Difference between revisions of "Sacred 2:News from Expo"

From SacredWiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(New page: = '''Stepping Into Sacred 2: Fallen Angel Universe''' = <div style="float:right;padding:10px;">http://i169.photobuc ket.com/albums/u222/erialc_photo/SFA-GCEvent-1.jpg </div> During ...)
 
Line 1: Line 1:
= '''Stepping Into Sacred 2: Fallen Angel Universe'''  
+
= '''Stepping Into Sacred 2: Fallen Angel Universe''' =
  
=
+
<div style="float:right;padding:10px;">http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u222/erialc_photo/SFA-GCEvent-1.jpg
 
 
<div  
 
 
 
style="float:right;padding:10px;">http://i169.photobuc
 
 
 
ket.com/albums/u222/erialc_photo/SFA-GCEvent-1.jpg
 
 
</div>
 
</div>
  
During the  
+
During the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Games_Convention Games Convention in Leipzig], the awaited [http://www.sacred2.com Sacred 2: Fallen Angel] has appeared fully. A version specifically conceived for the multiplayer event organized by [http://Ascaron.com Ascaron], simplified at most to show principally the engine and the gameplay of the game, has been accessible to some lucky guys. There's been quite a bunch of people to be able to test this version, as there was 16 of them every 10 minutes during the all fair: few minutes of hacking & slashing monsters, playing either the [[Seraphim]], the [[Shadow Warrior]], the [[Dryad]], or even the [[High Elf]], all identical except for their look for the occasion, and then the 16 players met in the arena to fight each other. Meanwhile, in another hall of the Games Convention, other visitors could assist to a quick presentation of the Xbox 360 version of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel.
 
 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Games_Convention Games  
 
 
 
Convention in Leipzig], the awaited  
 
 
 
[http://www.sacred2.com Sacred 2: Fallen Angel] has  
 
 
 
appeared fully. A version specifically conceived for  
 
 
 
the multiplayer event organized by [http://Ascaron.com  
 
 
 
Ascaron], simplified at most to show principally the  
 
 
 
engine and the gameplay of the game, has been  
 
 
 
accessible to some lucky guys. There's been quite a  
 
 
 
bunch of people to be able to test this version, as  
 
 
 
there was 16 of them every 10 minutes during the all  
 
 
 
fair: few minutes of hacking & slashing monsters,  
 
 
 
playing either the [[Seraphim]], the [[Shadow  
 
 
 
Warrior]], the [[Dryad]], or even the [[High Elf]],  
 
 
 
all identical except for their look for the occasion,  
 
 
 
and then the 16 players met in the arena to fight each  
 
 
 
other. Meanwhile, in another hall of the Games  
 
 
 
Convention, other visitors could assist to a quick  
 
 
 
presentation of the Xbox 360 version of Sacred 2:  
 
 
 
Fallen Angel.
 
 
 
Personally, after having participated to the
 
 
 
multiplayer event during the Business Day, I have been
 
 
 
lucky enough to see the PC version of Sacred 2: Fallen
 
 
 
Angel, shown to me by Jens Eisched, Marketing Manager,
 
 
 
and Torsten Meier, Public Relations Manager, who
 
 
 
answered as well a bunch of my questions as a Hack &
 
 
 
Slash fan and amateur, as well as player of the
 
 
 
original [[Sacred]].
 
 
 
 
 
== '''2,000 years ago, the [[Seraphim]] were already
 
 
 
ready to become heroines''' ==
 
 
 
<div style="float:right;
 
 
 
padding:10px;">http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u222
 
 
 
/erialc_photo/artwork-sacred2-010.jpg</div>
 
At first, there was the Creator, who created worlds
 
 
 
and populated them each with one unique intelligent
 
 
 
race for them to worship him. The Seraphim, and their
 
 
 
leaders the Archangels, were one of those. However,
 
 
 
one day, they decided to use the ethereal creative
 
 
 
energy to create their own world, Ancaria, and to
 
 
 
populate it with several races, giving them the
 
 
 
freedom of choosing their own fate. When the Creator
 
 
 
found out, instead of destroying [[Ancaria]], he
 
 
 
banished the Seraphim on this world with the charge to
 
 
 
protect it. He would interfere only if the
 
 
 
[[Seraphim]] were not able to unite all the races.
 
 
 
But that was not meant to happen, and before long the
 
 
 
High Elves, favourite race of the Seraphim, started to
 
 
 
use the creative energy to their own benefit and rule
 
 
 
the world. Not every High Elf agreed with this plan,
 
 
 
and soon a civil war burst, costing lives of many
 
 
 
people and many Seraphims, and leading to the division
 
 
 
of the High Elves between the one trying to use the
 
 
 
creative energy to give Ancaria and its people their
 
 
 
lost greatness, and the one wanting to purge Ancaria
 
 
 
with a cleansing fire and then arise as uncontested
 
 
 
rulers. A second civil war was soon to be started...
 
 
 
2,000 years before [[Sacred]] 1's story, Sacred 2:
 
 
 
Fallen Angel brings the player to a time where the
 
 
 
creative energy is still active. Humans are yet the
 
 
 
servants and slaves of the High Elves, Dwarfs still
 
 
 
enjoy their recluse life, and the world of [[Ancaria]]
 
  
is far different and unknown of the events that will
+
Personally, after having participated to the multiplayer event during the Business Day, I have been lucky enough to see the PC version of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, shown to me by Jens Eisched, Marketing Manager, and Torsten Meier, Public Relations Manager, who answered as well a bunch of my questions as a Hack & Slash fan and amateur, as well as player of the original [[Sacred]].
  
occur in Sacred and Sacred Underworld. The player will
 
  
have to chose between the Path of the Light and the
+
== '''2,000 years ago, the [[Seraphim]] were already ready to become heroines''' ==
  
Path of the Shadow, except when playing a [[Seraphim]]  
+
<div style="float:right; padding:10px;">http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u222/erialc_photo/artwork-sacred2-010.jpg</div>
 +
At first, there was the Creator, who created worlds and populated them each with one unique intelligent race for them to worship him. The Seraphim, and their leaders the Archangels, were one of those. However, one day, they decided to use the ethereal creative energy to create their own world, Ancaria, and to populate it with several races, giving them the freedom of choosing their own fate. When the Creator found out, instead of destroying [[Ancaria]], he banished the Seraphim on this world with the charge to protect it. He would interfere only if the [[Seraphim]] were not able to unite all the races.
  
who can only follow the Path of Light, or an
+
But that was not meant to happen, and before long the High Elves, favourite race of the Seraphim, started to use the creative energy to their own benefit and rule the world. Not every High Elf agreed with this plan, and soon a civil war burst, costing lives of many people and many Seraphims, and leading to the division of the High Elves between the one trying to use the creative energy to give Ancaria and its people their lost greatness, and the one wanting to purge Ancaria with a cleansing fire and then arise as uncontested rulers. A second civil war was soon to be started...
  
Inquisitor, who can only follow the Path of the  
+
2,000 years before [[Sacred]] 1's story, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel brings the player to a time where the creative energy is still active. Humans are yet the servants and slaves of the High Elves, Dwarfs still enjoy their recluse life, and the world of [[Ancaria]] is far different and unknown of the events that will occur in Sacred and Sacred Underworld. The player will have to chose between the Path of the Light and the Path of the Shadow, except when playing a [[Seraphim]] who can only follow the Path of Light, or an Inquisitor, who can only follow the Path of the Shadows. This choice the player make at the beginning of the campaign will affect the whole world and the various [[Non Playing Characters|NPCs]] he'll meet.
  
