The child-friendly MMO Lego Minifigures Online celebrates its launch on June 29. Previously, the game was in a “Open Beta” as a Free2Play title, but is now shifting to a Buy2Play model. In recent months, numerous changes have been made to present a more exciting world for children and customers than before.
Lego Minifigures Online: A Colorful World for Kids
The MMO by FunCom is undoubtedly aimed at a very young target audience. The typical Lego figures are set in a medieval fantasy world and must protect the good king from the creatures of the evil wizard. While some may roll their eyes at the cliché collection, children could very well enjoy it. And thus, also MMO parents who want to share their hobby with their offspring.
The game will be released simultaneously for PC, Mac, and Linux, but also for iOS and Android devices. All players are in the same world, regardless of which device they use. For example, the older brother could play from his tablet while the little sister sits at the father’s PC.
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The European price is not yet known, but it is likely to be based on the American pricing (30$ for the PC version, 5$ for individual “worlds” of the mobile version). The game will also be available on Steam.
Why, in a Lego MMO, one cannot build as freely as one could in Minecraft, despite it being a suitable option, will be explained in this article: Costs for penis patrol prevent large LEGO MMO.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
After loud complaints about the pre-purchase of Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns in recent days, there has been a reversal. Almost all comments from the outraged fans have been taken into account and some missteps have been corrected.
All’s well that ends well?
“Long-time players are not appreciated!” and “We thought you had to buy the base game first!” were just two of the wild accusations that ArenaNet and NCSoft have endured in recent days. The reason for the anger: Players felt betrayed and neglected, seeing “latecomers” who only found Guild Wars 2 with the expansion being favored – after all, they would receive the base game for “free” with the expansion, while loyal players would miss out.
Now it has been announced on the official page: Your complaints have been heard, and we are addressing your wishes as best as we can!
Bonus character slot for veterans, refund of the base game for recent purchasers
With the new character slot, veterans can also create a Revenant .
Veterans of Tyria who registered the base game before January 23, 2015, will receive a bonus character slot if they purchase a pre-order version of “Heart of Thorns” and register it to their account. There may be delays in delivering the character slot due to the significant effort involved in this very spontaneous decision.
Those who purchased the base game of Guild Wars 2 and now feel cheated because it is included in the expansion will also receive compensation. If they bought the standard version between January 23 and July 31 of this year and now purchase “Heart of Thorns” in the pre-sale on the official website, they will receive the price of the base game as a refund.
If someone purchased the game between January 23 and June 16 and no longer wants to play it, they will also receive a full refund. Logically, the corresponding account will be closed.
And I always tell you: Sometimes complaining does help.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny , fans are upset about the costs of the expansion “The Taken King” and the content of the individual editions. An interview with Bungie’s Game Director has made things significantly worse.
Fans upset about three things with “The Taken King”
Fans of Destiny were frustrated last week when the prices and editions for “The Taken King” were announced, mainly over three things:
The price for the “The Taken King” expansion at $40 is only $20 cheaper than the price for the Legendary Edition. That includes “The Taken King”, the base game Destiny, and the first two DLCs. Many fans feel that “newcomers” are favored while “existing customers” are neglected. After all, veterans will have spent around $140, while newcomers pay only $60, and both groups are at the same level.
Additionally, many players are upset that Bungie is selling a “Collector’s Edition” again with special items, including digital ones: The Collector’s Edition contains some emotes, shaders, and exotic class items that grant additional experience. Veterans are frustrated that they would have to pay $80 for things, although they already own the original Destiny and the two DLCs, just to get the additional emotes.
80 dollars … and veterans have already spent so much on it.
Unfortunate interview stirs emotions
Last night, a interview on Eurogamer was published featuring Game Director Luke Smith. He is the former journalist who designed the raids with a team and now takes on a larger role in public relations for “The Taken King” for the first time.
The tough questions about Destiny
Most of the interviews conducted by Bungie staff last week during E3 were what are called “soft-ball” interviews. Friendly questions and prompts so that the interviewee can present their product and its many advantages. Most interviews at E3 were about the new subclasses and how damn cool they are.
