Pan'Theon: Rise' of th'e Fal'Len - #1 Thread in MMO

Dracula's Crew

Dracula's Crew

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Zaide said:
Man the would-be Rangers on reddit sure got salty over this video.


TIL that a Ranger having a "mix of melee and ranged dps" and having bows be "vital to disengage and reengage" is not enough bow use.
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Yeah not a lot of people are into the idea of the Ranger class not being a sniper class. Also the DK thing about only using bladed weapons is cool (if true) and the druids indirect healing style will be an interesting reveal.
 
Zaide

Zaide

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Dracula's Crew said:
Yeah not a lot of people are into the idea of the Ranger class not being a sniper class. Also the DK thing about only using bladed weapons is cool (if true) and the druids indirect healing style will be an interesting reveal.
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Dire Lords only use edged weapons... So they're Edge Lords?

Soygen said:
Are they still using Unity?
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From their interview with their CTO

"Q: Why was Unity the right choice for Pantheon? Or does that pre-date you?

A: The choice to use Unity was made prior to my coming onto the team, but I had been using Unity full time for many projects since 2009. Because of this, I was able to hit the ground running. It was quite fortunate that a lot of what I had already been working on was being handled the same way in Pantheon (networking, UI, etc.). So it was a relatively painless transition for me. Unity was definitely the right choice for Pantheon, and the innovations and improvements the Unity team are bringing to the engine are a godsend.

Q: If we were starting today, would Unity still be your engine of choice?

A: Yes, most definitely. Unity's team of engineers are actively engaged in moving the engine forward version after version. There is so much more that we can do today that wasn't possible when we first started. There's a lot of new tech coming out in the next couple of years that is going allow us to push Pantheon even further. It's really been a fantastic journey."
 
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DickTrickle

DickTrickle

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Raponchi said:
Meh, same guys as vanguard, know what i'm getting into and will be fun to try and hopefully stay. .
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I really don't get that. There's, what, a couple guys from Vanguard? I don't know that any of the actual workers (ie, programmers, world builders, artists, etc) are from Vanguard.
 
DickTrickle

DickTrickle

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Was looking at the team roster and think it's hilarious they only have two programmers on staff (I'm assuming web programmers are for the web site). Like, wtf.
 
Daidraco

Daidraco

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That interview made me want to play a Dire Lord, maybe. So heres to hoping they actually follow through with what a lot of what Joppa said.

That zone looks good, but it doesnt feel realistic. Seems too clean, fake or plastic-like. I feel like the team hasnt passed over it to make it have or lose all of those looks. I really like the idea that its going to be a zone similar to Guk, though. I leveled a druid in Guk top and bottom for maybe 70% of its journey to max without ever leaving. I dont want that to be the mandatory spot to go for the best exp, but it would be cool if I could go there at any level and get a group, though.
 
Raponchi

Raponchi

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DickTrickle said:
I really don't get that. There's, what, a couple guys from Vanguard? I don't know that any of the actual workers (ie, programmers, world builders, artists, etc) are from Vanguard.
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I misspoke. Don't know the devs by name, but know as much as there to be association, the look and feel also seems somewhat vanguardish. Lacks the heavy brown and stiff animations. This is more colourful and nimble i guess. So i compared from purely look and feel.
 
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Hekotat

Hekotat

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Soygen said:
Are they still using Unity?
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giphy.gif
 
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DickTrickle

DickTrickle

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wilkxus said:
Hmm, where are you looking? Last time I looked they had a well rounded staff with a large variety of software folks of different flavours (8-10).

Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen - About Us - The Team
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Again, if web programmers are only for the web site, they only have two programmers. Systems engineers and DBAs are not that.

That seems really low for an mmo scope. This is my profession so I'm not pulling that evaluation out of nowhere. Even if unity gives a lot of functionality, they still have huge business specific systems to create. The unit testing alone would be a lot.
 
Zaide

Zaide

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DickTrickle said:
Again, if web programmers are only for the web site, they only have two programmers. Systems engineers and DBAs are not that.

That seems really low for an mmo scope. This is my profession so I'm not pulling that evaluation out of nowhere. Even if unity gives a lot of functionality, they still have huge business specific systems to create. The unit testing alone would be a lot.
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I don't think the website lists the full employee roster. Honestly the website could stand to get a major update.
 
