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Landmark video goes spelunking in caves
Caves are boring, right? WRONG! Well, wrong if you're in Landmark, at least. Caves are a relatively new and unfinished feature to the game, and in a new video, the developers attempt to explain what makes them an exciting part of the exploration process. Landmark's caves are layered on top of each other, with each cave system corresponding to the surface biome. Right now, players can delve into only the first tier of caves, but in the future they'll be able to go as far as three tiers down in the search for treasure and crafting mats. You can watch the full developer video after the jump!
E3 2014: Underground and underwater with Landmark's Terry Michaels
You didn't need to be at E3 2014 to partake in Landmark's latest (literally) groundbbreaking patch. In fact, if you were at the con as I was, chances are you haven't been able to log in and experience it for yourself yet! Luckily, Senior Producer Terry Michaels was on hand to offer me a peek at the new features before I broke down in heap of deprivation-induced agony from my Landmark withdrawals. What was the big deal with this latest update? It included the first iteration of caves and the second phase of water. Players can now go spelunking deep in the earth to find large veins of minerals, explore uncharted biomes with new plants, and even find treasure chests filled with special items. On top of that, they can swim through the bright blue oceans that surround each island. As Michaels helped me get my Landmark fix, we talked about everything from the newest content to heroic movement to my pet topics: player books and theme-enforced islands. Oh, and did I mention that combat is planned to appear by SOE Live in August?
Caves and swimming come to Landmark
It's Big Patch Day over at Landmark, and the new caves are the darling of the update. These underworld passages (are there any other types of caves?) offer a different type of environment to explore and exploit. Larger deposits of ore and special treasure chests are the rewards that the dev team is dangling to prospective spelunkers. Interestingly enough, these caves are only the first "phase" of several that will see these subterranian landscapes expanded. Other additions in today's patch include underground resource detection, the ability to swim, a makeover to plant harvesting, and tweaks to trees and potions. You can read up on the patch notes on the official forums and watch a preview video of Landmark's caves after the break!
Caves won't bring universal claim wipe in Landmark
If you've been holding back from building in Landmark because of the impending claim wipe when caves are introduced, feel free to dig in now. There's no universal wipe! Director of Development Dave Georgeson expounded on the change in plans during last night's Landmark Live. "We found a way by which we do not have to wipe all the claims when we put up the cave entrances," he said. If you have a claim placed where the caverns end up, it will be packed in a template for you to use elsewhere. Georgeson went on to assure players that there are only a few entrances to these caves on each island, so very few players will be displaced. To hear more about next week's Landmark patch (including smoothing tool upgrades and more metal textures) as well as see the first 19 winners of the Landmarks of Landmark contest, you can watch the full recorded stream after the break.
Landmark updates testing blueprint
EverQuest Franchise Lead Dave Georgeson critted Landmark testers with a wall of text late last night, updating the community on the plans for the game's features rollout over the next four months. To sum up the huge list: Early May: The addition of oceans, cave networks, Player Studio, and some quick fixes to help new players catch up such as a progression path diagram and the placement of basic crafting tables at the Hub. Late May: The team will add customer service tools, "crafting 2.0," treasure chests (and loot!), voice chat, underwater effects, map improvements, a minimap, and lots more music from Jeremy Soule. June: June will see a personal interface for Player Studio put in, the advent of glass and water as a building material, a revamp to the claim system, improved character creation, resource swapping, a death system, shields, recipe books, achievements, "chat 2.0," the fog of war on the map, and a "surprise feature." July: By the middle of summer, Landmark will introduce ensemble outfit pieces, the combat system, pathing, craftable abilities, physics, monsters, SOEmote, and bodies of water other than oceans. August: The last month on the blueprint will contain (for now) building tool refinements, mounts, and dynamic water.
One Shots: TGIF
It's Friday in the virtual Massively HQ, land of ethernet, cheetos and way too many pop-culture jokes! That means it's time to make plans for the weekend's events. We figure a lot of people are going to be doing some of the same things that we'll be doing here -- checking out the new Iron Man movie, or perhaps playing GTA IV, or just relaxing in our MMOs of choice. As such, we have today's awesome One Shots, courtesy of Vital Spark who had been putting the smack down on some Trolls in City of Heroes, and realized this was a perfect shot to lead into a great weekend of fun! Do you have any MMOing on tap for this weekend? If so, you should snag some screens and send them our way! There's a lot going on out there, and we want to see what you're up to! Pop them into an email to oneshots AT massively DOT com, and relax. We'll do all the work from there!%Gallery-9798%