The interviewer from Eurogamer played “hard-ball” instead, putting the “tough questions” on the table and didn’t back down:
Do you get the emotes if you don’t buy the Collector’s Edition?
Will there be a chance to purchase the items and emotes in the Collector’s Edition separately at some point?
Why does the expansion now cost $40, when it offers so much less gameplay content compared to the base game? You’re buying only one zone for the same price instead of four, way fewer missions, and so on.
Community Manager DeeJ at a “very soft” interview at E3 – no nasty questions asked, everything is nice and friendly … the interview this article discusses, goes quite differently:
http://youtu.be/TUFCzX8FSGs
“When you see the emotes, you’ll throw money at the monitor”
The Game Director responded in a way that is driving fans crazy on Reddit.
He stated that nothing in Destiny is offered “separately”, as that goes against company policy. If someone wants the emotes, they must buy the Collector’s Edition. D The issue is that they haven’t shown everything the players would get for their money yet. If Smith were to show a video of the emotes right now, the interviewer would throw money at the monitor.
Smith did not address the fact that the British version of Destiny would cost 40 pounds (around 63 dollars), stating that this currency is “foreign” to him, implying that there is a sea of the world between them.
“The value is right”
Smith repeatedly defended the price of the expansion by saying that the “value” is correct. Currently, players do not know what awaits them with “The Taken King”. There will be 2 PvP modes, 4 new PvP maps, and a lot more that will be discussed later. Bungie is very confident that they will provide players with something that justifies the “value”.
Smith also explained the discount for newcomers by referencing value. It is about the value at that particular time. Those who join Destiny late have missed out on the first year’s experiences and cannot repeat them. The time of “Crota’s End” is over and will not return.
How much is the memory of it worth to you?
They are currently working on embedding these “memories” of what Guardians have achieved in the first year directly into Destiny. Additionally, several exclusive goodies will be included in the pure $40 expansion for veterans, such as a Sparrow, an emblem, and a shader.
The conversation creates the impression of growing tension between the two speakers. The interviewer repeatedly probes, questioning the proportionality of the prices, and asking why he can’t buy the emotes from the Collector’s Edition for a few pounds.
Smith insists that the content justifies the price. Bungie is confident in that. He cannot say more.
The fact that veterans can only obtain these three digital items if they purchase the $80 Collector’s Edition leads to serious disappointment.
Reaction to the interview is disastrous
As expected, a wildfire ignited in the comments section directly under the Eurogamer article. Generally, there is not much love for the MMO shooter. However, the reaction to the interview is extremely negative even in the usually Destiny-friendly subreddit /r/DestinyTheGame. A post on the topic has already garnered 1800 comments within 3 hours.
The tension had been high due to the naked prices and the facts already last week. While Bungie staff typically appear diplomatic and placating, fans now perceive the Game Director as brash and rude. Smith is repeatedly described negatively, which in German could be summed up as “slippery, arrogant jerk”.
Especially the “$80” Collector’s Edition, which veteran players are expected to purchase at full price even though they already own most of the software, is particularly frowned upon.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny , there is a Video of the Week from Bungie every week, and sometimes one that we choose. This time, Bungie didn’t have one, but we found a reader-video that does well in the Trials of Osiris.
This week, Bungie left us hanging; there was no Video of the Week because there was also no Weekly Update: E3 got in the way.
Anyway, you could say the Videos of the Week were the Destiny trailers from E3. They showed new footage of “The Taken King” and drew the most attention. Additionally, a heartfelt yet spectacular farewell video from a Destiny clan to a deceased player garnered worldwide attention. Many of you sent it to us or pointed it out. Unfortunately, it is not available in Germany for legal reasons.
The Video of the Week we ultimately chose comes from a reader who edited it using Sharefactory. It is a classic “Look how I can go off” montage from the Crucible, specifically from the Trials of Osiris. This “The Last Word” … you just can’t get enough of it.
