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Rise and Shiny revisit: Alganon's new expansion
It's been quite a while since I dived into Alganon, the indie MMO by Quest Online. The game has had a bit of an up and down development cycle, but I always found it to be a pretty unique game with a nice mix of mechanics. Granted, according to many readers, the game is nothing but a World of Warcraft ripoff thanks to its similar avatar graphics, but the game is only as similar to World of Warcraft as most other themepark titles are. There are quests, skill trees, and other things in Alganon that you'll find in a score of titles, but Alganon also offers a few things that together make for a pretty unique combination of gameplay in spite of superficial similarities to other games. The game is still rough around the edges, however, and needs some patching and tweaking in order to be nearly as polished as many other titles. The team is small, and I tend to forgive small teams for the these oversights as long as the game runs smoothly for the most part. Alganon does run smoothly and offers quite a few interesting and immersive systems. Let's go over what was added with this expansion as well as what's still missing.
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Rise and Shiny: League of Angels
I do not enjoy writing guide-like articles. I am no fan of reading walls of text that detail how to "properly" perform in an MMO, and I will not break my policy this week. It wouldn't really matter, anyway, because this week's Rise and Shiny game comes from the mind-bogglingly strange genre of hands-off browser-based MMOing. I've discussed the massive, massive success that browser-based gaming has seen in China and other places, but I always preface that discussion with a warning: It is not going away. There are plenty of players in the West who will (and do) gladly participate in this hands-off gaming. There is nothing so special about Western gamers -- and their tastes -- to prevent our MMOs from becoming single-click level races, and nothing more. I should have known as soon as I saw League of Angels that the game would ask nothing of me but to babysit the mouse and keyboard, making sure that neither ran out of juice. Sure, a player will occasionally need to look up from his Wyatt Earp biography to read two or three words of text on the screen, but generally the game does all of the work. That leads me to the two questions that always pop up when I play a game like this: Who does enjoy such a title, and why make such a title in the first place?
Alganon delays expansion, plans double-XP weekend
Citing "unforseen circumstances," the team at QOL has announced that Alganon's Rise of the Ourobani expansion will be delayed until the fourth quarter of this year. "After evaluation of the project, it was decided that more time was needed in order to do some critical bug fixes as well as to spend more time on certain areas and features of the expansion in order to do the best work possible," the devs wrote in the April newsletter. Rise of the Ourobani will feature the playable titular race, a brand-new continent to explore, a Warden combat companion, PvP, and flying mounts. To soften the blow of the expansion's delay, QOL has released several sneak peek pictures and videos. Even though the expansion is a ways away, players have a reason to log in now, as Alganon is preparing a double-XP weekend from April 20 through the 23rd. You can watch Rise of the Ourobani flying mounts in action after the break.
Derek Smart on Line of Defense (and its competition)
Dr. Derek Smart is hard at work on the MMO interview circuit lately, and his sit-down with Massively a couple of weeks ago was only the beginning. The head honcho of Quest Online and 3000AD recently checked in with Rock, Paper, Shotgun to talk up the merits of his Line of Defense MMOFPS. He also had a few choice words for genre competitors like CCP's upcoming EVE Online sidequel. "DUST 514, that's just going to fail," Smart opines. "There's no ifs, maybes or buts about it. The proper way I think that would have been done would have been to do an EVE sequel and bolt DUST 514 into it." He doesn't stop there, though, and he goes on to say that folks who call EVE a space combat game "need to be taken out back and shot." It's a lengthy read, and Smart drops a few Line of Defense gameplay-related nuggets here or there, so head to RPS for all the details.
The Firing Line: Derek Smart on Line of Defense
Welcome to a special interview edition of The Firing Line, folks. True MMOFPS titles are few and far between these days, though 2012 is shaping up to be a banner year for the genre thanks to games like PlanetSide 2, DUST 514, and possibly even Firefall. There's another massive FPS on its way, too, and even though it hasn't had quite as much press coverage as the aforementioned titles, 3000AD's Line of Defense project is worth a look. Join me after the break for a conversation with lead designer Derek Smart as he talks about what makes the game massive as well as what sets it apart from its competitors.
