Interview with the developers of the game Project Genom
There are few good games in the Sci-Fi genre, especially those produced domestically. But imagine that a small team of developers, inspired by an idea, is able to make their and our dreams come true.

Russian studio Neuronhaze has successfully passed Greenlight on Steem and is preparing to show the world MMO RPG Shooter Project Genom. We are waiting for a very strong and unique class system, space flights and a fascinating storyline.

We managed to get an exclusive interview with the developers of the game Project Genom, in which they answered our rather tricky questions.

Tell us about your team and the game Project Genom itself. Who works with you, if there are other projects, what is the history of creation? How is Project Genom significantly different from other MMORPG games, and how will players like it??

The studio employs eight permanent employees and a dozen more remotely on a piece-rate basis. The core of the team was formed about five years ago. Several people from the industry decided to create their own project, and work on the game began. The project is carried out not only by us, but also by the players who participate in testing.

The world of Genome is filled with global events and their consequences. The player will always have a choice in resolving certain issues. A player’s fate can change dramatically even with a seemingly insignificant action. For example, if you help mutants, the radical residents of the Ark may turn away from the player. This will close a large “piece” of the plot, but will open up new opportunities and events. Not only the state of the world, but also the development of his character depends on the player’s choice. Sometimes you can even feel like Alice in Wonderland – drink a jar and gain an unknown ability or leave everything as is. In addition, we will have many planets to explore, and players will be able to capture territories on them. You can even build your own spaceship to travel and fight in space (by the way, during battles on the planet you can call in an orbital strike on enemies).

Why science fiction? After all, this is a complex genre that only fans love. And games only become truly popular if they are true masterpieces.

We are making a game just for such fans (and we are such fans ourselves). It’s a big plus when you are independent and not tied to a large corporation. We are doing a project for the soul. And we are trying to make it a masterpiece :)

Share with us the history of the world in which the game will take place. How is it different from ours, and what fundamental phenomena make it unique in the Sci-Fi genre??

The storyline will reveal to the player not only the secrets of Avalon. Players will be able to find out the whole truth about the destruction of the Earth. What brought humanity to the brink of death, and what political forces were behind it. This knowledge will seriously affect the further perception of events occurring in the game and the player’s attitude towards the characters. Who is the real hero in the new world, and who needs to be fought against – everyone will decide for themselves.

Why did you choose this particular setting and style of the game?? What is the reason for the transition of the game from a custom engine to Unreal Engine 4??

The setting and style of the game are very close to us, that’s the whole answer. And the transition to Unreal Engine 4 is associated with its capabilities, thanks to which we were able to improve a lot in our game.

Project Genom plans to be completely realistic in terms of physics, object parameters, weapons, or everything will be for the sake of balance and player convenience? (For example, weapon recoil, physics in outer space, speed of movement of multi-ton robots, etc.d.)

We are trying to make the game as realistic as possible, we must not forget about balance, fortunately the setting of the project (weapons of the future and different conditions on the planets) allows us to slightly change and deviate from the exact reproduction of real phenomena.

What inspired the authors of the project when choosing the general style of the game and when working on the plot??
Firstly, with your dreams, and secondly with famous projects such as Mass Effect, Halo, etc.d.

What difficulties did you encounter during development? https://meccagamescasino.uk/login/ Did you manage to implement all your ideas or did you have to abandon something unique due to the complexity of implementation??

There were many difficulties, the main one being the scale of the project and the small team, it took much more time to create the game than expected. The second is space flights. We struggled for a very long time to ensure that the battles were as realistic as possible, but, on the other hand, did not turn into an incredible carousel (where it is impossible to understand what is happening). For now, we have postponed until later the construction of our own base and terraforming. We really wanted to bring this to life at the first stage, but we realized that we would spend too much time. We will try to implement this in the future. I also really want to bring to life the destructibility of the world, but this too is left for later.

Tell us about character development in Project Genom. Players will be able to develop it comprehensively, or we will face a classic class system?

There will be no classes in the game; players can develop any skills and talents in any quantities. Of course, the most effective development will come from consistently leveling up skills for a particular play style. If a player, for example, wants to be an effective tank, it is better to focus on robotics skills to build an impenetrable machine. If a player wants to be both a tank and an attack aircraft, then he will have to spend twice as much time and effort on leveling up the skills of the desired type. But in the end he will be able to ride in a robot and shoot with a minigun.

Tell us about PvP – will it be available to everyone, always and everywhere, or will we only have fights in specialized arenas?? Will class balance be adjusted for PvE or PvP??

The game plans to make some locations with free PvP, where players will be able to fight for especially valuable loot. There will also be a system of special arenas and, of course, a system of clans and guilds. Clans will be able to receive gaming privileges, build special objects and even control entire planets. Opportunities will be open for social groups of players to go through unique dungeons and take part in special events.

