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Massively Exclusive: The story and presents behind RIFT's Fae Yule
All in-game holiday festivals were not born equal, but they do seem to share a family resemblance when it comes to being merry and bright. RIFT's Fae Yule is but one of many, many Christmastime MMO holidays that we're witnessing this month, but the team at Trion Worlds is looking to make it stand out from the rest of the crowd with its depth and sense of fun. So why do the inhabitants of Telara celebrate Fae Yule and take time out of their busy schedule of slaughter and soul-absorbing to decorate the town and scarf down bucketfuls of eggnog? What do they sing about when gathered around a crackling fire? What kind of present is appropriate for the fellow who already has the gift of immortality? It's time to sit on Trion's lap and ask for your greatest wish in game while jolly St. Hartsman tells you all about the lore and in-game goodies behind RIFT's festivities. Ho-ho-hit that jump and let's get started!
Patch 4.3: Background downloader now available
Multiple sources are confirming that the Blizzard background downloader is now beginning to download patch data for the upcoming patch 4.3, Hour of Twilight. We have been hypothesizing a release date of the next and final Cataclysm content patch around the late November/early December mark. Having the background downloader active now means that a good portion of the content for the patch has been finalized and is loading into our games as we speak. Now it is up to Blizzard to tweak numbers and encounter design rather than add new objects, art, and so forth to the patch. As we learn more about the patch and its release date, we will be sure to let you know. Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Review the official patch notes, and then dig into what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!
Daily Mac App: BatterySqueezer
Modern Macs have pretty good battery life, but there are times when you can't get enough juice to keep working without a power adapter. BatterySqueezer promises to help you extend your battery by throttling process that are running in the background. The idea is that by reducing the amount of processing power demanded by applications that are not actively being used, it reduces overall CPU load. Reduced CPU load results in lower power usage, which in theory, should extend your battery life. BatterySqueezer sits in the background ready to throttle programs when they're not being used. Currently it supports four browsers, Firefox, Chrome, Opera and Safari, as well as Reeder, Microsoft Office and iWork. The throttled apps aren't killed off entirely, but plugins such as Flash, animated adverts and any processes that are demanding are reduced to practically no load. This has another benefit other than extended battery life and that's more free resources, which can be particularly useful on a low-powered Mac. In anecdotal testing BatterySqueezer throttled Flash from some 30% of CPU load to about 3% with Chrome backgrounded. The result was very jerky Flash animations, but who cares when its in the background. As soon as Chrome was brought to the foreground, it was unthrottled and everything was normal. It also had the benefit of keeping my hot-running Mac cooler with noticeably reduced fan speed when multi-tasking. BatterySqueezer is one of those apps that will have different mileage for different people and setups. If you're trying to eek out as much out of your battery life as possible or trying to stretch out the resources of a low-power Mac, BatterySqueezer might just be the ticket and is available for US$3.99 from the Mac App Store.
The first part of the first signature arc now available for City of Heroes
It's no real secret, but the Surviving Eight of City of Heroes are soon to be the Surviving Seven And There Used To Be One Other Guy. The first installment of the arc is now available for players on the live server, with the arc available in the store for free players coming in after the fact. It's a chance for players to interact in a big way with some of the game's major lore characters and see which of the setting-defining heroes is going to be taking a permanent trip to the land of wind and ghosts. So what was the process behind the arc? As is often the case these days, Paragon Studios has furnished players with a new installment of the Intrepid Informer with more details on what the arcs entail and the major challenges of design. To the surprise of almost no one, the biggest issue that the designers faced was the simple question of relevance -- making sure that players felt important as they played through an arc focusing on the life and death of several NPCs. How successfully that goal was met remains to be seen, but CoH players can judge the first installment on its own merits right now.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Spotlight on the Trolls
The low-level gangs that heroes face in City of Heroes follow a pretty set pattern. At the absolute bottom are street thugs with a little bit of superhuman muscle at the very top, just enough to remind you that you are in a city swarming with mutants and magic and all of that fun stuff. One step up, however, and you start to find gangs that are just a little more vicious, ones that genuinely couldn't thrive at all outside of the superheroic milieu. That's where the Trolls sit -- as a group of legitimately superhuman street thugs mostly kept in line by their own issues. The Trolls are most likely the first villain group out of the starter areas that you'll encounter in numbers, if for no other reason than the simple fact that they're swarming the Hollows. You're also likely to start running into them if you deal with the Skulls long enough because the Skulls are what keeps the Trolls up and running. Trolls aren't like their lower-level counterparts -- they suffer from a disease, and feeding that ailment is the source of their power and reputation.
