A series of pictures of the TERA Community Preview event at Comic-Con 2010 has been uploaded to our Flickr page, providing a glimpse into the fun night had by all!



We'd like to thank forum member Kitachan for sharing these images with us. Check them all out on our Flickr page.
-- Scapes

The Devs really know how to organize an event. They know who their community is; first official event I've ever seen hosted at a full bar. The Gamers have grown up, the Polls about the age groups did not lie. On a side note this was the first gaming company I've seen that did not go light on the catering at their event, most don't even have catering. And by the way, no joke, drinks were on the House! The walls were awash in TERA, game content was playing on all of the screens.

They had the works: piles of hawaiian barbeque kebabs steaming in enclosed food warmers with great sauce, quality sliders, and they had some other wraps that you could make, I didn't try the wraps as I'm not really a big eater.

It's not every day you find yourself having shots with the PR guys and the Community Managers. I have to say the setting for this event was very different and quite frankly made me feel at home. It was like we were drinking beers and downing shots with friends, playing our favorite MMO. And thats what I look forward to.

They shared quite a bit of info on character creation, character customization, achievements, glyphs, and more. We also got to see the latest UI for the game. Hopefully they will post it up for you guys or share it with a site like terablah. I was concerned that the UI would feel detached from the game but it feels natural. It was reassuring when I saw that you could do what you wanted with the UI.

The most recently updated player models were a fair bit richer in detail than the models that are shown on the fan sites. The Human Males in particular look a lot better then I thought they did in the past. Which is a good thing for me, I had planned on playing one and still do. They could have been running it with higher specs then wherever the models on the fansites came from. But the graphics in action did not disappoint.

Very impressed with the effort put forward by the PR team and the Community Managers, Scapes is a great guy, glad I got to meet him and the rest of the guys. Even the CEO was present. The dedication and support shown by this company is very apparent. I didn't win a prize from the drawing but we all walked away with some Tera T-shirts and posters. Thanks guys.

Q: How was E3 2010, did you go in with a set goal in mind, and do you think you achieved that goal? Also, what expectations do you have for Comic Con in San Diego?

A: E3 was great! Our goal was to introduce TERA to a wider gaming audience, and we succeeded admirably. We already had some visibility in the MMO community, but often people weren’t very familiar with the game even if they knew the name “TERA.” So, we set out to change that, and change it we did.

Comic-Con is a bit of a different experience because it’s a wide consumer show as opposed to a more focused industry show. For Comic-Con, we want to get as many people as possible to try TERA and experience firsthand what makes it different and unique from other MMOs. Of course, in a show with 150,000 attendees and a huge convention hall it’s even harder to make a splash, so we’re not looking for huge media coverage (although we’re not turning it down either!). Rather, we want people to see the game at our booth, say “hey, this looks interesting,” and then give it a try.

On the community side, we’ve got a fun event planned for Thursday, July 22 (Check out our RSVP thread the TERA-Online forum here: http://www.tera-online.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7854). We've heard the comments that we haven’t given you enough details about the game, and we plan to change that at our party. Prepare to hear some new, previously undisclosed details about the game!

Q: Could you please give a brief description of your role at En Masse?

A: I’m the Community Director here, which means that I plan out community stuff at a more strategic level, similar to a marketing or PR director. It’s a great position for me because I can bring a lot of my PR experience to bear on an industry and game that I love. Plus, it allows me to get back to doing some of my favorite aspects of community work that I did in my past positions with WizKids and Edelman for Xbox.

Q: How will the minimum system requirements handle having large amounts of players on screen?

A: According to the data from our focus group tests, there shouldn’t be a problem with large numbers of players and mobs onscreen, even if a player meets only the minimum required specs.

Q: How has the information gathered from the previous Focused Group Testings been used to improve the overall game?

A: There have been improvements in many areas! We played a new build recently, and the changes even within this short timeframe have been remarkable. The early areas are more streamlined, the Island of Dawn quests flow much better, mob placement has changed, and the new skill system we’ve talked about has been implemented for future testing. There have been smaller changes too—improved textures, new models, and a facial features slider that makes characters far more customizable than before. A lot has been added and changed, and we’ll start showing more of these changes soon.

Q: With all races starting on the Island of Dawn, how will the mass-rush of players on launch be handled? How will players become immersed into their race without starting in a unique zone for their race?

A: Channels will help regulate the launch rush and keep server loads balanced. Once you get off the Island of Dawn the world opens up considerably, so players can start stretching their legs and delve more deeply into the lore of each race.

Q: How will item trading be handled? Will items end up having a Bind on Pickup, or will all items be trade-able even after you equip it?

A: We are still tweaking this system, so please pardon my somewhat vague answer. The final release of the game will feature a form of binding. That said, we want to encourage crafting and trading as much as possible because the in-game economy is extremely important, so we’re currently working to find a suitable balance.

Q: Are there any features in the game currently, that allows a player to take his current equipment and 'enchant it' in order to make it stronger or more suited for a specific purpose (such as a healing/damage increase, or a tank enhancement)?

A: Yes, there is an enchantment system in place for items.

