[T.E.R.A] - So much plated thong your eyes will bleed

Zzulu

The Jist?
So what is the low down on this here MMORPG? What is the deal? Well, basically, it is a new Asian MMO in development, with plans of trying to break into the western market. It's currently in a limited closed beta with a "Western" branch and an "Asian" one. It has a projected Release Date of 2011.

Guy on SA wrote:

Chances are you've heard of this game in some way before. It was once called "Lineage 3" when the people making it were still working at NCsoft. Then it was renamed "Aion" after the project leads were fired. It was code-named "Project S1" when quietly under development by Bluehole Studios, the company founded by the guys NCsoft fired. Now you know this game as TERA: The Exiled Realm of Arborea (aka TERA, or TERA Online). Bluehole Studios, perhaps realizing that "Bluehole" was a bad name for a company in the West, has opened a subsidiary in Seattle called En Masse Entertainment. Things have come full-circle now, as many former NCsoft West employees were hired to work at En Masse (like Aion's Producer, Brian Knox).

Why should we care?
Well, it looks pretty great! The combat in the game looks like what I personally have wanted out of MMO's for the past decade, with rolls, dodges, actual aiming and visceral gameplay and animations. Usually I have a habit of dismissing asian MMO's out of the sheer potential grind they always throw in the players face, but the devs behind this game said they really want to take a stab at the westerners in the old and new world and as such realize that they can't get away with excessive soulless grinding. That's a positive!


How it actually will turn out is anyones guess though.

Either way, it looks fun and the beta testers have been giving it the thumbs up so far. Now, take a look for yourself:


Official description:

TERA is a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) in which you fight to protect the Valkyon Federation—an alliance of the world's surface races—while also battling for glory and power. With action-filled gameplay and riveting visuals, TERA promises a thrilling, engaging ride.

TERA is breathtaking, with stunning graphics that fully immerse players in its varied environments. Couple that with an exciting new combat system that provides fast-paced, intense battles and engages characters of all classes, and you've got a recipe for the best MMO experience to date. Craft the finest gear, form a group with your allies, conquer a world filled with treacherous monsters, and maneuver your way to the pinnacle of power on your server! TERA offers a unique endgame experience, one where players and guilds vie for control of the Federation.

In a world where gods slumber and demons scheme, the Federation needs brave heroes to take up the mantle of leadership. Through martial power and arcane might, you can join the ranks of heroes and save the world of TERA!

Videos:

Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoOE5fqC9X4

A few minutes of early beta gameplay:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh9e9kTLeWU&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzzgBrpZ-r8

A big dude on a flying thing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCG-3fEuNpQ&feature=related


Character creator
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qjnq6QJbyS0&feature=player_embedded#!

Official Website:
http://www.tera-online.com/

FAQ:

What is TERA?
TERA™ is a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) for the PC that combines an exciting new take on MMO gameplay with lush graphics, intense action, and a richly-developed history.

You'll defend a world torn apart by struggle and war, beset on all sides by dangerous foes, as you work with your allies to protect the Valkyon Federation—an alliance of the world's surface races—and shape a new destiny for all!

How does TERA differ from other MMORPGs?
TERA will set a new standard in MMORPGs with its next-generation graphics, groundbreaking gameplay, and unique political system.

* TERA's stunning graphics and visuals combine for a cinematic gameplay experience.
* Players have a direct impact on the world, dictating the flow of the economy and maneuvering through the political system of their server.
* TERA's tactical combat system gives players more control and constant involvement in the action! No more point-and-click or just cycling through a palette of spells and skills.
* TERA will support game controllers at launch.

How many classes and races are there in TERA?
TERA has six character races - Aman, Castanics, Baraka, High Elves, Humans, and Popori - and eight classes. Each race will be able to play all classes.


The eight classes include the Lancer, Warrior, Berserker, Sorcerer, Priest, Mystic, Slayer, and Archer. Numerous cosmetic character customization options will ensure each player a unique experience.

SCREENSHOTS

Transporter

Been keeping my left eye on this, trying to break into the focus testing group and such.

Combat looks fucking awesome. As I said in the Rift thread, it's basically Monster Hunter Lineage 3: Freedom.

