Darkspore

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Darkspore Enemy Spotlight #1: Scaldron

See the first Enemy Spotlight showcasing some of the various adversaries that will be encountered on the planet of Scaldron. Scaldron is unique because this particular planet contains enemies from all five genesis types including Cyber, Plasma, Quantum, and others! The combination of enemies to be faced are boundless, so it will be up to gamers to make sure their squad is versatile and prepared for anything!

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WTF is Darkspore? Part 1 (beta coverage)

TotalBiscuit takes a 2-part look at the PC-exclusive title by Maxis, Darkspore, an action-RPG that uses the Spore creature creater to offer some fairly unique customisation.

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Darkspore Beta - Preview and Chat

Check out the new preview and chat from YOGSCAST! 

"Launching at the end of March, Darkspore is actually a very fun and cool game that Lewis is looking forward to :) Beta keys are being given away here! http://www.alienwarearena.com/giveaway/darkspore/" - BlueXephos on YouTube

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"We felt one of the most important considerations when building an action-RPG was replayability. These are the kinds of games where you can play for countless hours even beyond completing the core campaign experience. The challenge we faced was making a return trip to a planet just as engaging as the first time through.

The idea of randomly generated levels is not uncommon for the genre, and it’s one of the solutions we considered early in development. However, the difference between turning right or left doesn’t really add much when encountering the same enemies on these planets. Thus, we attacked the problem of replayability from a slightly different angle, and that’s when our AI Director was born.

Rather than randomizing the level’s physical layout, the Director is responsible for mixing up the encounters you have in these levels. The most noticeable effect of the director is enemy variety. Each planet has around sixteen possible enemy types that can appear, but only six of these NPCs are selected for a given mission. This means you’ll be seeing different combinations of enemies every time you return to a planet. A fight on Nocturna will feel very different with Animus resurrecting minions as opposed to Carrion Shamblers consuming those corpses to buff themselves. Before you beam down, we show you what enemies the Director will use against you, but don’t think that tells you the whole story!

The above image shows how the Director (and our level designers) view the levels. All those colored markers are spawners of various types, and they’re how we add some of the more subtle variety to the experience. Our designers add their expertise to the director by suggesting good locations for encounters, be it a Darkspore horde or a hidden treasure. Even though you’re on the same planet, it won’t play out the same way. The clearing filled with a minion swarm the first time may be guarded by an elite lieutenant and his buddies the next time. So, the AI Director is varying not only what enemies you see, but also how to throw them at you.

So far, I’ve talked a lot about the places you’ll be going and the enemies you’ll be facing. Next time we’re going to dive into the heroes of the game, and how you’ll use them to smash the Darkspore to bits." - Michael Arsers

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New Darkspore Hero Spotlight #3 - Viper!

Watch Viper, the Toxic Ravager, in action and get an overview of his special abilities and upgrades.

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Beta Players' Hero Designs

Check out some of the newest Heroes in Darkspore!  Beta players are sharing their genetically modified living weapons on the forums.  Login to the forum with your EA account to post your feedback on these creations.

Comicaldayv786's Hero:

Techno605's Hero:

Rebecca1208's Hero:

See more

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Chat Live With The Darkspore Team

Get ready for a new bread of Action RPG. On Saturday February 19th at 3pm PST, we'll have the team behind the upcoming Maxis game Darkspore taking questions from fans and showing live gameplay from the Darkspore Beta. If you want a chance to join the beta, might be a good idea to attend. Darkspore releases March 29th on PC.

Darkpore is a fast-paced, sci-fi Action-RPG in which you battle across alien worlds to save the galaxy from mutated forces. You can learn more about Darkspore at the Official Website.

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Watch the new Darkspore Beta Trailer for a glimpse of the action you'll see if you participate in the Darkspore Beta!

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Check out Darkspore Beta Developer Livestream #1!  Visit our livestream page at http://www.livestream.com/darksporegame or join the discussion on our forum here.

