On the outskirts of Gamescom, Bioware promised a new expansion for 2015 for the Free2Play MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic, SWTOR. A console port was ruled out for the near future.
The Creative Director of Shadow Realms, Jeff Ohlsen, also dropped some information about the Free2Play MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic. It proves to be a long-lasting and successful title. Last month, it appeared in the Top-5 of the most profitable MMOs with a quasi-subscription model, and on Raptr, it belongs to the top 20 most popular games in July overall, and recently SWTOR made it to the throne of our list of Top Free2Play MMOs (probably it was welcomed with decreasing ecstasy over these accolades).
While many newer MMOs take the leap to consoles and become cross-platform titles, like the MMOs from SOE or Final Fantasy XIV, such a thing is unthinkable for Star Wars: The Old Republic. Every time, Ohlsen says, when he brings the suggestion to his technicians, they declare him crazy. The engine poses significant difficulties for a console port; it simply wasn’t designed for that. And switching the controls is a nightmare for the technicians. SWTOR was clearly designed with mouse and keyboard in mind.
But Ohlsen also has good news for Star Wars fans. They have already speculated that SWTOR would be treated with neglect after being removed from the official canon. But not at all: For 2015, they are planning an as-yet-unannounced expansion. Bioware has a lot in store for Star Wars: The Old Republic in 2015; with the launch of the new films, they hope for an increase in interest in the franchise.
Speaking of expansions: Tomorrow, the free-to-play digital expansion “Galactic Strongholds” will be deployed to the live servers. Initially, only subscribers will have access to player accommodations, guild flagships, and more.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The fantasy MMO Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is just waiting for the green light from Microsoft, then the game will be brought to the Xbox One as well. However, Square Enix expects this only after the holiday season.
Naoki Yoshida, the mastermind behind Final Fantasy XIV, was at Gamescom and gave numerous interviews. Among others, he spoke to dualshockers. They asked him how things looked for a port to the Xbox One. The answer is sobering but not hopeless. He is ready to start working on an Xbox One version as soon as Microsoft accepts the possibility of cross-platform servers, Yoshida said.
Here we have photographed Naoki Yoshida: He also signed many autographs at Gamescom. The fans were ecstatic.
At the moment, Microsoft is very focused on exclusive titles and the holiday season. Once that is over, they might reconsider, predicts Yoshida. Probably, they will finish the Mac version of Final Fantasy XIV even earlier than the Xbox version.
Yoshida even suggested a compromise, asking whether it would at least be possible to put Xbox One players on a server with PC players, but this was also rejected by Microsoft.
The MMO Final Fantasy XIV only released a version of the game for PlayStation 4 last year, which was very well received on Metacritic. The PlayStation 3 is also supported by FF XIV.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A trend that also caught the attention of visitors at Gamescom: The two tank and war simulation games World of Tanks and War Thunder are present and popular. Especially in Russia and former Soviet republics, the genre is growing massively.
Tanks and Uniformed Ladies at Gamescom
An article from the Sydney Morning Herald discusses the reasons for the popularity of the tank battle genre in the states of the former Eastern Bloc. The Australian journalist must find it strange that in Cologne young women in the service of War Thunder stand around a real tank and pose in uniforms from that time. The Herald also cites a German programmer who is tapping on a tank and is excited to be so close to history.
The Numbers Are Exploding
World of Tanks: A resounding success!
The growth figures for online wargaming are huge, the times are rosy. World of Tanks, along with its sister games World of Warships and World of Warplanes, has broken the 100-million-player mark. In the last two years, the number has tripled. The competitor War Thunder also reports record growth: The number of players playing free-to-play war simulations has doubled in recent years and continues to grow.
And the target audience is affluent and willing to pay. According to Gaijin Entertainment, 20% of all War Thunder players spend money in-game. Those who pay spend an average of $10 per month. World of Tanks is so successful that it serves as a shining example for the monetization model of a free-to-play title when explaining to League of Legends that it is too generous.
What Do the Russians Have to Do with World War II?
We from Mein MMO were also at Gamescom. The booths of War Thunder and Wargaming left a lasting impression. It was impressive.
Particularly pressing is the question: Why is the new genre so incredibly successful and growing in former Eastern Bloc states? According to Wargaming, 3% of all people in former Soviet states are regular players of these games.
