Greg Street, the former lead system designer of World of Warcraft, is now at League of Legends and is mocking a bit about the casualization of World of Warcraft.
Greg Street, known in forums and social media as “Ghostcrawler,” served for a long time as a sort of spokesperson for Blizzard to the community. In his position, he was primarily responsible for class balancing and was thus always in a controversial position. However, during his time at World of Warcraft, he also became one of the most well-known figures of WoW. His departure in November 2013 received some attention.
World of Warcraft is designed so that even grandmothers can successfully play it
Now Street is in a leadership position at Riot and is working on League of Legends. Last week, he spoke about his time at World of Warcraft and Blizzard. He talked a lot about balancing; the decisions he and his team made, and the differences between working on League of Legends and on World of Warcraft. While most of his statements were moderate and showed a lot of respect for Blizzard’s work and the people there, he did let slip a sentence that was more sharply formulated. The crucial sentence, over which some fans were puzzled, concerned the pesky topic of the “casualization” of World of Warcraft. Some players accuse WoW of becoming easier and catering to as many players as possible, thereby alienating veterans and core gamers.
In this context, Street said: “Different games require different approaches. Let me just say: After 16 years at Age of Empires and World of Warcraft, I find it really refreshing to work on a game where I don’t have to worry about whether someone’s grandmother can play it or not.”
Later, Street qualified this statement, explaining that he didn’t mean “grandma” disrespectfully, but as a representation of players who are not “traditional” gamers.
Would World of Warcraft be better off if some specs were simply left unused?
Even today, he still thinks quite often about World of Warcraft and his decisions there, Street said. Balancing fell under his responsibility. The fact that each class has three specs always posed a challenge to the team. Sometimes it was the case that one spec clearly dominated PvE, another was superior in PvP, and the last one was simply dead. Time and again, they strived to make all three specializations playable. This meant they had to balance World of Warcraft for 30 classes and not just for 10. “Maybe,” Street said, “it would have been better to leave some specs unused.”
Greg “Ghostcrawler” Street is currently working at Riot as the lead game designer for the MOBA League of Legends. LoL is known for its steep learning curve and huge amounts of information, making it not particularly “casual-friendly.”
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
What is the state of the major MMO titles WildStar, The Elder Scrolls Online, and Guild Wars 2 by the end of August?
Last time we wrote the “State of Play” column about these three titles at the end of April. We thought it would be interesting to revisit these three MMOs. They are three of the titles we cover most closely on mein-mmo.de. All three have experienced ups and downs in the past four months. So we find them in a very different state than before.
At the end of April, The Elder Scrolls Online had just launched and had encountered severe problems; Guild Wars 2 was in a Sleeping Beauty slumber interrupted by the outcry over the megaservers; and WildStar was still the hopeful star on the horizon, having done everything right until then and standing on the verge of release. How do the three games look today? Are they ready to take on the giant World of Warcraft when it awakens on November 12?
The Elder Scrolls Online: When will it finally be tomorrow again?
The Elder Scrolls Online is in a much better state than it was at the end of April. Back then, we predicted great potential for the game, but an uncertain present. At that time, there were so many exploits, little problems, and issues that one was startled just by seeing the game’s name anywhere.
Curse of the Prophet or what was the cause of the launch mishaps?
Is this esteemed gentleman responsible for the launch curse?
Whenever it seemed to calm down, the next attack on the game came from some corner. This continued almost throughout the summer. Someone at Zenimax seems to have some really bad karma. Maybe a curse or something.
At the moment, it is relatively calm for The Elder Scrolls Online. Considering the last few months, this is a good sign. They were certainly not idle: At Zenimax, they have kept an eye on almost all the game’s problems and are prepared with solutions. However, those will take time. The first smaller things – such as a dye system – have already been reintroduced. The mega-server is finally in Frankfurt. Otherwise, they are regularly releasing fresh instances and fixing the many small bugs that plagued The Elder Scrolls Online at the beginning.
The future of the game could look rosy if (and this is a big if) TESO develops into the game that the developers’ future visions describe. Patience will be required. To implement all the current plans, they will likely need time well into 2015. Then the game could approach the Elder Scrolls game many wished for back in April, with the Imperial City, the Champion system, spell weaving, the Justice system, a better combat system, functioning groups, and improved NPC expressions.
Perspective: Bright with a view on Playstation
The Elder Scrolls Online has theoretically found answers to the questions that puzzled fans in April. Now it’s about putting these answers into practice. Everything is geared towards The Elder Scrolls Online being in the best possible shape when it goes to consoles. When that will be, in our view, is not stated on the TESO homepage (which says end of 2014), but in the stars.
Guild Wars 2: Living Story is good, but something is lacking otherwise
Guild Wars 2 is in a much better state than it was at the end of April. The long-awaited new story of the Living World has launched, received much praise; with the unfortunate introduction of the megaservers, European players have also been able to adjust to (or: have to) and a new feature pack is supposed to come in September. Is everything such that even the grumpiest Charr rolls on the ground and purrs contentedly? No, it is not. Somehow, there is currently something wrong with Guild Wars 2. But let’s start with the positive.
The Living World can be seen
Many say the first season of the Living World was somehow “all over the place,” a real mess. One week this, the next week that. They rushed from event to event, the story was not focused, more like a comic book that changes protagonists every two weeks, sometimes from Daredevil, sometimes from Batman, and sometimes featuring the Smurfs. This is different now. The second season is oriented in the narrative technique to modern US series, tells episodically and tightly with well-developed characters and an exciting plot.
