Viktor Juhasz on King Arthur II
Feature
Viktor Juhász, content designer at NeocoreGames for King Arthur II, discusses the development process and shares some thoughts on the fantastic monsters, the wifes and the new features of this upcoming Role-playing Wargame.
Viktor Juhász: Hi, my name is Viktor Juhász, and I’m a content designer and writer at NeocoreGames.
Hooked Gamers: The first King Arthur really showed that it was possible to rival the Total War series and brought a lot of distinctive features to the table. Will the sequel add any new features, or continue to build upon the (already strong) existing ones?
Viktor Juhász: Both are correct. We have changed many elements of the first game, based on the feedback from the players and the media, but we kept the most praised features – like the quests and the Morality Chart – almost untouched in King Arthur II – The Role-playing Wargame. And we have added numerous new features as well.
A very important difference between the first game and the sequel is that this time we’ve played a little bit with the balance of the role-playing and the strategy elements in the game. The campaign map gives plenty of opportunity to enjoy the RPG elements, while the battles will be far more tactical.
We have also implemented many new features to King Arthur II, like more detailed hero and army management, the forging of artifacts, diplomacy, flying fantasy monsters, boss fights and a lot more.
Magic still plays an important part in the game, as it’s set in an abundantly fantasy setting, just the way it should be. We have also improved the magic resistance and spell-casting system, so players will be able to defend themselves against powerful magical attacks. Each army starts the battle with a global magic resistance, depending on the magic resistance skills of your leading heroes. Special artifacts or unique unit skills can also boost your global resistance. The most powerful spells will require some time to execute – that’s the casting time. You always get notification when enemy heroes begin to cast a powerful spell and it’s highly advised to do something against it to avoid harsh damages. Gather your army or your fastest units and kill the hero before they finish the spell, attack them with spells or increase your magical defenses--it’s up to you.
Moreover, the sequel uses a brand new engine, providing even more detailed and amazing graphics, and it also grants real grand-scale battles with 3000-4000 men on the battlefield simultaneously. The unit movement, the pathfinding, and the animation system have also been thoroughly upgraded.
Hooked Gamers: It has been mentioned that there will be an extensive tutorial for King Arthur II. Some tutorials can become too bogged down in every minor detail, whilst others leave the gamer wondering what they’re supposed to do. How do you manage to find a balance between the two?
Viktor Juhász: In King Arthur II the tutorial is not part of the campaign, so we have more options to fulfill everyone’s needs. There will be separate tutorials explaining various single features or options, like the new magic system tutorial or a tutorial for the camera settings and so on. The main idea is that you are not forced to go through all the tutorials in order to proceed with the game. It’s strongly recommended though, as the players of King Arthur – The Role-playing Wargame already know, I guess.
Moreover, players can access the manual inside the game – it will be similar to the Civilopedia of the Civilization series.