In conjunction with the upcoming release of Atlas, there is now an interview with the developers. We summarize everything important from the interview for you.
Atlas, the large online game with a pirate setting, is ready to launch. In an interview with the developers Jeremy Stieglitz and Jesse Rapczak, there is now more information.
It is explained how Atlas differs from Sea Of Thieves and how parts of the game function. Here are the key details.
Atlas is larger than Sea Of Thieves
Right from the beginning of the interview, the comparison between Atlas and Sea Of Thieves arises. Both games are online titles with a pirate setting, where players can work cooperatively or against each other.
This is what makes Atlas different from Sea of Thieves: The developers of Atlas emphasize the difference primarily in scale. They see Sea Of Thieves more as an online game with instances and individual sessions.
Ultimately, Atlas is a large open-world MMO, while Sea of Thieves is more of a session-based action game with instances.
With Atlas, they are trying to create a massive MMO with an open game world. Up to 40,000 players should fit on one server.
Stieglitz also points out some of these aspects:
- Building
- Taming creatures
- Transport, including exotic resources
- Trade, merchant ships, trade routes
- Conquering territories
- Taxation
- Hiring crews
- Mutinies
- Fantasy elements like ghost ships and demons
- Treasure maps
- PvP conflicts on a large scale
Even executing people by guillotine or hanging is supposed to be possible.
Travel at sea can take time and is dangerous
Traveling happens in real time on the vast oceans of the game world. It also takes quite some time.
This is how long you will be on the seas: According to the developers, it takes about 30 hours to sail across the entire map. For these 30 hours, you must sail in a straight line without pause or detour. And that only if the wind is favorable.
Free sailing in Atlas is not easy anyway. Your equipment must be repaired, and both you and the crew must be supplied with food. Weather and wind will also significantly affect your progress.
Additionally, there are other dangers lurking at sea. There is the “Army of the Dead,” whose ships are operating at sea. Even in the animal kingdom, various dangers await in the form of sharks, aggressive whales, and other sea monsters.
Is there a fast travel option? If you have established outposts in the game world, you can reach them via fast travel. However, you can carry nothing with you except your character. This feature can also be completely disabled for servers.
On long journeys, however, there should be plenty to do.
Command your crew
On deck, the captain has many options to make good use of the time during voyages. Such as commanding your own crew.
These are the captain’s options: You can assemble a band within your crew. From their music, you can receive stat buffs and benefit from them.
Crew members have certain tasks that you can assign to them. Or you can appoint lieutenants who can issue orders. This way, you can have the cannons prepared for action or the sails taken in. You can also have a crew member steer your ship and thus sail on autopilot.
How many people are needed to steer a ship? To optimally steer a ship, you would need six people who know what they are doing. According to Stieglitz, two players who understand the ship are more effective than six people who do not know what they are doing.
If you don’t pay your people, it means “Mutiny!”
Yes, your crew can turn against you. There is only one reason for a mutiny: it’s your fault.
This is how a mutiny occurs on your ship: If you have not paid your crew for too long, they will first start ignoring your orders. As time goes on, you will receive a message to pay a certain amount by a certain time.
Otherwise, the crew member will initiate a mutiny. They will attack you and any member who does not mutiny. The system has been designed so that only one crew member can never mutiny. So expect multiple mutineers.
Hurricanes in the future against excessive player load
An interesting element of Atlas will likely be hurricanes. If too many players are in the same location in the game world, such a hurricane will activate.
This is how the protection mechanism works: This storm can relocate all players in a certain region to another location. This prevents excessive player gatherings at a specific location in the game world. Up to 40,000 people will fit on an Atlas server.
If a large portion of them were in the same location, it could cripple the servers. The hurricanes provide an element that does not seem too unnatural, yet actively intervenes in the world.
This feature, however, is not yet included in the early access version.
More information about Atlas:
- Atlas is launching soon in early access
- 5 things you should know about Atlas before the release
- Atlas promises huge servers – can that go well?
