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Elder Scrolls Online anticipates 'massive' test weekend
Elder Scrolls Online is going big for this weekend's beta test, as ZeniMax says that it has invited "a massive number of players worldwide" to push the systems to their limits. The team encouraged any and all beta testers to persist through issues and play hard while it conducts its own tests and roots out bugs. "With your help, we can uncover problems and solve them before launch," the team wrote. ZeniMax says that those not invited into this weekend's test need not worry, as there will be additional sessions in the near future. Elder Scrolls Online is scheduled to launch on April 4th.
WildStar's third beta test is all right for fighting
The Dominion and the Exiles cannot just get along, they cannot be friends, and they cannot give peace a chance. So the testing for WildStar thus far has kept them separated, with both sides testing on different weekend. But according to patch notes released today by Carbine Studios, the upcoming test is starting a riot, letting both factions loose in the same playground. The notes include a request that testers look into the game's setup for potential griefing hotspots to ensure that they're fixed before launch rather than remain a spot of constant sorrow. So is this patch just sporting the one change? Oh, you ain't seen nothing yet. Even if we disregard the ability and build changes outlined, the patch introduces rated battlegrounds and arenas for the game's universal soldiers. There are also improvements to the housing interface, the introduction of the not-yet-functional tradeskill talent UI, and an expansion of quickslot abilities. And even if you're not in the testing and can't go your own way, there's plenty to make you wonder.
The Repopulation upgrades to Hero Engine 2.0
The Repopulation isn't slowing down for the holidays, as Above & Beyond Technologies announced that it's upgraded the core of the game to Hero Engine 2.0. The more powerful engine offers the title a lot in terms of visual improvements and capability (HDR lighting is now supported, for example), and the devs are quite excited to have it up and running. The team broke the news in its December update post. Along with the improved engine, The Repopulation has seen a lot of progress in the areas of dens, crafting, and vehicles. Small additions, such as six action bars and the new Rhinoc species, are going a long way to fleshing out this game. The devs promised that a look at the team's 2013 plans will be coming soon.
PlanetSide 2 releases huge beta update with metagame content
In less than two weeks, Sony Online Entertainment's new MMOFPS PlanetSide 2 is launching. And with that November 20th date fast approaching, the development team is cranked into high gear, deploying frequent patches to both add content and squash various bugs. Last week, the patch included the final continent for launch. This week, the dev team will release another huge update focusing on metagame. Some of the highlights of this update include continent domination benefits, special facility benefits, and a map functionality to help players find a fight easier. This patch is also changing the way bases are captured, resulting in less attacker and defender dead time; instead of the ticket race, base ownership will be decided by a Tug-of-war system. For full details on these changes and more, check out the official patch notes.
PlanetSide2 Command Center video highlights Engineer class, new livestream, and more
In the fifth episode of Command Center, PlanetSide 2 devs Tramell Isaac (Senior Art Director) and Matt Higby (Creative Director) discuss various aspects of the upcoming MMOFPS. At over 22 minutes, the video is full of information, including a beta update, a report on PAX 2012, information and a video on the Engineer, and a preview of SOE Live. They also highlighted fan-made movies and fan art. Maggie Krohn, game designer, also joined the show to explain the new weekly livestream special, Friday Night Ops, that will have interviews, community spotlights, and more every Friday from 7:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. PS2 is currently in closed beta. Players who want to get in and test can obtain guaranteed access by purchasing the Alpha Squad package for $39.99 USD, which also comes with 40 bucks worth of Station Cash, a six-month XP boost, a buddy key, and more.
Blur multiplayer beta updated; new trailer races into view
Activision must be in a celebratory mood, as it's just announced over a million drivers have downloaded the Blur multiplayer beta. Remember, you've only got until May 10th at 2am PT to take it for a spin yourself. Before the finished game launches on May 25, the beta will play host to some expanded playlist settings and other changes. Starting now, you'll be able to play with A-Class cars in the standard playlists. The Supercar Racing Playlist also offers two new races, Tokyo and Amboy, and power-up placement has been shuffled to be different in each race. Finally, the amount of fans you can earn for each race has been doubled, placing the illustrious Rank 15 within reach. If you have yet to sample the Blur beta's brand of multiplayer mayhem, check out the brief trailer above or read our impressions.
