Black Desert: The first alpha starts next week

In the Korean MMORPG Black Desert , the dates for the first alpha test are now known.

In Black Desert, things are supposed to move quickly with the Western launch. An alpha has now been scheduled for next week.

It starts on Monday morning, October 26th, and goes until the evening of November 1st. To get into the alpha, you should keep your eyes peeled. Some fan sites will be distributing keys through giveaways. There will likely also be a few available on Black Desert’s social media.

On reddit, the community has compiled a few international sites that players should keep an eye on if they are particularly eager for the alpha. It seems to be the best chance to get into the Black Desert alpha by checking these sites and participating in the respective giveaways.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. 2p

Crowfall: Win a Collector’s Edition of the MMO Hope!

In collaboration with Artcraft Entertainment, we are exclusively raffling a Collector’s Edition of the upcoming MMO Crowfall – as the world’s first magazine.

What is Crowfall?

Crowfall_Female_Confessor

Crowfall is the hope of MMO nostalgics who wish: There must be more than question marks over NPCs, than instanced battles, than portioned content. Described as a mix of “Game of Thrones” and “EVE Online,” Crowfall aims to provide an alternative to the MMO sameness of the post-WoW years. To achieve this, some ideas from real-time strategy games were looked at, so that an MMO game with “consequences” could flourish again. A strategy game where players compete for dominance using the means of an MMO.

But they simultaneously want to prevent the typical fundamental problem: early advantages trigger an avalanche, the strong players become permanently stronger and dominate. In the beginning, the world is still exciting and in turmoil; later, the structures solidify, and an advanced world stagnates.

Therefore, with Crowfall: The gameplay principle is constant, but the game world is not. Just like in a board game, a world has an “expiry date.” At first, the conditions become increasingly harsh, then it goes under – a new game on a new world begins. Players take their loot and move on. We have reported several times on the Kickstarter success; especially in the following posts, you can get an idea of it:

https://youtu.be/7rQlL_aGJXg

This is included in the Collector’s Edition

  • 2015 Contributor Level Package
  • Access to Alpha 2
  • 2 Guest Trial Passes for CROWFALL
  • Crowfall Game DVD
  • Collector’s Edition CROWFALL Artbook
  • The Music of CROWFALL CD
  • A Murder of Crows, behind the scenes CROWFALL footage
  • Collector’s Edition CROWFALL comic book
  • 21 Tabletop Miniatures of Crowfall Archetypes
  • 3 Months VIP Subscription
  • Digital Exclusive Item (To be announced)
Crowfall Collectors Edition

It could soon belong to you

If you want to win this stylish item, worth 179 US dollars, you need to answer the following question:

“What archetype will Crowfall add in the next Alpha?”

We will raffle off the Collector’s Edition among all participants who send their answer by October 30th, 8 PM, to [email protected]. Multiple entries are not allowed. Here are the terms of participation.

The physical edition with all contents will be sent to the winner when the game is released. However, the winner will receive the Alpha access right away, so they can also participate in the Alphas right away.

We wish all participants good luck!

Official website: https://crowfall.com

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Guild Wars 2: Last Developer Instructions Before the Expansion Launch!

Last instructions from the Game Director are meant to ease the launch into the Guild Wars 2 expansion for all players.

Guild Missions in the First Week

Shortly before Guild Wars 2 is expanded by Heart of Thorns, Game Director Colin Johanson gives some tips in the official forum that players should keep in mind when logging back into the game after the update.

Guild Wars 2 Guild Missions
The first guild missions will be for PvPers.

The guild missions can be chosen freely with Heart of Thorns (between PvE, WvWvW, and PvP), but not in the first week. The settings will only take effect for the following week. After the launch, this option is set by default to “Mixed”, meaning a random mix of all options. In the first week, there will be 3 missions from PvP and WvWvW, this has already been verified on internal servers. Guilds should therefore be able to prepare for this already.

Changes to the Graphics

Particularly colorful effects will be toned down in Heart of Thorns. Many animations have been revised to not display as many particles during high player and/or enemy counts, which not only slowed down many computers but also significantly limited the overview of the battle scene.

GW2-Eye-of-the-Storm
More effects? Better not. That just costs clarity.

In conjunction with this, the symbol for engineers has been revised – it should now be more distinct from that of the elementalists and thus also contribute to better clarity.

Fractal Leaderboards Are on Hold

Although the developers wanted to introduce the new leaderboards for the Fractals of the Mists at launch, they were not finished in time for the release of Heart of Thorns. They will be added in a future patch. As a small consolation, it is promised that these leaderboards will be significantly more interesting than previously planned. The longer development time will definitely have positive effects on the players. However, it was not mentioned whether this will happen in the form of rewards.


For more information about the Heart of Thorns expansion, you can visit our Guild Wars 2 topic page.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

NCSoft’s gray Free2Play MMORPGs Lineage II and Aion come to Steam

The two Korean MMORPG classics Lineage II and Aion will be coming to Steam in the West.

