The YouTube blogger under the nickname Kanon made a trip to Seoul to visit the Chrono Studio office and take an exclusive interview from a person standing at the steering wheel of an ambitious MMORPG Chrono Odyssey. It turned out to be Yun San Tae, an executive producer of the project. During a thorough conversation, he shared a huge number of details about the future of the game, its philosophy and key mechanics. We carefully studied this interview and collected for you all the most important information in one article.
What is Chrono Odyssey really?
One of the first and most important issues that excites the community was about whether Chrono Odyssey is a real MMORPG? Recently, many projects have been using this label, in fact, being more session action or survival games. Yun San Tae dispelled all doubts, confirming that Chrono Odyssey is a full -fledged Mmorpg with the open world and an emphasis on the action.
He explained that the “open world” really means a seamless, freely examined territory without loading screens. The combat system is aimed at action, demanding from the player accurate timing and good control over the character, which gives it a resemblance to games in the Soulslike genre. The MMO aspect was preserved in the form of fascinating multiplayer interaction, but the developers made efforts to reduce “fatigue”, often associated with traditional MMORPG.
The structure and scale of the world
At the beginning of its journey, Chrono Odyssey has a structure similar to a “amusement park”. This was done intentionally to smoothly introduce newcomers to the course of business and introduce them to all game systems. However, after the age of this training stage, the game is revealed as a real “sandbox”. Players are given freedom of choice: they can follow different development paths that correspond to their game style, and independently decide how to pump their character. If you cannot defeat the boss, go to explore the world and become stronger than in any way convenient for you.
The developers drew inspiration from several cult games. The Time Travel aspect is inspired by the classic RPG Chrono Trigger. The equipment unique for the game, the chrono -cooler, was inspired by Shiyik stone from The Legend of Zelda. And in the design of the open world and the combat system, the team was largely aimed at Elden Ring, trying to create a sense of unexpected discoveries from the players due to the deliberately created deficiency of some elements.
At the time of the release, the Chrono Odyssey world will be four times more than in the version that is available during beta testing. In addition to the four main regions, players are waiting for full -fledged locations for traveling into the past and future.
Developers also solve the problem of lack of resources and monsters with a large accumulation of players. The monsters respun will be controlled by the dynamic system, which is adjusted to the number of players in the location, and the increased size of the world should solve the problem of competition for rare resources, such as the sad red trees from beta.
Regarding the lack of a mini-card, it was a conscious design decision. The team wanted to minimize the number of interface elements on the screen so as not to distract from the action and strengthen the immersion, forcing the players to navigate the world, and not on the map.
Differences from traditional Korean mmorpg
Yun San Tae emphasized that Chrono Odyssey is significantly different from the usual Korean Mmorpg. If in traditional K-MMO endheim content is strongly focused on PVP, then Chrono Odyssey is the main emphasis on PVE. In addition, the game departs from the strict “Holy Trinity” (tank, healer, Damager). Although these roles can be implemented through the assembly of skills and equipment, the game does not force them, allowing you to create more flexible and unique builds that emphasize the action-component of the battle.
Endheim Contain for everyone
What awaits players at the maximum level? The developers have prepared content for both lovers of group activities and for loners. Players will be able to participate in raids for 10 people and group dungeons for 5 people. The raids are deliberately made too massive to avoid problems with the long search for the group.
For those who prefer to play alone, individual systems are provided that allow you to constantly develop and cyclic content. Thus, neither single players nor lovers of multiplayer will feel deprived.
Responding to the patient for many Western players the question of “Dandalists”, the producer assured that there will be no daily tasks in Chrono Odyssey that turn the game into routine. The team itself does not like this approach and seeks to provide a variety of activities so that players can enjoy the game freely, without the feeling of “duty”.
Equipment, sharpening and development of the character
The equipment obtaining system will offer players a choice. You can both knock out the necessary items from monsters, bosses and for the execution of quests, and create them independently through craft, purposefully collecting resources. The developers strive to balance both systems so that not one of the approaches has a decisive advantage over others.
As for the variety of equipment, only a small part was shown in the beta test. On the launch of the players, a much more detailed system of levels and tires of objects awaits. In addition, there will be mechanics of extracting and transferring unique perks from one object to another, which will significantly deepen the progression and customization of the builds.
Chrono Odyssey will avoid the concept of “super -linked” objects, the receipt of which actually completes the game. Instead, after reaching the maximum level, horizontal progression will begin. The goal is to encourage the creation of various builds through combinations of objects, which will give rise to new “meters”. The grinding process will not become tiring, as in some games, where the last percentages are almost unattainable.
The equipment improvement system is designed to bring satisfaction, not disappointment. The Chrono Odyssey will not have a mechanic of breakdown of objects with unsuccessful sharpening or improvement with insignificant chances of less than 1%. All complex and unfair elements from the improvement system were completely removed.
Regarding the skills tree, it should be the principle of “it is easy to learn, it is difficult to master.” At the initial stages, the combat system will be simple, but as s go deeper into the game, it will be possible to create their own complex builds and tactics.
PVP and PVE
Statistics show that PVP prefers only 5-10% of players. Based on these data, Chrono Studio decided to make the game mainly with a PVE-phocker. However, content for lovers of battles between players will also not go anywhere.
PVP in the open world will work on the Opt-in system: you decide whether you want to participate in battles or not. Endheim will also appear special “freely contested zones”, where conflicts can occur without the inclusion of a PVP Flag.
In addition, a PVPVE content called Eden will appear in the game. Unlike purely PVP zone, this activity will be closely related to the overall progression of the character. The resources and objects received there will become an important role in development, and some unique things can be improved only with the help of Eden content. The developers also consider the possibility of adding in the future of the arenas and battlefields (for example, 3V3 or 5V5) based on the reviews of players after closed beta testing.
No Pay-to-Win
It was the most acute question of the interview. Yun San Tae directly and repeatedly said: “There will be absolutely no Pay-to-Win elements in Chrono Odyssey.” He emphasized that maintaining an honest gaming environment is the highest priority for the studio.
The business model of the game will be focused on selling cosmetic goods. In particular, it is planned to sell:
- Costumes to change the appearance of equipment.
- Cosmetic objects for horses (Mounts).
- Combat with a limited set of content.
The producer confirmed that nothing would be sold in the store that could affect the balance or give a game advantage. He replied that Chrono Studio is a new independent company, and not a subsidiary of Npixel or any other large corporation. This is a completely new team working with the new KAKAO publishing unit, and they intend to establish a new standard of quality and honesty.
Launch and plans for the future
Chrono Studio plans to carry out simultaneous global launch (with the exception of some countries), and all subsequent updates will also come out for all regions at the same time. Although the exact release date is not yet called, the team expects that about one million people will take part in the closed beta testing, which indicates their confidence in the project. The authors were deeply touched by the reviews of Western players after the past test and assured that they would continue to listen to the opinion of the global community.
