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SOE's Jimmy Whisenhunt on the paranoia and potential of H1Z1
What's more dangerous to your survival after the apocalypse: undead abominations or your fellow humans? OK, that's certainly not a new question in the zombie gaming genre, although it's not going to stop H1Z1 from asking it. In fact, there's a haze of extreme familiarity that's settled around this title, even though it's the first full MMO on this scale to tackle a zombie survival sandbox. Is it almost too familiar for its own good? Will that familiarity be an asset or a drawback? Is SOE merely trying to cash in on the DayZ craze without trying much new? Or are these assumptions blinding us to the grander plan? To get a better feel for H1Z1, we got on the phone with Senior Designer Jimmy Whisenhunt. To start off, Whisenhunt gave us a quick summary of the game for those who aren't clued in to the whole. H1Z1 is a post-apocalyptic survival MMO that's more focused on physicality than stats. So instead of needing to level up, you'll find your initial challenges will be things like foraging for food, finding a shelter, building a campfire, and getting your hands on a weapon because everything wants to kill you. And when Whisenhunt says "everything," he means not just zombies but the environment, infection, weather, wildlife, and even other players.
Fallen Earth posts its update on development in May
If you're a Fallen Earth player eagerly awaiting the release of the Outpost (the player-built town originally meant for live implementation this month) you're going to have to wait a little longer. But you're not being forgotten, either. The latest development update states that while it's taken a while to even bring the new feature to the test server, the team is still hard at work testing all of the ways it interacts with other systems in the game, and it's still on its way. Additionally, this update reveals that another developer has joined the team. The Scapegoat is a systems developer who will be responsible for tweaking the game's skills and mutations, with a build and patch notes due to arrive on the test server very shortly. While it's still largely quiet for the post-apocalyptic game, players should be happy that there are still signs of life.
Rust, H1Z1, and the emerging 'survival MMO' genre
I'm naked and alone again, but that's OK. After having to level up in other games a million times, deal with boring tutorials, repeatedly turn in quests that add no value to my play time, and then watch as my guild slowly bleeds members to the next MMO asking us to repeat the whole ordeal, "naked and alone" is actually nice. Well, maybe just the naked part. And that, my friends, is the horror-survival/post-apocalypse genre. I love MMOs, but recent themeparks and building games have left me wanting something a bit more dangerous but still not a pointless murderfest. For the most part, these games are less about levels and quests and more about finding items to make sure you don't die. Hunger meters, diseases, and limited supplies in a world filled with enemies who loot you certainly feels like a good throwback to classic RPGs mixed with the multiplayer I've been craving since Asheron's Call first hooked me on MMORPGs. But community-wise, these games have seemed more like lobby shooters than MMOs, which for a long time made me hesitate to try them. If you've been finding yourself in the same situation, hopefully my little plunge into this bloody genre will give you some ideas of what to expect.
Stick and Rudder: How Star Citizen is turning the game industry on its ear
When this column began, the first thing I talked about was Star Citizen's then-unique development model and how important it was both for fans and the game industry as a whole. Over a year later, the jury's still out on whether or not Cloud Imperium's opus will bring balance to the Force and give starving hardcores a home of their own. It's already safe to say that Star Citizen has turned the industry on its ear, though.
Xsyon adds over 200 tutorial panels
Let it not be said that Xsyon is trying to discourage new players from learning how to play this sandbox. On the contrary, today's patch primarily focuses on including a detailed tutorial that includes "over 200 panels of instructions." The new tutorial serves to guide players through various in-game mechanics, such as building fires, foraging, and crafting. New players to the game now begin with several tools and items to aid in their survival. From the get-go, a player should be able to craft a set of grass armor and all of the basic tools. Because nothing says "survival" like pasting lawn clippings onto your torso! Other improvements with today's patch include interface refinements, tweaks to campfires (which also look better), and adjustments to energy, hunger, and thirst mechanics.
SOE is streaming H1Z1 right now [Videos uploaded now]
You know what goes great with lunch breaks (or breakfast, if you're one of those weirdo West Coasters)? Zombies, that's what. As such, SOE is serving up an H1Z1 livestream as we speak, so head to the game's official Twitch channel to see game designers Adam Clegg and Jimmy Whisenhunt laying the groundwork for this afternoon's content. This is a day-long stream, with dev interviews, office tours, John Smedley, and gameplay on tap. [Update: We've embedded the trailer and other stream highlights after the break.]
