q-and-a
Latest
Skyforge discusses PvP philosophy and world space
As promised earlier this month, the team behind Skyforge has answered another round of community questions on the official forums. The highlights? Expect no Oculus Rift or gamepad support at launch. The game will not force players to participate in PvE or PvP. In fact, "with both types of activity you gain the same resources for character development." The optional PvP will have a mild death penalty: "By MMO standards, it is practically non-existent." The gameworld is made up of both large open spaces and small instances. It is not seamless, but it will encourage exploration. At one point during development, "the total area exceeded 50 square kilometers." The team is planning large guild battles of "at least 100 players." Flying and crafting are both in. Housing is a maybe: The "gods have their own piece of 'property' and it's larger than a hut." Community Manager Freitag also mentions that the Allods Team and Obsidian Entertainment will be monitoring player opinion and metrics during the beta for feedback on planned systems.
Dark Age of Camelot plans character transfer service and new art
Dark Age of Camelot's grab bag -- written by Sir Grabford B. Bagsworth III Esq., no less -- is back, and at the top of the most pressing questions is the issue of character transfers. Broadsword said that these are indeed in the works: "We would like to provide the opportunity to allow consolidation. This will be among the many updates and upgrades to the Broadsword account center that is currently underway. Currently, it's planned as a premium service –- but there are no details on the prices as yet." Broadsword mentions how art improvements have been going in the game following the studio's acquisition of DAoC. "We have renewed investment in this area, and we're really excited about updating art for various features in DAoC. Things we're currently discussing are: fixes for art-related bugs, new maps, UI skins, new items, monsters, and more!" Other topics in the grab bag include the return of in-game surveys, the status of the new website, and details of the next patch. The studio teased that it will be adding "a new long-term live event with a very cool surprise" with the update.
Elder Scrolls Online answers Craglorn questions
If you were intrigued by the reveal of Elder Scrolls Online's upcoming Craglorn zone expansion but felt as though there were gaps in your formal education, prepare to get schooled. ZeniMax posted a new community Q&A today about Craglorn. The studio said that there will be rewards for everyone, not just those who make the leaderboards. Players can expect to spend between a half-hour to 1.5 hours per trial with 60 resurrections allowed for the group as a whole, and they will need to be at least veteran rank 11 to participate. Some players had asked what these Celestials are, to which ZeniMax responded, "The Celestials are a new concept based on the existing lore of the constellations in The Elder Scrolls games. There's quite a bit of lore in Craglorn that will be interesting for fans to discover."
Camelot Unchained discusses resource systems, BOP gear, and housing
The Camelot Unchained devs have just released issue seven of their Piercing the Veil series, blog posts dedicated to answering player questions about the upcoming PvP sandbox. The highlights? Not every tree in the game will be harvestable, but the devs are considering (not promising!) a dynamic resource ecosystem. There will be expandable storage, but inventory management annoyances will be downplayed. The team isn't planning NPC cities beyond the starter cities. The players will be creating that part of the world. Bind-on-pickup gear "does not make good sense for [the] game given that all but the starter gear will be crafted, rather than dropped." Housing will differ in format based on whether it's in the open world or safe zones, and you won't need to be a crafter to set up a basic home yourself. Non-stat player clothing will be in the game. The devs will most likely put limits on guild sizes. Solo play will probably be a viable option. You can read the complete Q&A on the official site.
