Project Titan info leak: eSports, Jay Wilson, Blizzcon 2013 and more!
Apr 02 2013 03:26 PM | mynsc in News
OK, here we go. I've been sitting on this info for more than a week, not only to do my absolute best to verify it, but also because I didn't want to publish the article before or during the April Fools craze. So let's begin!
Leak Validity
It's always hard to be sure about something like this, but I'm extremely confident about this one. The source is someone with firsthand info that I've personally talked with extensively and has provided solid info (names, photos, detailed description as to how and why he knows what he knows) to validate him/her self. There is always the chance that it's someone playing a silly prank, but this one would be a very elaborate one. I'm giving it a 95% chance to be true.
As always, what I'll report here are his/ hers conclusions of what (s)he's seen, so this can always deviate a bit from the truth, but not because of wrong intentions from either of us. Also, please don't draw any definitive conclusions about the game from this. It's a very rough sketch that might not even be entirely accurate. Disclaimers aside, let's get into the juicy stuff!
Game Universe
•It's based on Earth's history, but also includes a high amount of fiction. It will have a "deep history", just as Warcraft and Starcraft.
•They're intending to include many Warcraft elements into Titan's world. Mostly Easter Eggs, but can also extend to entire characters being ported into the new game, one way or another.
•There will be a lot of Time Travel.
•When it comes to weapons, we'll have almost everything at our disposal, from magic to guns.
•Heavy use of Greek, Roman and Viking myths.
•They've invited some established writers (Richard A. Knaak for example) to help with the storyline.
Game-play
•It's an MMORPG. We'll play from a 3rd person view, but there will also be a first person view during "events". No extra clarification as to the nature of these events could be given.
•TAB targeting in combat.
•It will benefit from a completely new game engine.
•Graphics will be in the established "Blizzard style".
•Primarily a PC game, but next-gen consoles are still being considered. Probably after launch, as with D3.
•Expected 12+ PEGI.
•It's designed with eSports in mind. They will try to grow it into a successful eSport.
•There will be "clan" housing. No details on player-housing.
•Last but not least, the game will have an Auction House. Nothing conclusive about a Real-Money Auction House but it is possible. As an extra tidbit, Blizzard was also considering introducing a RMAH into WoW at one point, but apparently not anymore.
Miscellaneous
•150 developers working on it now. Last we've been told, in September last year, there were just a bit over 100, so the team is growing at a nice pace, quickly becoming the biggest one. They're about to bring new Community Managers into the team and some testers that will be needed in the near future. Many of the new team members have come from Blizzard's other projects.
•Speaking of inside transfers, Jay Wilson is on the Titan team. Please don't go overboard with this. ^^
•English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish localization now. More will come during beta.
•They were considering implementing easy in-game recording at one point, unsure of the state of this at the moment.
•BLIZZCON 2013 - Titan Teaser, details on expansions for all other major franchises (SC2, D3, WoW). There will be other small Titan teasers at the event but nothing major. They don't want to show any game-play until they have a solid date for beta.
•Speaking of which, current plan is to open Family & Friends testing (Alpha stage basically) in Q1 2014.
•The game has a name already that has been changed multiple times over the course of the development process. Unknown unfortunately.
•They're going full-out when it comes to the soundtrack. Each zone will have its own song, and the songs will vary vastly in type, rhythm. We've reported before that Jason Hayes has returned to Blizzard, so this is definitely not surprising.