The Russian representative of an investment firm suggests as a possible reason that the former Soviet republics witnessed the victorious superiority of their war tanks during World War II. This has become part of their cultural identity. This experience is lacking in the West. The memory of World War II evokes in the East a kind of “pride in the sacrifices and willingness to endure” of that time.
War Thunder or World of Tanks: Who Is Tougher? Representatives of the affected game industry steer the focus, especially before an international audience, in a different direction. The representative of Wargaming (World of Tanks) says: “Four years ago, when we started, we primarily targeted history fans. But as it turns out, our games are also popular among those who want to compete like in eSports – or who simply enjoy blowing things up.”
Anton Yudintsev, the head of Gaijin Software (War Thunder), sees World War II as an opportunity to view war with a certain nostalgia. In war simulations with modern weapons, this is lacking. “With modern military vehicles, it’s just not fun. You destroy objects at such great distances that you can’t even see what you’re shooting at.”
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The Korean MMO Blade and Soul, one of the biggest titles in China, is expected to come to North America and Europe at the end of 2015, according to a fan site of the game.
The head of a major fan site on the web, Bladeandsouldojo, reports in a forum post that she spoke with a Product Manager of Blade&Soul for the West at Gamescom in Cologne. The information is currently unofficial and not set in stone. According to the fan site, the claims should be taken with caution. Allegedly, an official statement from NCSoft is planned for September.
The key facts from the conversation with the Product Manager in summary:
Blade and Soul is not expected to come to Europe and North America until the end of 2015.
The Chinese client serves as the basis for the porting.
It is likely that they will start with PvE and PvP servers.
The model is supposed to be “Free-to-Play, but not entirely Free-to-Play.” What the Product Manager means by this is also puzzling the fan site operator. She suspects that it could be Buy2Play. Maybe it is simply a Free2Play, as is common in the industry, with numerous incentives to spend money in-game. At the moment, it is probably advisable to assume that the payment model is not yet finalized.
Reasons for the delay are mentioned to be slow European internet
Regarding the reasons for the delay, the NCSoft employee states that they want to prevent technical difficulties. In Korea, the internet is significantly faster than in Europe, and they know how important a good ping is for MMO players. As an example, the Product Manager mentioned Tera, which suffers from FPS and latency issues in the West.
At Gamescom, Blade and Soul was not officially presented yet because they simply were not ready. A beta is planned for early 2015.
Blade&Soul Release: Better late than never? Better never than late?
Mein MMO thinks: The source is unofficial, but seems credible to us. It cannot be said for sure. We had already speculated before Gamescom that perhaps Blade&Soul will be announced for the West. The MMO seems too attractive to us, and the West is an interesting market for NCSoft to let this opportunity pass.
However, this opportunity may have already passed if one assumes the end of 2015 as the release date. The sentiment from Asia MMO fans that is most often heard sounds something like this: “Blade&Soul would have been a huge deal if it had come out 2 years ago. Now the time window has been missed, other games look just as good or better. The hype has faded.” Also, the fact that the Chinese client is to serve as the basis for the porting is already criticized. Many fans would probably have preferred the Korean version.
In the Free2Play fantasy MMO Dragon’s Prophet, players will soon be able to breed their own dragons. Sony Online Entertainment introduced the new “Dragon Hatch” system at SOE Live in Las Vegas.
At SOE Live in Las Vegas, all games in SOE’s portfolio have their 15 minutes of fame – or rather their 40-400 minutes. Dragon’s Prophet was also part of it – Sony Online Entertainment is the game’s publisher in North America. Last night our time, it was announced that Dragon’s Prophet would be included in its All-Access program, allowing US players to receive bonuses for other SOE titles like Everquest II, DCUO, or Planetside 2 – unfortunately, we in Germany will miss out on this.
The egg-hatching system is a bit reminiscent of Pokémon
Players of Dragon’s Prophet only know eggs in the game from Easter so far.
What we benefit from is the new egg-hatching system. This will allow players to hatch dragon eggs themselves. The quality of the dragon that hatches from the egg depends on the quality of care. Soon, more details about the system will be revealed. At SOE, they also boasted about the revamped first hours of gameplay, where they have polished the quests with new mechanics and better cutscenes. Additionally, now more tutorials will introduce the diverse gameplay. This is expected to make the start easier for newcomers. Furthermore, the different classes are now overall more clearly defined and thus divided into roles. We last reported on the major update that has also been applied in Europe: Dragon’s Prophet changes core mechanics and takes a fresh start.