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"Once a regular meal of the hardcore PC gamer's diet, the humble dungeon crawler is gradually making a comeback. The surprise smash that was Torchlight in 2009 proved that the click-heavy, loot-filled pastime can still have a place in today's market, and with Diablo III still seemingly far away, Darkspore could be launching at the right time to fill the void. Although sceptics might rubbish a game born from a cutesy God-sim, conceptually and structurally it brings a few new ideas to the action role-playing stable to make it worth a look.

While the genre is traditionally steeped in fantasy, Maxis' latest takes a more contemporary approach in its setting. Akin to recent blockbuster sci-fi franchises, Darkspore arrives with a fully crafted universe filled with backstories and diverse planets, all fighting against relentless, mutated virus consuming its many alien races. The damage, however, is already done - you play a Crogenitor, a member of a long-dead race woken up from cryogenic sleep to discover that the Darkspore has practically taken over the galaxy. With the help of an on-board AI piloting your drifting spaceship, you construct heroes from the fragments of DNA remaining on board and send them on missions to stop the mutated army from total domination. It's comes with a dark, moody and strikingly different feel to the family friendly Spore that we all know, and compared to its peers in the genre, it's structurally different too. While the likes of Diablo featured a familiar hub world and dungeons to return to, Darkspore adopts a simple arcade-like structure, with each planet featuring four missions that end in a boss battle. Each stage is perfectly suited for quick game sessions, lasting around 15 minutes in length with simple, linear layouts to abide to. The gameplay itself is also cheerfully straightforward, requiring players to reach the teleporter at the far end of the area once you've taken out enough enemies, and occasionally, sticking to a single zone to wipe out advancing hordes. Elsewhere there's the standard co-operative play online - for up to four players - as well as two-on-two PvP to put their warriors to the test.

Those who spend their opening minutes of a role-playing game stressing over their permanent class and race choices will be happy with Darkspore's multi-character approach. Instead of focusing attention on a lone hero, here you can take three heroes into a mission - out of a gradually unlocking roster of 100 - which can be called into battle at any time. Not only does it boost the existing range of attacks at your disposal, but it helps with the occasional difficulty spike; although it's an easy-going game, it's eager to flood the screen with a few dozen insectoid creatures at a moments notice, or unleash bosses with numerous overpowered attacks, so having those three health meters to swap between is helpful in itself. It wouldn't be a dungeon crawler without its love of loot, and it's here where Darkspore offers another interesting twist. Rare finds are awarded at the end of the mission, with their chances of exclusivity boosted by completing each of the three simple objectives; keeping your party alive, finding three obelisks and defeating all enemies. You can choose to cash out and take the item, or gamble and go on to complete the next stage - populated with far harder enemies - to double your booty. Of course, dying means you'll lose the lot, and since the game is at times tough already, it's a big risk to take. But for those well acquainted with the genre, such a challenge is no doubt a welcome one. Loot is also where the Spore part of Darkspore comes in. New weapons and equipment can be slapped on to your hero using the franchise's Creature Creator onto a position of your choosing. Aside from colouring your champion in a range of colors and patterns, there is little else on offer in terms of customisation. Fun as it is to plant all available accessories and helmets onto an alien's face, it lacks the customisation and the home-grown feeling of seeing your creation come alive like it's predecessor, especially since these customisation options aren't easily noticed on the battlefield. Of course, equipment boosts both a hero's stats and their level, so it's worth ducking into the editor on a regular basis for that alone.

Because of this, Darkspore may enter a marketing quandary upon release. In terms of gameplay, tone and customisation options it offers little in similarity to it's namesake, despite the stylistic familiarity of the creatures that populate it. It is, however, a very interesting take on the dungeon crawling setup, one that's quick to jump into for newcomers and others optional challenges for others. Those looking for an easy-going simulation game will be in for a shock, but it could keep those waiting for the next Diablo busy until its eventual release." - Matthew Reynolds from digitalspy.com

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"This weekend I had the chance to play Darkspore in Beta. For anyone who is a fan of action RPGs Darkspore has a number of core factors that you will love. It also offers PvP and insane levels of customization on your squads. It also has a great story and game play similar to Diablo and Torchlight.

