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PlanetSide 2 shows off PlayStation 4 graphics
Sony Online Entertainment is gearing PlanetSide 2 players up for the upcoming release on the PlayStation 4 by showing off a couple new screenshots with the PS4 graphics. These teaser images are photos of a screen (probably not the best way to show off new graphics to the internet), but of particular interest to fans is the inclusion of the PlayStation Vita in one of the shots. The strategic placement of the Vita and box hint that it's not accident, but we have no official word yet on the Vita's role in the game -- or a release date for the PS4 version either, for that matter. Check out the two new screenshots included after the cut.
PlanetSide 2 explains new implant system
PlanetSide 2 has loot for the first-time ever in the form of implants. The ins and outs of this brand-new system are explained in-depth in a new dev video. Players begin with an enhanced targeting implant (that tosses up player names and health bars onto the HUD) but can swap those out for more interesting ones, such as implants that protect you from fall damage or that mark players who have shot you. Implants need a charge to function, and players can either earn or pay for chargers to power these. SOE said that it is definitely listening to players for ideas for future implants. Check out the full video after the break and let us know what you think of this system!
War Thunder launches Ground Forces, complete with trailer
Have you ever sat down to play War Thunder and thought to yourself that it's missing something? Maybe you have. Maybe you've though that what it really needs is tanks. A lot of them. An entire world of them. They could call it something compelling, like... how about "Planet of Armored Vehicles?" Or Ground Forces, that would make sense too. Especially since that's what the team at Gaijin Entertainment did call it. Yes, the Ground Forces expansion is now live, allowing every player to take part in a landscape of mechanized weaponry. There's a launch trailer just past the cut celebrating the inclusion of this global set of armored artillery, complete with plenty of shots of planes being shot down by anti-air vehicles. So if you like the idea of taking the gameplay out of the air and onto the ground, the game has you covered now.
EVE Fanfest 2015 dated, tix discounted for limited time
EVE Fanfest 2014 is still a recent and warm (if scandal-ridden) memory, but CCP is already looking ahead to next year. The studio opened the doors today for fans to pick up tickets to next year's convention. EVE Fanfest 2015 is scheduled for March 19th through the 21st, 2015, at the same place it's been in Reykjavik, Iceland. The studio says that in keeping with the space-themed MMO, there will be an observable solar eclipse during the event. CCP is offering several tiers of early discounts, starting with the current early bird limited special offer. While the regular price for the tickets will be $200, players can pick theirs up right now for $125 or 13 PLEX apiece.
EVE Evolved: Eleven years of EVE Online
It seems that every year another few MMOs have closed their doors or convert to free-to-play business models to stay afloat. EVE Online has always enjoyed a level of insulation from these market trends elsewhere in the genre, and just last week on May 6th it celebrated its 11th year of year-on-year subscription growth. Following on from my previous column celebrating the EVE Evolved column's sixth year of operation, this week I'll be summarising all the major EVE news stories throughout the year. It's been a big year for EVE fans, one that many of us can be proud to have been a part of. The EVE community turned its financial wizardry toward the real world and raised over $190,000 US in relief aid following a typhoon hitting the Philippines, and CCP even built a monument dedicated to the community. Several massive player battles once again put EVE on the global media's radars, and the Odyssey and Rubicon expansions revitalised the game for explorers and PvPers alike. But not everyone can hold his heads up high this year, with details of more cyberbullying within EVE coming to light and several players being banned for defacing the EVE monument in Reykjavik. In this anniversary retrospective, I summarise all the major EVE news from the year in one place and take a look at what the future may hold for the EVE universe.
SOE announces game-specific player events for SOE Live
Are you headed to SOE Live this summer? We are, even if the game list is a tad shorter than in previous years. And that's why we're excited to see SOE's latest official post about the convention, set to run in Las Vegas, Nevada, this coming August 14th to 17th. The studio has announced special events for several of the games it plans to feature at the event: Plane raids await EverQuest fans. Deck-building games and PvP tournaments lie in store for DC Universe Online players. EverQuest II players will participate in speed instances and a murder mystery quest. Landmark devotees will be treated to a mega-build event and a harvesting-themed dice event. Finally, the studio has planned a squad showdown event for PlanetSide 2 players. Early bird registration for SOE Live ends on Monday.
