One of the most important features of every Elder Scrolls title is the absolute freedom when it comes to leisure activities. If one had a slight kleptomaniac tendency and had to constantly hide something in their pockets, at the mere sight of a dresser, this poses no problem.
One just needed to be able to sneak, as one certainly didn’t want to be caught in the act, especially not by a city guard. They not only demand the stolen goods back, but they also want to collect a bounty. I would rather call that a bribe, but better not to say that to the guards’ faces.
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ArcheAge, the MMO with sandbox elements, has announced the date for the next beta weekend. It is set to be three times larger than the last one.
Normally, there was always about an hour of advance notice when it became clear that an additional server would need to be brought online, but this time the first one was full after just 18 minutes, according to Trion Worlds CEO Scott Hartsman regarding the success of the last beta weekend. The last test showed that the servers could withstand such a surge. Furthermore, it was valuable training in server management. While players explored the world of ArcheAge, Trion Worlds was already considering what adjustments could be made to make the experience even more engaging.
The second beta weekend is set to begin on July 30 at 7:00 PM and run until August 4 at 7:00 PM. This time, they want to bring in three times as many players through giveaways. Additionally, there will be a sailing event. Well, not a real one: players are encouraged to show their artistic side and design a motif for a sail (but no inappropriate content, it should remain family-friendly; perhaps it will even be implemented in the game later). The three best sail designs will be rewarded with delicious keys. That’s something.
The rush for ArcheAge seems non-stop; already in alpha, they had to significantly increase the servers. Before the start of the first beta test, Trion Worlds mentioned that over a million players had applied for the few spots available.
The free-to-play MMO Neverwinter will soon introduce a new race to the game. The Dragonborn will come with the fourth module, Tyranny of Dragons. For now, it is only available in a package at a price equivalent to that of full-price titles.
The beauty of having such strong source material like Dungeons & Dragons is the many inspirations one can draw from and the directions in which one can develop their MMO. Neverwinter takes this to heart, keeps its word, and actually brings more choices into the game. Recently, a new class, the Ranger, was introduced, with the Warlock planned next for Tyranny of Dragons, and now with the Dragonborn, a new race is also being added.
The newly introduced race of Dragonborn will be available in an opulent package with numerous bonuses, but it will also come with a hefty price. At the moment, it costs just over 70 Euros, and this includes a discount. Later, it will cost nearly 95 Euros.
For that, the player receives a new character slot, access to the race, glyphs, costumes, a 30-slot bag, and equipment that is especially suitable for fighting dragons. The items will become active on August 18, and then the Tyranny of Dragons is set to begin.
My MMO says: The games from Perfect World Entertainment are not exactly shining examples of free-to-play MMOs. Allegations often arise against the developers, claiming that they go a bit overboard with the cash shop and steer their games toward “pay-to-win.” Voices complaining about this will likely not quiet down with the package presented here. However, there are also free-to-play MMOs offered by PWE, such as Star Trek Online, where the cash shop is not so pronounced. Perhaps later, there will be an option to play the race in-game or acquire it for a “single price.” We will see with the release of the module.
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Many players complain that the interface of WildStar is not optimal in some places, as it could have been, and that many comfort features that one knows from other MMORPGs are completely missing.
What many do not know: For most of these functions, there are small additional programs written by players themselves that can greatly simplify life on Nexus, and these are completely legal: We are talking about addons. Today, I would like to introduce you to some addons that I have come to love over the past few weeks.
Curse Client and Installation
The easiest way to install the addons is to download the “Curse Client”. This program manages all your addons for a variety of MMOs, informs you as soon as there is a new version, and allows you to update them with a single click – and it is completely free. To use the program, simply create a free account at www.curse.com and download the client. While using this program is not a must, it greatly facilitates the maintenance of your addons, as Curse has one of the most up-to-date databases for these additional programs, which can also be downloaded individually and manually if desired.
Manually installing the addons in WildStar is unfortunately a bit more complicated, but after the first time it is not a major obstacle anymore. To do this, simply open the Explorer or your workspace and enter “%APPDATA%” (without quotes) in the path display at the top and confirm with Enter (you must have administrator rights for this). From there, navigate to “NCSoft” – “WildStar” – “Addons”. If the last folder is not yet present, simply create it. From now on, all future addons should be extracted to exactly this folder.
The name says it all (ha, pun! Who noticed? Na? Naaa?). This small addon informs you whenever a rare enemy, a so-called “rarespawn”, is detected near you. Since these enemies usually appear only once per hour and possess unique loot, it is often worth killing them, even if the fight is a bit more challenging. As soon as such an enemy is scanned by the addon, you will hear a warning sound, and a list will appear with all the rare enemies in the vicinity – clicking on the enemy’s name even shows you an arrow that leads you directly to it, as if it were a quest target.
Optionally, a chat message can also be sent directly to the entire group, so everyone knows right away. Alternatively, you can also add regular monsters to the list if you are hoping for a certain drop and always want to see the shortest path to the next enemy. Conveniently, if no enemy from the list is nearby, the addon becomes virtually invisible and does not take up space in your interface.
