Q&A With the German Community Manager and Thomas “Mimic King” Foss
Thomas “Mimic King” Foss is a busy man right now. Next to moderating the mess that is “Keygate” he also answered the German Community in a Q&A last Friday.
What is the job of a Lead Designer?
Besides what we already know he also talks upcoming business strategies with his superiors.
Mimic Kings Career
Mimic King is in the video game industry since 1997. He formerly designed/build board games and presented them on conventions. Some devs played with him together and they simply asked him if he would be interested to work for them. This is how he got into it. He still has his own board game company called Skull and Crown.
He later got to Cryptic and works for the company since 13 years. Cryptic is a great employer because unlike other companies who hand out project-based contracts, you have the opportunity to stick with them longterm.
What is Mimic King proud of?
Basically his work, his creations in video games. For Neverwinter that is Ebon Downs, Blackdagger Fortress, the Gelatinous Cube and of course the Mimic.
How close does Cryptic work together with WotC?
According to Mimic King very close. As example he named the creation of Wulfgar where they made sure that he would look like Wulfgar and were very accurate about the runes on his hammer. Cryptic has also the chance to look on unpublished/upcoming D&D material before it is actually released.
What about the Keys?
He again apologized for the uproar the announcement has created and can report they are of course currently working on it. They will completely revamp how the loot system works and he said it will be significantly improved. First changes can be experienced in the new Heroic Trial Svardborg.
What is Cryptic currently working on?
They are wrapping up the next module and then they go in pre-production for the next year (Dungeons, Monster, etc.)
What about Guild Content?
According to Mimic King “The Stronghold Map will receive a lot of love”. It was also asked about housing but there seem no plans for it yet. One major point they are currently working on is helping smaller guilds to catch up.
How close does the Team of STO and NWO work together?
Both games have the same engine but each team works on their own set of features depending on the type of game and what the community wants. Mimic King was in the Star Trek Online Team to bring it to consoles. Also he was looking around which features would also suit best to Neverwinter. There are occasional meetings between both teams.
What about PvP Content?
Mimic King and his team are currently still evaluating the data from the Solo and DouQueue. Every feature in the game receive his own enhancement one at the time, with the Stronghold Map probably being next. No promises but it is on the table.
When does the old Dungeons come back?
Soon(tm). They are revamped with the new loot system and new challenges. Side note: As the German Community Manager was translating the answer, Mimic King continued saying in the background: Very very soon!!!
Why can’t consoles get the updates at the same time and will there be cross platform play?
The time gap between PC and Consoles exist because of a certification process from Microsoft and Sony. Currently Cryptic is working on their end to reduce this time but there will always be a gap. Cross platform would be awesome but remains a dream because of Microsoft and Sony.
What was the most challenging part in the creation of the current module?
The creation of the zone Sea Of Moving Ice. Because it is one of the biggest zones in Neverwinter and it should feel vast. Also he wants feedback on fishing and sailing. Whether players are generally interested in it and its fun factor. Depending on the community they have several ideas for future implementations.
Can we have a sneak peek on the future expansion and the Winter Event?
For the winter event: There will be a new mount and some other additions that are currently wrapped up. For the next expansion: After such a long time in the cold north it is time to go back home. “Time to spread the wings a bit for high level players”. No Panic. The armor from SKT will not “melt away”.
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Thanks for that.
On another note, the key changes became pretty irrelevant for those who want the new gear. While you can still decline the chest, the debs are not stupid and so they put the chance, yes only the chance of the new gear, inside another chest which is only available through the crafted keys or the dragon keys, therefore players who wish to obtain the new gear have no choice but to use the key. Then you are welcome by some bullshit appearance change shit that might not even be for your class, this leaving you with no choice but to salvage it because it doesn’t really sell on the ah anyway. I have run fangbreaker island now at least ten times while not seeing a single piece of the new armor and on top of that I guess I will be so unlucky to receive the one of the two pieces that I don’t need. And on top of that even if you get the gear you need to endlessly run these hideous heroics to get all the lanolin which you need 50 times to even restore the chest piece to make it usable. One thing that could be done is to make this part of the shop.
Anyway, the game has become a grind fest over the last few mods and with the old dungeons gone and no chance at completing the missed achievements due to not being able to run the low level skirmishes, well, leaving the game and follow other players example and enjoying other games might not be such a bad idea.