It is the third Wednesday of the month and that means it is time for a brand-new Pantheon newsletter from the developers at Visionary Realms. This month, they give an update on Project Faerthale and how they have the building blocks for an encounter that will be affected by weather. They hope to begin testing it this month and then fleshing it out and polishing it in April. The also feature a Q&A session with fan-submitted questions tackling things like how the Perception System works, where to find quests in the game, will there be an AA system, how pet classes work, why there are only two support classes, and many other topics.
The meat and potatoes of the newsletter; however, came from Chris “Joppa” Perkins as he sat down to talk about the Disposition System.
In short, the Disposition System is an NPC AI system that will impact the way you view NPCs as well as encounter enemies in the game world. For example. you could run into “a Deranged Lizardman” as well as “a Cunning Lizardman.” The deranged mob will be immune to Stun, Mesmerize, and other disorienting effects and will attempt to flee at unpredictable times. A cunning mob can see through stealth, cannot be attacked from behind of pick-pocketed but is vulnerable to ranged attacks.
The list of possible Dispositions was given as follows:
• Cunning
• Deranged
• Predatory
• Pyrophobic
• Alarmist
• Sniper
• Bloodthirsty
• Acrobatic
• Truesight
• Avenging
• Playful
• Mastermind
Learning what each one of these Dispositions does is detrimental in how you approach each pull. Learning how to deal with mobs using these affixes will help you grow your skill as you play the game. They are also using the same AI for non-attackable NPCs as well. You could see townsfolk close and lock the doors to their houses at night, city guards lighting torches, farmers running to ring a warning bell when danger approaches, and even see critters scatter when you pull out a torch in a cave.
All of these little touches are to help bring the world of Terminus to life. It is just another layer of depth that the people over at Visionary Realms are adding to their newest MMORPG!
To check out the full newsletter, donate/back the game, as well as gain information on Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen, head over to www.pantheonmmo.com.
