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Eternal Crusade says founders program is not a crowdfunding campaign
Behaviour Interactive's Miguel Caron penned a Warhammer 40K: Eternal Crusade newsletter today for fans skeptical about the founders program announced last week. The purpose of the program, he explains, is to solicit feedback and provide value to the faithful, not to crowdfund the game, which he says is already fully financed but might see an earlier introduction of content thanks to the founders: "The founders programs might, with your help, move a few unannounced features that are currently planned for after launch... before launch." Caron also discusses the studio's commitment to transparency, expresses disdain for any sort of "marketing firewall between devs and fans," and hints that a playable game isn't too far off with this cryptic sentence: "You will soon land on Arkhona." We outlined the proposed founder program perks in a post earlier this month.
The Elder Scrolls Online expounds on Craglorn's 12-man trials
ZeniMax has just published a dev diary about the brand-new 12-player trials en route to The Elder Scrolls Online with its upcoming Craglorn patch. Trials, the studio stresses, are more than your average raid experience: One of the first things you'll notice about Trials is that they bring a new experience to ESO designed to test even the toughest veterans. You'll need a group of 12 to take them on, but they're not just dungeons that require a large group-we're applying additional pressure. Your team will only have a limited number of resurrections available, and additional rewards will be granted to those who defeat the weekly challenge with one of the top times across the megaserver. What makes 12 players the sweet spot for these encounters? ZeniMax hopes to downplay the organizational hassle of putting together groups, to telegraph fights without too much distraction, to keep them to about 90 minutes in length, and to appropriately rely on player skill rather than zerging. Another bonus raiders will welcome? No lockout timers! Scope out the video below for a first-hand look at the new trials.
Camelot Unchained dishes on design progress, racial lore
City State Entertainment's Mark Jacobs has been a busy bee over on the Camelot Unchained blog today, delivering two posts about the game. The first discusses the world editor and progress on the programming front. Writes Jacobs, We've kicked it up a notch with our combat system. We've now got character stats in the game. We've got more interesting abilities that can apply buffs and debuffs and affect your character's stats. Active effects on the character are passed to the UI layer so you can see what effects are active on your character. Abilities are saved to the database and updates can be pushed straight to the Live or Stable server. Cooldowns are in place and can affect one or more abilities. The second blog post includes new concept art and a lengthy lore piece on the Caretakers of the Tuatha De Danann. Enjoy both on the official site.
Make your own kind of music in Guild Wars 2
You could be forgiven for overlooking the new drum in Guild Wars 2's cash shop -- it's just a cosmetic thing for roleplayers who stand around town, right? Well, not exactly, and a developer diary from ArenaNet audio programmer Aaron McLeran aims to explain why you should care (and buy all the things). The drum actually allows players to select from two modes: a pre-set groove mode, which lets you auto-play several drum tracks solo or in time with other players' tracks, and user groove mode, which starts to travel into Lord of the Rings Online territory. Says McLeran, The first five skill buttons have five unique drum sounds respectively. Each sample can be triggered individually so the drum can perform like our previous instruments in free-play mode. The only difference is the drum will quantize beat events so that they always sound good to you – and in rhythm. If you push the sixth or seventh skill slot, you put the drum into "loop-record" mode. If this is the first time you've pushed it, you'll hear a nice little click-track (that only you can hear!) that gives you an idea of where the "global" pulse is. Think of it like a count off: "A one, a two, a one two three four!" Then, when you push the drum sample set skill buttons again, they'll actually loop back on themselves. You can build up ever more complicated and funky grooves. We just have one question: Where's our Bard class?
Camelot Unchained's producer's letter offers concept art, new storefront
Camelot Unchained's April producer's letter begins with an apology; the planned testing scheduled for the end of March was delayed because of goal pushbacks, writes producer Tyler Rockwell. But we're pretty sure you'll forgive the team as Rockwell has uploaded some new bits of concept art of the Giants of the Tuatha Dé Danann. The team is also teasing new and more functional forums as well as a new storefront, which will have "much-requested capabilities such as combining and upgrading pledges." "We know we need to pick up the pace over the next 5 months in order to hit Alpha on time, and that is our intent," Rockwell vowed. We've included the concept art after the break; just click the images to enlarge them.
