King's Bounty: Armored Princess Interview

Article Index

Eschalon: Book II

Publisher:1C Company
Developer:Katauri Interactive
Release Date:2009-11-20
Genre:
  • Role-Playing,Strategy
Platforms: Theme: Perspective:
  • Third-Person
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GB: How will a faster level progression (up to 50) affect characters that begin the full game from the beginning? By the end of the base game will they still be around level 30 and then continue upwards from there? Will existing characters be able to continue their adventure or will they need to "retire" after the base game?

Dmitry: There will be some major changes, including playing in the other game world with a new storyline and a female character.


GB: The original game featured three character skill trees - Might, Mind, and Magic. Will you be adding an entirely new skill tree in Armored Princess or will the original trees simply be expanded with additional skills?

Dmitry: We have changed and expanded the existing skill trees.


GB: In the press release, you mentioned contracts, headhunting, and hirelings. Can you give us a few details about each of these new features?

Dmitry: Contracts are a type of quest that can be completed as they were in the original King's Bounty.

Assistants and mercenaries are all called armor-bearers in our game. You can hire them and get additional slots for weapons and some special bonuses. These replace the slots and bonuses received from wives in The Legend, so there will be no possibility to have children.



GB: How many new items, spells, and other abilities do you intend to add in Armored Princess? Can you share a few examples with us?

Dmitry: There will be 10 new spells, lots of new abilities and talents for different creatures, and about fifty new items. For example, using a Rage control spell you can turn rage into mana and by using the Zlong spell you can summon the clot of death that can flow into a creature and harm it. You can also summon a star which has rays that can kill all the living beings on the battlefield.


GB: Tell us a bit about the medal system being implemented in the expansion pack. How will we earn medals and what sort of bonuses will they grant once earned?

Dmitry: It's easy to gain medals, you can get them for different gameplay actions. Here are several examples:

The Battle Alchemy Medal will be given for burning and poisoning a certain number of foes, and having it will raise the strength of these attacks. While using the tamed dragon the player gives his Rage to it, for this you can gain the Blind Rage Medal, which gives a bonus to your troops and increases the chance of a critical hit. So, the more you use your tame dragon, the more critical damage you can bring to the enemies.



GB: How difficult will it be to transform our horse into a Pegasus? Will the ability to fly make it easier to evade groups of enemies and perhaps even allow us to move to areas previously only reachable by boat in the original game?

Dmitry: After the hero finishes the appropriate quest he receives the ability to transform the horse into Pegasus. The hero can use this ability to avoid unwanted battles, and to get to previously inaccessible places. It is clear that it gives much more freedom in movement to the player, which he can use at his own wish. It will be also much easier to steal a chest from stronger enemies.