Celebrate the end of WWII by killing your enemies in War Thunder
Gaijin wants you to celebrate the "peaceful time" at the ending of World War II by blowing the crap out of enemy planes and tanks in War Thunder. May 7th marked the official end of WWII in Europe, while May 8th is remembered as Victory Day. To celebrate, Gaijin is holding its own Victory Day on May 10th and will be handing out extra Golden Eagles currency for match victories. Starting today, you can earn a victory banner decal and access to the Ground Forces beta test by notching 60 kills and six match victories over the next four days. Five random aircraft will also see their purchase prices heavily discounted and "all the famous aircraft of WWII" will boast 30 percent repair cost discounts. [Source: Gaijin press release]
CCP permabans EVE monument vandals
Citing a "zero tolerance approach to dealing with harassment and victimization in the EVE Universe," CCP announced today that it has permanently banned the three vandals who defaced the new EVE monument in Reykjavik, Iceland. A fourth individual received a six-month ban. "The fact that the monument was vandalized is an insult to the entire community, not just to the individual who's name was directly targeted by the vandalism," the studio posted. The ban includes not only CCP's games but attendance at Fanfest as well. CCP declined to release the in-game names of the individuals and said that any future development related to the incident will be kept confidential.
Choose My Adventure: Defiance edition
A funny thing happened last week after I decided to play Trion Worlds' Defiance for this month's Choose My Adventure: Trion announced the game will go full free-to-play! Should I consider this perfect timing to show off the game a bit before the transition? Yes, yes I should. But before I can jump into the game, guns blazing, we have some work to do. Follow along after the cut to vote on how I'll play Defiance throughout the month of May.
War Thunder to be playable via OnLive's CloudLift sub service
Gaijin Entertainment has just announced that War Thunder, its WWII combat sim, will join games like Saints Row IV and Batman: Arkham City on OnLive's new subscription service, CloudLift. While the game itself will remain free-to-play, those who make use of CloudLift's services will be able to play the game from a toaster. OK, maybe not a toaster, but darn close: New and existing players of the game will be able to play their game wherever they choose, without needing to re-download the full game client. All progress and purchases are synced in the cloud so the player can move between devices seamlessly. Playing War Thunder through CloudLift also massively lowers the recommended PC or Mac specification while still delivering smooth 720p60 graphics and NVIDIA enhanced effects. The game can even be played on an Android tablet using a Bluetooth controller, making the game mobile for the first time. CloudLift normally costs $7.95 US per month but has a free trial for those who just want to check out how well it works. We've also got a video embedded below showing off the game as played on an Android tablet. [Source: OnLive/Gaijin press release]
SOE compensates players for All Access issues
Acknowledging that the recent switchover to the new All Access program has been "frustrating," SOE announced today that it will be compensating its playerbase for these issues. The studio will be handing out 50 replay badges to DCUO players, adding an additional week to seven-day Landmark closed beta keys, and triggering double XP weekends for Dragon's Prophet, EverQuest, EverQuest II, and PlanetSide 2. "The implementation of this new membership plan across SOE's game portfolio has been one of the most complicated updates to our billing system to date," SOE apologized in a post. "As fellow gamers, we know that this has been frustrating and we sincerely regret any inconvenience this has caused."
Leaderboard: In which you help Massively plan its EVE Fanfest coverage
Normally Massively's Leaderboard is all about flame-worthy lighthearted MMO-related polling shenanigans. This week, though, we're putting on our serious business suits and traveling to the land of CCP in order to bring you the best EVE Fanfest coverage on the internet. EVE Online expert Brendan Drain is our man in Iceland, but he needs your help! See, Fanfest is huge, and there are a lot of panels and roundtables to attend. While CCP streams the former, the latter are typically behind closed doors. They're also extremely important, as they inform devs about player opinion and help guide future development. So, if you've ever wanted to help direct Massively's event coverage, click past the cut and vote on the panel and roundtable that you'd most like Brendan to attend. Don't forget to leave us a comment with your general suggestions and potential interview questions, too! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
EVE Evolved: Six years of EVE Evolved
Six years ago to this exact day, I joined the Massively crew and published the first edition of this column dedicated to the ins and outs of EVE Online. The column has been home to over 300 featured articles since its creation, offering everything from guides and expansion reveals to opinion pieces, fiction, and tales of real in-game events. It's been my pleasure in the past six years to offer the Massively readers a digestible glimpse into the ordinarily somewhat impenetrable world of EVE Online and to introduce new players to the only game (other than Master of Orion II) that's managed to keep me hooked for over a decade. It's been a fantastic year to be a fan of EVE Online, with CCP announcing its long-term vision for deep space colonisation and the game being revitalised through the Odyssey and Rubicon expansions. I've had the opportunity to explore both expansions in this column and to share some hands-on experience with DUST 514 and CCP's upcoming dogfighter EVE Valkyrie. There's been no shortage of opinion pieces this year either, with articles on everything from PvP consequences and twitch controls to whether Star Citizen and Elite are a threat to the sandbox giant. In this edition of EVE Evolved, I round up the best articles from the column's sixth year of operation in one place.
