The Guild Counsel: Bad gamers

Guilds, Opinion, The Guild Counsel, Miscellaneous

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The Guild Counsel  Bad Gamers
You'll have to forgive me this week for channeling the spirit of Andy Rooney and getting my grump on, but I need to get something off my chest. When it comes to MMOs, I tend to have an optimistic view of things. I think MMOs offer a lot when it comes to learning about ourselves, making connections with others, and exploring amazing worlds. But every time I reassure myself of the positive qualities of gaming, up pops exhibit #4,381 to prove me wrong. I still hold out hope, but in this week's Guild Counsel, I want to look at my most recent encounter with the bleaker side of gaming to see why, after all these years, we haven't escaped it -- and how we might be able to curb it. (And I'll explain why it has to do with Ron Burgundy!)

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The MMO Report: Not Casey Schreiner edition

Video, Culture, MMO industry, News items, Humor, The MMO Report, Miscellaneous

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Did Casey Schreiner get a haircut?
The rumors that you've been hearing since you read the title of this week's installment of The MMO Report are entirely true. Casey Schreiner is off this week, and so John Walsh has stepped up to the plate to host this week's installment of the show. And while that means less in the way of mailbags, there's plenty of news to fill up the week, starting with the revelation of the HK-51 droid in Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Walsh moves from discussing a mechanical killing machine to discussing several organic killing machines vis-a-vis the first trailer for Game of Thrones: Seven Kingdoms. He also looks back at news regarding RuneScape's big registration milestone, information on the Guild Wars 2 beta weekend, and a new round of unexpected World of Warcraft violence. Check off the video past the break, and tune in again for another installment of The MMO Report from G4TV and Massively.

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Lord of the Rings Online dev diary discusses 'reincarnation' of PvMP

Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries

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Screenshot -- Lord of the Rings Online
Today's Lord of the Rings Online dev diary begins by stating that "over the course of LotRO's lifetime, the Ettenmoors has been updated several times." It continues, "this is not one of those times. This is a new beginning; this is a reincarnation." Those are some bold words, so what about this new incarnation of the Ettenmoors is so revolutionary?

Well, a number of things, according to the dev diary. The team is not looking for a "mystical silver bullet that magically makes everything better" but instead is looking at three primary areas to revamp. First, the team is taking a look at the many keeps, outposts, and the Delving. The current model rewards players for flipping control points to their faction's control, but there's no incentive to continue to hold them, so the studio aims to "shift the model to instead provide large benefits for having and keeping locations." Secondly, Turbine is analyzing Creep traits and skills for "usefulness, potency, and acquisition costs. Finally, all Creep classes will be receiving new skills and "an overall balance adjustment on... damage and healing" to ensure they are balanced with the Free Peoples.

The full dev blog is far too in-depth to post the whole thing here, but if you're interested in the nitty-gritty of all the PvMP changes coming with Riders of Rohan, head on over to the full post.

Firefall ramps up for its summer milestone

Sci-fi, Video, Classes, Game mechanics, Previews, News items, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, Firefall

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Everyone who says this attack is shocking is banned from the comments.
The upcoming milestone update to Firefall is a big one that revamps several core areas of the game based on player feedback. That includes multiple frames seeing a large-scale revisions. Designers Justin Hanson and John Deshazer elaborate upon some of the changes wrought upon the Engineer in the newest video, explaining that the class had some serious problems before -- it wasn't mobile and generally wasn't considered desirable within group composition because of its limited utility.

Meeting the new and more functional Engineer will turn that impression around. Engineers have gotten a new weapon that ramps up in damage as it scores repeated hits on a single target. They've also been granted a number of better build items, such as mini-turrets that can be tossed in odd locations and instant-build forcefields. And that's just a sample of what the milestone is improving in the game, something detailed in two recent development blogs outlining the philosophy behind the changes and what players can expect after the dust clears.

