Interview with PotBS producer John Scott Tynes plus new screenshots

One of the big news that came out during PAX was that Flying Lab Software (FLS) was delaying Pirates of the Burning Sea in order to add avatar combat to the game. Why? A recent WarCry interview with PotBS producer John Scott Tynes gives us the answer.

It’s just such a big expectation for the whole pirate/swashbuckling genre that we decided we had to deliver on it – particularly for boarding combat, where you really want to get in there and swing your sword around instead of watching some numbers float by.

And what does the delay bring? An innovative Balance meter, which according to Tynes “represents your current defensive ability”, a whole variety of weapons and fighting styles (each of which have their own pros and cons), and a whopping 250 combat animations and then some. Ship combat has also seen a few improvements over the years of development, and it seems that FLS still isn’t done tweaking.

We are completely redoing our avatars right now. TheyÂ’re entirely customizable, like in City of Heroes, which is great, but we are seriously upgrading their look and quality. WeÂ’re rolling out the first of those upgrades to the beta this milestone so youÂ’ll see screenshots soon. I think by the time we launch, people will be knocked out by how much fun our characters are to play.

With all these improvements and additions (compounded with the fact that PotBS has been in beta longer than some MMOs get in production), fans might be starting to get nervous that the game won’t be ready for its planned June release date. Don’t be worried, though, as Tynes says that they take the announced release date “very seriously and fully intend to meet it.”

For the full article, click on the “read” link below. Also, check out the two new screenshots below, courtesy of WarCry.

 

One of the big news that came out during PAX was that Flying Lab Software (FLS) was delaying Pirates of the Burning Sea in order to add avatar combat to the game. Why? A recent WarCry interview with PotBS producer John Scott Tynes gives us the answer.

It’s just such a big expectation for the whole pirate/swashbuckling genre that we decided we had to deliver on it – particularly for boarding combat, where you really want to get in there and swing your sword around instead of watching some numbers float by.

And what does the delay bring? An innovative Balance meter, which according to Tynes “represents your current defensive ability”, a whole variety of weapons and fighting styles (each of which have their own pros and cons), and a whopping 250 combat animations and then some. Ship combat has also seen a few improvements over the years of development, and it seems that FLS still isn’t done tweaking.

We are completely redoing our avatars right now. TheyÂ’re entirely customizable, like in City of Heroes, which is great, but we are seriously upgrading their look and quality. WeÂ’re rolling out the first of those upgrades to the beta this milestone so youÂ’ll see screenshots soon. I think by the time we launch, people will be knocked out by how much fun our characters are to play.

With all these improvements and additions (compounded with the fact that PotBS has been in beta longer than some MMOs get in production), fans might be starting to get nervous that the game won’t be ready for its planned June release date. Don’t be worried, though, as Tynes says that they take the announced release date “very seriously and fully intend to meet it.”

For the full article, click on the “read” link below. Also, check out the two new screenshots below, courtesy of WarCry.