Countless players do really cool things with their properties in WildStar – from gigantic jumping puzzles to shady taverns to the largest plush toy collection, almost every idea can be realized in WildStar. Many players now set their properties to public and advertise them in the zone chat, inviting people to come by and take a look. But… you definitely do not want these players on your neighborhood list – you don’t know them that well.
The addon “Visitor” can be opened in the game with /visit (you have to be on a property, e.g., your own) and allows you to specifically search for public properties. In doing so, you can either view a complete list of all publicly accessible houses or specifically search by a player’s name for a quick visit. You can save particularly nice properties in a favorites list and quickly access them from there.
For time-savers and all fans of organized inventories, “JunkIt” is recommended. This addon adds an additional button to every vendor NPC, which allows you to sell all gray items with just one click. This completely eliminates the time-consuming processing of the inventory list. In the options, you can also set what items should be sold directly and what quality level they should have. For example, all “green armor pieces” that are not currently equipped can be sold automatically.
A nice addition: You can set whether simply clicking on a vendor should sell all junk and whether repairs should be done automatically.
For most players, this addon has become an absolute must, although it has relatively high resource requirements and can negatively affect your frame rate. BijiPlates replaces the name display of all creatures, as well as the associated health and shield display, and separates them from each other. But this true allrounder can do much more: You can set at what distance the name displays should be shown and whether you want to see them through objects (walls, trees, etc.). Especially useful is the enhanced spell display of friends and foes, it is now much easier to recognize what someone is doing and if you should interrupt it quickly.
It is also helpful to receive a warning when the tank has just lost aggro and the boss is looking at you. Especially for aspiring raiders, this addon is worth more than just a quick glance, and it has proven to be an irreplaceable companion in PvP as well.
>Especially for new players, it can be confusing that the talent points of WildStar, known as “VIPs” (in English “AMPs”), must first be found in the world before they can be used. About 40 AMPs can be unlocked per character, and only a fraction of them are really needed for your own build. To make the search for the corresponding objects easier, the addon with the prophetic name “AMP Finder” is worth it. It lists for each class where the worthwhile amplifiers can be found and even guides you to the corresponding vendors with the push of a button. This eliminates the need to scour online databases for information and saves a lot of nerves. Win-win!
Lastly, I have a real gem for all role-players among you. Since at least after this sentence half of all people have stopped reading, I can get straight to the point: Killroy allows you to bypass the language barrier of Carbine and enables communication with the enemy faction via the /say channel – of course, only if the conversation partner also has this addon.
Moreover, you can set the distance at which conversations from the /say channel should be displayed, as the standard range is currently one hundred meters and can be shortened, which is especially helpful for role-players who would otherwise feel overwhelmed by a flood of chat. The addon also recognizes whether a character is behind a wall and therefore should not be hearable, and offers a number of other convenient features, such as easily coloring the most important role-play channels.
I hope you enjoyed this little selection. Please always remember that you need to update your addons regularly (i.e., after every patch) so that they continue to work. Since all addons are programmed by players, it can sometimes take a few days for an updated version to be available, but this can always be checked in the Curse Client.
What addons do you use and what features do you think are still missing in WildStar? Let me know in the comments!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The god MMO Skyforge is ready to present itself in all its glory to the public. For Gamescom in Cologne, they plan to unveil two new classes and a playable demo version. Furthermore, they are likely to announce the start date for the beta.
Skyforge now seems to be slowly approaching a stage where they are ready to reveal more than just design concepts and appealing ideas. At Gamescom in Cologne, fans can expect an “important announcement regarding the beta.” Most likely, these will be the exact start dates; anything else would be surprising at this point.
Skyforge is likely to reveal the date for the Open Beta
Skyforge is currently, although relatively much is already known about it, still an unwritten slate in many respects. While some puzzle pieces are known (free class system, god mythology, arcade controls, action gameplay), it is still not quite clear how everything fits together and whether the MMO will feel and play well. At Gamescom, at least representatives of the press will have the opportunity to walk with the gods and see how the gameplay feels.
For Gamescom in Cologne, they also promise fresh screenshots and information about new classes.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The next race will become a victim of Blizzard’s obsession with beauty. Now, it affects the female Tauren in World of Warcraft: With the expansion Warlords of Draenor, they will receive a new look.
The female Tauren have always been described as somewhat “stretched” and “angular” (some Tauren ladies might now roll their eyes at this insult). But back then, it just couldn’t be done any better. Now, with the new technology, it’s possible to give the ladies much more detail and contours. The horns can be designed rounder, the fur given more texture, and the muscles can be better defined, making the facial expressions appear finer, more nuanced, and more differentiated.
The Warcraft character design is generally known for long stylized arms, large hands, and massive feet – however, they exaggerated the design with the Tauren to the point that they will now be refined. The outlines will remain unchanged, though.
We’ll spare you the usual cow jokes and simply say: The new female Tauren look fantastic. By the way, the new design is well received by fans. For this redesign, Blizzard is getting a lot of praise. Some are calling it the most beautiful new model. Although the Tauren have always been considered one of the weaker models.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Hellgate 2, a ray of hope for the unfortunate Hellgate franchise, has now officially been canceled.