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If you have strong videos that we should check out: You can reach us via the contact form, located bottom right on the website. Have fun and be careful out there, Guardians.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
During the period between our test and the open beta, the developers have continued to work. Previous assurances, such as a crafting system, have thus been met. Below is a summary of the patch notes:
The daily quest system has been revised. Among other things, these can now be canceled. Furthermore, there is no longer a “Win X Games in a Row” quest.
The deck creation has been revised. Previously, decks were tied to heroes, meaning each hero represented a deck, so multiple or even duplicate heroes were needed for more decks. Currently, there is no limit on the decks that can be created.
There is a level system. With a level up, you receive titles or gold, for example. The required experience points (Fame) are earned through games and quests.
Spellweaver Trial: It corresponds to the Arena of Hearthstone. This means you create your deck (30 cards) from a selection of one card from each of three randomly provided options. Shrines are automatically added to the deck.
Crafting: Individual cards can be transformed into shrines and shrines into cards.
As well as numerous bug fixes and balancing. Among other things, the issue of regular server crashes has been resolved.
While at the time of the test only the draft mode was funded, now 5 more goals have been reached. Later, there will be guilds, six additional heroes, a league system, PvE boss battles, and an Android version.
Furthermore, there are now forums for various languages. A small community has already formed for the German subforum.
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The Dark Fantasy MMORPG The Secret World aims to maintain its course and continue to focus on strong stories. And to get things moving.
The Lead Designer of The Secret World, Romain Amiel, was a guest at Massively Overpowered and presented the plans for the game there. Rumors were circulating about the next location of the storyline: Congo, Antarctica, or even the Moon. Which of the three would it be, he was asked?
None of the three would come next to The Secret World, said Amiel. First, a different location is planned before looking closer at Congo, Antarctica, or the Moon.
After Tokyo, the speed of The Secret World should pick up
For the future, the Game Director promised to deliver future game content more quickly. With “Kaidan”, the Tokyo storyline, one felt bound by earlier, complicated templates. A million-city like Tokyo requires a lot of effort to do it justice: it needs a lot of space, many details. That all took a long time. Now they believe they can deliver faster.
For the future, players should expect exciting new stories, fully voiced, with the immersive gameplay that The Secret World is so proud of and that fans expect. Some updates are also planned for the current year.
The Secret World lives on the story. That is one reason why they do not plan features like housing. Players would probably not forgive a long pause while working on a feature like “Apartments”. They have some other RP features in mind that require less work, which they could bring alongside new stories.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the sandbox MMO Landmark, there are slight issues with the respawn. It works as intended, but players don’t perceive it that way.
“If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it – does it make a sound?” This is a topic often debated by bar philosophers after a few drinks. In the sandbox MMO Landmark (and essentially in its parent project Everquest Next), there’s a similar problem: The more trees are cut down in an area or the more mobs die in a specific region, the less frequently they appear. “It makes some sense,” you might think. But not for MMO players. There, we have the “respawn,” the reappearance of enemies and resources.
And that doesn’t seem to be working as expected in Landmark.
Landmark has a respawn problem: The forestry is tipping
On Friday, a developer spoke out and explained the issue: When a tree is cut down, a new tree is supposed to grow somewhere else. However, Landmark aimed not to have a “nebulous, magical tree replaces magical tree in the same spot” mechanic, but rather the tree can reappear somewhere else on this island in a “biome,” a suitable climate zone.
But if, for example, lumberjacks are active on the east coast while there are none on the west coast, there’s an imbalance that is tipping more and more: More and more trees remain uncut in the west, while fewer are standing in the east, and those are being cut down faster.
The respawn mechanic was intended as such and works as planned, but it’s understood that players have an issue with this concept, and something will be devised. Until then, they simply restart the servers at night every now and then.
http://youtu.be/wR_BiyGvLIo
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Neverwinter , work is being done on a huge map for the “Strongholds”, the fortresses of individual guilds. To enable a battle between two guilds, it was necessary to mirror the area on a map. This made the map enormous.
The developers at Neverwinter provide an insight into their work. This time, it was about why the new map for the guild strongholds is so vast (apparently 4 times larger than the second largest map) and what experiences are to be had there.