According to a SOE producer, they are also considering fulfilling a fan request: They had demanded to bring dragons from the recently discontinued Vanguard into the game.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the flight simulation War Thunder, the war-like conditions in Ukraine are also reflected in the player numbers.
In an interview with the Australian Sydney Morning Herald at the sidelines of Gamescom, Anton Yudinstev, the CEO of Gaijin Entertainment, spoke about the current situation in Ukraine. The unrest there has led to a decline in player numbers for War Thunder: “People are fleeing from the fighting in the east and there are regular power outages across the country, making online access difficult even in rather calm areas.”
They have lost a large portion of their Ukrainian player base, Yudinstev said. “Honestly, they just have more important things on their minds than a computer game. I would much prefer if people were playing instead of experiencing actual wars.”
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The signs are increasing that the luxury MMO Destiny, developed by Bungie for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4, could also be released for PC. A leak mentions March 2015 as the expected date.
The website breathecast refers to a leak in connection with Destiny that allegedly allowed some players to find Destiny in the Steam database as of now. It is supposedly intended for March 2015. How plausible this leak is difficult to say. However, it fits with previous statements from Activision, which make a PC port seem very likely.
Already in June, the online magazine Polygon conducted an interview with Erik Hirshberg, the CEO of Activision. He mentioned back then that the PC was a “good fit” for Destiny, meaning it was a suitable platform.
A port to PC is something that is being discussed and closely examined, as it is obvious how well Destiny fits on PC when considering the genre and type of game. It is important to set such an enormous and risky project like Destiny on as many legs as possible. While many players only talk about next-gen consoles, and the impression is that everything revolves around Xbox One and PlayStation 4, there are still many people on other systems looking to buy a next-gen console.
However, they did not want to be drawn into a release date or an official announcement at the time, as they were already designing the game for four platforms. From Hirshberg’s statements to Polygon, it can be inferred that Activision felt they had their hands full. When developing for as many platforms as they are now, it is important to just take one step at a time. However, according to the magazine, Activision sees the potential for the game on PC, as Hirshberg stated.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
At GamesCom in Cologne, Carbine, the developers behind WildStar, introduced two new dungeons that can currently be partially tested on the public test realm.
The first dungeon is the “Protostar Academy” and is intended for players level 10 – yes, you read that right. New players in particular are currently struggling a lot with the instances or even avoiding them completely, as they present a high level of difficulty and thus differ significantly from the regular leveling experience. To facilitate the entry into the world of group play, this new instance is being introduced, which is meant to represent a new intermediate step and thus serves as preparation for the ‘real’ instances. Above all, it aims to convey the feel for the game mechanics and special requirements of these game contents.
The second dungeon is called “Ultimate Protospiel” and is designed for players level 50, particularly featuring new loot and unique boss mechanics, allowing you to delve a little deeper into the trade secrets and working methods of the mysterious Protostar company.
Whether the two instances will make it into “Contendrop 3”, which is expected in early September, is still unclear, currently, it doesn’t look promising. Instead, the content drop is supposed to mainly include a new quest area and continue and conclude the “Drusera” story – we will keep you updated. Carbine provides a glimpse into the Protospiel with this video, presented at GamesCom:
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Blizzard’s free online card game Hearthstone drives millions of players crazy. They ponder why they lose so often. Could it be because the opponent has the coin so frequently? A website has now analyzed statistics to find out whether it’s better to play first or to have the coin.
In the free-to-play CCG Hearthstone, players can either play first and gain a tempo advantage by placing the first card on the board and later always reach a new maximum amount of mana first (basically, you play with White), or they must react to the opponent. To balance this, there is a coin in hand, which can be played without mana cost, granting an additional mana point just for that turn. It’s not like chess, where one player plays first and the other is unlucky, but both players start with a different situation.
The question now: What is actually better? The answer: It depends on the deck. Not enough for you? Alright, then let’s go into detail.