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Sevencore beta registration open, Occupation Wars mechanics detailed

Betas, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, Free-to-play

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Sevencore beta registration open Occupation Wars mechanics detailed
We've had our eye on Sevencore for a while now. Fortunately we're about to get our hands on it too, thanks to the impending closed beta.

Korean free-to-play fantasy imports aren't exactly scarce these days, but this one adds a dash of sci-fi and some nifty mount mechanics into the usual MMO mix. Players can battle across land, sea, and sky as well as fight from the backs of dragons, hover-bikes, and more. Sevencore mounts can also be trained to fight beside their player masters, which makes them more than your typical MMO beasts-of-burden.

gPotato
has opened up beta registration as of today, so head to the official site and sign on if you'd like a shot at testing on August 9th. Sevencore features three classes (Warrior, Magician, and Gunner), plenty of PvE, and PvP in the form of guild battles called Occupation Wars. gPotato intends for Occupation Wars to be a persistent territory control mechanic, as the victors will set tax rates and item prices for players who enter a region under their dominion.

[Source: gPotato press release]

Perfect World Entertainment's Mark Hill previews Rusty Hearts: Reborn

Fantasy, Expansions, Game mechanics, Interviews, Previews, News items, Free-to-play, Massively Interviews

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Screenshot -- Rusty Hearts: Reborn
About a week ago, we got our first look at the first expansion to Perfect World Entertainment's side-scrolling hack-and-slash title, Rusty Hearts. On July 24th, Rusty Hearts: Reborn will be bringing a wealth of new content to the game, and I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Mark Hill, senior product manager of Rusty Hearts, about the new update.

What's particularly interesting about Rusty Hearts: Reborn is that many of the features coming with the expansion are a direct result of player feedback. According to Hill, the studio recognized that many players were quitting the game prematurely, sometimes as early as level 5, and as such, the expansion is focused on retooling the early- and mid-game to make it more welcoming to new players. That's not to say that there's nothing for established players, however, so if you're interested in what Rusty Hearts: Reborn is bringing to the table, head on past the cut, where I'll share all of the information gleaned from my talk with Mr. Hill.

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Marvel Heroes unveils Rocket Raccoon

Super-hero, News items, Free-to-play, Marvel Heroes, Dev Diaries

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All the tactical cunning of Captain America, with added gun proficiency and a bushier tail!
The team of playable heroes in Marvel Heroes just keeps getting more and more impressive. Today's addition is the furry and ferocious Rocket Raccoon. An anthropomorphic raccoon, Rocket is more than just sentient -- he's a tactical genius, great with a gun, and unwaveringly heroic. Rocket Raccoon has some close ties with the Guardians of the Galaxy (you know, that team that Marvel Studios just announced is getting its own movie), and he's out to save the universe whether it wants to be saved or not.

We don't know much about this little fellow's in-game powers yet, but keep an eye on his hero information page to find out.

Amazon offers Guild Wars 2 with $5 Amazon games credit

Fantasy, News items, Guild Wars 2, Promotions

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Guild Wars 2
Amazon has been reaching its fingers into a bunch of MMO pots lately. First there was that one time when a bunch of games including RIFT and TERA were put on mad sale, then there were the chronoscrolls and olive masks for TERA, and now it's Guild Wars 2's turn.

According to an Amazon press release today, the company has launched Guild Wars 2 pre-purchases. Users who buy the Standard or Digital Deluxe editions via Amazon will receive a digital download and pre-order key, beta access, pre-purchase perks, and $5 credit for Amazon video games.

Some of the details are a little hazy, as ArenaNet has made a distinction between pre-ordering (which is exactly what you're used to it being) and pre-purchasing (which is when you pay the full cost up-front) but Amazon appears to be using the terms interchangeably on the product page. Additionally, Amazon has not been added to the official list of pre-purchase retailers for North America (for that matter, Amazon has also not been listed on the official page as being able to distribute the Collector's Edition, but apparently it has physical boxes for sale as well).

