I was rather amazed at the fact that I seem to be the only one in the world not to have watched an episode of a Stargate series but, after taking a few minutes with the Stargate Worlds (SGW) MMO team, I have no doubt that this game will be one of my favorites in the genre for years to come. You see, this team knows MMOs, and they know what they want to bring to a genre most would say is chock full of potential, but crowded with could have beens, and almost weres.

So how does the team ensure that it's a fun game, first and foremost, without requiring knowledge of the massive intellectual property (IP) that the Stargate franchises have become? They're focusing on the game first, and then the IP; similar to how they hired their team, considering talent first, and then making sure everyone was aware of the franchise's ins and outs. Taking place between the 8th and 9th season of Stargate SG-1/Atlantis, the game will draw on an incredibly deep universe and utilize characters and storyline fans are familiar with, while adding new areas, and characters to interact with.

I spoke with Dan Elggren, Studio Head of Stargate Worlds, Demetrius Comes, VP of Technology, and Art Director Howard Lyon at Comic-Con in San Diego last week. What they showed me made me so excited for this upcoming title, something I never expected!

The most important thing to mention here, to me at least, is that while you are fighting with guns, this is in no way an action or shooting game. You can tab to switch targets. Auto attack will use your most basic gun attack. There are no required twitch reactions. Your offense and defense are based on dice rolls...this is truly an MMORPG. So how do you take a gun and stick it in your character’s hand, and not expect people to be turned off by thinking it's a shooter? The developers at Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment have come up with a way for players to interact with their in game environment while keeping the fun of an MMO utilizing coverage features. Walls, trees, anything in game your character could conceivably hide behind will provide a defensive buff and the level of coverage you have at any given time will show on your UI.

This coverage idea makes flanking enemies of the utmost importance, while maintaining the ability to target, attack, and run simultaneously. Add in the artificial intelligence (AI) of the NPC enemies who will use surrounding cover as much as players should, and you turn your combat into more of a strategy type of attack system. Coverage is shown not only as a color on the UI, but as a percentage based visual counter. When your target takes cover, you can see what their cover percentage is as well, helping you decide the best route of attack. Combat will have line of sight checks, but shooting up or down a hill will not impart a hindrance or bonus to the character, respectively.

In Stargate Worlds you can play as one of six classes, which differ wildly in their expertise: Archaeologist, Asgard, Goa'uld, Jaffa, Scientist, Soldier and Commando, with your race having more of an impact on the class than anything else. Races are Human, Asgard, Goa'uld and Jaffa.

Those of us who like the non-combat part of MMOs will greatly enjoy the time and effort that's been put into the mini-game system for SGW. These puzzles play an integral part in advancement, and while the classes of Archaeologist and Scientist will specialize in this area of game play, you will not be forced to take part in them through the built in system of calling for other players and NPCs to complete them. These puzzles will help provide storyline advancement, give experience to the player who completes them, allow you to enhance your puzzle solving skills as a character, have specific crafting items to assist in completing them, and in some cases will require more combat specific players to hold off the enemy while the puzzle is completed.

Failing to complete a puzzle may result in having to replay the mini-game, or in needing another way to complete your objective, but there's little reason to fail when you can, through an in game call system, ask other players, or NPCs you earn through missions (quests) to complete it for you. My concern here is that there's no real incentive to request a player to solve the puzzle for you, depending on the implementation this could be a detriment to those players who are simply looking to craft and do puzzle solving. We'll have to wait and see what it looks like when it's done!

Crafting will be done in two different ways. Both reverse engineering to figure out how something is put together and engineering them from scratch. We'll see in game mail and secure trading via C.O.D. mail trades. You'll even be able to mail items to your vault from anywhere in the world! These types of features show that Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment is looking to make this game more fun, less work, and takes our most annoying features from other MMOs and makes them more accessible. Sharing missions is a great example of this. For escort missions two NPCs will spawn, giving both players the same task, increasing the risk, reward, and fun of the mission.

They're looking to take the parts from other games that can become tedious, frustrating, and annoying, out of worries range. While many companies attempt to do this, and whine about how much of a grind everything is, these folks have found a way to make that part of the game community centered, and enjoyable, without changing too much of what many of us love in the genre.

The game is currently in a pre-alpha phase, as the friends and family testing portion is just now coming to an end. Excited fans of the game can expect beta invites for the next phase to be coming soon, though no one ever gives exact time lines in this situation, and we wouldn't believe them even if they did! The game currently has no support for Macs, a fact which the team regrets. Also, no pricing structures have been announced, but they said it will be similar to what the MMO market currently supports.

I never knew how annoying UIs could be until I logged into a game that makes you download programs to change it. No worries for that here. Completely customizable, the UI includes options to save several settings. You can have different settings for crafting, raiding, grouping, and for different characters. Not only that, but you can email and exchange these settings across multiple computers, ensuring that those annoying days of reinstalling, playing at a friend’s, or on another computer will become at least a little easier. Keys on hotbars cannot only be changed out, but the hotbars themselves can be separated, with a few individual buttons here, and some over there...it's a virtual plethora of choices, something we've seen little enough of, without outside assistance. Of course the UI uses LUA programming, so customizable modules can be created by players, similar to the aforementioned annoying game.

Windows on the UI are customizable for transparency and are completely movable! Chat options include group, local, and global at this time, with the regular options we're used to. Friending, Ignoring, etc., will all be standard.

Also, experience is not lost when others assist you with killing mobs. Experience is tallied by percentage of damage done to the mob, and then divided among the players, with those doing the most damage getting a larger percentage. How this will work for people who see a mob at half life and then open fire, leaving the original player, who had a handle on the situation, only getting half of the experience remains to be seen.

When you enter the game you're put through an instanced tutorial designed to introduce you to the world, and to the combat, puzzles, and game play therein. The instance is designed to be completed within 15-20 minutes, enough time to become familiar with the game play but not enough time to get bored, for most of us.

We'll see the actors from the series making appearances as well as doing in game voice work. These characters will allow interaction, start missions, and in general be main NPC types. I hope I don't get lost, not knowing the story, but I'm confident that, with the emphasis on storyline and immersion, they'll do a great job explaining the universe to us Stargate newbs. The music fits well with the goings on in the world around you, the art is fantastic and both help to make a perfect fit with the theme of the areas. There's also plenty of room for the game to provide story lines and material for future movies and universe expansion.

Firesky, a subsidiary of Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, will be publishing the game, allowing a greater support ethic for players to rely on. Firesky not only employs some folks on both teams but they have a healthy attitude towards post launch support. VP of Technology, Demetrius Comes, works for both companies to employ the best possible aspects for both the studio and the publisher. How much better than that can it get, from a player’s perspective? This attitude of being a service operator is something that every MMOer should demand of their companies, and I think it's one that Firesky has a firm grasp on!

So now for the gushing. WOO HOO!! For not being familiar at all with this universe, and after Tabula Rasa having caused me to swear off any MMO that sticks a gun in my hand, I can honestly say this will certainly be an MMO that I subscribe to. I was skeptical of the cover feature, and am scared to try any MMO with guns. I was even prepared to say any game based on an IP I wasn't familiar with was going to get me more lost than excited with the lore and story lines. But this game, and more importantly, these developers, have a clear sense of what they're trying to accomplish above all. They are creating a fun game that appeals to gamers, non-gamers, Stargate fans, and those of us who've somehow missed the SG phenomenon. I can't wait to see the finished product and enjoy a well made, well rounded, game. Come on 2009!

Becky "Tovin" Simpson
Allakhazam.com News Editor & Staff Writer
ZAM Network