Rift: Planes of Telara Previews
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From GameZone:
When talking about the titles, it was the intent of Trion to build games that were dynamic and massively social (games (change with dynamic content,) Dr. Butler said), and to address completely new genres.
While Trion Worlds has a fantasy-based MMORPG in Rift, the quality of the world will certainly capture the imaginations of gamers. It is part of the next generation of MMOs delivered in full-on high definition with truly spectacular effects and graphics. The name change (came about as we spent time with the game,) explained Scott Hartsman, CEO of Trion Redwood Shores. The protective ward that separates the land of Telara from the planes where all manner of evil dwells has been torn and rifts occur that allow all manner of creatures to come through in wave upon wave. And while some planes may have contrary names, like the Plane of Death and the Plane of Life, the goals are the same to conquer Telara and kill the inhabitants there.
A bit from MMORPG.com:
There are two factions of belief concerning the Rifts on Telara. There are those who believe the powered offered by the Rifts is sacred and to be revered through the upkeep of ancient vigils. These folks are called the Guardians: sort of your standard good guys. Then there are the Defiants. These are the more rebellious people of Telara. They see the Rifts as a gift and a potential source of power. Rather than upholding the vigil, the Defiants want nothing more than to harness the Rifts' power despite the danger inherent within them.
As you can probably guess, these Rifts are the primary characteristic of the game. Rift: Planes of Telara is very much a fantasy-themed game in the vein of Everquest, World of Warcraft, and other titles in the genre. However it's the title's art style and extremely vibrant HD graphics that will help distinguish it from the pack. The trailer we were presented with highlighted the game's stunning visuals. The artists at Trion seem to be channeling Jim Henson in the way their characters and creatures look and move. It was readily apparent from Scott's presentation that the development staff is putting a lot of effort into nailing a cohesive and original look for the game. The lighting, armor, water, and animations all looked worthy of a finished product and the game's still only in the alpha stage.
And a little something from VentureBeat:
The rifts show that the world is dynamic, or always changing, and not static like past worlds, Buttler said. When a rift opens, the terrain, buildings, lighting, sky and everything else changes. Players can fight the demons coming out of the rift single-handed, or in a group. The more help you have, the more loot you can collect from the dead bodies when the rift episode is over. But with more people, you have to dispatch the various enemies more quickly to be able to get the loot. So the rifts are likely to draw huge numbers of players to one location. With rifts, there are no safe zones in the game. If a rift opens near a town, you will have to defend that town or lose the safety and resources in that town.
The graphics and physical simulation of the environment are cool, with a lot of use of lighting and shadows. Similar to Sony's recent Uncharted 2: Among Thieves game for the PlayStation 3, the draw distances are huge. That is, you can see a long way from one place to another in the game. Typically, online games have short draw distances because it's hard to animate so much detail and then deliver the images to the user's screen over the Internet in a timely manner. The look isn't quite as good as Uncharted 2, but it is very good for an online game. And you can wander for long distances within a level without seeing a loading screen. That keeps users from getting really bored.