Statistics date back to the Closed Beta
The site arstechnica has obsessively worked on finding a more precise answer to this question. Even the designers of Hearthstone seem to be preoccupied with this question. Multiple times, there have been statistics from Blizzard’s Ben Brode, who mentioned back in September last year, still in the Closed Beta, that it was approximately 4.4% better to play first than to hold the coin.
Among the best players, however, this effect dissipates; there, playing first is only 0.7% better – almost a balance. Even back then, it was evident that Priests and Mages at the highest level often win more when starting with the coin rather than playing first. This trend solidified over the months as the game evolved. However, according to Brode, the advantage is marginal.
Who benefits from the coin and who suffers?
Arstechnica didn’t want to rely solely on Blizzard’s statistics but analyzed tournaments among top players and evaluated the results.
While in the analyzed 219 games at the top level, the overall results remained almost balanced (50.2% to 49.8% for playing first), certain trends became apparent:
Hunters, Druids, and Warlocks are stronger when they play first.
Rogues, Paladins, Mages, and Priests seem stronger when they have the coin.
Warriors and Shamans have closely matched values.
Hearthstone much fairer than League of Legends
Arstechnica acknowledges that the number of analyzed games is quite low to make generalized statements, so the results should be taken with caution. Some trends nonetheless emerged: It is evident that a Hunter, when rushing the opponent with their minions, can effectively use the tempo advantage. Meanwhile, the popular “Miracle Rogue” clearly appreciates the flexibility of the coin when the final attack is imminent and knows how to turn it (warning, pun) into victories.
However, when it comes to fairness, Hearthstone gets a good rating. In other games, the “playing first advantage” is much larger. In League of Legends, it is 30%. The team that gets to pick the first champion wins that much more often.
If you’re interested in more statistics and do not want to rely solely on your gut feeling: Here is a link to the statistical distribution of the individual card tiers in the booster packs. How likely is it to draw a legendary card? And how rare are the golden ones?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
As soon as the new expansion of World of Warcraft was announced, Blizzard already revealed the final boss of the AddOn Warlords of Draenor. The actual surprise: It has been known for a year. Surprisingly, Blizzard keeps no secrets about this matter.
At Blizzcon in 2013, a fan already asked the Blizzard developers on a panel if they knew who the final boss in the next expansion Warlords of Draenor would be (at that time, it was still a long way off). After all, they had already revealed before Mists of Pandaria that Garrosh Hellscream was intended to be the main villain for MoP.
No one in the audience really expected a serious answer to this question, especially since it had a clearly audible sarcastic undertone. But developer Tom Chilton simply said: “Yup, Grom Hellscream.” Laughter in the audience, the fans thought it was a joke. After all, Garrosh Hellscream, Grom’s son, was already known as the final boss of the current expansion. But Tom Chilton shrugged and reacted to the scattered laughter in the hall with: “Why? Didn’t you want to know?”
Like father, like son.
Now the release date for the latest World of Warcraft expansion is known – and it is still quite far off. At Gamescom, Tom Chilton again found time for an interview and was once more asked the question (this time by the German WoW fan site vanion) about who the final boss would be. And again he freely announced: “Grommash Hellscream for the final raid, with 6.0 it’s Blackhand.”
Somehow you think Blizzard would make more of such an announcement, but no. The fans in the corresponding threads have been discussing the message heatedly since then. According to a theory, Blizzard could copy the raid structure from Burning Crusade: In the second raid tier, Gul’Dan could then await the players and in a “Sunwell”-like bonus raid, Kil’Jaeden again. However, there is controversial discussion about whether we haven’t had enough Hellscream already. One even speculated that we would surely deal with Garrosh’s mom in the next expansion. The renewed focus on the Horde as a supplier of villains is also criticized.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Employees of ArenaNet have already managed to get more information at Gamescom about what players can expect in the feature patch for Guild Wars 2 in September.
Oops, that was actually planned for August 20th. The phrase “Command the rainbow” appears on the announcement page of the new feature patch. But curious Guild Wars 2 fans were at Gamescom in Cologne, saw videos of new gameplay, and asked the developers about the new colors that commanders are now marked with in WvWvW.
“Yes,” the developers must have said, “that comes with the feature patch.” And then they said much more about it. Well, was that really in the interest of the PR department?