Landmark roundtable video on giving the toolset love
In this week's Landmark roundtable video, SOE Senior Brand Manager Omeed Dariani is joined by Lead Building and UI Designer Jake Sones to discuss the results of a player poll about which Landmark tool needs the most work and love. Sones tells viewers that the results of the poll were even; apparently there's no one tool that needs serious work, just plenty of player sentiment that many of them need something. He specifically addresses changes being made to how tweak mode handles pasting large objects; ideally, the game will detach the preview from the mouse cursor and provide menus similar to those used by the prop tool. The pair also explain the studio's hesitation in implementing specialized and redundant tools like the cylinder tool, citing microvoxels -- a feature the developers didn't even know the game could do -- as something players came up with that might never have been discovered had every imaginable tool already existed to stifle their creativity. Enjoy the full video!
How Guild Wars 2 megaservers affect guilds, WvW, events, and world bosses
Yesterday, ArenaNet announced that it will soon begin to roll out megaserver technology for Guild Wars 2 in order to eliminate overflow and underpopulated servers. Today, it has delivered a pair of blog posts intended to clarify those plans. The first post tackles guilds and WvW. ArenaNet aims to unify guild chapters split across home-worlds so that all members contribute to and benefit from the same version of the guild. But the studio does note that WvW won't be negatively affected by megaservers and will continue to be based on competition between worlds. The second and more meaty entry focuses on world bosses and events. The API governing boss timers on individual worlds will be replaced by a more consistent schedule such that world boss events will start at the same time across the entire game. There's even a 24-hour proposed schedule ready to go.
Pathfinder Online's devs on dynamic escalations and new races
In the latest installment of the Pathfinder Online video blog, Goblinworks PvE designer Bob Settles joins lead designer Lee Hammock to discuss escalations and alternate races. Races are the simpler topic; Hammock explains that the team does plan to expand the available races significantly, noting that races that are flavors of other races are much easier to implement because of shared models. And what about escalations? "Escalation" is the team's fancy term for one of the game's many dynamic, hex-shaped zones that are reserved for monster spawns and can over time, well, escalate and expand to neighboring hexes, ramping up in scale and difficulty with elite bosses. Multiple escalation themes are discussed in the video, including escalations that allow participants to do something other than beat mobs into submission. Enjoy the video below.
World of Tanks unveils new 7v7 combat mode
Wargaming.net has just announced a brand-new combat mode for its tank-flavored MMO World of Tanks. The mode is a 7v7 random battles mode called Labyrinth. David Bowie is not included, but a new vehicle is: The only vehicle available in the upcoming mode will be the German self-propelled gun Karl-Gerät that will be added with Update 1.04 as well. Tankers will also get an original battle arena, developed specially for Labyrinth, as well as a new medal, awarded for exceptional performance in the new mode. The translated version of the latest WoT developer diary discusses the new combat mode in depth; we've got it embedded below. [Source: Wargaming press release]
World of Tanks to become better-looking than ever before in 2014
World of Tanks is poised to get a major graphics upgrade this year, and the devs want to show you a preview of the changes. Hopefully you're cool with that. Wargaming promises that the look of the game will become clearer, more realistic, and more detailed when the changes go into place. The team is utilizing advanced texture mapping and new material models to provide a higher level of visual fidelity than previously present. One of the big improvements is a giant leap in the polygon count for each tank, going from 8K-18K per vehicle currently to 50K-100K in the future. For more on this beautification process, check out the video after the jump!
Boatloads of classes are coming to Pathfinder Online
The latest Pathfinder Online video dev blog has arrived, and it features Goblinworks' Lee Hammock and Stephen Cheney answering questions about which classes will enter the game in which phase. The Fighter, Rogue, Wizard, and Cleric will be first during early enrollment, followed by the more crafting-based roles like the Aristocrat, Commoner, and Expert, and then the core classes of the Barbarian, Paladin, Sorcerer, and Bard. The Ranger, Druid, and Monk are likely to emerge during open enrollment. The accompanying blog post also explains how experience and skills will map from the tabletop game to the MMORPG. We've included the complete video diary below.