You have to aim. Like, actually Aim. FPS AIM. Meele will be sufficiently weird, but if you have ever meeled in an FPS game, you'll be fine. It's like that, but prettier with flashy animation's and dodge rolls and shit. There's even dodge cancelling I believe.

And of course, beautifully rendered Korean whores.

Day 1 for me.

Bigity

Full of the mentioned thongs, generally uncovering 'armor', chicks with impossible bodies (and hairdos), and buff men wielding phallic weapons.


So like most MMOs I guess.

KrunkMcGrunk

Finally, a Hentai MMO

Adda

Hi5 for busting out a Tera thread, I was going to do it this week if there still wasn't one up.

Giant raccoon wailing on people with a lance and shield? Who do I give my money to?

Transporter

Lets not forget the female racoon's are actually furry Loli girls.

That's very important.

My Tank will be a furry Loli girl with racoon ears.

Dissociater

It looks pretty promising. I like the graphics. It's probably just the case of the isolated beta footage, but it seems like a lot of the monsters are huge and weird looking. I hope it has a lot of humanoid enemies. I find them to be the most satisfying to fight in MMOs for some reason.

Forumite

Oh my god. I thought I was going to hate that raccoon race, but watching that adorable little thing huff around an enormous axe like that just sealed the deal for me. I will totally be rolling RACCOON first.

Scapes

Sup, all. Scapes from En Masse Entertainment here. To get the suspicion out of the way early on, I recently posted over at MMO-Champion.com when a TERA thread went up there some weeks ago.

Zzulu wrote: »

The Jist?
So what is the low down on this here MMORPG? What is the deal? Well, basically, it is a new Asian MMO in development, with plans of trying to break into the western market. It's currently in a limited closed beta with a "Western" branch and an "Asian" one. It has a projected Release Date of 2011.

Why should we care?
Well, it looks pretty great! The combat in the game looks like what I personally have wanted out of MMO's for the past decade, with rolls, dodges, actual aiming and visceral gameplay and animations. Usually I have a habit of dismissing asian MMO's out of the sheer potential grind they always throw in the players face, but the devs behind this game said they really want to take a stab at the westerners in the old and new world and as such realize that they can't get away with excessive soulless grinding. That's a positive!

Solid summary of the title, this. Given all that, one thing that also deserves mention is the fact that TERA is still in development and that community feedback can and already has affected the direction of the game. The third Closed Beta Test in Korea and second Focus Group Test for the Westernized version both ended this past month and Bluehole Studio and En Masse Entertainment collected copious amounts of valuable feedback from participants. You'll be able to read some of the resulting changes when we publish a public postmortem of the second Focus Group Test on the official TERA website this week.

Transporter wrote: »

Combat looks fucking awesome.

Couldn't have said it better myself, profanity and all.

Transporter wrote: »

You have to aim. Like, actually Aim. FPS AIM. Meele will be sufficiently weird, but if you have ever meeled in an FPS game, you'll be fine. It's like that, but prettier with flashy animation's and dodge rolls and shit. There's even dodge cancelling I believe.

Coming from an MMORPG background of weekly raiding, the intuitive gameplay in TERA was very apparent even in my first play session. No doubt anyone who's ever taken a virtual sword or particle-effect fireball to the chest has thought, "well damn, why couldn't I just dodge that crap?" Not talking dice rolls; no natural 20 needed here. The first time you realize you can manually avoid an enemy's attack is a nigh-watershed moment. Your combat focuses on how to maximize the damage done to your target while dodging its return damage. While mobs initially telegraph their attacks rather blatantly such as a ten-foot tree winding up a massive punch, later enemies use advanced tactics and AI to create a wide mix of patterns to learn, counter, and overcome. Throw party play into the mix with the fact that player characters and monsters are solid objects unable of being clipped through and now battlefield formations have purpose. Lancers hold back enemies with their shields while slayers and warriors stay in striking range with sorcerers, mystics, and priests bringing up the rear out of harm's immediate way.

Will be glad to answer questions folks have to the best of my ability. Bear in mind that we're still months away from release so some responses may be somewhat light on specifics.
-- Scapes

Zzulu

Good to see another inside man on the forums. Welcome!

I hope you can keep us updated on any important stuff concerning the game and its development

Dissociater

That's pretty awesome that you can actively dodge attacks. I always found it bemusing in MMOs at how arrows would curve around following you, clipping through the ground to unerringly find its target simply because the dice-roll scored a hit when the attack was keyed.