The change to the commander in Guild Wars 2
The Commander Tag costs 300 Gold, but applies account-wide. The following colors can be unlocked: Blue, pink, red, and yellow. Players who already own a Commander Tag unlock a blue one account-wide. Other points of the feature patch that have already surfaced from Gamescom:
The combat log will now be much more informative, and players should be able to color and customize it to their liking.
A new WvWvW ability will be introduced that allows its owner to reinforce golems.
And a new WvWvW trap, the “Siege Disabler,” will disable siege weapons for 45 seconds and golems for 20 seconds.
The information comes, according to the fan site, directly from the ArenaNet developers at Gamescom.
The feature patch for GW2 is scheduled for September 9th, with the next announcement about what players can expect there was actually planned for August 18th.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the sandbox MMO Landmark, formerly known as Everquest Landmark, a combat system and the ability to die will be introduced soon.
The building and digging MMO Landmark is currently in a Closed Beta. So far, the game feels like it’s missing something: namely a combat system. Digging in the pits, cutting down trees, and especially shaping one’s own claim is fun, but many MMO players can’t fully express themselves: they are missing combat.
As reported by the magazine massively, referencing two of the leading devs, the decision for Landmark to not have a combat system until now was simply because the game is being developed in front of the players’ eyes. The focus had to be on the building elements first, so the developers had the tools to create something and generate content. The previous focus on the pacifist elements of the game has led to a community mainly consisting of decorators, craftsmen, merchants, and explorers. This is seen as an ideal base for an exciting MMO community, according to SOE.
The combat system will now be introduced in various phases. For starters, it is explained that there will be no fixed classes; the “Adventurers”‘ combat style adapts to the chosen weapons. Initially, a sword for melee combat, a bow for ranged combat, and a wand for when things need to get fiery will be brought to Landmark. The armors will include a robe, a martial barbarian outfit, and a technically slightly advanced iron armor. These are meant to fit the different play styles dictated by the weapons.
The update with the first traces of the combat and dying system is scheduled to be rolled out on August 27 on the beta servers.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
As the numbers from last week show, Guild Wars 2 still has a fairly large player base even 2 years after its release. However, this game from ArenaNet is not without its errors. One of the main problems with the MMO is surprisingly the PvP.
Recently, it was announced that on August 14th the release date and the cinematic trailer for the new WoW addon “Warlords of Draenor” would be revealed. Around 6:30 PM German time, it was finally here: In a live stream, among others, Mike Morhaime and Chris Metzen presented both.
In the past few days, there has been a lot of discussion about the announcement that the next Tomb Raider iteration “Rise of the Tomb Raider” would be released exclusively for Microsoft’s Xbox. Although not until the Christmas season of 2015, many people were already getting upset because they felt treated unfairly.
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The fantasy MMO The Elder Scrolls Online has completely overhauled the previous campaign structure with the latest patch. In the official forum, the PvP lead of TESO, Brian Wheeler, provides an initial status update.
From 10 campaigns on each mega-server, it has been reduced to 5. How will this affect gameplay? And what about the exploits of the game mechanics, is Zenimax aware of them? On these and other topics, the PvP lead of The Elder Scrolls Online, Brian Wheeler, shares his position.
Performance Issues: Players Will Soon Be Able to Disable Effects
The current number of campaigns and the type of campaigns are not set in stone. Depending on how Cyrodiil changes and how player feedback turns out, Wheeler stated, they will convert one campaign or even introduce a new one.
A lot is currently changing in The Elder Scrolls Online. Wheeler also mentioned that they want to address players’ issues in Cyrodiil caused by lags and crashes through optimization of the game client. They are working on allowing players to disable individual effects that negatively impact their performance. This fine-tuning that players can make to their settings should, together with Zenimax’s work on the server, provide a noticeable improvement in the combat experience.
The Elder Scrolls Online Will Close Some Exploits: Emperor Trading and Gathering Campaign Buffs
In the past, we have reported on the trend of “Emperor Trading”: Players of a dominant alliance pass the emperor title to each other to benefit from the passive bonuses that the faded emperor’s legacy grants to former bearers. This has likely reached Zenimax by now. Wheeler mentioned that they are monitoring the situation and may intervene if necessary. However, he did not comment on the sporadic demand to strip and reset all emperor titles that have been obtained so far.
