14 DAY TRIAL // The development team at United Front Games surprised many gamers when it announced that it was working on a follow-up to its Sleeping Dogs title, called Triad Wars, which was supposed to be entirely free-to-play and designed to allow gamers to experience a complex set of mechanics linked to gang war.
Since the title was announced, plenty of speculation about the business model used appeared, and some players believe that the company will introduce a range of items which need to be bought using real world money and can offer a gamer a competitive advantage over the rest of the community.
In a Reddit Ask Me Anything session, the development team at United Front Games aims to dispel this notion and says that they want to create a level playing field for all those who play Triad Wars, with a selection of items that do not affect balance when they are purchased.
Justin Bullard, a producer working on the title, states, "Our guiding principle is that gamers should be having fun, first and foremost. We live and die by that at United Front Games. We aren't interested in nickel and diming people, but instead want to build a game that players will keep coming back to, because they love it."
Gamers will never have to spend on Triad Wars if they do not want to and the actual monetization options for the title will be created later during the development cycle as United Front Games listens to the feedback that the community will offer during beta testing.
Triad Wars includes RTS and RPG elements
Steve Ferreira, the game director working on Triad Wars, also offered some more information on the core mechanics, adding, "You'll be playing against real players online asynchronously. There's a strong strategy and RPG component but we think of this as an action strategy game. Definitely not an RTS."
The game will also evolve all the action-driven elements of Sleeping Dogs, and the interplay between all the features is designed to create a deep experience which will appeal to a wide audience.
Triad Wars is set to be offered on the PC and will be launched in the first half of next year. At the moment, it is unclear whether there are plans to introduce it on current-gen consoles.
United Front Games will run a beta test for the experience, but no info has been offered on when it might take place.