Hellgate 2 was supposed to be a sequel to Hellgate: London and Hellgate: Global. It was developed on the Unreal 3 Engine. The Korean development studio Hanbitsoft had acquired the rights to the Hellgate franchise from Flagship Studios. Now, it has been announced that the development of Hellgate 2 will be halted and the team behind it disbanded.
Initially, the game was supposed to be released in December 2013. However, that did not happen. The development has been progressing slowly, which has been attributed to the fact that the developers had too little experience with the Unreal 3 Engine, according to a report by mmoculture from the studio.
Mein MMO states: With the end of Hellgate 2, it seems that the last ray of hope for the somewhat unfortunate Hellgate franchise has now extinguished. Although there is still a “Global” version of the game and a Korean version, the game is not being further developed. The story of Hellgate is relatively convoluted, characterized by high expectations and rather disappointed hopes. The remaining European fans of the franchise seemed, to put it gently, to have not placed much trust in Hanbitsoft. This news now confirms their doubts.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The Korean MMO Black Desert has found a publisher for Europe and North America.
A few months ago, Black Desert excited local gamers with something as simple as a video about character creation. The graphical brilliance contained in it made many MMO players dream of an adaptation in the West. That dream is now coming true. And the question: “Why do we never get these games?” should at least be silenced for this title.
The fantasy MMO with strong sandbox elements “Black Desert” will be published by “Daum” for North America and Europe. This is the same publisher that brings the game to the audience in its home country of South Korea. Different providers have been found for Japan and Russia, while the results of negotiations for China are still pending.
In recent months, rumors have been circulating that Black Desert is close to agreeing with a publisher for the West. Although there is still no exact date for a beta or even a release in the West, the developers at Pearl Abyss have allegedly been working on an English client for 7 months.
The news comes from Steparu, a site specializing in Asian MMOs. They have been in contact with the developers at Pearl Abyss and were able to confirm the news directly from the source.
Black Desert has also become known here in the West over the past few months through several videos and trailers that were particularly visually impressive. With a special “Black Desert” engine, a seamless fantasy world is being created. The game is set to be free-to-play and is already scheduled to be released in 2015 (at least in Korea). Initially only for PC, negotiations with Sony are also underway for a PS4 port.
Among the special features of the game is mounted combat on specially bred mounts. Something that some MMO players have dreamed of for ages, and that has rarely been attempted. The game will have an action-based combat system, a day/night cycle that even the NPCs are subjected to, and is expected to shine with a dynamic weather system.
In addition to the sandbox elements that are supposed to manifest in freer trading and settlement, a parkour system will also catch the eyes of observers. This will allow players to move through the world a bit like in a kung-fu movie, jumping over various obstacles and taking “shortcuts” that are not immediately apparent.
But let’s not kid ourselves; the internal values play a role later: the first impression is determined by the visuals. Here, for many MMO lovers, it is love at first sight. Just the pictures blow us away and are the game’s big plus, it’s a real eye-catcher. Surely Black Desert, along with Bless Online and Blade & Soul, is one of the most exciting titles that could make it here from Asia. And perhaps Black Desert, alongside Everquest Next and Skyforge, belongs to the top MMO titles for 2015.
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In early August, the next big content update for The Elder Scrolls Online is set to be released. This time, it revolves around the topic of guilds. As most MMO players are likely aware, guilds are one of the main reasons why players stick with a game.
You have joined a group of people, interacted with them, and fought together in battles. This creates connections. It is all the more frustrating when a game poorly implements such guilds. When managing them is complicated and when it is generally too difficult to interact with one another.
However, it is also bad when there are too few opportunities to stand out from other guilds. This and much more feedback has been collected by the developers of TESO, and now they are making some major changes to the guild system, as Darion reveals in the video:
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The MMO with sandbox elements ArcheAge has completed the first of a series of beta events. Do the first hours reflect the depth of the game, or does a quest-heavy start possibly deter many players?
Bill Murphy from mmorpg.com addresses the delicate questions of game design in ArcheAge in a column. He fears that ArcheAge drives away numerous players by appearing, at first glance, as a “standard MMO”. One is sent from quest to quest through the first thirty levels, exposing players to the standard gameplay that can also be found in World of Warcraft or pretty much any other MMO. As a result, the game fails to highlight its own strengths in the first hours: how deeply intertwined crafting is with gameplay, sailing, land ownership, piracy, and the open world.
Those who persevere through the first thirty hours or are already aware of the game’s inner values are certainly in line to become future customers. However, those approaching the game without much information and just following the “natural” quest progression could quickly lose interest and dismiss it as “just another MMO”.
Pick up players where they stand, or throw them straight into the deep end?
My MMO thinks: Certainly a delicate problem that ArcheAge faces here. Those who spent 135 euros for alpha access have thoroughly engaged with the game beforehand and know what to expect. However, those who become beta players through a giveaway and more or less stumble into their luck might experience what Murphy described.