According to 2p.com, NCSoft plans to offer two of its somewhat aged games to a larger audience in the West via Steam. Lineage II is over 10 years old and is expected to shine on Steam once again. Aion is also quite old, and is also set to release on Steam this fall.

Both are free-to-play games that continue to receive new content. They still generate good revenue for NCSoft, as indicated by the financial figures.

According to NCSoft, both titles are blessed with a strong and loyal fanbase. They want to introduce them to a larger audience through Steam. A Steam presence is the next logical step.

Lineage2

Fits into NCSoft’s strategy to expand its presence in the West

Recently, NCSoft has shifted its focus to the West, wanting to expand its presence after having been scarce for many years – the new president has a Western affinity. The upcoming release of Blade and Soul also supports this, and they’ve brought in a key employee for community work from rival Blizzard.

In the competing game Tera, the Steam launch caused a significant boom. However, they had to scale back shortly after and block Steam access for players in Europe. The EU publisher of Tera had issues with this so-called “new global version.”

Interestingly, the EU publisher of Tera, who raised an objection against the Steam version of Tera, is Gameforge. They are also releasing Aion.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. 2p.com

Post-Mortem of the Crowfall Pre-Alpha and exclusive Druid artwork

The first pre-alpha of the upcoming competitive MMO Crowfall has concluded, and the developers are reflecting on it in a post-mortem.

For the developers, the analysis of network connections and stability was, of course, very important. The measured ping times also played a significant role. In the beginning, average times were around 500ms with spikes in the 2000ms range (sometimes even up to 18,000ms). However, by the end, the average times were 50-150ms. On the official website, they provided more details about the technical progress in a blog post (crowfall.com). The most important finding was how long it takes for a command to arrive at the MMO server from the player and be sent back.

Interesting: See what the Crowfall pre-alpha test has to offer(tte).

Furthermore, some interesting facts emerged. As seen in the following graphic, the Confessor was the most popular archetype of the beta.

Hunger Dome Crowfall Archetype

And so, confessors fired approximately 52,385 fireballs between September 23 and October 4. However, this type of information is rather not usable. It became more interesting when analyzing other skills during the same period. Only 369 Hellfire spells were cast, and Knights and Legionnaires used Charge only 198 and 90 times, respectively, but their primary attacks with the left mouse button were used 22,981 and 18,457 times. This led the team to the following questions that now need to be resolved:

  • Do people not understand the alternative combo accessed with “E”?
    • If this is the case, is it because of the user interface?
    • Are QWERTZ players distorting the data?
  • Is the E key too cumbersome to press?
    • Would a new key assignment solve the problem?
  • Is the time window to press this key too small?
  • Are the alternative combos weaker than the primary attack?

The developers have learned a lot from this first pre-alpha of Crowfall, such as that the server controller is very sensitive to latency. The big advantage is that the team around Crowfall is clearly beginning to be transparent early on and working closely with players to ensure the best possible gaming experience in the end. Future alphas will provide further important information based on gameplay logs, including the impact of this and that archetype and how its powers are utilized. In the next alpha, which starts in November, players can look forward to a new archetype: The Champion.

Additionally, we are excited to exclusively show you the first artwork of the Druid class from the MMORPG Crowfall! This depicts the male Druid, who seems to be very connected to nature and the animal world.

Crowfall Male Druid

By the way, you should take another look at Mein-MMO.de tonight. There’s something to win.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

World of Warcraft: New Rewards of the Slaughter Nights!

In World of Warcraft the Hallow’s End has begun, bringing numerous new rewards and changes this time …

Just don’t lose your head

If you have gotten used to the Hallow’s End in World of Warcraft in recent years, you might be surprised by all the changes this year. To help you keep your head, like a certain rider from the Scarlet Monastery, we have summarized the changes for you.

WoW Hallow's End Headless Horseman
New Daily Quests in the Garrison

Players will notice the biggest changes in their garrisons. A new NPC offers 4 Daily Quests. The tasks are relatively easy, and the four mission objectives are very close together. By completing the quests, players receive Creepy Supplies. These can be exchanged for various rewards next to the quest giver, allowing you to decorate your garrison festively.

The various packages not only serve appearance purposes but also attract new battle pets to your land or even attackable spiders that may drop the toy Bag of Spectral Spiders with some luck.

Two expensive but impressive costumes

WoW Hallow's End vendor

If you want to make an impression, you can once again buy the costume of the Lich King Arthas this year. It costs 200 Sweet and Sour, but has 50 charges, each lasting an hour. If you find the old Frost Throne invader outdated, you can alternatively secure a costume of Deathwing in human form for the same price. Especially players who have already collected all the other rewards from previous years may be interested in the costumes.