Funcom's Craig Morrison on background, story, and immersion
It's been a while since we checked up on Age of Conan game director Craig Morrison's personal blog, and the latest update is a lengthy morsel designed to get gamers thinking about MMO story as something more than a marketing bullet point. Along the way, we get a glimpse of Morrison's thoughts on games ranging from MMOs, to Brink, to id Software's forthcoming RAGE. While you might think that story is all about narrative and characterization, Morrison opines that a sense of place and attention to world-building details like societal structures are equally important. Quest text can be crucial too, and while gameplay is obviously a big deal, Morrison says that it's only part of the equation. "Sure, a game can be good on its own mechanical merits, and first and foremost a game must be a compelling gameplay experience... but those truly great games? Those are the games that also create a sense of place for the player. A world they can believe in," he writes.
Quaggan SMASH: Guild Wars 2 reveals its most cute -- and deadly -- race yet
Look at that guy up there? Isn't he just the cutest thing ever? Oh, ignore the teeth -- Quaggans are big softies, really. ArenaNet is back with another exposé on the races of Guild Wars 2. This time the studio's focusing on the Quaggan, which it calls "our most cuddly race." But what do cuddles and creatures that look as though they should already be sold as plushie dolls through the ArenaNet gift shop have to do with the rough-and-tumble fantasy world of Guild Wars 2? While the peaceful and polite race wouldn't normally make waves, the Quaggans have an interesting ability to "hulk out" and go on rampages when they get mad. As the saying goes, "Do not make Quaggan angry. You would not like Quaggan when Quaggan is angry." Therefore Quaggans have to be mellow to avoid a non-stop WWE battle royal -- although at times, unleashing their inner aggression can save their hides. It's this dynamic ArenaNet latched onto while fleshing out the race's place in the world. You can read more about the dolphin-like Quaggans over on the ArenaNet blog.
The Mog Log: Class act
It's been an exciting couple of weeks of news if you're a fan of fantasies that claim a certain degree of finality. I could talk more about some of the slated changes for Final Fantasy XI, or I could talk about all of the updates we know about for Final Fantasy XIV... but I've already done the former, and I think I want a little more information before I do the latter. This week, we're sticking with the original plan, and that's talking about the classes as they intersect with the game's lore, because it's pretty blessedly astonishing. Think about it for a second. Both Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV essentially let you be any class at any time. You aren't locked into a single selection a la World of Warcraft; your role is maleable based on the circumstance and what you feel like playing at any given time. By all rights, these classes could essentially be throw-away distinctions for abilities, without any sort of larger framework to live in. There's no strict mechanical reason why it would have to matter that a character was a White Mage if he could just as easily be a Warrior or a Scholar after a quick trip to the Mog House.
Storyboard: The story of the story
Two weeks ago, I went over the bare minimums of running a long-standing story in an MMO. Specifically, I was covering the more administrative and less narrative aspects of keeping a story going, due in no small part to the fact that you can't actually plan most of a story in a consensual environment. Instead, what you plan are setpieces and isolated incidents for everyone to interact with, smaller bits of stage setting that weave together into a larger and more satisfying whole. If you couldn't guess, though, today I'm going to focus more on the latter. For an ongoing story in a game, you need to have some structure and some motivation to keep moving, so you're going to have to know a bit about creating engaging scenes and keeping everyone engaged. This, of course, is no small task in a tabletop game, where you have complete control of surrounding events and are creating a scene to facilitate the characters of others. It gets wonderfully more complex when you're setting up a scene for your character without any control of NPCs or surrounding environments.
