non-combat-gameplay
Latest
Aeria releases Eden Eternal player housing video
Eden Eternal's feature list just got a bit longer, as Aeria Games has released a new trailer showing off the game's player housing implementation. The new content is scheduled to go live sometime in early October, according to the latest Aeria press release. The video shows a good amount of customization, and player characters can be seen placing a variety of objects inside a spacious interior as well as rotating said objects. Everything from beds to bookshelves to wall hangings will be obtainable via the game's item shop and from various in-game quests. Finally, Aeria is allowing other players to visit your personal house, and doing so will reward both parties with "various status boosts." Check out the housing video after the break, and head to the official Eden Eternal website to learn more about the game. [Source: Aeria Games press release]
New Hero Engine sandbox to feature 3-faction PvP, deep crafting
Hey sandbox fans, here's another indie title to keep your eye on as we look toward the new year. Above & Beyond Technologies is working on a sci-fi game called The Repopulation, and the company has just released a new trailer filled with pre-alpha footage. The project is built on the Hero Engine (and if that doesn't mean anything to you, you'll surely recognize the tech's most famous implementation to date) and is described as a three-faction PvP game that allows players to join existing nations or create their own. Gameplay is purportedly skill-based, and there is a toggle between traditional MMORPG button-mashing combat and some sort of action mode. There are also "many non-combat activities" including an "advanced" crafting system. The video shows quite a bit of footage given its sub-two-minute running time, and you can get a glimpse of city building, combat, and the user interface after the break.
The Anvil of Crom: Evaluating the dev update - crafting edition
Hallelujah, amen, and by frickin' Crom! What's got me all excitable this week? Well, the latest dev update, for starters, and I apologize in advance for reneging on last week's promise to devote today's column to a deeper examination of the new Savage Coast of Turan content. The last time we met, I gave you a quick rundown on the Ardashir Coast, but with all due respect to Funcom's content designers, the most interesting bit of Age of Conan news from the last little while is the crafting revamp that Silirrion hinted at in the August 31st update letter. But Jef, how interesting could it be if it's taken you over a week to write about it? Well, you got me there, and I could throw in some excuses about needing to get something Turan-related out last week, as well as the fact that I was doing the DragonCon shuffle, but I won't. Anyhow, holy shitaki mushrooms! Funcom mentioned AoC's tradeskills! Join me after the cut and bring the smelling salts.
Pre-registrations open for Age of Wulin closed beta
Age of Wulin's English-language beta test is quite a ways off, but that hasn't stopped gPotato and Gala Networks Europe from allowing interested players to pre-register. The martial arts MMORPG's Chinese closed beta starts next month, but European and American players won't get to toodle around in the game's version of ancient China until sometime in 2012. Signing up at the official site will enter you into a closed beta lottery, with the main prize being a European CBT key. Players who register prior to October 1st will also be eligible to win one of five Age of Wulin t-shirts. The game itself is something of a departure from conventional themepark titles, and we've told you previously about its interesting skill setup and non-combat gameplay options. Age of Wulin also features more than 130 square kilometers of explorable space, eight combat schools, 17 life professions, and upwards of 20,000 quests and NPCs. Head to the official site to learn more and pre-register for next year's closed beta, and check out the latest game trailer after the cut.
New Fallen Earth dev blog talks fixing the economy
What does the Fallen Earth dev team mean when it says "fixing the economy?" The latest dev blog has your answer, and there's nary a tax cut, stimulus plan, or partisan political argument in sight. Instead, producer Marie Croall waxes on about what's wrong with wasteland supply and demand, with a specific focus on crafting component drops and rarity. The end goal is to "give value to basic, improved, and advanced recipes," and Croall hopes this will happen as a result of the team's manipulation of the market. "We had to, in some cases, actually create rarity where there was none or -- in the case of cooking components -- create common items where there were only rare and uncommon," she explains. Fallen Earth's cooking mechanic is also receiving special attention, due in part to the large number of required components and the lack of rare ingredients in the current game build. The dev team is also taking a hard look at consumable buffs, and Croall states that more details on the upcoming fixes will be available as the patch nears release.
Age of Wulin videos reveal interesting skills, non-combat gameplay
Age of Wulin hasn't gotten a lot of press in western markets as of yet, but the free-to-play martial arts title is one that bears watching. Aside from its appealing visuals, ancient Chinese setting, and Wuxia-style story elements, the game boasts quite a few departures from the standard MMORPG formula. The most obvious is a progression system that lacks traditional levels, but according to a preview at MMO Culture, that's not Age of Wulin's most interesting feature. The title reportedly makes use of a life skills system which includes gathering, fortune-telling, crafting, fishing, and begging (as well as 12 other skills that have yet to be revealed). Yes, we said begging, and the mechanic apparently involves a degree of anonymity when dealing with fellow players. Age of Wulin also features epic quests tied in to something called the miracle system, as well what looks to be a fairly deep guild and territory control minigame. Click past the cut to view a few gameplay videos including footage of combat, training, miracle, begging, and guild systems, and keep an eye out for players involved in unusual MMO activities including drawing and Chinese chess.