Another costume toy can be farmed in the area of the Daily Quests. The various enemies have a 1% chance to drop the Coin of Many Faces. This toy allows you to choose a different appearance once per day for an hour. According to the developers, there are hundreds of different possibilities!

… and don’t forget Pepe!

Achievement hunters should make a quick stop at their garrison, as it’s necessary to discover the little bird Pepe with his costume for a new Hallow’s End achievement. In the Alliance version of the garrison, he waits in the graveyard, on the grave of Ray D. Tear (a nod to the canceled raid that was originally planned for WoD). In the Horde garrison, Pepe waits behind the mines on some rocks.

With a Pepe on your head, the day is much more beautiful.
With a Pepe on your head, the day is much more beautiful.

The Hallow’s End event is still active until the morning of November 1st, so there is plenty of time to collect all the rewards. If you don’t have enough Sweet and Sour for all the rewards, you might want to send a secondary character for collecting.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. mmo-champion.com

PC Monitor Guide: What do I need to consider when buying?

Whether gaming, image and video editing, office work, or watching videos. A monitor is essential for that. However, each application area has different requirements for the device.

TN, MVA, PVA, IPS, TFT, LED, and 4k or Ultra HD are just some of the terms one encounters when choosing a monitor. They are also often used as a substitute for televisions, as they now offer the same functions thanks to HDMI or Display Port. Special variants like 3D devices or curved monitors are also available. For better understanding, we explain relevant technical terms – for example, we also address the difference between Hertz and FPS. Finally, as usual, there are the purchase recommendations.

It is perfectly understandable that one eventually loses track of what all of this means. For this reason, this article will deal with exactly this topic.

[toc]

The Panel: TN, VA, and IPS

Monitors TN-Panel
Left: TN panel in deactivated state Right: TN panel under voltage 1 – backlight 2 – separation layer 3 – polarizing filter 4 – color layer 5 – liquid crystal layer. Source: cyberport.de – Panel Technologies

The panel contains liquid crystals, which rearrange through electricity. Depending on the arrangement, they only let certain colors through. This creates the image we see. Many possible techniques are available, including: TN (twisted nematic), MVA (multi-domain vertical alignment), S-PVA (patterned vertical alignment), and S-IPS (in-plane switching).

TN is the most widespread, as it is both inexpensive to manufacture and has a very good response time. Furthermore, its power consumption is low. However, the downside is that one should only look at the device from the front. From the side, changes in contrast and color can be noticed.

LCD_RGB_subpixel
Source: Marvin Raaijmakers [CC BY-SA 2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

The panel consists of two crossed polarizers, with the liquid crystals in between. The incoming light from the backlight is now linearly polarized. This means: the direction and vibration of the light are largely constant. Thus, it can no longer pass through the second polarizer, as it is rotated by 90°.

Without voltage, the liquid crystals are arranged in a screw shape and “twist” the light. As a result, everything passes through the second polarizer, and the spot appears white. Under voltage, the crystals align vertically. The higher the voltage, the less light can escape, making the area increasingly darker. The only question remaining is how the colors are displayed. A pixel consists of 3 subpixels that use color filters for the basic colors red, green, and blue. Mixing these colors creates additional colors.

TFT, Panel, MVA
Source: LG Electronics

MVA panels offer a very good viewing angle and better contrast values. However, their response time is worse. Therefore, this variant is suitable for image editing but not for gaming. Furthermore, their power consumption is significantly higher as they require strong backlighting.

There are some technical similarities to the TN panels. There are still two polarizers and liquid crystals that twist when under voltage. However, their neutral position is already vertical. This means that without voltage, no light passes through, and the spot appears black. The second difference is that the pixels are subdivided into 3 more subpixels, achieving the advantages mentioned earlier. Additionally, there is S-MVA, which achieves a better response time through eight instead of three additional subpixels.

S-PVA has largely replaced regular PVA panels today. They represent a consistent further development of the (M)VA technology. They offer the same advantages, and their response time is significantly better. In return, their power consumption is even higher. Technically, there are hardly any differences.

Monitors IPS Panel
Left: IPS panel under voltage Right: IPS panel in deactivated state 1 – backlight 2 – separation layer 3 – polarizing filter 4 – color layer 5 – liquid crystal layer 5 – electrodes. Source: cyberport.de – Panel Technologies.

S-IPS is superior to TN devices in many aspects. Colors are represented more intensely, and the viewing angle is wider. Their response time is slightly less but better than VA panels. In contrast, it is the other way around: better than TN, worse than VA. Their power consumption is higher than that of all other devices. The same applies to the price. In the mid-price range, S-IPS will be inferior to S-PVA panels. In the higher range, however, one can definitely consider them, depending on personal preferences.

As the name suggests, the liquid crystals are not screw-shaped but aligned in a plane. The polarizers are no longer crossed. Under voltage, the crystals lie parallel and horizontally, thus absorbing all light. The less power supply there is, the more the crystals rotate by 90° and allow more light to pass through.

