CoS Development Team Member gives first hand explaination of Citadel of Sorcery (CoS)
(In reply to 'hype' post on MMORPG.com)

Unfortunately, the 'Hype' comment system in MMORPG leaves no easy way to discuss someone's review of a game. However, we can at least rebut or discuss negative hype reviews in this thread. Often their negative review is simply a misunderstanding of the game since they are interpreting the short description of the game. We acknowledge that there are also those people who just aren't going to like this kind of game no matter what we say or build. We can't change some of their minds, but we do hope we can at least answer some of their questions or enlighten some of those with the wrong impression of Citadel of Sorcery.

So let's get started by beginning with the latest 'hype' post by Falendor. Here is his comment as posted in Hype, I quote:

Maybe its just how the stuff is shown in the article but i really dont see how this is any diffrent from any other "story based" MMO, and an instance is still and instance even if you call it a "reflected world"

First off, before I comment on Falendor's suppositions I'd like to say that there is nothing wrong with the other MMOs I may use in comparison. They are simply different, and my comparisons have to do with pointing out those differences, not in saying what is better or worse.

With that said, Falendor states: "i really dont see how this is any diffrent from any other 'story based' MMO". The problem is that he doesn't give any examples of which MMO he is comparing. If Falendor would like to post a reply in this thread and give me an example of an MMO and what he considers one of their better quests, I'd love to compare that to show him the differences that set Citadel of Sorcery apart from those games. However, in case Falendor chooses not to reply, and since he states 'any other story based' MMO', let's pick one. How about LOTRO? That's certainly a game based on one of the greatest stories ever written. In LOTRO they have an Epic Storyline, which I found to be one of the more interesting parts of the game. At various points in the game you are allowed to progress that epic storyline with a small quest. Let's take one of those quests and do a little comparison with a quest from CoS. Because I don't want to write a novel here, I'm going to try to be brief with descriptions from both.

In LOTRO's epic quest, at one point you are sent to rescue a guy who is held captive. You are given a bit of story to explain why you need to save the guy. Then you are transported to an instance of a small area just outside the wall of a bandit camp. You have a temporary companion who MUST survive the quest or you 'fail'. The quest consists of opening the gate and getting into a battle around a camp fire. Once over, and assuming you kept your NPC buddy alive, you move forward twenty feet and fight another set of bad guys. Again, if you win and keep you guy alive, you move twenty feet forward to another battle. You repeat this until you reach the end with your guy still alive. Should you fail, you may start over from the beginning and try again. Nothing changes, it is completely linear. You do the same thing in the same sequence over and over until you get to the end of the linear quest with your NPC guy alive. End of Quest.

Now, I'm going to describe a similar segment of a quest from CoS. The only problem here is that unlike LOTRO, this wouldn't be a quest, it is too little, to insignificant. But that's OK, let's take a look at this as if it was a quest in CoS anyway just to see the difference in how the game play works.

An NPC comes to you and tells you that a captive inside a bandit compound has information you need about a secret plot to kill the king. First difference from LOTRO, you can choose NOT to rescue this guy and get the information, it's up to you. But let's say you choose to rescue the guy, the NPC offers to come with you, again you decide if you want him to come along or not. I mean, he might be a liability, or he might be too important to risk, or he might be a spy or traitor. Clues you got earlier may help you make that decision, but it's up to you.

But... let's again assume you choose to let him accompany you into the bandit camp (so that we follow the ONLY choice you get in LOTRO). In LOTRO, your only option is to open the gate and get attacked by the bandits. In CoS you decide how you want to get to the prisoner. Do you want to make a frontal assault on the gate? You can if you want, but you can come up with a better plan than that, can't you? How about luring some of them out of the compound first and ambushing them to cut down the odds? Or how about climbing over the wall and trying to hit them with surprise? Or what about putting on a disguise and trying to fool them? Hmm, there are more things I might try, but this is enough to get the point across, which is, YOU pick how you want to accomplish your mission.

Now, let's say no matter what option you choose you somehow get into a fight, (it's one possibility), If your NPC buddy dies... he dies. The story goes on. We NEVER go back and make you repeat a quest portion over again. Like real life, you make your choices, roll the dice and live with the outcome. The Quest and your story goes on, and the repercussions of that NPC dying have to be dealt with, quests aren't linear.

But there is more... while in the bandit camp trying to get to the prisoner you spot an old enemy who seems to be working with these bandits. You ran into this guy on another quest, and he made a deal with you, and then screwed you and stole the treasure. You have a few seconds to make a decision, if you are in disguise, he might recognize you and point you out to the bandits. Do you want to try to stay away from him? Or, do you want to try to kill him when no one is looking and hide his body behind some crates?

Or, if you are in a battle with the bandits and he spots you, you might see him dash off to get the prisoner before you can get to him first. The point being that this is a personal enemy of yours, one that any other player wouldn't know, and one that is out to screw you, or get to the goal before you do. He is unique to your adventure, part of your personal story, not another player's. In LOTRO every player goes through the same story with the same NPCs. It's linear Pass or Fail. In CoS every player goes through the quest in their own way, making choices that change the quest, and there is no pass or fail, what happens on this quest will continue your story, no matter what the outcome.

I hope that explains just some of the difference between CoS and other story based MMOs that you may have played. There is more, but this enough to point out that CoS IS different from any other story based MMO that we have played.

Falendor's second point is, and I quote,

" an instance is still and instance even if you call it a 'reflected world'"

True, well, sort of, I mean, that's the same as saying a boat is still a boat, even if you call it an Aircraft Carrier. That's basically true, but our Reflected Worlds are Aircraft Carriers compared to row boats in other MMOs, so are they the same?

Again, Falendor didn't give any examples of other MMOs to use as a comparison, so I'll just pick a few big ones, how about WoW, EQ2 and LOTRO? In the above 'story' comparison to LOTRO I described a quest that takes place in an 'instance' of their world. This instance is the same type of instance used in the other two MMOs I just mentioned. It is a small area where a group of players is temporarily transported to complete some linear or other short piece of game play.

Now let's compare that with what we call a 'Reflected World'. There is a reason we choose to name it differently. Part of that reason is because of our Universe mythos, but let's ignore that part for the moment and look at just the mechanics. When you enter a Reflected World you are entering the ENTIRE full planet, not a little segment of that world. Every NPC, every adventure, every quest, every mission, everything is there for you to play. You could choose to stay in that Reflected World and adventure for as long as you stay online. Everything is there, and even more importantly, that world knows about you and your history, your friends, allies, personal enemies, hostile cults, etc. Everything you have done in the past is reflected in this world. If you screwed with the Thieves guild in one town on another quest, they will remember you when you show up, worse, they may have assassins out in the world setting traps for you or hunting you down. Everything about this full Reflected World it set to be your personal playground, your personal story, your continuing adventure. This is not just some repetitive instance that is the same for every player. It is an Aircraft Carrier compared to a row boat of other MMO games, they are both boats, yes ,but there really is no comparison.

Having said all that, I'd still love to discuss this further with you Falendor if you would like to supply examples of games that you believe are similar to Citadel of Sorcery we can take a look and see if you can prove your point. We haven't found them, but maybe you have played MMOs that we haven't. Let us know, give detailed examples of their story driven quest or instance system and let's compare the difference. I'm willing if you are; love to hear from you.

YOU can have your say here :) --> http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/333/view/forums/post/2934308#2934308