Another issue that is being observed by the developers of The Elder Scrolls Online is the buffs from campaigns. Some guilds seem to be moving from campaign to campaign to accumulate as many buffs as possible. They also want to address this issue. However, they do not want to make it impossible for players to join the campaigns of their friends for group adventures.
The Imperial City and Life After It: Factions Should Distinguish Themselves More
Wheeler places special importance on the Imperial City, which we have reported on several times. In Wheeler’s view, the introduction of this PvP dungeon will change everything and could lead to a population explosion in Cyrodiil, for which they are prepared.
Once the Imperial City is in TESO, they want to address the empty spots on the map in PvP – and they want to provide individual alliances with distinct equipment to emphasize the differences between factions.
Additionally, they are considering bringing the “Forward Camps,” where fallen warriors can resurrect, into the game in a different variant so that only guild members of the player establishing the camp can re-enter the game. There will then be two types of these resurrection tents: one for all and one only for guild members.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The founder package for the Sandbox MMO ArcheAge proves to be unexpectedly strong on Steam.
On the PC platform Steam, the ArcheAge: Archeum Founders Pack also appeared in the Top 10 last week alongside bestseller titles like DayZ and Counterstrike: Global Offensive. As reported by PcGames Hardware, the title took fifth place from August 3rd to August 9th, which we consider quite remarkable. This places the game ahead of Arma 3 and The Forest.
The founder package grants access to the Alpha, which is still permanently open, while the Beta servers remained closed last week – perhaps this explains part of its popularity. The package costs nearly 135 Euros. At the moment, however, its popularity has decreased again, currently, it is in twentieth place. However, in fourteenth place is the Silver package of ArcheAge, which costs nearly 46 Euros and allows access to the currently open Beta servers, among other things.
These good figures apparently indicate that the “Free-to-Play” game ArcheAge is successful with its strategy to encourage players to purchase a package that secures them advantages in the game, makes the attractive sandbox elements accessible – and grants them access to the servers in general.
The latest ArcheAge Beta started on Thursday and runs until Tuesday evening.
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During the keynote for the survival MMO H1Z1 last night in Las Vegas, the team from Sony Online Entertainment presented a new feature: planes visibly drop special equipment. The team expects that there will be a real slaughter around these air drops.
These days, alongside the Gamescom in Cologne, SOE Live is also taking place in Las Vegas. The MMO studio Sony Online Entertainment is showcasing the individual games and projects, including the survival MMO H1Z1. Last night, it had its big appearance.
SOE’s president John Smedley briefly summarized the game’s backstory: the idea was born just in December. During a production break, while working on another game, they experimented with some prototypes until the idea for a survival MMO like DayZ or Rust fully clicked and excited the entire team. This team is comprised of zombie fans who never miss an episode of The Walking Dead. Initially, they were just playing around with the Forgelight engine to see what was possible with it. The Forgelight engine is also used in Planetside 2, and most elements in H1Z1 come from this game. This explains why they already had a game a few months after the idea was conceived, which is now continuously being refined.
Early Access only when SOE loves the game, not just likes it
The fact that Early Access is still awaited was explained by Smedley: “At the moment, we really like the game, but we want to put it into Early Access only when we love it. And we are getting closer to that stage all the time.” This is not just flirting. They are not pretending here; they want to bring H1Z1 to the public only when they are completely convinced of it.
“Deeper, deeper” is the motto – H1Z1 should be complex
During the panel, the main members of the H1Z1 team responded to fan questions from the audience. One attendee wanted to know whether the individual elements of the game interacted with each other, meaning if one could shoot the tires of a jeep with a pistol or ignite something with a gas canister. The developers answered that such interactions are indeed part of their plan. Smedley constantly encourages them to make the game deeper and deeper. This is precisely their goal. However, for Early Access, they want to initially bring a kind of cross-section of the game to life, offering a bit of everything so that fans can provide valuable feedback.
When asked what distinguishes H1Z1 from other zombie games like DayZ, former FPS pro gamer Jimmy Whisenhunt mentioned SOE’s MMO experience. They are an MMO company; that’s what they’re specialized in, and they can do that extremely well.
