As announced, the developers of Carbine threw out a DevSpeak just a day before the first major content patch for WildStar, shedding light on all aspects of “Mega Loot: Transmutation” in their usual humorous way. We certainly don’t want to withhold this from you.
Furthermore, we have a little side information, fresh from the public test realm: There, the “Transmutation Hoverboard” costs a staggering 100 Platinum. Anyone looking to acquire this ride should start saving as soon as possible.
Last but not least, they are already hinting at what the next update will be about: Here, the PvP players will get their money’s worth, as they are unfortunately neglected in the current patch. However, in 4-6 weeks, they can expect to frolic on a new battleground. In addition to the previous modes “Collect the Masks” and “Domination,” there will be “Sabotage” – stay tuned, we will keep you updated!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Naoki Yoshida, the mind behind Final Fantasy XIV, spoke in an interview about the reasons for the success of Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn. He also highlighted some design decisions, such as the short dungeons and the controller navigation. However, Yoshida primarily attributed the surprising success of the game, which was thought to be dead, to its simple accessibility for MMO newcomers.
Naoki Yoshida exemplifies like few other developers the success of his game. After all, saving the Final Fantasy MMORPG seemed almost impossible. Yet Yoshida accomplished the mission impossible. And FF XIV slowly transformed into a hit with fans and critics. The interviewer from usgamer.net concluded that FF XIV also appealed to players who would never usually touch an MMO.
Always keeping MMO newcomers in mind
Yoshida readily agrees with him. Today, most MMORPG developers try to attract players who are currently playing another MMORPG. This is genre-related difficult. Especially since these games create a strong bond and engage players for two, three years or even longer.
With Final Fantasy, they aimed to appeal to a different player base. And because Final Fantasy was a console game series, it needed to be developed for the consoles, but mainly for their players. So it had to be more accessible and simpler than a conventional MMO. Therefore, they paid attention to develop even complex MMO mechanics in a beginner-friendly manner.
When designing dungeons, they kept in mind players who couldn’t free themselves from their everyday routine for hours. Four-player dungeons through the Duty Finder went quickly and easily, allowing players to accomplish something and then continue with their lives.
Players with controllers should not be disadvantaged
When deciding to allow controller navigation, which many console players were accustomed to, the most important thing was that controller players did not feel disadvantaged compared to “mouse and keyboard” players.
After all, keyboards allow every skill to be called up with one click. With controllers, it was always necessary to open a menu, then select a skill… – had it been designed that way, players with controllers would have always been at a disadvantage. When they came up with the cross-hotbar idea, they knew it was the right one. And it has indeed paid off.
A Final Fantasy without Chocobos? Like Disneyland without Mickey Mouse!
When asked about the overall feeling and how much Final Fantasy needs to be in the MMORPG, Yoshida emphasizes that it is, of course, important to have the classic FF elements in the game: “Would it be a Final Fantasy without Chocobos? No, of course not.” That would be like imagining Disneyland without Mickey Mouse.
Of course, they also play with the nostalgia of the fans. Yoshida himself is not free from that. “I played it back on the Super Nintendo and was curious about how it looks in full HD now. Or how the Crystal Tower plays when I go in with 24 friends,” says Yoshida.
YouTube has made some changes again and more are planned. In addition to a large-scale deletion of inactive accounts, the design has been slightly adjusted, the YouTube Creator Studio has been introduced, and an option for 60 fps in the player is also expected soon.
Curse of Naxxramas in July:
Hearthstone players have been waiting for new cards in the game for quite some time – but the waiting period will soon come to an end. According to the developers’ statements in the official forum, the release of the first expansion “Curse of Naxxramas” is planned for July. Not only will around 30 new cards make their way into the game, but there will also be a new game mode. In this, you will fight against the different bosses of the necropolis and can unlock the new cards.
The Elder Scrolls Online with Patch 1.2.3
And also in The Elder Scrolls Online, something has changed again. Last week, Patch 1.2.3 was deployed to the servers, bringing along some nice changes. Now there is a FoV slider for the first-person perspective, which can be set between 70° and 130° and is supposed to enhance the gameplay experience, weapons and equipment in the world are now more realistic and can be picked up, and the lighting effects have been significantly improved.
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The SF-MMO WildStar has been out for a month now and while it is praised by many critics and fans, there are still some players who find little joy in the MMORPG: FPS issues ruin their gaming experience. Now, a forum post has raised hopes. Apparently, one of the technicians has found a fix for AMD processors.
