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WildStar launches the Protogames Initiative
WildStar players have fought off the machinations of the Entity, the depravities of their enemy faction, and the vicious wildlife of Nexus. Yet they've never had to face the centerpiece of the newest patch, the Protostar Corporation. Admittedly, taking part in the all-new Protogames isn't quite the same as taking on an ancient evil, but the two new dungeons added with this patch are both meant to test player abilities, with a low-level run through Protogames Academy conveying gameplay concepts while the Ultimate Protogames provide an assortment of new challenges. Not that there aren't plenty of other things for players to experience as well. The patch also contains new housing options, allowing you to edit the terrain of your home, and the character chop shop to let you re-edit facial details and the like. Players can also take on a brand-new Shiphand mission or run the Veteran difficulties of existing Shiphand missions, earning valuable Renown to take to the new Renown vendor. There's plenty to be done with the latest patch, so get in there and enjoy the games.
WildStar outlines its plans for the future of PvP
Do you want to smash faces on Nexus? Do you not give the smallest toss about being able to unravel ancient mysteries so long as you can find the opposite faction and crack their collective skulls? Then good news, cupcake: WildStar still has PvP on its docket. A new post outlines the game's plans for PvP in 2015, starting with new daily and weekly PvP quests in the next major patch to the game. What else is coming in 2015? How about gear sets that can be purchased with gold, a removal of rating from higher-tier PvP sets, the end of season 1, and same-faction battlegrounds? Because those are all in the pipeline, along with bigger improvements for later in the year. If you just can't get enough of that factional warfare, check out the full post and get ready to carve up the other side. [Thanks to Cap for the tip!]
WildStar explores the design of Veteran Shiphand missions
Veteran Shiphand missions are coming to WildStar, and that's great, but their design also posed a lot of unique challenges to the design team. Those challenges are outlined in the game's most recent development diary, starting with a core set of assumptions that had to be true for these missions: They had to remain scalable, they had to still be soloable, and they had to offer appropriate rewards. This meant making challenging combat that could scale up or down for party sizes and didn't require tanks, healers, or pre-made groups. To settle nicely into the gap between other solo content and Veteran Adventures, the Shiphand missions reward Renown even for solo play, as well as various appropriate bells and whistles for higher medal performance. Renown vendors will soon sell variety of gear as well as social items to ensure that playing through feels rewarding. Veteran difficulty will also offer remixed elements of the missions to give players a taste of something novel even if they've been through the base mission before. If you've been looking for more scaling content in the game, this one's for you.
The Daily Grind: What constitutes a 'niche' MMO feature?
In the wake of WildStar's rocky first half year, some players have defended the game's self-destructive gameplay decisions by declaring traditional gameplay tropes "niche." It's meant to be a niche game for that tiny niche of hardcore raiders, defenders argue, and therefore criticism is unwarranted. And in the sense that apparently a very small proportion of MMORPG fans actually participate in raiding (unless forced?), they're right. But that hasn't stopped most themepark MMOs since EverQuest from brandishing raids as a mostly inadequate talisman to ward off playerbase churn. Even if we outright refuse to raid, most of the MMOs we play are designed around raiders and raiding. It's easy to not raid, but raiding is hard to ignore because it's not being treated as niche by so many of the biggest titles and studios. The disconnect between development plans and playerbase desires is reflected in this same disconnect between what we think of as a niche MMO feature and what actually is niche by the numbers. How would you sort it out? If raids, one of the core and defining features of so many themeparks, are niche, then what isn't niche? What exactly constitutes a niche MMO feature? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
WildStar will reduce grind, focus on 'a multitude of playstyles' in 2015
Where does WildStar go from here? That's the question that director Mike Donatelli seeks to answer with his latest address to the community. Donatelli says this morning that while he's thankful for the praise the game received toward the end of 2014, there are several areas where the game needs to improve, and thus the team is working on making a better game experience for everyone moving forward. He lays out three chief foci for the team over the next year: listen to feedback to make the game more fun and "less grindy"; support "a multitude of playstyles," group sizes, and levels; and invest, expand, and improve the existing game. Donatelli targets for these plans the first half of 2015, which will contain better-tuned endgame reward systems to fight fatigue along with a wider breadth of content for solo and small-group players. Over the rest of the year, the team plans to introduce a new Contract system to support different playstyles, continue tuning the rewards, and greatly expand the game's customization options. It's a lot of changes, but the Carbine team seems dedicated to making them work.