Anyway, if you haven't bought Guild Wars 2 but would like to, and if the thought of $5 Amazon credit and some in-game perks is appealing, this may be A Thing for you.

[Source: Amazon press release]

Chinese MMO developer accused of plagiarizing Torchlight backs down

Fantasy, MMO industry, News items, Miscellaneous

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Torchlight
Faced with ongoing allegations that it stole assets from Torchlight, Chinese developer EGLS has now agreed to modify "some parts" of its mobile MMO, Armed Heroes Online. Our sister site Joystiq reports that while the mobile company continues to deny any wrongdoing, it will alter the game "rather than go on arguing." In a formal statement, EGLS said:
"We did great efforts to do each modeling, mapping, bone construction and action by our own on our self-developed 3D engine . . . We want to make clear, if necessary, that we would like to submit the documents, files, and other materials related to the game developing to Apple to prove the originalities of the game and the efforts we devoted into the game developing."
Torchlight developer Runic Games appears mollified by the outcome though not convinced of EGLS's innocence. "We're really just trying to get the thing pulled down from the App Store and to have them use their own assets," studio president Travis Baldree told Joystiq. (Apple has apparently removed the game already.)

In happier news, Runic announced that oft-delayed Torchlight II is still slated for a summer launch, though Baldree joked, "The end of summer is September 25th or something like that, right?"

Star Trek Online celebrates the 25th anniversary of The Next Generation

Sci-fi, Events, in-game, News items, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries, Anniversary

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Star Trek Online
The first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation launched 25 years ago. In honor of the anniversary of the blessed event, Star Trek Online players have the opportunity to unlock some nostalgic swag for free. From now until "around" 1:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday the 24th, players can take a mini-mission that will send them off to speak with good ol' Worf. Completing that mission will unlock the free swag: Federation characters will receive a TNG Season 1 uniform, male Klingon and Federation characters with hair options will receive Worf's Season 1 short hair and goatee (sorry, no bearded ladies), and Klingon and Federation characters of both species will get access to Worf's Season 1 sash.

This is a per-character unlock, so be sure to talk to Worf with every character that you'd like to boldly go with a little more panache.

gPotato releases Allods' New Horizons expansion trailer

Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Expansions, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Allods Online

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gPotato releases Allods' New Horizons expansion trailer
Yesterday we told you about Allods Online's New Horizons expansion. Today gPotato has released a trailer that shows off a bit of what's coming when the content goes live on August 8th. You'll get new mercenary functionality, seven new astral allods (plus the ability to own one yourself), and a new PvP feature called the Smugglers' War.

The clips runs for well over four minutes, so head past the break to see for yourself.

[Source: gPotato press release]

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The War Z zombie MMO coming soon

Betas, Horror, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Sandbox

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no, this isn't about dayz
So how does a hardcore post-apocalyptic zombie sandbox experience grab you? No, we don't mean DayZ, although that one's pretty cool too. There's a new kid on this particular genre block, and it's an MMO called The War Z. It's brought to you by Hammerpoint Interactive and Arktos, and IGN has an interview scoop with a couple of the principals.

"We started thinking about doing a zombie game last year and began developing a quest-based MMO set in a large, zombie-infested world. Players would be able to explore and unlock new areas on the map as they progress through quests assigned to them in-game," explains executive producer Sergey Titov.

What about the DayZ connection? There really isn't one aside from coincidental timing. DayZ is a mod for an existing military sim title, whereas The War Z is a stand-alone MMO with a dedicated team behind it (and an upfront cost of $29.99). Is it really an MMO, though? That's in the eye of the beholder, we suppose, but it does have a huge open world, PvP, and the ability to support 250 players per server. The War Z also features dozens of skills and social niceties like bounties and in-game notes (no profanity, though; blowing off zombie heads should never result in inappropriate language).