The SF-MMO WildStar is not exactly a graphical giant where one would expect frame rates to drop, but that is exactly what is happening to some users, who cannot explain it. Numerous tricks and tips are circulating in the forums. Some help, many do not – we have already presented some of the most popular solutions. Since WildStar relies on fluid frame rates due to its dynamic gameplay, this criticism was already a sensitive issue in beta, was often mentioned, and has likely already prevented some players from buying.
Carbine’s president Jeremy Gaffney reassured players before the release that the performance issues of some are due to the new interface 2.0 and that they would soon optimize it. These hopes were not fulfilled.
But now a post in the official forum gives users hope, especially those who rely on AMD.
„I have incredibly good news! One of our technicians has made a major breakthrough regarding the AMD issue! It is now in the testing phase, keep your fingers crossed for everyone,” reported the Carbine employee Virtue just yesterday.
The fans reacted joyfully to it and hoped that the fix would come as soon as possible. This much enthusiasm was probably too much for Virtue and Carbine. Later, Virtue clarified: “To be clear, this is not magic that fixes all problems. We are still testing it. We do not yet know how much better it will run for AMD users. It should improve performance, but we do not know how much yet.”
Tips: Among the tricks that many users swear by is to delete all files in the following folder: C:Users%username%AppDataRoamingNCSOFTWildStar
Even the latest beta drivers from the graphics card manufacturers may help some.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the fantasy MMO The Elder Scrolls Online, there is good news for all players struggling with lags. Apparently, the migration of the megaserver to Frankfurt is progressing well.
But not an endless story?
It almost threatened to become an endless story. After all, the criticism has been a recurring theme throughout the history of TESO. Many players, when the announcement was made that there would be a European mega-server, firmly believed that it would also be located in Europe. However, it is still based in the USA, so that technicians can access it more easily if something goes wrong.
From the beginning, the European mega-server in “Ami-Land,” as many called it, was a point of criticism for the European player base. Time and again, Zenimax emphasized how important the server migration was to them, but the promise of “very soon” in April, shortly after launch, sounded just as soon as the one in May. By early June, it was stated by the head himself, the mega-server will come to Frankfurt this summer, and since then, nothing more has been heard about it. Until now.
In the official forum, the German community manager Kai Schober brings TESO players up to date:
The planned server migration to Frankfurt is progressing. The megaserver there is already running and is being tested.
Also, for the FPS problems that some players have been struggling with since the 1.2.3 patch, Schober brings good news. They should be resolved with a hotfix coming during the next server maintenance from Monday night to Tuesday.
Update 1.7.: According to statements from US players, the FPS problems were unfortunately not resolved with patch 1.2.4. They seem to be related to a change in a healing spell.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Blizzard’s card game Hearthstone is starting anew with Season 4 on Tuesday. All ranks will be reset and the chance to earn the Rainbow card back is also gone. However, there will be new opportunities to obtain new cards and a new meta-game is sure to follow.
On Tuesday, the 4th season of the card game, which can be considered one of the surprise hits of the year, will begin. Although it comes from Blizzard, who have proven to have a golden touch with their titles for years, even the seasoned veterans at Blizzard probably never dreamed that Hearthstone would be such a massive success.
Originally, it was supposed to be announced on July 1st what the new prices for the cards of the Naxxramas expansion would be. However, this has since been postponed in a forum post. Apparently, we aren’t that far yet.
Will the new card back be green and purple?
Blizzard has already promised that there will be a new card back in Season 4, but it has not been revealed yet. The five card backs shown in the beta are all available now, so players can expect a surprise. The colleagues at cinemablend believe they have spotted a new card back with a green and purple background in the recently leaked screenshots of Naxx. The colors of Naxx, so to speak.
With the new season, there will also be a new race to see who will be the first to reach Legendary status. Veterans who performed well in Season 3 will have a slight advantage over newcomers: They receive a bonus star for each rank.
A constantly evolving meta-game is also expected for Season 4. Instead of the dominating decks of Season 3 like Miracle Rogue or Headlock, unusual Priest decks or New Age Frost decks could be in play, with which top players Amaz and RDU made headlines at Dreamhack.
My MMO hopes for Mister Bigglesworth
By the way, our tip for the Naxxramas expansion, as not all cards have been revealed yet: We would be surprised if the pack comes without the necromancer lord Kel’Thuzad’s favorite cat. Mister Bigglesworth could appear as a card that the opposing player would be better off avoiding killing. After all, the theme of the expansion is “Deathrattle”. And the death of Mister Bigglesworth has always been a delicate matter.
While there have always been wild rumors in Naxxramas that the loot table changed with the demise of the furball, this has never been confirmed.
But one thing is for sure: Kel’Thuzad got angry every time! What impact could that have on his card in the game?
Update 01.07.: The suspected card back has been confirmed. It is the one from Naxx with purple/green colors.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
After several job postings and concept art, rumors have persisted for over a year that a direct sequel to the action MMO TERA was in the works. Bluehole Studios has now denied this, but presented some new projects.
There will not be a Tera 2 as a direct successor, as stated by the CEO of Bluehole Studios, according to a report by mmoculture, to the Chinese media. The games “Project W” and “Project Exa” are similar to Tera in that both are set in a western fantasy environment. Both “Projects” are still in an early development stage, but will feature a brand-new combat system that has never been seen in an online game before.
They are currently also developing the turn-based mobile game “Elin Expansion”, which takes place in the world of Tera and aims to bring the background story of Tera closer to people who may not relate to long sessions on PC and are not “core gamers”.
My MMO believes: These rumors have been around since May 2013, and we have also listed Tera 2 in our MMO Sequel Special. Apparently, Bluehole Studios is now taking a different direction. Why it takes almost 14 months to dispel such a persistent rumor that they themselves have put into the world with a job posting is something only the gods or the higher dignitaries at Bluehole know. It seems they did not dislike the publicity too much.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Rob Carrol, the producer of Wargaming for North America, spoke at the launch event of the new Mobile App Blitz about the studio’s plans for the future. Versions of World of Warplanes and World of Warships for iOS could also be coming soon – further ports of World of Tanks are also quite conceivable.
In an interview with the English-language magazine news10, Rob Carrol discussed Wargaming’s decision to release a mobile version of the tank MMO World of Tanks: “For us, it was a logical step and simply made sense. Gaming is moving in this direction. Many players are no longer necessarily looking for the big experience in their living rooms, but want something they can take with them and play on the go.”
In Blitz, three countries are playable: the USSR, Germany, and Great Britain. Players have 90 tanks to choose from, and at the moment, unfortunately, no artillery yet, but in a lively game like Blitz, players can expect that the selection will grow later.
World of Tanks Goes Mobile
Further ports of World of Tanks to other systems are also planned. When asked whether World of Tanks would be developed for platforms beyond the current three, Carrol replied: “I think they are in the works, we haven’t announced anything publicly yet, but we will expand there.”
World of Tanks is merely the crown jewel in Wargaming’s reservoir of war simulations. When asked whether the sister games World of Warplanes and World of Warships would also come to mobile systems, the PlayStation family, or the WiiU, Carrol told the magazine: “We have more titles in development for mobile platforms.” A specific title has not yet been presented, but players can be sure that more is on the way.
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The filming of a Guild Wars 2 commercial brought about a much higher PR success in Asia than planned.
Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and the Loch Ness Monster are regularly sighted, just like the gray and thin aliens who always want to do things with our body openings. But Gollum? And yet: There he was. A Chinese tourist saw the oddly malformed creature, who always babbled about its treasure in the Lord of the Rings movies, by the shore of a small river. Apparently, the villain was drinking.
Immediately, the Chinese tourist (caution stereotype) pulled out the camera he had with him and took some photos of the strange creature with the huge ears. He posted them online, and the thing became an internet hit, reaching 16 million clicks, spreading on social networks, and making it onto several websites.
But there was a very earthly explanation for Gollum: Filming was taking place by the river for a new Guild Wars 2 commercial. And Gollum was not even Gollum, but an actor in an Asura costume who went to the river to drink during a short break in filming.
A much better free advertisement for their game could not have been dreamed up by ArenaNet.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the action MMORPG TERA Rising, a major content update has been announced for July, promising players a hot summer in Arborea. Just recently, we reported on the newly introduced Elin class, the Blade Dancer. But this was just the beginning of the content stream. A total of five new dungeons, a revamped extraction system, and improved equipment items will be unleashed on the European servers in a few weeks.
5 new dungeons, including a real hit
Lakan’s Prison (5-player)
Stealth Hideout (1-player)
Edge of the Abyss (Normal/Hardmode, 10-player)
The Abscess (Normal, 7-player)
The Abscess (Hardmode, 5-player)
In the official TERA forum, core gamers are particularly looking forward to the 5-man hardmode dungeon “The Abscess.” A very challenging instance that recently debuted on the Korean server. This dungeon not only introduces new boss mechanics but is also expected to properly challenge players again, similar to the hardmode of Shandra Manaya. The “Queen,” which two years after her debut still regularly causes wipe sessions, is finally going to get a worthy successor. A good reason for progress-oriented players to return to the threatened dream world of TERA. But the other challenges also promise interesting mechanics, spectacular bosses, and a lot of variety.