F

forge

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DickTrickle said:
Was looking at the team roster and think it's hilarious they only have two programmers on staff (I'm assuming web programmers are for the web site). Like, wtf.
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From their new dev whatever thing,

Q: As CTO, what aspect of your job is the most time consuming?
A: It changes over time. Initially, I'd say the creation of game systems and keeping those systems up-to-date was consuming most of my time, but we've managed to add a few new programmers and a fair amount of my time is now spent both in meetings, and in making sure everyone has what they need to do their jobs effectively. That said, I still spend a large percentage of my time actively engaged in programming.
 
DickTrickle

DickTrickle

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forge said:
From their new dev whatever thing,

Q: As CTO, what aspect of your job is the most time consuming?
A: It changes over time. Initially, I'd say the creation of game systems and keeping those systems up-to-date was consuming most of my time, but we've managed to add a few new programmers and a fair amount of my time is now spent both in meetings, and in making sure everyone has what they need to do their jobs effectively. That said, I still spend a large percentage of my time actively engaged in programming.
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Yeah, could be the web site is just out of date.

Original EQ credits: EverQuest (1999) Windows credits - MobyGames

Lot of programmers there, though of course they didn't have frameworks like Unity. Still, I bet most of the people in "Additional programmers" were working on game related systems and not things like the graphics engine or networking.
 
Muligan

Muligan

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List contains some great people that I haven't heard in awhile. Pantheon needs some Jay Barbeau in their lives. RIP Keith :(
 
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Kuro

Kuro

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Comradery is an American bastardization from the 19th century. Both spellings are acceptable in most dictionaries.
 
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wilkxus

wilkxus

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DickTrickle said:
Again, if web programmers are only for the web site, they only have two programmers. Systems engineers and DBAs are not that.
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If that were strictly true I agree. I just suggest that perhaps we be more concerned about their actual day to day ability to fill programming roles. Judging by the game's progress in streams VR certainly appears experienced enough to to keep things lean, focused and efficient. I would guess the actual number of people in Programming roles will be in flux, climbing up and down by day/week/month/whatever.

Their technical skill pool seems rich enough. In practice I suggest we might get a better idea of their programming muscle if we infer in a flexible manner. Look at their pool of skills with an eye for more than just the literal one line dev title. In my professional experience, especially startups, there has often been enormous potential for *sharing* of hats so to speak. Learning to be a jack of many trades, filling multiple roles was not just the norm but often an absolute necessity even in junior technical positions. You cannot afford the luxury of exclusively stuffing cushy veteran specialists into every position.

That seems really low for an mmo scope. This is my profession so I'm not pulling that evaluation out of nowhere. Even if unity gives a lot of functionality, they still have huge business specific systems to create. The unit testing alone would be a lot.
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Likewise, and I agree on the scope of work. Their number of programmers in flux might still be low but everything depends on what they can afford. As Arden pointed out nicely above it will take a herculean effort to produce a decent scale hand crafted MMO.

Is it too lean for an mmo scope? I suppose that depends on what you have in mind for their scope. Pantheon team seems reasonable (not overreaching) but who knows: they might not even have the funds to get close to finishing a timid "EQ rewarmed in Unity with Pantheon Gfx" MMO. Perhaps without another round of post Alpha funding they might need to stay very lean until then.

They still have a long way to go but I wish them well. After looking at the streams recently I like the core EQ feel and direction, even if the execution is a little lethargic (compared to AoC). I am really looking forward to seeing how Alpha fleshes out the game mechanics, especailly AI/pulling/pathing and dispositions.
 
E

etchazz

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My biggest concern, after the train wreck that was Vanguard, is can they get the game to run smoothly? With only a skeleton crew working on the game, I'm highly dubious. But hopefully, I am pleasantly surprised.
 
Daidraco

Daidraco

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etchazz said:
My biggest concern, after the train wreck that was Vanguard, is can they get the game to run smoothly? With only a skeleton crew working on the game, I'm highly dubious. But hopefully, I am pleasantly surprised.
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Im just taking a wild guess, but wouldnt the updated Unity engine with its debugging tools actively save the game from any immediate run time issues similar to the ones Vanguard had? Such as Chunking?
 
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