Contain yourself TERA fans, as this week saw a cascade of coverage from 'casts to interviews with the community and everything in between. Concurrently, the community convened at Comic-Con for an evening of camaraderie and consumption of tasty treats and beverages. Details from that event are up to the community to share, so if you know someone who attended, collude with them to create something to satisfy your curiosity!

TERA Community Preview Event at Comic-Con 2010

Last night's party was a stunning success--we loved hanging out with our community members, showing off some new details about TERA, and partying in one of the best cities in the US at one of the best conventions in the world. We don't want to steal any thunder from people who attended, so check the SDCC party thread for updates from those who were there. We'll post our own video recap next week!

TERACast 10 Featuring Senior Producer Brian Knox Interview Published 

Caelixian, host of TERACast, published the podcast's tenth episode this past week. In addition to discussing recent TERA developments, this episode also features an interview with En Masse's Senior Producer, Brian Knox. MMORPG news website Massively highlighted the following quote from the interview:

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"[We have] a singular focus that allows us to be concentrated on one product, one release. A lot of people ask "it's such an action game, have you thought about the console"... for us we want to have that single focus, we want to make an action MMO on the PC and we don't want to stray too many different ways because that's when you get caught up and everything gets half done instead of one thing being done really well."

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Listen to or download the full podcast episode from TERACast's website.

TheGameNet Interviews Lead Writer David Noonan -- Twice! 

He's too great to be contained in a single interview -- this week, TheGameNet published a pair of video interviews featuring David Noonan, En Masse's Lead Writer. The first is a nine-minute discussion of everything TERA and the second is short "personality" piece. Here is a brief quote from the former:

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You will explore three continents, you will be double-crossed, you will do some double crossing and you will end in a Stalingrad-like battle with the Argons, these metallic creatures that want to terraform the entire planet... and your job is to stop them.

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Watch the main interview and the "personality" piece on YouTube.

TERAHispano Talks to Jason 'BrotherMagneto' Mical 

TERAHispano has published an interview with Community Director Jason Mical in which they discuss TERA post-E3 and where we're going from here. 

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TERA Hispano: Some users are worried about the jumping action. How are you going to avoid those users who will continuously jump in combat, say in PVP?

Jason Mical: Jumping won’t be so beneficial that people will be able to take advantage of it in that way. In the words of one of the 20th Century’s greatest poets:

"You've got to roll with the punches and get to what's real / Can't you see me standing here, I got my back against the record machine / I ain't the worst that you've seen / Can't you see what I mean / Ah, might as well jump."

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Read the full interview on TERAHispano.com.

Obsolete Gamer Interviews Senior Producer Brian Knox 

Obsolete Gamer also had the opportunity to speak with Brian Knox. Here is a quote from the question and answer session that resulted: 

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Obsolete Gamer: How often do you plan to add content to the game and will it be in patches, expansions or both? 

Brian Knox: Both! An MMO is a living, breathing organism that we must continually nourish. We plan to release content updates regularly after launch through patches, and work toward larger expansion updates as well. 

Obsolete Gamer: What is your stance on removing loot or changing encounters based on player feedback?

Brian Knox: Feedback helps call attention to areas of need, and for that reason, it is invaluable! Much of the time the game element in question just needs further explanation, but there are times when it is broken or unbalanced. This will just have to be a situational call on a case-by-case basis.

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Read the full interview on ObsoleteGamer.com.

Gamasutra Interviews Publishing Vice President Chris Lee 

Game industry blog Gamasutra spoke with Chris Lee, Publishing Vice President of En Masse, about TERA and the company's future this week. The piece touches on the development of the game, identifying its audience, and what's up next for En Masse. Here is a quote from the article:

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Though developed in Seoul, Lee says that the game is "absolutely" targeted at the Western market, thanks to the vision of angel investor and Neowiz founder Byung-Gyu Chang. "His vision behind starting Bluehole and making Tera was to have a global success, so they really studied a lot of what Western gamers' preferences were, what successful Western games that they had seen in the marketplace did before deciding on the approach that Tera would take," says Lee.

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Read the full interview on Gamasutra.com.

G4TV's The MMO Report Discusses TERA's Inclusion in Korea's Global Plan Fund 

This week's episode of G4TV's The MMO Report discusses TERA and its selection to receive a grant funded by the Korean government. For those who want to know more, En Masse addresses the news in this forum thread.

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Thanks to Massively.com, we've been informed that TERA, that action-combat-heavy MMO y'all got so excited about during E3, may be set up to receive a grant from the Korean government.

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Watch the full episode on G4TV.com.

World of TERA Interviews Jason 'BrotherMagneto' Mical 

Community Director Jason Mical gave an interview with new TERA fansite WorldofTERA.com:

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Q: How will item trading be handled? Will items end up having a Bind on Pickup, or will all items be trade-able even after you equip it? 

A: We are still tweaking this system, so please pardon my somewhat vague answer. The final release of the game will feature a form of binding. That said, we want to encourage crafting and trading as much as possible because the in-game economy is extremely important, so we’re currently working to find a suitable balance. 

Q: Are there any features in the game currently, that allows a player to take his current equipment and 'enchant it' in order to make it stronger or more suited for a specific purpose (such as a healing/damage increase, or a tank enhancement)? 

A: Yes, there is an enchantment system in place for items. 

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Read the entire interview on the official TERA forums.

MMO Base Interviews Community Director Jason Mical 

Jason also spoke with Croatian MMO website MMO Base. Here's a quote from that interview:

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MMO Base: You announced thousands of quests in the game. Will the quests be more solo or group oriented?

Jason Mical: We want to make it possible to reach the final levels through solo play alone if that’s how you like to play. However, quests will come in both flavors: solo and group.

MMO Base: Most of gamers like their characters and also like to solve quests that are unique to the class they are playing. Are there going to be quests unique to the classes in TERA?

Jason Mical: Yes, there will be! 

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Read the full interview on MMO-Base.com.

Screenshots of the Week: Azarel's Temple 

This week's screenshots explore one of Southern Arun's hidden secrets: Azarel's Temple. Obscured by thick jungles and defended by fierce guardians, this golden ziggurat is a monument of foreboding. Many amateur archeologists have met their end before setting foot inside, stunned by the temple's shimmering glow as the sun's rays beat down upon it, and blind to the ancient sentinels charging toward them.

  Click images for larger sizes.

Stay tuned next week for more Comic-Con fun when we turn the Guardian up to 11 (issue 11 anyway)!