Of course: From a hardcore MMO perspective, they are still just bite-sized pieces of content that cannot replace an entire expansion. But not much bad can be said about the Living World and the new chronicle feature. Lore fans and players who simply enjoy good stories are well accommodated here. For casual players, there are also achievements, though that may not be to everyone’s taste.
Things are going well in China, not so with eSports
A big plus for Guild Wars 2 in recent months has been the expansion into China, which has filled the war chests, although it has not doubled the player count as initially reported incorrectly.
On the other hand, there is eSports. ArenaNet seems determined to establish this as a pillar. It doesn’t really seem to be catching on. At Gamescom in Cologne, they invited top players from around the world, but the viewer numbers on Twitch and media coverage were disheartening. When watching the matches, you can see why: It’s confusing, seems random to the untrained eye, and is fixed on cooldowns. It’s a bit like watching table tennis: professionals may recognize the spin of the ball and how well the tactic works; a layperson cannot grasp that. ArenaNet continues to try to establish eSports as a third pillar, offers high prize money, and wants to promote it – the road ahead may be arduous.
Communication problems: I want to tell you that I have nothing to say to you
One of the problems with Guild Wars 2, at least from the perspective of the vocal forum community: ArenaNet focuses too much on PvP and the Living World; they neglect other aspects of the game. At Gamescom, developers were questioned on numerous topics: When will the first-person perspective come, are there new dungeons, when will the Super Adventure Box return, what happens here, what there?
The developers responded evasively and only briefly to these questions. When it was stated regarding the “Super Adventure Box,” a quirky and cult event, that they did not want to bring that back within the Living World, emotions ran high on Reddit. The responding developer didn’t say much, but it was interpreted as “ArenaNet has no interest in this, it’s not important enough for them; they are working contrary to our wishes.”
ArenaNet’s corporate policy is to refrain from speculating about “future developments” to avoid raising expectations that later may be disappointed. This often leads to frustration in daily life, for example, when new dungeons are asked about, and a developer replies that they have nothing to announce.
Perspective: Well … quite good; an expansion would not be bad
As soon as ArenaNet announces an expansion, Asuras will raise their hands in the air.
Some speculate that the time has come for the big expansion. They’ve heard suspiciously little from many high-profile developers in ArenaNet’s service: Something must be up!
At the moment, the game is well positioned: The China deal has done Guild Wars 2 good, and the Buy2Play model can repeatedly ensure that ex-players find their way back to Tyria. Much speaks for the idea that an expansion could provide a boost in 2015. Or they continue with the Living World and bring feature packs at regular intervals.
Guild Wars 2 could greatly benefit, albeit a delicate issue, if it decides what it actually wants to be. Like few other MMOs, Guild Wars 2 runs the risk of investing a lot of work in areas that large parts of its player base do not find interesting, as they play GW 2 for a completely different reason. An expansion that offers something for everyone “across the board” is thus attractive. Also because most players connect their best memories of Guild Wars 2 with leveling and exploring in the early days.
WildStar was still in the distant future in April. The developers had not made any noteworthy errors until then. That continued: The release went smoothly, the reviews were excellent; however, in recent weeks, a kind of funeral atmosphere has emerged around the game, and some comments read like a farewell.
The sales figures are sobering, the player count seems to be shrinking, the servers that were initially opened additionally now seem empty. And it gets even worse: It is assumed that WildStar players will be the most affected by the pull of the Warlords of Draenor release. What the hell is going on with WildStar? Why hasn’t it become the hit that was expected?
Where is the target audience?
In a way, you could say WildStar has managed to deliver exactly what the target audience wanted, but it seems that audience was smaller than expected. Hardcore raiding like in Vanilla WoW was promised. Tough dungeons that were fair and hard were promised. Exciting elite PvP content in which players could blow up bases against each other in 40 vs. 40 matches was promised. All of that was delivered at launch. Raiders are thrilled with the Gen archives and speak of the best “start content” of an MMO ever.
However, there had to be a retreat on Warplots, the elite PvP content, and they had to reduce to 30 vs. 30. Reason: A lack of players. Little has been heard from the arena scene, except that win trading was used so that PvE raiders could exchange weapons with each other. And the dungeons are indeed very tough and must be executed almost perfectly, which led to players in random groups attacking each other until it became more attractive to finish the dungeon somehow instead of perfectly.
What are the problems?
WildStar is currently a puzzle. Opinions are strongly divided. One can agree on the fact that it has “fallen short of expectations” – and even that is not universally accepted at this point.
When one looks into the causes of WildStar’s issues, one quickly becomes an MMO grave digger and a bird flight interpreter:
Problem 1: The transitions from 1 to 5 to 20 to 40
WildStar forces the player to transition in behavior, and some may get lost along the way. Until level 50, one can play solo, after which 5 players are needed to continue, then 20 for the first raid, and 40 for the second. These jumps require compromises from every player and a willingness to team up. Furthermore, in WildStar, you are dependent on your social contacts and their maintenance.
Problem 2: WildStar eats its children: Cannibalization of guilds
WildStar has somehow managed to amplify the difficulties that every MMO has with raids. Raid guilds run out of players, they poach players from other guilds, causing drama and guilds to break apart. In a guild, there is a performance gap, some want to raid, while others are still on the attunement quest, which creates drama, leading to guilds falling apart. With every guild collapse, in such a fresh game, the left-behind or disappointed players frustratedly leave the game. Now, this is not a problem unique to WildStar, but why does it impact WildStar so drastically?
