Black Desert: Interview with PM Balsazar

I expressed concerns in my previous post about Black Desert Online, regarding both the cash shop and the state of the game. When I first began watching it, it was aimed at a more challenge-oriented audience than it is now. Some of these concerns have been addressed in a recent forum Q&A with PM_Belsazar, a project manager with Daum, on the Black Desert Online official forums. Much of it was as I expected – they are not addressing concerns regarding the cash shop, for example – due to the nature of the process of bringing a game to the west. In other words: they cannot address certain things as they are still working out the details with Pearl Abyss.

The Vigor System is a discussion in progress. The Cash Shop is a discussion in progress; as are pay to win features, the in game economy, pvp flagging, and the adjustment of in game features. Quite a lot on that list! So what is discussed – primarily the closed betas, the founders packs, issues with megaservers, and serviced territory. Unrelated to the interview – throwing aside any discussions as to the merits or flaws of locked regions, I have to admit that I find locking regions to be rather ridiculous given how easy it is to set up VPNs.

But before I digress onto a rant about my lack of Asian games, let’s move on to the interview!Well, portions of it anyway. I can’t quote the entire thing, so here are a few select portions of it that I found the most interesting.

On Vigor (the system that limits how many times a day you can participate in activities):

  • The feedback about the vigor system was forwarded to the developers. We are still in discussion in how far we can adjust the vigor system for our service. Many features such as the vigor system too, are interconnected with other features in the game, so it takes time to find a solution to work around certain issues that may come up due to adjusting one piece in the bigger picture.In short: This is work in progress.

On a Megaserver:

  • Many questions resolved around the issue that the Russian service was facing in regards of lag occurring due to the setup of a ‘mega server’. Our team, as well as devs are aware of this issue and we will address it accordingly to provide a proper performance, especially during Node Wars and other events that may lead to lag.In short: Mega server is not planned for our service.

On Founder’s Packs:

  • About preorder packages. Is DAUM planning on changing the preorder packages in any way? Most highest tier packages include 3/4th of it’s value in cash (e.g. Blade and Soul with 90$ worth of NCcoins in a 125$ package) 
    • The pre-order packages will remain as-is. Tier 3 will be dropped after launch. Tier 1 and 2 will be reduced in content as given in the pre-order section. 
      The value in our package is provided through valuable items rather than providing direct cash. And please keep in mind that you can utilze NCcoins in multiple games, this doesn’t apply to us. So the purpose of adding a higher value is different.
  • Can the Character Name Reservations (from Pre-Order Packs) be saved for future classes (I don’t have any class I really want to play currently available)?
    • It is planned to make the reservation without any time limit. 
  • I would like to know if a person’s progress gained via guest pass can be transferred. For example, if I buy Pro-Order and give guest pass access to my friends, then they decide to buy their membership, will their progress be wiped or can it be transferred to their new account?
    • Using a guest pass will require the creation of an account. If that guest uses the same account for purchasing the game, he will keep his progress. However, if we end up with too many unused guest accounts remaining unused after X months, we may consider to release an announcement that we will wipe those guest accounts. But this is connected to a big IF and will be announced to everyone affected on all our channels!

And of course, the key piece of information:

  • What is the timeframe for CBT1 – CBT 2, and release.
    • CBT 1 is planned for December. CBT 2 and Launch depends heavily of the process of the localization. 2.800.000 words in 3 languages, more than 1.000 characters to be voiced. It takes time, but both, CBT 2 and Launch will be available in Q1 2016.
      CBT 1 is planned to be from Thursday 7 a.m. UTC to Monday 8 a.m. UTC; non stop. CBT 2 details will be revealed later, but most likely follow the CBT 1 schedule.

 

I’d kind of like to know which Thursday it will start, but at least I now know more than I did previously!

There is a great deal more information in the Q&A, including a teaser about possible dev interviews in the future, to read it, go to Belsazar’s post on the official forums.

 

About Pherephassa 213 Articles
Pherephassa has been creeping around the etherspace long enough to have remorted so often that not even she can recall her original form. She loves sandboxes, challenges, chain mail bikinis and dungeons so large they take weeks, months or even years to fully explore. Currently seeking an MMO home, she can often be found on the side of the road, begging game designers for death penalties and slow leveling curves.