Dark Age of Camelot: Catacombs

The folks at Mythic freely admit that the world of massively multiplayer games is being driven by eye candy. Jeff Hickman, vice president of product support and quality for Mythic, also knows that the look of Dark Age of Camelot may be a little antiquated when it comes to the graphics.  

Well, get ready. Dark Age of Camelot: Catacombs is about to change all that. Geared for release at the end of the year, Catacombs revolves more around the individual player experience as opposed to the realm-versus-realm experience. And while the game will feature a host of instanced missions and static missions to appeal to both the casual and hardcore player, the biggest change will be in the graphical upgrade. Stand two of the characters side by side, and the difference is like day and night.  

“We are really trying to make the artwork look like a new game,” said Hickman.  

Catacombs runs on the Trials of Atlantis engine. The back story has a hidden Kobold city that has, underneath it, a growing evil force. Unable to contain it themselves, the Kobolds have gone to the surface to secure help. 

Thus the player is lulled into this world in which not only have the avatars had a significant physical upgrade, but monsters have and the environment has as well. The Kobold city is the hub for the entire adventure to follow.  

The game will also be adding teleportation for transportation, a feature that will be sustained in any expansion to follow. Other features will also include new cities in each realm, and the entire game takes place almost exclusively underground. 

The spells and general special effects have not been changed at all, but when you place an old elf model next to the new model, it is apparent that Catacombs elevates this game to the next level. The old models almost look flat and two dimensional. The new models sport rich three-dimensional details. The armor has depth and raised edges and the avatars sport new animations – such as fingers that will clench into a fist. The movement of the older avatars also looks a little wooden, comparatively speaking.  

The game has not yet hit beta, and a lot of the new design work has yet to be integrated, but from the first look at the Electronic Entertainment Exposition (E3) in Los Angeles Wednesday, Dark Age of Camelot: Catacombs is precisely the title that will lure players in looking for eye candy, then hold them fast with deep gameplay and challenging missions.

For all the E3 2004 Previews