ArcheAge FAQ mentions testing plans, optional subscription, and housing limitations [Update]
Trion Worlds has published a new FAQ for ArcheAge today that concentrates on testing plans and core features of its upcoming Western version. The team said that alpha testing is imminent and will be followed by beta events leading up to launch, still set for sometime in 2014. While fans can sign up on the site for a chance at a key, Trion said that soon-to-be-revealed founders packs will guarantee beta access. ArcheAge will be adopting a hybrid F2P model including an optional subscription. This subscription will be necessary if a player wants to own his or her own house in the game, as the "limited real estate" will be earmarked for paying customers only. Trion addressed its level of control over the title in its relationship with developer XLGAMES and indicated that the Korean 1.0 patch changes will not be coming to the West: "We work with XLGAMES to understand and new features that are added to ArcheAge in the East to determine how well they will be accepted in our regions, and then offer feedback. XLGAMES has been fantastic in addressing that feedback as best as they can. In situations where a feature is added that we don't think will be appropriate for our audiences, we work with XLGAMES to modify or remove that feature from our version." [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Ask a CDev Round IV answers revealed
It's been quite some time since we've had a new round of Ask a CDev, addressing and answering lore questions from players. But the answers for round IV of the popular feature have been released, including quite a few questions with interesting implications. This time around, the questions were drawn directly from Twitter, and they address a variety of topics. Some highlights include: Oshu'gun? That's what the orcs call the mountain in Nagrand. But the draenei that remember the mountain for the vessel it was still use its original name -- the Genedar. Tyrande and Malfurion officially co-lead the night elves. Tyrande is no longer the sole leader. Sadly, the Shatterspear tribe is no more, although some may have escaped and found shelter within the Horde or other organizations. Just who the heck is Trade Prince Donais? Well ... he isn't Horde, exactly... There is a distinct difference between the vrykul and Kvaldir, and it involves the Curse of Flesh. Take a look at the thread in its entirety for all of the lore questions and answers. And if you have a lore question that has you stumped, head over to Twitter and shoot it to Senior Historian Sean Copeland at his Twitter account, @Loreology.
Trion: We control prices in ArcheAge's cash shop
Earlier this afternoon, ArcheAge Community Manager Scapes hopped on the forums to kick off a local question-and-answer session with ArcheAge fans and answered a number of queries, chief among them a question about how much control Trion will have over the prices in ArcheAge's western cash shop. "Lots, actually," Scapes told the forum-goers. "We decide what's in it and at what price, simple as that." He also dashed the hopes of those pining for special server rulesets like PvP and RP, promised server farms for both NA and Europe, and suggested that cosmetics might be a part of the game's westernization. The Q&A is still ongoing on the official forums. Those who participate have a chance at winning an alpha invite. [Update: The Q&A is over now, but you can read the complete transcript on ArcheAge Source.] [Thanks to tipsters Inporylem and Dengar!]
Dark Age of Camelot eyes mail system
Grab bag Q&As are special, because you never know what you'll get. Dark Age of Camelot has a new one up on the site with seven pressing questions from the community. One big revelation is that the team is strongly considering adding a mail system to the game: "It's (high) on our list of priorities! Mail opens up the possibilities for many many other things so we definitely want it in the game sooner rather than later." The topics covered include the devs' speculation on how upcoming changes to RvR conflict will play out, gear with specific bonuses, improvements to the server list screen, and titles for crafters.
Camelot Unchained Q&A talks PvP looting, physical growth, and crafting
There's a new community Q&A up on the Camelot Unchained site dealing with a wide range of topics concerning this up-and-coming RvR MMO. The topics in it range from hooded cloaks (yes, they're in) to just what players will be able to loot from enemy corpses and structures. Perhaps one of the most interesting pieces of information is that the team is putting in a physical growth system similar to the one that was promised but never delivered to Warhammer Online. Mark Jacobs confirmed the feature: "I'm happy to say that yes, certain races (I won't commit to all of them yet) will have meaningful changes happen to them, both cosmetic and gameplay. For example, our Dvergr might have more stone covering their body and their beards will grow. Other examples could be with our HelBound's faces, Hamadryad's tails, etc." The Q&A also addressed the role and importance of crafters, emphasizing that those players will be able to generate basic materials from their land and that they'll "contribute majorly" to battles.
Lord of the Rings Online community Q&A talks region revamps
The number 42 isn't just the answer to life, the universe, and everything; it's also the number of questions that Turbine addressed in a new LotRO community Q&A forum post. A majority of the questions had to do with upcoming content, in particular what's coming with Update 13. In addition to the revamp of North Downs, the devs are apparently working on retooling Misty Mountains and Trollshows, as well as adding "a small slice of new region content." A future Paths of the Dead update was teased as well: "You can expect to see the Paths of the Dead in some form. Aragorn's path through them is described rather specifically, but I think your character will have a different reason to enter and explore the Paths." So what other features are the team working on right now? It sounds as though Rohan housing might be a possibility as are catapults in the Ettenmoors. Kinships and housing will receive some cross-feature love, crafters could see a wider range of tradeskills, and mail and inventory are both being worked on at the moment.