The new map will be so massive in order to allow space for all the activities that players are supposed to engage in there. They need enough space to build their fortress, the monsters to defeat must be somewhere, and space has also been left for “future locations”. There will be further enemies lurking there, which must be unlocked first.
Furthermore, the map should also be suitable for PvP between two guilds. A way had to be found for a guild to practically “move to another map” with its entire fortress for the duration of such a PvP match. Therefore, a map was mirrored and duplicated.
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However, Neverwinter relies more on the connection of the guilds and the desire of fantasy role-players to own their own castle. That could work out. Certainly an interesting and large-scale feature, with which Neverwinter wants to further distinguish itself from the Free2Play uniformity and perhaps can.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The Korean action MMO Lineage Eternal launches today in Korea its focus group test.
According to MMOCulture, a first, still very small focus group test starts today for Lineage Eternal. It is set to last until June 26.
Participants in the test are mainly students from the university in Seoul. However, some “non-Korean” students are also expected to take part in the test. After all, the intention is to release the game not only in South Korea but also outside of it.
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According to NCSoft, the development of Lineage Eternal is “on schedule.”
The Lineage MMORPGs are incredibly popular in Korea. The first one, despite its biblical age of 17 years for an MMO, still brings in plenty of money for NCSoft. However, with Lineage Eternal, they aim to go in a somewhat different direction, as initial images and ideas resemble Diablo III. Korean analysts strongly associate the fate of the publisher, known here in the West for Guild Wars 2, with the fortunes of Lineage Eternal.
With the upcoming patch 6.2 for World of Warcraft, there will be a handful of new factions. Since reputation is needed this time to enable the long-awaited Flying in Draenor, we provide you with a small overview so you can effectively plan the upcoming weeks.
World of Warcraft: Triple Respect in 6.2.
New mounts and other toys are also available from the factions.
To unlock flying in an upcoming mini patch, you need – in addition to other requirements – a respectful reputation with the factions of the Tanaan Jungle. All factions have some small quests, but simple grinding or hunting rare mobs can also lead to success.
For the Order of the Awakened, a new Arrakoa grouping, there will be a daily task requiring you to kill 10 rare mobs and collect corrupted Apexis fragments from them. The quest grants 1500 reputation each time, meaning that with consistent play, you’ll need about two weeks to reach the “respectful” reputation level. Those reminded of the timeless isle might just be right…
With The Saberstalkers, the goal can be reached relatively quickly. Overall, they have two quests, one of which is daily (1500 reputation) and the other weekly (3500 reputation). For both tasks, you are required to kill a fair number of elite enemies. Since killing these enemies also grants reputation points, this faction can be completed relatively quickly if you team up with a few like-minded individuals.
The third reputation bar depends on your faction. Horde players collect for Vol’jin’s Headhunters and Alliance players gain favor with the Hand of the Prophet. In terms of content, they are identical: Every day, 4 random daily tasks await completion by you. Although theoretically, there is more to do than with the other factions, the reputation gain here is the slowest. Each day, you earn 1250 reputation, which totals about 19 days to become respectful.
As rewards, a ton of mounts, pets, followers, tabards, and vanity items or useful items await you. With the Order of the Awakened, there is also the possibility to teleport directly to a rare enemy. The bounty hunters or Hands of the Prophet provide the materials necessary for upgrading the shipyard.
How to gain reputation with the factions of the Tanaan Jungle the fastest
Four factions have settled in the Tanaan Jungle, with which you need to get on well.
If you want to speed up the entire process a bit, you should make use of the numerous enhancement methods. The most promising is the Trading Post, which you should upgrade to level 3 before the patch arrives. This will increase reputation gain with all WoD factions by 20%. Also, guild standards can be helpful at least when killing enemies, as they grant all guild members in the vicinity 5-15% extra points, depending on the quality of the standard. Other events also provide reputation bonuses, such as the Darkmoon Faire. For tokens, you can buy a Darkmoon Hat, which also provides 10% for an hour when used. However, since the fair won’t appear again until July 5, this could be too late for many farming players.