However, the design with the theme park focus is also understandable. It makes sense that Trion Worlds wants to receive players “on safe ground”, where they stand, and thus feeds them with familiar content. This gives players a goal and does not overwhelm them with too much unfamiliarity. Many MMO players who have never heard of sandbox and open-world (from where would they?) could feel lost in an MMO without quests and a red thread. Scott Hartsman spoke in our interview about ArcheAge as a “sandbox” with theme park elements as an introduction. The decision has thus been made consciously, even if it may lack refinement.
It will be interesting to see whether the European ArcheAge will manage to balance these elements. It is essential to find a middle ground between two poles. Otherwise, players will log out and not log back in. Either because they are disoriented and overwhelmed or bored and tired of the same quests.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Maxis, the minds behind the successful series “The Sims”, are looking for a Senior Designer for a new project. The job posting reads as if something in the direction of F2P-MMO is in the works.
For years, Maxis has only been about The Sims, those babbling virtual beings who have trouble understanding simple concepts like “Don’t go into the swimming pool when you’re dead tired” and exhibit an astonishing urge to urinate. Now a job advertisement is causing a cheerful flame play in the rumor kitchen.
They are looking for a new Senior Designer for an as yet unannounced project.
The ideal candidate should preferably have precise knowledge of a “Social Multiplayer” game, with an MMO explicitly mentioned as an example of such a game. Knowledge about character development, crafting and research trees, leveling in RPG style, and loot progression should be present. Furthermore, they should be familiar with monetization, ideally with specific expertise on how to extract money from a free-to-play game without aggravating the players. The desired Senior Designer should be knowledgeable about Maxis games such as Sim City, The Sims, and Spore, as well as Minecraft and its most popular mods.
My MMO states: Inferring assumptions about the finished game from such job postings is only a whisker beyond tea leaves or bird flight speculation. However, just the prospect of a crossover between Minecraft, a F2P-MMO, and The Sims – as conjured by Lazygamer.net – would surely bring joy to many Sims fans. But maybe it will just be “only” a Facebook casual game and not a Triple-A F2P giant. One shouldn’t raise hopes too high.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The upcoming survival MMO H1Z1 is on the verge of Early Access, with developer blogs, videos, tweets, and screens providing new info about the game almost every day. We pose the typical MMO questions: How much MMO is in the game? What is SOE planning with it? And what makes H1Z1 appealing?
Let’s start from the beginning: What about character creation?
Poor. This has already been confirmed. At the beginning of Early Access, there won’t even be female player characters available, just a generic male character with limited customization options. Later, they plan to introduce at least African American characters into the game. However, character creation is not a high priority. Game dev Jimmy Whisenhunt recently stated that they would rather add 50 new items to the game than further customization options. This is more of a focus for the release version. One would add: This is probably also more for the item shop.
You are what you wear
What about character classes? Are there levels? How does my character get stronger?
No, there are neither character classes, nor experience, nor any typical progression. The character gets stronger through the items they possess. In a zombie game, the fundamental principle of progression is different from that in MMORPGs.
You start the game with an axe and a T-shirt and then improve your items through the crafting system or by looting houses, cars, or stores. The areas where better survival items (firearms, protective clothing) can be found are heavily guarded by zombies and, of course, more attractive for other players. Better loot always means higher dangers and greater risks.
It’s somewhat like those first minutes when the Hunger Games begin. You either take a risk and fight right away for the “high-tech” supplies or you head into the supposedly safe bushes, where you start with a bow and arrow.
A character in H1Z1 becomes stronger with the items they carry. Someone in full combat gear with night vision goggles, various grenades, and a sniper rifle is the “high-level” type in H1Z1. However, they can also be taken down by a lowbie with an arrow. The bow is the great “skill equalizer,” as the devs say. It is quite difficult to hit with, but when you do, it puts the other player’s light out.
You are who you know and what you can do
So you say, with the items I gather, I’ll get stronger?
Sort of. The items you collect are not permanent. Upon dying from zombies, an accident, or other players, you leave your backpack on the ground, which can be looted. By the way: If you die somewhere in the wilderness from zombies, it can happen that your corpse turns into a zombie and carries your gear. Also, houses and fortifications you build, which leave a mark on your progress in the game, can be looted or occupied. As the saying goes: If you hoard supplies and can’t protect them, then you are just gathering them for the strongest guy in your neighborhood.
Real progress can only be achieved if the clan, the guild to which you belong, sticks together, and you can rely on the team and your people when you build social capital.
And of course, it helps a lot when the player’s skills in front of the monitor improve. It’s a different form of character progression that happens more in interaction with others and in the player’s mind, rather than being permanently reflected in the “toon,” in the player’s character.
It is likely that there will also be server variants that are a bit more lenient, where the player cannot be completely looted upon death.
In other words: For anyone who watches the film “The Book of Eli,” a post-apocalyptic thriller from a few years ago: The villain, played by Gary Oldman, is only as “powerful” as the number of guys who listen to him. You can think of it similarly in H1Z1. This is the appeal of an open-world MMO: it thrives on the interaction of players with each other, which can theoretically lead to constant adventures and exciting situations, with a chaotic and unpredictable element that the players bring themselves. There will also be the possibility to communicate directly with others via in-game voice client through headsets.