Because the servers feel so small and empty, the guilds “below” cannot recruit anymore. Since the attunement quest poses a tremendous hurdle on the way into raids, it’s harder to find raid-capable personnel than in other games.
Problem 3: Were the guest passes a mistake at the beginning?
And why are the servers so empty? Because there are too many. And why are there too many? Because WildStar started with guest passes to lure players in to try the game for free. They all needed a place, so new servers were opened. Many of them have since left the game, and their spots remain empty. And now you understand why no other game does this and why guest passes and trial actions usually only occur after the first wave of players has already left the MMO.
Problem 4-800: Something else
Many players also have specific complaints: The world is too flashy, too silly, too colorful. There’s a dead phase in the mid-level. The spark just doesn’t jump over. The challenges create a strange hecticness and pressure. After eight hours of work, there’s no desire to exhaust oneself in the game. Or the balancing in PvP is terrible after a patch.
Perspective: Was it a botched launch or what?
It would be unreasonable to call WildStar a botched launch, as a botched launch doesn’t receive great reviews and achieves such popularity among hardcore fans as WildStar has now. It seems to be the case that the target audience for WildStar is significantly smaller than initially thought.
Perhaps many fans believed they were still hardcore, but due to changed life situations, they are no longer. Maybe the mix of “We want WoW veterans” and “we’re making a rather colorful setting” was poorly chosen. Maybe Carbine underestimated summer as a “factor.” After all, WildStar demands commitment. Or the game is somehow missing a kick or some vaguely defined element that would make it a blockbuster.
Even WildStar has recognized the signs of the times and is beginning to adjust: The access quest will be weakened, the perfection pressure from instances will be alleviated, the warplots will require fewer players, and they will also address the issue of poorly populated servers. However, that will require more time and a different pace. The promise of bringing new content every month has been retracted.
How loyal the players are to the game, whether WildStar will succeed in retaining more players, increasing the numbers… and how WildStar, Guild Wars 2, and The Elder Scrolls Online will perform in November when the giant World of Warcraft awakens from its more than a year-long slumber, will be exciting questions for our next State of Play column.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A fan of the somewhat outdated Free2Play MMO Lord of the Rings Online has given the characters a makeover.
Left old, right new. More from Norael can be found at reddit
World of Warcraft, even older than Lord of the Rings Online, has shown how to do it with great effort; now a fan follows suit in Lord of the Rings Online: The characters are getting a new look.
Of course, the reddit poster “Norael” does not have the resources of Blizzard, but with a bit of tweaking, pulling, cleaning, and smoothing, one can still make significant progress. At least that’s what some fans on reddit and US MMO magazines reported.
For those rejoicing at the pictures: There is no way to implement these “new and improved” textures into the game. But perhaps something will change in the future.
Recently, a fan single-handedly completed an outstanding trailer for the game for Guild Wars 2; in Lord of the Rings Online, a dedicated fan is also doing impressive work. Maybe this will become a new trend.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Guild Wars 2, the major September patch is supposed to solve some of the difficulties that Europeans in particular have been struggling with since April. With global guilds, better algorithms, and new features, they aim to eliminate the stomach aches caused by the mega-servers.
When the last major feature patch for Guild Wars 2 was released in April, there were complaints in the weeks and months that followed. While the new features were nice, the patch also brought mega-servers to Tyria – and they were not well received. What caused little trouble in China or the USA created issues in Europe with the various national languages. Additionally, players complained about overcrowded maps, a loss of identification with “their” server, and difficulties arranging activities with guild mates. We have extensively reported on the chaos and frustration caused by the mega-servers.
Global Guilds as a Solution: Influence, Vault, Unlocks
In the weeks and months that followed, ArenaNet stated that they continued to work on the algorithms that determined which player was placed in which instance of a zone and with whom they were sent there. In the September patch, ArenaNet addresses this area again.
With “global guilds” that are already running in China, it will be ensured that regardless of which server one is on, they can still contribute to their home guild.
The patch also introduces a solution for the guild vault: Here, the one with the most tabs will count going forward. The items in smaller vaults on other servers are said not to be lost, as they will remain in extra slots.
For guild missions, a temporary solution for small and medium-sized guilds seems to have been found, where reservations and preferences of guild mates for the specific instance of a map where the guild mission starts will be worked on. For larger guilds, a solution is still being worked on.
Compensation for Map Switchers
If too many copies of a map are created, and too many instances of an area are open, a map closes in Guild Wars 2. More and more players disappear from it and move to other instances. This mechanism is now intended to be changed by warning players that they are about to switch instances. Those who immediately shout, “Here, take me! I’m switching right away!” will receive a small EXP and Karma bonus, as well as a speed boost for 10 minutes.
Furthermore, they want to continue to refine the algorithms, especially those that ensure that players are sent to maps where they feel comfortable and can communicate. They do not want to completely separate the different language groups in Europe, but they would like to take more consideration of them.
The major feature patch is set to be released on September 9.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Destiny, there will be no trading between players. Every item must be earned with sweat and tears, the developers write.
In the Q&A from the last blog post, the designers from Bungie also spoke about a possible trading system. After all, Destiny is an MMO, and for many fans, a functioning trading system is part of it.
But Bungie has different views: “The only trading that will be possible is with enemies. There, you exchange your ammunition for their equipment.”
