Etherlords II Wrap Report

Released in October, Etherlords II marks developer Nival Interactive's return to its imaginative world of Ether that debuted two years ago. The initial title garnered extensive praise, with a substantial portion directed at its turn-based tactical combat system in which a hero character explores a strategic map, unaccompanied by troops or minions, but with a pack of cards that can be used to summon creatures and cast spells. Each of the game's four races has a starting deck, to which more powerful cards can be added over time. These are purchased with resources from captured stockpiles and mines. Ether is what powers the entire magic system. There are four "threads" - Chaos, Vitality, Motion and Synthesis - that serve as the bases for the unique magical powers and creatures of the Chaot, Vital, Kinet and Synthet races respectively.

The new title builds on this base by substantially raising the proportion of RPG elements. The story aspect has been elevated from something of a backdrop to a major focus. This time, the team has implemented a complex, twisting tale encompassing five campaigns and complete with NPCs, side quests and multiple perspectives depending on the race you're playing. There's also a greater emphasis on the hero; in the sequel, you take one character through the entire game, advancing in experience, skills and power according to the decisions you make. Encompassing hundreds of spells and creatures that create seemingly infinite tactical alternatives, the combat system has also been enhanced by implementing new monsters and magic available to all four races. Via these thoughts from PR Manager Dmitry Kolpakov, we have the opportunity to look at the project from the developer's perspective.

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The Project Etherlords II may be summarized as a fantasy adventure RPG with turn-based trading card combat in the Magic the Gathering style. Your adventure takes place in a fantasy world where every little thing consists of a special kind of energy - ether. Ether Lords are intelligent humanoid spellcasters who can use this energy to summon combat creatures and do all the magic tricks one can imagine. The Lords are presented with four different races - Kinets (blue ether), Chaots (red), Vitals (green) and Synthets (black), each employing its own strand of ether. The races make use of specific advantages and tactics their respective colors have to offer. For instance, Vitals worship the forces of nature and vitality, and summon forest creatures such as treants, snakes and giant ticks. The cybernetic Synthets bring forward death and corruption, steal ether and cast some really weird stuff.

The project came about as a sequel to the original Etherlords. The release of the first game showed that most gamers tended to play it not as a turn-based strategy game, but as an RPG, picking up a favourite hero and pumping up his abilities and combat decks. A significant amount of feedback and suggestions further encouraged us to transfer the gameplay from a strategy to a much closer, tactical level linked to one hero, not a race in general.

The Team Nival Interactive is a large Russian developer located in the city of Moscow. Nival includes four development teams with a staff of more than 100 dedicated people.

Rage of Mages I and II plus Evil Islands were among our previous fantasy projects featuring a mix of strategic and RPG gameplay. Blitzkrieg is WWII real-time strategy, and Silent Storm is our most recent title, offering a turn-based tactical gaming, also set against the backdrop of WWII.

The Etherlords II team comprised 15 men and women during its development stage, basically the same team that created the first game: four programmers, three texture artists, two game-designers, one 3D modeler, one sound engineer and a quality assurance manager.

In some sense, we did use the help of outside contractors. These people were professional actors who made the voiceovers and dialogues in the game. None can say that their role was insignificant. :)

High-Level Goals One of the high-level goals for the Etherlords series was surely about refreshing the genre of collectible card games with enjoyable, challenging gameplay and visuals. Such games have always possessed a great deal of potential, and we felt we could give them a new turn.

The sequel is meant to improve the strongest points and leave out the weak points of the original, with substantial focus on gameplay issues. This is the tradition. :) From the very start, we understood that the driving force of Etherlords was in the card combat, RPG elements and a good story. These basic elements encourage gamers to bring up their alter ego, shuffle new decks and invent their own ways of overcoming adversaries. This means no ready-made decisions, compelling gamers to be self-reliant and independent - that is, to use their brains. In exchange for that, the game rewards you with five campaigns of engrossing adventure, magnificent visuals and many hours of amusement in the full-grown fantasy world. Moreover, when you're done with the story, other gamers are waiting for you to get into multiplayer. Our dedicated master server is the best place to find the final test for your tactics and prowess.

To make Etherlords II stand out from the ilk we've made a highly detailed and beautifully rendered true 3D gameworld, increased the number of magical spells and diverse monsters up to 330, included the new sub-race of "pale" creatures with its own unique spells and combat style, implemented a non-linear story with lots of additional quests and multiple completion paths, introduced tunnels, teleports and sailboats, and increased the number of diverse animations for all characters and monsters to make them look like real individuals.