Lastly, the Medallion of the Legion should be mentioned, which can be obtained from certain rare enemies in the Tanaan Jungle. When used, it increases the player’s reputation with all WoD factions by a whopping 1,000 points. A nightly search for the coveted enemies could therefore significantly accelerate the process.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the multiplayer shooter Star Wars Battlefront, DICE chose the PlayStation 4 as the lead platform. However, there are rumors that graphics giant AMD and thus the PC want to utilize the traction of Star Wars.
In an interview with PS4daily, a representative from Electronic Arts discussed why Battlefront was primarily showcased on the PlayStation at E3. The reason: The PlayStation 4 is currently the “lead platform” for Star Wars Battlefront. All developer builds are currently on the PS4.
However, the game is also being developed for Xbox One and PC and is scheduled to launch on all three platforms simultaneously on November 17.
Could AMD be planning a bundle
Furthermore, there are speculations that hardware giant AMD wants to use Star Wars Battlefront to sell a new generation of graphics cards, the Radeon X Fury generation. A US site speculates that AMD could sell the new graphics cards in a bundle with the Star Wars game.
AMD had a 30-second presentation of Battlefront on PC during E3. However, this video was extracted from a stream and therefore has rather poor quality:
MMORPG fans often demand as much realism as possible in a game, and some “retro” elements are also on their wish list. However, when games offer this, they are rather rarely successful.
For the Masses or Rather a Niche?
Ultima Online is an MMORPG that is repeatedly cited as an example of how brilliant the genre used to be. Developers are supposed to orient themselves towards Ultima Online, and then they would create the ultimate MMO that becomes a huge success! However, looking at Kickstarter campaigns for MMORPGs like Das Tal, Trials of Ascension, or the first campaign of Shards Online, it is noticeable: All of these crowdfunding campaigns have failed.
Are “retro” elements like open PvP or full loot really not as popular as is often claimed? Such features cater to a relatively small audience. On one hand, you need a high tolerance for frustration if you are playing in a game with open PvP and full loot. This already limits the player base.
The PvP in Ultima Online: Only beautiful memories?
Then you should bring a lot of time because you have to constantly replace the equipment that is taken from you after a lost duel. This also reduces the number of players. Furthermore, players should be familiar with and have loved the venerable games to find enjoyment in a more modern representative with these features. And suddenly, part of the potential players is gone…
As harsh as it sounds, and even if many do not want to admit it: MMORPGs with open PvP and full loot are aimed only at a niche of gamers. This may change again, but at the moment, the preferences of the majority of gamers seem to lie elsewhere. When you read statements like: “If the game were just like Ultima Online, the developers would have raised millions of dollars through crowdfunding!”, you can only smile about that.
From Frustration to Fun?
And yet, many gamers are also keen on realism in existing or future MMORPGs. Let’s take the example of Shroud of the Avatar. Nights should be pitch black, there are no quest markers for NPCs, and you hardly know where to go. If you want to see something at night in the wilderness, you need a torch or a light spell, and even then, you can hardly see anything. If you want to find NPCs or specific locations, you have to ask around – and that through text input!
The fans of SotA think this is great and do not want anything to change. However, one forgets that the game should also be successful. Who likes sitting in front of a black screen because the nights in the game are so pitch black? Who wants to ask hundreds of NPCs before finding the one where they can turn in the quest?
Shroud of the Avatar mainly targets MMO veterans.
This appeals to hardcore gamers who are into such realism and “retro” elements. However, it will probably not reach the masses. Statements like: “Players will recognize the value of this realism while playing,” are rather far-fetched. If a game generates frustration, you are unlikely to persist through it in the hope of finding fun in that frustration.
Retro and realism are two goals that can work in MMORPGs, but only under certain conditions: On one hand, the fun of the game should never suffer. On the other hand, developers should not use retro and realism just for the sake of it, but only when it makes sense.
If game elements have developed sensibly, setbacks for the sake of setbacks are counterproductive.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the survival MMO H1Z1 there will be a server wipe next week. This week there are fire arrows.