Best of the Rest: Sam's picks of 2014
WildStar I grew up during what I'd consider "the golden age" of MMO games. I was there for the launch of World of Warcraft, as well as earlier titles like EverQuest and Ultima Online. The genre has a very special place in my heart, and WildStar felt like the last, major, "true" MMO (as opposed to games like Bungie's Destiny that possess MMO-like features) release that we would see in a long time, possibly ever again. A last hurrah, if you will. And what a hurrah it is. We don't really "review" MMOs here, but through a series of postcards, I chronicled my time with a game that is in no uncertain language a fantastic piece of craftsmanship. The visuals are bright and colorful, with a Pixar-esque personality evident throughout. The gameplay is fresh and fast, requiring constant focus instead of hotkey rotation memorization. And of course, the housing. Oh, how I could spend hours simply customizing my plot of land with various wallpapers, decor, even mini-quest objectives. WildStar is a thoughtfully-constructed game with a wealth of content. True that it relied a bit too much on large-scale endgame raids and the promised monthly updates fizzled shortly after launch, but I don't regret a moment spent on Planet Nexus.
Last Week on Massively: The fastest way to lose $1500 in an MMO
This post originally appeared on Massively from Editor-in-Chief Brianna Royce. At the end of every week, we round up the best and most popular news stories, exclusive features, and insightful columns published on Massively and then present them all in one convenient place. If you missed a big MMO story last week, you've come to the right post. This week, a player in EVE Online, most likely someone involved in an RMT deal, managed to kick off the new year right: by getting his unprotected ship and its cargo, $1500 worth of PLEX that didn't need to be transported that way to begin with, blown to smithereens. Is there an MMO Darwin award yet? Read on for a look at the rest of this week's top MMO stories, though I promise that none will make you facepalm as hard as this one.
The Nexus Telegraph: WildStar's past year and future
A year ago, I was excited for WildStar's future. Now I'm sitting here wondering how things went so very, very wrong. That's not true, though; I know exactly how things went wrong. I don't like thinking about it, but I do know. And so here I am, with a game I was hugely excited to play out and in the wild, and so much has gone wrong. It's easy to think that I've pretty much clocked out altogether. But that's also not true. I'll be the first to point out that I've said some decidedly unkind things about the state of the game and the choices that have been made thus far in terms of fixing them. The last column I wrote even posited that it might be too late for several of the changes being proposed to make any sort of impact when it comes to the game's image. This is why I really want the game to prove me wrong.
WildStar eyes Chinese release
WildStar may have a new audience for its sci-fi western ways, as 2P.com reports that the game will be headed to China somewhere between late 2015 and early 2016. The MMO will be operated by Giant Interactive, which also handles ZT Online. However, NCsoft and Carbine have yet to officially announce the partnership. A new market for WildStar may be just what the beleaguered title needs to shore up its financials. The Q3 2014 earnings report from NCsoft showed that the new MMO had dropped sales dramatically compared to the previous quarter. [Thanks to Mason for the tip!]
WildStar's next big update and holiday surprise
The first major WildStar update of 2015 is available on the test servers now. Yes, there's a little time before it actually goes live for everyone. Creative Director Chad Moore took the opportunity today to explain to the community everything contained within the new update, starting with the addition of two new dungeons (the Protostar Academy and the Ultimate Protogames), a new Shiphand mission, and the addition of veteran-level Shiphand missions that can still be cleared solo or in a group as you'd like. This update also includes new housing options, cosmetic options for characters (including the ability to edit your appearance post-character creation), and the addition of the new Glory currency for completing dungeons and raids, which can be exchanged for high-end equipment. Last but not least, it's the update that includes the long-discussed drop of the Datascape raid down to 20 players, making it less of a challenge to assemble a roster for this content. While it remains to be seen how well the update actually plays, it looks to be filled with a number of positive changes for the game. In other WildStar news today, the studio is running holiday promotion during December. "Carbine wanted to wish everyone a Happy Holiday and spread some cheer by giving out 12 Days of Boom Boxes," wrote Community Manager Tony Rey yesterday. "Everyone that has logged into WildStar during the month of December (12/1-12/15) will receive these sweet little bundles of potential."