Shorn Scrotum Man

You know, it's annoyed me in the past, but I think this might be the first game ever I won't play specifically because of their depiction of women. I wasn't aware I had a line for that particular topic but this game managed to blow right past it.

Some games it's bad but not horrible, sometimes it's just goofy. I think this is just a bit too far.

KrunkMcGrunk

Scapes, weren't you on the Hellgate Guru forums until that whole thing went tits up?

Avynte

This looks really awesome.

I hope it doesn't turn out quite as horribly grindy as Aion or L2 though.

MarkJW

First off, this thread's OP copy/pasted some of the first post's text from a thread I made over on SA's (SomethingAwful.com) forums. I don't take offense to this, it just entertains me greatly. :winky:

What's even better is that Scapes is here too!

If you guys wanna talk about TERA in depth, check out TERAblah.com. We're independently-run, unlike some other fansites.

EDIT: Oops, double-post.

-SPI-

Scapes wrote: »

Transporter wrote: »

You have to aim. Like, actually Aim. FPS AIM. Meele will be sufficiently weird, but if you have ever meeled in an FPS game, you'll be fine. It's like that, but prettier with flashy animation's and dodge rolls and shit. There's even dodge cancelling I believe.

Coming from an MMORPG background of weekly raiding, the intuitive gameplay in TERA was very apparent even in my first play session. No doubt anyone who's ever taken a virtual sword or particle-effect fireball to the chest has thought, "well damn, why couldn't I just dodge that crap?" Not talking dice rolls; no natural 20 needed here. The first time you realize you can manually avoid an enemy's attack is a nigh-watershed moment. Your combat focuses on how to maximize the damage done to your target while dodging its return damage. While mobs initially telegraph their attacks rather blatantly such as a ten-foot tree winding up a massive punch, later enemies use advanced tactics and AI to create a wide mix of patterns to learn, counter, and overcome. Throw party play into the mix with the fact that player characters and monsters are solid objects unable of being clipped through and now battlefield formations have purpose. Lancers hold back enemies with their shields while slayers and warriors stay in striking range with sorcerers, mystics, and priests bringing up the rear out of harm's immediate way.

That just sounds like "Prepare to be fucked by lag"

The Dude With Herpes

Yeah uh.

The game looks incredible.

But the combat looks incredibly awkward.

I'm getting an Aion-ish Vibe from this with a mix of Monster Hunter.

I'm not sure how I feel about that. I hope there's an open beta.

Bendery It Like Beckham

I like the way the game looks from a playing stand point, but I hate to say it... the lady costumes are way over the top in how much skin they show.

Neli

The High Elves and the Demon people all show off a ton of ass and tits (males show off a lot too).

I wonder how the human females look though. I mean, if the raunchy clothing is race specific (demons and elves) and does not apply heavily to female humans randomly as well, then I'm kind of okay with it.

The worst is when you equip armor to a male toon and it looks like armor and then you equip it to a female toon of the same race and it's suddenly a plate bikini. I hope it's not the case in TERA and that if it's going to be implausibly raunchy, at least it's in the lore and characteristic for a specific race or whatever.

Transporter

-SPI- wrote: »

Scapes wrote: »

Transporter wrote: »

You have to aim. Like, actually Aim. FPS AIM. Meele will be sufficiently weird, but if you have ever meeled in an FPS game, you'll be fine. It's like that, but prettier with flashy animation's and dodge rolls and shit. There's even dodge cancelling I believe.

Coming from an MMORPG background of weekly raiding, the intuitive gameplay in TERA was very apparent even in my first play session. No doubt anyone who's ever taken a virtual sword or particle-effect fireball to the chest has thought, "well damn, why couldn't I just dodge that crap?" Not talking dice rolls; no natural 20 needed here. The first time you realize you can manually avoid an enemy's attack is a nigh-watershed moment. Your combat focuses on how to maximize the damage done to your target while dodging its return damage. While mobs initially telegraph their attacks rather blatantly such as a ten-foot tree winding up a massive punch, later enemies use advanced tactics and AI to create a wide mix of patterns to learn, counter, and overcome. Throw party play into the mix with the fact that player characters and monsters are solid objects unable of being clipped through and now battlefield formations have purpose. Lancers hold back enemies with their shields while slayers and warriors stay in striking range with sorcerers, mystics, and priests bringing up the rear out of harm's immediate way.

