were
answered by Brenda Brathwaite (of the Sir-Tech team) on Wizardry 8 message
board. They are subject to change.
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Q: Has W8 been scrapped?
A: It's not dead, scrapped, on hold or otherwise in limbo. I work
with those programmers, those many programmers. :) Like someone said here
on the board, this rumor got started, didn't get refuted, so kept on gathering
steam. Wiz 8 is alive. Quite alive.
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Q: Has Sir-Tech gone out of business?
A: Yes, Sir-Tech, the publishing company, has gone out of business.
Sir-Tech Canada, the development company, however, is still alive and working
on W8, among other projects. They are currently trying to find a publisher.
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Q: When will W8 be released?
A: Sir-Tech is at this time working to obtain a distributor for
the game. The game is currently reported to be in slightly pre-alpha status
meaning that the majority of the pieces are complete and Sir-Tech is in
the process of tying all of the various components together. And while
the game may or may not make a fall/winter release in 1999, Sir-Tech is
working to complete the game as quickly as possible while trying to insure
a quality RPG game. As for the quality of the game, there are several screen
shots floating around that might give you a long awaited first glance so
that you can make up your own mind on the matter. Also, Wiz 8 has basically
been completely reworked since Wiz 7. Changes include polygonal 3 D graphics,
which required changes to some of the skills and the magic and combat systems.
The official answer is that Wizardry 8 will be released when it’s
ready.
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Q: Is there a demo for W8?
A: yes, a (non-interactive) demo was included in the Ultimate Wizardry
Archives (see above).
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Q: How will the spell casting and magic systems work?
A: Since monsters no longer "slide out of the walls," some reworking
of the magical spells had to be done, needless to say, because the environment
was no longer the same. In many ways, this occurred purely on the (boring
to non-RPG diehards) mathematical level, where range and effectiveness
met head to head. Since it's no longer 2D though... which it really was
if you think about it... exactly *where* things detonate is important.
What about clouds that disappear as soon as "Each party member earns 380
Experience Points" shows up. Also, we added lots of fun spells that we've
always wanted to see...
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Q: How have classes been changed?
A: First, we looked at every single class... there were some, admittedly,
that have gotten the short end of the proverbial stick for a long, long
while. The Bard and the Ranger are two that come immediately to mind. We
strengthened each class in several ways... making up for item shortcomings
(where applicable) and giving them special abilities that no other class
had (this applies to all classes, btw).
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Q: How is the bishop class changed?
A: This is actually one of my favorite changes, mostly because I've
wanted it since W1. :) The bishop can now choose his magic specialty from
all four spellbooks, rather than just mage and priest as it was before.
While this might seem super powerful (and certainly has the potential to
be), spreading his learning ability too thin could dilute him. Yet, it
gives you the chance to have dual magic users (Alc/Pri, or Pri/Psi) that's
never been available in Wiz before.
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Q: Are there any new classes?
A: Yes, a new character, the Gadgeteer, has been added.
Here's the basic deal on Mr. Gadgeteer...
In a nutshell, he's pretty much every guy. You know, you get this
idea that if you just put this and that together... walla! You'd have something
really. He has an incessant desire to tinker with things... to improve
them by adding other things to them.
He has a special skill that allows him to do this, engineering. He
uses items in a way that other character wouldn't think of or wouldn't
be capable of. He puts item X and item Y together to come up with a brand
new items. These items, he then uses.
As I've mentioned, he has a humor element to him. It's necessary
I mention this before giving you a sample. Early in design, I made up this
item, which continues to be my personal favorite (I doubt you'll see it
in the game... and any Sirtech employees reading this are currently rolling
their eyes :). Basically, the Gadgeteer takes your run of the mill plate
mail and puts an animal skin and a pump on the front. So, when he gets
hit, the bag explodes, protecting him and perhaps rendering his opponent
unconscious.
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Q: Will all the skills acquired in Wiz 7 transfer? Including "personal"
skills?
