We figured that it’s about time that we tested some of the Reforged mobs and systems together with all of you. Obviously this is a very limited preview and some features are not yet available; for example we are still using the old world right now and the Realm Editor is currently disabled in the Reforged Alpha.
So what’s new?
Counter Spell Reforged introduces a new player state called "Downed." Previously a player who ran out of health would die right away, but now when a player runs out of health they are instead just knocked down. While downed, you can move around slowly and try to get back to your allies so that they can help you get back on your feet. Other players can also pick you up and carry you to safety. However if you die an extreme death you will be "overkilled", skipping the downed state and going straight to dead.
If you die in Quest mode without being revived you no longer receive a gold penalty. Instead, your maximum health is degraded by 20%. Currently in the alpha this penalty is cleared by drinking from a fountain, but in the future there will be new abilities and items related to reviving and health degradation.
All character classes now have access to the "Kick" ability. Kick uses stamina and can be used to stagger enemies and has a chance to interrupt their spellcasting.
Because many of the new systems rely on the new animations, all player classes are being temporarily represented by the new male wizard model.
Counter Spell Reforged now uses the XNA HiDef Profile which requires a DirectX 10 or better GPU.
You can play the Reforged Alpha in Steam by right-clicking on Counter Spell in your library and selecting Properties. Then go to the "BETAS" tab and select the Reforged Alpha from the drop down list. (You may need to restart Steam to clear the password requirement.)
We are looking forward to hearing your feedback on the forums and in-game!