Cars and Zombies
Zombies! What are they like? How strong are they? What’s going on?
Zombies are relatively resilient and strong compared to other zombie MMOs. A headshot with an arrow takes them out immediately. If you only hit the leg or the chest, it takes considerably longer. A single zombie should not pose a major threat. If there are more, you have a problem. If you overdo it with firepower and create an overkill, there will soon be many more. Initially, there will only be one type of zombie (which has different skins), but later different types of zombies, including significantly tougher ones, will be introduced.
What about cars?
Upon Early Access, there will be a “multi-purpose vehicle”, a Jeep. It will require fuel regularly, which will be quite hard to obtain. Players will either have to loot it or produce it themselves through growing and processing grain. They also plan to introduce quite a bit for vehicles and modes of transport. Recently, it was said that horses are being considered. By the way, with a car, you can easily run over zombies; they die like flies. And speaking of flies: No flying is planned for the near future.
Zombie-Minecraft?
The crafting system – is that really the strength?
Yes, it seems that way at the moment. It’s somewhat reminiscent of Minecraft or the crafting system of Guild Wars 2. However, the menu navigation in the streams still looks pretty clunky and inconvenient. There is a “research” mode where you simply drag raw materials into the fields and see if there are combination possibilities.
In the streams, you usually only see the same items being discovered and crafted (bows and arrows). Here, H1Z1 aims to stand out. Especially the base-building aspect will presumably be emphasized and taken seriously. Players should be able to build real shelters. How well this aspect turns out is certainly an exciting question. It gives the impression that it is extremely important to the developers. Just recently, they simplified crafting so that you can now craft “end products” without having to create the intermediate steps separately.
The world could be vast
What does the world look like?
First of all, what qualifies H1Z1 as an MMO: It is a persistent world – like the servers in World of Warcraft or WildStar. The core area with which each server starts is supposed to resemble the Pacific Midwest of the USA – a fairly rural region with a temperate climate and sparse population. As a server grows, the world will also expand, and they intend to broaden the boundaries geographically to represent the USA. This means there could be large cities, desert regions, or lakes. The world would expand, and new “zones” would come into play if the plan works. This certainly depends a lot on how H1Z1 is received, how many players it has, and how they distribute themselves across the servers.
Recently, Smedley tweeted that he is currently facing an upgrade of the Forgelight engine and what that could mean for the landmass.
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How this will play out in practice remains to be seen. It’s not much fun to have a vast world but encounter no players for hours.
The idea of a “persistent” world is important to SOE. Players should get to know their neighbors on the server, build relationships with other players; all these social components should become important (“There’s that guy who shot me in the back the other day after saying he was my friend – I’m gonna get him now.” or: “The Dalton gang has valuable supplies and weapons stored in their fortress; we should team up with 4 clans, wipe them out, and seize their stuff”). All of this reminds one of the intricate dealings that happen in EVE Online.
In streams, the possibility of “friendly fire” is always emphasized, and it indeed brings advantages to accidentally shoot your buddy and loot his supplies.
The goal is survival
What is it really about?
It’s about staying alive. Players need to drink and eat regularly. Ensuring this basic supply could already be a challenge some days. Otherwise, naturally, you always want to find better items and rise in this world. But ultimately, there is no game objective; it is an open world. If someone wants to spend the whole day lying in wait with a bow and arrow and shooting other players, they can do so freely.
Combat logging will not exist, you will remain in the world for 30 seconds. It will be hard to magically escape when the hungry mob is nearby.
Is there anything else?
Yes, the weather. H1Z1 has developed an almost obsessive weather obsession in recent weeks. They want to take new approaches here, making it as realistic as possible and ensuring that the weather influences the players.
Release date, payment model, and system requirements
What do I need for a computer for this?
SOE responds: Install the now optimized Planetside 2. If that works for you, H1Z1 will work too. Overall, H1Z1 has a lot in common with Planetside 2. They also want to introduce the item shop later. They want to keep the system requirements manageable. Performance should be the priority.
When will it start, how will it start, how much will it cost?
It is expected to go into Early Access in the coming weeks. In mid-August, SOE has a big convention, SOE Live; this would be the “latest” date people currently have in mind. However, it could happen soon. SOE does not want to mess up the launch and definitely wants to go into Early Access with a showcase-worthy version. It will cost around $20 – probably around 16 Euros or so – and will be on Steam.
The actual release game will then be free-to-play with an item shop. Here they assure that there will only be fluff and nothing that truly affects survival.
Assessment and perspective: Much hinges on the start
What is your impression of the game?
Nice of you to ask, Gerd. I’ve watched several streams, read some interviews, and seen a lot of pre-alpha footage: I waver between skepticism and cautious optimism. Right now, it feels a bit like SOE is polishing the chrome of the car while two wheels are still missing. The weather and intricacies in the eighth crafting tier are certainly interesting, but at the moment they likely still have some bugs in the core gameplay: clipping errors, zombie AI, issues with fine-tuning. This could be the typical case of a game that releases and ends up suffering so much from teething problems that it rapidly fades into obscurity and takes a long time to recover from it.
