Could you please introduce yourself and describe some of your day to day responsibilities?

Hello Stratics! My name is Daniel McMillan. I am the founder of Cosmic Origins Studio, and the chief architect of Frontier 1859 MMORPG.

What is Frontier 1859? [FAQ]

It will be a virtual world where players go out, inhabit the land, and carve out a role-playing life for themselves.

What setting does the game take place in?

A portion of the Plateau/Great Basin territory.

What degree of realism should we expect?

As real as we can make it, but with an emphasis on scale so that the world comes across larger than life. (Art direction from period painters like Albert Bierstadt.)

Players will be able to run for and hold certain government offices. Could you please expand on this?

Initially, the office of Governor is run by a special player not unlike a GM, but rather hired more for acting/role playing ability, and creative use of diplomacy.

As the game world garners more boomtowns – players can initialize their own campaign to run for governor. There will be a voting day – and the best man shall become governor. Towns will all have many opportunities to petition the governor concerning lawlessness, and many other needs/issues.

The game will also feature a trial system. How will this work?

In 1859, early stage boomtowns are not yet recognized by the government. Therefore, police officers and sheriffs are hired by townspeople. These officials were often just as bad as the criminals they were hired to control, and vigilante justice has many problems as well. Thus, prisoners will have to be transported to a more developed boomtown with an established justice system. At first, this system will consist of an NPC jury, and a PC judge. When a trial comes up – town citizens will be asked to perform jury duty and any evidence of crimes committed will be presented to the court.

What sorts of crimes will exist in the game?

Acts of crime most likely played out will be: cattle rustling, claim jumping, murder, extortion, blackmail, bribery, larceny, bigotry, using marked cards, kidnapping, and vigilante/posse injustice.

What inspired you to create Frontier 1859?

After playing many single player RPGs, and MMORPGs – I wanted to be able to do more than hunt mobs and chat. I wanted to be able to explore – and set-up my own camp, hunt for food, and search for the rich stuff – eventually owning land and hosting a family - role playing to the fullest if you will!

On top of this goal, I had already contributed to ten published titles, plus two cancelled ones, and I spent over 8 years studying Nevada historical locations and books. Then I spent a long time playing many games, and listening to what other players had to say. Plus I spent a lot of time with people who never played games. This insight, combined with the lust for history, combined with all the other elements I mentioned – reached a convergence that was all too obvious.

I saw a great need to come up with the right balance of play to offer to the public – a desire that has emerged through playing the current systems on the market today. Something that allows more player authorship than anything ever done before, and on top of that I had been keeping an eye on the progress of new technologies that enable such a system.

So about a year and a half ago – I began laying the foundations to build such a world. We listened to the people, and I started to release information about the direction of Frontier 1859. Soon, the field of this dream began to call others onto the team, and we continue to get letters and encouragement from people all over the world! Their comments (which are printed exactly as they wrote them, are listed on the site) has been so positive.

Is the character advancement system skill based or level based?

Skill based. Players skills will be adopted as they play, and then its’ “Use it or lose it”over time.

Will players be able to choose their characters ethnicities? Will these decisions have any effects?

Yes, and yes.

What separates Frontier 1859 from the scores of MMOGs either on the market or in development?

Today's massive multiplayer online role playing games typically build a static world with extraneous interactivity potential.

Typically, everything is built for the players. In an attempt to cater the best dish possible, a static persistent world is created, and a linear repetitive path each new player must follow to advance. On top of that, they don't really feel like they can make any significant impact in their world until they reach level – X, and then, by that time, after hundreds of hours - the rewards are still extraneous as relative to the higher levels, and that means it is really no different than it was all along.

Frontier 1859 will be a dynamic world. As players move around and inhabit the landscape – it will change over time. Early maps will become obsolete. Frontier 1859 will equip the players with the tools to carve out a life for themselves, as they are released onto the landscape. Thus they will need to meet the needs of each other as well as the game world around them. Many people will need to rely on each other in order to survive some of the hardships such as winter. They will also need to cooperate in order to solve bigger-picture problems such as “lawlessness” and projects such as “lumber transporation” to meet the needs of mining, and the building of towns, as well as other problems such as water, fires, raids, gangs, and so on.

Hence the phrase: “Finally, the tools and freedom to author your own adventure.”


You’ve said that magic and spirituality will have a tangible presence. How will this work?

This is reserved to be a surprise! Let me just say that Native Americans have their own things they need to do in order to intimidate other people with spiritual elements. These will look larger than life as implemented in the game – but then again, they become visible elements of gameplay whereas in RL – they are invisible to most of us – so who is to say things don’t happen the way we will present them!?

How will your quest system function?

Initially, emigrants will arrive at trail heads, while family offspring will spawn in the town or tribe that their family originates from. Those who agree to abide with a trail guide will begin a journey into the frontier. Along this path, they will be safe from most of the predictable hazards. They will learn how to survive, and make some of the basic necessities for life. Later, at the model mining camps – such as Virginia City and Bodie, NPCs will have missions, and PCs will create jobs and errands for people as they build their farms, saloons, ranches, mines, and so on.

One interesting feature is the ability for players to design structures off-line. Could you please expand on this?

Players can work their land claim offline. They can build above and below ground structures such as mines, stores, or homesteads. This way, they can make some progress before others are able to interact with it, or simply play offline for a while and take a break from social complexities.

Players with more limited playing time can simply purchase a hobby kit and assemble the project. Others may build and auction their projects to other players. Also, some jobs and skills allow players to task while they log off, or replace their shift with another player. Other activities require immediate and consistent attention at various stages to ensure a successful play – like fire fighting, digging new tunnels and adits and suddenly striking a water or steam pocket, defending a fort or tribal land, and so on.

Do you plan to charge a subscription fee?

Well yes, unless the team will all agree to work for free – and the technology licenses are free, or no-one needs to eat and/or are independently wealthy, and there are no needs for any team-mates to buy diapers for their children!

Characters will actually age in Frontier 1859. How will this work? Can a character die from old age?

Players can create an older looking character that may have desired benefits such as higher wisdom or grit factor, but we do not plan to age characters in a years time (1859), however we are looking into growing hair, and changing skin-tones depending upon health. It is also important to note that some wounds, diseases and repercussions can eventually weaken a character to be ineffective in a learned fighting or movement style, and therefore necessitate learning something new. Wounds also narrow "fullness of life" and thereby help a player be more cautious about what they are doing (also known as "down time" ). Wounds and illnesses can also permanently scar your action figure, and/or when left un-attended could eventually cause death.

Will there be any “safe zones” where no combat can take place?

Yes.

How will combat be handled? Will a headshot inflict greater damage than a shot to the leg?

Its’ not a matter of damage per say, a bullet will do the same amount of damage hitting my leg as it will my head, it’s just that the head has a greater chance for mortality - so the wound is critical. The damage a bullet does is determined by velocity, size, wobble and the type of surface angle it strikes. Also, since the human body is 6.5 to 7.5 heads in length – the head is a more difficult target to hit. There are other factors that will come into play such as adrenaline, and recoil.

On the issue of combat, will a gunshot wound dealt by a “weak” player inflict damage comparable to that of wounds dealt by more skilled players?

In Frontier 1859, no players are actually "weak" and player-characters won't be a "bucketload of points."

They will all have some potential to hurt another player, and in the case of defending a town or wagon train from hostile attack - each person counts! Obviously the more skillful players will hit what they are aiming at more frequently, and with better odds on moving targets. In any case, injuries are measured by wound severity. Therefore, a newbie player could injure an Uber player with a lucky or unwary shot.

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