Auran CEO Talks About State of the Game

The Auran CEO, Tony 'Bossman' Hilliam, talks a little about Fury's future and what's in store for 2008. After recent layoffs and a slower start than expected, Auran seems to have many more changes to talk about.

Nearly 3 years ago we set out to make the world's best PVP experience. As many of you know, we have started slower than expected but this is still our goal.

We have a new business model and thousands of new "Chosen" players have been taking part in the fastest paced RPG battles ever seen. We have our core team working on further improvements to help the new player get through their first few battles unscathed. (If you are new to FURY, there are no Level 1 Wolves to nibble on your toes - just bad assed human competitors waiting to rip your heart out). So what is in store for 2008?

For our core players, some of whom have been around since Alpha or Beta, we have a reward for you all. You will all be made Immortals for life. This offer will also be extended to any new players that register their copy of the game before December 31st. This means that anyone with a "Hero" or "Immortal" account status on December 31 will be given Immortal status for ever (accounts will be updated Jan 3rd).

Now to the future. After analysing the latest player trends we have established the magic "3rd game syndrome". Players who reach their 3rd game are far more likely to stay with the game for a long period of time. Basically, they are the players that have "got it". We therefore need to create an environment where all players can have fun and learn the game without being demoralized by more experienced opponents. This entails a further rework of our tutorial to make it more fun (and not just educational) and to better prepare players for their upcoming battles.

Next we're tweaking both abilities and gear. Much has been spoken about the recent changes to gear and further changes should be expected. We are reviewing the whole ability tree structure and looking at removing redundant abilities and making all abilities more meaningful. This work will be ongoing and we appreciate your feedback and input.

We're also examining ways for players to spend more time in battle and shortening the time to transition between battles. One option here is to offer the choice for a rematch or for players to stay in their current war zone as new players are teleported in.

We'll also be implementing the foundations of our crafting system. This will involve making loot collected from battle more meaningful. Also high on the list is the Achievements system. This system will reward players for performing well in battle in their chosen Archetype.

Last and definitely not least, we will be preparing for the first "FURY Challenge" of the year. This event will be a totally level playing field event. Every player will have access to the same abilities and gear from the start and there is no advancement during the ladder period. The winners will be decided upon skill and skill alone. We will be working with the community to ensure that we choose the right sets of abilities and gear, and establishing a tight set of game rules. We will be beta testing this process starting in the new year and we will not announce the actual tournament dates until we are confident we have the systems ready and well tested.

There will be lots more things coming in the future as well, but this is just a taste of our current focus and attention.

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