CCP posts EVE Fanfest 2014's schedule
EVE Fanfest 2014 is just a week away, and participants will be pleased to know that CCP has posted the full schedule for the show. The Fanfest schedule includes the dedication of a monument to EVE's players, the wrestling matches between the staff and CCP, a lecture by NASA's Les Johnson on interstellar travel, news about the future of CCP's game roster, and a blowout party-slash-concert. The studio is psyched about the event: "Ask anyone at the CCP what their favorite time of the year is, they will say Fanfest. It is not just the players who look forward to attending, it's a highlight for us developers as well because interacting with the community is both the soul of our games and a thrilling reward." The 10th EVE Fanfest runs from May 1st through 3rd in Reykjavik, Iceland. The entire convention will be streamed for free on CCP's Twitch channel for fans who can't attend. And stay tuned on Massively, as we will be there on site!
War Thunder introduces closed beta tank events
Gaijin Entertainment posted today that it's launching tank events for War Thunder's closed beta participants. Prices of tanks and associated purchases have been slashed by 90% to facilitate this test phase; accordingly, Gaijin warns, everything will be wiped once again before the WWII combat sim's open beta begins. The studio also recently announced its intention to launch War Thunder in China in 2014 via Tencent and revealed its Elo-based rating system for squadron battles.
CCP staff to wrestle MMA fighter at Fanfest 2014
CCP is looking to give its fans their admission's worth for Fanfest 2014, as the studio announced that members of its team will be wrestling against MMA fighter Gunnar Nelson during the show. That's MMA, not MMO, by the way. The event, called EVE OF DESTRUCTION, will take place on Friday, May 2nd, in a series of 10 one-on-one wrestling matches. CCP would also like to remind you that voting for EVE Online's 9th Council of Stellar Management ends tonight at midnight.
War Thunder's 1.39 update adds player-generated content and more
Gaijin has published War Thunder's 1.39 update. The patch introduces new aircraft including the F-82 Twin Mustang and the F-84 Thunderjet. There's also a new Kursk map and associated missions for War Thunder's various game modes. What else is new in 1.39? How about PvP ladders, progression adjustments, and AI behavior tweaks? The devs have also enabled Ground Forces tank battling functionality on the main game server, although currently said functionality is limited to closed beta testers and special events. Finally, the War Thunder CDK enables creative players to build missions, locations, and even unique planes, according to the 1.39 teaser trailer. Click past the cut to watch it!
PAX East 2014: PlanetSide 2's Higby on weekly updates
It's been three months since PlanetSide 2 started updating once every week, if you don't count one update that was pushed back simply because it wasn't quite ready. As creative director Matt Higby put it to me at this year's PAX East, the schedule comes second to making sure that every update is the best it can be. But it's still been quite a ride, and it means that the game has kept up a schedule that's astonishingly fast. More than a year out from launch, Higby has a lot to say about the game's development process as well as the updates it's already undergone. It's not an unmitigated success story, but it's filled with a lot of lessons and improvements. And like any MMO, the game's development is far from finished. In PlanetSide 2's case, it's a complex process that requires supporting new players, veterans, casual gamers, and professional gaming, sometimes in unconventional fashions.
PlanetSide 2 video takes you into the thick of the war
SOE has posted a new episode of its PlanetSide 2 War Correspondent series, this time showing a battle in the Indar and Amerish zones. Presented as a faux news report shot on locale, the video showcases some of the brutal ambushes and sieges that the game has to offer. You can check out the full report after the jump!
Player Studio goes international in Landmark and more this spring
You've already seen a number of the amazing player-designed creations in Landmark; come Spring, you will be able to own some as well! SOE has announced that Player Studio will be live in the sandbox game on or before May 1st, 2014. But the even bigger news is that Player Studio will expand internationally for all the studio's games that support it! Designers in select regions outside the United States will be able to submit items for consideration to be sold to their peers in EverQuest, EverQuest II, and PlanetSide 2 as well as Landmark. Approved items will then be added to the marketplace and the creators will make a real-life profit from each sale. In Landmark, Player Studio is a vehicle by which players will submit templates for various building contests, and winners could see their creations end up in EverQuest Next. [Source: SOE press release]