Shadows. This choice the player make at the beginning
+
In addition to these two sides of the main campaign, each proposing roughly 40h of game play to the user in the first difficulty mode, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel offers an incredible variety of secondary quests, with overall over 800 quests for the player to fulfill.
 
 
of the campaign will affect the whole world and the
 
 
 
various [[Non Playing Characters|NPCs]] he'll meet.
 
 
 
In addition to these two sides of the main campaign,  
 
 
 
each proposing roughly 40h of game play to the user in  
 
 
 
the first difficulty mode, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel  
 
 
 
offers an incredible variety of secondary quests, with  
 
 
 
overall over 800 quests for the player to fulfill.
 
  
 
== '''A world full of diversity''' ==
 
== '''A world full of diversity''' ==
  
<div style="float:right;  
+
<div style="float:right; padding:10px;">http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u222/erialc_photo/screenshot-sacred2-035_tb.jpg</div>
 
+
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel brings us to a very large as well as very disparate world; 11 totally different regions, from jungle to desert, from Mediterranean climate to icy mountains, are then open to exploration for the player. Each of these regions have their own climatic environment, their own sounds and lights effects, and fauna and flora as well as architecture of the buildings adapted to the races populating them, their social culture, and their technological development. Furthermore, the world of Ancaria is made of one single piece, and will appear to the player through streaming. Thus, you will never have to wait for the game to load an area, as even when you'll enter a dungeon or a cave, the transition will be completely natural and smooth, without any loading time.
padding:10px;">http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u222
 
 
 
/erialc_photo/screenshot-sacred2-035_tb.jpg</div>
 
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel brings us to a very large as  
 
 
 
well as very disparate world; 11 totally different  
 
 
 
regions, from jungle to desert, from Mediterranean  
 
 
 
climate to icy mountains, are then open to exploration  
 
 
 
for the player. Each of these regions have their own  
 
 
 
climatic environment, their own sounds and lights  
 
 
 
effects, and fauna and flora as well as architecture  
 
 
 
of the buildings adapted to the races populating them,  
 
 
 
their social culture, and their technological  
 
 
 
development. Furthermore, the world of Ancaria is made  
 
 
 
of one single piece, and will appear to the player  
 
 
 
through streaming. Thus, you will never have to wait  
 
 
 
for the game to load an area, as even when you'll  
 
 
 
enter a dungeon or a cave, the transition will be  
 
 
 
completely natural and smooth, without any loading  
 
 
 
time.
 
 
 
The world of Ancaria shown in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
 
 
 
follows the rhythm of night and day, with a day/night
 
 
 
cycle every 50mn or so, and so do the numerous
 
 
 
inhabitants of the world. Depending of the time of day
 
 
 
or night, the NPCs inhabitants of the world will go
 
 
 
one of the 50 trade available for NPCs in Sacred 2:
 
 
 
Fallen Angel. Exploration of the world will be even
 
 
 
more diverse thanks to the advanced weather management
 
 
 
in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel; you'll happen to get
 
 
 
yourself into a sand storm, get lost in a deep fog,
 
 
 
being wet by the rain, frozen by the wind, and so on.
 
 
 
The world map itself is quite huge, as it is 30 to 40%
 
 
 
bigger than the one available to the player in Sacred.
 
 
 
To get on foot from the top left corner to the bottom
 
 
 
right corner, it will take you around 6h, if you don't
 
 
 
stop to do something else. But don't be afraid, there
 
 
 
will be as well some transport system, although it
 
 
 
won't be the classical portal system we had in
 
 
 
original Sacred and other games. If there will be
 
 
 
central locations akin to the actual portals, journeys
 
 
 
between them will no longer be instantaneous. Instead
 
 
 
in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, travels between those
 
  
points will be done riding dragons or sailing on  
+
The world of Ancaria shown in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel follows the rhythm of night and day, with a day/night cycle every 50mn or so, and so do the numerous inhabitants of the world. Depending of the time of day or night, the NPCs inhabitants of the world will go one of the 50 trade available for NPCs in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel. Exploration of the world will be even more diverse thanks to the advanced weather management in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel; you'll happen to get yourself into a sand storm, get lost in a deep fog, being wet by the rain, frozen by the wind, and so on.
  
boats.
+
The world map itself is quite huge, as it is 30 to 40% bigger than the one available to the player in Sacred. To get on foot from the top left corner to the bottom right corner, it will take you around 6h, if you don't stop to do something else. But don't be afraid, there will be as well some transport system, although it won't be the classical portal system we had in original Sacred and other games. If there will be central locations akin to the actual portals, journeys between them will no longer be instantaneous. Instead in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, travels between those points will be done riding dragons or sailing on boats.
  
  
 
== '''New look and feel''' ==
 
== '''New look and feel''' ==
  
<div style="float:right;  
+
<div style="float:right; padding:10px;">http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u222/erialc_photo/screenshot-sacred2-045_tb.jpg</div>
 
+
We must admit that the original [[Sacred]] was quite old graphics wise when it was released over 3 years ago in 2004. This can't be said of his big brother Sacred 2: Fallen Angel. The graphics engine, entirely developed in-house by [http://www.Ascaron.com Ascaron], shows a really good graphics rendering. Additionally, this graphics engine can do most everything, from using any resolution (included the very old ones), or disabling nearly any graphic effects. Then a low end computer should be able to still be able to run the game correctly with good framerate, as long as it's using a lower resolution and toggle off most graphic effects. Particularly, the engine itself asks only for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DirectX DirectX9], but people with DirectX 10 will benefit from it and get better graphical effects. It goes the same for the [http://www.ageia.com Ageia PhysX.]
padding:10px;">http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u222
 
 
 
/erialc_photo/screenshot-sacred2-045_tb.jpg</div>
 
We must admit that the original [[Sacred]] was quite  
 
 
 
old graphics wise when it was released over 3 years  
 
 
 
ago in 2004. This can't be said of his big brother  
 
 
 
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel. The graphics engine, entirely  
 
 
 
developed in-house by [http://www.Ascaron.com  
 
 
 
Ascaron], shows a really good graphics rendering.  
 
 
 
Additionally, this graphics engine can do most  
 
 
 
everything, from using any resolution (included the  
 
 
 
very old ones), or disabling nearly any graphic  
 
 
 
effects. Then a low end computer should be able to  
 
 
 
still be able to run the game correctly with good  
 
 
 
framerate, as long as it's using a lower resolution  
 
 
 
and toggle off most graphic effects. Particularly, the  
 
 
 
engine itself asks only for  
 
 
 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DirectX DirectX9], but  
 
 
 
people with DirectX 10 will benefit from it and get  
 
 
 
better graphical effects. It goes the same for the  
 
 
 
[http://www.ageia.com Ageia PhysX.]
 
 
 
At the moment, the minimal required configuration is
 
 
 
estimated to a simple 1.6 GHz CPU, 512 MB of RAM, and
 
 
 
a true GeForce 4 with 128 MB of RAM. With such a
 
 
 
computer, as long as you use a low resolution and
 
 
 
toggle off all graphic effects, the game engine should
 
 
 
be able to provide around 100 FPS. We still don't know
 
 
 
yet which minimal resolutions and minimal graphic
 
 
 
effects will be used in the game itself, but Sacred 2:
 
 
 
Fallen Angel should run correctly and relatively old
 
 
 
computers anyway. Before we get our hopes too high
 
 
 
though, let's wait to actually try to run the game on
 
 
 
such a computer when the time of preview versions will
 
 
 
come, or simply the time of beta test, as a closed
 
 
 
beta test is planned for next October, and an open
 
 
 
beta test in January 2008.
 
