Two Worlds: The Temptation Announced [November 28, 2007, 12:48 pm ET] - Viewing Comments
This press release provides an oddly sparse announcement of Two Worlds: The Temptation, an upcoming expansion for Reality Pump's RPG planned for release for PCs and consoles in August of next year. The Official Two Worlds: The Temptation Website is online, though the teaser site only offers a few screenshots for the time being. Here is the entirety of the proclamation:
Karlsruhe, 28. November 2007 – Head for a new horizon! With the add-on, “Two Worlds – The Temptation”, the “Two Worlds” universe continues to grow, introducing new game content, extended gameplay and providing you with the answers to many questions and mysteries which arose in the main story!
The developers are focusing on a blend of the proven and the new: besides several well-known regions of Antaloor, there are also completely new territories to explore. The combat system has been further enhanced too – now you can use active blocking, for example. Many other additional developments have been added – developments which have enabled a completely new means of transport and a much enhanced reaction from NPCs – but more on these and a whole host of other surprises shortly! The release of “Two Worlds – The Temptation” for PC and consoles is planned for the first half of 2008. You can get an idea of what to expect at www.2-worlds.com/temptation.
Zuxxez sent over the following press release, which reveals increased use of the Z-axis in Two Worlds: Temptation -
Lots of new enhancements in "The Temptation"
Karlsruhe, 21st December 2007 – The "Two Worlds" universe is now even more interactive. Together with the upcoming sequel "The Temptation", a new gameplay feature has been developed that will enable the player to influence his environment even more! He can now use chests, barrels and other items to defeat his opponents or to reach higher ground - and as far as the vertical is concerned, there are ladders available in "The Temptation"!
And when you've climbed up there, you'll be able to see the wondrous new landscapes which have been created by the developers! Two examples of these are a Savannah and a Jungle. You'll have mangroves, lianas, cacti and new animals, all filling the new worlds with an abundance of life, like rhinos, baboons, leopards and panthers.
CEO Alexandra Constandache: “So with ‘The Temptation’ we've succeeded in realizing a truly intensive gaming experience - an experience that also includes the refining of the 'older' elements together with truly stunning new features! When you move objects, for example, the possibilities are almost endless... you can use all your creative talents and enable very interesting quests at the same time."
Zuxxez VP of business development Dirk Hassinger stopped by the company's official forums to clarify that Two Worlds: The Temptation features so much new code that it's not even compatible with the original game. Here's a rough translation:
As I already said Two Worlds - The Temptation becomes a completely new game and not an add-on. Not one 3D object from Two Worlds is reused. That cannot be done already out of technical reasons. We're using a new graphic and sound engine. Multiplayer is also using completely new code. And an add-on it can't be, because it is not compatible with the first Two Worlds. We don't call it "Two Worlds 2" because we don't think that sounds right. Simply compare the screenshots of 2WTT with 2W. I know that there are currently only 4 on the Internet, but new shots will be released in the next PC Action and in the next GameStar.
GI: Can you talk a little bit about the updates to the combat system? What’s being improved? Players will be able to manually block attacks now, right?Cool.
Seaman: Correct, blocking will be something the player actively participates in this time. Also, we’re making disarming more visually apparent. If you disarm an opponent, you’ll see the weapon fly out of their hands and fall to the ground, but I should add that you can be disarmed as well. We’re also going to completely rework mounted combat with improved animations and hit detection.
GI: Will players be able to have more customization with the characters in the Temptation? Can they play as women?Okay.
Seaman: There will be a lot more character customization in Two Worlds: The Temptation. The face generation software we’re using is vastly improved, which is going to allow for more variety not only for players, but also people they’ll meet in the world. There will also be more choices in race, but players will still only be able to be a male protagonist. Like the original, it’s more of a story concern than anything else.
GI: Will players be able to import their existing characters into the Temptation?
Seaman: Afraid not. All the new features we’re adding would make it impossible for characters from the original game to be imported.
After Two Worlds the dev team started to develop a sequel / add on. But during the development first the project has grown that much that we decided to make a full sequel.
In further development it came out that the (updated) Two Worlds The Temptation engine is outdated and we decided to start with a new game engine from the scratch. So basically The Temptation (and Revelation for PS3) are waved and Two Worlds II is a completly new game on 4 platforms.
Minimum system requirements:
- Intel or AMD single-core processor (2,0 GHz)
- 1GB of RAM (2 GB for Windows Vista and 7)
- Windows XP, Snow Leopard
- Radeon HD, Geforce 8800GT (Shader 3.0 and 512 MB RAM)
- Mouse, keyboard, DVD drive, sound card
- Internet connection for multiplayer
- DirectX 9.0c or OpenGL
- 8 GB hard disk space
Recommended configuration:
- Intel or AMD multi-core CPU (2.6 GHz)
- 4 GB Ram
- Windows Vista, Windows 7, Snow Leopard
- Radeon HD 2900, GeForce 8800 GTX
- Mouse, keyboard, DVD drive, 5.1 sound card
- Internet connection for multiplayer 6000 BPS
- 8 GB hard disk space
Shut up and let me play!
Sadly, it’s not all wine and roses in the land of Antaloor. All those great systems listed above? Good luck figuring them out. The UI is confusing and clunky. The tutorial overexplains some things and doesn’t explain others at all. I suppose you could always turn to the Internet for guides and tips, but why force players to put down the game and go elsewhere to learn how to play? And for all your multiclassing skills, combat is a frustrating affair. I can only guess they meant it to be dynamic, but it’s mostly hoping an attack lands before you get mobbed to death.
Two Worlds II will be getting a pirate-themed expansion pack in the fall, publisher Topware announced today. Of course, since this is an RPG and everything is magical, they can't just be pirates. So these are sky pirates.
The "Pirates of the Flying Fortress" pack will launch this September for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, promising new single- and multiplayer content. Developer Reality Pump will be bringing thunder and rain storms, new bosses and weapons with which to take down those bosses, impact-oriented horse armor and more breeds, and new cut-scene animations and dialog.