Q: How many players can we expect to be in instanced-raids? Will there be multiple raid sizes, or will it stick to just one?

A: The game is being balanced for five-person groups, although that number could feasibly vary among players. After launch we’ll begin adding raids for larger groups.

Q: How much freedom is given to the players with the political system? Are there any limitations that players will encounter?

A: I suppose the level of freedom will in some part depend on who gets elected. Some leaders might be benevolent, while others might become outright tyrants. Some who start with the best of intentions will probably end up tyrants. In other words, it’s going to be a bit like real politics.

Q: How much of an affect will the political system have on the Economy, PVE and PVP of a server?

A: A lot, not a lot, and a medium amount, in that order. PvP will influence the political system more than the other way around. Think Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, but on a much larger and more common scale.

Q: Previously, you answered a question about the declaration system and whether or not it would apply to PVP servers. The answer was it will be examined in the FGTs and upcoming betas. A lot of forum users who support full PVP servers are worried about this declaration system limiting them. Do you have any more information on whether or not the declaration system is going to be applied on PVP servers?

A: The declaration system is still under development. I can’t share anything new at this time, because we haven’t finalized it yet. Sorry!

Q: What kind of risks / rewards are going to be associated with PVP?

A: Political power, fame, money, treasures, land. All the good things in life.

Q: Will player clipping be a factor in PVP? For example, a group uses archers and staggers them behind lancers in which melee players would have to "break through" the melee in order to reach the ranged DPS.

A: The short answer is yes, and the example you gave is an apt one. Lancers are designed to create damage-mitigating shield-walls to cover their allies.

Q: What is your picture for large scale PVP?

A: Well, there’s open PvP, of course, which big groups can use ad-hoc, and battlegrounds that allow for some fun group PvP options. There’s also something very large-scale and very epic that's never been done before . . . but unfortunately, I can’t talk about that yet. Stay tuned for more details!

Hello TERA Community,

Before I start to talk about the topic of this letter, I would like to say “thank you” to every fan who is already active in this forum. Everybody here at Bluehole, Frogster and En Masse knows that the community is the heart of an MMO.

For TERA, En Masse will take care of the North-American community and Frogster will concentrate on Europe to prepare everything for a great gaming experience in an English, French and German version. Our combined goal is to support all TERA fans in the best possible way, because triple-A games deserve triple-A services, and that is what we all want to achieve.

After we finished reading all the new threads concerning the partnership between Bluehole and Frogster, we saw that there are many open questions, so we discussed everything within the last days and I would like to start answering some of the topics now and continue within the next days.

1. Free-to-Play or Pay-to-Play
We will publish TERA in Europe in a pay-to-play model. TERA is designed for a subscription model, so the game will be operated as a pay-to-play MMO all over the world. So no one needs to be concerned that TERA will be a free-to-play game in Europe.

2. Questions about possible censorship / PEGI +13 / USK 12+
It’s not our goal to cut or reduce the TERA experience in Germany or any other country where Frogster holds the rights to publish TERA. We won't censor something if we are allowed to keep it in. We love TERA just the way it is, just like you do. We don’t want to change a single pixel of this great game. But I am sure you can understand that we have to stick to the existing law in Germany and other European countries like any other publisher. We will keep you updated on this topic, but so far we believe that nothing has to be changed for Europe.

3. Questions about servers for TERA in Europe
We are working closely with the developers at Bluehole Studio on this matter. This includes specific details about the best possible server hardware for TERA in the EU. Both Bluehole and Frogster want to be sure to offer servers that deliver the best performance for the players in Europe, while En Masse is taking care of this in the US. As the combat system is based on manual evade and targeting, it is really important to choose high-end hardware in order to secure a fun and stable playtime for all customers of TERA in EU, US and the territories covered by the other partners of Bluehole. This is one of the most important parts of the contract between Bluehole and Frogster, so you don’t need to worry about receiving less powerful hardware than US players.

4. Questions about our Support Team for TERA
There will be a special 24/7 professional support team. This team will be in place just for TERA players and no other Frogster games. I really think that a triple-A title like TERA needs not only fantastic graphics and superior gameplay, it also needs the best possible Costumer Support and Community Management available. That is the reason why we will create a complete team separate from all other products in order to have many dedicated specialists available who work only on providing the best English, French and German support to TERA customers. To achieve this, we’ll continue to hire new and experienced staff.

5. Questions about Community Management and information to the players
We know that it is very common for some publishers to deliver information, patches and other stuff for each territory on different dates. Bluehole, En Masse and Frogster already agreed that we will post everything on the same day, providing all users with the same information and the same game versions.
So let me tell you, we are all looking forward to bringing you the best service possible for TERA. You’ll be supported by a team who will be responsible only for you, the TERA community in Europe.

Thank you again, and stay tuned for more information.

By the way, in August there is one of the largest gaming conventions in Europe, Gamescom, so we invite everyone to visit the TERA booth and talk with us if you still have open questions. We’re looking forward to showing TERA to the world and the European player base and answering all your questions.


Kind regards,

Daniel Ullrich
Director Product Management
Frogster Online Gaming