The Bunny Hat question and the issue with Pay2Win in H1Z1
The question of how looting works is one that both developers and fans are concerned about in H1Z1. The developers reported that they had met for a “Bunny Hat” conference to discuss whether players could loot a cosmetic item from a defeated player that they had in the shop, like bunny ears. The answer: yes, this will be possible. The player who originally bought the ears will lose that expenditure; however, they have acquired the blueprint for this item in the shop and can craft the bunny ears again. Meanwhile, the murdering thief will still have obtained them. However, nothing purchased in the Station Shop should be able to be directly lost.
The issue of “Pay2Win” is closely monitored by fans. When a special item was announced as a reward for SOE Live attendees, alarms rang in social media that SOE was distributing weapons that would give others an advantage. However, SOE immediately reassured: this is just a skin for a club, and there are no effects on the game.
Guilds, as known in other MMOs, are called communities in H1Z1. Special challenges will be introduced in the game for player unions. Because large communities also bring corresponding risks in H1Z1. Those who rush through a city with 30 people are, after all, the most attractive target for all zombies on the server, the developers explained. They also do not want to make finding friends too easy because that is part of the adventure of a zombie apocalypse. Simply spawning next to a buddy would hardly fit this threatening atmosphere.
Greed leads to slaughter in H1Z1 – The Air Drop
At the conclusion of the event, they presented the “Air Drop” as a new feature. A loud propeller plane circles in the sky, dropping a large box full of valuable equipment somewhere. Players see this, run towards it, and try to get the box under their control. In the example video, a situation arises reminiscent of The Hunger Games: in a kind of “Battle Royale,” the H1Z1 players battle for the valuable equipment until the last survivor secures the precious look into the box.
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The MMO shooter Destiny is presenting a new trailer that showcases Mars as a battlefield in the futuristic fight for survival.
The red planet Mars has fascinated humanity for ages. In the MMO shooter Destiny, players will finally be able to set foot on the planet. But it’s not little green men that await you there.
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Announced yesterday for November 13, Blizzard now reveals the content of the Collector’s Edition of Warlords of Draenor, the new expansion to the evergreen World of Warcraft.
Also for Starcraft II, Diablo III and Hearthstone fans
A Collector’s Edition in the closet is a matter of honor for some hardcore Blizzard fans. Only a few game studios have managed to earn a reputation that makes their Collector’s Editions a kind of “artifact”, a series of boxes in the closet that reflects one’s gaming history.
As has been the case for some time, Blizzard is also offering a diverse range of content for the Collector’s Edition of Warlords of Draenor. Buyers of the CE not only receive items for World of Warcraft, but there is also something to show in-game in Starcraft II, Diablo III and Hearthstone that they own the Collector’s Edition of Warlords of Draenor. The individual contents:
The Physical
The complete game on DVD of course, if the image is to be trusted, it looks like 4 DVDs.
A making-of and behind-the-scenes tandem on Blu-Ray and DVD – here Blizzard offers exclusive insights into the creation of the add-on. They promise over an hour of material with developer interviews and insider glimpses.
The soundtrack to Warlords of Draenor – orchestral music focused on the battles that will rage in Draenor. Somewhat martial in nature.
An art book with 160 pages. Included: The development of the design of the new world from the first brush strokes to the finished artwork.
And there’s also a mouse pad. Featured: Blackhand, the gorilla and bruiser among the Warlords of Draenor.
The Digital: Dread Raven Mount and Pet
Already announced for a while, there’s a Dread Raven mount and pet as rewards for purchasers of the Collector’s Edition. The two are descendants of Anzu, the legendary mount “Raven Lord” from The Shadow Labyrinth, which was so hard to obtain.
For Starcraft II fans, there are new portraits – buyers of the Collector’s Edition can enjoy Grommash Hellscream and Blackhand in Starcraft II.
In Diablo III, one displays their WoW connection with a pennant, a kind of banner, worn on the back.
And in Hearthstone, one can show off with a new card back. Design: Brownish, iron, war-forged!
Blizzard recommends early pre-orders, as the Collector’s Edition is limited. And the free 90s are still available on top of that:
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This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The survival MMO H1Z1 is one of the major topics at SOE Live in Las Vegas and was also part of the opening panel. It will definitely come to PlayStation 4.