Crafting expansion and equal opportunities in PvP?
The developers are also striving not only to integrate new content but to improve the current areas of the online role-playing game. For example, the crafting part of the Asian MMO TERA Rising will be expanded with a new rank. An extraction system will also allow players to gain valuable materials for the T14 and T15 sets. This means you will be able to craft even more powerful items in the future.
With caution: The forum is also speculating about equalized equipment in PvP, based on a patch in Korea that could also be included in this update. It’s quite possible that PvP gear in the battleground “Canyon of Honor” will no longer matter, but only the players’ skills and class. This route has already been taken with other instanced player-versus-player content. Changes are also expected for the Nexus system, the dynamic events in the endgame. Whether and to what extent the Korean patches will be adopted and what other innovations will follow with the upcoming content expansion will be revealed to you very soon. At the latest, when the patch notes are released.
“Wounded World” in America from July 8 – and when in Europe?
US players will be able to welcome the big update, named “Wounded World”, starting from July 8, 2014, on their servers. The exact date for the European servers is not yet fixed, but according to the German community manager, the release should definitely take place in July. It is likely that this will be 1-2 weeks behind the American date. Of course, we will keep you updated as the publisher Gameforge announces more information about “Wounded World”.
Until then, enjoy the video from the American publisher EnMasse, which provides insights into the dungeon “The Abscess”. However, this features the normal mode designed for 7 players. On their theme page for Wounded World, you can also watch more gameplay trailers.
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Currently, there are signs emerging for the fantasy MMO The Elder Scrolls Online, TESO, that the console release for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One may no longer take place in 2014 as originally planned, but could be postponed until March 2015.
TESO was originally supposed to be released for consoles in early June, but this was cancelled a few weeks before the planned release date. Ironically, the information about the delay became known due to an error by Zenimax too early. The internet speculated for half a day about what was behind it, coming up with rather unfriendly ideas, as the game had already gone through a rough patch and suffered from mixed reviews and some teething problems.
In the evening, Zenimax clarified that the problems with the port were actually greater than previously assumed. While progress was being made, they would still need another six months. Therefore, they are postponing the release until the end of the year. By then, console players could already play on PC and later transfer their account to their next-gen console of choice for a small fee. They would not need to repurchase the base game for the consoles.
Shortly after, Paul Sage, one of the key figures at Zenimax, was asked about the topic at ign.com, and they wanted to know when the console release was expected. Sage replied that they were doing everything to get the game on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One by 2014. However, no guarantees could be made.
A blow for console fans now: Amazon has set the release date for TESO on Xbox One and PS4 to March 31, 2015. The reasoning behind this decision by Amazon is still unknown. So far, there has been no definitive statement from Zenimax. However, the signs do not look good.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the SF-MMO WildStar, veteran dungeons proved to be detrimental to players’ morale. Randomly assembled groups would break up after the first mistake, as the sought-after gold reward was no longer attainable. Carbine is now working on this. Additionally, they are addressing the FPS issues faced by AMD users. Is a breakthrough on the horizon?
“Gold or Bust” Comes to an End
At Mein MMO, we apparently had the right instinct with our article about the toxic atmosphere in WildStar’s dungeons. The problem is that player groups must not make mistakes to complete a veteran dungeon with “gold.” When mistakes occur, players become frustrated and the group disbands. There’s no incentive for some to finish the instance now. This is because they’re after particularly strong items that are only available to gold winners: “Gold or Bust” – a do-or-die slogan.
This is where Carbine steps in. They want to maintain the difficulty of the instance and not lower the level of gold runs, while offering players an incentive to complete an instance even when gold is no longer attainable. They’re adjusting the crucial elements: the loot.
Epics for Everyone, But Is There a Little More for Gold Winners?
The current gold rewards that top items can bring will be decoupled from the gold rewards and linked to the final bosses or completion challenges of adventures and dungeons.
Each earned medal will grant players bonus rolls on the instance-wide loot and additionally provide gold (the currency this time) to the struggling adventurers’ coffers, as well as bonus EXP. For bronze, there’s one roll, for silver two, and for gold three additional rolls. The changes are expected to take effect soon, but only after the “Strain” drop, which is anticipated in early July.
Community Divided: Are Top Players Now at a Disadvantage?
The changes will make it more important to complete a dungeon at all rather than perfecting it. As noted in several statements, there was dissatisfaction among WildStar about the number of players who actually complete a veteran dungeon.
Proposed changes from the community included making “gold” or “medal” runs identifiable in the group finder or giving a group the option to “reset” the instance. In a poll on Mein MMO.de, nearly 70% of around 190 participants voted for a change to the system.
Currently, the details of the change remain unclear. Whether groups that complete a veteran dungeon on gold will receive a “guaranteed” item of higher quality or if their chances of receiving one will simply increase is not yet clear from Carbine’s previous statements. The community is divided over the announced change. While some players welcome it as the only right step, others view Carbine as heading towards “welfare epics,” which already ruined Blizzard’s World of Warcraft.
Is an End to Performance Issues for AMD Users on the Horizon?
Aside from the issues with the overly elite end game, many WildStar players are grappling with performance problems. Especially players who swear by an AMD system have been battling issues and plummeting frame rates. For them, there is now a silver lining on the horizon. Carbine employee Virtue posted the following in the official forum:
I’ve got incredibly good news for you next week… One of our Engineers had a major breakthrough on AMD stuff this afternoon (it’s in testing right now) and affects AMD CPUs.
One of Carbine’s technicians seems to have solved the gordian knot surrounding AMD processors. This is currently in a testing phase and could be deployed as soon as next week.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The upcoming MMO with sandbox elements ArcheAge is struggling with bots and gold sellers just like before The Elder Scrolls Online and WildStar. The special thing about ArcheAge is that it is still in alpha and access costs 135 euros.
ArcheAge: Even in Alpha, you struggle with bot infestation
16,000 accounts have been banned for illegally using bots or disturbing their fellow players with gold spam, even during the alpha. Some may wonder: “16,000 accounts at an entry fee of 135 euros, have the botters spent 2.2 million euros just to be banned now? And can Trion Worlds really afford to lose such an amount?”
It’s not that simple. Trion Worlds has stated that the botters gained access to the alpha through ” ill-gotten funds,” meaning they acquired funds illegally. This means that players are not losing 2 million euros; it is likely that the transfer requests or credit cards the botters used to “pay” for their accounts were already declined.
The Elder Scrolls Online: That’s why there were bot trains in Kalthafen
Especially The Elder Scrolls Online has been struggling with real bot trains in recent months. First, they were in the caves, then in the cities, then in the in-game mail system, and finally even in the official forum of Zenimax. The game masters decided to take a public step, personally removing bots from the caves where they hunted cave bosses.
Here as well, the developers are in a constant battle with gold sellers and botters. In a recent forum post, a user explained what is happening behind the scenes. The “bot trains” of level 3 players in the city of Kargstein, which is usually reserved for endgame, can be explained by the existence of an introductory quest that rewarded 300 gold. Many botters exploited this to their advantage and teleported directly from the starting area to a level 3 bot friend on site.
One of the changes from the last patch affected the botters subtly: From now on, you can only delete 3 characters per day (so with a full account, you can only create three new ones).
WildStar: The botters on the paths of Monty Python
In the new MMO WildStar, it has been martially announced that the botters will be crushed in the best “Games of Thrones” style. Due to clever mechanics, gold spammers have now been banned from the capitals. However, this does not prevent the gold sellers from approaching players in other and more intimate ways. For a while, they used invites to arena teams, then the in-game mail system. At first, they pretended to be a dear friend “Dear Friend!”; then they posed as the auction house “You won an auction!” and now they are sending Protostar rations, which means sandwiches, along with spam mail.
And somehow, this brings us full circle. The English word “spam” once only meant a type of ham in our youth. In a sketch by the cult comedians Monty Python, this word was repeated more than 120 times in a few minutes, which is how it gained its new meaning.
Who would have thought that ham would one day smell so bad to us MMO players.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the SF-MMO WildStar, beta testers were rewarded with “surprise bags,” which contained rewards that were otherwise unattainable. After the beta, it seemed every chance for these rewards was gone, but Carbine gives players another chance.
Surprise bags or boomboxes – these are treasure chests, one of which can be opened every 22 hours. Inside are elite versions of housing kits, the “Raiding” costume (modeled after the Mortal Kombat lightning god), and various other popular goodies that players are eager for and which can fetch some platinum on the market. The main prizes are two “epic” mounts, a special warthog for the Dominion and an Equivar (a kind of psychedelic horse) for the Exiles.
