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Pirate's Day hits World of Warcraft for one day only
Look, piracy is a scourge and a disgrace, no one's denying it. But for one day, World of Warcraft embraces this scourge with a host of events for people of a piratical bent. You can transform your character into a pirate with the Dread Corsair buff, attend various revels, or do other things that, to be honest, aren't really all that synonymous with these dread reavers of the oceans. It's almost as if this is all just an excuse to have a good time or something. It's only one day so if you've been dying to look like a pirate for 12 hours, this is your chance.
Pirate101 adds Tower of Moo Manchu, tweaks Cool Ranch
Are you a high-level pirate in Pirate101? Have you completed all of Mooshu and all of the Moo Manchu side quests? If so you can partake of the Tower of Moo Manchu, a ten-level group dungeon that KingsIsle says is the toughest content that Pirate101 players have ever faced. This week's update also revamps the world of Cool Ranch with fast transport services and content tweaks including improved drop rates and encounter overhauls. There's plenty more to Pirate101's latest patch, but you'll need to head to the official site to read it all!
Pirate101's spring 2014 update is live
Pirate101's spring 2014 update is now live. The patch has added new free-to-play areas, advanced pets, and advanced companions to the game. KingsIsle has published a lengthy list of update notes, and you'll probably also want to take a(nother) look at the update trailer. We've embedded it for you after the break.
Massively exclusive: Pirate101 announces new advanced pet system
Pirate101's pet system is getting an update, and KingsIsle tells us that a new test realm will soon open its doors to showcase the changes. Pet owners will be able to send their minions on various world-based training missions which will raise their level, unlock talents and powers, and more. The devs are also adding the ability to PvP in a pet battle arena as well as a new quest that details the new advanced pet system. KingsIsle has penned a lengthy dev diary explaining how everything works. You can read it after the cut.
Pirates of the Burning Sea CEO on the economic revamp and a player-driven world
Pirates of the Burning Sea recently celebrated its sixth anniversary as well as the one-year anniversary of parent company Portalus' decision to strike out on its own following the expiration of its Sony Online Entertainment publishing contract. The dev team is currently prepping a major economic revamp, but CEO Charles Ellis kindly spared a few moments to answer Massively's burning questions. Join us after the cut as we talk about life after SOE, the game's robust economy, and Portalus' future plans.
Pirate101 explains the making of its combat system
If you're the type of player that likes to know how the sausage is made, then strap on a peg leg and wobble over to a pair of dev diaries explaining the making of Pirate101's combat system! "One of the systems that reviewers feel stands out the most in Pirate101 is the combat. Combat in Pirate101 has been described as 'deceptively simple' and 'really fun,' but it took years of iteration and changes to finally arrive at the experience that players have today," the devs wrote. The diaries go through the early prototype of the system, how the team figured out combat sequencing, and the difficulties of getting the camera placement just right. The devs said that once the basic system was in place, adding the extra elements such as reflex talents and bullet time was a blast to do.
The Daily Grind: Have you lost track of an MMO only to rediscover it later?
Last night I started thinking about Pirates of the Burning Sea. I don't know why. It's a bit odd, actually. Anyhow, you might remember PotBS as a piratey SOE title set in the age of sail and featuring some pretty awesome ship-to-ship combat. If you're really hardcore you might remember the game's pre-SOE days or even its 2008 launch under the Flying Lab Software banner. In any case, I lost track of the game completely and didn't even realize that it was still operating. So right now I'm downloading the client via the Portalus website and digging through old screenshot folders, just because. Oh, and there's a Daily Grind question buried somewhere amidst my ramblings. Ah, here it is. Have you ever lost track of an MMO only to rediscover it later? 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!
MMO Family: Setting Sail in Pirate101
Yo ho ho and a bottle of yum! It's been a while, but I've recently returned to the Spiral to explore the world of Pirate101, along with my two younger game testers. We enjoyed our time in-game the first time around, and were curious to revisit the game to see what's changed. Would we find a hidden treasure or end up sunk? In this week's MMO Family, we're donning our Tricorn hats and setting sail in Pirate101!