MV Guide: October 17-23, 2011
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively's Livestream channel. Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of titles to take a look at. During livestream events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, livestream events are subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule!
Free for All: News roundup from some of my favorite free-to-plays
Interesting stuff is happening all of the time in the world of indie, free-to-play, and browser-based gaming. In fact, it's hard for me to keep up with it all. I have to say that some developers make it much easier on me by contacting us here at Massively or by maintaining a good news feed on their website. Some developers (*ahem*) make tracking down news harder than it should be. Still, it's out there, and I decided to recap some of my favorites over the last few weeks. Of course, I will always miss something or just forget to put something in. The search bar is always good for finding bits of news, or you could just visit us here every single day. Several times. And leave comments about how cool I am. Click past the cut and let's get to it!
Alganon opens European servers
Quest Online announced today that its free-to-play MMORPG Alganon is expanding! The game's reach grows just a wee bit longer with the launch of the Aeon server, located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Players on either continent can choose to play on either server, so there's nothing stopping North American players from throwing down with their friends across the pond. As a result of this new addition to the Alganon family, players will have a week (until July 19th) to transfer to the Aeon server free of charge. To do so, all you have to do is log into the Alganon website, choose the My Account option, and click My Transfers. Voila! The new server also comes just in time for the upcoming GM vs. Player battles taking place on July 16th and 17th. For more information, head to the official Alganon site.
Rise of the Ourobani coming to Alganon this winter
Alganon has come a long way since its launch, with the conversion to free-to-play and several updates helping to improve the game's feel and engine immensely. Now it's time for the game to move on to its next big step of development -- its first expansion. Yes, that's right, the game is expanding with Rise of the Ourobani, introducing a new race and class to the game along with several other new features. The eponymous Ourobani are a race in service to a god long thought lost, with the Asharr and Kujix both attempting to seize the Ourobani's power for their own ends. Players will also get access to the game's first pet class in the form of the Warden. In addition, the game is promising both player and guild housing, flying mounts, and a new continent called Aeon, on which players can enjoy a whole new leveling experience. If your opinion of Alganon hasn't been updated since the game's original development, it might be a good time to start looking at the game with new eyes -- there's a lot on the expansion plate, especially for a free-to-play game.
Free for All: A week of scheduled playtimes
After a loose week of playing scheduled games, I can say that I have a lot of work to do to perfect my system. Once again, Tim and Jon from the Van Hemlock podcast are my inspiration. They are both dedicated to the art of playing games, to "finishing" games, almost to the point of obsession. It's certainly not for everyone, but they seem to maintain a real balance while skipping around. Perhaps the podcast they host helps them with this balance? I've hosted several podcasts over the years, so maybe putting my weekly gaming thoughts into audio form is necessary to keeping my sanity? In reality, what I need to do is just stick it out and stay the course. I am not sure of many things in this world, but I am positive that repetition and scheduling are more powerful than almost any plan. Humans are habitual creatures, even with their gaming. Especially with their gaming. Over this last week, I started to settle into the role of a scheduled player and even looked forward to it each night. Click past the cut and I'll let you know how it went.
Massively's exclusive look at Line of Defense, a new MMOFPS
We all enjoy a good shooter, don't we? It's even more fun if we can play it with dozens (if not hundreds) of our closest friends, so we were excited to hear about the new MMOFPS that 3000AD and Derek Smart are making and will publishing through Quest Online. It sounds like there will be some cool twists and unique innovations in this new title, a game called Line of Defense, so we were happy to ask someone at the source. Mr. Smart, President of QOL, was kind enough to give us the scoop on this upcoming game. Grab a comfortable seat, because this interview has a lot of information for you to digest. Check it out after the cut! [Update: We've added some additional exclusive screenshots to the gallery, courtesy of Derek Smart. We also corrected the information about the proper publisher and creator of the game.] %Gallery-115480%
Alganon patches Phase III PvP update
Destruction, terror, and mayhem came to Alganon this past November with the arrival of the game's first PvP patch. This week, the free-to-play fantasy MMORPG is tweaking the functionality with Phase III of its planned PvP rollout which includes a couple of noteworthy additions. First up is the new tower mechanic. In a nutshell, the towers are PvP-enabled zones that automatically flag players for conflict five seconds after they've entered. Temporary promotions will be in effect for characters from levels 10 to 49, and statistics and action levels will be raised to level 50 for the duration of a player's time in the tower zone. The towers can also be captured, which brings bonuses to every member of your faction in the zone. The Quest devs have also added local and world defense chat channels to facilitate battlefield communication. Finally, the new patch has also increased the renown level cap to 10 and there is new PvP gear for sale at various capital city quartermaster NPCs. Read all the details on Alganon's 2.5.2 patch at the official website.