That just sounds like "Prepare to be fucked by lag"

This is exactly what I thought. Like, the very second I heard about the dodge system. Thankfully, during the duration of the dodge, you have complete invincibility frames. Beginning as soon as you hit that button, you aren't getting hit. They deal with this in Monster Hunter's Online play/Phantasy Star Online too. You might get hit once not being familiar with the monster's attack animation. But once you've seen it, and are familiar with their/your recovery frames, the only way you'll get fucked by lag is if you're HORRIBLY fucked by lag. Which means you die. Like in every MMO.

Also, in PvP , the dodges actually have a cooldown time. As far as I understand, it goes like this.

Warrior: Dodges on a very short cooldown(They can dodge multiple times, but the can't spam it, for balance in PvP). While they can dodge more often and hit like and angry god, they're attack animation is fairly long, and suceptible to being dodge+knocked down=raped.

Slayer(Twohanded sword class): Dodge on a significant cooldown(15 seconds I believe?). However, they have access to higher burst damage/a knockdown that a Warrior dosen't.

Berserker+Lancer: I'm not sure if Berserkers can dodge, but they can definatley Block. Which is awesome. Lancer's of course block as well.

Everyone else: You're ranged. You can kite. To hell with dodging.

Neli wrote:

The High Elves and the Demon people all show off a ton of ass and tits (males show off a lot too).

I wonder how the human females look though. I mean, if the raunchy clothing is race specific (demons and elves) and does not apply heavily to female humans randomly as well, then I'm kind of okay with it.

The worst is when you equip armor to a male toon and it looks like armor and then you equip it to a female toon of the same race and it's suddenly a plate bikini. I hope it's not the case in TERA and that if it's going to be implausibly raunchy, at least it's in the lore and characteristic for a specific race or whatever.

This is exactly the case. Elves and Castenimademons are ass and tits. Arman and Human Females are the more "I'm not a slut" races.

Specifically, it' goes like this.

Castenics: Demosluts.

Elves: Accuracte boob physics.

Human Females: Typical Human females in K-RPG's toned down a bit.

Arman Females: BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE(They're the badass armored ones)

Loli racoons:"WHAT THE FUCK"

Galka: olol Asexual.

Shorn Scrotum Man

Neli wrote: »

The High Elves and the Demon people all show off a ton of ass and tits (males show off a lot too).

I wonder how the human females look though. I mean, if the raunchy clothing is race specific (demons and elves) and does not apply heavily to female humans randomly as well, then I'm kind of okay with it.

The worst is when you equip armor to a male toon and it looks like armor and then you equip it to a female toon of the same race and it's suddenly a plate bikini. I hope it's not the case in TERA and that if it's going to be implausibly raunchy, at least it's in the lore and characteristic for a specific race or whatever.

I've only watched the one HD Trailer, but the only male I saw in the entire video was dressed like a tank. Huge plates of armor.

Age of Conan had nudity from the waist up and still somehow felt less exploitative than this.

Transporter

Shorn Scrotum Man wrote: »

Neli wrote: »

The High Elves and the Demon people all show off a ton of ass and tits (males show off a lot too).

I wonder how the human females look though. I mean, if the raunchy clothing is race specific (demons and elves) and does not apply heavily to female humans randomly as well, then I'm kind of okay with it.

The worst is when you equip armor to a male toon and it looks like armor and then you equip it to a female toon of the same race and it's suddenly a plate bikini. I hope it's not the case in TERA and that if it's going to be implausibly raunchy, at least it's in the lore and characteristic for a specific race or whatever.

I've only watched the one HD Trailer, but the only male I saw in the entire video was dressed like a tank. Huge plates of armor.

Age of Conan had nudity from the waist up and still somehow felt less exploitative than this.

NEVER FEAR!

Tera is an equal opprotunity exploiter.

I've seen the Male Elves and Castenics(olol demons).

Lets just say that after gazing upon their visage, you shall turn into a 14 year old N'Sync fan and want to kiss all the boys.

Shorn Scrotum Man

... I...

I'm not really sure that makes me feel much better...

MarkJW

Here's a TERA poster that shows some generic race/gender combos. From right to left...

