Imperator Pre-E3 Previews
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Imperator Online has taken a rather unique approach to character progression in terms of mechanics. The game is both level and skill based, with a cap of one-hundred, and fans of Dark Age of Camelot should be familiar with the concept of five base choices that branch out as you advance, in this case at level ten. Each base class has two or three classes that you can choose to evolve into.
The second is at GameSpy:
You may have inferred by now that Terra Nova will serve as Imperator's "newbie area." This is where you'll learn the basics of gameplay, and start to become seeped in the world's rich backstory. My gameplay demo also consisted of running through the first base on Terra Nova, and exploring its immediate environs. From a visual standpoint, it looked simply marvelous. Rolling hills permeated the landscape, and the scope and majesty of the architecture was in tune with what you'd expect from a Roman colony in space. Some of the steps that Mythic is taking to ensure that the game provides a convenient, user-friendly experience were already evident, too; marked on the map, for instance, were all the quest-givers in the area. Mythic's designers have made it quite clear that they intended to make Imperator as approachable as possible, and this seems like a simple, yet significant step in the right direction.
The third is at GameSpot:
Unlike Mythic's previous game, Dark Age of Camelot, which featured many combat abilities that could be used in sequence (such as fighting styles that provided openings for follow-ups), Imperator will instead focus on faster, "state-based combat." You'll use skills to place your enemies into a vulnerable state, and then follow up with abilities that take advantage of that state. So, you won't be able to queue up long, predictable strings of attacks--and you shouldn't want to either--since your follow-up attacks will be based on whether you succeeded in staggering, knocking over, or confusing your foes. This type of dynamic will also open up combat for more group tactics, both offensively and defensively. For example, a trooper might be able to use an attack that drops an enemy to one knee, opening that enemy up for a particular long-range sniper shot. However, if that trooper gets knocked down to one knee himself, a support character might be able to revive him to get him back into the fight.
The fourth is at Allakhazam's Magical Realm:
Along with character development through life events and organizations, characters also develop by learning skills. Imperator has both a skill based and level based advancement system. Skills are distributed via a skill tree: depending on the profession of a character, there will generally be 3 choices available to advance, with the available skills potentially changing as the character's life path progresses. The wide variety of choices and paths allows players to develop characters which grow from their play style and not be forced into adhering to the cookie cutter class templates that are the standard in most MMORPG's today.
And the fifth is at Warcry:
The art's just great to look at, even in such an early iteration. The creative team has done a rather impressive job of keeping the Roman feel in the game. Architecture is high tech, but the culture lies in the accents. Each area has its own look and feel, ranging from the subtle blues of Earth to the purple hues of Terranova to the sulfurous reds of Hades Prime. As I looked at both the in game and concept art, however, I did notice something lacking: temples.