Trading is possible within a Destiny account
Every little gem in a player’s possession is supposed to be connected with memories and stories, paid for with blood and sweat. Not traded for mere money. Only the Guardians under the banner of an account can trade items amongst themselves. No piece of equipment leaves a player’s possession in Destiny. They are meant to be earned, not traded.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The SF-MMO WildStar is likely to address one of the most pressing issues: servers with too low population.
Especially in an MMO that relies heavily on group and raid content like WildStar, well-populated servers are important. This has not always been guaranteed in recent weeks and months. Particularly on those servers that were additionally provided during the rush at the release, there was little activity. Now, it seems they are clearly looking to tackle the problem.
Stephan Frost, the Game Design Producer and something like the face of WildStar, addressed the complaints of a fan suffering from acute loneliness on his server in a tweet last night. He tweeted that they would take care of it and are still working on the technical side of a solution. You will hear about it soon.
What this could mean is still completely open. A “small solution” could be to allow transfers from PvE to PvP servers, which many request. A medium or larger solution would be X-Realm features or even a kind of mega-server.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The Korean MMO Black Desert is coming to North America and Europe. The publisher Daum is currently setting up its offices in the West and discussing the release date.
In an interview with the developers of Pearl Abyss at Chinajoy, the beginning of 2015 was already mentioned as a possible date for the start of the closed beta in North America and Europe. Those who thought this might mean that it would start soon will now be disappointed. The Korean publisher Daum, which releases Black Desert in Korea and will distribute it in the West, is likely to stick to the Asian beta method.
Betas in Asia are different for MMOs than for us
Here in the West, MMO games are developed for a long time in secrecy, until they invite a small group of testers. The later, larger beta phases often take place just before release and have more of a PR character – with short beta weekends that are only a few days apart, like in The Elder Scrolls Online, WildStar, or now at ArcheAge.
In contrast, in Asia, the public is allowed access to a game earlier, then it is locked again for a few months and reopened later for a certain time.
Due to this cultural difference, we in the West often feel that a game has either been in beta forever and will never be released, or we think it has already been published for years, while it is still in development.
Daum seems to be choosing the Asian beta model for Black Desert
Daum will likely also apply the Asian model to Black Desert. Although the first beta, according to Pearl Abyss, could come as early as the beginning of 2015, Daum’s publishers expect a release date only at the beginning of 2016. They acknowledge that the end of 2015 would be desirable.
At the moment, Daum is setting up its offices and business spaces in the West. The actual focus for Black Desert is currently likely on the Korean third closed beta, which will start in November. The CBT 3 is supposed to bring or refine some key systems in the MMO – such as guild quests or castle sieges.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Blizzard’s free online card game Hearthstone swept the main prizes at Unite in Seattle. Here, the developers and users of the “Unity” engine honor the best games developed with this engine each year.
The game engine Unity is one of the most widely used game engines in the world. Blizzard’s Hearthstone was also developed on it. Since 2008, the developers of “Unity” have regularly awarded prizes to the best games that run on their engine. One of the biggest advantages of “Unity” is that it allows developers to create games that can easily be ported to various platforms. Thus, a port for Android and iPhone is also planned for Hearthstone. Previous winners of a “Golden Cube”, the main prize of the event, include “Total War Battles: Shogun” and last year’s winner “Endless Space”.
Hearthstone is likely the largest and most commercially successful game taking home the prize. And David Helgason, the CEO of Unity Technologies, honors this special occasion: In the past, they recognized the developers who created the best games with the Unity engine. Today, they are honoring some of the best games overall. In addition to the Golden Cube, Hearthstone also won the award for best gameplay.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the currently running fourth Closed Beta of ArcheAge, a spectacular naval battle took place over the weekend.
Every game that markets itself to players describes itself in a so-called “feature list,” which reads a bit like the part of a personal ad where the benefits are described. In ArcheAge, it states, among many other points, “naval battle.” As a player of conventional MMOs, you don’t really know what to expect from that. It’s convenient that such a naval battle took place over the weekend in the fourth Closed Beta of ArcheAge.
Apparently, members of some guilds have already accomplished something in the open beta, having their own small ships or even galleons under flags, fulfilling the dreams of many people (what am I saying – the dreams of all people!). They maneuver into a situation where they can call out cool pirate phrases like “Port, Port,” “Fire at the galleon on the right,” “Man overboard” or “Target the driver! Target the driver!” – although the last one sounds more like a gangster movie.
The guild “Fist of the Empire,” which recorded the video, employs a kind of “clown car” technique. They overload a small ship with many fighters. You can see in the video whether they have success with the tactic. In any case, the clip provides insight into the nebulous feature “naval battle.” The fourth Closed Beta is still running until Wednesday. We expect that a date for the Open Beta will be announced by the end of this week. However, this has not yet been confirmed.
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Naoki Yoshida, the mastermind behind the MMO Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, has revealed that with the expansion 3.0, the level cap will also be raised. Furthermore, the plan is to later introduce personal airships for players.
Naoki Yoshida is one of the most colorful figures in the MMO genre. During an “Open Table” with journalists, representatives from the media grilled him with numerous questions on the sidelines of Gamescom. Unlike many of his colleagues, he willingly provided answers.
Personal airships are planned to come to Final Fantasy XIV at some point in the future
When asked if there would eventually be a possibility to construct or own personal airships, Yoshida was surprised by such a direct question, but then stated: “Yes, one day players will be able to build airships. I didn’t expect such a direct question, but yes. This is still strictly confidential, but you hit the nail on the head.” As a big Final Fantasy fan, it is important for him to introduce traditional and essential components of the FF universe, like airships, and to make them something great. Players could build their airship together and then embark on a shared adventure.