Pantheon spotlights Undead race
If being a civilized yet formerly rotting creature is your grandest desire in an MMO race, then Pantheon's Undead Warlords are waiting to welcome you home. A new dev blog on Pantheon's Kickstarter page today shared some of the background of these playable Revenants. Originally from the world of Terminus, Revenants are former spirits that are now bound to corpses using death magic. They're a little psychotic and mean, but the Undead have learned enough control to form the outline of a civilized society in the game. CEO Brad McQuaid also hosted a Q&A video touching on subjects such as the business model (free for the initial levels with a subscription required after that), the Unity engine, the target demographic, the current makeup of the dev team, humor in the game, and pledge rewards. You can watch the video after the break.
Elder Scrolls Online Q&A focuses on group mechanics
ZeniMax Creative Director Paul Sage fielded 42 questions from the Tamriel Foundry community yesterday about grouping and other Elder Scrolls Online topics. Sage elaborated on various mechanics that PvE group members will encounter, such as healing, experience bonuses, role-swapping, switching alliances, and armor usage. He said that not every instance will require a four-person group to have the holy trinity, although the tougher dungeons will demand this. Skill synergy was a topic that Sage addressed at great length: "Synergies are those abilities which another player casts, they are useful by themselves, but take on new dimension if another player comes over and activates the synergy effect. They are much more about reacting to situations and using them at the right time. They aren't necessary, but they do provide a large advantage when used correctly and may be the difference between life and death in harder combats." Head over to Tamriel Foundry for the full read! [Thanks to Phanes for the tip!]
Final Fantasy XIV PS4 launch coming April 14th, details on patch 2.2 revealed
Yesterday, Final Fantasy XIV players had a field day with the 12th installment of the Letter to the Producer Live stream, during which they launched a bevy of questions at the game's producer and director, Naoki Yoshida, and received a slew of answers in return. For starters, the game will launch on the PS4 on April 14th and include a collector's edition. The beta will begin on February 22nd as previously reported. Patch 2.2, aka Through the Maelstrom, which Yoshida revealed will go live sometime in March, will bring with it an array of new content such as the Ruins of Amdapor dungeon, an expansion to the Binding Coil of Bahamut instance, and last but certainly not least, a new Primal to fight: the aquatic Leviathan. While the most die-hard of fans likely saw the livestream when it was... well, live, those who missed out need not despair because the entirety of the question-and-answer session has been transcribed in its own thread on the game's official forums.
LotRO not working on new dungeons, has no plans to merge servers
Lord of the Rings Online Community Manager Rick Heaton spent time answering various player queries during a recent "Take the Hobbits to Isengard" event, and an enterprising player recorded the salient details to pass along. Heaton said that despite demand from players, the team is not working on creating any new traditional instances, raids, or Rohan housing. He did comment that one of the older zones is a "possibility" for a revamp during 2014 and that there are no plans to merge servers. For players looking to jump from the old Codemasters servers to the other ones, Heaton reported that a "significant technical issue" has kept this from becoming a reality. If you're curious about how many people are playing the game, well, you're going to be curious for a long time to come. "Unless we can say we have 10 million players and are bigger than World of Warcraft, what's the point?" asked Heaton during the event.
Guild Wars 2 posts first Q&A of The Dolyak Express initiative
Last month, Guild Wars 2's Community Team launched a new initiative, dubbed The Dolyak Express, to give players a chance to ask development questions that require simple answers (as opposed to long discussions). After gleaning questions from the community, the team has posted the initiative's first set of answers. What do devs have to say about Dwarves as a playable race? So many were turned to stone that there aren't really enough of them left to make a playable race now, but maybe many years down the road is possible. What about changes to WvW and PvP in 2014? You can get the answers to these questions and more, along with a look into how stories will be presented in the future, in this inaugural Q&A.