 
 
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will provide a completely free
 
 
 
camera, which will let the players change
 
 
 
independently the horizontal orientation of the
 
 
 
camera, the pitch, and the level of zoom. It is not
 
 
 
defined yet which levels of zoom will be proposed in
 
 
 
the final version, but it's likely that there will be
 
 
 
a large width of zoom available, allowing the player
 
 
 
to zoom closely to the character to admire the
 
 
 
details, or, for the perverts, the forms, and on the
 
 
 
other hand to get far away from the character to enjoy
 
 
 
more visibility.
 
 
 
Last but not least, the world map in Sacred 2: Fallen
 
 
 
Angel is no longer a 2D map like in Sacred, but will
 
 
 
allow us to view the relief of the regions of Ancaria
 
 
 
in 3D (note: however, we will always see the map from
 
 
 
above, with a fixed angle of view, but that wouldn't
 
 
 
have much of interest to be able to change this).
 
 
 
One of the main enhancements in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
 
 
 
compared to his little brother is the shortcuts
 
 
 
management. While it was very limited in Sacred, with
 
 
 
most players using AutoHotKey scripts to improve the
 
 
 
game ergonomics, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will feature a
 
 
 
completely customizable shortcuts system. And if the
 
 
 
system of weapons slots and combat arts slots is still
 
  
there, with however the combo slots being dissociated
+
At the moment, the minimal required configuration is estimated to a simple 1.6 GHz CPU, 512 MB of RAM, and a true GeForce 4 with 128 MB of RAM. With such a computer, as long as you use a low resolution and toggle off all graphic effects, the game engine should be able to provide around 100 FPS. We still don't know yet which minimal resolutions and minimal graphic effects will be used in the game itself, but Sacred 2: Fallen Angel should run correctly and relatively old computers anyway. Before we get our hopes too high though, let's wait to actually try to run the game on such a computer when the time of preview versions will come, or simply the time of beta test, as a closed beta test is planned for next October, and an open beta test in January 2008.
  
of the combat arts slots, it should be possible to  
+
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will provide a completely free camera, which will let the players change independently the horizontal orientation of the camera, the pitch, and the level of zoom. It is not defined yet which levels of zoom will be proposed in the final version, but it's likely that there will be a large width of zoom available, allowing the player to zoom closely to the character to admire the details, or, for the perverts, the forms, and on the other hand to get far away from the character to enjoy more visibility.
  
assign a hotkey to place a combat art into the art bar
+
Last but not least, the world map in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is no longer a 2D map like in Sacred, but will allow us to view the relief of the regions of Ancaria in 3D (note: however, we will always see the map from above, with a fixed angle of view, but that wouldn't have much of interest to be able to change this).
  
from the combat book.
+
One of the main enhancements in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel compared to his little brother is the shortcuts management. While it was very limited in Sacred, with most players using AutoHotKey scripts to improve the game ergonomics, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will feature a completely customizable shortcuts system. And if the system of weapons slots and combat arts slots is still there, with however the combo slots being dissociated of the combat arts slots, it should be possible to assign a hotkey to place a combat art into the art bar from the combat book.
  
  
 
== '''The Seraphim and her new friends'''==
 
== '''The Seraphim and her new friends'''==
  
<div style="float:right;  
+
<div style="float:right; padding:10px;">http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u222/erialc_photo/screenshot-sacred2-x360-008_tb.png</div>
 
+
From the character pool in [[Sacred]] 1, only the [[Seraphim]] can be found in Sacred 2, 2,000 years before. The five other characters are completely new, and at the same time quite diverse. The first characters to be announced to the public were the [[Seraphim]], of course, then the [[Shadow Warrior]]. More recently, the [[High Elf]] joined her two friends. During the Games Convention and the multiplayer event, people could see the [[Dryad]] as well, although we still don't know much about it, unlike the other three. Lastly, the two other characters have been announced to the press: the [[Inquisitor]], and the [[Temple Guardian]]. If we now know the background history and part of the aptitudes of the [[Seraphim]], the [[Shadow Warrior]] and the [[High Elf Adept]], we still know very little about the [[Dryad]], the [[Inquisitor]] and the [[Temple Guardian]].
padding:10px;">http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u222
 
 
 
/erialc_photo/screenshot-sacred2-x360-008_tb.png</div>
 
From the character pool in [[Sacred]] 1, only the  
 
  
[[Seraphim]] can be found in Sacred 2, 2,000 years
+
The Seraphim is very similar to the one in Sacred 1: fighter with a bunch of heavenly magic, she represents the good itself in the world of Ancaria. The Inquisitor is kind of her evil opposite. Fond of dark magic, the dude only wears robes and uses twisted hand-to-hand combat techniques. The Shadow Warrior masters all forms of combat, from hand-to-hand to powerful armed techniques, and, having been in contact with the underworld in the past, can call on some of his old comrades for help. The High Elf Adept is the classical sorceress, well-versed in three powerful magic disciplines, but she can nonetheless be an able fighter when using her magic in conjunction with hand-to-hand combat. The Dryad Scout will be the character all fans of Sacred's [[Wood Elf]] will want to play, as she's a very proficient archer, and a master in the magic of Nature. She practices as well some kind of voodoo, which she can use to harvest shrunken heads from her enemies!
  
before. The five other characters are completely new,  
+
Let's now conclude this presentation of the 6 characters of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel with maybe the most peculiar of those, which should be detailed to the public later on: the [[Temple Guardian]]. This character is an archaic cyborg with a jackal head, able to alter his head and his arm. He is extremely dangerous in hand-to-hand combat, and has mastered as well the use of technological weapons. Due to the nature of his own origin, he has mastered the powerful T-Energy, and can use it to change his environment.
 +
<div style="float:right; padding:10px;">http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u222/erialc_photo/rendering-sacred2-hellhound_tb.jpg</div>
 +
Additionally, we'll find in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel the horses which were already present in Sacred, some of them being faster or more resilient. But the real novelty here is that in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, each character class will have access to its own specific mount: for example, the Shadow Warrior will be able to mount a powerful [[Hellhound]], while the Seraphim will mount an agile [[Tiger]]. Furthermore, these mounts will not only be for fast travelling around the world: they will really affects the fights if you fight mounted, giving you advantages and disadvantages, each having their own, while in original Sacred you could only use very few of your combat arts while mounted, and there was not much interest to fight while mounting a horse.
  
and at the same time quite diverse. The first
+
On character creation, the player will have the ability to change some of its physical characteristics, like the hair colour, and some of those will be alterable further on in the game with dies for example. The player will also have to choose between 6 gods of Ancaria, three being evil gods, the other three being good gods. The Seraphim and the Inquisitor will only be able to choose among the three gods sharing their alignment, while the other four characters will be free to choose any of these 6 divinities. Each of these divinities will grant a special powerful techniques to the character worshipping them.
 
 
characters to be announced to the public were the
 
 
 
[[Seraphim]], of course, then the [[Shadow Warrior]].
 
 
 
More recently, the [[High Elf]] joined her two
 
 
 
friends. During the Games Convention and the
 
 
 
multiplayer event, people could see the [[Dryad]] as
 
 
 
well, although we still don't know much about it,
 
 
 
unlike the other three. Lastly, the two other
 
 
 
characters have been announced to the press: the
 
 
 
[[Inquisitor]], and the [[Temple Guardian]]. If we now
 
 
 
know the background history and part of the aptitudes
 
 
 
of the [[Seraphim]], the [[Shadow Warrior]] and the
 
 
 
[[High Elf Adept]], we still know very little about
 
 
 
the [[Dryad]], the [[Inquisitor]] and the [[Temple
 
 
 
Guardian]].
 
