Worlds of Magic - Audio Interview @ KTAM

Developer Aaron Ethridge did a radio interview with KTAM radio, and shared news on the development of Worlds of Magic. The best part is about the Early Access version.

Thanks go to Spacesector as they provide a summary of the interview.

While the interview itself contains a lot of details, what you may be most interested in is where the game is heading in the near future. Aaron notates that they are currently aiming for a launch on Steam Early Access this September. For Early Access, the plan is to have 4 of the 8 races completed and in-game, including the Grey Elves, High Men, Unhallowed, and the Draconians. Each race will have 9 unique units, not including any ships. 200 of the roughly 400 planned spells should be present. Heroes themselves will be in the game, though likely without their custom models. Crafting is nearly completed as well. What about the AI though, will there be an AI to contend with? Well…

The interview reveals that the AI has been in development for a few months already, but is admittedly the biggest challenge still before them. The ideal, as Aaron states, is to have each AI develop a strategy based on the spell circles and abilities available to them. They’re not thinking purely of other Sorcerer Lords though, as wandering monsters and independent cities should be pursuing their own goals and objectives as well. Independent cities may even launch their own military efforts and become significant challenges if left alone too long. While certainly an admirable goal, I can see this also being a very daunting one.

While Early Access should start this September, full release won’t come until at least February 2015 at this point. This allows the team time to take EA feedback into account. In addition, it allows them to avoid launching a head to head campaign against other AAA 4X games like Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth.