faction-pride
Latest
PlanetSide 2 takes a ride with Azure Twilight of the Vanu Sovereignty
Earlier this week, PlanetSide 2 unveiled a video of the Terran Republic's Black Widow Company showing off how they roll. If you favor the Terran Republic, that's obviously a good thing. If you're more in line with the Vanu Sovereignty, then you'll be very happy to know that the newest video from Sony Online Entertainment features the Azure Twilight outfit showing how they rock the battle for planetary dominance Vanu-style. Even with only a short time left before the game goes live on November 20th, the developers are still looking for new videos of groups taking the battle to their enemies with a full dose of factional pride. Still, the Vanu can take heart in knowing that this time, they're second to none in the "looking dangerous while set to aggressive music" category. So jump on past the break and fly your flags, Vanu players. (New Conglomerate players are allowed to scowl in irritation at being last.) [Source: SOE press release]
Gamescom 2012: Matt Higby sheds light on PlanetSide 2's factions and design
PlanetSide engendered some fierce faction loyalty, which carries over quite naturally to PlanetSide 2. According to Matt Higby in a new interview at Gamescom 2012, every faction's players feel like their faction needs more attention in the early release material. The main challenge of design is keeping all three factions balanced while ensuring that all three are different enough to feel distinct. Higby stresses that the team is trying to push the differences as far as possible without creating balance problems. Another major issue that Higby brings up is ensuring that new players can get into the game without removing anything that old players enjoyed about the original. That means new mechanics to help players drop in if they've never played before, but the same core design of gathering hundreds of players to accomplish sweeping tactical objectives. Check out the full video after the break for more of Higby's insights into design; the video starts off in German, but the interview itself is in English.
Breakfast Topic: Is "For the Horde" obsolete?
Dave Kosak sent out a tweet recently asking for appropriate rallying cries for the Alliance. Of course, the predictable responses ensued (the last time I looked, "Not in the face!" was the clear leader), but the discussion led me down a different line of reasoning altogether. Besides the orcs, who's really "For the Horde!" anymore? The Forsaken are busy doing their own thing, as they always have. Vol'jin and the trolls were last seen sending emissaries to the Alliance to help contain the Zandalari. The tauren are still mourning Cairne and have little love for Garrosh. The blood elves lost their reason to stay in the Horde at the end of The Burning Crusade and seem to be sustained solely by inertia at this point. The only loyal Hordies left are the orcs themselves and the goblins, a race long known for their steadfast loyalties. Of course, the Alliance isn't all too chummy, either. What do you think? Do the races need new battle cries, or will Mists of Pandaria spur a new wave of unity?
LEGO Universe unveils May contest schedule
May in LEGO Universe is all about faction pride, and as such, players are invited to participate in a host of exciting contests to demonstrate their factions' superiority. Well, that and win prizes. You can have your blocky cake and eat it in LEGO Universe! The site has posted its May contest schedule for your edification: All month: Join the community effort is underway to build the Nexus Tower via donations. May 7-8: Race in the LEGO Grand Prix, which will take place at a soon-to-be revealed location. May 14-15: Take aim and fire during the Shooting Gallery Showdown, where players will try to hit enemy ships and creatures in the water. May 21-22: Submit your best faction screenshot for a shot at several prizes. May 28-29: Unite with your faction in the Battle for Nimbus Station! Take a gander at the contest details and the many, many goodies you can win over at LEGO Universe.
A lack of Alliance pride
Larisa makes an interesting observation about the Battlecry mosaic that's being assembled over on Blizzard's website. There certainly are a lot of Horde symbols there, and not quite so many Alliance symbols. The best information we have access to actually says that Alliance outnumber the Horde, and ancedotally, we know that's probably true. So why aren't the Alliance representing? Now, it could just be specific to this outlet -- perhaps Horde players spend more time online, or have more free time in general, and thus have the knowhow and chance to submit their pictures. But this issue has come up before (on our podcast as well): while many Horde players are ready to jump in and shout "For the Horde!" at a moment's notice, not so many Alliance players are as open about their allegiances. As Larisa asks: where's the faction pride?
Fan pictures added to the Battlecry mosaic
We posted about Blizzard's Warcraft anniversary minisite a while back, and since then, they've been busy, filling it up with even more content. The community interviews and the new Blizzcast haven't yet appeared, but there are many, many pictures on the Battlecry mosaic submissions section. Pages and pages of fans showing their support for the Horde or the Alliance. It's quite a sight to see, actually -- the pictures range from the straightforward to the silly to the very involved (one couple's posed up with their t-shirts and Frostmourne and logo and everything). There's quite a few whole-guild pics too. There's 43 pages total, so it's a lot to look through, but it's definitely worth a browse. Ancilorn reminds us, also, that this is a contest -- as more and more pictures from each faction roll in, we'll have access to some mosaic art using these actual pictures, the first piece of which was just revealed today. They've featured some of their favorite pictures over on the Facebook page as well. This is turning out to be a pretty cool idea, and as I said in the original post, I bet we'll be seeing these pictures in lots of other places in the future.
[1.Local]: Making ourselves at home
Reader comments – ahh, yes, the juicy goodness following a meaty post. [1.Local] ducks past the swinging doors to see what readers have been chatting about in the back room over the past week.Welcome home to WoW.com. Moving into a new place can be hectic, but we think our new digs at WoW.com are pretty darn comfy. In addition to a fresh face and identity for WoW Insider, we've introduced the beta launch of WoW.com Profiles. Show off your characters with a profile on WoW.com. By downloading the WoW.com addon, you can also keep all of your friends up to date on what you're doing in game, and make blog posts and upload screenshots directly from your game client. Not a big fan of the social media scene? You don't have to change a thing – WoW.com offers all the old content you know (and hopefully love) so well. "If I'm being honest, when I first saw that the site had changed, I didn't really 'feel it,'" commented reader Retropally. "After days of it sinking in, I'm loving it. The new theme is awesome -- and really, nothing has changed in the way of the posts that are written ..."Join the [1.Local] gang and add your thoughts about our new look and social features -- and hop on across the fold to see what else readers were chatting about during the past week.