 
 
The Seraphim is very similar to the one in Sacred 1:
 
 
 
fighter with a bunch of heavenly magic, she represents
 
 
 
the good itself in the world of Ancaria. The
 
 
 
Inquisitor is kind of her evil opposite. Fond of dark
 
 
 
magic, the dude only wears robes and uses twisted
 
 
 
hand-to-hand combat techniques. The Shadow Warrior
 
 
 
masters all forms of combat, from hand-to-hand to
 
 
 
powerful armed techniques, and, having been in contact
 
 
 
with the underworld in the past, can call on some of
 
 
 
his old comrades for help. The High Elf Adept is the
 
 
 
classical sorceress, well-versed in three powerful
 
 
 
magic disciplines, but she can nonetheless be an able
 
 
 
fighter when using her magic in conjunction with
 
 
 
hand-to-hand combat. The Dryad Scout will be the
 
 
 
character all fans of Sacred's [[Wood Elf]] will want
 
 
 
to play, as she's a very proficient archer, and a
 
 
 
master in the magic of Nature. She practices as well
 
 
 
some kind of voodoo, which she can use to harvest
 
 
 
shrunken heads from her enemies!
 
 
 
Let's now conclude this presentation of the 6
 
 
 
characters of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel with maybe the
 
 
 
most peculiar of those, which should be detailed to
 
 
 
the public later on: the [[Temple Guardian]]. This
 
 
 
character is an archaic cyborg with a jackal head,
 
 
 
able to alter his head and his arm. He is extremely
 
 
 
dangerous in hand-to-hand combat, and has mastered as
 
 
 
well the use of technological weapons. Due to the
 
 
 
nature of his own origin, he has mastered the powerful
 
 
 
T-Energy, and can use it to change his environment.
 
<div style="float:right;
 
 
 
padding:10px;">http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u222
 
 
 
/erialc_photo/rendering-sacred2-hellhound_tb.jpg</div>
 
Additionally, we'll find in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel the
 
 
 
horses which were already present in Sacred, some of
 
 
 
them being faster or more resilient. But the real
 
 
 
novelty here is that in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, each
 
 
 
character class will have access to its own specific
 
 
 
mount: for example, the Shadow Warrior will be able to
 
 
 
mount a powerful [[Hellhound]], while the Seraphim
 
 
 
will mount an agile [[Tiger]]. Furthermore, these
 
 
 
mounts will not only be for fast travelling around the
 
 
 
world: they will really affects the fights if you
 
 
 
fight mounted, giving you advantages and
 
 
 
disadvantages, each having their own, while in
 
 
 
original Sacred you could only use very few of your
 
 
 
combat arts while mounted, and there was not much
 
 
 
interest to fight while mounting a horse.
 
 
 
On character creation, the player will have the  
 
 
 
ability to change some of its physical  
 
 
 
characteristics, like the hair colour, and some of  
 
 
 
those will be alterable further on in the game with  
 
 
 
dies for example. The player will also have to choose  
 
 
 
between 6 gods of Ancaria, three being evil gods, the  
 
 
 
other three being good gods. The Seraphim and the  
 
 
 
Inquisitor will only be able to choose among the three  
 
 
 
gods sharing their alignment, while the other four  
 
 
 
characters will be free to choose any of these 6  
 
 
 
divinities. Each of these divinities will grant a  
 
 
 
special powerful techniques to the character  
 
 
 
worshipping them.
 
  
  
Line 543: Line 61:
  
  
In Sacred, the multiplayer component had been added  
+
In Sacred, the multiplayer component had been added relatively late in development. As a consequence, the singleplayer and multiplayer parts were distinct, and you had to export your singleplayer character to go play online, and then start again the campaign if you wanted to keep using the character you played online. For Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, Ascaron conceived the multiplayer component right from the scratch, and the singleplayer part is in fact a particularity of the multiplayer part: when playing singleplayer, you're in fact playing multiplayer with only one character. On the technical side, this means that even when playing singleplayer, the game will use client-server mechanisms. On the practical side for the user, this means at any time he will be able to call a friend to help him in his quest, much like in Titan Quest, or be able to go play online in Free mode, and then go back to where he was in the campaign.
 
+
<div style="float:right; padding:10px;">http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u222/erialc_photo/SFA-GCEvent-Arena_tb.jpg</div>
relatively late in development. As a consequence, the  
+
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel offers, like his little brother, various multiplayer modes. First, we will be able to play LAN, Open Multiplayer, or Closed Multiplayer. In each of these multiplayer modes, we will then have the choice between several sub-modes: campaign, free, PVP, and of course we will still be able to play Hardcore. Some people will surely notice that we will be able to play in campaign mode on closed servers as well, while this mode had been removed from closed servers on Sacred 1 because of the dupe exploits coming with it. Exploiting the campaign mode to dupe will no longer be possible in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, thanks to a small difference: on closed servers in campaign mode, it won't be possible to save and load games. Of course it means it will be really difficult to actually complete a campaign on the closed servers, but it's still better than not being able to play the campaign at all, or open the closed servers to massive dupe exploits. As for the campaign, as we could have guessed, everybody in the game will have to do the same campaign, either good or evil, which means that Seraphims and Inquisitors won't be able to play campaign together. Of course, as the main quest is not in the Free mode, any class will be able to the other in this mode.
 
 
singleplayer and multiplayer parts were distinct, and  
 
 
 
you had to export your singleplayer character to go  
 
 
 
play online, and then start again the campaign if you  
 
 
 
wanted to keep using the character you played online.  
 
 
 
For Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, Ascaron conceived the  
 
 
 
multiplayer component right from the scratch, and the  
 
 
 
singleplayer part is in fact a particularity of the  
 
 
 
multiplayer part: when playing singleplayer, you're in  
 
 
 
fact playing multiplayer with only one character. On  
 
 
 
the technical side, this means that even when playing  
 
 
 
singleplayer, the game will use client-server  
 
 
 
mechanisms. On the practical side for the user, this  
 
 
 
means at any time he will be able to call a friend to  
 
 
 
help him in his quest, much like in Titan Quest, or be  
 
 
 
able to go play online in Free mode, and then go back  
 
 
 
to where he was in the campaign.
 
<div style="float:right;  
 
 
 
padding:10px;">http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u222
 
 
 
/erialc_photo/SFA-GCEvent-Arena_tb.jpg</div>
 
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel offers, like his little  
 
 
 
brother, various multiplayer modes. First, we will be  
 
 
 
able to play LAN, Open Multiplayer, or Closed  
 
 
 
Multiplayer. In each of these multiplayer modes, we  
 
 
 
will then have the choice between several sub-modes:  
 
 
 
campaign, free, PVP, and of course we will still be  
 
 
 
able to play Hardcore. Some people will surely notice  
 
 
 
that we will be able to play in campaign mode on  
 
 
 
closed servers as well, while this mode had been  
 
 
 
removed from closed servers on Sacred 1 because of the  
 
 
 
dupe exploits coming with it. Exploiting the campaign  
 
 
 
mode to dupe will no longer be possible in Sacred 2:  
 
 
 
Fallen Angel, thanks to a small difference: on closed  
 
 
 
servers in campaign mode, it won't be possible to save  
 
 
 
and load games. Of course it means it will be really  
 
 
 
difficult to actually complete a campaign on the  
 
  
closed servers, but it's still better than not being
+
As PVP was only in specific games in Sacred, we could see that not that many people used this possibility. In Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, there will be no need of a specific game to fight each other, as there will be PVP Arenas in the world of Ancaria, allowing players to fight each other one and one or in group, up to 5 vs 5!
  
able to play the campaign at all, or open the closed
+
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will offer a trading system, although we don't know yet how it will be done: it could be through a trader NPC, or through a direct trade interface, or even both. Regarding the possibility of exchanging items between characters on the same account (or characters on the same computer), there's nothing sure here as well. Maybe will there be a shared stash, maybe not, we will have to wait until later to know this. But what is sure is that Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will improve the contacts between players on the servers, with a more developed buddylist, accessible through a GUI rather than through command line. Although no official information has leaked about it, it might as well include additional features like a guild management, but then again we'll need to wait for more informations. After all, the very anticipated Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is still nearly 9 months away from release.
  
servers to massive dupe exploits. As for the campaign,
+
In a multiplayer group, XP and loot management will be similar to the one of the first Sacred, both increasing with the number of people in the group. Levelling speed is still being tweaked, but all in all, this should be again similar to Sacred's system. To close up on the multiplayer system, one question is asked, or has been, by a large chunk of Sacred's community: Will the accounts still be linked to the CD Key? Will we still need to type in our CD Key when logging in? Unfortunately, there's still no answer to this question, the matter being still worked on at Ascaron.
 
 
as we could have guessed, everybody in the game will
 
 
 
have to do the same campaign, either good or evil,
 
 
 
which means that Seraphims and Inquisitors won't be
 
 
 
able to play campaign together. Of course, as the main
 
 
 
quest is not in the Free mode, any class will be able
 
 
 
to the other in this mode.
 