Anyone observing the MMO market knows this vicious cycle. For studios, it is extremely important to launch as quickly as possible and meet certain deadlines set by marketing. Thus, studios tend to release games that still have many problems. And for players, the first days and weeks in a game are crucial. If they frustrate and uninstall it, it’s too late.
How great a game may be after 6 months or a year doesn’t interest most, as they’re already waiting for the next game. Therefore, it is incredibly important to launch with a presentable product, otherwise the hype balloon will deflate faster than one can say “When is Destiny coming out anyway?”
However, SOE is actively addressing these issues, promising to solve them, maintaining constant contact with the fans, and has taken extra time to polish the Early Access so that they don’t lose “steam”.
If the core gameplay is solid, and all the future ideas SOE talks about come into play, it could really become a great game. It benefits enormously from clever design ideas that should ensure that after 4 weeks on a server, everyone has two dozen archenemies and eight guys they kind of trust but would shoot if the opportunity arises. If they manage to allow players to experience their own adventures and stories in this environment, it could become a successful MMO.
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A developer blog provides insight into the armor dyeing system that will soon be introduced in the fantasy MMO The Elder Scrolls Online.
200 new colors, 40 new achievements
The armor dyeing in most MMOs is tied to drops: Some mob drops a rare color, which you unlock for eternity by right-clicking. However, in The Elder Scrolls Online, a different approach has been taken. They intend to tie the right to dye your armor in a specific way to in-game achievements.
In this context, the creators at Zenimax noticed that there were too few achievements so far. With the August update, they are bringing several new ones to Tamriel. There should be 40 new achievements so that the over 200 colors can also be tied to something. And that’s not all. They left room for additional ones, as stated in the developer blog that sheds more light on armor dyeing.
The Reservoir Dog Problem: Everyone Wants to Be Mister Black
In most MMOs, the issue with armor colors is the same as with the selection of code names in the Tarantino classic Reservoir Dogs. Everyone wants to be Mister Black, that is, go all in black. In TESO, they wanted to solve this problem by making what the developers deemed the “most beautiful” and “most desirable” black relatively easily accessible. They called it “Noxophilic Black” and tied it to the achievement you receive when you’ve been a vampire once. A quite common achievement, one might think.
One of the black shades that was deemed less attractive was assigned to a particularly tricky achievement, a challenging trial.
On the test server, then came the surprise: It wasn’t the vampire black that was sought after and popular, but the testers were eager to get the black that was tied to the harder achievement. The accusation came: Why tie the most beautiful black of all to that cursed achievement?
You can sense a bit of a chuckle from the developer blog at this point. The grapes that hang highest do taste particularly sweet.
Special colors grant special effects
Overall, Zenimax has put a lot of effort into armor dyeing and has thought a lot about it. There was much discussion about the brightness and the required saturation of certain colors. The particularly hard-to-access colors are meant to not just dye a piece of armor but also grant a special effect. Because regular dye adapts to the material of the armor item: black leather looks different from black metal. However, the special colors also have a “painting” function. They make leather appear like metal or even like the feathers of a raven. Care has been taken to ensure that the colors match the achievements they grant.
By the way, Zenimax has already played around with the color options and, just for fun, dyed TESO heroes like famous superheroes.
Armor dyeing is set to come with the August update and bring a bit more color to Tamriel. Although they have ensured that the “subtle” colors are slightly predominant to consider the immersion of role players. But if someone prefers brighter and flashier colors, they can also express that. Provided they have the necessary achievements.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
With 5 new spiders and a fresh Druid spell, Hearthstone players have a lot to contend with when they venture into game modes with constructed decks.
Right now, there is a lot of discussion about how the metagame in Hearthstone will change next week or the week after, or what it might look like when Naxx is fully introduced. But all of this is just speculation. Currently, there are 6 new cards in Hearthstone that already play a significant role in constructed decks, and you will surely encounter them in your gameplay, as it only takes 30 minutes to obtain the cards. What do they look like, what can they do, and how do you counter them?
The six new Hearthstone cards, fresh from the Arachnid Quarter
Haunted Crawmer (1/2 for 2 mana, summons two 1/1 spiders upon death and counts as a beast, available as a reward for defeating Anub’Rekhan) – Alone, it’s nothing special, but it benefits mainly from synergy effects with the gravekeeper, beast buffs in Hunter decks, or combinations with other minions like the “Carrion Hawk.” Provides relatively good value for 2 mana but is particularly vulnerable to AoE damage.
Nerub’ar Weblord (1/4 for 2 mana, increases the cost of Battlecry minions by 2 mana, available after defeating Lady Feralina) – A defensive card that can slow down the opponent’s tempo, especially against well-formed decks relying heavily on Battlecry minions (and there are quite a few). It could prove to be much stronger than it looks at first glance, especially as Deathrattle minions are newly entering the Hearthstone metagame.
Nerubian Egg (0/2 for 2 mana, summons a 4/4 minion upon deathrattle, obtainable by defeating Maexxna) – This is an inexpensive trick card that usually requires another card from the remaining deck to become active. It’s often not about breaking the egg itself, but rather letting the opponent do the work. Therefore, you need to give the egg taunt or find a way to assign an attack point to it so you can break the egg on a Kamikaze attack against an opponent’s minion (exactly – a Nerubian omelette à la Hearthstone). A 4/4 minion for 2 mana offers really good value.