The Secret World's Tornquist talks truth, pain, and non-combat gaming
Rock, Paper Shotgun is back with part two of its interview with The Secret World's Ragnar Tornquist. Part one debuted yesterday and detailed a bit of the history behind the game's development as well as blurbs about factions, puzzles, and ARG thingamajigs. Today's installment talks about everything from Tornquist's recurring real world/hidden world motifs, to the endings of Lost and Dreamfall, to unfulfilled fan expectations. As you might expect, the interview errs heavily on the side of the philosophical rather than delving into gameplay specifics. Everything from the nature of truth, to Funcom's Secret World agenda, to the reticence of the gaming industry to evolve beyond kill-everything-that-moves is up for discussion. On this last point, Tornquist hints at the challenges inherent in designing non-combat gaming experiences. "It's difficult. You can't sacrifice fun. But then of course the idea of fun is ambiguous. Does it always have to be fun? Can't it be painful too?"
The Anvil of Crom: Can AoC Unrated keep up with the Joneses?
Sooooo, City of Heroes and LEGO Universe caught the free-to-play bug this week. Fallen Earth did so the week before. What does this have to do with Age of Conan? Quite a lot, if you think about it, and that's what I'm given to doing every week around this time as I sit down to hum a few bars relating to Funcom's Hyboria. In case you've forgotten (and it's easy to do thanks to the rash of announcements lately), Age of Conan is gearing up for its own version of freemium MMORPG madness. At this point it's anyone's guess as to when the big day will actually roll around, though, and the longer Funcom waits, the more it concerns me.
The Daily Grind: What Star Wars Galaxies features will you miss the most?
Yep, it's another Star Wars Galaxies-flavored Daily Grind (if you think the sentimentality is thick now, wait until the week of December 15th). When the long-running sandbox title rides into the sunset this winter, it will be taking with it quite a few unique features that have been deemed unnecessary in all the games since. Whether we're talking about the Dancer, Image Designer, and Musician functionality, the space game that allows for interaction and personalization inside the spacecraft as well as out, or the player-generated content features made possible by the Storyteller and Chronicle systems, there's a lot to love about SWG even if you don't particularly love Star Wars (or the game's disregard for Star Wars lore). Today's breakfast topic follows on from yesterday's, but this time around we want to know about feature sets instead of personal memories. What SWG features will you miss the most? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Raph Koster on the legacy of Star Wars Galaxies
Amid all the internet commentary sure to be forthcoming over the next few days regarding Star Wars Galaxies and its upcoming swan-song, none of it is really as relevant as the thoughts of the man primarily responsible for designing the original game. Raph Koster offers up a bit of commentary on SWG's demise via his personal website, and despite the brevity, he manages to touch on exactly why the game mattered to so many of us and why it will be sorely missed. "It gave us features that continue to amaze people who don't realize what can be done: Real economies complete with supply chains and wholesalers and shopkeepers, that amazing pet system, the moods and chat bubbles [...], player cities, vehicles, spaceflight," Koster says. It also gave us dancing, and while many progression-focused gamers scoff at SWG's social features, Koster rightly concludes that they may well be the game's legacy since they allowed us to "stop saving the world or killing rats and realize the real scope and potential of the medium." In the end, Koster says that SWG's potential may have overshadowed the final product, but what remained was nonetheless a mold-breaking MMORPG. "I'd rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity. There's a reason people are passionate about it all these years later," he wrote.
Massively Exclusive: The sweet and sour of ArcheAge's third closed beta
Forgive me for getting this out of the way up front: I frickin' hate betas. Loathe them. Avoid them like the plague, usually. Why then, did I find myself foregoing sleep for the better part of last week to log into XL Games' third closed beta test for ArcheAge? Curiosity, for sure, and maybe just a hint of desperation. As the MMORPG genre moves farther and farther away from the types of games worlds that drew me in a decade ago, the chance to get a preview of what some fans are hoping is the next great AAA sandbox was enough to overwhelm my betaphobia. It's been quite some time since I've glanced out my window to see the sun rise while playing an MMORPG through the night, and ArcheAge definitely has its claws in me at this point. Is it the next great sandbox, though? Is it even a sandbox at all? Can XL successfully meld two design philosophies (sandbox and themepark) that are, in many ways, polar opposites? Those questions are difficult to answer, but join me after the cut and I'll give it a shot.