Last Week on Massively: Zombies incoming
This post originally appeared on Massively from Editor-in-Chief Brianna Royce. At the end of every week, we round up the best and most popular news stories, exclusive features, and insightful columns published on Massively and then present them all in one convenient place. If you missed a big MMO story last week, you've come to the right post. SOE announced this week that its post-apoc zombie survival sandbox MMO (do we have an acronym for that yet?) H1Z1 will enter early access testing on January 15th. Like Landmark's beta before it, H1Z1's early access represents a serious test phase, says studio boss John Smedley. Tickets for early entry will run you just under 20 bucks. And don't forget Massively's ongoing 2014 awards, the first seven of which have already been announced. We're leading up to our MMO of the year on Friday! Read on for a look at the rest of this week's top MMO stories.
Perfect Ten: Looking back at the biggest MMO news of 2014
Well, my chums, here we are at the tail-end of 2014, having achieved all of our goals and new year's resolutions. Even better, we've survived what's turned out to be one of the wildest, rockiest, and most exciting years of MMO news in recent memory. This was the year of high-profile game launches, even more popular expansions, layoffs, and some epic-level studio face-palming decisions. It's easy to sit here and say that we predicted everything that was going to happen this year, but c'mon, you have to admit that you were surprised by at least one or two events in this industry. It's incredibly difficult to sum up the biggest news of the year without coming to grips with the fact that many stories aren't one-and-done; a lot of what I'm going to be talking about in this list happened over the course of weeks or months and still may not be fully over. That's how news stories are sometimes!
WildStar begins testing Drop 4 and 20-player Datascape raid
WildStar's upcoming Drop 4 is now on the public test realm, and despite Carbine's reluctance to post patch notes, the news on the street is that this content update will be a doozy. Among the changes and additions coming to next year's Drop 4 are new costumes for all of the races, more daily and weekly quests, an underground bunker housing option, the ability to see different armor models at character creation, a character customization vendor, loads of class changes, and a low-level shiphand mission called Fragment Zero. Datascape, the former 40-player raid that is now being retooled as a 20-player instance, is also on the test server for those with 19 good friends.
Carbine's Chad Moore on WildStar's fresh focus on lore
There's a big focus on WildStar's lore recently. Aside from the big lore drops, dubbed "Loremageddon" by Carbine Studios, the game's official site has begun releasing a series of short stories detailing important moments in the game's history, from the first space voyage of the Cassian people to dealing with the Genesis Prime now. That's a lot of storytelling, the sort that should be continuing on well into next year. We had a chance to sit down and ask a few questions of creative director Chad Moore regarding what we've seen thus far for the game and what the goals are with this renewed focus on the game's setting and story. If you'd like to know a little more about the setting and what players can expect from the ongoing history lesson, check out the interview just past the break. There's also a new story available today detailing the first contact between the Cassians and the Eldan.
One Shots: Cult worship
Have you ever been running along in an MMO and come screeching to a halt because other players are doing something inexplicably weird? Then perhaps you'd sympathize with reader Tyler in this situation. "There are times in games -- especially games like The Secret World -- when one stumbles across something they simply can't explain," he submitted. "But nothing I have seen is as surreal as the sight that greeted me when I stepped into Agartha during the recent Halloween event: a circle of Atenists worshipping a girl in a bikini whilst chanting "ATEN! ATEN! ATEN!' I asked around in general. No one had any explanation for what in God's name was happening. It is a mystery for the ages."