Maexxna (2/8 for 6 mana, beast, kills minions it damages, available for completing the Arachnid Quarter, thus also for defeating Maexxna) – the first legendary card and sure to be the most played legendary in beginner decks in Hearthstone soon. Quite slow tempo, situationally usable, and will probably need extensive protection from overzealous attention from the opponent. With buff spells and a taunt, Maexxna can play an unpleasant role, but no frequently played deck has really been waiting for her. Would have been significantly more attractive at 5 mana.
Poison Seeds (Druid class card, 4 mana, transforms all minions on the field into 2/2 Treants, available for the class challenge to take down Faerlina with a pre-made deck). A very situational card around which one would probably need to build a deck. It has quite good synergy effects with Swipe and could ruin the opponent’s day with certain board combinations (basically a kind of mass-sheep). But it could also become one of those cards that sit in hand for the whole game and are never seen again after three matches. Some clever Druid player is surely working on the hammer deck idea for the Poison Seeds. Definitely a card to keep in mind when facing Druids from now on.
Anub’ar Ambusher (Rogue class card, 5/5 for 4 mana, deathrattle returns a randomly chosen friendly minion from the battlefield to hand, available as a reward for defeating Maexxna with a rogue pre-made) – 5/5 for 4 mana is quite a lot of value and a solid chunk in the mid-game. The deathrattle effect is positively received for Miracle Rogue decks that rely on Battlecry and combos. However, it can also be used against the Rogue by the opponent. It’s probably the card among those presented here that is most likely to land on a Top 5 Hearthstone Plays of the Week list. However, it may also appear as the card that ruins the Rogue’s game. However, because it is quite difficult to remove, it should see plenty of play.
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Finally, after what feels like an eternity, a fresh wind is blowing through the card landscape of the Free-2-Play card game “HearthStone”, as the development team has kept its promise and released the expansion in July – at least the first part. But does Blizzard sacrifice the August season with this?
The first expansion “Curse of Naxxramas” will be unlocked in succession with its five wings, one section per week, with the first being free if you log into the game during the release period. Wings 2-5 can then be purchased for 700 gold coins each, or for 18 euros in a complete package. One may say what they want about the price, I consider it reasonable, especially since the expansion has been known for a long time and every player has been able to accumulate gold for a long time. And even if not: 700 gold is exactly what one can earn in a week without quests.
The new cards
Even though not all cards are available yet, the general theme revolves around “Deathrattle”, meaning effects that trigger when a card is destroyed. The developers have managed to create a good mix of “positive” and “negative” effects – as some cards shift the tide of battle in my favor upon their death, while others trigger a negative effect, which is why they should be protected at all costs. Truly outstanding synergies can probably only be created when all cards are available, but already one or another new card has found its way into my decks, especially I do not want to miss “Nerubian Egg” anymore.
A questionable design idea
On the one hand, I can completely understand that one wants to release content over several weeks and wants to slowly acclimate players to the new cards. On the other hand, it is absolutely unclear to me how one could either overlook what impact this has on the metagame or simply accept it. Rogues and Druids have already been able to look forward to new, class-specific cards this week, while all others will first have to look on and make do with the few neutral cards. And this will be the case every week until the expansion is fully accessible, meaning: The entire August season will continuously disadvantage some classes until all cards are released. Unfortunately, the necessity eludes me and gives the entire expansion – at least at the beginning – a rather bland aftertaste.
Difficulty level – None
Honestly: The difficulty level of the first three challenges was a bad joke; even with entirely new accounts that only have the basic cards, the bosses posed no problem. Even the two class challenges for Rogue and Druid, where you are given pre-made decks, require little understanding of the game to tackle, or to quote a good friend: “It’s almost more exhausting to lose these games than to win them.” Only the heroic mode was challenging, as there you actually had to adjust some of the tried and true decks to avoid the nasty hero powers. The whole spectacle of the first quarter was over in just under 90 minutes and, unfortunately, leaves one not very satisfied.
But I also do not want to rush to judgment and condemn the entire expansion – I just hope that the first wing was made a bit easier to engage newcomers and perhaps attract new customers to the game. Because despite everything, the fights are really fun, the comments from the bosses are amusing, and their hero powers are interesting – unfortunately, though, not very challenging. So it is still a bit too early for an overall assessment of the expansion, but I am currently skeptical. Very skeptical. It remains to be hoped that the first wing is just a kind of tutorial – next week we will know more. For the August season, things look grim due to the staggered accessibility of the cards.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The MOBA League of Legends has now released a cinematic trailer that sets new standards.
