Get More For Less – SACRED Plus Gives Current Fans New Extras; Gives New Fans a Reason to Rejoice

by Louis Bedigian

“The best part was that we were in the enviable position of being able to offer this update for FREE (as a download) to existing SACRED gamers.”

It’s not everyday that you get something for free.  It costs money to do just about anything.  Even mail comes at a price – we pay taxes so that large corporations can send us junk at a reduced rate.

Every once in a while someone comes along and gives something great for absolutely nothing in return.  Usually it’s in the form of a contest with a limited number of prizes.  But there are times when the something great is available to everyone.

Players of the hit game SACRED are about to receive the goodies of good-doers of the game industry.  SACRED Plus, the expanded version of the game, will be available to buy so that everyone can enjoy what they may have missed.  But if you already own SACRED, there’s no reason to go out and buy the new version – just download all the bonus content for free.  (More info on how to get the new content can be obtained from http://sacred-game.com/)

Alan Wild, International Product Manager for Ascaron Entertainment, recently took the time to tell us exactly what you’ll get with SACRED Plus, whether you buy the game or download the content online.

The story is a key ingredient in every RPG.  Give us an overview of SACRED Plus's storyline for all our readers who are new to the series.

Alan Wild: The movie at the start of the game will set the conflict. Here you’ll see a sorcerer summoning a demon from the depths of hell. However, the spell goes awry, and the demon is unleashed on the world of Ancaria, bringing with it death and destruction. The ultimate aim will be to track down this demon and eradicate it, freeing Ancaria from its wrath.

If you think that this sounds like a stereotypical fantasy storyline, you’re right. It was our intention to give you an enjoyable story you could pick up and play. However, the major conflict acts as a background, like a clamp that has to keep the whole plot together. Several dramatic events will evolve while you live your life through the realm of Ancaria. We have political intrigues, epic battles, and abducted women, mysterious sects who are serving strange and long forgotten demigods, a military occupation and, of course, - as we love a happy end - a rebellion to be won. And by the way, all these elements are chained to each other in some way or another. Who knows... will some allies turn traitor? Will new and strange friends appear where you don't expect them?

SACRED Plus is a fantasy RPG. Gamers of the RPG genre will undoubtedly draw parallels with some existing products, as the new games are always compared to the previous ones. What is important is that here at Ascaron we’re all gamers, through and through. We know what gamers enjoy, we know what we want to create, and with SACRED Plus, we have meshed the two together. With so many fantasy RPG games out there (some great, some not so great) we wanted to take it that step further.

We’ve got a bunch of key features in there as well…

• Horses (riding, fighting and spell-casting from horseback)

• 6 highly detailed characters (with some truly different classes!)

• Separate starting locations for each character

• Keyframed and motion-captured characters (close combat, ranged-combat, martial arts, animation for magic)

• Solid single-player storyline (particular attention has been paid to this, so much that SACRED Plus delivers an addictive single player AND multiplayer experience)

• Exciting multiplayer environment (explore the entire world of Ancaria with your comrades, or PK fellow human SACRED Plus gamers)

• A varied selection of RPG-skills and ‘combat arts’ for each character

• Combos (combine your skills and spells into one fluid combo-move)

• 3 zoom levels

• weather effects

• high resolution display

• while exploring the world there is full streaming (no loading)

• real-time shadows…

Who are the heroes/villains of this game, and how many playable characters are there?

AW: With so many NPCs in the game (including over 300 named NPCs!), it’s impossible to give a list of all the heroes and the villains. Indeed, to do so would take the edge off the story for some people… RPGs are about fantasy and adventure, areas where SACRED Plus will definitely keep would-be adventurers entertained.

Of course, you (the player) is the main hero. As to your character and how you develop your skills, well, that’s up to you to decide.

There are 6 characters to choose from. These are the Gladiator, Seraphim, Dark Elf, Wood Elf, Battlemage, and Vampiress. Each of these characters will have individual inventories. For example, the Seraphim (a descendent of a race of angels) has more armor slots than the Battlemage, who in turn has more ring and amulet slots. This is a conscious decision to configure the characters from the beginning, ensuring that we break away from the generic mould of RPGs, whilst retaining that traditional feeling of being able to identify with your character.

The variance between character design doesn’t end there. It continues on through the development of each character, the skills they will have at their disposal, any spells or combat techniques they may be able to learn, the weapons they can wield, and so forth.

A great deal of time and effort has gone into developing these 6 characters and making character-selection a real choice, and an exciting part of joining the world of SACRED Plus.

We know it works, as we all have our own personal favorites already!

Would you like a vegetable with that fried enemy of yours?

Some RPGs are filled with wide-open spaces, others include dungeon after dungeon.  What can we expect from SACRED Plus?

AW: SACRED Plus has the lot. Quite literally. There are wide-open spaces. There are sprawling dungeons. Castles. Winding forested paths. Marsh lands… SACRED Plus begins with around 70% of the game world (Ancaria) open-ended, allowing you to travel wherever you want within this area. The remaining 30% is unlocked as you progress through the main story. We needed this to avoid having just a splendid looking world of aimless wandering. Instead SACRED Plus has a good solid feel and gives you some direction, without forcing you down linear routes.