The Soapbox: Debunking the first kiss theory
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. So I owe this week's Soapbox to one of my gaming buddies who recently opined that a lot of older genre fans wear rose-colored glasses. We're a sentimental, eternally ornery, and change-resistant bunch, he said, and we're all searching in vain for that one game that recaptures the magic of our first MMO rodeo. Ordinarily I'd take offense to those labels, but upon further reflection, my pal had a point (though it may not be the one he intended). This "first kiss theory" -- as I'm calling the bundle of nostalgia-related charges often leveled against old-school MMO fans -- is fairly common on massively multiplayer forums. This was the first time I'd heard the theory espoused by someone I knew personally, though, and as a result I spent a fair bit of time mulling it over. Join me after the cut to see why it ultimately doesn't hold water and why, if older MMOers are indeed nostalgic, there are quantifiable reasons for it that has little to do with half-remembered glory days.
New ArcheAge fly-through video released, planting system profiled
Yesterday we learned a bit more about the labor system in XL Games' ArcheAge as well as some juicy tidbits on ship and housing construction. Today, AAportal.net has some more non-combat discussion to whet our sandbox appetites, and this time the subject is plants. While plants are an unlikely MMORPG topic (unless you're talking about a gathering quest), they play a unique role in ArcheAge thanks to the game's gardening and harvesting systems. Whether your interest lies in cultivating grapes or in seeding a grove of apple trees and (eventually) selling the harvest to expand your farm, it's all doable. Trees are also a source of timber, which is required for the aforementioned ship-building as well as house and furniture construction. In other ArcheAge news, a brief fly-through video has surfaced on YouTube. While the clip clocks in at a paltry 43 seconds, it offers a number of external looks at player housing as well as the game's gorgeous scenery. Check it out after the cut, then head to AAportal for more.
ArcheAge housing, ship construction, labor system detailed
New details regarding ArcheAge's extensive non-combat gameplay have emerged, and AAportal.net has a three-part breakdown of the game's labor system, ship-building, and house construction mechanics. The labor system ties ArcheAge's various crafting, gathering, and construction sub-systems together under one umbrella and provides the player with a pool of labor points that power most of the activities. The points accrue at fixed intervals (whether you're online or not). There also appears to be some delineation in the point possibilities afforded to high-level users and their low-level counterparts (AAportal cites "more luxurious activities" like dance parties as possible labor point expenditures for more advanced players). Ship construction will necessitate a group effort due to the considerable resource requirements. Hull plans are purchased from NPCs and activated at the shipyard, at which point the player will see a basic frame in drydock. After players deposit the requisite resources and set the payment for their NPC workers, enterprising ship captains will be able to view the construction process. Sailing a ship involves factors ranging from tidal currents, to wind strength, to the angle of the mast, as well as managing your player crew (each member of which has a distinct job on the ship). Housing is similarly involved, with yards, farms, and furniture crafting available. Houses can also be built anywhere in the world and come in various types, sizes, and architectural styles. Head to AAportal.net for all the details.
EverQuest II offers 10 houses per character, double XP and Station Cash this Saturday
Player housing. Say it with me, folks. Plaaaaaayer housssssssing. Yes, some games still have it. More importantly, some players still want it. EverQuest II is one of a dwindling number of games that does it right (or at all really, if we're talking about recent MMOs), and yesterday's update expanded Norrath's housing functionality even further. Players can now own up to 10 separate homes (yes, 10), provided they meet the in-game and/or account-related prerequisites in each case. There's also a spiffy new fast-travel functionality associated with the housing boom. In a nutshell, players can place portals in any house or guild hall to which they have trustee access, enabling all sorts of nifty networking opportunities between Norrath's various cities. When coupled with the newly introduced prestige house offerings, domestically inclined EQII buffs should have plenty to do for awhile. In case you need a break from all the furniture-making and decorating, Sony Online Entertainment is throwing a 24-hour double Station Cash (and double XP) bash tomorrow. The event runs from 12:01 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. on April 30th.
Star Wars Galaxies rolls out the Entertainer update
Despite an explosion of titles across the MMOsphere in recent years, Sony Online Entertainment's Star Wars Galaxies is still one of the very few to feature much in the way of non-combat game mechanics. We aren't just talking about one-button crafting, an optional music system, or developer-sanctioned mount racing here, but rather an entire class dedicated to brightening someone else's day. Today's 19.12 hotfix is billed as the Entertainer update, and it's rather aptly named given the lengthy list of tweaks coming to dancers and musicians across the galaxy far, far away. The Entertainer class is receiving a complete expertise tree revamp (and a complimentary reset), new combat buffs, new hairstyles for image design abilities, new dance moves, a new flourish, and several new commands (including a new perform tab). That's a lot of new, but it's not all of it, and you can read the complete list of changes and additions on the official SWG forums.