League of Legends is known for a lot of things: Refined gameplay, good balancing, humorous skins, and really impressive “plays.” But what the guys at Riot have come up with for the new cinematic trailer takes it to a new level, take a look:
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My MMO says: The amazing thing about the trailer is how “characters” that all LoL players know from sleep suddenly come to life. Ahri, in the eyes of many players, is just a mid-laner with the abilities Q, W, E, and R, whom they buy this item first and that item second, suddenly gets a face, a voice, a chest (okay, okay), and a character. Not only that: Suddenly, all these characters, known only from the isometric perspective from above, come to life, develop traits and a personality. In an elaborate making-of, the devs explain exactly what they were thinking. Darius’s strong chin had to fit him, Draven could only swing the axe in a very specific way, and Graves had to look as fearless as he did until he met Nautilus to be the “Graves” that millions of players know and love.
To find the right music for “a submarine on two legs,” they even went underwater.
The effect Riot achieves here is fascinating. It almost seems to us as if a synergy has been aimed for, like the one that used to exist between action figures and their animated series. As a child, you could no longer play with He-Man or Optimus Prime without thinking about the corresponding TV series. And when the other, the complementary narrative medium is as well done as the cinematic trailer from Riot, a fascinating effect is created.
What do you think about this? Does it make you more eager to play League of Legends? Or was that already not possible?
Making-of:
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In the Fantasy MMO Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, there are plans to provide players with a way to try out the online role-playing game in the future. A trial version is planned.
A brief tweet from the official Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn account has announced plans to introduce a trial version in the future. They also plan to bring a “Recruit-a-friend” campaign into the game. Both are familiar models from other MMOs to increase player numbers.
We’ll be introducing a Free Trial and Recruit a Friend campaign in the future! We’ll have details available at a later date, but stay tuned!
Typically, a Free Trial is associated with a certain level cap and some additional limitations. A successful referral of a buddy through the “Recruit-a-friend” program usually rewards the referrer with a free month or a special mount. Sometimes, there may also be EXP bonuses and other benefits for the referred player in the package.
Specific details on how both programs will be implemented in Final Fantasy XIV are not yet known but are expected to be announced soon.
By the way, Final Fantasy XIV is planning for the future. During a Q&A session about the recent producer letter, it was made clear that they are currently working on ideas for patch 4.0, which is well over four years away.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The upcoming deity MMO “Skyforge” is being developed by the my.com team in collaboration with Obsidian and on behalf of mail.ru. The closed beta is expected to start for PC later this year. Now, the Cryomancer is in focus as a classic ranged damage dealer and is being presented.
The Cryomancer is an ice wizard – and those familiar with MMOs know what that means: ranged damage dealer with crowd control abilities.
At E3, a colleague from mmorpg.com had the opportunity to play the Cryomancer live. The frost wizard reminded him of the Ice Princess from the Disney movie “Frozen.” He meant it in the best possible way.
In addition to the Cryomancer, a number of other classes for Skyforge are already known, all corresponding to more or less familiar MMO roles. A melee two-handed fighter (the Berserker), a ranged fighter with real firepower (the Gunner), a healing white mage (Lightbinder), and a classic sword and board tank (the Paladin). It will be interesting to see how well Skyforge manages to create something special from this classic quintet of MMO archetypes. With its free class system and an arcade combat system that has already received considerable praise, the potential for success is evident. Additionally, five more classes are expected before the release, and more will be added after the game launches.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The battleship MMO World of Warships, a spin-off of Wargaming’s World of Tanks, will set sail on its maiden voyage at Gamescom in Cologne.
Wargaming has reserved 720 square meters in Hall 8 at Gamescom. Here, they want to make a real splash. They plan to give passing visitors the opportunity to try out all the games from Wargaming’s arsenal. There will be the chance to play World of Tanks on PC, in the action variant on Xbox 360, or as World of Tanks Blitz on iOS.
It’s up in the air with World of Warplanes and into the cool waters with World of Warships. The naval warfare simulation will be playable for the first time worldwide in Cologne.
The Belarusian company Wargaming has established itself as the largest provider of warfare simulation games in recent years. Especially in Eastern Europe and Asia, the company’s success is impressive. They are the clear market leader in this very specific niche. In recent years, they have pursued an expansion strategy and want to bring the flagship World of Tanks to as many platforms as possible and establish the sister games. World of Warplanes was launched in autumn 2013. However, it has not proven to be a flying start, as Wargaming faces strong competition from War Thunder.
World of Warships, the naval variant of the World of Tanks concept, currently has no official release date. Speculations range from an optimistic “still in 2014” to “Q4 2015” (Gamestar).
For Gamescom, one can certainly expect a spectacle from Wargaming, although perhaps not in the same manner as at E3 in Los Angeles. There, they even had tanks flown in. And they were not made of bits and bytes, but of steel.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the MMO shooter Defiance, another crossover event with the sci-fi series is taking place. For this, players need the new DLC Archbreaker.
The MMO shooter Defiance, which has now switched to a free-to-play model or is just about to do so on consoles, is closely related to a TV series of the same name produced by the Canadian Syfy channel. Right now, another crossover event is upcoming.
Players who own the DLC Archbreaker can now deploy Arch Spikes to retrieve modules from orbit. By the way, the DLC is currently available at half price.
While players go about their jobs in the MMO, Major Pottinger (Jim Murray) and the mysterious Nolan (Grant Bowler) will carry out their part of the mission in the next episode of the TV series and investigate the impact site of one of the crashed modules.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
