作者：Rich Stanton

《上古卷轴OL》将玩家分成3种派系，游戏中的竞争性体现在玩家对抗玩家（PVP）系统的建立。这与游戏总监Matt Firor之前的工作具有很大的联系，即在Mythic创造《亚瑟王的黑暗时代》（一款拥有较长资历的优秀游戏）。《亚瑟王的黑暗时代》发行于2001年，并且直到现在仍保持着运行。它拥有非对称的PVP模式，即围绕着这三种玩家派系的领域对抗领域结构，并且也仍被当成是一种MMOG PVP设计（如果不是按照基准来看的话）。

Elder Scrolls Online(from guardian)

Firor说道：“我们拥有PVP前进系统，这是之前从未提到过的。而我们将通过测试进一步完善这一系统，但是当玩家在PVP中获得更多Alliance Points，他便能够获得更多能力，这在某种程度上与《亚瑟王的黑暗时代》中的Realm Points类似。在《亚瑟王的黑暗时代》中我们拥有47种不同的玩家类别，但是后来我们发现很难去平衡这些类别，所以在这11年间我们学习了各种方法，并让玩家能够创造自己想要的角色，从而达到最终的平衡。”

《上古卷轴OL》让任何玩家（不管类别或种族）都可以使用各种装备。“因为每个玩家都面对着相同的选择，所以在某种程度上来看是对称的，但是也并非所有玩家都会做出相同的选择。”

这便预示着一体化的未来；玩家将快速决定哪些是最佳武器，然后便会出现无数玩家挥舞着相同的宝剑奔跑着。

Firor笑着说道：“不管拥有怎样的类别或角色系统，作为游戏设计师的你都必须解决这些问题。在基于类别的系统中，你总是需要冒着所有玩家都选择相同类别的风险，但从另一方面来看，玩家一开始将会选择最强大的建筑，而我们的工作便是为他们提供各种不同的建筑。”

我不禁思考不同类别间是否存在任何明显的差异。《上古卷轴》中的种族总是拥有内在的魔法，Firor也表示这些魔法便是“差异性”。

可能因为我的想法受到了MMOG惯例的影响，所以我认为《上古卷轴OL》正视图避开某些内容。就像Firor所说的：“我们真的尝试着避开所谓的类别。”

“玩家能够基于自己的选择而发展。例如我们让所有玩家都能拥有自己的宠物——如果他们想要的话。现在只需要花少量的钱你便能成为宠物的主人。”似乎有点离题了，不过Firor也表示《天际》应该提供给玩家类似的系统，同时他还提及了魔法武器的作用。

PVP出现在Cyrodiil的中央区域，但是这里也存在一个很明显的问题，即多少玩家将参与其中。Firor说道：“我们计划Cyrodiil可以同时容纳2000人。在某一特定的战斗中，我们的玩家屏幕中可以同时出现200名玩家，这便意味你将在一个更大的战场上展开大规模的战斗。”

这一数字便意味着将会有各种不同级别的玩家参与近来，而《上古卷轴OL》通过自动提高所有玩家的属性而解决了这一问题。

Firor解释道：“每个人都将升到最高级别，但却不能得到那些未赢得的能力——只有生命点数和道具。”

典型的PVP战斗也许是一次大规模的城市屠杀，一个团队主防守，而其他人对其发起进攻，轰炸关口，抛射大石，并尝试着潜入防守方的阵营。

“我们设计了一个系统让玩家能够完成所有的这些内容，并由他们自己想出怎样的战术更有利——但一般情况下，如果你的整个军队都在关口的前方，并且只是攻击着城墙，你便有可能遭遇失败。要知道团队协作非常重要。”

很多人好奇《天际》和《Oblivion》中的混战（游戏邦注：具有功能性但却有点粗糙）如何再次完善而成就具有竞争性的游戏过程。

Firor说道：“从机制时来看，PVP与PVE（玩家对抗环境）其实是相同的。也就是玩家通过左击鼠标来回摆动，通过右击去阻碍对手，但是也有一些新的移动方式，如快速左击然后右击将能击昏对方，双击键盘将能滚动卷页。如今我们便在使用这些机制，但是很显然，我们需要继续测试并完善PVP——测试者们也带给我们许多帮助，让我们能够大规模地完善系统。”

Firor说道：“制作这类型游戏的最大乐趣在于，它们具有较大的规模，而我们需要吸引更多玩家的加入以判断游戏的设置是否合理。”需要多大的测试规模，并花多长时间？“跟准备发行的时间一样长便可，我们需要尽可能邀请更多测试者，特别是因为我们的PVP系统支持上千名玩家，所以我们需要上千名测试者的帮助。”

《上古卷轴OL》在该系列游戏的粉丝中引起了巨大的反响，并且这些问题也在测试中得到了回答。我们很容易将《上古卷轴OL》当成某种复合工作到产品，一系列单人游戏故事整合成了一个巨大的多人世界。

最后我问了Matt Firor一个问题，即《上古卷轴OL》是否能让否定者闭嘴，吸引玩家进入游戏世界，并不愿离开。

他回答道：“答案其实非常简单，如果你拥有一款优秀的游戏，人们自然会愿意尝试它。而为了能长期吸引玩家的注意，你就需要确保游戏具有乐趣，如果你能做到这一点，那么其它问题也就迎刃而解了。”

（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Elder Scrolls Online: How PVP allow players total control

by Rich Stanton

This is part II of an interview with Matt Firor, game director of The Elder Scrolls Online. Find part I here.