Why did you choose a non-target combat system?? What compromises did you have to make to create a shooter-like combat system??

We wanted to immerse the player in the world as much as possible, so that he really feels like a settler in a new world. In our opinion, such a combat system creates a certain complexity in battles, and this greatly contributes to creating such a feeling of oneself in the events. And one of the main compromises for us is the time to create the project.

How ready is the project for alpha testing or CBT, or even for release?? You will implement all your ideas before the release, or after the release of the game, work on new content will continue in parallel?

Exclusively for you, we are ready to announce that we plan to start the alpha test in August, and preliminary access will be opened in the fourth quarter of this year. Everything that was announced by us at the exit to greenlight, we will implement by the time of preliminary access. But we still have many ideas that we will work on further.

Which payment system is right for your game?? In the case of a free2play system, will there be a game store and what will be sold in it??

At the preliminary access stage we are planning a buy to play system. We are also considering a free to play system, but we are still thinking… maybe in a year, or maybe never :)

Who sponsors the development of the project? Are there any plans to raise additional money through crowdfunding or selling founder packs and early access??

We sponsor the project ourselves, all the money comes exclusively from our savings. We hope that after early access sales we will be able to invest even more into the project in order to realize all our ideas as quickly as possible

Tell us about the unique aspects of the project. How the game can surprise and attract players?

Non-linearity of the plot, global events that change the world, independent character development, several planets, flights and battles in space.

Tell us about the resource extraction system. What is the motivation for players to fight for resource extraction sites, and why are they needed at all??

The motivation is very simple – by collecting resources, players will be able to create powerful weapons and excellent armor :)

The plot will be focused on sandbox or linear quests? How free will the player be in his choice of actions or movements??

As we said earlier, the plot will be non-linear, players will be able to choose what to do in a given situation. For example, you can explore planets, or you can try to make friends with their nature by changing your own essence. And there will be many such choices in the game.

What are the main components of the RPG genre that will be present in the game?? Tell us about crafting, social interactions, clan system, etc.d.

Crafting in the game will not be the basis for character development. The player will be able to get almost any game item without collecting resources. Another thing is that crafting will allow you to make an item of excellent quality and with special characteristics tens of times faster than the time you spend knocking out loot from your opponents. Therefore, player-created items will always be valuable. It should also be noted that, like all skills in the game, crafting will develop depending on the number of things of the same type created. For example, if a player creates only pistols, then he will soon become a master in this matter, but he will not be able to make good armor. This will allow players to form entire guilds of artisans with different specializations. An auction is planned to support craft lovers.

At the moment, the clan system will only be needed to capture territories on planets; it will become an important part of the game after it becomes possible to build your own bases and introduce large-scale clan wars.

Tell us about the system for taming pets, about building your own ships, about interplanetary flights and about the implementation of your other unique ideas that can be seen in the game.

Taming a pet is not a very difficult process, but it may vary from species to species. It is enough to choose the animal you like, have a sufficient level of taming skill and know a couple of features of the chosen species in order to be able to successfully tame. For example, it is easy to tame Great Danes by leaving bait in the form of food with sleeping pills in their habitat. Those who like to eat anything, Great Danes will definitely get caught, and then all that remains is to take the sleeping animal and feed it constantly.

Construction of a ship is similar to any construction of equipment in the game. The player has a personal hangar, where construction sites are allocated. But, unlike creating some kind of ATV, a spaceship will require much more time and resources. Also, for successful construction, it is necessary to fulfill a number of special conditions, for example, hiring engineers and builders, or obtaining particularly valuable parts by completing quests.

After building the first ship, the player will have access to space flight. At first, the possible flight range will be greatly limited. The player will not have enough fuel, provisions or weapons to fly further than the nearest moons. For long-distance flights, you need to develop your ship, study new types of engines, fuel and weapons. The more powerful your spaceship is, the further you can fly. The flight itself in space will be free, it will not just be downloads from planet to planet.

Among the significant ideas, I would like to note the possibility of non-standard development of your character. For example, by experimenting with the flora and fauna of Avalon, the player can not only gain unique skills, but even turn into a mutant.

What system requirements is the client development aimed at?? Will there be details about the client-server mechanics?? For example, will taking damage or appropriating loot be calculated on the server or in the client?? Will there be protection against cheaters??

Work is currently underway on all this, and we are not ready to announce the results until it is completed.

Tell us about the size of the game world, the number of available planets. Online will be divided into many game servers or one global one, will there be channels in locations?

The size of the game world is constantly growing, and it will only be possible to accurately determine it at the time of release.