The Backlight: LCD, TFT, LED, and OLED

When choosing a screen, one eventually confronts these three common abbreviations: LCD (liquid crystal display), TFT (thin-film transistor), and LED (light-emitting diode). Since LC stands for liquid crystals, only this method has been discussed in the previous text. TFT is a special variant of the LCD. They have now adapted so that there is no difference between them. In LED, light-emitting diodes are used instead of fluorescent tubes, which are smaller and more energy-efficient. However, since more modern LCD/TFT displays are equipped with light-emitting diodes, they are increasingly similar.

Thus, these three terms are usually only relevant for older devices. More important is the position of the lighting. If it is installed at the edge, this area shines particularly bright while it gets darker towards the center.

Monitor Oledstruktur
In the image: The OLED structure. Source: oled.at

In contrast, OLED (organic light-emitting diode) works differently. Between two electrodes lies a luminescent layer. Under voltage, electrons and defect electrons (positive charge carriers) move towards each other and recombine to form an exciton. This releases photons, generating light. For this to be visible, one of the electrodes must be transparent. Devices with OLED displays are more energy-efficient, have higher contrast, are cheaper to produce, and have significantly better response times. However, their greatest disadvantage is their short lifespan.

The Connection: VGA, DVI, HDMI, and Display Port

VGA HDMI DVI Display

VGA is the analog connection and reduces image quality. The graphics card outputs a digital format, which has to be converted into analog because of VGA. The monitor then converts the analog back into the digital version. To save this trouble, DVI is more sensible, as it is a digital interface. This means that nothing needs to be converted.

HDMI can also be found on some devices. It is also a digital connection that additionally transmits audio signals, allowing these devices to have their own speakers. Accordingly, this connection is often found on modern televisions. The disadvantage of this connection is that it is very small and thus wears out more quickly.

Another option is Display Port. It offers the same functions as HDMI, and additionally allows USB signals to be transmitted. The speed is higher, production is cheaper, and it requires less electronics. This means that even flatter displays are needed. Apple’s Mini Display Port allows larger screens for notebooks.

When it comes to these connections, it is important to ensure the graphics card has such a connector. And one should be able to do without VGA by now.

3D and Curved Monitors

AOC 3D-Monitor

The 3D technology has existed for several years and has been very disappointing. Initially, one needed special glasses. Different images are displayed on the right and left eyes, from which the brain calculates a three-dimensional effect. Nowadays, there are variants without glasses, but these require an exact viewing angle, similar to Nintendo’s 3DS devices.

Currently, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Glasses absorb some light, the graphics card has to calculate everything twice, and the devices are very dependent on viewing angles. Problems may also arise in games, especially shooters. You see two crosshairs, and while software can generate a 3D crosshair from it, it may be considered cheating by the game, leading to bans. Additionally, the quality is not particularly good even with many devices. For this reason, 3D technology is currently just a gimmick.

Philips Curved Monitor Blickwinkel

Critically, curved monitors were received when they appeared. They are primarily aimed at relieving eye strain and improving spatial perception. You can find additional pros and cons in this article: Curved Technology: Is it Worth it to Invest in Curved PC Monitors?

On page 2, we will discuss response time, input lag, resolution, and refresh rate, among other things.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Final Fantasy XIV: Server transfer was successful – New EU servers are reportedly in Germany

In Final Fantasy XIV, the major relocation of the EU data center has been successful. The servers are reportedly located in Germany.

This went quite smoothly. Initially, 5-7 days were planned for the server relocation. Then it was estimated to take 34 hours. They finished a bit earlier. This morning, the servers in Europe came online.

Especially pleasing for us Germans: Initial tests show excellent pings. The servers are, if you can believe the tracers, located in Germany and are hosted by a company based in Düsseldorf, which has a branch in Frankfurt.

Final-Fantasy-Gebieter

In Frankfurt, the servers of several providers are now located. The megaservers of The Elder Scrolls Online are also based here. Therefore, it could be that Final Fantasy chose this central location for Europe and Germany as well. Another popular location for Europe servers is, by the way, Amsterdam.

Until the Patch 3.1 at the beginning of November arrives, Final Fantasy XIV players will be able to enjoy the “Halloween” event. This is set to start on October 22.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. Reddit

Destiny: Weekly Nightfall Strike and an Update on 20.10.

In the MMO shooter Destiny , a new update is being released today following maintenance work. Therefore, you should also postpone the Weekly Nightfall Strike.

Bungie advises: Wait with the Nightfall Strike until the patch this evening

Today, on October 20th, at 7:00 PM our time, a patch for Destiny will be released for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4. This patch is supposed to increase the rewards for the weekly Nightfall Strike. Therefore, Bungie advises against starting the week as usual with the Nightfall (to darken, as some say), but to wait until this evening when the patch has arrived.

