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AIKA Global gearing up for nation merge, in-game events
AIKA's plans for global domination are ramping up in the month of May. The free-to-play fantasy title now features four major in-game events, and a new press release hints at "exciting new game and website updates" to be revealed. First up is the month-long Nation Wars II event in which AIKA's nation-states transform into all out war zones. Four players from each nation will represent their homelands on the Lord Marshall Alliance, and national armies will be able to march on enemy territory for fun and profit. Next up is the Legionaires of May event in which participants compete to level new characters from 10 to 50 as swiftly as possible. The first five legions to complete the requirements by May 31st will snag a prize pack. The final two events, A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed and Auction House, span the entire month. Specifics for each will be given in-game during the lead-up to the event. Finally, AIKA Global is introducing an offline mailing system as well as a nation merge that will have a major impact on the game's political landscape. Head to the official AIKA website and read all about the coming changes.
TOR video talks crew skills and PvP
Ready for another look at crew skills and PvP in BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic? If so, G4TV has you covered in the form of a five-minute video featuring Daniel Erickson and extensive in-game footage. Erickson explains the gathering, crafting, and mission components that make up crew skills (which is basically BioWare's catch-all term for traditional MMO crafting). "Missions are something very different, and for missions to make sense, you have to understand the base concept of crew skills, which is that you are not the one doing this stuff. Your companion characters are the ones who are going hands-on and doing the crafting," Erickson says. In terms of TOR's PvP implementation, Erickson illustrates BioWare's goal of making the mechanic appropriately contextual to the Star Wars universe (as opposed to the kill-everything-moving-just-because mentality common to many PvP systems). He describes everything from slicing terminals to seeing turrets move in real time, painting a picture of an immersive PvP experience that makes sense within the framework of the license. Finally, Erickson talks a bit about the recently announced race/class combos, including the Sith pureblood. Check out the video after the cut, or at G4TV.
Hyperspace Beacon: Proper PAX preparation prevents poor PAX performance
Welcome once again to your guide through everything Star Wars: The Old Republic, which is soon to be released by EA-BioWare. Larry Everett presents the Hyperspace Beacon. Deborah Shin, the Marketing Manager for Star Wars: The Old Republic told TOROcast at E3 that PAX was going to be the game's biggest event of the year. When I heard that announcement about a month and a half ago, I decided that I would have to make it to this event. Prior to that I was willing to let others do the reporting while I snagged some stories at home. I want Massively to be your source of SWTOR news, so how could I not go to the biggest SWTOR bash of the year? This week's agenda is quite simple in scope, but a bit more complicated in execution. I hope to give you a very brief overview of what we know of our favorite game going into PAX, followed by a few directions I could go with information gathering. Ultimately, I want the fan's opinion. What information do you want to see come out of this fan-tastic exposition? Follow me after the jump, where I break down the possibilities.
Hyperspace Beacon: Fires of Hope from E3 2010
The Hyperspace Beacon is a weekly guide and discussion by Larry Everett about the yet-to-be-released game Star Wars: The Old Republic. No matter where you were this week, if you are a Star Wars fan, you saw the new SWTOR trailer: Hope. I'm sure you also read the Daily Grind asking, "Do cinematics make you want to play?" It's an honest question. Lots of times these over-the-top trailers mask some of the things producers aren't telling you about the game you are interested in playing. In fact, it may give you greater expectations than the game has to offer. There have been quite a few comments about Star Wars Galaxies' trailers which have caused some players of the seven-year-old MMO to ask rhetorically, "I want to play that game. Where is that game?" So let me tell you up front, Star Wars: The Old Republic does not look like either of the cinematic trailers, but that does not mean it is not a great game. I believe as a fan of this game and as a reporter for this website that I would be doing you, the reader, an injustice by totally giving into the (albeit mostly fan-created) hype that surrounds this game. So this week I want to take things back a notch and hopefully give you a realistic outlook on a couple of announced aspects of the game.
E3 2010: Erez Goren talks to Massively about Global Agenda's future, part 2
It seems some people are worried that Global Agenda has low player activity and may be on its last legs. When asked about that, Erez gave some useful statistics from the deployment of Sandstorm Phase 1 that suggest they're definitely on the right track. "We're only starting our marketing now," Erez told us, adding that "It was better to start early, work through with our user base about what people want to see and how and then market it and push it out." Not deterred by doom-sayers, he suggested that "as long as there's enough people to play with, it's OK" and affirmed his belief that Global Agenda couldn't drop below that level.
E3 2010: Erez Goren talks to Massively about Global Agenda's future
Sci-fi MMOFPS Global Agenda took last year's E3 Expo by storm, securing awards and impressing attendees. Launching earlier this year, the game has been rapidly updated and evolved based on player feedback. The Sandstorm Phase 1 patch recently overhauled huge areas of gameplay and delivered a lot of new content. The Global Agenda team are back at E3 this year, hoping to impress with a look at their up-coming Sandstorm Phase 2 patch. We sent our very own E3 reporter Sera Brennan to get the details from Erez Goren, founder and CEO of Hi-Rez Studios. In this bumper two-part feature, we get to grips with Global Agenda's new open zones, warzones and game-mode updates. We tackle the issues you asked for as we quiz Erez Goren on whether the game may be on its last legs, the game's shift in focus to PvE and what new game mechanics the team have up their sleeves.
Massively's exclusive SWTOR interview: Starships, PvP, and crafting!
E3 has been abuzz with the latest news about LucasArts' and Bioware's new MMORPG, Star Wars: The Old Republic. Yesterday, they teased us with an exciting fully rendered trailer called "Hope." The trailer showed a battle which is a precursor to one the players will be able to experience in game. Unfortunately, this trailer didn't have many answers. In fact, it seemed to present us with even more questions. So we at Massively sent our own Sera Brennan to talk to the designers of SWTOR to see about getting some answers. var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Massively_interviews_SWTOR_s_Rich_Vogel_at_E3'; Rich Vogel, the executive producer for Star Wars: The Old Republic, was kind enough to sit down with Sera for a few minutes in EA's gameplay booth in the LA convention center on Tuesday. Perhaps we could get some of our burning questions answered about PvP, groups, space, ships, housing, and crafting. Follow after the jump to see what they had to say!