There are changes to the plans for June in H1Z1. Tomorrow players in H1Z1 can play like Robin Hood. Modified arrows for survivors will come in the quiver. There might even be “explosive arrows” crafted. That would be Rambo-style.
The “4 military bases” have been postponed to next week, which are to be newly added to the map. And these bases require a map wipe; everything built will then disappear. It was initially thought that it could be done without a wipe, but in practice, that was not possible.
Therefore, the current incarnation of the H1Z1 world will soon meet its end. The developers are not happy about this and hope that the next world will last longer.
The team version of the Battle Royale has also been postponed to May 30.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Tonight, on Monday, June 22, there will be several hours of maintenance for the MMO shooter Destiny . There is no talk of a patch or update so far.
The E3 is over, “The Taken King” is still a long way off, “House of Wolves” has been released – and Bungie has decided to take the servers offline for maintenance, expected to last about 6 hours. This was communicated via Twitter.
Destiny is offline tonight, June 22
As far as we know, a patch is actually not pending. There is no major feature prepared that would take so much time. Nothing has been announced. What will happen tonight is a mystery.
The tweet regarding the 6-hour downtime only contains the note “Future Plans.”
Spread the word. Destiny will be offline for maintenance tomorrow, starting at about 8AM PDT. Downtime could last for 6 hours. Future plans!
Will there be a patch or update tonight? And what will it bring?
The servers are scheduled for maintenance from around 5:00 PM our time until about 11:00 PM. The 6 hours are likely the maximum assumed. This likely means: No Destiny for many tonight.
But all of that is speculation at the moment. Most likely, “Future Plans” could refer to some patch that will activate much later, perhaps even containing gameplay content for “The Taken King.” Should something be deployed that includes further gameplay content for the future, data miners are surely ready to dig for hints about the distant future of Destiny.
We now know the immediate future: No Destiny tonight. Adjust your plans accordingly.
Update 16:00: Bungie has temporarily disabled the Trials of Osiris. They are supposed to be reactivated after the patch.
Update 16:40: The patch today, June 22, will not change anything at all, but will simply lay the “foundation” for further updates in Destiny, Bungie just tweeted. That sounds suspiciously like a “preload patch like before the last expansions.”
Update 22:10: About 50 minutes before the end of the downtime, the maintenance is officially over. Destiny is back online. There are no patch notes, nothing is changing as far as we know. According to Bungie, it was an update “behind the scenes.”
After the closed beta phase of SMITE on Xbox One has been running for several months, it is slowly approaching its end: Next month, the game will be accessible to all owners of Microsoft’s current console, the Xbox One!
Only an Xbox Live Gold account is needed for SMITE
If you haven’t engaged with SMITE, the MOBA from HiRez, you may want to reconsider your decision: Starting from July 8, all Xbox owners with an Xbox Live Gold account will be able to play the action MOBA Smite and engage in exciting battles with various deities.
If you have already participated in the closed beta, you don’t need to worry about game progress: Everything will be transferred to the open beta and eventually to the release version.
All players who have tried SMITE on PC can transfer their progress, skins, and other purchased items to the Xbox version once and don’t have to miss out on anything. A transition will thus be particularly easy.
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On the official YouTube channel of HearthStone, a few new commercials have been released. What this has to do with a philosophical ogre and a very unhappy sheep, you can find out here.
A big heart is not as important as a big foot!
In this American HearthStone commercial, we find out what happens when the popular Master Inventor Oberfunks uses his invention on a regular sheep to withstand the forces of an ogre.
In the second spot, there is a small press conference featuring both protagonists of the first video being interviewed after the last match. As expected from Blizzard, the whole thing is overflowing with humor and corresponds exactly to what one would expect from these characters in the card game. But take a look at the two short clips yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dteg3cm1IBU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrmC54OuZqI
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The fantasy MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV will receive a massive expansion titled “Heavensward” next week on PC, Playstation 3, and 4. What does Patch 3.0 bring? How did the early access go? How is the expansion being advertised in Japan?
Early access of Heavensward puts servers under strain
On Friday morning, early access began for pre-order customers. Since then, Eorzea has been in chaos: long queues, overcrowded areas, and the login server only accessible sporadically. These are the issues many players have been complaining about since Friday.
