Interviews

RF Online: Interview with Kyle Rowley and Chris Dye

We recently took the opportunity to interview Kyle Rowley and Chris Dye of the RF Online community team. They addressed a wide range of issues in this interview that brings us right up to date on the progress of the Codemasters sci-fi PvP MMOG.

WarCry: You have recently announced that you will be doubling the drop rate for loot. This is the second time in the last year. Can you tell us what made you decide to do this?

Chris 'Ulric' Dye: Recently we launched the biggest update ever seen in the RF Online (RFO) world: Episode 2 'Pioneers of Novus'. This huge update has brought players a ton of new content and game play changes. In addition to this, it also made some significant changes to the way loot drops were calculated - meaning players get more loot per kill than ever before. Whilst this wasn't changed for the Korean version, it was clear from our player feedback that this would be an important Westernisation change, enabling players to focus more on exploring the RFO world than raising funds.

WarCry: As you reach out more to Western players for RF Online, what would you say are the biggest differences between Eastern and Western players?

Chris 'Ulric' Dye: When it comes to RFO I would say very little, the stereotypical response would have been that the Eastern gamers are more hardcore and prepared to work/grind for their levels and equipment; but I've been pleasantly surprised by the attitude of our Western players. They are more than ready for the challenge which has meant we have kept traditional "Westernisation" changes to a minimum. In fact, I would be confident in sending the top RFO Western guilds up against their Eastern rivals in any RFO related tournament.

WarCry: Are there any other changes in the works to accommodate Western players' play style?

Chris 'Ulric' Dye: We continuously monitor the feedback from players and have one or two things under investigation; however we are quite happy with the current status of RFO and feel it is probably in the strongest position it has ever been.

WarCry: You have recently opened a new server to play on. Can you tell us why you decided to do that, and how has the reaction been?

Chris 'Ulric' Dye: Since moving to free-to-play we have seen a huge return of old players along with a huge influx of new players; because of this we felt it would be a great time to open a new server and give players the choice of joining an already established world, or beginning afresh on a new world. Then of course we needed the additional space to cater for all the new players!

WarCry: RF Online has recently become free-to-play. Can you tell people that might be thinking of trying RF Online out, what they can expect?

Kyle 'Laeth' Rowley: RF Online is a PvP orientated game, so obviously new players should be aware of that before they download the game. A lot of focus is put on players working together as a faction, rather than PvP-ing solo, so players should at least be interested in working in a team. The games mechanics are very simple and easy to pick up, but there is a lot of depth there for players who want to dive deeper into other areas of the game.

RF Online isn't for everyone; we know that - so all I can suggest is you go ahead and download the client, set up an account and see how you get on. What have you got to lose? The game's completely free!