Similarly specific to airships, Yoshida was also asked whether the level cap would be raised with expansion 3.0. “When we bring the expansion, players will be able to level beyond 50.”
In Germany, people prefer it dark
One important thing for Yoshida is that players around the world, regardless of which console or medium they prefer, can play the same Final Fantasy. When the MMO is released on Mac soon, players will find the same game as those on Playstation 3 and 4 and PC players.
Everywhere, people talk about how different the markets are. He is often asked what distinguishes one market from another. However, according to Yoshida, one hardly notices that difference. Everywhere, players want the same thing: great new content and a game to be proud of that simply brings joy. This is ultimately the simple secret behind the current run of Final Fantasy XIV: great and exciting new content. Another important pillar that Yoshida mentioned is the service and the exchange with the community and constantly incorporating feedback.
[quote_right]”Once players start playing it, everyone loves the game.”
However, there are already differences between the markets. This is also true in Europe. One cannot simply talk about the European market. In France, for example, Final Fantasy has a strong tradition, and thus Final Fantasy XIV can be marketed as the “newest” Final Fantasy game. In Germany, however, fans prefer “dark fantasy” and have a dislike for “Japanese animation.” Therefore, one must approach the German players differently.
Because Yoshida is convinced: “Once players start playing it, everyone loves the game.”
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The SF-MMO WildStar is discontinuing the monthly content supply. In a letter to the fans, it is now explained why. The players provided too much feedback.
No, it was probably not really planned at all. In a YouTube interview with a US site, Megan Starks, a Senior Designer, dropped the big bomb: You will no longer see new content monthly in WildStar. They do not want to follow strict deadlines anymore and want to take more time for polishing. It took about four days before the video was found by some larger sites on YouTube, and the fans reacted loudly. That was an announcement that Carbine would certainly have preferred to sell under other circumstances than in such an uncontrolled environment.
Over the weekend, Carbine made an effort for an official post and a statement. The Product Director of WildStar, Mike Donatelli, spoke out and explained why they will no longer provide new content on a monthly basis. Indirectly, the players are responsible for this. They have provided mountains of feedback on the game that they simply were not prepared for. Everything revolves around this feedback: the economy, the classes, PvP, and crafting. There is so much that, in addition to the already planned content in the third drop, they want to bring a truckload of changes based on player feedback into the game. Furthermore, they want to deliver the content as bug-free as possible.
Donatelli’s letter ends with: “How long will this take, you ask? An excellent question.” They want to take their time and come back later with the details.
Mein MMO says: This has, with all due respect, not gone optimally. It is particularly unfortunate that a developer who stated from the very beginning that they would speak plainly and not bullshit, is now, in our opinion, beating around the bush. When there were problems with the website before the release (during the name reservation), they communicated openly and extensively about what the issue was, took responsibility, and promised to fix it. For that, they received much recognition from the community.
That now one of the central promises of the game, to deliver new content monthly, is nullified with “We are receiving so much feedback from you” while previously it was stated in an interview “We can’t meet our satisfaction within the tight schedule, we need more time for this” is already an extremely strange signal.
It was clear from the beginning that it would be a Herculean task to push new content every month. However, the way this story has been handled is still unfortunate. They could have taken a lot of edge off the decision through a live stream or a clear blog post to the fans. Even the current post would likely have had more impact before the interview with Megan Starks. In fact, the actual decision to move away from monthly content and take more time is quite reasonable and has been received positively by many fans. However, they should have marketed it differently.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
For those who have recently found themselves in their favorite MMOs standing in front of locked doors more often, it should be noted: This was due to a DDOS attack. Eve Online, Guild Wars 2, WildStar, and Runescape were hit the hardest. Over the weekend, League of Legends, the Sony Network, and even battle.net—including Hearthstone—were also affected.
Runescape hit especially hard, changes game rules in response
DDOS attacks are frowned upon in the hacker scene, as they require no skill and anyone can do it, it is said everywhere. It’s still annoying, especially when it keeps happening to the same games. The DDOS group has particularly targeted the MMO oldie Runescape. The servers of Jagex have been attacked so often that Runescape had to change the modalities for PvP deaths. There is a general warning against engaging in risky endeavors like PvP during this “difficult phase”.
At Eve Online, it was initially thought to be volcanic activity
At CCP, the Icelanders behind Eve Online, the DDOS attack coincidentally happened to coincide with activities of a volcano in Iceland. However, this has nothing to do with server outages. That was someone else. Eve Online was hit hard. According to a report, the servers were offline for 12 hours.
NCSoft with WildStar, Aion, and Guild Wars 2 constantly affected
A few days ago, we already reported on the ongoing attacks on NCSoft, and thus on WildStar, Aion, and Guild Wars 2. The frequency of these attacks remained high, but over time the employees seemed to gain better control, so that the last attacks only lasted a few minutes, while the earlier ones caused half-hour server outages.
The instigator of these problems has also claimed to be targeting the big names in the industry since the weekend. Now they have set their sights on Sony, League of Legends, and battle.net. Additionally, they are going after Twitch and causing general mischief.
The personal attack on SOE chief John Smedley had nothing to do with DDOS. His flight was subject to a bomb threat, so Smedley was sitting somewhere with his luggage. The group also took dubious credit for that.
Yes. My plane was diverted. Not going to discuss more than that. Justice will find these guys.