Over the weekend, efforts were made to resolve the problems, and several nasty server errors have been addressed. It was said on Saturday evening that the number of possible connections to the data centers is being constantly increased. Nevertheless, problems may still occur: the demand is simply too high.
The server errors that have now been resolved occurred on the servers Balmung, Phoenix, Cerberus, Gilgamesh, and Ragnarok.
Those who manage to get onto the servers and are not “hardcore players” will notice: Oh dear! I still have a lot to do before I can access anything new. The patches in recent months added more gameplay content to the main story. And the story must be completed before the actual expansion begins. Those logging in now thinking: It starts with the new content, will first have to fight through the old “new” content.
How can I become a Dark Knight?
While most MMORPG expansions are “level-locked”, Heavensward is story-locked. Before the Dark Knight, which everyone asks about in chat, the powers that be (in this case Square Enix under Final Fantasy mastermind Naoki Yoshida) have provided a lot of content.
Square Enix has now released the details for Patch 3.0. Officially, it starts on Tuesday, June 23rd. Even though we introduced the individual steps of Heavensward over several months: Everything that Heavensward brings, packed into one article – that is already an incredible amount of details, screenshots, and features. Just like you would imagine a “real” MMORPG expansion. Check out the details for Patch 3.0 on the homepage yourself.
Japanese trailers for Heavensward radiate Final Fantasy charm
We found these two trailers: One shows the TV commercial for Heavensward in Japan and the second … no idea what that represents: Kind of a fashion show or something. But it is definitely Final Fantasy, and that is evident at first glance. At least the expansion does not change that.
http://youtu.be/P9isrXOAUVc
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In the MMO shooter Destiny the rumor mill is once again going wild. This time the topic: The Light Level system in Destiny. It was said that the level would rise to 50, but recently it has completely disappeared. What does our editor Schuhmann have to say about this?
Most of you are as eager for Destiny news as fat cats are for lasagna. So you will know that this week the expansion “King of the Taken” was presented in Los Angeles at E3.
Well, “presented” is better put in quotes. Because that’s exactly Bungie’s problem. While they want to get people hyped for the expansion, it won’t come until September. So they have neither the “finished” game nor do they want to reveal all the information. Hence, there are many “No comment”, many “We’ll tell you later”, videos and screenshots.
Eureka! I found it
Even these first images and trailers were dissected by YouTubers and checked for the last hidden information until something was found that could be shouted into the world: Eureka! I found it!
And yes, something was found: In the Crucible scenes of the developer documentation for “The Taken King” light levels could be recognized for nanoseconds: Thanks to the pause button, they were noticeable. Lvl42, it suddenly said or even Level-49. Oh – My – God! Destiny fan sites and Destiny YouTube were already buzzing on Tuesday.
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Cheerfully tweeted the incredibly popular ProfessorBroman under Destiny fans since his appearance at the Prison of Elders stream “Light Level 50 confirmed!” Hooray. Until the community manager put a stop to it: No, not at all! This is a pre-built. Don’t take that seriously.
@Professorbroman@Bungie Absolutely 100% not confirmed! You’ll see some light level aberrations in our E3 build. Please pardon our dust.
The excitement faded. The blazing rumor mill was silenced hissing by Bungie’s fire extinguisher. This was all still on Tuesday.
And then the journalists got to play Destiny
On Wednesday, two reporters from the US gaming/pop culture site Kotaku – like many others – finally got their hands on Destiny and noticed: “Oh God! No light level anymore!
But the developers nearby said: Guys, don’t take this seriously, this is an early version, we’re still working on it, we only finished it for presentation purposes for E3. We shouldn’t even show you this.
And so it was also stated in the Kotaku article: We noticed something. There is no light level anymore, but there are also some really weird new perks, the weapons only deal 34 damage and the developers say: “Guys, this is still in development.” So well – let’s not hang this up too high.