If the War Z name sounds familiar, it might be because you're thinking of Paramount's World War Z property that we've talked about before. As with DayZ, though, the two projects are unrelated save for the similar names and the horror sub-genre.

The War Z is currently undergoing internal alpha testing, with a closed beta expected later this summer. IGN says the final game will be out "before the end of the year."

The Summoner's Guidebook: Why big metagame changes to League of Legends could be bad

PvP, Opinion, Free-to-play, MOBA, League of Legends, The Summoner's Guidebook

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The Summoner's Guidebook Big metagame changes to League of Legends, and why this could be bad
It's fairly common knowledge now that League of Legends is undertaking a massive rework of its two permastealth champions, Evelynn and Twitch, in the next big patch. These changes were desperately needed. Evelynn was in horrible shape; she's the least-selected champion in the game by far, and her gameplay needed a tremendous amount of work. Twitch was in better shape, but he was a poor selection on Summoner's Rift for either of his two roles (jungle and carry). Twitch was considered a strong pick on Dominion, however.

Riot Games chose to completely rework these two champions, weakening Twitch's stealth aspects in order to make him a more normal carry. Evelynn was completely reworked, and she is so much different from her old self that she's basically a new character. Both of these champions are still "weird," however; despite the changes, neither character exemplifies any element of the current metagame.

I think that this is sort of dangerous. Riot has already introduced one very weird champion recently that has turned out to be viable (if not strong), Jayce. The stealth rework patch will also be succeeded by Zyra, who has very weird caster/pet mechanics. With all of these dramatic meta changes, League will become very unpredictable, especially at the middle levels of skill where I reside. I think that this is somewhat of a bad thing.

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Kill3rCombo bumps Elsword level cap to 56, offers giveaways

Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Classes, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play

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Elsword Unveils JawDropping New Levels and Increased Level Cap
Kill3rCombo wants you to know that it has added some new content to its manga-inspired Elsword side-scroller. Players may now "dive deeper into the once pristine seaside kingdom of Hamel" thanks to two new levels (which bring the game's level cap to 56).

The devs are also releasing a new El Officer costume for Chung, who is the game's newest playable character. In addition to the new leveling content, Kill3rCombo is giving players a chance to win numerous prizes simply by logging in during the month of July. An Elsword-themed iPad, Amazon gift cards, and various in-game goodies are all up for grabs, so head to the official website to learn more. You can also check out a video of Chung in action after the cut.

[Source: Kill3rCombo press release]

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ArenaNet releases Guild Wars 2 Asura intro cinematic [Updated]

Betas, Fantasy, Trailers, Video, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Guild Wars 2, Free-to-play, Races

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Guild Wars 2 - Asura concept art
The Asura are here, and they're not very modest if we're going by Guild Wars 2's latest racial cinematic. "I personify genius," says the narrator before going on to explain how Asurans "exceed expectations in everything we do."

ArenaNet has released a two-minute clip that gives us some background on the diminutive race, and the running time is heavy on the firm's one-of-a-kind concept art. Since this is also an intro cinematic, it lets us in on what awaits players who elect to roll as one of the floppy-eared cutelings in this weekend's beta as well as Guild Wars 2's forthcoming launch.

See the Asura for yourself after the break.

[Thanks to Michael for the tip!]

[Update: Anet has released a new blog post that offers a bit of insight into the creation of the Asura cinematic.]

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All heroes in Heroes of Newerth will be free as of tomorrow

Fantasy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, MOBA

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Heroes of Newerth
The free-to-play fantasy MOBA Heroes of Newerth just got a little more free. Starting tomorrow, all of the heroes in the game will be free to everyone. S2 Games has announced that the entire pool of 107 heroes will be unlocked for play all the time when patch 2.6.11, aptly dubbed All Heroes Free, goes live on July 20th. This new system replaces the current one in which the pool of 16 free heroes rotate weekly.