We don’t know if there will be a server downtime due to the patch. There is talk of a hotfix, so it might go quickly and painlessly. Whether Bungie can fix the “Nightstalker” exploit this evening is unknown.

We have summarized the details of the update in this article.

Destiny-Psion

Weekly Nightfall Strike on October 20th is Dust Palace

The weekly Nightfall Strike has been heavily criticized. It is considered too hard for the little loot it offers. Some have even (sacrilege!) suggested skipping it altogether. Let’s see if it will really be worth it with the patch this evening.

This week, it’s in the Dust Palace – which was previously only available for PlayStation players. Modifiers are:

  • Small Arms – Damage from primary weapons is increased
  • Chaff – Radar does not work
  • Berserk – This is the new Angry, enemies cannot be stopped even by hit effects
  • Grounded – Guardians take more damage in the air

Here, Hunters can grab the cool capes in 3 different versions. In the heroic playlist, the modifier “Fresh Troops” is active this week.

Destiny-Run

The T3 Boss in Oryx’s Courtyard is Balwûr

This week, the witch Balwûr is wreaking havoc in Oryx’s Courtyard with her Ogres as T3 Boss.

In the fight against her, the ground is full of poison. A safe zone spawns. The trick is to go with the group into these safe zones, kill Acolytes, which spawn further safe zones, and deal damage to Balwûr. Only in the safe zone can you inflict damage on Balwûr and the Acolytes.

By the way: The daily story mission is the Paradox mission. There’s also a secret to discover here.

Destiny-Zavala-Cayde

Tips, Tricks, Guides, and Videos for the Week?

At this point, we show you videos on how to tackle the current challenges this week. Well, we can do without an exciting video of someone pulling the patch, tears in our eyes.

Our friend Nexxos has videos on the Nightfall Strike Dust Palace and on Balwûr in German:

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Important note: Don’t annoy the strike bosses too much, or this will happen:

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A group of Guardians takes on Balwûr, the T3 Boss in Oryx’s Courtyard:

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If you’re looking for teammates for the challenges of the week, check out our article on finding players. And if you want to receive the latest Destiny news right away, follow our author Gerd Schuhmann on Twitter.

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Demon Seals: Free2Play-MMO released trailer for nearly 2 million dollars

An impressive cinematic from Demon Seals shows how expensive the production of trailers is, how long it takes, and what purpose they serve.

The last piece is missing

In the last few decades, storytelling has become an incredibly important element of games. Understandably, because it allows players to emotionally engage with events and develop a greater interest in the game world and thus in the game itself, which can almost directly translate into financial gain for the developers. It makes perfect sense that a lot of money is spent on capturing the story when a greater success is anticipated from it.

Such investments often produce impressive trailers, as is the case with Demon Seals. The following trailer cost nearly 2 million dollars to produce:

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From the initial planning to the completion of such a video, it takes 2 years in this case. This probably also explains why many studios can rarely respond to the request for “more cutscenes”, like in World of Warcraft, as the costs and duration of production are simply immense.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. 2p.com

Guild Wars 2: Anecdotes about the Guild Halls

Heart of Thorns is at the starting line and the developers of Guild Wars 2 are talking a bit about the difficulties and amusing things of development.

Who needs players when there are turrets?

The first major expansion to Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns is just around the corner for release. After the developers have tried to reveal their plans and goals for individual content in numerous blog posts over the past months, they have seemingly now moved on to discussing the more amusing aspects of development.

While the goal for the guild halls was obviously to create a retreat for all players where social content is the focus, the implementation of this goal was fraught with some difficulties.

Guild Wars 2 Guild Halls Arena 23

Dara Potocska talks about a bug that caused turrets in the guild arenas to attack each other instead of the players. She filled the entire arena with turrets and waited to see what would happen. The summary: Nothing and no one survived.

Darren Mason reveals how much he immediately fell in love with the arena. “When I saw a fear turret pushing a player off the platform, I liked the arena instantly. It was hilarious.”

But it wasn’t always funny and easy. Link Hughes was under a lot of pressure from fans’ expectations after the guild hall feature was announced at PAX South. “The audience cheered for almost eight seconds. I was really excited and nervous myself.”

Whether all this excitement was worth it and whether the guild halls are now the feature that fans have been wishing for a long time, you can find out for yourself in three days, as the expansion Heart of Thorns will be released on October 23.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. guildwars2.com/de

Marvel Heroes 2015 gets controller support, new name, more features in December

The action MMORPG Marvel Heroes 2015 is undergoing a rebranding in December, becoming Marvel Heroes 2016 and gaining numerous new features.

Who wants to still be called 2015 in 2016, that would be totally off! In December, Marvel Heroes 2015 will become Marvel Heroes 2016, the game of the future so to speak. But you don’t just hire a graphic designer to slap a logo on, rather there are numerous additional features planned.

