BioWare presented the plans for the Cataclysm in Anthem last week. However, not all players reacted positively to the upcoming event. In their opinion, the developers had promised more than what is currently coming to the game.
What are the players concerned about? Last week, the Lead Producer of Anthem, Ben Irving, and Community Manager Jesse Anderson introduced the plans for the upcoming Cataclysm. The event was supposed to be one of the highlights of the game and was initially set to start in May.
However, the developers at BioWare revamped the planned roadmap to address the issues and bugs within Anthem. Many features were postponed.
In the last livestream, the team showed how they envision the Cataclysms. However, some players indicated that this is not what the developers had promised.
What was originally announced? Before the release of Anthem, there were discussions about Shaper Storms, which were later renamed to Cataclysms. These were supposed to be significant natural events triggered by the Anthem of Creation.
Cataclysms were meant to be world-changing events that could alter the map of Anthem. New locations could emerge, or existing areas could be wiped out.
The developers compared Anthem to a Netflix series. The game was supposed to evolve continuously, including through the Cataclysms, keeping it exciting.
Smaller events were supposed to precede the Cataclysms, ultimately leading up to the grand world event.
You can see how the Shaper Storms were envisioned at the end of the E3 trailer:
What do the Cataclysms look like now? In the livestream, the Cataclysms were presented as an eight-week event. They stayed true to the idea of smaller events at the beginning. The first two weeks serve as a pre-event and an introduction.
The event seems to take place on its own map and have no impact on the normal freeplay map.
During the event, players must complete various activities before a countdown expires. Different factors increase a points multiplier. Players can compare who scored the most points during the Cataclysm event on a leaderboard.
What do the players say? The Cataclysm is actively discussed in the Anthem subreddit. While some players state that they want to check out the new content before making a judgment, others are already disappointed. They feel that the upcoming content is far from what the developers originally promised.
A player compared how the Shaper Storms were announced at E3 2017 and how the Cataclysms are now supposed to look in the game.
Especially, the fact that the events do not occur in actual freeplay, as seen in the E3 video, is disappointing to the players. Instead of a sudden phenomenon in the game, Freelancers seem to be confronting these world events only on their own map.
Also, the weather effects, which are still not fully finished as mentioned in the livestream, only elicit a tired smile from the players. The storm in Anthem has been compared to an ordinary tropical storm rather than a deadly world event.
What is your opinion on the upcoming Cataclysm? Or do you want to first check out the new content before making your judgment?