Inspiration for the design of the structures within SACRED Plus came from a mixture of Medieval England, mythology and, of course, the practicality needed to obtain our desired objective for the feel of Ancaria. Basically, we wanted a world that felt real, and to achieve this it was decided we needed a variety of populated areas (varying in density, overall appearance and inhabitants), a combination of different villages, towns and cities. There are castles, fortresses, towers, houses, temples, to name but a few. Areas also include forest, marsh, desert, mountain, beach, snow and ice regions.

Tell us about the magic system.  Is this a traditional PC RPG?
 

AW: SACRED Plus has lots of different types of magic. In terms of spell casting…

You find a rune; learn the combat technique, learn magic like "Hellfire" (an intelligent flame that tracks down the nearest enemy), or you can increase your level in it if you have learned the spell (or skill) already, or you could have it imbued into a weapon or armor.

As mentioned previously, you do not use mana, but the energy of "concentration". This energy is assigned directly to the action slot you put the spell into. The whole available amount of concentration-energy can be read right at the active or inactive slot. For example: If you use a spell that needs 10 points of concentration, your 40-points-spell will drop by these 10 points. So you have to wait until it has regenerated, before you can use it.

It’s a really cool system, and requires some skill in timing your combat techniques tactically. Imagine you cast a 40-points-spell first and then it regenerates. When the regeneration reaches 10 points, your 10-point-spell will be available again. So, you switch your active spell, cast it, etc.

Of course all spells are interesting, as each spell has a special gameplay function. We have spells and combat techniques that change the players’ parameters, like the regeneration time of spells, his health or his visibility to enemies. While other techniques bind enemies to the spot, disable them or turn them into less dangerous opponents for a short time (so, I do not recommend to turn a dragon into a bunny, the dragon might take it personally and that large opponent’s changing time could be just a little bit too short to run away). Some techniques are designed to work against a single opponent causing heavy damage due to an attack with several slashes, while others have area effects like rotating slashes against multiple enemies, pulsating flame circles, stomping jumps, and so on. Also, some characters are able to summon pets, like the Vampiress, the Wood Elf, or the Battlemage.

Where’s Anakin Skywalker when you need him?

Regarding that, we're all dying to know what we can expect from SACRED Plus's battle system.

AW: Combat is the essence of SACRED Plus. First of all, we intended to avoid the boring slashing an enemy down with the same animation all over again. We wanted a pool of realistic and cinematic actions for our characters. Therefore, the Gladiator slashes with his sword, punches and cuts from left to right, up and down and bends his muscular body, while Dark Elf hits his opponent with several martial arts techniques, while the long-legged Seraphim kicks with roundhouse-attacks, thrusting her weapon into an opponents body, jerking it free etc.

You also have the option of assigning a valid target by keeping the mouse-button down. This comes in very handy when you attack a moving enemy with long-range weapons.

The balancing is an important task for us, as we didn’t want to “make it work” by padding with potions or other health bonus pick-ups. Therefore, we have fewer opponents at a time with a dedicated AI. So, eventually you might have up to six or seven opponents at a time, allowing you to use the right combat technique for this type of combat situation.

When you advance in level, you get more action slots which you can equip with weapons or combat techniques. These can be changed quickly by mouse or shortcut, so you will be able to react "adequately".

 

Is there a world map that's separate from the rest of the game, or is everything done in real-time?

AW: There is a world map, and this shows the progress you’ve made throughout the game. You can click on the world map and zoom in to view any of the areas you’ve already visited.

Who is the composer for this game?  What musical style did he/she use?

AW: Dag Winderlich composed the music and did all the cutting and editing of the voices and sound effects for SACRED Plus.

The music features a soundtrack of orchestral music that rises and falls with each ensuing battle, covering a range of haunting, rousing and triumphant scores.

With the voice acting, we wanted this to really shine throughout the game, but also to have elements of humor and overdramatic comments and retorts. Because of this we also needed (and so recorded) a huge number of comments for each character, preventing each character sounding repetitive and giving the gamer a continually rewarding experience throughout the game.

A ring of power.

SACRED Plus will include two new regions, two new main quests, five new enemies, and several other additions.  Talk about them.

AW: We’ve added new regions to SACRED Plus in the form of an expanded Elven region to the west, and a newly opened out marshland to the east. Within each of these regions are quests relating to the new areas. For example, find yourself pitched in a conflict between the Wood Elves and the new Ice Elves, or fighting off hoards of Undead Goblins as you strive to assist one of the lesser gods.

Of course, there are brand new items, weapons and armors to find too. Also, Ice Elves and Undead Goblins aren’t the only new dangers you’ll meet…

When was it that you decided to go back and do an expanded version of a game so many already know and love?  What made you choose to continue working on SACRED instead of just moving onto a sequel?

AW: With all the ideas we were receiving it made perfect sense to put them to good use. We also had a number of ideas of our own which we didn’t make the original cut. Following the success of the original SACRED, we were able to take the time to add to the world of SACRED by developing the new Plus update. The best part was that we were in the enviable position of being able to offer this update for FREE (as a download) to existing SACRED gamers and put a great, expanded SACRED Plus product on the shelf at retail for players who haven’t yet delved into SACRED.

Rewarding our fans? Absolutely! Value for money? Definitely!

 

Thank you for your time.