The MMO Report: Not Casey Schreiner edition
Video, Culture, MMO industry, News items, Humor, The MMO Report, Miscellaneous
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.
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
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
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.
Sevencore beta registration open, Occupation Wars mechanics detailed
Betas, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, Free-to-play
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
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.
Marvel Heroes unveils Rocket Raccoon
Super-hero, News items, Free-to-play, Marvel Heroes, Dev Diaries
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.
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]
"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
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
The clips runs for well over four minutes, so head past the break to see for yourself.
[Source: gPotato press release]
The War Z zombie MMO coming soon
Betas, Horror, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Sandbox
"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
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.
Kill3rCombo bumps Elsword level cap to 56, offers giveaways
Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Classes, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play
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]
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
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.]
All heroes in Heroes of Newerth will be free as of tomorrow
Fantasy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, MOBA
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]
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
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
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
"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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