 
 
As PVP was only in specific games in Sacred, we could
 
 
 
see that not that many people used this possibility.
 
 
 
In Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, there will be no need of a
 
 
 
specific game to fight each other, as there will be
 
 
 
PVP Arenas in the world of Ancaria, allowing players
 
 
 
to fight each other one and one or in group, up to 5
 
 
 
vs 5!
 
 
 
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will offer a trading system,
 
 
 
although we don't know yet how it will be done: it
 
 
 
could be through a trader NPC, or through a direct
 
 
 
trade interface, or even both. Regarding the
 
 
 
possibility of exchanging items between characters on
 
 
 
the same account (or characters on the same computer),
 
 
 
there's nothing sure here as well. Maybe will there be
 
 
 
a shared stash, maybe not, we will have to wait until
 
 
 
later to know this. But what is sure is that Sacred 2:
 
 
 
Fallen Angel will improve the contacts between players
 
 
 
on the servers, with a more developed buddylist,
 
 
 
accessible through a GUI rather than through command
 
 
 
line. Although no official information has leaked
 
 
 
about it, it might as well include additional features
 
 
 
like a guild management, but then again we'll need to
 
 
 
wait for more informations. After all, the very
 
 
 
anticipated Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is still nearly 9
 
 
 
months away from release.
 
 
 
In a multiplayer group, XP and loot management will be  
 
 
 
similar to the one of the first Sacred, both  
 
 
 
increasing with the number of people in the group.  
 
 
 
Levelling speed is still being tweaked, but all in  
 
 
 
all, this should be again similar to Sacred's system.  
 
 
 
To close up on the multiplayer system, one question is  
 
 
 
asked, or has been, by a large chunk of Sacred's  
 
 
 
community: Will the accounts still be linked to the CD  
 
 
 
Key? Will we still need to type in our CD Key when  
 
 
 
logging in? Unfortunately, there's still no answer to  
 
 
 
this question, the matter being still worked on at  
 
 
 
Ascaron.
 
  
 
=='''The perfect setup to slay monsters'''==
 
=='''The perfect setup to slay monsters'''==
  
Sacred had few massive bosses, apart from the dragons  
+
Sacred had few massive bosses, apart from the dragons we would slay all across Ancaria. For Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, Ascaron decided to introduce massive bosses who will ask to think about strategy to defeat them. The player will be as well confronted to frequent mini-bosses, met randomly across the world of Ancaria. But this focus on the need of strategy won't stop to the bosses and mini-bosses; indeed, each group of mobs will have a leader, and when this leader will be slain, the group will retreat and gather, and define their new leader. But the most interesting feature is that the group strategy will depend on the group leader abilities: for example, if the group leader happens to be a magic user, then the monsters may regroup in front of him to protect him, or, if it is a melee fighter, they might try to cast protective spells on him.
 +
<div style="float:right; padding:10px;">http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u222/erialc_photo/screenshot-sacred2-044_tb.jpg</div>
 +
To face such monsters, we need equipment, and we will have quite a large choice: helms, body armours, shoulder armours, arm armours, gloves, leg armours, boots, as well as amulets and rings, the number of which is still not yet defined. And for the Seraphim only, there will be wings as well. Like the first Sacred, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will bring its lot of unique items and sets, but Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will go further, and implement a crafting system, allowing the player to modify or even create new items. That's however all we know about this crafting system at the moment. A part of the Sacred community hope there would be one day some modding tools for Sacred, and of course that there will be some in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel. Once again, there is nothing much to see here at the moment, but it has been said possible there would be such modding tools added in the future, although most likely not for the release of the game. Time will tell.
  
we would slay all across Ancaria. For Sacred 2: Fallen
+
Now, what pleasure would it be to slay monsters again and again, if we didn't have powerful combat arts to do so? Like Sacred, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will offer combat arts and skills. Combat arts will be divided into three categories for each character, and are on their own already pretty much diverse and will allow for a huge number of different builds for each class. Those specificities will be of much importance when fighting other players in the arena, as it will be needed to careful think about which art to use and when and how to counteract the arts of the opponents. And here, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel innovates, as each and every combat art will be customizable by the player during his progression. For example, the player will be able to make the Jump Attack of the Shadow Warrior a short jump with area damage attack, or on the opposite a long jump but less powerful, to go straight at the enemy caster or archer, or even to fly away from the combat faster in case of troubles.
 
 
Angel, Ascaron decided to introduce massive bosses who
 
 
 
will ask to think about strategy to defeat them. The
 
 
 
player will be as well confronted to frequent
 
 
 
mini-bosses, met randomly across the world of Ancaria.
 
 
 
But this focus on the need of strategy won't stop to
 
 
 
the bosses and mini-bosses; indeed, each group of mobs
 
 
 
will have a leader, and when this leader will be
 
 
 
slain, the group will retreat and gather, and define
 
 
 
their new leader. But the most interesting feature is
 
 
 
that the group strategy will depend on the group
 
 
 
leader abilities: for example, if the group leader
 
 
 
happens to be a magic user, then the monsters may
 
 
 
regroup in front of him to protect him, or, if it is a
 
 
 
melee fighter, they might try to cast protective
 
 
 
spells on him.
 
<div style="float:right;
 
 
 
padding:10px;">http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u222
 
 
 
/erialc_photo/screenshot-sacred2-044_tb.jpg</div>
 
To face such monsters, we need equipment, and we will
 
 
 
have quite a large choice: helms, body armours,
 
 
 
shoulder armours, arm armours, gloves, leg armours,
 
 
 
boots, as well as amulets and rings, the number of
 
 
 
which is still not yet defined. And for the Seraphim
 
 
 
only, there will be wings as well. Like the first
 
 
 
Sacred, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will bring its lot of
 
 
 
unique items and sets, but Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will
 
 
 
go further, and implement a crafting system, allowing
 
 
 
the player to modify or even create new items. That's
 
 
 
however all we know about this crafting system at the
 
 
 
moment. A part of the Sacred community hope there
 
 
 
would be one day some modding tools for Sacred, and of
 
 
 
course that there will be some in Sacred 2: Fallen
 
 
 
Angel. Once again, there is nothing much to see here
 
 
 
at the moment, but it has been said possible there
 
 
 
would be such modding tools added in the future,
 
 
 
although most likely not for the release of the game.
 
 
 
Time will tell.
 
 
 
Now, what pleasure would it be to slay monsters again  
 
 
 
and again, if we didn't have powerful combat arts to  
 
 
 
do so? Like Sacred, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will offer  
 
 
 
combat arts and skills. Combat arts will be divided  
 
 
 
into three categories for each character, and are on  
 
 
 
their own already pretty much diverse and will allow  
 
 
 
for a huge number of different builds for each class.  
 