Elders Scrolls Online splits players into three factions, and the rivalry between them is what its player v player system is built on. This is also an area where game director Matt Firor’s previous work has particular relevance; the standout title on a long CV being Mythic’s Dark Age of Camelot. Released in 2001 and still running, Camelot had an asymmetric take on PVP termed Realm v Realm constructed around three very different factions, and is still considered one of, if not the benchmark, for MMOG PVP design.

“Yes we have a PVP progression system that we haven’t really talked about yet,” says Firor. “And in beta we’ll go further into this, but you get Alliance Points the more you PVP, you get more abilities, and in that sense it’s similar to Camelot where we had Realm Points. In Camelot though we had 47 classes that were all different, and after a while it was much more difficult to balance than it should have been – so if we’ve learned anything in the 11 years since it’s let the players create the characters they want, and balance from there.”

Elder Scrolls Online lets any player, regardless of class or race, use any piece of equipment. “So it’s symmetrical in the sense that everyone has the same options, but of course not everyone’s going to choose the same ones.”

That raises the prospect of homogenisation; players rapidly deciding which weapons are optimised, and then hundreds of them running around waving the same sword.

“As game designers you have to solve those problems no matter what class or character system you have,” laughs Firor. “In a true class-based system you run the risk everyone rolls the same class, but in a more open one the players will very much from the beginning try to find the most powerful build, and it’s our job to ensure that there are many viable builds.”

I’m left wondering whether there will be any hard differences between the classes. Races in the Elder Scrolls traditionally have inherent buffs, and according to Firor these remain “a point of differentiation.”

But perhaps my thinking is too informed by the MMOG conventions Elder Scrolls Online is trying to move clear of. “We’re really trying to de-emphasise quote unquote classes,” says Firor.

“And make the player’s development more about their choices. So for example we want to give everyone access to something like having pets – if they want to. Right now a perk lets you be a pet person, so if you want that ability you can go and get it.” A brief digression about crafting; Firor says Skyrim players should expect a familiar system, and also mentions the ability to enchant weapons.

PVP takes place in the huge central zone of Cyrodiil, and the obvious question is how many players can get involved. “We’re planning on having 2,000 people at once in Cyrodiil,” says Firor. “In a particular fight our client is optimised to have 200 players on-screen at one time, which means you’ll have very large battles within an even larger battlefield.”

Such numbers means plenty of different player levels participating, an issue Elder Scrolls Online solves by automatically increasing everyone’s stats.

“Everyone gets boosted up to the max level,” explains Firor. “But you don’t get abilities you haven’t earned yet – just the hit points and stuff.”

A typical PVP battle might be a large-scale city assault, with one team defending, while the other is battering gates, firing trebuchets, and trying to sneak in through poorly-defended side-routes.

“We’ve designed the system to let players do all of those things, and it’s up to them to figure out which tactics work better – but generally, if your entire army is in front of the gate and just beating the walls, you’re gonna lose. Carrying the day needs teamwork.”

A larger concern is how the melee combat of Skyrim and Oblivion, which is functional but somewhat unrefined, can be re-engineered for competitive play.

“It does work the same way mechanically in PVP as it does in PVE,” says Firor. “So you swing with the left mouse and block with the right mouse, but there are a couple of new moves, like a really fast left click then right click will stun someone, plus things like doubletapping a key to roll away. We’re playing around with all of this now, but obviously with PVP we have to keep on testing and refining – and this will really be helped with the large number of testers we’ll get in beta, that’ll let us hone the system on a large scale.”

“Very soon” is the most precise date Firor offers for the beta. “One of the joys of making games like this is that they’re on such a massive scale you need to get a whole lot of players into them to kind of see where you are.” How big is the beta and how long will it run? “For as long as it takes for us to prove we’re ready to launch, and we’ll have as many people in as we can, especially because with a PVP system which supports thousands of players we really need multiple thousands to test that effectively.”

Elder Scrolls Online inspires strong reactions among fans of the series, and questions that will only be answered with the beta and many hours spent in its world. It’s too easy to think about Elder Scrolls Online as merely some sort of composite work, a series of singleplayer epics re-jigged into one massively multiplayer world.Too easy and so wrong-headed.

I close by asking Matt Firor how Elder Scrolls Online will silence the naysayers and pull players in – as well as keeping them there.

“So the answer to that is pretty simple; if you have a good game, people will play it. It’s got to be long-term compelling, it has to be fun, and if you do that all the other questions answer themselves.” Like most people involved in creating remarkable things, he makes it sound so easy.(source:guardian)