The most notable is an “optical update” of the really old heroes that have been around since the release. Then, they fulfill the community’s biggest wish and roll out controller support. They are introducing new arch-enemies with the Skrulls in the “Secret Invasion” storyline and the titan Thanos. And then they also have Steam achievements, leaderboards, and much more.

Marvel-Heroes-2016-SuperSkrull

They seem well-equipped for the time in December and beyond at the superhero MMO creators Gazillion.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Destiny: This Week’s Videos Are Rich in Gestures

In the MMO shooter Destiny , the Videos of the Week are announced each week. This time, everything revolves around the new emotes.

Last week feels like an eternity ago, but it was just last week …

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… okay, let’s start fresh.

Bungie has seen clips from the community and compiled a selection of videos that they particularly liked. Of course, a lot revolves around the new emotes.

Here, a guy with a silly helmet gets a bit too cocky and pays the price for it.

http://youtu.be/xie44VnFMCs

Here you can still see the bleak old world waiting for the cool new one to start where you can throw money at the monitor and it spits out trinkets!

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Typical “horror movie in the cinema” situation: Oh my God! Turn around!

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This was a selection of Bungie’s videos. We have two more. Here’s a special event: A high school marching band shows good music taste:

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And here’s a pack of wolves on the hunt.

http://youtu.be/KKH7wiyMDdU

Do you like Bungie’s selection? Do you like ours? Or do you have your own favorites? Maybe the Engram shower? Let us know in the comments. And if you have a great video that we should check out, send it to us via the Mein MMO contact form. It’s like the Bat-Signal … just very different. I better stop before the guy with the slow clapping comes back!

One more to close:

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The Elder Scrolls Online: Cap for Champion Points, Catch-Up System and Controller Support

In The Elder Scrolls Online , the next patch will introduce controller support and change the Champion Points system.

The next patch will definitely come, in 2 weeks it will be released on the PC version of The Elder Scrolls Online. Last week we discussed the new gameplay content that it will bring: The Orc city Orsinium and much more.

But that’s not all: Controller support for the PC is coming, especially for X-Input controllers (i.e. Xbox gamepads). To do this, you connect the controller, switch to gamepad mode in the menu, and then have the same interface on PC as console players.

Heavy Armor Orc Style
Heavy armor in the new Orc style.

An astonishingly frequently requested feature has also made it into the update: With the patch, TESO players can dye their shields.

Only 501 points can be spent, but newcomers receive them faster

The most important change with the Orsinium patch concerns the Champion Points. The cap is set at 501. If you have more Champion Points, you can no longer spend them. You will receive a respec, can then distribute 501 points, but no more. Currently, less than one percent of all TESO players are said to have reached this cap. Champion Points can be earned beyond 501, but not spent. Earning them becomes increasingly difficult the more you have achieved.

TESo Champion Points
This much EXP is needed for a Champion Point. The blue line counts, the orange one has been abandoned, it was significantly harder for players above the cap.

For players who have significantly fewer Champion Points, it will be faster. Fresh veterans can now earn their first points up to 10 times faster than before. Later, this bonus will diminish.

In the future, the plan is to raise the “Champion Points” cap via patch and adjust the curves accordingly.

PvP arenas requested, next trials promised

This new information was shared during an ESO Live show. In the Twitch chat, fans consistently and vehemently demanded the introduction of “PvP Arenas.” This seemed to be a coordinated action. No information was provided regarding this.

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However, it was stated that the next group PvE activity, the next trial, will come in early 2016. In the coming days, Halloween items will be available in the Crown Store. The witch festivities are being celebrated.

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Respec – The MMO Review – Changes are in the Air

In the realm of MMORPGs, and also in indie games, changes happen from time to time. Last week, some things were revealed that not all players might approve of, as changes are often viewed skeptically.

Darkfall Online

What is going on with the hardcore sandbox MMORPG Darkfall Online? Two companies are vying for the rights to the game. Big Picture Games and Ub3rgame want to secure the license – but it is for the old version. Adventurine will continue to manage the current game Darkfall: Unholy Wars. Big Picture Games aims to revive the old Darkfall via a new version called Darkfall: Rise of Agon. They plan to gather the costs for the licensing fees through a Kickstarter campaign.

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Ub3rgames’ version of the MMO will be called Darkfall: New Dawn and will be developed by a team of MMO experts. Who ultimately gets the license is uncertain. The background is that many Darkfall fans want the original version back, but the developer Adventurine can’t manage two versions and therefore wants to focus on Unholy Wars. By awarding the license of the first Darkfall version to another studio, they could hit two birds with one stone.

EVE Online

A change that some fans might not be happy about could be looming for the space MMO EVE Online. CCP Games is aware of the problem that newcomers are struggling to keep up with veterans and can hardly catch up at all. Therefore, they are currently considering whether veterans could sell unnecessary skill points to newcomers. This could allow newcomers to level up faster, and veterans could make productive use of the skill points they aren’t using. However, criticism of this system is already on the rise, as many players fear it could evolve into a Pay2Win system.