  In a nutshell the game has many elements that MMOs should heavily factor in before they launch. For me, Darkspore is a game that spans playerbases. Now, hear me out on this. I played the game with my son who is just about old enough to get into video games. He plays Torchlight and some of the Ipad games, but nothing too indepth yet. Darkspore was a great game for him to try because it dealt with monsters, DNA, mutations, and space. What kid now-a-days doesn’t like those topics. The game play was managable for him and he mastered moving and fighting very quickly.   That is not to say the game is easy by any means. It is one of those, easy to play difficult to master titles. In playing through the campaign mode the environments are awesome ranging from destroyed planets held together by shield style technology to amazing colorful worlds full of life. Either way there was a lot to see on the environments created.   The story line is interesting and covered a unique look at the future with genetic enhancements. One thing about the game that I really like is no humans. Every monster created by players has great abilities and lots of customization. Sure the classes and styles of play exist in the squads you choose, but overall there is a lot of room to be creative.   Choosing three heroes for each mission is great too. It allows you to pick and choose from your stable of heroes and bring the skills you might need for certain worlds. In many ways this was great for kids who like the variety in what they play and are able to switch between heroes with no penalty. If one of your hero’s starts to lose health you can swtich to another and continue the fight, a great option for getting out of tough spots, or to just have fun with.   I am a big fan of Wizard 101, a game that on the surface looks like it is for kids. Once I played the game there was a lot of elements that appealed to hardcore players. I know many older players who join Wizard 101 with their kids and get sucked into the game play and world, as if it was a normal grown up MMO.   Darkspore is much darker than Wizard 101 in terms of story and graphics. Yet it is a great game for kids who want to learn about genetics, science, and maintain an action genre feel. It also appeals to hardcore players who love to explore new worlds and create new characters. I think Darkspore is a great game that will span both the casual and hardcore gamer audience. If you are a gamer dad or mom, this is a perfect game to play with your children.   Unfortunately we did not enter the PvP area of the game, this is I think were you will get much more competative play. When it becomes available in beta we will definitely check it out. For now, definitely look for Darkspore when it comes out as a game for both hadrcore and casual players. If you are a parent looking for a game this will definitely appeal to both you and your children." - garrett from MMORPG.com

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"Spore is an amazing creative experience diluted by a broad gameplay focus. Darkspore has one focus: Building a better killing machine. I took my monster squad to task in story mode and player-versus-player combat and lived to tell the tale.

Darkspore takes the popular creature creation tools from Spore and weaponizes them. That's the simplest way to explain the upcoming science fiction action role-playing game from developer Maxis Software and Electronic Arts. It combines the isometric view and point-and-click combat of Blizzard's Diablo series with the powerful Spore customization engine to deliver a star-spanning space adventure that feels familiar and alien at the same time.

Why We Fight

Darkspore's story begins with the player waking up after eons of cryogenic sleep by a female artificial intelligence called Helix. You are one of the last surviving members of the Crogenitor, an ancient race that once traveled the galaxy, genetically altering the DNA of life forms they encountered to give them new powers and abilities. They created super warriors called the Genetic Heroes, the creatures the player controls in battle.

It turns out that ages ago a rogue group of Crogenitors began experimenting with "exponential DNA", an extremely powerful, extremely unstable for of DNA. They were successful in making even more powerful soldiers, but something went wrong. The soldiers mutated into twisted abominations and turned on their masters. The Crogenitors fought against these Darkspore for ages, but ultimately the battle was lost.

Now, ages later, the player awakens. E-DNA has finally been stabilized, and it must be used to breed more powerful Genetic Heroes to take back the universe from the Darkspore, one planet at a time.

Going Solo

Due to some issues with beta patching, the original plan for me to play through the game's campaign mode cooperatively with other players fell through, so I was forced to earn my first six Crogenitor levels on my own.

Story missions begin with squad formation. The player can bring a team of three Heroes on any given mission. Each Hero is of a certain type - Necro, Cyber, Bio, Plasma, and Quantum - each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore there are specific roles each hero fills. A Ravager hero is a close combat fighting machine, high on damage but not so great on armor. Sentinels are the game's tank class, standing between the enemy and Tempests, a more ranged-oriented role. There's only one major caveat when forming a team: pitting Heroes against enemies of the same element is less effective. Thankfully each mission begins by showing you what sorts of creatures you'll be fighting against, allowing you to craft the perfect squad for any situation.

