Bryan-Ekman
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Transverse used to be Wing Commander Online
Transverse, the new crowdfund project from Piranha Games, could have been called something far different and more familiar: Wing Commander Online. Piranha Creative Director Bryan Ekman confirmed that the studio currently holds the Wing Commander license but decided to go another way: "By late 2013 we found ourselves in possession of an exclusive license to Wing Commander and assembling a small team to craft a new experience. We spent six months developing, designing, and working on a marketing video with help from outsourcing partners [...] We reached a pivotal moment when some of our best design ideas were being pushed to the side as they just didn't fit within the constraints of a WC game. We looked carefully at what our WCO product was, looked at other competing products, and decided that we needed to move away from the Wing Commander universe." Ekman said that if Transverse does not completely fund by the end of its campaign, the studio will fully refund its backers and investigate "traditional models" for investment. In the meantime, the entire studio has been shadowbanned from Reddit for creating a Transverse sub and is looking to overturn the ban.
MechWarrior Online looks forward to the next month
Are you ready for another month of MechWarrior Online? The team behind the game certainly is. Creative Director Bryan Ekman took to the forums to outline what players can expect from the next month of updates, including items for players who purchase one of the game's Phoenix packages (aside from the Saber tier) before October 15th. That includes bugfixes, new content, and of course new 'Mechs to enjoy. Slated for release this month are the Locust, the Hero Atlas, and the Champion Spider, along with the Shadow Hawk, Thunderbolt, and Battlemaster 'Mechs for Phoenix package owners. The game will also drop a new map and a new paint pattern. Meanwhile, the team is working hard on optimizing game performance and UI accessibility. The letter closes by examining where several proposed pieces of the Community Warfare are in the development process. Dedicated MechWarriors will want to take a careful look at what's coming up next and probably start blasting away in preparation.
MechWarrior Online devs talk Update 15, new UI, new mechs
Mechwarrior Online is about to hit its fifth month of open beta, with promises of a late summer launch. With that launch comes continued production, new content, plenty of bug fixes, and tweaks. With all of the new content -- said to be delivered on a regular schedule -- comes plenty of challenges for the developer team. We sat down with Piranha Games' creative director, Bryan Ekman, and president, Russ Bullock, to talk about how things have been going and where they're going in the future. Not only did we get the scoop on the next community-designed Mech to be released, but we also found out about new HUD improvements, aid for players who suffer from high ping, and much more. Click past the cut for all the details!
Mechwarrior Online has big plans for March
March is upon us! March has actually been upon us for a handful of days, but those days were lame. Now is the time of awesome days, and those days will be full of updates and new features for MechWarrior Online. Creative Director Bryan Ekman has laid out the team's plan for the coming month. Training grounds, an offline game mode that loads a player into a random map with eight enemy targets to test out their current 'Mech, will be made available. This game mode is "just the beginning" of an incoming wealth of training options. Consumables will extend the module system and will be available for C-Bill and MC purchase. A host of UI, user controls, and statistics-tracking improvements are coming in, as is Tourmaline Desert, MWO's largest map to date. The ability to acquire fuzzy dice for one's cockpit has been hinted at. You know what to do, soldiers.
MechWarrior Online dev Q&A covers beta, grouping, and combat damage
MechWarrior Online's devs aren't quite ready to disclose specifics on the game's minimum specs or beta process, but news for both is coming "soon." These vague assurances were the anomaly in a recent community Q&A, during which Piranha Games President Russ Bullock and Creative Director Bryan Ekman spilled on all of the minutia that fans were dying to know. The duo said that they're "working very hard" to get MWO servers into every major region and that information about beta will be coming next week. They did confirm that there will be an open beta at some juncture, however. Other details disclosed included the fact that players can form groups of up to 12 'Mechs, that legs cannot be blown off (but can be immobilized), and that the launch matchmaking system will be very basic and won't take into account player skill or records.
MechWarrior Online interviews a trio of devs, hilarity ensues
Piranha Games, the studio behind the upcoming MechWarrior Online, has Hposted a new developer interview with not one, not two, but three members of the MWO team: David Bradley, Bryan Ekman, and Paul Inouye.The devs give a short history of their gaming industry experiences before being pelted with a barrage of questions detailing what they bring to the game, what makes MechWarrior Online different from their past projects, what playstyles they prefer, and more. There are a few nuggets of good information in the post, as well as some great humor as the devs banter with and antagonize one another. For the full Q&A, just head on over to the MechWarrior Online official forums.
Previewing the nuts and bolts of MechWarrior Online
MechWarrior Online might just be one of the most exciting titles to be announced in recent times. If you have ever played any version of the game or have ever enjoyed stomping around in the Battletech universe, you'll be happy to know that, yes, the new online game is actually being made. While the IP will soon turn 30 years old, it's still very popular. Some of us remember painting metal figures to place into our tiny lances, while others have fond memories of jumping and shooting, jumping and shooting, jumping and shooting. Massively joined the press roundtable for the game this week and snagged some juicy information. We talked with Piranha Games' President Russ Bullock and Creative Director Bryan Ekman about how the development process is going, how their philosophies influence design, and how the game will actually play. Click past the cut, and watch out for heat!
Piranha: MechWarrior's F2P model not pay-to-win
Concerned about the free-to-play nature of the newly announced MechWarrior Online title? You shouldn't be, according to the latest Piranha Games dev blog. The big wall o' text comes courtesy of one Bryan Ekman, who says that the new battle mech game will definitely not be pay-to-win. "One of our core pillars is role warfare and [it] is designed to, well –- level the playing field –- another concept from our original design. We're doing away with the arms race and making battle mechs of all shapes and sizes have a purpose and role on the battlefield," Ekman says. Why should players spend any money, then? That's not as clear, though the blog does touch on the usual F2P bullet points of convenience and acquisition speed. Get out your PR decoder rings and head to the official MechWarrior Online website for more info. [Update: A second blog post outlines the team's reveal plans in the coming weeks. Thanks to nimzy for the tip!]