Massively Exclusive: RIFT reveals the Oracle soul
Tomorrow, Trion Worlds is set to reveal another of RIFT's planned new souls, the Oracle, but Massively has an exclusive preview and lore piece for you today. Arriving in RIFT's 2.7 upcoming patch, the Oracle is a Cleric soul that allows the equipper to buff and debuff large groups using water and death magic. Oracles arrive from a dark future where their mastery-level support skills have forestalled the annihilation of Telara. Gifted with powers of Water and Death, these versatile casters can lift entire raids to triumph with a repertoire of powerful boons, shields, heals, buffs, and curses. As a group member, they're indispensable. As an enemy, they're impossible to ignore. We've got another screenie and the official background story for the Oracle tucked after the cut. Read on!
Pathfinder Online opens new storefront, posts first video dev blog
The Goblinworks team has this evening posted several bits of news about its forthcoming sandbox, Pathfinder Online. The studio has revamped its website and opened a new store it's calling the Goblin Squad Store, a "portal for merchandise that is currently only available to Goblin Squad members." The store appears to be a way for would-be backers to toss some (or more) cash at the developers even though the Kickstarter has ended. In return, gamers can select from a lengthy list of add-ons both physical and digital, including tabletop miniatures, forum titles, gametime, and even a swanky messenger bag. If you're keen more on learning about the game than on funding it, the team's new video blog might be of more interest. The first of planned biweekly episodes went live tonight and features Goblinworks' Lee Hammock and Stephen Cheney explaining how slots and divine powers work in the game. We've embedded the vid behind the cut.
Landmark video diary hints at the Pulverizer, new harvesting tools
It's time for another EverQuest Next Landmark video dev diary. Your host is EQNL lead systems designer Michael Mann, and he's a got a lot to say about harvesting tools. He enlists a bit of help from lead character artist Kacey Helms, who takes viewers on a journey from in-game axe concept to finished in-game axe model. Next up is lead animator Aaron Carlson, who shows off mining animations, followed by VFX artist Lisa Charriere, who explains what SOE's thinking in terms of particle effects. Finally, we're treated to a sneak peak of the Pulverizer, which is a new tunneling tool currently in the works. Click past the cut for the full video!
Pathfinder Online's Ryan Dancey on crowdforging a 'minimum viable product'
In response to our recent editorial questioning whether we are in fact in the middle of a sandbox renaissance, Goblinworks CEO Ryan Dancey has penned a Massively-exclusive dev blog to explain why his game, Pathfinder Online, is indeed at the center of such a renaissance. Pathfinder was specifically mentioned in our article as a possible example of those pseudo-sandboxes that rely too heavily on creating a space for players to butcher each other without bothering to create the mechanics for anything else. Dancey hopes to clarify his game's outlook today. Read on for his dev blog, in which he discusses what he means by "minimum viable product," distances Pathfinder from the cripplingly expensive graphical arms race plaguing the industry, and elaborates on just how Goblinworks plans to roll out this "crowdforged" MMO.
Wakfu announces plans for crafting revamp
Ankama Games' quirky, cel-shaded, turn-based title Wakfu is tearing down its old crafting system and rebuilding it into something totally new. While the dev blog on the topic makes it clear that the final version of the crafting revamp is still subject to many changes, the basic idea behind it is to recreate crafting as a time-based system in which players assign crafting tasks to their (NPC) workers, with each task taking a variable amount of time to complete. Players can continue their adventures as usual while their workers complete a task, so there's no need to park your character and go make a sandwich while he crafts. Each crafting task occupies a craft slot, with each character beginning their crafting career with a single slot. Players can unlock additional task slots (allowing more crafting tasks to be completed simultaneously) by completing crafting achievements, up to a maximum of nine slots. In addition to this new crafting system, the revamp will also introduce a contract system that will allow buyers to place orders with their crafters of choice, complete with the tools for price negotiation and the ability for buyers to supply the required materials to the crafters. When a contract is completed, the item is delivered directly to the buyer's inventory upon its completion, making for a hassle-free shopping experience. All the finer details on Wakfu's proposed crafting revamp can be found in the full dev blog on the game's official site. [Thanks to Avaera for the tip!]
