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" Neverwinter, a free-to-play online multiplayer title set in the &amp;#039;Dungeons &amp;amp;amp; Dragons Forgotten Realms&amp;#039; universe, was recently dated for launch on June 20. We chat to Cryptic Studios CEO Jack Emmert about its story-driven content, lessons learnt from previous titles Star Trek Online and Champions Online, and the success of its recent open betas. Neverwinter has been described as more story-driven than other MMOs - in what ways, and why is this important? &amp;quot;Neverwinter is a game all about a city. As a result, players learn all about the people, places and things in Neverwinter. &amp;quot;That puts a much greater focus on narrative and storyline. Besides, we&amp;#039;ve inherited a lot of lore from previous Neverwinter titles, so there is strong precedent for strong storylines.&amp;quot;  You&amp;#039;ve previously worked on Star Trek Online and Champions Online - how does the combat and pacing of those games compare to Neverwinter? &amp;quot;I think Star Trek Online and Champions Online stuck far closer to traditional MMORPG combat. &amp;quot;With Neverwinter, we&amp;#039;ve taken a brand new direction for us: action combat. There is now hit and roll manoeuvres - players hit whatever they&amp;#039;re close enough to hit. &amp;quot;Players can dodge and block incoming attacks, especially the big attacks that some monsters let loose. I&amp;#039;d put Neverwinter closer to a console combat system than MMORPG mechanics.&amp;quot; Why opt for free-to-play over a subscription model? &amp;quot;Working with Perfect World, our publisher, has made us see the enormous advantages of F2P. &amp;quot;We&amp;#039;ve successfully transitioned both Champions Online and Star Trek Online to F2P already, so we&amp;#039;ve learned a lot about what to do and what not to do. &amp;quot;In fact, Star Trek Online today is actually as big as our first game, City of Heroes, was at its peak. Yes - Star Trek right now is as big a game as that was, in its day, a hit MMO and best-selling PC game.&amp;quot;  What are the challenges involved in balancing content for free and paying users? &amp;quot;We have a simple philosophy when it comes to it... namely, a player should be able to get everything he wants and needs simply by playing the game. &amp;quot;We&amp;#039;ve created a special currency, Astral Diamonds, that players earn through doing certain types of content. &amp;quot;Typically, this content is usually a little bit more dedicated than the typical quests (for example, our dungeons). &amp;quot;Players purchase good - and sometimes elite - gear with Astral Diamonds. Or the players can put those Astral Diamonds onto a special auction house to exchange for microtransaction currency. &amp;quot;So one player, who&amp;#039;s played the game a bunch, has extra Astral Diamonds and can sell them to another player, who might not have the same time to do those dungeon runs.&amp;quot;  What advantages does buying a Founder&amp;#039;s Pack give users from day one? How does the exclusive Menzoberranzan Renegade class compare to other classes, for example? &amp;quot;Founder&amp;#039;s Packs provide players with mounts, companions (AI pets), Astral Diamonds and costume options. &amp;quot;Our premium pack, the Hero of the North, also opens up the chance to play a Menzoberranzan renegade race. I think these starter packs give players visual options not otherwise available. &amp;quot;These options are in some ways better than those available in-game. For example, the coveted giant spider mount is faster than the horses that can be obtained in-game.  &amp;quot;The Menzoberranzan renegade is a race option for players (they can still pick whatever class they&amp;#039;d like). The renegade possesses a unique ability, Fairie Fire, as well as special tattoo options. &amp;quot;At launch, there&amp;#039;s no other way to play a drow than through the Menzoberranzan renegade.&amp;quot;  You&amp;#039;ve had a number of beta weekends recently - what are you looking for with the beta tests? &amp;quot;First and foremost, we&amp;#039;re stress testing our servers. Secondly, we&amp;#039;re looking for showstopping bugs that prevent players from playing. &amp;quot;Third, we&amp;#039;re looking at bugs that make the game feel unpolished (misspellings, wrong descriptions in items). &amp;quot;Lastly, we&amp;#039;re doing every small thing we can do just to improve the game and make it more fun.&amp;quot; Why retain player data from the beta through to release? &amp;quot;I think OBT is really a launch of sorts; we want to encourage people to come into the game and play. I think character wipes dissuade players from doing that.&amp;quot; Have you experienced any surprises through the beta? &amp;quot;There were A LOT of exploits! Which we&amp;#039;re addressing now.&amp;quot;  What lessons have you learned from the Star Trek Online and Champions Online launches that are helping you prepare for release? &amp;quot;Preparation and polish. We&amp;#039;ve tried to run our closed beta weekends exactly like we would launch - with the same personnel and protocols. &amp;quot;So OBT right now feels like just another weekend. Which is good - we want to get to the point where everything is routine and we&amp;#039;re not running around in a panic. &amp;quot;But I think the most important thing is polish; I don&amp;#039;t think that can be underestimated. &amp;quot;I think years ago, it was more or less common practice to release an MMORPG sort of unfinished and then improve it as time went on. But now players want a great game right away - so it&amp;#039;s up to us to step up to the challenge.&amp;quot;      What do you have planned for new content post-release? How often are you hoping to update? &amp;quot;Very frequently. Ideally, we have major game updates every 4 months, with events occurring in between. &amp;quot;An MMORPG thrives because the game is alive and always changing. Cryptic Studios and Perfect World understand this and we&amp;#039;re striving to have a large update team constantly growing the game.&amp;quot; With the PS4 having more PC-like architecture and looking to adopt a more open marketplace, are you interested in bringing your games to console in future? Do you think there is a place for MMOs on console? &amp;quot;I most certainly do think there&amp;#039;s room for MMORPGs on the console. It&amp;#039;s an interesting opportunity.&amp;quot; Neverwinter launches on June 20 worldwide on PC. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/interviews/a488210/neverwinter-interview-cryptic-talks-star-trek-lessons-open-betas/>