The Repopulation surpasses 2nd KickStarter goal, moves on to stretch
While some were skeptical about a second Kickstarter campaign for The Repopulation, fans showed their support by helping the upcoming sandbox reach its goal over the weekend. Now, with 20 days still to go the focus shifts to the stretch goals, which include various mounts (the Rocharus at $60K is seen above), PvP arenas, a moddable UI, traveling shops, and more. On top of the successful campaign, The Repopulation is also receiving overwhelmingly positive support on its Steam Greenlight campagn; it's currently in fifth place. Want to learn even more about the game? If the recent three-hour Q&A livestream wasn't enough to satisfy you, Above & Beyond Technologies' creator J.C. Smith chatted with The Noobist about ongoing world story, the horticulture system, animal breeding, trade, and much more.
Camelot Unchained Q&A talks box copies, name reservations, and stretch goals
The community got to kick several questions at the Camelot Unchained team lately, the answers to many of which were returned with gusto in a new Q&A post. Some of the topics included boxed copies of the game being limited for collectors only, name reservations being done on a first-come basis through Founder's Points, and additional funding stretch goals for developing the Depths and adding more team members to the project. The magic system is coming along as well: "Mark [Jacobs] has been writing and editing the magic and combat systems documents and we have had team meetings to give him feedback. Once we have these systems to a point where the team feels that they are exciting and workable, then we can start releasing details to the community." The team also gave its monthly update regarding the development of the game. Special mentions were given to work being done on the archery system and preparation for the January playtest.
The Queue: Ducks that dress better than me
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Sarah Pine will be your host today. I'm still mad I missed this during the year I lived in Sydney. KaleilS asked: I've been playing WoW since Vanillia but unfortunately I've never had a decent gaming Computer, I play WoW on low graphics and can barely move in 25 man raids or battlegrounds, I've been saving for a new machine but I am still on a tight budget (two kids and all) is it cheaper to build my own machine or buy one? And how much am I looking at to make the game more shiny? As someone who just went through a self-built upgrade: buy one. Unless you really know what you're doing, it's hard these days to beat the price of a prefab computer, and of course there's the time you'll spend actually building the thing versus being able to plug it in and go. Furthermore, if your computer is as old as it seems to be, you may run into compatibility issues--for example I found out the hard way that my old optical drive was IDE only, and motherboards these days only really support SATA cables. End result: an unexpected optical drive upgrade in addition to the other stuff I knew I needed. (Fortunately optical drives are not expensive.) Anyway, point is, prefab will save you money, time, and headaches. And it's totally possible to get a functional gaming rig for $500-$750.
Final Fantasy XIV livestream details upcoming changes and the Crystal Tower
Final Fantasy XIV recently hosted its tenth Letter from the Producer livestream, in which producer Naoki Yoshida (or as the fans call him, Yoshi-P) tackles a number of questions regarding the game's upcoming changes and new content. The livestream itself is available for viewing in all of its two-and-a-half hour glory, but if you're just interested in the juicy questions and answers (or if you don't happen to speak Japanese), they're all transcribed in the official post. The questions run the gamut from planned changes for some classes such as Dragoon and Bard to details on the upcoming aesthetician, which will allow players to change their character's hairstyle for 2,000 gil. The majority of the questions, however, are on the topic of the upcoming 24-player Crystal Tower dungeon. Yoshida provides details on the dungeon's planned difficulty (it will have an average item level requirement of 55), how loot will be distributed (each boss will drop one loot chest for each party participating), the quality of gear players will receive (item level 80, slightly weaker than gear from Binding Coil of Bahamut), and much more. For the full Q&A transcript, head on over to the game's official forums, or click past the cut to watch the livestream in its entirety.
WildStar answers Esper inquiries
Continuing with Esper Week at WildStar, Carbine devs opened the floor to a wide array of questions regarding the futuristic spellcaster. Topics touched upon included the Esper's healing ability (the devs claim the class is "the best single-target healer" in the game), the lack of movement speed reduction while casting, its high burst damage potential in PvP, and that nifty Phantasmal Armor skill that was seen at the end of the re-reveal video. One fan asked if the Esper could be built as a pet class. "You also have the ability to focus yourself on a pet build," a developer confirmed. "Last week my build was based around Phantom Swarm (three small illusionary pets) and Geist (one large illusionary pet). I had tiered these guys up as much as I could so that they were doing tons of damage, healing me at the same time, and blowing up on their deaths to do AoE damage."
