MeinMMO had the opportunity to talk to two developers from Pax Dei about the last alpha of the MMORPG and the upcoming early access launch.
After the last alpha test phase, parts of the MeinMMO editorial team were known to be quite critical of Pax Dei. In the first few hours, the sandbox MMORPG plays like a survival adventure without any fight for survival and some of the systems (such as the fights) still seemed very unfinished.
However, the pretty game world appealed to the player and the initial flow of collecting, crafting and building quickly developed a certain pull. And when the guild of the popular streamer Asmongold built an impressive castle around a mountain, it became clear how great the potential of Pax Dei’s building system is.
Pax Dei – Official Announcement with Gameplay
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In conversation with the developers
So there was a need to talk, and two developers from Mainframe Industries took the time to answer some questions from MeinMMO: Lead UX Designer Jasmin Dahncke and Chief Product Officer Sulka Haro.
More than 100,000 interested people took part in the last alpha of Pax Dei. There was a lot of feedback, and the team’s to-do list was correspondingly long after the test. But there are also other milestones there, such as upgrading the Unreal Engine 5 to the latest version, which will have a noticeable effect on the entire geometry of the game world.
One issue during the alpha test was the sometimes difficult performance, which was slowed down by physics errors when calculating interactions with NPCs, for example. Thanks to the test, many of these bugs have already been fixed.
Another major work in progress concerns the combat system, which did not have hit feedback in the Alpha. This is where the most comprehensive improvements are expected to be made to make the battles feel more comprehensible and satisfying.
Alpha testers can also look forward to many balancing adjustments, for example regarding resources that are too difficult to find or the unlocking of recipes (with regard to timing and order). The stun from shield bash has turned out to be far too powerful in PvP, and adjustments are also being made here.
Powerful construction editor
In the interview, Sulka Haro herself spoke about the video of Asmongold and the huge castle. The team was really blown away by how much creativity, passion and energy the community had already put into implementing such and other complex projects in the Alpha.
In a way, you hope that something like that happens. But then to see it happen. We were so happy that it became a reality.
Sulka Haro in an interview with MeinMMO
As the conversation continues, the Chief Product Officer explains that it is mainly thanks to UE5 features such as Nanite and Lumen that it is possible to offer a game world in terms of graphics and more with so many components (“several hundred thousand”).
According to Haro, one challenge was that each valley in Pax Dei is hosted by an Unreal server that can only accommodate 150 players at a time. So what do you do when a huge guild like Asmongold’s storms a valley? The solution is a system of multiple layers of the game world, similar to the servers of WoW Classic.
Unlike in WoW, however, all construction progress on a layer must be immediately passed on to all other instances in the valley. Finding a solution for this was tricky. But it is actually possible for thousands of players to work together on a project. So don’t be surprised if walls, roofs, etc. suddenly appear out of nowhere in busy valleys.
An MMORPG sits between two chairs
Of course, MeinMMO’s first impression from the Alpha was also discussed in the interview. The fact that Pax Dei feels like a survival adventure without a fight for survival in the first few hours is actually a deliberate design decision. On the one hand, because a large focus of the game is on collecting, building and crafting.
On the other hand, it should be easy for MMO and survival fans alike to get started. Players should get to know the mechanics of Pax Dei without constantly having to worry about factors such as hunger, thirst or dangerous monsters.
However, the MMO aspect develops more and more over time. For example, when it comes to the realization of larger construction projects, the efficient farming of resources, the trading of goods and raw materials, the advances into areas with activated PvP or even the visits to dungeons.
At the end of the meeting, the two devs visited one of the group instances, which are best tackled by groups consisting of a tank, healer and damage dealer. The crypt shown was large and winding. Due to the lack of a minimap, the path to the dungeon entrance is already a challenge.
If the whole group dies in a dungeon, you will come out at the instance entrance and then have to run to your corpses. If only some of your teammates die, you can revive them on the spot.
Pax Dei is most fun with two or three friends, so you don’t need a guild as big as Asmongold’s. […] However, the playability for solo players should improve by the time Early Access arrives. You can also expect improvements to the clan finder, which will make it easier for you to find fellow players for your adventure.
Sulka Haro in an interview with MeinMMO Start of Early Access and Preview Week
During the conversation, the developers revealed the schedule for the coming weeks:
Since June 4, 2024, interested parties can secure various founder packages to be able to play the early access version without restrictions. The prices range from just under 40 to 100 euros. The more expensive versions offer more character slots, building plots and exclusive recipes.
Please note that the developers have not yet decided on the final monetization model for the live version. It is only clear that they prefer a buy2play version. They are also considering a monthly subscription. Purchasing the founder’s package therefore only guarantees full access to the game for the EA phase.
Sulka Haro also stressed in the conversation that Pax Dei is still far from being a finished product, even with the Early Access launch. There will be missing features, there will be bugs and there will be server wipes. The EA phase is expected to last at least a year.
However, Haro explains that it is important to get a large number of players onto the servers as quickly as possible in order to be able to make efficient development progress. This is a lesson learned from the various MMORPGs that many of Pax Dei’s developers were previously able to work on. More information about Pax Dei: New sandbox MMO launches on Steam in spring, mixes survival and MMORPG