WAR: June beta review plus more news from the front
Hail, fellow onlookers! (IE: Those of us not in Warhammer Online beta). Last month's news about the Advance on Altdorf has kept our breath at bay. You can breathe easy, there will be no peace. In this latest dispatch concerning the Aegis of the Oathbearers and Bloody Sun Boyz it indicates that the Greenskins and Dwarfs took up arms against one another clashing for the first time in over half a year. Further tasty lore bits and new images from the beta can be seen over on the Warhammer Herald. It's hinted that the next focus test will involve guilds. This is exciting news, and maybe some guilds that won invites last April will finally reap their better later than never reward. For older but still damn good Warhammer news, and I mean a metric ton of exclusive Warhammer information, check out our Massively goes to WAR coverage. A detailed list on what the latest round of beta testing focused on resides after the jump.
There's no crying in head lopping
The fine folks at Funcom have posted a brief update about the beta for their upcoming head-loppalooza, Age of Conan.The biggest news: female avatars are now available! Gotta love this line from Funcom: " ... while there are some bugs to work out -- people always seem surprised to find out a beta is actually used for finding and squashing bugs! -- they are playable..." They also gave a count of how many patches have dropped in the last few weeks. January had three, while there's been two so far this month. Wednesday's update dropped over 2.5 gigs of data! Lastly, PVP and the PVP servers will - for the first time - be opening soon.So if you're one of the lucky ones in beta - rejoice! But whatever you do... don't cry. As Tom Hanks might say: There's no crying in head lopping!
Warhammer beta update - part V
Is it just me, or are we learning more about the Warhammer Online Beta now when it's closed than when it was open? The fifth Beta update (the latest in a long series of informative posts) offers up some concept art from the Inevitable City, a few tidbits on the new Realm vs. Realm changes, and a lengthy set of questions pulled directly from the forums. Will the keeps be attackable without siege? Yes, players will be able to break open the keep doors, battle the guards, fight their way to the keep lord, and try to capture the keep. Will Keeps change in appearance based upon which race controls them? In future patches (pre-launch), the appearance of the keep will change to reflect that the enemy realm has captured it. At this time, we are not planning to entirely replace the keep with a new structure with different geometry. So, an Empire keep captured by Destruction will still look like an Empire keep, but it will change to look like it's been under siege and show some signs of its new owners.
Beta update for Age of Conan, more invites sent
Following the latest newsletter from Hyboria, the Age of Conan website now has details of the new beta update. Apparently there was a very large patch that added lots of new content, and because of this, Funcom has decided to send out some more beta invites, so check your inbox and spam filters if you have previously signed up. This update also saw the introduction of the Capture the Flag PvP game for the beta test.In website related news, there are some new RSS feeds that you can nab in a few different languages to get the latest AoC information as soon as it's out, and a couple of screenshots of the freshly revamped Picts have been posted. Above you'll see one of them, but there are more at the site. Very scary indeed, and they do have that "wear your face as a hat" look that Funcom mention they are going for.
Enormous beta update for Warhammer Online shares loads of new details
The European site for Warhammer Online has let loose a giant beta update, with tons of juicy information to sate voracious fans. Various teams working on the game each add their own section to the update, and we hear from the Cities Team, the Items Team, the Animation Team, the UI Team, the Combat and Career Team, and finally the RvR (realm-versus-realm) Team.Probably the biggest news is the introduction of the Mastery system, which will allow you to specialize the capabilities of your character (an example is given of the Sword Master career being able to specialize as more of a tank, or being better at dishing out damage), the addition of Keeps for RvR play, and some overhauling of the user interface. There really is too much discussed in the update to bring it all up here, but we have made a dot-point abbreviated version of the notes after the break.
Warhammer beta update - part III
The folks at EA Mythic recently released the lowdown on Shadow Warriors and Swordmasters, two of the elf classes from their in-development game Warhammer Online. They say catharsis is good for the soul, and the designers seem to have taken that to heart - they've let loose with the third beta update letter, filling all of us plebes in about how they're all having a great time without us (thank you very much).What's innit? This time around, there's a bit of discussion on populating and fleshing out the Tier 4 elf zones, as well as bunch more tantalizing information about the Tome of Knowledge. There's another look at the Swordmaster, from a design perspective, and a similar treatment for the Witch Elf. The best bit, though, has to be the discussion of the Trophy system. The Warhammer devs have promised lots of customization, and this is how they're going to manage it: by letting us put doo-dads on our characters. In a nutshell, as you unlock items in your Tome you will gain access to Trophy items that you can place on your character. Up to five trophy items that you can show at once, but you'll have from 11 to 15 slots to showcase them ... Our artists are slaving away so that you will have access to 100's of trophies to choose from. Just think of the combinations that you can achieve when you have 100+ trophies, five to select, and 11 different locations to equip them. Talk about visual specialization!