 
 
Those specificities will be of much importance when  
 
 
 
fighting other players in the arena, as it will be  
 
 
 
needed to careful think about which art to use and  
 
 
 
when and how to counteract the arts of the opponents.  
 
 
 
And here, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel innovates, as each  
 
 
 
and every combat art will be customizable by the  
 
 
 
player during his progression. For example, the player  
 
 
 
will be able to make the Jump Attack of the Shadow  
 
 
 
Warrior a short jump with area damage attack, or on  
 
 
 
the opposite a long jump but less powerful, to go  
 
 
 
straight at the enemy caster or archer, or even to fly  
 
 
 
away from the combat faster in case of troubles.
 
  
 
=='''PC, or Xbox 360?'''==
 
=='''PC, or Xbox 360?'''==
  
<div style="float:right;  
+
<div style="float:right; padding:10px;">http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u222/erialc_photo/screenshot-sacred2-x360-020_tb.png</div>
 
+
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will be released on both PC with Windows and Xbox 360. What shall we expect from these two different versions? Graphics wise, they will be more or less the same, with maybe a slight advantage to the Xbox 260. Of course, with the Xbox 360, no way you could control the character with a mouse and a keyboard, which will have a noteworthy impact on controls. Control of the character will then be done with the analogical stick, and the player will mash the buttons of the pad instead of the buttons of his mouse. The use of skills and combos will apparently be managed by keeping pressed a trigger. All in all, those controls seem very similar to the controls in the few other games of the genre available on gaming consoles.
padding:10px;">http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u222
+
<div style="float:right; padding:10px;">http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u222/erialc_photo/SFA-Xbox360Presentation_tb.jpg</div>
 
+
On several points however, the PC version will be better than the Xbox 360 version. Indeed, while with the Xbox 360 you will only be able to play up to 4 people in the same game, the PC version will allow to play up to 16 in the same game, just like in Sacred. The PC version will offer higher resolutions as well, as long as you use a display supporting them, and have a computer powerful enough to manage it, and will offer much more graphical settings to adapt the game to the computer running it. Meanwhile, due to the difficulty of editing characters on an Xbox 360, there will be no difference between closed and open multiplayer on the Xbox 360
/erialc_photo/screenshot-sacred2-x360-020_tb.png</div>
 
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will be released on both PC  
 
 
 
with Windows and Xbox 360. What shall we expect from  
 
 
 
these two different versions? Graphics wise, they will  
 
 
 
be more or less the same, with maybe a slight  
 
 
 
advantage to the Xbox 260. Of course, with the Xbox  
 
 
 
360, no way you could control the character with a  
 
 
 
mouse and a keyboard, which will have a noteworthy  
 
 
 
impact on controls. Control of the character will then  
 
 
 
be done with the analogical stick, and the player will  
 
 
 
mash the buttons of the pad instead of the buttons of  
 
 
 
his mouse. The use of skills and combos will  
 
 
 
apparently be managed by keeping pressed a trigger.  
 
 
 
All in all, those controls seem very similar to the  
 
 
 
controls in the few other games of the genre available  
 
 
 
on gaming consoles.
 
<div style="float:right;  
 
 
 
padding:10px;">http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u222
 
 
 
/erialc_photo/SFA-Xbox360Presentation_tb.jpg</div>
 
On several points however, the PC version will be  
 
 
 
better than the Xbox 360 version. Indeed, while with  
 
 
 
the Xbox 360 you will only be able to play up to 4  
 
 
 
people in the same game, the PC version will allow to  
 
 
 
play up to 16 in the same game, just like in Sacred.  
 
 
 
The PC version will offer higher resolutions as well,  
 
 
 
as long as you use a display supporting them, and have  
 
 
 
a computer powerful enough to manage it, and will  
 
 
 
offer much more graphical settings to adapt the game  
 
 
 
to the computer running it. Meanwhile, due to the  
 
 
 
difficulty of editing characters on an Xbox 360, there  
 
 
 
will be no difference between closed and open  
 
 
 
multiplayer on the Xbox 360
 
 
 
For those who still wonder at this point of the
 
 
 
article, it won't be possible to play in the same game
 
 
 
with a player on Xbox 360 and another on a PC, and it
 
 
 
won't be possible either to transfer a character from
 
 
 
an Xbox 360 to a PC or from a PC to an Xbox 360.
 
 
 
However, an Xbox 360 player will be able to bring his
 
 
 
character with him to play over at a friend, and on a
 
 
 
single Xbox 360, two players will be able to play on
 
 
 
the same screen, while joining two other people
 
  
through Xbox Live.
+
For those who still wonder at this point of the article, it won't be possible to play in the same game with a player on Xbox 360 and another on a PC, and it won't be possible either to transfer a character from an Xbox 360 to a PC or from a PC to an Xbox 360. However, an Xbox 360 player will be able to bring his character with him to play over at a friend, and on a single Xbox 360, two players will be able to play on the same screen, while joining two other people through Xbox Live.
  
 
=='''Thanks'''==
 
=='''Thanks'''==
  
I would like to thank Stefan Hinz (Manager Online  
+
I would like to thank Stefan Hinz (Manager Online Marketing), Jens Eishched (Marketing Manager), Torsten Meier (Public Relations Manager), and Markus “PowerPyx” Kobbe (Moderator on the German forums) for all the informations they gave me on Sacred 2, as well as for the presentation of the PC version of the game and the time they spent answering my questions.
 
 
Marketing), Jens Eishched (Marketing Manager), Torsten  
 
 
 
Meier (Public Relations Manager), and Markus  
 
 
 
“PowerPyx” Kobbe (Moderator on the German forums) for  
 
 
 
all the informations they gave me on Sacred 2, as well  
 
 
 
as for the presentation of the PC version of the game  
 
 
 
and the time they spent answering my questions.
 
 
 
'''Reference:'''Gork
 
 
 
[http://http://darkmatters.org/forums/index.php?showto
 
 
 
pic=5676 Stepping Into Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
 
 
 
Universe, A complete preview of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
 
 
 
after the GC2007] and in French:
 
 
 
[http://www.sacred-fr.com/index.php?txt=art_comment&id
 
  
art=306 Dans l'univers de Sacred 2: Fallen Angel ]
+
'''Reference:'''Gork [http://http://darkmatters.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=5676 Stepping Into Sacred 2: Fallen Angel Universe, A complete preview of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel after the GC2007] and in French: [http://www.sacred-fr.com/index.php?txt=art_comment&idart=306 Dans l'univers de Sacred 2: Fallen Angel ]

Revision as of 19:19, 16 November 2007

Stepping Into Sacred 2: Fallen Angel Universe

SFA-GCEvent-1.jpg

During the Games Convention in Leipzig, the awaited Sacred 2: Fallen Angel has appeared fully. A version specifically conceived for the multiplayer event organized by Ascaron, simplified at most to show principally the engine and the gameplay of the game, has been accessible to some lucky guys. There's been quite a bunch of people to be able to test this version, as there was 16 of them every 10 minutes during the all fair: few minutes of hacking & slashing monsters, playing either the Seraphim, the Shadow Warrior, the Dryad, or even the High Elf, all identical except for their look for the occasion, and then the 16 players met in the arena to fight each other. Meanwhile, in another hall of the Games Convention, other visitors could assist to a quick presentation of the Xbox 360 version of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel.

Personally, after having participated to the multiplayer event during the Business Day, I have been lucky enough to see the PC version of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, shown to me by Jens Eisched, Marketing Manager, and Torsten Meier, Public Relations Manager, who answered as well a bunch of my questions as a Hack & Slash fan and amateur, as well as player of the original Sacred.