EVE-Online-Rubicon

The announcement of the transneural skill packages, through which players can buy skill points for money, was met with even more negative reactions. Here, too, the term Pay2Win is in the air. However, it is already possible to buy a fully trained character for EVE Online on the bazaar. Such changes are always difficult to sell to a tightly-knit community like that of EVE Online…

Gloria Victis

The sandbox MMORPG Gloria Victis received a major update that introduces several changes to improve immersion in the game. For instance, rain affects equipment. Bowstrings that get wet lose their elasticity, making it less effective to shoot with the bow in the rain. Additionally, a hunger and thirst system is being introduced. This will also elevate the status of craftsmen who prepare meals for other players so they can strengthen themselves for their adventures.

Gloria Victis Combat

More about Gloria Victis can be found here: Top 5 Indie MMORPGs of 2015 and 2016 and 5 Indie MMOs that promise a lot

Speaking of adventure, the new Spirit system will have a high significance, as in such a dark and brutal world as that of Gloria Victis, only the true heroes who have the necessary “spirit” to confront the atrocities in the world can survive. The more spirit a hero possesses, the more it helps their nation gain power. Because the more true heroes a nation has, the more powerful it is. This positively affects the players belonging to that nation, for example, by finding more resources or gaining more experience points.

Camelot Unchained

This change will likely please many fans of the MMORPG Camelot Unchained. By reaching a stretch goal during the ongoing crowdfunding campaign, stealth skills are now making their way into the game. However, they want to integrate the stealth skills carefully into the game. They should not be overpowered, so there shouldn’t be a “stunlock” and players cannot be constantly hidden. It will also not be possible to remain “invisible” all the time. For archers, there will be a sort of camouflage mode that must be used wisely.

Scouts are invisible, but they do not kill in this mode. Instead, there are Veilwalker/Veilstalker, which represent more of an assassin type. They want to work together with the community to integrate stealth into Camelot Unchained in a way that is fun and not frustrating, and always remains part of the overall concept. However, how far they go with this also depends on the further funding of the game.

Albion Online

The lore of the upcoming sandbox MMORPG Albion Online has been slightly rewritten, as author Peter Newman joined the team. The backstory now tells that the king of the Old World launched an expedition to the newly discovered land of Albion to establish a foothold there. Unlike the Old World, mythical creatures and magic exist in Albion.

A second expedition was sent after the first failed. This consisted of the Royal Army, which was more loyal to the king than the criminals from the first expedition. The Royal Army reached Albion five years before you arrive there in the game, so you will see their achievements. The backstory of Albion Online will also be released in novel form. The author Peter Newman is currently working on a first book.

Interesting: Albion Online: A Sandbox from Germany

And thus, another week begins in which many interesting things are sure to happen in the sector of indie MMORPGs!

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Action-MMO HeroWarz is coming to Europe!

Another MMO from Korea is making its way to the western world. HeroWarz is planning a release in Europe and America.

Lots of Explosions

In recent weeks and months, more and more MMOs have been making their way from Korea to the West, and HeroWarz is taking that step next. At first glance, HeroWarz looks like a Diablo 3 with significantly more explosions. In South Korea, it was briefly in the Top 10 of game hits.

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Players can choose from several classes that significantly differ in their abilities. The game offers numerous PvP opportunities alongside PvE aspects and regularly receives fresh content updates.

According to the Publisher KOG Games, they are very excited about the Western release, because “the game was a huge success in Korea. (…) We know that the game will appeal to the western market, and we can’t wait to share more details with you.”

One of those details would likely be a release date, as there is none yet.

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Source(s):
  1. mmoculture.com

Echo of Soul has the new class Occultist – Aeria Games wants you to level it to 60

The western version of the Korean MMORPG Echo of Soul has received new game content with the Occultist and Patch 1.5.

Red Set of Vengeance

Last week it happened: The Occultist, the new class for Echo of Soul, was released. This is the Warlock in English. He comes with his own starting area, Kardilla. From level 7-8, he will join the other players in Memoa.

Anyone who has leveled an Occultist to level 60 by October 31 will receive the exclusive costume “Red Set of Vengeance (right).” A small hint from Aeria Games: Play him.

The two dungeons Destroyed Kardilla and Crimson Fortress also came new to EoS. Additionally, new levels are being added to the Infinity dungeons, the next PvP season is starting, and some new items and vendors are being introduced.

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The Division should also work as a solo game

In the upcoming MMO shooter “Tom Clancy’s The Division“, solo players should be able to survive if they are willing to adapt their playstyle.

In a video interview from South Africa, Community Manager Hamish Bode answers questions. When asked about the commitment to release DLCs for The Division, he did not make any promises, stating only that they plan to support The Division for a long time.

He emphasized especially how free and limitless the world of The Division is, truly an RPG. Players have numerous options to customize their characters, with several “Vanity” slots for cosmetic items. Even though there has been a lot of discussion about PvP in the Dark Zones lately, it is possible to play completely without PvP and focus more on cooperation.

