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Xsyon looks to go gold with a little help from Kickstarter
Xyson is an ambitious sandbox MMO that first opened to public consumption in 2011 under the name Xsyon: Prelude. While the game has been out since that time with no secret about its "not really launched yet" status, the team at Notorious Games has just announced today that official launch is finally right around the corner. But they need your help. Thanks to the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, Xsyon aims to raise a total of $250,000 to help the game launch under the new name Xyson: Apocalypse. As lead designer Jordi Grau Davis says in the Kickstarter pitch, this will be what Xsyon was intended to be with two servers, nine times the world of Prelude, the addition of religion and magic, a larger dev team, and more. If you'd like to try the current version of the game out before making a decision to support this project, Xsyon: Prelude has a free trial, and you can learn much more about Notorious Games' plans with the future of the title on their Kickstarter project page. [Source: Notorious Games press release]
Xsyon opens free trial server
If you've got a hankering for some sandbox action, but find the thought of a subscription up-front is a deal-breaker, then Notorious Games has heard your unspoken plea! The studio announced that a free trial server is now open to the public. The trial server is the same game as the subscription server, although the separation will certainly protect those investing in the title. All you have to do to access the trial server is sign up on the forums, after which instructions will appear on your account page. There's one caveat of playing Xsyon for free, however: The team plans to hit the big reset switch on the trial server every Monday. So if you're looking to preserve your hard work, you'll eventually have to subscribe. [Thanks to UltimateCarl for the tip!]
Xsyon creature migration system unveiled
As part of making a dynamic, living world, Notorious Games unveiled Xsyon's unique new creature migration system. Unlike worlds where mobs are static, this sandbox will ensure that animals don't just hang around one place. Instead, as animals breed and the populations expand, they will move from regions with higher populations to areas with lower ones. Different species will also exhibit different tendencies when migrating. Smaller, tamer critters will congregate toward the shores of Lake Tahoe and civilization, whereas the more dangerous creatures will migrate toward the mountains away from people. The wild animals that venture too close or into the toxic mist will mutate and return to wreak havoc upon the denizens of the land. [Source: Notorious Games press release]
Inactive players give rise to Xsyon zombies
Normally, the worst things that happen to inactive players are that guilds kick them out. But in the world of Xsyon, the consequences are more dire, not just for the player but for everyone around. With the game's latest update, inactive tribal totems will begin to give rise to intelligent and malicious undead revenants. And these creatures are far more intelligent thatn your average monsters, hunting other players and looting them for better equipment as they capture new territory. Fortunately for the players, there's also new armor to be looted off the revenants themselves and plenty of opportunities for players to beat back the invasion. The update also brings along a widespread upgrade to monster AI, making all foes a bit more clever and deadly aside from just the revenants. If you've been out of the game for a while, you might want to jump back in, especially to prevent your former home from turning into an undead nest. [Source: Notorious Games press release]
One Shots: This old house
It'd be easy for me to sit back and say that games without housing are just lazy, so that's exactly what I'm going to do. Well, that and feature a few awesome reader screenshots of games with housing in today's One Shots! Contributor Mayrin earns the top slot this week with this image of her home in Wurm Online, a much-beloved sandbox around these parts. She writes: This is a screenshot of my house, originally taken last September. It's a stone house built back before Wurm Online had inner walls, so it's U-shaped to suggest different rooms inside. The left side is our kitchen area (the wisp of smoke over the house is from our oven), and the right side has our beds, while the center area is used mostly for storage. The gold shape near the oak tree on the left is an altar to Vynora (one of Wurm's deities); the silver one peeking out from behind the right tree is a Fo altar. Right off the path is a "spirit castle," which is used to send mail to other players. It's located where the village of Allure once stood on the Independence server. Mayrin's entry is tucked behind the break alongside a few other residential beauties!
