E3 2009: Torchlight will morph from single player game to MMO
by Kyle Horner 
Jun 5th 2009 at 11:00AM
Filed under: New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Massively Hands-on
First, we'll discuss features that will exist at singleplayer launch later this year, then we'll cover the new elements planned when the game expands into a massively multiplayer game. Check it all out after the jump along with gameplay footage, complete with Felicia Day of The Guild trying her hand at a beta version of the Action RPG.
Torchlight will have pets that can fight with you, they never die and have their own inventory. We thank Runic Games for this design choice, because it means as players we won't have to constantly check in on our little monster's health -- instead, we'll be able to focus on beating the living mana out of our enemies.
The class we were able to get our hands on was the Destroyer. This class summons a shadow worm that attaches to your back and attacks anything nearby. We thought it was pretty wicked, actually. The game will be very modder friendly, which is a big bonus for the game's community. Things such as skills, quests, level cap, art and levels will all be moddable -- and the system is much like Unreal's drag and drop modular functionality.
Twelve to eighteen months after the single player release, Perfect World will launch the free to play MMO version. Planned features for the online game include more character customization, more character classes, mounts, PvP (both personal and territorial) and randomly generated dungeons. They will also add social features like marriage, buddy lists, chat features and world events.
Until they get that out the door, you'll have the single player game to hone your skills.
The class we were able to get our hands on was the Destroyer. This class summons a shadow worm that attaches to your back and attacks anything nearby. We thought it was pretty wicked, actually. The game will be very modder friendly, which is a big bonus for the game's community. Things such as skills, quests, level cap, art and levels will all be moddable -- and the system is much like Unreal's drag and drop modular functionality.
Twelve to eighteen months after the single player release, Perfect World will launch the free to play MMO version. Planned features for the online game include more character customization, more character classes, mounts, PvP (both personal and territorial) and randomly generated dungeons. They will also add social features like marriage, buddy lists, chat features and world events.
Until they get that out the door, you'll have the single player game to hone your skills.
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Massively is on the ground in Los Angeles this week and covering all the latest E3 MMO news coming from the convention. Check out our breaking coverage (or all the Joystiq network E3 reporting) and keep your eye on Massively's front page for the latest developments. |
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Archipelagos said on 11:09AM 6-05-2009
Looks like it could be good. Will keep an eye on this.
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THAC0 said on 11:09AM 6-05-2009
/drool
When will this be out as a single player. Since there are literaly no games I have been looking forward to this year (beside champions.. but no more excitement as i hate companies that jerk around in release dates) this has gone straight to the top of the list!
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Knyle2 said on 11:36AM 6-05-2009
This game looks legit,
Anyone know why i cant update my password?
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Sam said on 11:41AM 6-05-2009
you can log in at all? i can post all i want, but it ain't letting me actually log in to change settings...
back on topic, Torchlight looks great fun - i'm curious as to whether this single-player side will at least have a LAN or "connect to host IP:XXXXX" option, since playing with a friend would greatly increase its value for the year.
Halldorr said on 11:45AM 6-05-2009
I can't login to change my avatar or anything either. I've emailed Massively but I never got a reply (same with my link to 38 Studios buying Big Huge Games).
Knyle2 said on 11:45AM 6-05-2009
I assumed it would, similar to Neverwinter, If it didnt that would be a huge oversight, or maybe they will do the lobby n game thing like diablo on Bnet?
And yea, I have to log in with this horrible random generated number I wish I could change it to something I didnt have to write down to remember.
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Jack said on 11:53AM 6-05-2009
Diablo 3 all the way for me sorry!
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PeterD said on 12:03PM 6-05-2009
What does Diablo 3 have to do with it? Torchlight will be out this year. Diablo 3 . . . next year if we're lucky. Why choose one over the other, they're not even going to be competing.
double9s said on 12:05PM 6-05-2009
No room in your heart for two games? I heard there's enough Jack to go around.
Brandon said on 12:04PM 6-05-2009
That pet system (as described in the video, NOT in your article. You do still have to worry about pet health) is exactly how it works in the video game Fate. It's pretty fun.
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Jarin said on 12:30PM 6-05-2009
"Coming from the desginers who made Diablo, Mythos, Mythos II and Fate..."
Mythos II? Since when?
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james_lankford said on 12:37PM 6-05-2009
"Coming from the desginers who made Diablo, Mythos, Mythos II and Fate,..."
should probably be
"Coming from the desginers who made Diablo, Diablo II, Mythos and Fate,..."
it is a purely single player version, no LAN capabilities. They're concentrating on single player first, then making it into an mmo later.
The big feature is the modding tools that come free with the game. You can edit your char, the game's items, drop rates, xp gain rate and even build levels, quests, dungeons and buildings while in the game. So you don't have to exit out.
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Jack said on 12:48PM 6-05-2009
Wanna try Torchlight but my wife does not allow me to use that much money for gaming needs... And my wife also known about my crush on Felicia Day so if she may be playing will you get the pic...
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Knyle2 said on 12:54PM 6-05-2009
If its single player only, everyone will pirate it, the only way they will make much money is if they do an online option.
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HexDSL said on 1:31PM 6-05-2009
GREAT! what an awesome idea
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Tom said on 4:35PM 6-05-2009
This looks like it has potential. I certainly enjoyed Mythos while it was still around.
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ScytheNoire said on 5:40PM 6-05-2009
Looks like Mythos, which isn't a bad thing. Hopefully they learned a lot from their Mythos experience and fix the bad parts.
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LOC said on 6:02PM 6-05-2009
I can't wait for this game already. It's Mythos but better looking and with more new stuff! Hopefully we won't have to wait long to test this one out.
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Webbstre said on 10:33AM 6-06-2009
The bit about the Shadow Worm is wrong too, it should be Shadow Armor. Kevin Green (one of the devs) said so here:
http://www.runicgamesfansite.com/rgfforums/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=338&p=3131#p3131
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Gel said on 2:35PM 6-06-2009
Whether there is an MMO coming after or not, launching this as Single Player only, without even a Co-Op through the single player campaign option, misses the boat in my view.
A year and a half later? Nah...too long.
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