Alganon dev blog talks character models, more PvP
If you've been following the long and indie road of Quest Online's Alganon, you'd know that development has picked up over the last several months. PvP was released in a recent patch, despite warnings that it might not fit into a game that was meant solely for PvE. Well, PvP fans can rejoice as a "PvP phase III" will be rolling out soon. This means that players will be able to interact with towers while murdering each other. "Capturing all three Towers in a particular area provides a benefit to your entire faction while adventuring and defending that zone," stated a recent blog post. Concerns for adding PvP were always high. At one point, Derek Smart even told the team that, "I think this would be asking for trouble because we would have the PvP players in a world primarily designed for PvE. It could be a can of worms that I'm not sure we want to deal with." However, according to the official blog, PvP has gone off pretty well. New character models are coming, as well. The much-anticipated addition will be rolled out in the "early part of this year" according to the latest entry. While the before and after shots could be more dramatic -- something Smart admits in the blog -- he goes on to honestly explain the thinking behind the development process. You can check the official blog out here, and find out more information about Alganon on their main site.
Free for All: Ten tips for the virtual traveler
This week I decided to take a break from analyzing cash-shop models and theorizing over what players might consider "nickel-and-diming" (hint: it doesn't exist) to bring you some frequent MMO traveler tips. Now, if you are the type who enjoys playing one game for years and years or who doesn't have any interest in most any other game, this is not for you. These are a few tips that I have learned from covering games over the last years of my life, especially during my time with Massively. Since I have been here (it will be a year in March, if I recall) I have been embarking on a journey across all types of MMOs, one MMO per week. I might not remember everything I have done, but I do remember how to make sure that I feel satisfied after spending only a week in each game. Granted, many of the games I have played have stuck around for a long, long time, some of them becoming favorites. Recently, though, I put so much more into playing the current game that I have to let it go in order to put that much into the next one. How do you live this virtual vagabond lifestyle and still feel good about yourself? What about the golden rule -- a week isn't long enough to get any ideas about an MMO? Well, click past the cut and I'll try to explain.
One Shots: Tilting at windmills
It's been a while since we've had an Alganon sent in by a player, but with today's One Shots from Niklas, we break that streak. As a small free-to-play fantasy MMO, Alganon has certainly had its share of trials and tribulations, but that isn't stopping players from enjoying the game or stopping to check out the scenery like we see in today's image. Niklas writes in to share his thoughts: "When I was walking around in the world of Alganon, a beautiful free-to-play MMORPG (which some of you hate), I stopped for a moment just to listen to the music. Then after a couple of seconds, I looked up in the sky where the moon was shining brightly on me. I could only hear the sound from the forest and I got a warm feeling. It is strange how a game can make you so emotional!" If we haven't seen a screenshot of your favorite MMO here for some time, why not take a moment to snap a picture and send it in to us. It's easy to do. Email it in to oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing in the image. Please make sure the image is at least 1024 pixels wide and has no visible UI elements. If chosen, we'll post it out here on Massively for everyone to enjoy and give you the credit for sending it in! %Gallery-112285%
The top indie and free-to-play stories of 2010
I have to admit to feeling slightly amazed when I read that someone thought of 2010 as a bad year for MMORPG fans. Then, when I think about it, I realize that he was talking about the year in "AAA" subscription gaming -- something almost alien to me. I just don't get turned on by huge-budget subscription games like I did seven or eight years ago. Well, it might be better to say that I am always suspicious of big-budget gaming. Gaming is a lot like movies, and look at how bad most blockbusters are. They are often silly, over-the-top, special-effects-laden bores. If those movies were the only ones I watched, I might be a little depressed about Hollywood as well. If you pay attention only to what the major publishers are pushing out, you are simply going to have a narrow view of MMO gaming. You will miss too much. The year 2010 offered more than any year before it, and 2011 will top that. Thanks to mobile technologies and the always-dropping price of computers, you will find that smaller or unknown games have much more of a chance of grabbing a gamer's eye than ever before. So, what were some of the high and low points in free-to-play and indie gaming this year? Click past the cut and let's take a look!