A look at the Norn events of Guild Wars 2
Norn Week continues for Guild Wars 2, and while that may sound a bit like Shark Week, it's not quite the same deal. The Norn are a bit more personable, for one. They're also the center of a new piece on designing and redesigning events on the official blog, penned by Jeffrey Vaughn. Focusing on the event design of the Wayfarer Hills (the starting area for Norn characters), the article covers both the general design procedure as well as the specifics for new Norn. As Vaughn puts it, one of the centerpieces of the area's design is the four shrines to the Norn totem animals -- Bear, Raven, Wolf, and Snow Leopard. Originally all four were slated to be attacked by the Dragon-worshipping Sons of Svanir, but those events felt mechanically identical, resulting in changes being made to each shrine's event. Guild Wars 2 players can enjoy a slice of the Norn's Nordic flavor and lore with the latest installment of the week.
Storyboard: Archetype discussion - the Mentor
I keep expecting to run out of ideas for the various archetypes that I've been discussing, but more of them keep coming to me. The past six columns have all highlighted characters who are distinct from one another yet at the same time make compelling centers to their own stories. For roleplaying purposes, they move to the forefront of the ensemble cast when needed and slip to the middle the rest of the time. But not everyone whose name is in the credits is necessarily going to be The Hero. Today's archetype probably won't be remembered as the one who accomplished any great deeds, unless you look at it by association. But she's still a vital character to any group, someone who provides an emotional and moral center amidst a horde of conflicting personalities -- even if no one might remember it. Today we're taking a look at the Mentor and all of the things that she brings to the table even from a more subtle role.
Storyboard: Problem children, part the second
Creating characters is hard work. It's hard enough when you're just concerned with making a really cool melee character who can kick other melee characters up and down the block, and it gets infinitely harder when you're trying to put together something that at least looks like a three-dimensional individual at the right angle. That having been said, there are certain ideas that are just problematic, character types that might seem like a good idea when you're staring at the screen but become a really bad one as soon as you hit "create." Our last look at problem characters focused on the sort that you know you're creating at the time, the sort that sound nifty in your head but cause some serious problems in actual play. This time we're looking at the other side, the sort of thing that's far easier to notice while interacting with characters rather than while creating them. But it's still well worth keeping these types in mind so that if you start traveling down these roads, you can make a turn. On to the problem children!
Earthrise offers new insights into weaponry
Weapons are useful. Nearly any MMO player will be happy to expound on the virtues of them, and so it's no surprise that Earthrise will be featuring its own selection. The development team recently released information and a few renders of the weapons that will be coming out for the post-apocalyptic game, detailing shotguns, assault rifles, and precision rifles. the forum post also details that each skill line is tied to a specific item -- meaning that shotguns don't simply encompass firing shells, but an entire suite of abilities based around using a shotgun. Assault rifles are flexible, with both burst fire and sustained fire possible, as well as grenade launchers to give them area-of-effect attacks. Shotguns, meanwhile, specialize in close-range brutality, allowing for crowd control and quick dispatching of targets. Precision rifles take the "sniper" role, allowing players to hit single targets with extreme force over long distances. The full rundown can be found on the post on the official forums, which should be welcome news for players eager to hear more on the slightly-delayed science fiction MMO.
Apple slyly enables background iDisk music streaming in iOS 4
Well, would you look at that? The v1.2 update to MobileMe iDisk that Apple pushed out last month has a secret -- er, did have a secret. One of the concealed new features of the app is background streaming, or as Apple puts it, the ability to "play audio from your iDisk while using another app." For starters, it's pretty fantastic just to have this functionality in-hand for your own garage jams, but what's more is that any licensed music on your iDisk still streams perfectly fine. Only time will tell if any record labels (or that mean, mean RIAA) step forward with a grievance, but this could very well be the beginning of iTunes in the cloud. Or a reason for buying Lala. Or a mysterious combination of the two.