Players who purchased a released hero within 15 days of the patch's launch will receive a refund. In addition, any player who has ever purchased a hero with real-world currency will receive an exclusive new super robot avatar, Mecha Gemini. Legacy players will also be rewarded for their loyalty by earning more rewards for each match played.

[Source S2 Games press release]

ArcheAge's fifth Korean closed beta coming in August

Fantasy, New titles, News items, ArcheAge, Sandbox, Housing

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ArcheAge screenshot
ArcheAge fans have something to look forward to next month: Thirteen thousand testers will be invited to take part in ArcheAge's fifth Korean closed beta test scheduled from August 16th through the 31st. XLGAMES also announced that the engine merge has completed and CBT5 will be presented on CryEngine3.

XLGAMES is calling CBT5 a "grand rehearsal for the open beta"; the open beta is currently planned for the end of the year. The company is looking forward to hearing testers' feedback on housing, marine content, and updated quests in this beta session.

[Source: XLGAMES press release]

RuneScape reaches 200 million users mark

Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Events, in-game, MMO industry, News items, RuneScape, Free-to-play, Browser

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RuneScape
You could say RuneScape has grown a bit since its launch way back when. In fact, Jagex has just announced that the popular free-to-play browser game has reached 200 million users! Hailing from over 150 different countries, RuneScape players could actually make their own country: The game's population is almost nine times that of Australia and over three times that of the United Kingdom.

Jagex released other fun facts relating to the booming populace of RuneScape. For instance,
players catch more than eight billion fish each year (enough to encircle the globe 20 times), amassed 58,000 times more gold than is held in Fort Knox, and have logged more than 443 billion minutes of game time since launch. Twenty-seven players meet their death every second.

For the next three days, RuneScape is holding a celebration worthy of this achievement that includes a newly discovered demon with 200 million hitpoints! Join the festivities in-game and check out some screenshots, including a comparison shot of Druids Circle then vs. now, in the gallery below.

[Source: Jagex press release]

Bigpoint company shake-up includes closing mobile games development

MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Browser, Miscellaneous

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Bigpoint company logo
German online games publisher Bigpoint, best known for free-to-play and browser games, will be dumping its mobile games development side very soon. Two managing directors, brothers Tobias and Philip Reisberger, and the chief communications officer, Nils Holger Henning, will be exiting the company to pursue work in mobile gaming elsewhere. Bigpoint CEO Heiko Hubertz stated that of the approximately 10 games that were in development, "some of them are finished and will launch in the next few weeks but most of them will be completely closed and shut down."

Bigpoint is not abandoning mobile games completely; it is looking to assist and support external development teams. The company has stated it is focusing on game development and distribution and plans to open more offices globally.

Blizzard acknowledges Diablo III always-on is DRM

Fantasy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Diablo III

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Blizzard acknowledges Diablo III alwayson Is DRM
Despite weeks of insisting that Diablo III's internet connection requirements were all about improving the experience for gamers, Blizzard has finally copped to the fact that the feature was actually designed to prevent piracy.

"While we've never said that this requirement guarantees that there will be no cheating or game cracks, it does help us battle those problems," Blizz co-founder Mike Morhaime said in a D3 state-of-the-game post.

As Rock, Paper Shotgun points out, Morhaime claims to "fully understand the desire to play Diablo III offline" despite the fact that the game was "designed from the beginning to be an online game that can be enjoyed with friends." The online requirement "is the best way for us to support that design," Morhaime writes.

Release Dates

Name Date
Arcane Legends Launch
August
MechWarrior Online Early Access
August 7
Guild Wars 2 Launch
August 28
LotRO Riders of Rohan Launch September 5
RIFT Storm Legion Launch Fall
DUST 514 Launch 2012
PlanetSide 2 Launch
2012
Transformers Universe Launch
2012
Neverwinter Launch
Q4 2012
Defiance Launch
April 2013


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