Mein MMO: The behavior of the one responsible for the DDOS attacks can only be described as childish and quite silly, even though the consequences are very serious. Since this individual regularly celebrates reaching a new Twitter milestone and plays strange power games with Twitch streamers, we can only urge you not to follow him on social media, not to tweet at him, not to contact him, or to get worked up about him in any way that might reach him. Anything in that direction ultimately achieves the opposite. Therefore, we and most other media have decided not to name him even when we have to report on it, as the incidents simply cannot be kept quiet. Anyone wanting to know what groundbreaking success has been achieved historically with this method can google Herostratus. He surely experienced a spike in his Twitter followers after his act of arson.
It is to be hoped that methods will be developed to protect better against such DDOS attacks or that companies will apply existing methods more meticulously. It seems particularly unfortunate that DDOS attacks hit especially small companies hard. And for us gamers: We would certainly benefit more if software studios directed their money towards new content instead of protecting against DDOS attacks, which are annoying but do not allow access to our data.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the fantasy MMO Final Fantasy XIV, a new class and a new job will be introduced with the next patch. For the Ninja, moving images are now available for the first time. One thing seems clear: it could become popular.
With patch 2.4, Final Fantasy XIV introduces a new base class called “Rogue” and an expanded job named “Ninja”. For the first time, a gameplay video of the Ninja has emerged, which we are excited to present to you. The Ninja proves to be a pure DPS class that relies on agility and finesse to deal damage to man or monster. Some utility comes into play with its skill line Ninjutsu .
While some fans wished for a tank to reduce the queue times for dungeons, neither the Ninja nor the Rogue can provide that; both are a DPS variant. However, later classes are expected to help fill the coveted tank and healer roles.
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Wargaming will showcase its online games World of Tanks, World of Warships, and World of Warplanes at PAX Prime in Seattle. The event will be streamed, and players can win prizes.
The Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle takes place at the end of next week. A potential announcement of the European launch date for ArcheAge is already considered a highlight. But Wargaming has also announced its powerful lineup of MMOs for Seattle. After Gamescom, they plan to present World of Warships to the public for the second time, the first event on North American soil, as they say.
At PAX, they want to bring everything they have in their arsenal. In addition to World of Warships, World of Tanks on PC and Xbox 360, as well as Blitz and World of Warplanes will be on display. They plan to support the appearance with a full program, featuring interviews and surprise guests, along with takeaways. Prizes will be raffled off, sponsored by Razer, Intel, Plantronics, and others. The live event will be streamed on the official Wargaming channel on Twitch. Wargaming announces it will also be giving away prizes via the stream.
PAX Prime runs from August 29 to September 1.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The horror/SF/Fantasy MMO The Secret World, a Buy2Play game, is back from the summer break and has big plans.
In an interview with mmorpg.com, Joe Bylos, the Creative Director behind The Secret World, presents the plans for the future of the Buy2Play MMO and shares what they are currently doing.
At the moment, they are still polishing the side quests for issue #9 in Tokyo. The writers are already working on issue #10. For this, they have also recorded the voice acting in the studio to voice the new texts; the art designers are working on the new weapon models, and the game designers are taking care of the implementation of the AEGIS shield and the next auxiliary weapon, while the coders are currently busy with new features. Unfortunately, Bylos could not reveal more information for fear of an immediate retaliation by the Illuminati.
Bylos states that they are also well positioned for the future. They have a rough vision of the story up to issue #24.
This is also important so that they can already weave hints of events that may not find their way into the game for a few years. Bylos personally would be happy if the Secret War would find its way back into the game, whether with controllable, custom agents or without.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Blizzard’s free card game Hearthstone will release the next expansion in a different format. Cards will be available in their own booster packs.
In the Hearthstone expert talk “Value Town”, host Chanman and his co-host Trump had senior designer Mike Donais, a former Magic: The Gathering specialist, who is well-versed in Hearthstone, especially regarding balance issues, as their guest in the last episode, which will also be the final one.
A lot of new cards, but no adventure
For the new expansion, according to Donais, there is no release date yet, but everyone is working hard to complete it. When the hosts asked if Blizzcon would be a great date for the announcement, Donais shrugged and smiled. He probably meant he wouldn’t let that slip casually. The expansion will have “Lots of Cards,” not exactly 100 but around that number, was the consensus.
This time, cards will not be introduced to players through an adventure like Naxxramas, but Hearthstone players will be able to buy them in separate booster packs. Thus, the current cards will remain in the “classic card packs,” while the new ones will be available in different packs. Whether these new packs can also be purchased with gold was not clarified in “Value Town.” There were also no questions regarding the theme of the expansion. Some suspect the Icecrown Citadel or the Sunwell, but Donais would probably have just smiled at such a question anyway.
Aside from the Paladin class challenge, Blizzard is satisfied with Naxxramas
As Donais’s reaction suggested, Blizzard is satisfied with the current meta-game in Hearthstone and the course of Naxxramas. Only the last class challenge, that of the Paladin, would perhaps have been designed somewhat differently in retrospect. A few more Blessings of Kings would have probably enhanced the impact of the Echo slime.
Blizzard wants to provide answers to questions in Hearthstone, whether they are current or not
At Blizzard, Hearthstone is designed so that as many answers as possible can be provided to players, whether the question is currently relevant or not. If a player loses against a deck with many spells, they should find cards in their collection that serve as answers to such decks – such as Loatheb, the Anti-Mage, or the Spectral Knight. And if the meta-game changes and therefore the questions change, then they should also find answers in their collection.