Massively's Black Friday MMO sales and deals roundup
Happy Black Friday, everyone! We've been keeping an eye on MMO-related sales and promotional events just for you. Here are a few of the bigguns that might be worth taking advantage of today and through the weekend: Guild Wars 2's digital versions are 50% off through the official website until December 7th. World of Warcraft -- well, the bundle with everything but Warlords of Draenor -- is 75% off through December 2nd. WildStar is on sale for 50% off, so $19.99, for a "limited time" on the official site and at other retailers. ArcheAge has a bunch of marketplace items on sale, along with two new mounts. Today only, SOE is offering double Station Cash, spendable in most of its MMOs. Star Wars: The Old Republic has hinted that a large (possibly hourly) Cartel Market sale is on the way today. All of Perfect World's MMOs have sales running over the next few days; of note to us are sales in Neverwinter, Champions Online, Swordsman, and Star Trek Online, the last of which is offering not just a cash shop sale but a sale on lifetime subs. Lord of the Rings Online is offering double bonus points in its cash shop and bonus XP in-game. Wargaming has festivities and sales planned for World of Tanks and World of Warplanes. Dungeons and Dragons Online is offering +20% XP through Sunday. RIFT is not only selling the classic collector's editions, character slots, and bag slots at 50% off but making the newest expansion available to buy via credits for the first time. TERA has a slew of cash shop item goodies on sale, including bundles with mounts and character slots. Marvel Heroes' multiple sales extend to Cyber Monday. (Update: MJ tells us that logging in Saturday will grant you a free remote-controlled Blackbird jet pet!) And don't forget all the MMOs and MMO bundles/DLC on sale on Steam for the fall sale, as well. Elder Scrolls Online and The Secret World are among them! If you know of others -- and we're sure there are several -- sound off in the comments!
WildStar releases Voyage of the Nomad, plans story rollout
Carbine Studios has just announced new content for WildStar... well, for the WildStar website, anyway. Voyage of the Nomad, a short story that "recollects the tale of the Cassians' first steps into the vast world of deep-space exploration," will go live on the official site's story page today. And it won't be a lone entry. Carbine plans to publish 11 such tales starting today and running every other Tuesday until the plots are played out. "The stories will unfold chronologically, until they reach the events that players have already experienced in WildStar's main story," says the press release. Hey, at least the lore-fiends among the greater MMO playerbase will be happy!
The Soapbox: Six reasons MMOs should abandon raiding, part 2
In yesterday's Soapbox, I had some things to say about why it's time to dump raiding. I'm writing this before I've seen the comment responses, but I'm willing to bet that a fair amount of angry shouting was involved in the comments because that's what I usually expect. But I wasn't done, as suggested by the whole "part 1" thing in the title header. For those don't feel like reading the whole thing, the short version is that raiding is too expensive to develop for too small a portion of the players. This is a solid argument, but it's standard: You hear it every time this debate comes up. In some ways, it's the foundation of the argument against raiding beyond the reality that most people say they just don't like raiding. There's more to be said, though, and there are more serious issues up for discussion. Raiding isn't just expensive in terms of development. It's expensive in lots of ways.
The Soapbox: Six reasons MMOs should abandon raiding, part 1
Raiding is no longer doing MMOs any favors. I've compared raiding to open PvP in the past, and the comparison still holds up. It's something that a lot of games developed in response to a specific genre-defining game have featured. But it's not doing those games any favors, and it might be time to take a hard look at this gameplay element that games survive in spite of rather than because of. If we learn nothing else from WildStar's issues when it launched into what should have been an ideal environment, it's that raiding certainly isn't driving players into a game's waiting arms. But I don't want to just say that and let it roll around on the floor. Let's actually break the argument down across a couple of articles this week. Why does raiding need to shuffle off of the main stage, definitely as the default endgame model, perhaps altogether? I can give you six good reasons.
The Daily Grind: Are you still playing WildStar?
My name is Justin, and I have a confession: I still play WildStar. I even... like it. I know! Stop spitting on me already! It seems as though 2014 is the year of new games getting tarred and feathered (usually justly) after their much-anticipated releases, and WildStar is no different. I won't deny that the studio has a lot of work to be done on the game, but my feelings for the game haven't changed. I still really dig this weird sci-fi romp, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Maybe it's the housing system (the best I've seen, period), the memorable world, the quirky humor, or the variety of activities, but I haven't grown bored of it yet. Are you still playing WildStar? Have you been hesitant to say so after reading so much negativity around the internet? Speak up and let me know that I'm not alone! Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
