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LotRO's 'current plans' not impacted by latest layoffs
Turbine's latest round of layoffs won't affect long-running fantasy MMORPG Lord of the Rings Online, according to community manager Andy Cataldo. LotRO Players reports that Cataldo elaborated during a Twitch stream and said that the firings will have no effect on Turbine's current plans for the game. Cataldo did not reveal whether or not "current plans" refers to the game's pre-existing development roadmap or the plans that have already been shared with the community and which run through the end of 2014.
The Perfect Ten: Free-to-play holdouts
In the increasingly diminishing field of subscription-only MMOs, two distinct camps have formed. There is the Old Guard that has its established playerbase and is simply not interested in jumping on board the F2P train, and then there are the New Kids on the Block (which would make an excellent band name, by the way), who argue that their premium features and AAA content warrant a subscription in the F2P age. A few years ago, doing a list of the final few F2P holdouts would have been a ridiculous proposition, but now it's actually difficult to get to 10 of these. Each company has a different reason that it hasn't given these games more flexible payment options (FPO should replace F2P; pass it on!), and while some have addressed this publicly, others say nothing and leave us to speculate on it. For today's Perfect Ten, we're going to look at the 10 biggest current F2P holdouts in the industry and muse about what's going on behind the scenes. Will this list be impossible to do in a few years or will subscription-only titles come back in a big way? Hey, I don't predict things; I just make lists.
The Game Archaeologist salutes Asheron's Call's 12th anniversary
Turning 12 is a wake-up call for most people because they realize that next year they will officially be teenagers. We just hope that Turbine's ready for that when Asheron's Call breaks curfew, sasses back, and starts developing a romantic interest in other MMOs. One of the privileges of writing The Game Archaeologist column here on Massively is that I get to watch over these classic MMOs as they marinate in maturity. Despite new titles being announced or released literally every day, these long-running games are the established old guard that have nothing to prove at this point. It's hard not to be a little in awe of that and gush at it. So congratulations to Asheron's Call, one of the first batch of 3-D MMOs that hit the scene back in the late '90s, for reaching its 12th anniversary! How bizarre is it to think that Asheron's Call came out the same year that we were freaking out about Y2K, seeing how far George Lucas could fall with The Phantom Menace, and paying about $1.22 a gallon for gas in the U.S.? AC almost seems legendary when you realize how far back it stretches. Join us as we sing the praises of Dereth and its citizens after the jump!
The Game Archaeologist and the Asheron Recall: Fond memories
Has October blown by already in a rush of leaves, wind and high-fructose corn syrup candies? Are we already staring down the grim specter of November, AKA "The Middle Child of Holidays"? I suppose so -- and because of that, it must mean that we are in the final week of our Asheron's Call retrospective. I know I say this every month, but I've really gained a whole new level of respect for Asheron's Call. It may have not been a massive blockbuster, but it persevered, it built up a solid playerbase, and it helped Turbine become one of the best-known MMO development houses in the world. Plus, I totally love the fact that the devs placed such a priority on developing an ongoing and ever-changing story, which is something that more MMOs could certainly use these days. So after counting down the top eight highlights of the game, talking to a couple AC vets, and interviewing Turbine's Andy Cataldo, all that's left is to open the floor to the rest of the AC crowd. We asked readers to pipe up and share their favorite experiences, as well as some of their best screenshots that have been lurking on the dustier parts of hard drives. Let's finish this month in style, as AC rides once more!
The Game Archaeologist's chat with Andy Cataldo
There are only a handful of people in the world who can boast that they're working on an MMO that dates back to the '90s. As community lead for Asheron's Call, Turbine's Andy Cataldo is a member of that exclusive club, going from an avid player of the game to part of the AC crew. Don't tell him that his game is old in the joints and unstable going down stairs; to Andy, Asheron's Call is still one of the most exciting MMOs on the market, and he is not shy in sharing his passion for it. In our third week of looking back at the esteemed history of Asheron's Call, the Game Archaeologist got in touch with Mr. Cataldo to ask him why AC has yet to go the free-to-play route, what the team is planning for AC's 11th anniversary, how the graphics update is coming along, and whether it's still possible to party like it's 1999. Let us clasp our hands together attentively and read! The Game Archaeologist: Please introduce yourself, your role on the team, and how long you've been working on Asheron's Call. Andy Cataldo: My name is Andy Cataldo. I am currently the Community Lead for the Asheron's Call franchise. My focus is helping communicate between the players and various teams here in Turbine, and vice versa. I also do most of the website and launcher updates, as well as any community events. I have been working on Asheron's Call now for over six years.
Asheron's Call to get huge graphics update
The Asheron's Call community got a nice surprise today, in the form of an oh-so-casual forum post from Community Manager Andy "Frelorn" Cataldo. It seems that Asheron's Call is getting a bit of a facelift. The graphics update will bring game into relative crystal clarity, giving players all sorts of terrain -- grass, sand, and ice -- that was almost indicated more by color than anything until now. Cataldo gave fans a preview, but promised that it was going to get even better: "Also keep in mind these are not the completed versions. There is still some more finishing touches to be done, but we wanted to keep you all informed about what we have going on here." While the update looks gorgeous even in its unfinished state, there is one caveat to keep in mind: "To make sure we're clear, our engine didn't get any changes to it. Which means we can't render water the way most modern games can. It will still be a flat, non-moving texture the same way it is now." We'll be anxiously awaiting more updates, and in the meantime join the discussion in the original forum thread. [Thanks to Greg for the tip!]
Gen Con 08: Turbine tells us what's in store for Asheron's Call
At Gen Con, we spoke with Turbine's Andy Cataldo, the Community Manager for Asheron's Call, about the future of this historic game. Cataldo told us a lot about AC's epic 100th update. The update is coming within the next few weeks, and it's a doozy. According to Cataldo, AC players will get a whole new faction system, three land areas to battle over, tons of new loot and spells, and various other improvements to the game, particularly to enemy AI.In addition to working its regular monthly event and patch schedule, Turbine is attempting to respond to player demand for a variety of new features in the 100th and all future updates. Particular emphasis is being placed on adding features common in modern MMOs, such as a quest tracking menu. AC has been around for almost ten years, so it has some catching up to do!Learn more about Turbine's big push to modernize the game, add lots of new content, and more in the interview after the break.
Gen Con 08: Turbine tells us what's in store for AC, Part 2
Given that the game has been around for so long, do you see this addition of modern MMO features as something that the player base is really clamoring for, or are you sort of scaling that against what other games have right now?Really, it's what the players are asking for. That's one of the things we pride ourselves on: listening to the players. Feedback and player concerns are very important to us.