Blizzard prefers, as seen now in Naxxramas, a game where minions are present and not everything disappears every turn: “We find the game more fun when minions are on the board,” says Donais.
Blizzard says no to many things, yes to iPhone and Android
Later in Value Town, Trump and Chanman threw around some ideas, which Donais shook his head at dismissively. Blizzard is not working on a “2 versus 2” mode, nor on new character classes (no Death Knight and no Monk). The current focus is on the Observer mode, where players can watch others play, and on the expansion. They will not hype the next expansion before the current one has been released.
However, there was a repeated “yes” to Hearthstone on iPhone and Android. That is planned to come out this year as expected.
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The sandbox MMO ArcheAge has answered various open questions regarding the Closed Beta, the Open Beta, and the release. Now, we know almost everything except for a release date.
In the weekly livestream of ArcheAge, the staff of Trion Worlds answer all imaginable questions from fans. This time, it was noticeable that the questions clearly targeted the Open Beta and release. Currently, the fourth closed Beta is taking place in ArcheAge. It will last until Wednesday. According to Trion Worlds, they have sent out invitations in the 7-digit range (over a million). This magnitude suggests that it could very well be the last closed Beta. However, nothing was said about that.
At the moment, everything is clear except for the length and date of the Open Beta and thus the final release date. We speculate on a longer Open Beta phase and a release in October. At the end of the article, we will give you the reasons for this.
Since the livestream touched on almost all topics, we decided to present you with the most important statements in bullet points.
The facts about ArcheAge in detail:
No rest for the weary: ArcheAge developers are working overtime
With the course of the third Beta, Trion Worlds was generally very satisfied. There was only one server crash, which was considered positive. Above all, the stability of the interface proved to be improved.
At the moment, everyone at Trion Worlds is working at full throttle and putting in overtime. Between the third and fourth betas, the employees had hardly any time to relax. Sleep is out of the question. They joked that this is noticeable in the faces of the staff.
Player-written music fully convinces
Currently, a lot revolves around a tricky piece of software on which the entire payment and patron system depends. This piece of “core software,” developed for the Korean system, must harmonize with all the processes at Trion Worlds. This is the biggest focus at the moment.
In the livestream, fans got a taste of what the “music composition” system can do. A fan who devoted himself to this was able to play “Let it Go” from the Disney movie “Frozen” in ArcheAge. A commendable achievement, in our opinion (timestamp 14:46 in the livestream).
Alpha ends with the Open Beta, characters persist on test servers
The Alpha will end with the start of the Open Beta. From then on, the servers will be needed for something else. The characters from the Alpha are to be saved and might resurface on a test server if one is needed later. Players who are still considering getting a founder’s pack should probably do so not for access to the Alpha, but for the glider or other bonuses. Because the Alpha could end soon. It was mentioned in the stream that it would be shut down a few days before the start of the Open Beta.
Open Beta and the details
The Open Beta (and probably also the release) will start initially without the area “Auroria”. This is where the keeps that players and guilds can secure are located. This decision is intended to prevent organized guilds from securing an early advantage and dominating a server while the rest are still getting started. The start signal for Auroria is expected to occur during prime time in the Open Beta – at a different time on the European servers than on the North American ones. Trion Worlds wants to remain flexible with the date and will only initiate the rush for the keeps when they feel the structures are ready. Since Trion Worlds has not revealed when the Open Beta for ArcheAge will start or how long it will last, it is difficult to categorize this information.
APEX, the option to buy the patron status in-game, will be activated for the Open Beta. Players who purchase APEX with real money for the Open Beta will receive an Apex again at release. Thus, they can sell the same Apex in both the Open Beta and the release.
For the particularly adventurous: Trion Worlds is currently heavily hiring Game Masters. Being located near Austin, Texas, would be advantageous.
Close contact is maintained with the developers of XLGames, the creators of the Korean ArcheAge, to convey the wishes of the local players. One of the most important points at the moment: Players want there to be no consumables in the arena.
With the head start, it really gets going
Any rumors that the marketplace or other functions would be inactive during the head start were denied by the staff. In ArcheAge, the fun begins in full swing right with the head start. Founders will receive their items.
By the end of the stream, it was indirectly revealed what the costs for the patron status would be. “Check Rift,” they said. In Rift, the monthly premium status costs €12.99; 3 months cost €35.97, 6 months cost €59.94, and a year costs €107.88.
Is there a longer Open Beta phase, indicating a date in October?
Mein MMO says: We think that next week at Pax Prime in Seattle, the date for the Open Beta will be announced. The current Closed Beta with over a million invitations is already so large that a fifth beta phase would likely not bring much.
The information from the latest stream suggests that there may not be, as with WildStar or TESO, just a short open beta, but rather a longer phase. This would explain why they are introducing APEX and disabling the Auroria area. If an open beta were to be as short as the closed beta phases have been, this would probably be unnecessary. Thus, it could be that we are talking about an ArcheAge beta lasting two to four weeks, making a release date in September unlikely.
From the end of the Open Beta, a release date could also easily emerge. Because the Open Beta should run concurrently with the later release version. There will likely only be a few days between the end of the Open Beta and the head start.
Currently, September 16 is circulating on Steam as an alleged release date for ArcheAge. This would only apply if there were no further Open Beta phase, if Pax Prime immediately announces the Open Beta for the following week, if it consisted only of an extended weekend, and if only three or four days lay between the end of the Open Beta and the head start. This date is not entirely ruled out, but it would put a lot of stress on Trion Worlds. Publishers typically do not prefer that.