Once you've got your squad together you're dropped into the action. You control one of your three Heroes at any given time. The Q, W, and E keys on the keyboard allow you to swap Heroes out, with a timer in effect to keep players from overusing the explosive effect swapping has on enemies.

Controls are simple enough. Left-clicking your mouse attacks enemies, opens treasure obelisks, moves your Hero, and loots. The one through five number keys control your Heroes special powers, the first two being signature attacks and the last three special team-based powers unlocked as you progress through the first few missions.

The missions themselves are pretty straightforward. Fight your way through waves of Darkspore enemies to a teleportation pad that takes you to a final boss fight. Boss fights can consist of hordes of enemies with more a slightly more difficult enemy arriving in the final wave, or (at least in one case) one massive boss that takes a little more strategy to take down.

My initial team proves more than strong enough to take down the first several levels of the game. Blitz, my plasma Ravager, can teleport into enemies, stunning them before tearing into them with his claws. Sage, a bio Tempest, fires green energy from afar, using his powers to heal his compatriots while the minions he spawns whittle away at the enemy. When the situation looks bleak I switch to Goliath, my trusty cyber Sentinel, whose glowing sword and chest-beam attacks are always ready to save the day.

Waves of enemies crowd me and die in droves. Swarms of piranha that blink to random areas of the map when they're hit. Ethereal jellyfish that shoot slow-moving balls of teleportation, warping you about the screen like their own personal plaything. I am poisoned. I am slowed. Still I persevere.

At the end of each battle I gain Crogenitor experience, with new levels granting me the ability to unlock more heroes, purchase new weapons, and buy special upgrades.

I also get some special loot, though I'm given the option to let it ride, immediately jumping into the next level without tweaking my heroes. The challenge is greater, but so is the reward. I only let it ride once, and while the enemies do pack more of a punch, I can handle it. I opt out of doing it three times, accepting my more powerful reward and moving on.

The Calm Before the Storm

In between levels I'm given the chance to attach items I've purchased or looted to my Heroes using an interface pulled directly from Spore. In the editor I can place items I've acquired directly onto my Heroes, adding to their statistics while cosmetically altering them to my liking.

I can't go hog-wild, however. Each piece has a DNA cost, and each Hero has a DNA limit. DNA points acquired during the campaign mode will give your Heroes more room for improvement, so the more you play a certain character the better he, she, or it will become.

Each new part also increases the level of your Hero, a statistic that is mainly used to match up players in PVP combat. A level three Hero can quickly jump a dozen levels with the addition of the right piece of equipment. Along with new parts, I can also go deeper into the editor, changing the color and composition of my Heroes' exterior, personalizing my team so that my enemies remember the squad that took them down.

Once I hit Crogenitor level seven I was able to purchase the unlock that granted me access to the PVP arenas in Darkspore. This spelled certain doom for Thomas Vu, Darkspore's lead producer.

Proving Grounds

After spending the better part of three hours reaching Crogenitor level seven it was finally time to put my newfound skills to the test in Darkspore's 1-on-1 battle arena. While 2-on-2 battles will be the game's primary focus, 1-on-1 battles give players a chance to test out their customized squads against other players in a more relaxed setting.

The setting wasn't so relaxed for Darkspore's lead producer, however.

Thomas Vu and senior systems designer Paul Sottosanti were the only two people left with me on the voice chat channel set up for our little beta test by the time I got around to trying PVP. Thomas walked me through gearing up my squad - I stuck with Sage, Blitz, and Goliath - and once he knew my Hero levels he set his up to match mine. It's a nifty feature of the game, allowing even the most advanced players to bring their battlers down to earth to take on the little guy, should they feel the need.

One-on-one PVP battles take place in a series of smaller arenas. The match begins with one member of your squad sitting alone in a waiting room, giving you time to switch between the three members before the battle begins. Once it does you are warped into the arena proper, and battle begins.

