The second part of the Roma Victor interview.

MMOsite.com: What is the ultimate purpose of players who play the game? What age group and diversity of people is the game aimed at?

Nick Witcher: As a sandbox style game the options and purpose of players is very open-ended, the end-game of Roma Victor is years away for even our most dedicated players.  To have your own player and non-player character (NPC) Roman Legion for example with your own fort and even towns would be a good purpose to aim for.

Roma Victor does not represent the typical MMO game demographic, our community is a little older and they tend to have an interest in the classics.  They re a smart bunch of people on the whole with disposable incomes and are probably looking for a more sociable gaming experience.

MMOsite.com: How much leeway do players have in terms of customizing their starting characters? What steps are involved in the creation stage, and what key decisions have to be made at this time?

Nick Witcher: In the beginning when you create your character there are a lot of different races to choose from.  On the Barbarian side you can join the tribes of Pict, Celt, Gaul and Germanic races or even join from Spain, North Africa or Syria.  Romans don t just originate in Italy but any race can join the Roman Empire just as they did in history.

The race you choose will affect your character attributes, the Northern Pict & Celt tribes were generally quite short especially by today s standards.  And of course your skin and hair colour will also be limited to your race.

Once you ve chosen your race you can then add points to the different skills and attributes, if you re intending being a fighter it would make sense to spend your points on muscle and stamina for example.

MMOsite.com: What were your considerations to make Roma Victor skill based instead of level-based?

Nick Witcher: It was always our intention to avoid the leveling treadmill of so many MMO games, although there is some grinding involved in Roma Victor we believe the skill-based system is much more interesting for players.

Players have to experiment a lot to see what activities enhance which skills and it really helps if you have some knowledge of ancient history and the ways in which skills were taught and trained.  The difference between knowing you just need to kill "X" amount of mobs to move up another level and planting seeds at the right time of day on land facing the right direction to get the best quality field of flax, speaks for itself.

MMOsite.com: Could you share us something about Roma Victor s skill system? Personally, I want to know more about how you design its combat skills.

Nick Witcher: As I just mentioned, it takes a lot of player experimentation to find out what works, if you re well educated about Roman history its also an advantage.  I should also point out that it is difficult to be a master of lots of skills, Roma Victor suits specialization in a few skills and players working together to achieve large projects.  Therefore it s really important to communicate and share with other players to progress your own game.

The combat system is twitch-based and a genuine reflection of real life fighting, as it would have been in the 2nd Century.  Combat is set in first person.  Players left- and right-click to use objects in characters left and right hands. If you imagine a crosshair in the middle of the screen, you use the mouse to target and the keyboard navigation controls the action of your character s weapons, so lunge, slash, thrust or their armour, block, parry etc.

Experienced combat veterans will tell you it s largely about timing. With your character s stamina and vigour playing a vital role. Much like real life fighting your character will tire quickly and each lunge or block will sap energy and provide your opponent with opportunities.

The combat system is currently being upgraded to add more defensive options with armour and shields that will influence fighting more than they do at present.

MMOsite.com: How do you deal with character s death in this historical game?

Nick Witcher: If a player dies at the hands of another player character they will drop an item of their inventory which is looted by their killer.  However, if you die you will always end up in "Elysium".  You have to answer questions and fight mythical creatures to find your way out of Elysium.

We are in the middle of revamping the system to make death much more painful for players which we believe will add more realism to combat situations.

MMOsite.com: Can PvP take in any place? Any benefits from winning in PvP? Is rank system available in Roma Victor? And how will it work?

Nick Witcher: As mentioned previously there is partial looting at present and there will be more looting options in the near future.   It can be really funny to read about our players experiences when the shoes or trousers they are wearing are looted by a well known foe.

RV has system of reputations and badges such as Bandit, Killer etc. NPC s will react to a player characters reputation and may attack them or welcome them depending on the badges they hold.

MMOsite.com: What kind of player economy can we expect to see in Roma Victor?

Nick Witcher: A very vibrant one, the Roma Victor economy is similar to the actual slave economy of the 2nd century.  RedBedlam was founded with the intention of exploring virtual economics and we ve seen a drip down effect from wealthy players to other players who fight or work to earn an in-game living.

Roma Victor has no subscription fee, you pay a one off charge to download the game this download includes an amount of the in-game currency "Sesterces".  Players can earn further Sesterces in-game from NPC s and player characters or guilds or they can top up using their credit or debit card.

MMOsite.com: Anything else you d like to share with our readers?

Nick Witcher: We intend launching a free server environment in 2007.  This will allow players to experience Roma Victor before they buy the game.  It also helps to give players the basic controls and understand the gameplay before they join the real Roma Victor game world.

Players that like the sandbox gaming experience should join us now, you will find a warm welcome awaits you - Roma Victor!

Click here to see the first part of this interview.