The video shows the build that the Kotaku people presumably played:
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Few other US sites and hardly anyone from the Destiny community jumped on the “No Light Level” bandwagon. The focus was on the new subclasses and the stuff that Bungie really presented. That was quite a lot.
And then the Germans came
A German console gaming site discovered the Kotaku article, smelled something and brought it up on Thursday as a headline: At Kotaku they played it and there was no light level. Maybe they’re getting rid of it. The developers who originally waved it off in the article, all the warning signs “Well, it’s a test build” have suddenly disappeared from the article.
The article was now seen by a German MMO site from the large competing company. And nobody wants to miss anything. So on Friday we read a second article about it, mentioning Kotaku as well, also saying that the light level might disappear soon and philosophizing about how good it would be if the light levels in Destiny ceased to exist.
Another German MMO site then referred to this article, and since Saturday you can read: “Are the light levels disappearing in Destiny?”
From light level 50, which we had briefly on Tuesday, it went back down to zero on Wednesday, and by Saturday we had already read it three times in Germany. Quite a drastic diet, huh? A Destiny fan might get a bit dizzy.
And what does the build really say?
Let’s take a look at two images from the early version of the Destiny expansion, which were likely available for playtesting at E3. We cut the images from the video of YouTuber Dychronic who was at E3. The video is embedded above as well.
Fair is fair: The 3 German gaming sites that wrote about the E3 build probably do not know these images, but only had the Kotaku article (without images) as a template.
Well, maybe it could have been noticed that the build … isn’t really finished.
Now to the meat of the matter: Here we see the character and an armor piece. The armor piece indeed has no “light” anymore, but the equipment itself has “+34” something, the values in Strength and Intellect have been decreased to 23 and 24, and in the top right corner it also says “+34” light. The only thing suggesting that “the light level” is being removed is that “light” is missing under “Intellect” and “Strength” … otherwise everything speaks against it.
Instead of 0 or 50 … the answer is more likely 30
By the way, what’s much more interesting about the screenshot is a little lock in the bottom right. Behind it, visible for a short moment in the video, is the message that “from level 30” the “Artifact” slot is unlocked. And that is then “actually” new and probably not an oversight, but a design decision that is in there.
Whether this is definite or not, we don’t know of course. Just as little as we know if the “class items” really have values – as seen in the build – or if this will change again before September.
If you want to extract any information about the light level from this “early build” at E3, then certainly not that the “light level” is being removed. It is much more likely that the base level is rising from 20 to 30 – as predicted in a leak from October 2014 that became known in early 2015.
But: Again, this is an early build. Here, things are to be taken with utmost caution.
We also do not know what will really happen in September. We can only look at the information available and to conclude from the current info that Bungie will turn off the “light level” is … adventurous.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
As in the past, many character names in World of Warcraft will be freed up. Those who have been inactive for several years could lose their favorite names and should take appropriate countermeasures.
There is still time until June 23 to log in old WoW heroes
For many characters, you should take a good hour.
Blizzard has decided to offer new players a greater variety of names again. For this reason, all names of characters that have not logged into the game since December 7, 2010 will be released. This does not necessarily mean that those who have not played since then will lose their names. However, everyone can now secure the old names and use them for their own character.
If you want to keep your old character names despite nearly 6 years of inactivity, you must log in with all affected characters before the release of Patch 6.2 (June 23). If you are unsure and still have an active WoW subscription, you should also log in with all characters to be safe.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
One of the leading MMO developers from China, Giant Interactive, has now made it pretty clear with a new website: WildStar will soon be available on the Chinese market.
Better copied well than …
Without a shopping cart, but with a hoverboard.
For us, it is an accepted given that games from the Far East arrive late in our markets, as many adjustments have to be made for the European market. The same applies in the opposite direction: For this reason, WildStar will not launch in China for several months.
To this end, Giant Interactive has now created a teaser website that showcases various WildStar characters on movie posters, all originating from different sci-fi universes. From E.T.’s “phone home” to the famous Star Wars quote “I am your father” (or in this case not the father), there are some funny ideas included.
On June 25, Giant Interactive will hold a press conference where WildStar will be officially announced for the Chinese market.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
