I got the opportunity to ask the Devs Three Whales Studio a few Questions about their upcoming MMO Game Age of Water.
- You are working on the game „Age of Water". Could you please tell us more about it?
Answer
Age of Water is a sea based adventure online game set in an open post-apocalyptic world that is basically our Earth but completely covered by water. A player is allowed to freely explore the world, trade between settlements, fight pirates or attack NPC ships for loot. There are also story missions that allow you to uncover secrets of the Age of Water world, and dive deeper into the backstory of the game factions and characters.
- Where did you get the Idea for your upcoming MMO Age of Water?
Answer
We were looking for a setting that will have vehicular combat as the core gameplay element and at the same time will be completely different from other games on the market. We looked at those other games, including Crossout (another game by our publisher), and explored as many movies and TV series as we could, to understand what modern media has to offer. In the end we decided that post-apocalyptic boats are exactly what we were looking for.
We also experimented with visual style and found out that a colorful and bright world looks more fun than the typical gloomy post-apocalyptic setting. Our team prefers fun and humor, and we’re not doing a social commentary here. It’s all about fun first and foremost.
- How does the PVP Part work ?
Answer
In general, you cannot attack other players that you encounter online. This is intentional, as many players in the beta tests said they’d like to explore the world at their own pace and not engage in PvP unless they really wanted to.
So PvP is available only when you go on a quest that is built in a way that brings some players on one side of the conflict, and others on a different side.
- Will you be able to play Solo with PVE-Elements or only in groups against others?
The game is totally playable solo-style, and you can completely ignore the PvP activities and never face other players. You’ll see them online and will be able to talk to them, but you can just ignore others in case that’s how you like to play.
Playing solo, though, might be quite difficult in the later stages of the game, when the story missions will involve huge boss fights and large-scale battles. It’s still do-able, but bringing some friends to the fight will definitely help.
Answer
- Can every player destroy your buildings and steal your resources?
No, that’s not how it works in Age of Water. Your shelter is a safe space that cannot be attacked by other players or NPСs.
Answer
- How does the protection work for the resources if the player is offline?
Everything you have will stay with you. Neither offline players nor their shelters can be robbed while the player is not online.
Answer
- Except for players you also have to fight against pirates, how it works with the balancing?
Answer
Pirates or aggressive factions (like the Sharkees) are the most typical danger. We experimented a lot with their combat potential to make sure that game is challenging enough.
As I’ve said earlier, you do not have to worry about other players unless you’re going on a PvP mission. As for the NPC pirates that keep beating you, you can either get better in a firefight, or get better at outrunning your opponents.
Building a more powerful boat also helps!
- Can pirates attack you when you are already fighting other players?
Answer
PvP missions might get you in a situation when you fight both other players and NPC pirates, yes. That sounds dangerous and is dangerous, but is also quite fun.
You’re highly unlikely to get into such a situation completely unprepared. By the time you get to these missions, you’ll probably have a good boat, a skilled crew, and a good understanding of how combat works.
- Can you disable fights against other player?
Answer
There are no system options to completely disable such fights, but you can avoid them by not taking PvP-style quests.
- What makes your game different from Sunkenland, Raft and all other Coop Survival Games?
Answer
The biggest difference between Age of Water and those games is that our game is not a Survival-type game at all. We have a shelter building feature, but it does not work like a base in survival games. Their function is closer to the hideouts in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.
Our game is not about surviving in the Age of Water, but about living in it. A new civilization exists in this world already, and you are not expected to build a new one from scratch. You can visit stores, repair your boat in docks, hire crew members in taverns, etc.
Age of Water is much closer to Elite, though it’s about exploring the seas, and not the space.
- Will Age of Water gets a microtransaction Store, like every MMO has? If yes, are you planing to sell only skins or also faster level up, better Weapons and so on?
Answer
We’ll sell some purely cosmetic items (like skins) for real money, but that’s it. All gameplay content we have will be available upon single purchase of the game, and we won’t be selling any progress boosters or more powerful weapons for any extra real money.
- Steam page link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2695490
- Age of Water link: https://ageofwater.net/
Good