H1Z1 will definitely come to PlayStation 4. This was made clear by Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley during the opening panel of the in-house convention SOE Live last night. There had recently been quite a bit of speculation in German online magazines, as a game designer stated that they are currently fully focused on the PC version of H1Z1 and that no one is working on the PlayStation 4 version. Some magazines misinterpreted this as “Not coming for PS 4”.
MMOs no longer just a PC affair, H1Z1 and Planetside 2 planned for PlayStation 4
The port of the games to as many platforms as possible is, according to Smedley, part of the new SOE philosophy. As an example that MMOs are no longer just a PC matter, Smedley mentioned Blizzard’s free card game Hearthstone. Another part of the philosophy is to showcase the games as often as possible on Twitch and to allow as many streamers as possible access to the games. According to Smedley, Twitch is becoming increasingly important. He himself no longer buys a game without first checking it out thoroughly on Twitch. Accordingly, several well-known streamers like Angry Joe or Rhinocrunch were guests in Las Vegas, to whom Smedley expressed his gratitude for their efforts.
Most fans would prefer to swing the axe today rather than tomorrow.
Minutes later, Smedley introduced the producer of H1Z1, Steve George, and gave him a somewhat teasing welcome with the sentence: “Steve, if you want to announce the early access date for H1Z1 now: go ahead, buddy!” Then Smedley made his escape from the stage.
The release date for the early access is a sensitive topic among fans, as it had already been announced some time ago and then postponed.
H1Z1 marketing consisted of “opening the doors”
Steve George briefly explained to the present SOE fans the basic principles of H1Z1: open world, zombie MMO, a lot of crafting, large landmass, and players should have made a few new friends and new enemies after each game session. According to George, fans, including those of the Everquest or Planetside 2 franchises, should take the opportunity to talk to the developers here to learn everything about H1Z1: “Just approach them, and if they don’t tell you enough, buy them a few drinks.”
Go out and spread the H1Z1 hype virus!
At H1Z1, according to George, you can see the success of SOE’s new policy. Instead of relying on marketing, they simply opened the doors and let as many players in as possible, allowing them to participate in the development of the game and play it. This led to many going out and promoting the game on their own. “We have something very special here,” said George.
In the coming days, various events related to H1Z1 are planned at SOE Live. Some are rather humorous in nature (Zombie Prom and “Zombies can’t swim” pool party), others are significantly more informative. Tonight our time, the probably most important H1Z1 event will take place with the keynote panel.
Additionally, the new key art for H1Z1 was presented (see above, title image of the article). The entire opening ceremony of SOE Live can be found here in this Twitch video, H1Z1 will be discussed approximately after 80 minutes.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Blizzard’s free online card game Hearthstone is one of the biggest success stories of this year, attracting imitators. The wrestling company WWE is launching a digital card game for iOS and Android.
On one side, there are fantasy characters in colorful costumes with huge muscles or warrior Amazons in martial but still somewhat feminine outfits, and on the other side, Orcs and Elves. The World of Warcraft universe and WWE have many similarities, and now one more: both now have a digital card game in their repertoire.
The “Supercard”, the new collectible card game (CCG) from WWE, is being developed by Cat Daddy Games and published by 2k Games. The game design is significantly different from Hearthstone. There are supposed to be 400 cards featuring active wrestlers, Divas (as WWE refers to its female wrestlers), managers, and “legends” (inactive wrestlers).
There will be options to train the cards, equip them with typical wrestling items for short-term buffs (ladders, for example), and then pit them against each other in various game modes.
Snarky WWE fans are already looking forward to complaining about the stats of the cards
A “snarky” fan community has developed around wrestling, which is well aware of the nature of the sport and enjoys how the various storylines are told in the ring and how characters are presented. Therefore, fans are already looking forward to tearing apart the different stat values of the individual cards, as these stats reflect how WWE portrays the wrestlers. The “snarky” fans often disagree with this. Especially John Cena is under scrutiny. He is adored by young fans, while the snarkers miss charisma in many current wrestlers with Cena’s stature and view them as industrial products. They see charisma more in the “normally built” wrestlers who came up from the indie scene, like CM Punk or Daniel Bryan, while WWE prefers larger wrestlers like The Rock, John Cena, and others.
By the way, the title “Super-Card” can also be understood as a reference from wrestling terminology. A “card” refers to the matches on a specific night.
If you want to learn more about the game, we recommend this trailer. You can find more information on the game’s homepage.
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