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GDCO 2010: Heatwave talks Gods and Heroes
MMOCrunch has checked in with an interesting bit of news from GDCO. The off-again on-again saga of the Gods and Heroes IP was the subject of a bit of show-and-tell at the recently concluded convention, courtesy of Heatwave Interactive. Development on the classical mythology MMO stagnated following the demise of project originator Perpetual Entertainment in early 2008 before Heatwave resuscitated the game. Heatwave confirmed that players will still take on the role of a demi-god, pledging their loyalty to the Roman deity of their choice and following a class-based progression paradigm that includes control over various types of pets known as minions. While Perpetual had initially planned on each player's being able to control up to 24 minions, Heatwave hinted at the fact that the team has scaled this number down considerably to a more manageable four minions per player. Read all about the resurrection of Gods and Heroes over at MMOCrunch, and keep your eyes on Massively for more news about the title as it happens.
LEGO Universe unleashes Comic-Con videos
If you didn't make it to this year's Comic-Con, you're missing out on a brick-ton of new information on the forthcoming LEGO Universe MMORPG. Luckily MMOCrunch has you covered in a piece that mentions the game's four playable factions (Assembly, Sentinels, Paradox, and Venture League). Each faction is built to cater to a different type of player, and though you're probably smart enough to figure them out on your own (you played with LEGO bricks after all), they correspond to builders, warriors, ninjas, and explorers. While it's not quite in line with the famous achiever, explorer, socializer, and killer metric made famous by Bartle, it's nice to see the LEGO team designing the title with a wide audience in mind. Also debuting at Comic-Con this week are three new videos featuring the factions, Pet Cove and taming footage, and a piece highlighting various LEGO Universe development partners. Check them out after the cut or at MMOCrunch.
What makes a good MMO?
"What makes a good MMO?" If you ask a thousand players that question, you will get -- at the very least -- a thousand different answers. While the concepts of good and bad when referring to a game are entirely a matter of individual opinion, there are presumably a few foundational elements that most players can agree on, and Russell from MMOCrunch tackled this topic in yesterday's blog entry. He listed several "key factors" that he feels make a good MMO. The first point he touched on was some sort of in-game holiday event. Nearly every game has something to acknowledge the holidays, whichever ones you might celebrate, and Russell referred to them as a sort of "holiday thank you from the game developers." Another item on the list was one that we've seen come up time and again: good communication with your fellow players. Keeping in touch with the community helps to keep the game from becoming stale. These are just a few points touched on, so be sure to read through the full entry and see if you agree. Again, there are as many opinions on what makes a game great as there are players out there, but this provides some good food for thought, and is one worth taking some time to read.
Star Wars Galaxies' Galactic War update jumps onto test server
When patches hit the test server, it's almost like an official patch day, but without the luster of permanence. Still, Star Wars Galaxies players can now check out (and help bug test!) the Galactic War update on the game's test server. The update is loaded with a substantial ranking system that aims to supply players with a bevy of new rewards to earn -- seriously, the amount of rewards is simply staggering. Seems like a pretty good deal, assuming you're interested in fighting for your faction. Then again, what member of the Rebels or Empire wouldn't want to kick butt and take names for, well, glory? Mmm, glory, it's almost as delicious as bacon with twice the daily fiber content. You can check out the enormous list of new mechanics on the official SWG site, and if you'd like to dive deeper -- and maybe give some input -- there's always the official forums, too. [via MMOCrunch] [Link fixed. We apologize for the simple, non-SWG-hating, post-NGE-loving oversight - Editor]
Cryptic's Bill Roper on balancing powers in Champions Online
When news came in of the Champions Online launch being delayed to September, a few of the writers at Massively were despondent. It's always better for a game to launch once it's solid rather than release in a buggy state, though. While we wait for the re-scheduled September 1st launch, we're keeping up with the news and interviews surrounding the upcoming superhero title. In fact, we've just come across an MMOCrunch interview with Bill Roper, executive producer of Champions Online you might be interested in. Roper gets into how some of the game mechanics in Champions Online will play out, and explains a bit about how travel powers like flight and teleportation can be countered by those without such capabilities. (For example, how does a ground-based melee character engage a kiting opponent in flight?) He also touches upon the game's sidekick system, which will allow newer players to temporarily boost their powers to keep up with higher level friends. Alternately, the sidekick system will give advanced characters the ability to tone their powers down to the level of their appallingly weak lower level buddies.
