Features

Based on a big group interview with Creative Director Chris Klug, Studio Head Dan Elggren, Art Director Howard Lyon and Technology Director Demetrius Comes we offer this preview of Stargate Worlds.

Each class can be placed along the spectrum of how combat oriented they are. For example, a Soldier is going to do the vast majority of their missions with a gun in hand, as one would expect. An Archeologist may do only a very few in that way. In between fall the other classes.

What does someone do in an MMO if not kill things, one might ask? Play mini-games related to the scenario is Cheyenne's answer. For those who seek and crave explosions, life can be happy as a Soldier, but this is only a small part of each scenario. A good group will have each person approach a given scenario from their strength, so while the Soldier lobs frags at the enemy, the archeologist might have to disarm a bomb or pick a lock.

Read more after the leap.

Stargate Worlds' 7th podcast installment is coming soon, and the developers are asking for more brain tickling questions from the fans:

The next opportunity has arrived to get your Stargate Worlds questions answered in audio form by the developers themselves.

Developer Q&As allow fans to ask anything to any developer pertaining to any aspect of Stargate Worlds. You have to be a member of Stargate Worlds Forums to submit your question, so if you haven't registered already then please do so here. It's free!

It is hard to believe that six episodes of the popular Developer Q&A series have launched. So many questions have asked by some of the most insightful fans, and out of that group a handful have been selected for each edition. Remember, thought-provoking queries and a desire to think outside of the box are keys to getting yourself in the next edition!

We look forward to answering your questions!!

You can post your questions on this thread.

The fifth installment of Stargate Worlds Developer Q&A podcast was released today with 12 fan questions answered by Cheyenne's team:

Twelve fans ask their questions to the developers at Stargate Worlds (the biggest group of questions yet!), including Nick Heitzman, Cliff Lasana, Chris Bernert and Jay Ambrosini. Topics discussed include the modding of weaponry, the details regarding guild structures, and the impact of the Stargate feature film on our game.

You can download the Podcast or continue the discussion at the official forum.

IGN Vaults posted the third entry to Stargate's Diary, written this week by Cheyenne's Creative Director Chris Klug. Klug talked about the creative thinking underlying the Stagate Worlds' storytelling element and included an exclusive concept:

We left off talking about the juxtaposition of the 'beats' in evoking emotion in the player. A beat can be a mission, a series of them, a task in one, or any combination thereof. This work starts on the micro level, when each act in the game is broken down into missions, or 'broken,' as we call it. It starts with various questions... What is the point of this part of story? Are we trying to set the player up for a surprise? What side is the character playing on? How would a Goa'uld look at this issue? What methods would a Goa'uld use to get this job done? An Asgard? A Jaffa? How do we use this part of the story to build tension in the act, to lead to a climactic instance battle or a plot reversal that puts the player in the situation where they must make some kind of choice that matters...

Read the rest at IGN Vaults.

Stargate Worlds is in development at the appropriately named Cheyenne Mountain. In the first of a series of developer journals here on WarCry, Lead World Builder Josh Kurtz supplies us with insights into cover in combat, a key part of their tactical combat design. He presents the journal in the format of a "question and answer session" with a "Jaffa Interrogator".

Jaffa Interrogator: But then what happens on a PVP server or in a wilderness space where there is PVP?

Josh Kurtz: That's a really good question, I'm glad you asked. Basically what this means for PVP is that you need to be very, very careful when moving through wilderness spaces alone in a PVP space. Can a hidden enemy lay around for hours just waiting for unsuspecting players to wander through an unprotected area so he can blow them away before they find cover ... yes he can, but by the same token a sneaky player can be aware of a wilderness space that looks good for an ambush and sneak around the outskirts looking for the ambusher and then ambush him in turn.

Read more after the click.

While at E for All Warcry had the chance to sit down with Kevin Balentine of Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, to talk about Stargate Worlds (SGW). Stargate Worlds is Cheyenne's upcoming Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG), based on the Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis TV series. With a huge fan base and a great show providing continuous content, we are getting excited to see where this Stargate takes us.

Warcry: Everyone is very happy with the team's decision to allow other playable races beyond humans. What can you tell us about some of the changes to the races that we might not have seen in the series?

Kevin Balentine: Those familiar with the series will know the Goa'uld. The Goa'uld are these parasites that enter into a host, have godlike tendencies, and even godlike powers. If you watched the series you know that late in season 9 there was an episode called Strong Hold where Baal is talking to Teal'c. Baal is on a tangent were he believes that the Goa'uld need to rethink the whole god portrayal. The Goa'uld of Stargate Worlds have followed this line of thinking. They are still megalomaniacs, and lust for power; they have just stopped pretending to be gods.

Read more after the click.

Stargate Worlds is on the verge of breaking out and flaunting its features and screenshots to the world. At AGDC 2007, we got the first trickle of the coming flow from Kevin Balentine of Cheyenne Mountain.

Now only roughly one year away from its intended launch in Q4 of 2008, the team is excited to finally get talking. So far, they've only released a handful of screenshots of some small areas. Expect that to change in a big way over the coming months.

The game has six factions players can play as. The "good guys" are the Stargate Teams (SGC), the Free Jaffa and the Asgard. The "bad guys" are the Op-Core, the Loyal Jaffa and the Goa'uld. Most of these names are familiar to fans of the shows, but the Op-core are a new invention for the game, developed in close consultation with the show's writers.

Read more after the click.

Cheyenne Mountain isn't the only one with a Stargate online PC game. Sony Online Entertainment brought their Stargate trading card game to E3 and showed us what it's all about during our visit to their hotel suite. Find out what it's all about:

Currently, the game features 30 unique character cards, which is to say cards that feature people like Daniel Jackson, and over 300 total cards. Each of them is also available in a special foil version. They're also all fully available as digital or physical cards, either purchased through the game or in stores around the world.

While there is no direct link between the physical cards and their online counterparts (you cannot buy a booster pack at your local hobby shop and activate its online equivalent), there are mechanisms where players can redeem a complete set of digital cards for the corresponding physical counterparts. Besides that, the two games operate relatively independently.

Read more after the click.

Get to know your Game Designers. Read the article here or check it out at Stargate Worlds.com

"I'm a third generation Arizona native. You know that saying, "Blood is thicker than water"? Not mine. I've lived through 28 Arizona summers and my thin AZ blood gets me shivering when the temperature dips below 75°.

What little growing up I've done up to now took place mostly in Apache Junction - a small town East of Phoenix. Unlike many of my talented cohorts here at Cheyenne, I exhibited very little talent in either video games or artistic ability as a young'un - though I found both extremely fun."

Over at Stargate Worlds. They have posted a podcast that Anne Toole, Head Writer, and Chris Klug, Creative Director at Cheyenne Mountain put together while at Comic-Con Enjoy.