Each battle is a series of three matches, with the player winning two of those three declared the winner.

My first match doesn't go so well. Thomas knows his Heroes, as well he should, and this is new territory for me. I spend the vast majority of my time simply trying to catch up to his Heroic representation, randomly clicking the one through five buttons in hope of striking it lucky. I almost do, but Thomas defeats the last of my three Heroes with a sliver of health remaining.

Time for strategy.

In the second round I give chase with Blitz, using the groups lightning shield ability to damage him when he gets close. On the run, he puts distance between his Hero and mine, but Blitz can teleport, stunning the enemy when he lands. The combination of the lightning shield and teleport is potent. So potent that Thomas tells Paul they might need to lower the lightning shield's power. Blitz takes out two of Thomas' Heroes, and I bring in the might Goliath to bat cleanup.

In the third round Thomas tries to play keep-away, but Sage's minions hone in on him wherever he goes in the arena. All I have to do is switch to Sage, see where the minions go, and then switch back to Blitz, teleporting to his location. The match ends quickly, and I've won the battle.

We go for one more. I quickly dispatch Thomas' crew in the first round. In the second round he attempts to tweak his squad, something losing players may do between rounds. He tries to bring in a Hero with the power to go ethereal, hoping it would save him from the lightning shield.

It does not.

From the way Thomas and Paul are talking, I wouldn't expect the lightning shield to be quite that powerful when the game ships in late March. You can blame me for it.

Sowing the Seeds of Destruction

While the single-player or cooperative story mode missions in Darkspore are entertaining enough, after playing only two full rounds of player-versus-player combat it's easy to see where the lasting draw of the game lies.

The story mode serves as a means to an end; a place to earn DNA customization points and equipment to build the perfect trio of arena battlers out of the game's 100 or so Heroes. It's an expansive training ground from which players will emerge, primed and ready for PVP dominance.

I'm already planning my perfect squad. Head over to Darkspore's official website to sign up for the upcoming public beta test, and get a leg up on the competition." - Mike Fahey from Kotaku

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We've launched a new forum with the beta this weekend.  Check out our new forums over at http://forums.darkspore.com/. 

If you've been invited to our beta and have registered with your beta key, login to post in the private beta section!

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Limited Edition Trailer:

See the details of the Darkspore Limited Edition, now available for pre-order at the EA Store.  Players who pre-order the game will get early access to Maldri, the special Hero spotlighted in the Darkspore Limited Edition trailer. Maldri is one of the more formidable Heroes in the game, armed with a number of devastating attacks, including a Quantum blink strike, and equipped with exclusive armor -- the Galactic Eviserator and the Hyperspatial Protector -- which provides a significant boost to defensive stats.

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You asked us about our chain game and loot system on Facebook. Check out Paul and Lauren's video response to your questions and check back for more chances to interview the devs right here! Congrats to Khari and Filipe for asking the winning questions. 

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Check out Darkspore Hero Spotlight #2: Andromeda.  Darkspore Systems Designer Paul Sottosanti takes us through a new Hero Spotlight Video, showcasing the abilities of the Gravitic War Master, Andromeda, a Tempest Class hero and one of the more than 25 characters that gamers will be able to collect, upgrade and customize.

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"If nothing else, Spore features an amazing creature creator that has an unprecedented amount of flexibility - allowing players to let their imaginations run free. So, it's no surprise that the editor should be the centerpiece of the action role-playing game Darkspore, where it's more powerful than ever. In this producer video, Gameplay Engineer Casey Weaver describes the ways players can use the Hero Editor to modify and upgrade characters in a variety of ways using body parts collected throughout the game. Parts can be stripped of their stats and embedded with new ones from a different item, so players can maintain the look they want for their heroes. Best of all, players won't be limited to just one hero, so they can keep a bunch of different creatures on reserve and select the one that best suits a mission. More information about Darkspore is expected to come as we draw closer to the game's release on March 29, 2011, which by the way is revealed for the first time at the tale end of the dev diary video." - bigdownload.com