Counterpoint on Warhammer Online's Fortress siege population caps
We reported earlier this week that Warhammer Online has been having some issues with Fortress sieges, and opted to implement a solution -- population thresholds. That solution has led to fewer Fortress-related crashes and overall improved performance, but not everyone is as enthusiastic about the changes Mythic has made to Warhammer Online. A good example of this type of dissent among the WAR ranks can be found at MMOCrunch in a criticism written by Paragus. He takes aim at the Tier 4 campaign changes to Fortresses and states that imposing population thresholds diminishes the very thing WAR bills itself as -- a massive realm-vs.-realm game. He doesn't pull any punches when he states, "The fact that they are trying to spin this by saying 'to allow even more players to participate' by capping population in a given area only makes me feel better about pulling my guild out of this game. I'll be waiting for the flames from Warhammer fans."
That's it, I'm quitting MMOs forever!
MMO burnout is an interesting creature. Rarely do people who quit MMOs do it quietly; it's usually crowned by a forum or blog post addressing the fact that this person has now "found a life" and are going outside more. In the process of burning bridges, these posts usually make two distinctively recycled points: All MMO players are overweight, and they never leave the house.Such is a recent post at MMOCrunch regarding a player who has quit MMOs forever. Burnout is certainly understandable, especially in today's oversaturated market, but it's the method of the quitting that's always interesting to us. What does this say about MMOs and their impact on us, as players? Do people quit scrapbooking by burning their fancy paper and glue-on letters?
Age of Conan: A postmortem analysis?
Ouch. That word pretty much sums up this article we found over at MMOCrunch regarding their opinion on the current state of Age of Conan. As declared in the article, it wasn't written to convince potential players that the game is bad (although... uh, it does?), or to tell current players that their game sucks, but it was addressed to Funcom and any other MMO developers out there currently working on a game to let them know why they're sometimes referred to as "Failcom" by the community.This article is harsh, straight to the point and pulls no punches. That's exactly what we love. But whether you agree or disagree with the author's prognosis, these MMO postmortem articles are always written to charge people up. Give it a read and let us know what you think. Having fun in Conan's homeland? Make sure to check out all of our previous Age of Conan coverage, and stick with Massively for more news from the Hyborian Age!
Should there be a WoW killer?
First off, this post is not part of giant campaign to promote World of Warcraft, Age of Conan or any other game. This post is based on two things: a recent opinion piece at MMOCrunch regarding AoC's "demise", and an eyebrow-lifting quote from Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime that says "40% of the World of Warcraft subscribers that left for Age of Conan have since returned."The post at MMOCrunch points out a few interesting issues on both sides of the fence. First off, there's Morhaime's quote, coupled with recent AoC numbers that range from 1 million subscribers at launch to 700,000 on June 30th to the recent report of 400,000 subscribers remaining. On the WoW side, they point to another article claiming that Blizzard's recent Recruit-a-Friend campaign is a cry of desperation against falling subscriber numbers. Either way you look at it, and no matter what you actually believe, many are obsessed with WoW's success and every time it rises or falls, new speculations and theories arise. So will there ever really be a WoW killer, or should new developers just take the approach of Paul Barnett and aim more towards being the Led Zeppelin to their Beatles?
IP vs. IP: Is LotRO better than AoC?
Let's face it, in the past, big-name intellectual properties in the form of an MMO haven't fared too well. We're looking at you, Matrix Online. However, Lord of the Rings Online has proven that the curse of the brand IP might be breakable. Enter Age of Conan. As an IP, the game is touted as being exactly what Robert E. Howard would have made, if he were an MMO developer. Although according to a recent article at MMOcrunch, they're not exactly seeing it that way.The article, entitled Why LotRO is Better than AoC, touches on many of the current problems in this Funcom blockbuster, as the writer gives their opinion on how and why it just doesn't do it for them. The predominant message here seems to be that they don't understand why Funcom left all the good stuff for the end of the game. Why play 100+ hours to get to the actual fun part? Is this something we'll see from more developers in the future, or will they learn from the mistakes of current MMOs and just give us the goodies right up front. It breaks down to that fundamental question we ask from MMOs: should you need to work towards an ultimate goal, or should you be able to just have fun the entire time? Can't we have both?