SOE teases Landmark development plan, polls build contests
Sony Online Entertainment director of development Dave Georgeson has posted a new update over on the official EverQuest Next Landmark forum outlining the team's plans for moving forward and asking players for opinions on possible upcoming build contests. In the post, Georgeson notes that SOE's first order of business with Landmark is focusing on communications, rating systems, and ways for players to better cooperate with one another. Teams will also be working on systems like combat, AI, and water. Additionally, Georgeson revealed that SOE is going to start running Landmark building contests. The first contest revolves around designing a landmark for island hubs, but future contests are left up to a poll in the post. Choices include homages to buildings in previous EverQuest games, new architecture for Norrath, and genre-specific contests that center on modern, sci-fi, or fantasy designs. You can vote for your preference on Georgeson's forum post.
Count the amazings in this Lightning Returns dev diary
Ali Hillis, the voice of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII heroine Lightning, narrates this 30-minute developer diary on Square Enix and the team behind the conclusion of the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy. Everything is discussed, from how Square Enix came up with Lightning Returns' premise down to how the developer managed to cram more ladders into the game. Yep. Director Motomu Toriyama and producer Yoshinori Kitase wax poetic about the collaborative creation process at Square Enix, but we quite like the segments provided by the sound engineers, environmental artists and programmers who one day dreamed of working at Square Enix – and made those dreams come true. It's heart-warming stuff. This behind-the-scenes featurette covers way more than we could relay in a single post, so grab a beverage and a snack, settle in and hit the play button above. Also, see if you can keep track of how many times the word "amazing" is used – we lost count. [Image: Square Enix]
Dreamfall Chapters gameplay video shows social side of adventure game
Red Thread Games have released a gameplay demonstration video of Dreamfall Chapters: The Longest Journey, their Kickstarter-funded entry in the Longest Journey series. The video showcases almost 30 minutes of pre-alpha gameplay, complete with developer commentary. The game's dialogue system works a bit differently than most adventure games; before making a choice, a player will hear the thoughts of the character they are playing. This could help inform decisions or reveal more about a character. Creative Director Ragnar Tornquist states in the video that the feature will be of particular benefit to players who haven't played the previous two games in the series, since they'll be able to understand situations that would otherwise be confusing. When given a choice between mercy killing a prisoner, the team also showed how it was possible to bring up statistics that showed how many people chose each option. "We're giving sort of a social element to the single-player, story-based experience by letting you see what the world has chosen and what your friends have chosen," Tornquist says in the video. Tornquist also points out that while every moment can be shared, they don't have to be; players will have the option to turn off the feature. It won't be a long journey before players can test it out for themselves - Dreamfall Chapters is slated to arrive on PC, Mac and Linux in November of this year, with a Wii U release sometime after.
Age of Conan director's letter talks achievements and PvP
Age of Conan senior designer Matthew Bennett stepped in to author the game's most recent director's letter, and in doing so offered updates on AoC's long awaited achievement system as well as some valuable intel on the state of PvP items. According to Bennett, the Age of Conan team has a rough design in place for achievements that centers on broad categories like PvE, exploration, and dungeons, with sub-categories being designed for each. Bennett also explained that the dev team is taking a hard look at Tier 3 PvP gear by working to re-balance stats on key items to make them more useful and up their damage output to an appropriate level. The PvP team is also working on Tier 4 PvP items. Finally, Bennett reminded players that starting in February, Portents will return to their normal cycle of starting on the first Wednesday of the month and lasting until the following Tuesday. As for the big things like The Palace of Cetriss raid and Age of Conan's new tradeskill system? While not the focus of this particular letter, those key game elements are still in development.