The surprise bags were given to players who participated in the WildStar beta test as a reward for their pioneering spirit. For players who missed out or whose supply is now running low (because they’re plowing through their reserves like a Chua through a mountain of peanuts) or for everyone else, there is now a second chance to get their hands on these bags, which strangely enough are called “bags” in German: Those who try out the new content drop on the public test server and complete quests there will later receive a message from the proto-Santa on the live server. And in the mail, there aren’t the ham sandwiches that gold spammers are now sending, but: more surprise bags!
For completing the first 5 quests on the PTR, there is one box each
For completing another 5 quests, again one.
This way, players can secure up to 14 surprise bags.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The MOBA Arena of Fate is in the development phase. MOBA experts from the American site IGN.com, hardened in years of battles in League of Legends and DOTA 2, had the opportunity to play a trial round at E3.
Journalists agree that Arena of Fate indeed gives the MOBA genre a new kick by shifting the focus. With the 20-minute time limit, it’s always about points. The heroes start the duels with all abilities, there is no maximum level, only the ticking timer becomes extremely important.
20-Minute Rounds Demand Big Plays
It is much more important than in other MOBAs to make “Big Plays”, to kill opposing players, to take risks, and to earn points. Players who want to play more leisurely and carefully will need to adjust here. The focus of the game is more on spectacular actions.
For another tester, the simplified and clear gameplay is at the forefront. Arena of Fate does not offer as many shop items as League of Legends or DOTA 2, thus not overwhelming the player. A third tester praised the accessibility of the game , which the competition could learn from.
The fourth tester found particular enjoyment in the available neo-mythological heroes . This makes it easier to dive deep into the game’s backstory. Heroes like Jack the Ripper invite this.
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The free-to-play MMO Rift will receive its next expansion “Nightmare Tides” this year. In an interview, the minds behind the game revealed more details.
In a conversation with the editors of mmorpg.com, the creators of Rift made it clear where their inspiration for the upcoming expansion “Nightmare Tides” lies. While it does go into the tides, they don’t want to overdo it: “Only 10% of the core game takes place in the water.” Rather than splash games, they are much more interested in what lurks hidden, twisted, and eerie in the water. The interview reveals that H.P. Lovecraft serves as an inspiration for the expansion. The emphasis is thus more on the “Nightmare,” the “horror” part of the title, than on the “shores.”
For Nightmare Tides, they aim to find a tighter narrative framework. This has proven to be inspiring during the development phase. From one idea, ten were born, and from ten, quickly a hundred.
No Gear Reset
Unlike most other MMOs, there will be no hard gear reset in Nightmare Tides, so players won’t have to swap out their hard-earned raid items, which were previously best-in-slot, for green quest rewards after just a few levels.
Up to level 65 and a bit beyond, the “old” gear will remain the better option. This is intended to keep players motivated until the expansion launches and continue improving their character.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The Korean MMO Bless Online, which uses the Unreal Engine 3, is apparently making good progress. After finding two publishers for China and Taiwan (ChangYou and Gameflier), they have now received a financial boost to further advance the game. The warm rain is said to amount to 20 million US dollars and comes from two investment firms. The 20 million will flow into the continued development of the game.
According to information from mmoculture.com, 150 developers worked on the project. The first phase of the Closed Beta in South Korea has come to an end, since then the creators from Neowiz Bless Studio have been striving for visual refinement. The 20 million should surely help with that.
For the European and North American markets, the game has not yet found a publisher. In addition to the great graphics, the game primarily focuses on an “epic” war between two kingdoms, bringing massive sieges both on land and in the air. The game swears by a hit-and-slash combat style. Together with Black Desert and Blade&Soul, it belongs to a league of “The graphics look too good to be true, when is it finally coming?”-MMOs.
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The zombie MMO with sandbox elements H1Z1 is currently still in development, but that doesn’t stop the developers from having some fun with an early build. In the live stream, they showcased the “Minecraft”-like components of their game as well as the shooter actions.
The seemingly empty world of H1Z1 follows the building block logic of Minecraft, Starbound, and similar games, as one can gather from the stream. With an axe, one chops down a tree, turns the wood shavings into planks, shapes them into sticks, and combines them with some fabric to create a bow.
But the first problem arises: “Where do you find fabric when you need it?” After some aimless searching, the playing developer, in the tradition of the German discus thrower Robert Harting, tears his shirt off and crafts himself a bow. With the bow, he then goes first hunting deer and eventually zombies.