2,000 years ago, the Seraphim were already ready to become heroines

artwork-sacred2-010.jpg

At first, there was the Creator, who created worlds and populated them each with one unique intelligent race for them to worship him. The Seraphim, and their leaders the Archangels, were one of those. However, one day, they decided to use the ethereal creative energy to create their own world, Ancaria, and to populate it with several races, giving them the freedom of choosing their own fate. When the Creator found out, instead of destroying Ancaria, he banished the Seraphim on this world with the charge to protect it. He would interfere only if the Seraphim were not able to unite all the races.

But that was not meant to happen, and before long the High Elves, favourite race of the Seraphim, started to use the creative energy to their own benefit and rule the world. Not every High Elf agreed with this plan, and soon a civil war burst, costing lives of many people and many Seraphims, and leading to the division of the High Elves between the one trying to use the creative energy to give Ancaria and its people their lost greatness, and the one wanting to purge Ancaria with a cleansing fire and then arise as uncontested rulers. A second civil war was soon to be started...

2,000 years before Sacred 1's story, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel brings the player to a time where the creative energy is still active. Humans are yet the servants and slaves of the High Elves, Dwarfs still enjoy their recluse life, and the world of Ancaria is far different and unknown of the events that will occur in Sacred and Sacred Underworld. The player will have to chose between the Path of the Light and the Path of the Shadow, except when playing a Seraphim who can only follow the Path of Light, or an Inquisitor, who can only follow the Path of the Shadows. This choice the player make at the beginning of the campaign will affect the whole world and the various NPCs he'll meet.

In addition to these two sides of the main campaign, each proposing roughly 40h of game play to the user in the first difficulty mode, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel offers an incredible variety of secondary quests, with overall over 800 quests for the player to fulfill.

A world full of diversity

screenshot-sacred2-035_tb.jpg

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel brings us to a very large as well as very disparate world; 11 totally different regions, from jungle to desert, from Mediterranean climate to icy mountains, are then open to exploration for the player. Each of these regions have their own climatic environment, their own sounds and lights effects, and fauna and flora as well as architecture of the buildings adapted to the races populating them, their social culture, and their technological development. Furthermore, the world of Ancaria is made of one single piece, and will appear to the player through streaming. Thus, you will never have to wait for the game to load an area, as even when you'll enter a dungeon or a cave, the transition will be completely natural and smooth, without any loading time.

The world of Ancaria shown in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel follows the rhythm of night and day, with a day/night cycle every 50mn or so, and so do the numerous inhabitants of the world. Depending of the time of day or night, the NPCs inhabitants of the world will go one of the 50 trade available for NPCs in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel. Exploration of the world will be even more diverse thanks to the advanced weather management in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel; you'll happen to get yourself into a sand storm, get lost in a deep fog, being wet by the rain, frozen by the wind, and so on.

The world map itself is quite huge, as it is 30 to 40% bigger than the one available to the player in Sacred. To get on foot from the top left corner to the bottom right corner, it will take you around 6h, if you don't stop to do something else. But don't be afraid, there will be as well some transport system, although it won't be the classical portal system we had in original Sacred and other games. If there will be central locations akin to the actual portals, journeys between them will no longer be instantaneous. Instead in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, travels between those points will be done riding dragons or sailing on boats.


New look and feel

screenshot-sacred2-045_tb.jpg

We must admit that the original Sacred was quite old graphics wise when it was released over 3 years ago in 2004. This can't be said of his big brother Sacred 2: Fallen Angel. The graphics engine, entirely developed in-house by Ascaron, shows a really good graphics rendering. Additionally, this graphics engine can do most everything, from using any resolution (included the very old ones), or disabling nearly any graphic effects. Then a low end computer should be able to still be able to run the game correctly with good framerate, as long as it's using a lower resolution and toggle off most graphic effects. Particularly, the engine itself asks only for DirectX9, but people with DirectX 10 will benefit from it and get better graphical effects. It goes the same for the Ageia PhysX.

At the moment, the minimal required configuration is estimated to a simple 1.6 GHz CPU, 512 MB of RAM, and a true GeForce 4 with 128 MB of RAM. With such a computer, as long as you use a low resolution and toggle off all graphic effects, the game engine should be able to provide around 100 FPS. We still don't know yet which minimal resolutions and minimal graphic effects will be used in the game itself, but Sacred 2: Fallen Angel should run correctly and relatively old computers anyway. Before we get our hopes too high though, let's wait to actually try to run the game on such a computer when the time of preview versions will come, or simply the time of beta test, as a closed beta test is planned for next October, and an open beta test in January 2008.

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will provide a completely free camera, which will let the players change independently the horizontal orientation of the camera, the pitch, and the level of zoom. It is not defined yet which levels of zoom will be proposed in the final version, but it's likely that there will be a large width of zoom available, allowing the player to zoom closely to the character to admire the details, or, for the perverts, the forms, and on the other hand to get far away from the character to enjoy more visibility.

Last but not least, the world map in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is no longer a 2D map like in Sacred, but will allow us to view the relief of the regions of Ancaria in 3D (note: however, we will always see the map from above, with a fixed angle of view, but that wouldn't have much of interest to be able to change this).

One of the main enhancements in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel compared to his little brother is the shortcuts management. While it was very limited in Sacred, with most players using AutoHotKey scripts to improve the game ergonomics, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will feature a completely customizable shortcuts system. And if the system of weapons slots and combat arts slots is still there, with however the combo slots being dissociated of the combat arts slots, it should be possible to assign a hotkey to place a combat art into the art bar from the combat book.


The Seraphim and her new friends

screenshot-sacred2-x360-008_tb.png

From the character pool in Sacred 1, only the Seraphim can be found in Sacred 2, 2,000 years before. The five other characters are completely new, and at the same time quite diverse. The first characters to be announced to the public were the Seraphim, of course, then the Shadow Warrior. More recently, the High Elf joined her two friends. During the Games Convention and the multiplayer event, people could see the Dryad as well, although we still don't know much about it, unlike the other three. Lastly, the two other characters have been announced to the press: the Inquisitor, and the Temple Guardian. If we now know the background history and part of the aptitudes of the Seraphim, the Shadow Warrior and the High Elf Adept, we still know very little about the Dryad, the Inquisitor and the Temple Guardian.

The Seraphim is very similar to the one in Sacred 1: fighter with a bunch of heavenly magic, she represents the good itself in the world of Ancaria. The Inquisitor is kind of her evil opposite. Fond of dark magic, the dude only wears robes and uses twisted hand-to-hand combat techniques. The Shadow Warrior masters all forms of combat, from hand-to-hand to powerful armed techniques, and, having been in contact with the underworld in the past, can call on some of his old comrades for help. The High Elf Adept is the classical sorceress, well-versed in three powerful magic disciplines, but she can nonetheless be an able fighter when using her magic in conjunction with hand-to-hand combat. The Dryad Scout will be the character all fans of Sacred's Wood Elf will want to play, as she's a very proficient archer, and a master in the magic of Nature. She practices as well some kind of voodoo, which she can use to harvest shrunken heads from her enemies!

Let's now conclude this presentation of the 6 characters of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel with maybe the most peculiar of those, which should be detailed to the public later on: the Temple Guardian. This character is an archaic cyborg with a jackal head, able to alter his head and his arm. He is extremely dangerous in hand-to-hand combat, and has mastered as well the use of technological weapons. Due to the nature of his own origin, he has mastered the powerful T-Energy, and can use it to change his environment.

rendering-sacred2-hellhound_tb.jpg

Additionally, we'll find in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel the horses which were already present in Sacred, some of them being faster or more resilient. But the real novelty here is that in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, each character class will have access to its own specific mount: for example, the Shadow Warrior will be able to mount a powerful Hellhound, while the Seraphim will mount an agile Tiger. Furthermore, these mounts will not only be for fast travelling around the world: they will really affects the fights if you fight mounted, giving you advantages and disadvantages, each having their own, while in original Sacred you could only use very few of your combat arts while mounted, and there was not much interest to fight while mounting a horse.