Castanic male (metro), High Elf male (he's got pouty jRPG villain syndrome, it seems), Popori female with a homunculus (obvious pedobait), Human female (magic class, judging by the clothes), and finally a Popori male (obvious pedobear).

pantsy

Is...is that a red panda wielding a battle axe? At 3:50 in the classes video.

jackal

The males look like pandas and the females like eight year old humans? Even as asian MMOs go that's kind of strange.

Arthil

What frame of mind brings someone to think that it makes any sense whatsoever for the female of a species of stout, hoppity Raccoon people to be friggin' HUMAN young girls with raccoon ears?

Damn you Asia!

Delphinidaes

Arthil wrote: »

What frame of mind brings someone to think that it makes any sense whatsoever for the female of a species of stout, hoppity Raccoon people to be friggin' HUMAN young girls with raccoon ears?

Damn you Asia!

Well obviously it makes sense because.....

Well if you look at the genetics you can clearly see that.....

...

I got nothin.

Transporter

jackal wrote: »

The males look like pandas and the females like eight year old humans? Even as asian MMOs go that's kind of strange.

It's a homage(I Pray and hope to all that is living) To the Lineage series, made by the same people.

You see, Lineage has dwarves.

The Males are your classic rough and tough, stout, beer drinking, asskicking dwarfs with huge beards.

The Females?

Perma-9 year old girls.

MarkJW

SUPPOSEDLY Popori males and females don't actually sexually reproduce. It's MAGIC, just like Baraka spawning or something.

Yeah, weird, I know. o_O

Darkewolfe

Why do we make it so complicated? The male panda characters are to appeal to WoW-pandaran fans, which is a significant segment of the Asian-theme gaming population and worth targeting. The female characters appeal to pedophiles, a much larger demographic in the Asian/otaku markets.

MarkJW

Hold on now, I wouldn't call them pedophiles. You'll be throwing your lot in with the people trying to ban comics, videogames, and TV shows.

jackal

You say ped-o-phile, I say ped-er-ast. Let's call the whole thing off.

No, seriously, let's call the whole thing off.

Adda

Yeah this thread has gone a bit too Mary Whitehouse for my liking. It's an eastern MMO, I'm not sure what people are expecting from it's character art.

Shorn Scrotum Man

I've played a couple of Eastern MMO's that don't involve a pedo's wet dream and many string steel bikinis.

Adda

Any game with child avatars is a pedo wet dream?

I'd rather see full armour on all characters myself but that kind of things is par for course in a lot of fantasy.

Shorn Scrotum Man

Adda wrote: »

Any game with child avatars is a pedo wet dream?

So you're saying you don't understand the difference between the depiction of a normal child and the highly sexualized adult-aged character depicted in that picture?

Transporter

Personally, I don't care, I'm still buying it anyway. I think it's absolutley hilarious. In fact my Lancer will be a Lolicoon, just because a tiny girl weilding a huge lance and shield will be ABSOLUTLEY HIARIOUS.

Adda

Shorn Scrotum Man wrote: »

Adda wrote: »

Any game with child avatars is a pedo wet dream?

So you're saying you don't understand the difference between the depiction of a normal child and the highly sexualized adult-aged character depicted in that picture?

So you're saying that a highly sexualized adult character is a pedo's wet dream?

I can see the child stood next to the dude as well. It's a kid in a dress holding a teddy bear.

EDIT: I was about to say I'm not trying to be argumentative but I must be a little bit. I just feel you are being a touch extremist.

Forumite

I don't really see the problem here

It's an anime child, but I don't see it "sexualized" (at least from what I've seen) like some of you are claiming so yeah, don't really see the issue here. Aren't child heroes with oversized weapons common over in Asia-world?

How was it handled in the Lineage series though?

Transporter

No idea. Although, I don't really pay attention to the lore much at all.

Scrotum's kinda going off the handle. I mean, does a game with Undead player character's mean they're capturing the key Necrophilia market?

Or Gnomes appealing to the babyfuckerphilia demographic?

It's just commonplace in asian culture, so it's there.

It still dosen't make it any less WHAT THE FUCK. But it's not a deal breaker or anything.

Some people(Japanese guys and ladies, surprisingly) want to play as adorable 8 year old girls. Fairly standard.