Skype for iPhone gets iOS4 background multitasking in version 2.1
The free Skype app received a minor update today, but the impact to iOS 4 users is going to be impressive. According to the release notes, you can now run Skype in the background on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS running iOS4. This means that Skype users can now receive Skype calls and instant messages while other apps are running or the iPhone is locked. As with the iPhone's Phone app, you can continue your call while you switch to another application. The update is free, and those who are already using the app should see an update appearing in iTunes on their iPhones soon. Thanks to Michael, Gabriel, and Gary for the tip!
Pac-Man iOS 4 wallpaper just a 'video' feature away from perfection
We won't say that this is on the same level as Google's own playable Pac-Man graphic, but it's darn close. Designed to fit onto the iPhone 4's Retina Display, this Pac-Man PNG wallpaper lines up exactly to give you a glimpse of retro on each and every home pane. The only problem? There's no motion in the background, which leaves Sir Pac physically incapable of chowing down on any extra dots. Android users: this is where you stifle your evil grin and pretend that you're sympathetic.
Multitasking in iOS 4 is not a magical sparkle pony
As we wait for iOS4 to be released, I think it's important to try to help folks keep reasonable expectations for what iOS 4 will and won't do, especially as it relates to "multitasking." Apple has to take some of the blame for this hype, especially when it's listed as the #1 feature of iOS 4, saying "Now you can run your favorite third-party apps - and switch between them instantly - without slowing down the performance of the foreground app or draining the battery unnecessarily."1 Did you notice that 1? The big print giveth and the little print taketh away. Down at the bottom of the page, Apple tells you that multitasking is "available with apps that have been developed to work with iOS 4." That means that any app that isn't tweaked to be multitasking-aware simply won't play nice with the feature. And even that isn't the whole truth. Read on for more...
Google enables Binging background images
Google just flipped the switch letting users across the globe decorate their Google.com landing page with preselected images or photos all their own. Wow, somebody alert Alfred Nobel.
TUAW's Daily App: Above
Our tipsters have been raving about Above, which is sort of a cross between Doodle Jump and Canabalt. It appeared in the App Store a little while ago. Odds are, after that description, you probably went looking for it already. Just in case you're still here, though, I'll tell you that it does offer up a few new tricks. Just like Canabalt, it's still a one-button-to-jump affair, but in Above, you actually hold down a finger to "charge" a jump, which adds a little more strategy to it. As in Doodle Jump, you're trying to constantly climb up a series of platforms using "powerfuls" (a feature of the game) and avoiding obstacles, but Above's unique art style and much more forgiving structure make for a different experience. It's a very stylistic experience, from the great backgrounds and graphics to the trippy music. I'm not sure that it really offers anything new to this "climbing platformer" phenomena that seems to be taking over the App Store, but it is polished to a shine. Achievements and multiple stages add some replayability and make the game more than worth the US$1.99 purchase price. If you want a Doodle Jump that's a little less casual and fleeting, here it is. If you're addicted to the one-button gameplay of Canabalt, Above offers more. Our tipsters are right: Above is certainly worth a purchase.
Fan-run EVE competition offers prizes for best wallpaper
EVE Online player Xiphos83 has teamed up with our friends over at Crazykinux's Musing to make an EVE competition that's definitely worth entering. Always on the look-out for a new desktop background, for this competition he wants to see your best attempt at a visually stunning EVE wallpaper. With all the graphical upgrades EVE has received over the years, it's always kept its spot as one of the most visually stunning MMOs out there. It lends itself spectacularly to taking awesome screenshots and making dramatic videos. Entries must be at a minimum resolution of 1280 x 1024 and should fit into either an "Action" or "Scenic" theme. Anything from well-posed snaps of your favourite EVE planet to full-on PvP shots are in with a chance to win. Entry costs 10 million ISK and the winners will split the entire pot between them, with an additional 175 million ISK contributed by donors. Judging by the number of comments the competition has received so far, there could be a lot of ISK in that prize pot up for grabs. To enter, simply email your screenshot to crazykinux [AT] gmail [DOT] com along with your EVE character's name and wire your entry fee to character "CrazyKinux" in-game. Entries must be in by March 26th and to be in with a chance to win, make sure you read the contest rules.
