I've had this game on my radar for a bit. Figured I'd share a recent interview I found here:
http://2p.com/789193_1/2P-Black-Desert-Interview-Beta-Contents-and-Western-Plan.htm
400 v 400 PVP battles had me interested.
We are so glad to have Brian Oh here to share their latest progress of Black Desert. E3 conference just passed a few days ago, and it's the first time Black Desert landing western continent. Did you find a publisher for western players? What contents of PvE and PvP will be released in the upcoming Korean beta? Brian will share their work on these issues.
1. First of all, could you introduce yourself to our audience?
Hello, I am very pleased to have this opportunity to introduce Black Desert to viewers. My name is Brian Oh, the Director of Business Development, at Pearl Abyss, and I hope to give you a few insights into Black Desert via this article.
2. We haven't heard about Black Desert for a while and we are all curious of the game's development progress.
It is highly possible that we will be able to release a closed beta test (CBT) in Korea this autumn. We are currently working on improving major systems and trying to finish the CBT build. After Korea's CBT, further scheduling will be determined.
3. Can you tell us about the upcoming beta test in Korea? How do you select beta testers?
All major systems will be tested during the beta test in Korea, including combat and level systems, skills, and basic systems for guilds, trading, housing, exploration, and so on. Castle siege systems will also be tested, especially technical issues regarding large scale siege settings. After finishing the beta test, detailed sub-systems thereof will be added to the major backbone system of Black Desert.
As to the number of beta testers and the selection process of them, we are still in discussion with Daum Communications, the publisher in Korea. A timeline and other policies related to the Beta will be updated on an upcoming official website.
4. How many classes will be opened for testers? What PvE and PvP contents can players expect to play?
Four classes of a fighter, ranger, sorceress, and predator will be open to beta testers this time. Actually, we have developed more characters than just these four, but these will be revealed one by one after an open beta test. In the game, users must follow a quest line to level-up. Moreover, ranging from small monsters to enormous bosses, users will be able to enjoy a variety of PvE contents, including party raids of dungeons. Additionally, we will allow users to enjoy PvP gameplay in a wide range of field areas, and at the same time, we may set a secured zone where PvP gameplay is prohibited.
5. We have a lot of Black Desert fans on our Facebook page discussing about the game. We even saw a fake Spanish publisher emerged recently. All of those show that the game is fairly anticipated in western market, so do you have any oversea plan? Did you talk to any EU/NA publisher at E3?
We are excited that Western MMO users have shown such a great interest in Black Desert. As you mentioned, the recent event concerning the fake Spanish publisher has reinforced for us the need to be more meticulous in selecting the right partners in the EU/NA gaming markets. Since last year's G-Star, we have been contacted many western publishers, and we are making every effort to complete a publishing deal in those regions as soon as possible, hopefully within this year.
6. I'm pretty impressed by the 400 vs 400 massive PvP battle at last year's G-Star. Now is there anything new about the siege that you can share with us?
There have not been additional technical advancements of note in regards to the large scale castle siege. In addition to technical optimization work, we are brainstorming on ways to meet expectations among Western users regarding the siege contents. As developers, we want our users to experience and conduct large scale PvP battles in a more strategic manner in a castle siege setting, so we have continued to focus on creating suitable rules for castle sieges. Further details will be revealed at a later time.
7. Will there be open-world PvP or PvP arena?
A coliseum or arena is being considered by our development team now, but has not yet been developed. We expect such PvP content to add to the various ways users can enjoy the game. In addition, we plan to construct a boxing ring within the city to provide a convenient place where users can practice PVP fighting.
8. An early screenshot shows a group of fighters battling against an evil dragon. Is it a special encounter in game? Can we expect more dragon related content in Black Desert?
At the moment, it is difficult to delve into dragon related content at the moment because we're still working on certain details of the game. The dragon does not have a special role in the game as of now. We can say, however, that a dragon will occasionally appear on the field or attack villages, as shown in the last screenshot.
9. Housing system is one of the most innovative systems in Black Desert. Players can decorate their room or make it to a store, and what else can you tell us about housing system?
We plan to provide limited quantities of houses, approximately a few thousand houses. Users, at their discretion, can turn their houses into different kinds of establishments. For example, users will be able to use their houses as retail stores by placing suitable furniture and goods to be sold. If users install an anvil and a hammer, they can turn their house into a blacksmith shop.
To run a shop or factory like that described above, users will have to earn a lot of money, because all of the houses must be obtained by an auction system. Moreover, there will be inns and hotels in each village or city where users without houses can experience the function of normal houses to a certain degree. Users sometimes will be able to set up a temporary tent in an open field, exposing them to continuous threats from monsters and other users.
10. Cash shop balance is one of the most concerned parts in free-to-play MMOs and in previous interviews PearlAbyss didn't talk too much about cash shop. Can you shed some light on this part now?
This is a very sensitive issue for developers as well as publishers. Matters regarding payment and a cash shop will need to be discussed with our current Korean and Japanese publishing partners prior to releasing the game to the public. Monetization policies will differ for individual regions after discussion with local partners.
11. Thank you very much for your time. Is there anything you would like to tell the enthusiastic fans before we conclude this interview?
Receiving great interest from Western users, we feel great responsibility to complete our project successfully. We continue to listen to your voice through our Facebook page, Western media and our business partners. One thing we can definitively tell Western users is that we are doing our best to create gaming contents that will satisfy the wants of Western users. Please continue to support Black Desert. Thank you.
http://2p.com/789193_1/2P-Black-Desert-Interview-Beta-Contents-and-Western-Plan.htm
400 v 400 PVP battles had me interested.
We are so glad to have Brian Oh here to share their latest progress of Black Desert. E3 conference just passed a few days ago, and it's the first time Black Desert landing western continent. Did you find a publisher for western players? What contents of PvE and PvP will be released in the upcoming Korean beta? Brian will share their work on these issues.
1. First of all, could you introduce yourself to our audience?
2. We haven't heard about Black Desert for a while and we are all curious of the game's development progress.
3. Can you tell us about the upcoming beta test in Korea? How do you select beta testers?
As to the number of beta testers and the selection process of them, we are still in discussion with Daum Communications, the publisher in Korea. A timeline and other policies related to the Beta will be updated on an upcoming official website.
4. How many classes will be opened for testers? What PvE and PvP contents can players expect to play?
5. We have a lot of Black Desert fans on our Facebook page discussing about the game. We even saw a fake Spanish publisher emerged recently. All of those show that the game is fairly anticipated in western market, so do you have any oversea plan? Did you talk to any EU/NA publisher at E3?
6. I'm pretty impressed by the 400 vs 400 massive PvP battle at last year's G-Star. Now is there anything new about the siege that you can share with us?
7. Will there be open-world PvP or PvP arena?
8. An early screenshot shows a group of fighters battling against an evil dragon. Is it a special encounter in game? Can we expect more dragon related content in Black Desert?
9. Housing system is one of the most innovative systems in Black Desert. Players can decorate their room or make it to a store, and what else can you tell us about housing system?
To run a shop or factory like that described above, users will have to earn a lot of money, because all of the houses must be obtained by an auction system. Moreover, there will be inns and hotels in each village or city where users without houses can experience the function of normal houses to a certain degree. Users sometimes will be able to set up a temporary tent in an open field, exposing them to continuous threats from monsters and other users.
10. Cash shop balance is one of the most concerned parts in free-to-play MMOs and in previous interviews PearlAbyss didn't talk too much about cash shop. Can you shed some light on this part now?
11. Thank you very much for your time. Is there anything you would like to tell the enthusiastic fans before we conclude this interview?