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Players could also go solo if they wanted to. It would probably be advisable to adapt the playstyle a bit, focusing more on long range and becoming a multi-tasker. In groups of up to 4 agents, everyone can specialize more.

The beta for The Division is set to begin in December. In the coming months, we should learn more about the game, which is scheduled for March 2016 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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Destiny: The first raid would have almost been called a toilet

In the MMO shooter Destiny , the raid designer revealed some secrets from the development period of the raid “The Vault of Glass”.

The story of the raid “The Vault of Glass”, the vanilla raid of Destiny, has now been extensively discussed in a podcast. It turns out that it was originally supposed to be called “The Glass Throne”, but that was quickly vetoed: Glass Throne sounded too much like a toilet.

In this early phase, the small team agreed on other things: It became clear where the raid was located, at a key point on Venus. This also made the main enemies, the Vex, clear. And they agreed on the overarching theme of the raid “Descent”.

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At first, outside of the raid team, they only knew about the entrance

Initially, “The Vault of Glass” was a big secret even within the studio. A small team within Bungie worked in isolation on it, telling “outsiders” only as much as was absolutely necessary. When they then needed a video, they told the video department: We will only show the entrance! And in the end, the door opens, and that’s it!

Destiny-Vault-of-Glass

Understandably, they reacted with raised eyebrows.
This door, the entrance to the raid “The Vault of Glass”, also played a role in the next step. When they first went public, at least “internally”, and introduced the rest of the Destiny team, they only showed the beginning and said: Find out how it works.

Here they slowly noticed that they had something special when the Destiny employees passionately tinkered with how the damn door opened.

Not just action, but also quiet moments for Guardians to bond

As a special feature in raid design, the head of the whole thing, Luke Smith himself, sees the transition from action to quiet moments. After very action-packed boss fights with many adds, they would then include a “quiet passage”, like a jump puzzle. This provides players with laid-back moments where everyone laughs at the one who just can’t get it right.

Destiny-Gorgon

These passages then served for relaxation. The Guardians talked to each other, grew closer, and here friendships and bonds formed among the raid teams.
As special design moments in “The Vault of Glass”, Smith describes the “Leap into the Void” or the “Gorgon maze” – both moments where he was considered crazy when he first suggested them, but which turned out to be effective in practice.

After an action-packed battle, you suddenly find yourself at an abyss, without a clear idea of where to go next. Smith and the team hoped that in every raid group, there would be one person who would take the leap into the unknown, the “Leap of Faith”.

Speaking of leaps of faith:

http://youtu.be/9ZyQK6kUdWQ

The Gorgon maze is not just a change in the speed of the raid, but also in its mechanics. After teaching players to operate in teams the whole time, it was crucial to stay together here. And for the developers, it was also important to prove that you can create an exciting moment with silence and tension, completely without gunfire.

Weird: As inspiration for certain spots in the raid, Smith cites various influences such as “Machinegun Willy” from Double Dragon, the console classics Megaman I or Megaman II. No question, Smith has played a lot as a kid and teenager.

Destiny-Oryx
Is the inspiration for Oryx? Machinegun Willy from Double Dragon – at least the way to him.

For Smith, the different raids are like Golden Retrievers

Smith sees the different raids like the Golden Retrievers in his family while he was growing up. They all have similarities but are also distinct. In the second raid, “Crota’s End”, they tried to convey a dense and packed experience, skipping the quieter passages. They continually work on the formula of what makes the raids in Destiny unique.

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By the way, Smith debunked a rumor: There was never a serious plan for a raid in “House of Wolves”. They knew after “Crota’s End” that they needed more time for the next major raid and went straight to “King’s Fall”. And here they continued the story from Crota’s End.

There was never more than a placeholder graphic for a raid in “House of Wolves”.

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World of Warcraft: Get the Murloc pet Terky!

The latest patch of World of Warcraft made a small Murloc pet available that was previously only obtainable in China. We will tell you where the little Terky is.

Grglrglmrlglgelgrl! (A Murloc Lady to Fall in Love With)

The latest patch of World of Warcraft has brought a small change that has only recently become widely known. Players can get a little Murloc lady as a pet, which was originally only obtainable in China.

If you do not yet own Terky, you should take a trip to the lands of Wrath of the Lich King, specifically to the Borean Tundra. There, you need to steer towards the ruins of the Whiplash Scourge, dive into a small underwater cave, and you can snag a white Murloc. The exact location can be found in this video from mmo-champion:

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The various Murloc pets were previously considered particularly rare and highly sought after, as most were only available for various promo events, which often were limited to specific countries. Terky could previously only be obtained with a code from iCoke in China. But it wouldn’t have been fair to keep such a cute Murloc lady away from the players, would it?

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Source(s):
  1. mmo-champion.com