Free for All: An insight on indie from Alganon
Recently I decided that I wanted to ask different indie developers how their world revolves and what it's like to exist within that world. Development is a funny thing and often much more difficult than many of us will ever know. In my experience, the budget doesn't change the basic goings-on in the development studio, but it can effect what developers are willing to talk about. I would never expect certain mainstream developers to ever open up to certain questions, while many indie developers seem more than willing. Last time, I asked the developers of Istaria what they thought, which you can read here. This time, I decided to send some questions to Quest Online, the maker of Alganon. I received my answers from Derek Smart, president of QOL. Alganon has been one of my surprise favorites of the last year, so I was eager to ask some questions -- after all, he says exactly what's on his mind.
Alganon adding PvP functionality
Despite its checkered history, free-to-play fantasy MMORPG Alganon soldiers on. In its recently released November newsletter, Quest Online details the latest feature set added to the game in the form of PvP combat. The upgrade is scheduled to proceed in stages, with phase one consisting of both dueling and open world PvP, both of which are already available on the live servers. Phase two of the PvP integration is currently slotted for a December release and looks to add an objective system to the open-world PvP mechanics in the form of conquerable towers. Said towers will provide adventuring benefits to factional members located in the zone. Quest is also working on PvP armor sets and accessories for characters between levels 10 and 50. Keeps will be making an appearance in phase two as well and will represent stepping stones along the path to being able to enter the enemy capitol and slay the factional leader for fun and profit. Finally, phase three of the PvP master plan will bring battlegrounds to the world of Alganon. These self-contained PvP instances will feature team objectives and function similarly to the maps found in traditional FPS titles. Quest is also prepping a renown system that will feature weapons, armor, and assorted gear, as well as a resource-control mechanic. Battlegrounds are scheduled to go live sometime in 2011. Check out the official Alganon newsletter for more details.
Quest Online legal drama ends in settlement
Months of legal wrangling, accusations of corporate incompetence, and rampant bickering -- all performed as publicly as humanly possible -- is finally over. Derek Smart and David Allen have probably not settled their personal differences, but at least they've settled the ongoing legal issue. Derek Smart posted the news on his personal blog last night: "At approximately 7PM EST on Sept 27th, 2010, the lawsuit between Quest Online LLC and David Allen was settled with the purchase of Allen's equity in the LLC; thus he is no longer associated with Quest Online. " Smart also promises a press release later this week, and hopefully it signals the end of the public drama. And hopefully we never have to speak of it again. Ever. Seriously.
Rise and Shiny recap: Alganon
We have all heard of the controversy surrounding Alganon. Essentially, it breaks down into a few basic points: it is a "WoW clone," and it is being run by Derek Smart, a say-it-like-you-mean-it development bad-boy. Many claim he looks for negative attention and enjoys arguing with players. To be blunt, I don't care what people think about Derek Smart. I have said it before: I actually believe that he reacts to negative attention the way other developers wish they could. I don't keep track of his battles, though; I keep track of what he has done in gaming. All I know is that before he was with Alganon, I did not enjoy the game. After he became involved, the game got better. Concerning the "WoW-clone" issue: If I had a gold piece for every time I've heard that, I could afford that incredible level 50 mount! (*snort*) If I took a moment to break down all games that have similarities to WoW, this article would be much, much longer than it needs to be. WoW was successful, and the industry takes cues from success. WoW took its own cues from other games before that. Still, does Alganon take more from WoW than, say, Lord of the Rings Online? Read on, and let's discuss it.