EVE Evolved: Lowsec isn't impenetrable
When EVE Online was created, one of its core design philosophies was the idea of risk vs. reward -- that higher-value activities should expose the player to greater risk of loss. This rule naturally follows from how the world of business and competition works in real life, and I think it will always arise organically from sandbox MMOs with limited resources. If something's risk-free and easy to do, you can bet there are countless other people already doing it and squeezing the profit margins. This idea was also built into EVE at a fundamental level, with the galaxy split into police-protected high-security systems, the pirate-infested low-security borders between nations, and the chaotic uncolonised wilderness of nullsec. The steep step up in risk when transitioning from high- to low-security space has always been a major point of contention with gamers, as those who don't know any better often charge straight into deep space to their deaths. The story of the newbie working his way up to get his first cruiser or battlecruiser and then losing it to pirates is repeated so often on forums and in the comments sections of articles that it's almost become a cliche. While the idea that pirates wait around every corner lingers on, this impenetrable barrier hiding all the best content from new players no longer really exists. Through the addition of wormholes and the changes made in Rubicon, no star system is now off limits to a pilot with just a few months of skill training under his belt. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at what you can do to safely travel and operate in EVE's dangerous areas, why the barrier into low-security space needs to remain low for new players, and how CCP has expanded the EVE universe through the introduction of riskier areas of space.
Report: Ubisoft surveys players about non-Assassin's Creed pirate game
Ubisoft recently sent out a survey to fans about the future of the Assassin's Creed series, IGN reports. The publisher seemingly asked players for thoughts on a hypothetical pirate-themed game similar to Assassin's Creed 4 that would take place outside the series. The survey reportedly asked whether customizable ships, characters and hideouts or a "deeper economy" and "additional activities at sea or on land" were more important to players, and also gauged fan interest in co-op and multiplayer naval battles. Ubisoft conducted similar questionnaires in the past. Coincidentally, the publisher also specifically asked players about cooperative multiplayer in December 2010 following the release of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and again in November 2012 after launching Assassin's Creed 3. Both of those polls were conducted by GMI Surveys, though the origins of the latest one is a little less clear.
The Daily Grind: Are dragons, zombies, or pirates the most overused?
In every fantasy MMO (and many of the other ones, too), you'll be assured to encounter three types of enemies. There will be dragons. There will be zombies. And because game developers are 12-year-old kids at heart, there will be pirates. The question is, which of these three is the most overused? Which have worn out their welcome the most to you? My vote is for dragons. Yes, they're huge, ferocious creatures that are often raid end bosses, but when every game has them as their ultimate threat, it dilutes one's proper respect of them. It's like every MMO has a Death Star. More of a big bad doesn't increase fear in the same ratio; it kind of has the opposite effect. But maybe you disagree. Pirates, zombies, or dragons -- which make you roll your eyes the most? Which would you banish to the land of well-worn tropes? 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!
Pirates of the Burning Sea opens new account creation
Pirates of the Burning Sea continues its voyage of transition from the old days of SOE to the new ones under Portalus Games. As such, the team has opened account creation for new players on the Portalus website and added new seasonal exchange items to the game. In addition to account creation, Pirates of the Burning Sea can be downloaded from that site as well. The official game site is currently being "rebuilt," so stick to Portalus' home page for the time being.
EVE Evolved: Getting ready for Rubicon
EVE Online's Rubicon expansion goes live in just two days on Tuesday, November 19th, introducing four brand-new personal deployable structures and revamping PvP across the board with a seemingly innocuous warp acceleration fix. The expansion represents the first step in new Senior Producer Andie Nordgren's plan to bring true player-run deep-space colonisation to EVE Online. The new Mobile Depot that can be placed anywhere in space is possibly the most sandboxy feature since the introduction of player-owned starbases back in 2004. Players have been coming up with plans for the device since its first announcement, but I think we'll see its true potential revealed in the coming weeks and months. If you've been saving up your Sisters of EVE loyalty points to get your hands on the faction's new exploration ships, be prepared to buy and build the blueprints as soon as the server comes up. These will be the first pirate faction ship blueprints that are available in high-security space, and a recent devblog confirmed that players have been collecting Sisters of EVE loyalty points like crazy lately in anticipation of the expansion, but those who get the built ships to market first will make an absolute killing. For the rest of us, getting ready for the expansion means planning where to set up a Mobile Depot for some quick profit-making enterprise or building a few small PvP ships to put the new warp speed mechanics to the test. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at some of the best places to set up a Mobile Depot, re-consider the lure of low-security space, and propose adapting your PvP fleets to take advantage of the warp acceleration changes.