On character creation, the player will have the ability to change some of its physical characteristics, like the hair colour, and some of those will be alterable further on in the game with dies for example. The player will also have to choose between 6 gods of Ancaria, three being evil gods, the other three being good gods. The Seraphim and the Inquisitor will only be able to choose among the three gods sharing their alignment, while the other four characters will be free to choose any of these 6 divinities. Each of these divinities will grant a special powerful techniques to the character worshipping them.


You're never really alone

In Sacred, the multiplayer component had been added relatively late in development. As a consequence, the singleplayer and multiplayer parts were distinct, and you had to export your singleplayer character to go play online, and then start again the campaign if you wanted to keep using the character you played online. For Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, Ascaron conceived the multiplayer component right from the scratch, and the singleplayer part is in fact a particularity of the multiplayer part: when playing singleplayer, you're in fact playing multiplayer with only one character. On the technical side, this means that even when playing singleplayer, the game will use client-server mechanisms. On the practical side for the user, this means at any time he will be able to call a friend to help him in his quest, much like in Titan Quest, or be able to go play online in Free mode, and then go back to where he was in the campaign.

SFA-GCEvent-Arena_tb.jpg

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel offers, like his little brother, various multiplayer modes. First, we will be able to play LAN, Open Multiplayer, or Closed Multiplayer. In each of these multiplayer modes, we will then have the choice between several sub-modes: campaign, free, PVP, and of course we will still be able to play Hardcore. Some people will surely notice that we will be able to play in campaign mode on closed servers as well, while this mode had been removed from closed servers on Sacred 1 because of the dupe exploits coming with it. Exploiting the campaign mode to dupe will no longer be possible in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, thanks to a small difference: on closed servers in campaign mode, it won't be possible to save and load games. Of course it means it will be really difficult to actually complete a campaign on the closed servers, but it's still better than not being able to play the campaign at all, or open the closed servers to massive dupe exploits. As for the campaign, as we could have guessed, everybody in the game will have to do the same campaign, either good or evil, which means that Seraphims and Inquisitors won't be able to play campaign together. Of course, as the main quest is not in the Free mode, any class will be able to the other in this mode.

As PVP was only in specific games in Sacred, we could see that not that many people used this possibility. In Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, there will be no need of a specific game to fight each other, as there will be PVP Arenas in the world of Ancaria, allowing players to fight each other one and one or in group, up to 5 vs 5!

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will offer a trading system, although we don't know yet how it will be done: it could be through a trader NPC, or through a direct trade interface, or even both. Regarding the possibility of exchanging items between characters on the same account (or characters on the same computer), there's nothing sure here as well. Maybe will there be a shared stash, maybe not, we will have to wait until later to know this. But what is sure is that Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will improve the contacts between players on the servers, with a more developed buddylist, accessible through a GUI rather than through command line. Although no official information has leaked about it, it might as well include additional features like a guild management, but then again we'll need to wait for more informations. After all, the very anticipated Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is still nearly 9 months away from release.

In a multiplayer group, XP and loot management will be similar to the one of the first Sacred, both increasing with the number of people in the group. Levelling speed is still being tweaked, but all in all, this should be again similar to Sacred's system. To close up on the multiplayer system, one question is asked, or has been, by a large chunk of Sacred's community: Will the accounts still be linked to the CD Key? Will we still need to type in our CD Key when logging in? Unfortunately, there's still no answer to this question, the matter being still worked on at Ascaron.

The perfect setup to slay monsters

Sacred had few massive bosses, apart from the dragons we would slay all across Ancaria. For Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, Ascaron decided to introduce massive bosses who will ask to think about strategy to defeat them. The player will be as well confronted to frequent mini-bosses, met randomly across the world of Ancaria. But this focus on the need of strategy won't stop to the bosses and mini-bosses; indeed, each group of mobs will have a leader, and when this leader will be slain, the group will retreat and gather, and define their new leader. But the most interesting feature is that the group strategy will depend on the group leader abilities: for example, if the group leader happens to be a magic user, then the monsters may regroup in front of him to protect him, or, if it is a melee fighter, they might try to cast protective spells on him.

screenshot-sacred2-044_tb.jpg

To face such monsters, we need equipment, and we will have quite a large choice: helms, body armours, shoulder armours, arm armours, gloves, leg armours, boots, as well as amulets and rings, the number of which is still not yet defined. And for the Seraphim only, there will be wings as well. Like the first Sacred, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will bring its lot of unique items and sets, but Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will go further, and implement a crafting system, allowing the player to modify or even create new items. That's however all we know about this crafting system at the moment. A part of the Sacred community hope there would be one day some modding tools for Sacred, and of course that there will be some in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel. Once again, there is nothing much to see here at the moment, but it has been said possible there would be such modding tools added in the future, although most likely not for the release of the game. Time will tell.

Now, what pleasure would it be to slay monsters again and again, if we didn't have powerful combat arts to do so? Like Sacred, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will offer combat arts and skills. Combat arts will be divided into three categories for each character, and are on their own already pretty much diverse and will allow for a huge number of different builds for each class. Those specificities will be of much importance when fighting other players in the arena, as it will be needed to careful think about which art to use and when and how to counteract the arts of the opponents. And here, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel innovates, as each and every combat art will be customizable by the player during his progression. For example, the player will be able to make the Jump Attack of the Shadow Warrior a short jump with area damage attack, or on the opposite a long jump but less powerful, to go straight at the enemy caster or archer, or even to fly away from the combat faster in case of troubles.

PC, or Xbox 360?

screenshot-sacred2-x360-020_tb.png

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will be released on both PC with Windows and Xbox 360. What shall we expect from these two different versions? Graphics wise, they will be more or less the same, with maybe a slight advantage to the Xbox 260. Of course, with the Xbox 360, no way you could control the character with a mouse and a keyboard, which will have a noteworthy impact on controls. Control of the character will then be done with the analogical stick, and the player will mash the buttons of the pad instead of the buttons of his mouse. The use of skills and combos will apparently be managed by keeping pressed a trigger. All in all, those controls seem very similar to the controls in the few other games of the genre available on gaming consoles.

SFA-Xbox360Presentation_tb.jpg

On several points however, the PC version will be better than the Xbox 360 version. Indeed, while with the Xbox 360 you will only be able to play up to 4 people in the same game, the PC version will allow to play up to 16 in the same game, just like in Sacred. The PC version will offer higher resolutions as well, as long as you use a display supporting them, and have a computer powerful enough to manage it, and will offer much more graphical settings to adapt the game to the computer running it. Meanwhile, due to the difficulty of editing characters on an Xbox 360, there will be no difference between closed and open multiplayer on the Xbox 360

For those who still wonder at this point of the article, it won't be possible to play in the same game with a player on Xbox 360 and another on a PC, and it won't be possible either to transfer a character from an Xbox 360 to a PC or from a PC to an Xbox 360. However, an Xbox 360 player will be able to bring his character with him to play over at a friend, and on a single Xbox 360, two players will be able to play on the same screen, while joining two other people through Xbox Live.

Thanks

I would like to thank Stefan Hinz (Manager Online Marketing), Jens Eishched (Marketing Manager), Torsten Meier (Public Relations Manager), and Markus “PowerPyx” Kobbe (Moderator on the German forums) for all the informations they gave me on Sacred 2, as well as for the presentation of the PC version of the game and the time they spent answering my questions.

Reference:Gork Stepping Into Sacred 2: Fallen Angel Universe, A complete preview of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel after the GC2007 and in French: Dans l'univers de Sacred 2: Fallen Angel