Xsyon totem abandonment phase for MIA tribes starts June 25th
Deserted structures in neglected lands, abandoned goods sitting unusable in baskets; in Xsyon, as in any game where players can own property, there comes a time when owners move on leaving valuable in-game resources tied up and inaccessible to those who remain. To combat this, Notorious Games is implementing decay for all inactive totems starting June 25th. Abandonment, the culling of inactive tribes from land ownership, is a four-phase process. Any tribe without at least one active member will move into the first stage, neglected. The second is the deserted phase; all bins on the land will become accessible and the area will no longer be a safe zone. Revenants (aggressive creatures who can loot players and equip their gear) will haunt tribes in this stage and increase in number during the next stage -- abandoned. In the removal stage, buildings can be demolished and the land reclaimed by active citizens. All Xsyon players -- past or present -- have the chance to log in and claim their totems from Friday, June 22nd until Monday, June 25th before Abandonment begins. All active accounts prior to June 25th will also receive two weeks of free play time. [Source: Xsyon press release]
Previously on MV TV: The week of May 12th
What a week of livestreaming! We've got quite the variety and tons of hours of video to watch. What's that? You had to work and missed half of the cool streams we showed? Don't worry! I gather all of the best streams from the week's collection and list them for you right here. Still, you need to bookmark our livestream page so you can see which videos are going to be shown during the week, but if you miss any, you can check out the recap here. That's why we do it. This week we had a lot to offer. First we had good old Mike jumping into EVE Online for some space action, then into TERA for some scantily clad combat! He then explores some of the great browser-based game Drakensang Online. MJ brought a ton of goodies to the streaming table, goodies like a run-through in EverQuest II, some base-jumping in City of Heroes, a bit of hardcore survival in Xsyon, and a flight around the beautiful lands of Aion. I rounded out the end by streaming some BatMUD, a cool MUD that has been around since many of you have been in diapers! Click past the cut and grab some popcorn. Keep the butter light but add some salt. Thanks.
Xsyon welcomes back former players, gears up for totem decay
Notorious Games is working overtime to highlight all of the changes it's made to its Xsyon sandbox. The company ran a 10-day welcome back promotion late last month, and it's doing so again starting this Friday. Previous subscribers will receive a free 10-day pass, while current players will get two additional weeks of game time on the house. The dates for the 10-day passes vary, according to Notorious' latest press release. If you're a previous subscriber, check your email over the next few days to see where your game time falls within the larger five-week promotional window. Also noteworthy for dedicated Xsyon players is the fact that the game's totem system will enter something called a decay phase once these trial periods are over. Totems represent land claimed by a particular guild, and those without any actively subscribed players will become abandoned in short order. Abandoned totems will then decay and free up the land for other players, while also leaving any buildings, resources, and containers free for the taking. [Source: Notorious Games press release]
Latest Xsyon patch adds player-made quests, tweaks skill gains
What's new in the world of Xsyon? Quite a lot, according to Notorious Games' latest patch notes. The new update has overhauled many of the sandbox survival MMO's systems, including extensive skill tweaks, increased stat gains based on actions, and stat readjustment functionality. Players may also create quests for one another. Doing so rewards both the quester and the creator with XP upon successful quest completion. Overall experience gain has been adjusted to reward players per action and via quests, which should lead to a marked reduction in the grinding necessary to gain skills. These are just a few of the improvements, too. Have a look at the patch notes for the full list.
Xsyon hosts 10-day welcome back promotion
Did you play the sandbox title Xsyon in the past year but you've let your subscription slip? Notorious Games wants your patronage back, and it's willing to meet you halfway with 10 days of free game time to check out all of the new additions and developments in the game. Any former subscriber to Xsyon will receive a 10-day pass to the game sometime after May 18th. This time will be used over the course of five weeks. Eligible players will be notified by email when their 10-day slot is scheduled. Xsyon recently celebrated its first anniversary and since launch has seen explosive growth of both player-created structures and the wildlife population. Other improvements that Notorious Games is proud of include a better crafting system, an overhauled UI, and tweaked visuals.
Xsyon celebrates its first year of Prelude
One year and counting. Crack open the waterskin and raise a toast to Xsyon: Today the post-apocalyptic sandbox by Notorious Games celebrates its first full year of launch. Well, the first year of the official launch of Prelude, a limited first release of the virtual world. Come to think of it, even that date seems a bit nebulous as the pre-order players in the first phase of Year Zero (basically beta) actually had their most significant change on March 11th, 2011 when the second phase launched and totems were introduced. Semantics aside, Xsyon has come a long way from that official first day. Unlike many games where gameplay is neatly laid out, this indie title gives players only the canvas and a few tools before setting them loose to fashion their world. As the year continued, additional tools were provided and the world became more vibrant and dynamic. Initially barren without any critters (other than your surviving neighbors) to hunt, the world is now populated with large creatures that roam the land, threatening the lives of travelers and hunters alike. Even the lay of the land itself is different as players manipulate and alter the terrain, build settlements, and plant trees. Communities are forming; groups are supporting and even entertaining each other. Civilization is slowly rebuilding. And that's only the beginning.