Seize an island in NGame's Pockie Pirates
NGames knows that a good pirate needs more than just a ship, a parrot, and a spiffy hat; s/he needs a port to call home. And Pockie Pirates Chapter 13 update today gives legions a chance to seize control of an island port and fill its coffers with new income. Owning a port also grants legions new sailing technology (like advanced cannons, new steel, ballistic upgrades, and increased cargo and food storage capacity) and a private military fund to spend on battles and technology upgrades. This new fighting mode opens up at 8:30 p.m. EST every Friday, but registration to participate runs from midnight on Thursdays until 8:00 a.m. Fridays. Only five legions can occupy any one harbor at a time, so if pirates want the advantages of a busy port, they'll have to take it by force in ship vs. ship dogfights as well as sword-to-sword battles on deck. Interested pirates-to-be can enlist on the official site and play for free. [Source: NGames press release]
Sharks, skulls, and ships: One year of Pirate101
Pirate101 is a strange beast. It is a family-friendly, free-to-play, colorful MMO with silly characters, simple design, and quirky environments. Adventuring in Pirate101 sometimes demands that you investigate the secrets of a city that literally sits on top of a flying whale or that you and your friends (a fencing crab, perhaps, or a sharpshooting fox) leap onto a flaming, flying pirate ship in order to punch sharks in the face and steal their treasure. Hidden underneath the silliness, however, is a relatively deep turn-based strategy game designed to engage younger gamers while ensuring their adult counterparts have a good time. KingsIsle Entertainment isn't in the business of making kids games; instead, the studio strives to create titles that kids and parents can play together. The success of Pirate101 in its first year demonstrates that KingsIsle might just be on to something. Let's take a little peek back on the last 12 months of Pirate101 to examine its major milestones.
Pirate101 celebrates a birthday with headwear
It's been a year on the high seas for Pirate101, and the development team is in a celebratory mood. it's understandable considering how many games don't make it to a year or even out of beta. So from now until October 31st it's time to revel in all the birthday celebrations you want, starting with an entire game decked out in birthday regalia. Which will look a little odd next to the usual pumpkins, but whatever. The game is also offering two bits of accoutrement for players, veterans and novices alike. All players are eligible to receive a free birthday hat, and the game will also sell a birthday cake eyepatch in the cash shop for a limited time. (The eyepatch looks exactly like you would expect something with that name to look, if it was unclear.) So kick back and enjoy some piratical birthday bliss with a new hat.
Pirate101 begins testing on Mac client
A life of adventure on the high seas is the sort of thing that appeals to everyone, even people who choose to buy a Macintosh instead of a Windows computer. That's why Pirate101 is adapting the game to a native Mac client, with the test realm version of the client available now. Players will be able to download and install the game at their leisure, although the new client is not currently hooked up to the live servers. There's no need to sign up for the testing, but not everyone is eligible. Active members and players who have made at least $6 worth of purchases in the last 30 days may download and try the new client; free-to-play players may not. Still, it's easy to become eligible if you really want to jump into some Mac-based piracy, so you can free your computer from having to run at least one game via Boot Camp.
Pirates of the Burning Sea fine-tunes engagement odds
It's never fun to be the one on the bottom of a PvP dogpile, and the folks at Pirates of the Burning Sea understand that. The developers have been making adjustment to their open sea engagement rules to find the right balance to make a memorable encounter. While the team initially restricted confrontations so that ganking by player mob couldn't happen, the devs admit that the end result wasn't what they had hoped: "That adjustment went too far, and the fights since have by and large been less dynamic." So to bring back some of the unpredictability in encounters without making it a gankfest, the devs will be tweaking engagements so that at maximum they can only be two-on-one fights. They also vowed to keep an eye on these fights going forward, particularly in regard to the reinforcement timers.
Check out a day in the life of a KingsIsle artist
What's it like to be an artist working on one of the more visually imaginative MMOs out there? Just ask Melissa Preston, the art lead for Pirate101 who wrote an article looking at what a typical day entails in her job. She says that one of her favorite parts of the day is reviewing the art book to see progress being made: "All of the pieces have to work together to tell a story and they need to be believable in the same world." Much of Preston's job is coordinating between departments and her own team to make sure that everything syncs up. She also provides a few pieces of concept art with explanation as to the stories behind each. It's an interesting job that doesn't always get the spotlight in the way that other developer positions do, so check it out and learn a thing or two about what artists do for MMOs!
Make-a-Wish boy becomes KingsIsle honorary producer
We've all heard the incredible dreams that the Make-a-Wish foundation accomplishes for seriously ill children, but what if a boy with brain cancer wanted to tour his favorite game studio and become an honorary producer instead of go to Disney World? No problem: wish granted! Eleven-year-old Ryan and his family were granted an all-access tour of KingsIsle Studios through Make-a-Wish's efforts. The studio posted an article with Ryan's adventures throughout the day, including a voice recording session, a Pirate101 play session with developers, and time spent learning about what each department does. Ryan's mother related how important the day was to her son: "For him to see some of the actors and creators in person and see how a game he loves to play is created is just so special. It's something we could never give him and just an amazing opportunity for him." KingsIsle had a special surprise in store for Ryan at the end of the day. The team created a new Pirate101 NPC named Ryan the Relentless and equipped the character with the sound files from Ryan's recording session that day. Ryan the Relentless and his Yum-n-ade stand will be added to the live game this week.