A: Are you kidding? You think I'd let my little babies lose that?!?
The Personal Skills will definitely transfer, as will most of the other
skills. Some are now outdated, however. Mapping, for instance. There's
an automap in the game, so it's sort of like all your guys have a GPS.
:)
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Q: How will character generation work in W8
A: In W8, you can choose whatever race/class combination you like.
Depending on this race and class, you'll get a certain number of points
(ie. no roll). If you select a wildly high combination (ie faerie ninja),
you'll have to apprentice for a while. What we did want to do was to allow
the freedom of choice without the requirement for rerolling. While I don't
have a problem sitting at a machine for 5 hours creating a party (and I've
sat there longer!), lots of people do.
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Q: How will PC personalities work in W8?
A: Back in the design phase, we realized something very early on
- that everyone's perception of their characters' personalities is different
regardless of what the "status quo" might be. For instance, I happen to
know Zeus (he's my Nin) is an extremely intelligent guy. My mage is eccentric.
My Priest is tough (yes, tough :). Anyway, what we decided to do was to
have personality types that *you* pick. You create the character, then
choose the personality/voice to go with it. The general personalities are
these: aggressive, arrogant, burly, chaotic, cunning, eccentric, kind,
laidback, loner.
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Q: Will there be any gore in W8?
A: We changed how monsters die for Wiz 8, actually. It seemed just
a little too unreal for a big, huge, hulking creature to "evaporate" in
death. So, yes, there will be some evidence of the kill left, but I don't
think you'll find it in the category of gratuitous blood splatters.
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Q: Will W8 be a multi-player game?
A: I've done a couple interviews on this topic, actually, and it's
one that I'm very interested in, too. Multiplayer RPGs and RPGs are really,
now, evolving into two separate genres - and each of them have very unique
designs. Wizardry, it's design, pretty much requires that it maintain it's
non-multiplayer. Of course, I won't say that we couldn't have done it...
but it would have meant big changes in design that left behind the following
we've had for 20 years now.
Still, I understand. I'm a fan of multi-player, too. It's much more
fun to play Quake with my husband (the *Victim*) than by myself. My favorite
all-time game, however, is single player.
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Q: How does NPC AI work in W8?
A: In W8, NPCs grow, learn from others, act on those thoughts and
actually compete with you and others. For instance, if Mr. Blah finds out
that the Yadaya device is being held by the Frobnoids, then he will have
to go through the same process as you.
We (the designers) found if much more challenging if the NPCs were
evolving, both in their strength and in their intelligence.
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Q: compared to Wiz 7 is the world size larger, smaller, about the same?
A: Ah, it's about the same size, but with less of the "random woods"
effect.
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Q: compared to Wiz 7 are there more, less or about the same # of "dungeon"/adventure
sites?
A: Actually, it's close, but I'm think that there may be a bit more.
It would really take setting the maps out on tables to get a good comparison,
but I believe we have the same amount of "adventure sites" if not more.
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Q: Are there going to be any puzzles in W8?
A: No. There are no puzzles in the game at all. :)
Of course, there are. Puzzles are related to the story, much the
way they were in W7. You won't find the "make the pearl" type things in
W8, but, logical puzzles that evolve from the story rather than get in
the way of it.
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Q: Will W8 use 1st or 3rd person POV?
A: First person without a doubt - that's a Wizardry mainstay.
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Q: Will W8 use real-time or turn based combat?
A: Phased combat, actually. In phased combat, two opposing sides
face off and *everyone* makes their decisions at the same time... however,
their speed, etc, determine initiative, and the computer carries it out.
Consider it your classic bar brawl.
This is as opposed to turn based, where one guy goes, then another,
then another, then another - you choose each action and they carry them
out right then and there. Using the bar example again, this would be like
one guy getting up from his stool - popping one guy in the head while the
rest sat there. THEN, another guy gets up and does the same... it's just
not mathematically accurate.