At the moment, this is speculation. ArcheAge does not indicate whether another Closed Beta phase will come or not. This is probably also because the packages they sell guarantee access to the Closed Beta or Alpha, and they do not want to diminish the value of these packages.
We will likely know more by the end of next week when Trion Worlds has concluded Pax Prime.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The MMO shooter Destiny is nearing the finish line, the games have been handed over, now humor is being showcased.
Gold is just one milestone of many for Destiny
The MMO shooter Destiny has reached the so-called “Gold” status. This means the game is now available in the versions that will be running on numerous PlayStation and Xbox consoles worldwide on September 9th. In a post on the Destiny homepage, the developers at Bungie stated: “Destiny is Gold. Discs are being pressed and boxed. It is finished in many ways. Even though it sometimes feels like we have just started.”
Achieving the “Gold” status is also just one of many milestones that Destiny has reached and aims to reach. Even now, “in the glow of Gold,” they already have the next milestones in their sights.
The next announcement will likely come at the end of next week, as Bungie will be present at PAX Prime in Seattle, the Penny Arcade Expo, a large gaming convention.
Destiny shows humor, reworks lines from “Game of Thrones” star Peter Dinklage
In the post, Bungie also shows humor. A few weeks ago, they had to listen to criticism from the internet, as Peter Dinklage, in his role as the voice of the A.I. companion “Ghost”, delivered some of his lines… not exactly credibly and appropriately for the threatening scenario. It particularly pertained to “wizards coming from the moon” – a line that the “Game of Thrones” star reportedly couldn’t say without rolling his eyes. In a short video where they tackle the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, they take this as an opportunity to make fun of themselves. After all, no wizard comes from the moon, but rather a bucket of ice…
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It is also noteworthy in the video the dreaded slow clap, which players immediately demanded must be brought into the game as an emote.
Destiny will be released on September 9th for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. A PC version has not yet been definitively confirmed. However, all signs point to it being released a few months later.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Why does the fantasy MMO World of Warcraft struggle to maintain its player base? The target audience seems to be exhausted. Now, mainly players who need to be shown how to move with WASD find their way into World of Warcraft.
In a conversation with pcgamesn, Blizzard’s Tom Chilton, the lead designer of WoW, provided a clear answer as to why World of Warcraft is having difficulty maintaining a stable base after ten years. In his response, he focused not on the loss of existing players but on the increasingly sparse influx of new ones.
Simply put, not as many new players are coming in as before. And those who do come in don’t necessarily stay. This was different in the past: In 2004, the so-called “conversion” rate was massive, as it is said. Players who tried World of Warcraft tended to stick around. That is no longer the case today.
World of Warcraft has now reached a point where the vast majority of players interested in an RPG have already tried World of Warcraft. Chilton: “So many players who are likely to enjoy a game like WoW have already played it, often for many years.”
Who even starts fresh with World of Warcraft today?
Many veterans look at an MMO tutorial with furrowed brows. In the first minutes of gameplay, players are familiarized with the basics of an MMO, such as the WASD controls. MMO veterans, with many games under their belts, often think: This is unnecessary; everyone knows that.
However, such a system is essential for Blizzard today. They have found that newcomers need to familiarize themselves with WASD controls first, as Chilton puts it. This is new for them. Because the players who find their way to World of Warcraft are often players without any MMO experience.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The survival MMO H1Z1 surprises in a longer Twitch stream with an amazing crafting depth.
Anyone who has followed the H1Z1 project has already seen various streams and countless hours of live gameplay. Normally, it goes like this: A streamer with a fan base, but without a clue about H1Z1, plays the game like a typical survival game. He chops down a tree, crafts a bow, shoots the first zombies, and then tries to survive and loot. Fans of the game, who are attentively following it, have thus seen the first 20 minutes of H1Z1 countless times, observing someone whittling a bow and aiming at poor deer. Most of the time, these streamers come from a FPS background, are Counter-Strike experts, or entertain an audience that thrives on fast action. Such as when they shoot an unsuspecting graphic designer from SOE in the back with an arrow.
Streamer Ellohime builds a base and dives deeper into the crafting system
That is all well and good, but up to now relatively little has been seen of the “deep” crafting system that H1Z1 advertises. This changed at SOE Live in Vegas. They invited some of the best streamers in the USA (with the help of sponsors) to take a closer look at the game. One of them, Ellohime, set out to pursue a different approach before his stream. He did not want to grind in zombie battles or hop around aimlessly looking for something that just popped into his mind like countless before him.
Ellohime wanted to explore the crafting system of the game and reach recipes and regions that no one has shown to the public before. In just under two hours, he progresses a few “tiers” up and plays H1Z1, as some mockingly say, more like a “hoarder” than a survivor. In the highly recommended stream, developers from SOE also appear repeatedly, both Tom Schenk and Adam Clegg drop in and answer fans’ questions in the live chat.
Anyone who wants to be convinced that H1Z1 has more to offer than just chaos and atmosphere, and can also deliver in the “crafting” and “basebuilding” areas, should not miss this stream. You might want to skip ahead a bit because, of course, Ellohime has to first farm wood and iron to create the basics for his projects.
Spear fishing and electricity also make their way into H1Z1
By the way: At SOE Live, it was also hinted that there will be both “spear fishing” in the game as well as “electricity.” However, players will have to occupy a dam and get it running … and it certainly won’t be easy to follow the motto of H1Z1: “One Step ahead of Zed.”
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