However, the playtester only hits a zombie’s knee, which leads his teammate to the fateful statement that the zombie must have gotten an arrow to the knee… because that also happened to a guard in Skyrim, whose tortured lament became an internet hit, the two have to listen to a few jokes for the next minutes.
At many points, the two moderators make it clear that they are still playing in a pre-alpha phase, and that the finished game will differ in many aspects from the provisional gameplay mechanics. Nevertheless, you get a good first insight from the video. We’ve got the stream for you here.
H1Z1 scores with Robinson Crusoe motifs
You can already see in this early phase why there is so much hype around H1Z1 and why many are waiting for the game. The game principle known from Minecraft and Starbound, where you build something from small beginnings and use it to climb the ladder of civilization, seems to be the game principle that the entire MMO community is waiting for. Shooter fans might not be exactly blown away by the combat aspects.
At first glance, H1Z1 also appears to be a modern vision of “Robinson Crusoe.” The novel, which is often read as a youth book today, was originally intended as advertising for colonialism: the great European could recreate the entire civilization from within himself. Only the player in H1Z1 is not doing this on a deserted island, but in the zombie apocalypse. Who would have thought that Robinson Crusoe would once determine the gameplay principles of modern times? Maybe SOE will still teach us a few tricks from a zombie; then we could call him “Friday”…
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The small online card game Hearthstone, designed by Blizzard employees to show that one can still be small, is poised for a huge leap a quarter after its official release. Three reasons are responsible for this.
Hearthstone was actually just an attempt to return to its roots and create a “small” game again. An online collectible card game that will likely remind most players of Magic: The Gathering at first glance. The reviews were positive. We let our Cortyn loose on Hearthstone and she returned with 82% . Gamestar gave it 81%, and at Meta-Critic, it landed at 88%, also thanks to a 100% rating from the currently trending magazine Polygon. The players, for whom Blizzard still enjoys a top reputation, started engaging with the game during the beta.
The game is already performing excellently. Now, after a quarter of a year, signs are emerging that Hearthstone could level up in terms of popularity and significance. We will tell you why.
The Naxx expansion is coming in July, bringing more complexity
For weeks now, the first cards from the Naxx set have been introduced. The themes are based on the classic World of Warcraft raid “Naxxramas”, which returned with Wrath of the Lich King.
What impact does such a set have? Huge, if you ask someone who really knows about it.
[quote_right]Easy to play, hard to master[/quote_right]
According to Hearthstone pro Amaz, on the sidelines of Dreamhack, the set will significantly advance the game. Because so many new cards increase the strategy level and the variety of decks. Amaz, the runner-up in the $25,000 Dreamhack tournament in Sweden, is anyway a Blizzard fanboy, as he says. And he is already enthusiastic about Hearthstone because it is so easy to play, but so hard to master.
A date for the Naxxramas expansion was not known for a long time, but now Blizzard is talking about July. Some speculated earlier that it had to be June 20, for the eighth anniversary of Naxxramas. We can credibly deny this with the wisdom of hindsight. There will be no beta for Naxx.
Outlook: An expansion of the card deck can increase the long-term fun in Hearthstone, as long as it is well made. But there is hardly any doubt about that. With new cards and creative players, deck ideas from the past could return (like now the Freeze Mage deck of Dreamhack winner Rdu). The meta would change, and new combinations would be possible. Just a few cards are enough to tip the fragile balance and throw it off course. And no one knows what it will look like when it comes to a standstill. Exciting. Regular expansions ensure a fluid gameplay and of course also keep the money flowing into Blizzard’s pockets. Naxxramas could just be the first of many expansions.
Hearthstone as an eSport – Events, Prize Money, Reddit and a Scene
When people think of eSports, they often envision nimble players, lightning-fast raids, brilliant split-second decisions, and crazed frenzy. In Hearthstone, however, the pros look more like poker players, equipped with headphones, staring at the monitor in hoodies, unable to take their fingers off their faces from tension. Seconds pass with every turn. You can see the players think.
However, the game is by no means tedious or boring due to the tight time limits, the various strategies, and the short round duration, but rather achieves an unexpectedly high entertainment value. Especially since, despite all the strategy, luck also plays a role, and the duels can turn with a lucky draw, a “lucky punch”.
By now, specialized sites have also formed around Blizzard’s card game, shedding light on strategies, decks, and trends. With viagamer, a streaming service has emerged that aims to take reporting to a new level. A scene is forming.