MMO 2.0 and the next generation of online gaming
Geoff at MMOCrunch wrote an interesting piece on the 'next gen' in online gaming. Specifically, why there is no next gen. He comments on some of the recent successes in the MMO space, namely the subscription numbers of the Big Five MMO's and the smooth release of Age of Conan. He also hails EVE Online's break from typical MMO archetypes as a kind of successful deviance, but one that hasn't truly changed how we play. The forward momentum in the online gaming industry has brought a great deal of fanfare but little true innovation, Geoff asserts. Sure, some MMO's are successful, but it seems they're all a re-hash of what's been done before. A little more polish, a few more features... he laments the fact that "there seems to be very little that is truly pushing the genre towards the next step." He looks to how the web has changed, improved exponentially, while online gaming hasn't kept pace.
On the subject of risky MMO sequels
One of the biggest problems an MMO developer faces -- after successfully launching their game and achieving a healthy bases of subscribers -- is keeping their game fresh. In some cases, developers have attempted a sequel, but the problem with that lies in getting the player base to move over. EverQuest 2, Asheron's Call 2 and Linage 2 all faced seemingly lower subscription numbers than their predecessors. It would seem that sequels -- while able to be successful -- don't live up to the same success that the original games had. It's possible there could be an exception to the rule someday, but so far there hasn't been.
Are MMOs killing single player RPGs?
With MMOs springing up like weeds in every corner of the game industry, some are beginning to wonder if this recent trend isn't spelling the end for old-fashioned single-player RPGs. Just a decade ago, turn-based Japanese RPGs reigned supreme on consoles, and Western-style RPGs in the vein of Baldur's Gate were the big sellers on PCs. Nowadays, these titles are becoming few and far between. Sure, you've got your occasional Mass Effect and your Final Fantasy XIII, but for some, the writing is already on the wall.At Massively, we think the landscape is considerably more complicated than that. For our part, we've noticed how MMOs are increasingly focusing on single player content, allowing the casual player to solo his way through entire games in some cases, if he so chooses. Instead of single-player games dying in the face of their multiplayer counterparts, it looks to us like the two are just learning from each other and moving towards some of homogeneous hybrid. There's room for debate (when isn't there, really), but we don't think it's time for doom and gloom just yet.
Win two Mythos beta invites, lose yourself
There's a contest going on at MMOCrunch until Monday January 21st at 10:00 am PST, where two lucky people can each win a Mythos beta invite. Now, we know what you're probably thinking, "These beta invites are everywhere!" and you're right, Mythos beta invites are practically falling out of the sky. However, some readers out there haven't gotten in on the chopping, hacking, slashing action yet and as fellow hack n' slash junkies we feel for them.It's a good thing people in this beta are so giving, because if you haven't tried Mythos yet you really should. We do feel that we should warn you, however. If you're the type of person who gets incredibly addicted to pointing, clicking and subsequently killing/maiming/exploding all sorts of enemies you might want to think twice. Many of you surely have families, friends and concentrated doses of the free-to-play monster may be detrimental to your life.For those of you not sure what all the fuss is about, check this video out.
Turbine is holding your credit card hostage
MMOCrunch has a customer service horror story up about trying to get their credit card info back from Turbine. After Mike canceled his Lord of the Rings Online account, he tried to get his credit card information off of Turbine's servers, but they told him that if he did that, he would never be able to play his copy of that game ever again. They told him that once he "deactivated the account," he would never, ever be able to reactivate it again.Now, there aren't that many companies out there that will actually delete your credit card information and let you keep your account-- I'm told that NCSoft will let you "remove card" from your account, but that's pretty much it. So Turbine's inability to remove the card from the account isn't surprising. What is surprising, however, is that by deactivating your account, they remove the ability to ever play with that disc's key again. Turbine's LotRO EULA says nothing about canceling your account, either, although it does say that if they "are unable to verify or authenticate any information you provide to us," then they can "terminate your license to the Software."But whether it's legal or not, what's the point of spending $50 on a game disc when, after canceling your subscription, that disc becomes a coaster? Not cool for Turbine to break the game you paid for just because you'd like to keep your credit card information as safe as possible.