Xsyon devs talk farming, crafting and PvE vs. PvP
If sandbox MMORPGs are more ambitious than their themepark counterparts, it follows that the former are also more susceptible to bugs, performance problems, and general player discontent. Xsyon is no exception, and the post-apocalyptic world-building title from Notorious Games has traveled a rough yet familiar road since its March release. According to a couple of recent posts on the Xsyon boards, better times are in the offing. Notorious is in fact expanding its dev roster, and new game designer/programmer Danathur throws the community a few bones in his introduction post. Aside from providing a bit of detail on his new duties, he also addresses the ongoing war of words between PvE and PvP supporters vying for the future of Xsyon. "We do not want to create a massively multiplayer first person shooter. On the other hand, conflicts and managing them (not only by violence) [are] the real challenge and where the most fun will come from in the long term," he explains. Danathur goes on to say that both crafting and combat will become more expensive in short order due to the enabling of item stats and decay. His sentiments echo those of lead designer Jordi Grau-Davis, who posted earlier this week to announce the new dev hires and to give the community a feel for Xsyon's development roadmap. "We are going to evolve Xsyon to include farming, contested expansion totems and revamped combat. The goal is to provide more daily activities to tend to and something to fight over," he wrote.
Choose My Adventure: The final countdown
Your voices were heard! At least, I do hope those are your voices I've been hearing in my head... they are telling me to do things. And I listened. I am instructed to listen to the voices. The voices can't hurt me, right? Well, maybe not the voices themselves, but since they chimed in on experimenting with combat, I know I am about to get hurt some! This week concludes our foray into Xsyon for Choose My Adventure, but I dare say it does not end my time there. Although the game does not fit the standard mold of MMO fare today, it has been quite enjoyable and a great change of pace. I have kept myself entertained with my adventures in-game and I still look forward to logging in each time (minus the apprehension as the combat loomed closer). Take a (final) hike past the cut for the results of our look at combat, some final impressions on the game, and a sneak peek at your next CMA guinea pig.
Choose My Adventure: I've been digging on the homestead...
All the live long day! Sing it with me now... There really is something to be said for creating your own world. How many of you gamers out there have just ached for a MMO game in which you could truly affect the world instead of rolling along on a predestined path that is the same for everyone? As I delve deeper into Xsyon, that is what I find -- a world where my actions have real meaning. A world where we can change not only the political and economic landscapes but the literal landscape. For Choose My Adventure this week, you, the Massively readers, decided that I shall work on my architecture skills and place a homestead (thereby allowing me to terraform). This really highlights some of the most unique features of the game. Although I dove into these new tasks with gusto, I now know why olden-day manual laborers sang songs during their work -- there is serious need of brain stimulation during long, monotonous labor. And building a new world from the ground up is seriously a long and slow process. If nothing else, Xsyon is not a game for the instant-gratification crowd. Which is all the better, in my opinion. For a deeper look at terraforming, crafting, and general life in the Tahoe Basin, build a bridge over the cut and check out where our adventures led this week.
Choose My Adventure: And so it began... again
Well, this week has certainly been interesting. And by interesting, I mean not really usual. Then again, if any of you know me very well, that really should not come as much of a surprise; normal and MJ usually do not coexist in the same stratosphere. I am also not one to shy away from the untrodden path, and I tend to take off on my own tangents. Who needs easy when you can have interesting? Perhaps this quality alone made me a decent match for tackling the world of Xsyon for this round of Choose My Adventure. That, and a measure of patience. In my first true week of playing Xsyon, I really didn't get to "play" much of anything. Not in any sense of the word that most MMO gamers would be familiar with. That isn't to say that I didn't have any fun; on the contrary, I really enjoyed the time I did get in, and I look forward to really digging my toes into that rich Tahoe soil. Well, my shovel, really. So what were the unusual circumstances surrounding my first adventures? Hike past the cut for a deeper look at the week and some helpful tips for anyone planning to jump into game come launch.
Choose My Adventure: It's ALIVE!
Alrighty folks! I have consulted the crystal ball (polls) and now have the answer we have been so anxiously awaiting: It was Mr. Green, in the study, with the candlestick! Er, wait... sorry, let me just dust it off a bit. There we go. Actually it's armed MJ in Secret Cove with a shovel! Go terraforming. Thanks to your votes, we have the backbone of the next Choose My Adventure guinea pig. For the most part, you Massively readers were pretty unified in your support; armed combat and terraforming led by a landslide, while Secret Cove and architecture also maintained significant leads. The only choice that was a close call was the second skill -- scavenging beat out hunting by a mere three votes. Although we had plenty of choices for our polls, they didn't come close to covering the choices that must be made when creating a character before we ever set foot into the game world. Age, birthday, stat points, and multiple choices to create skin color are just some of the other choices the greet a new player in Xsyon. Follow me past the cut to get an in-depth look at the creation process and to meet your guide/puppet/object of amusement in the land of Xsyon. Tahoe, ho!
Celebrate a rapper and the VC at the same time
Whether you're a fan of the rap music or not, chances are you've heard of Notorious B.I.G. Well, in the spirit of his song Juicy and its one random line "Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, when I was dead broke I couldn't picture this", this shirt has hit the internet for purchase. Personally, we'd buy it if we were paid in money (why did we sign a contract where our payment is pain?!), but figured those of you who love the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console service could also get a kick out of it.
