[Q&A] Questions and Answers (if Frozenbyte obliges)

[BlackjackGT]

I'll get the ball rolling with some specific questions on gameplay (this is assuming Frozenbyte can answer any of this; perhaps it's too early):

• Can we have more than one player class in a group? i.e., if we have four players, does each player have to use a different class? Some games don't have this type of restriction; others implement it I assume to encourage a diversity of classes in each co-op group.
  
  
• How will we find other players to play online co-op with? i.e., a game server browser, an automated online matchmaking system etc. I assume it doesn't have any sort of 'global campaign' as Helldivers does, so I'm just curious about the interface for viewing available Nine Parchments games to join, for hosting a game, for finding other NP players etc.
  
  
• Are there any randomization elements in gameplay or environments to offer long-term replayability? My impression is that the environments are probably "handcrafted" and not "procedurally generated' a la Helldivers or a twin-stick roguelike like Neonchrome.
  
  I'm OK with that, but I find if games don't at least randomize a bit in terms of enemy placement, or the mixes in enemy "mobs," stuff like that, then a game often doesn't hold up under repeated play because you just memorize where the enemies will show up and how they will react. I've refunded a couple twin-stick shooters over the years because of this lack of replayability.
  
  
• How do enemies appear in Nine Parchments? Are they all just pre-placed in the gaming world and then make a beeline towards players when we reach a certain proximity from them? Or do they spawn out of thin air, crawl up out of the ground, drop out of the sky (a la Helldivers) etc.?
  
  
• Does Nine Parchments "scale" to the number of players in the co-op group, so that the difficulty level is a good match? If so, will it automatically adjust if a player or players drops/has to leave? Or when additional players join a smaller group?

[MarjutFB]

Here are some answers I had, but if you have more questions I'll happily forward them to the team!

• Can we have more than one player class in a group? Yes, no restrictions. To distinguish same characters their outfit colours are a bit different, and also the circle drawn under each character helps.
  
  I'll also add that there are really no classes, everyone is going to have similar spells, but you can customize you character with the unlocks and specialize in something, for example healing.
  
  
• How will we find other players to play online co-op with? There will be a game list similar to Trine. There you can check which game to join or just create one for friends. I don't think there are other specific features, but will confirm this before the launch.
  
  
• Are there any randomization elements in gameplay or environments to offer long-term replayability Maps are pre-build, but there is randomization in the fights. We also hope the different unlocks will keep you interested! :)
  
  
• How do enemies appear in Nine Parchments? The fight locations are pre-placed but you might get very different enemies next time. These enemies pretty much teleport, but some of them do it quite differently like crawling up from the ground.
  
  
• Does Nine Parchments "scale" to the number of players in the co-op group Yes it does. You can change the amount of players or the difficulty at any time which will effect the difficulty of the next fight.

Note that there might still be small changes, but most likely this is what you're getting. :)

[BlackjackGT]

Awesome, thanks! I'm promoting this in my Steam activity feed. Lots of fellow twin-stick shooter fans (primarily of Helldivers, a little of Alien Swarm and others) on my Steam friends list. :)

[MarjutFB]

Thanks a lot for your support! Here[redonkulousgaming.com] is also an interview by Redonkulous Gaming which might interest you. There is some more details about the game in it. :)