If Hearthstone manages to establish itself somewhere between Dota 2, League of Legends, and Starcraft as an eSport power, it would be a huge deal.
Because the “normal players” already love to analyze and dissect the pros’ game from their home subreddit /r/Hearthstone. Since no direct “skill level” is required and while the pros play with the best cards, these cards are also accessible to “normal” players, there is great potential.
Outlook: Hearthstone as an eSport sounds strange at first, but it can give the game a real boost. Blizzard should take a page from Riot’s book, as they have managed to achieve a wonderful balance with PR and marketing ideas between “playing yourself” and “watching the pros at work.” Riot does this by allowing a lot to happen; players themselves take care of their marketing and popularity on Facebook, Twitch, and with donation buttons. Riot provides a league system, a bit of celebrity culture, and the opportunity to watch top games at any time. The eSport scene in Hearthstone is no longer in its infancy but is still at the beginning. It will be exciting to watch how Blizzard reacts here and whether they will promote it. They certainly have the means. Just by introducing 2 new AVs in WoW, which you can get by watching a top tournament, they would have opened up new buyer segments.
Mobile Version Expected “Soon”
To really take off, many agree that Hearthstone needs a functioning version for iPhone and Android more than anything else. The game is now running on the iPad, but it still looks poor on iPhone and Android. These would be the natural media for a “casual game” in the best sense of the word. A quick round while waiting for the bus or during a smoke break could further integrate the game into gamers’ everyday lives, significantly increasing the number of daily matches and ensuring it becomes “viral,” thus really taking off.
Outlook: An Android and Windows 8 Touch version for Hearthstone has been announced for the end of the year. The consequences are obvious: more matches, more fans, more opportunities for others to watch and get infected with the Hearthstone virus. The iPhone is the most natural medium for a game like Hearthstone.
Conclusion: The mobile version will come “soon,” Naxxramas in July even “sooner.” This will give the game a huge boost, both qualitatively and quantitatively. With the increasing complexity of the game due to the expansion pack, the “social factor” through eSport, and the increased activity through the mobile version, Hearthstone is likely to really gain traction by the end of the year and become an even bigger topic than it already is.
Not bad for a game that was developed “just like that” and “to see what it’s like to work in small teams again.” Hats off, Blizzard.
Or as the saying goes: The devil always shits on the biggest pile. But if you have earned such a good reputation that countless companies, sites, and people are just waiting to see what you do next to become part of the hype, then there is nothing wrong with that. Many people around Hearthstone, streamers, site operators, casters, eSport newcomers, want and are counting on Hearthstone being a massive hit. At the moment, it looks like it will be.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Once again, it is time for a new part of the Artcraft series from Blizzard, which this time features the male representatives of the Humans. Of course, this faction will also receive a graphical overhaul in the upcoming expansion of World of Warcraft. Especially for the Humans, it was high time, as the comparison images impressively demonstrate. Moreover, there are new updates from the Alpha server, where changes to the character models of the Draenei have become visible.
Over the years, the graphics of the game have improved significantly, new races have been introduced that have more polygons and expressions than the original races, to the point where they felt like outsiders in the world of Azeroth, somewhat like Simpsons characters in an anime. Therefore, Blizzard decided that with the upcoming expansion Warlords of Draenor, all old races would be brought up to the level of the newly introduced Pandaren race. This proved to be much more time-consuming than expected, which is why it is still unclear which races and genders will look better at the launch of the expansion, which is said to come “in the fall”.
As usual, the updates on the male Humans were presented by Chris Robinson, the Art Director of World of Warcraft. The update for the latest models is centered around the motto “Brevity is the soul of wit.” Of course, Blizzard has made great efforts to ensure that the original feel and fundamentals of the male Humans remain intact.
How do you like the new look of the strong gender of Humans? Do the facial features remind you of Shrek in any way?
Some models in alpha test
As Robinson hinted, some models of the revised factions of World of Warcraft will soon be visible in an Alpha version of the next expansion.
So said, so done: Images of male Humans and Draenei have now appeared on the Alpha servers, although in the case of the Draenei, they are still “raw versions” that could be changed. Even with these pics, it is evident that Blizzard’s plans – as usual – are coming together: The essence, the soul of the characters, remains intact compared to the original versions; visually, however, they fit better into the new world.
Blizzard is therefore paying more attention to the “essence” of the character because they are aware of how strongly players identify with their avatars and that they react allergically to “larger” changes. Blizzard has never received such angry letters as they did when they changed the ears of a Night Elf model in a patch.