Here's a brief H1Z1 trailer
SOE sneaked a brief H1Z1 trailer onto the interwebs last week, and the clip features 58 seconds' worth of the night terrors typically associated with zombies and zombie video games. The trailer is called Will You Survive the Night. View it in its entirety after the cut.
The Daily Grind: How much paranoia should MMOs provoke?
A few weeks ago, SOE's John Smedley suggested that H1Z1's gameplay mechanics and atmosphere are intended make you "scared when you see someone" and that "your first instinct needs to be to hide." It seemed to me that what he was describing was not an MMORPG but the antithesis of an MMORPG. I usually log into MMOs to be surrounded by people, not to hide from them. Even in a game with open PvP, I don't want the entirety of my play experience to be summed up by sheer paranoia, especially a game that features so prominently a crafting-based and presumably social economy. What do you think -- how much do you want the feeling of paranoia and fear of your fellow players to dominate your play experience? [With thanks to SallyBowls and Space Cobra for the inspiration for this question!] 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!
John Smedley discusses H1Z1 monetization
Player characters in H1Z1 won't be concerned with money, seeing as how they'll be busy trying to fortify themselves against hordes of shambling zombies. Sony Online Entertainment, however, does indeed want to make money off of the game. President John Smedley took to Reddit to share the details of the team's first monetization meeting, and while it's not a decisive list of how the game will make money, it serves as a preview. The early list contains character slots, wearable items, crates with random selections of wearable items, and emotes. The team also intends to allow players to loot wearables from other players, but looted cash items will degrade over time rather than being perpetual acquisitions. Smedley makes it clear that resources like food, water, and ammunition will not be sold, nor will any boosts to those resources, since acquiring these assets makes up the core of the gameplay. Take a look at the post for the details and the community response.
SOE's new Player Server initiative debuting in H1Z1
Did you watch SOE's late-breaking H1Z1 livestream last night? Are you excited for the zombie survival sandbox MMO? Well, here's another nugget to chew on courtesy of CEO John Smedley and his Twitter feed. The game will feature private servers. Today I'd like to announce H1Z1 will be the first game to implement our new Player Servers. In addition to the traditional servers that we set up and run (what you've come to expect in MMOs), we will allow the players to come together in any way they wish and if they can get enough people together to vote for the server we will make it for them. At first this will be for specific pre-defined rulesets. Later we will expand past rulesets into adding more features. For example perhaps one community prefers to go more militaristic. So they add more military vehicles. So we're truly letting you, our players get exactly the kind of thing you're looking for. Mechanically this will allow players to buy pledge tokens in Station Cash to vote on a proposal. However, should the vote [succeed] we refund. [Thanks BabaGraPL!]
SOE is streaming H1Z1 live right now
SOE has just announced that members of the H1Z1 dev team will be streaming the recently revealed zombie survival sandbox for the first time tonight on Twitch starting at 7:00 p.m. EDT, which is right this very minute. We've included the stream embed after the cut for your entertainment. Popcorn sold separately. [Update: The devs streaming are Game Designer Jimmy Whisenhunt and Technical Director Tom Schenck] [Source: SOE press release]
Smedley talks H1Z1's map size, population density
SOE CEO John Smedley's not done talking about zombie sandbox survival MMO H1Z1. Earlier this afternoon on Reddit, Smed posted a lengthy comment addressing questions about the game's map size. Rather than summarize it for you, I'll just go ahead and leave the whole thing here. I've seen a bunch of people asking questions about the map size. Forgelight is built to handle arbitrarily sized worlds. Our plan is simple -- we're building the core of "anywhere USA". When we first open it up to users the map will be huge, but nowhere near as big as it's going to be in short order. Our map editing system allows us to quickly add massive areas. We want to make sure we clearly understand how the players are playing the game before we do that. On PlanetSide 2 we made a mistake by making multiple continents before we had a strong enough idea of what worked and what didn't. This game is different. We're doing it smarter. When we open up the early access there will be a massive map for players to enjoy. Over time (very quickly) they'll magically just be able to keep going further than they've gone before. It's a very unique way of doing it, but we actually think this is a better way to go. So not to worry. Zombie Apocalypse isn't going to be any fun if it's like Disneyland on Spring Break and super-crowded. We want remote... haunting... being scared when you see someone. Your first instinct needs to be to hide. If there are 20 players in your view it's not a very convincing Apocalypse. So how many players per server? Who knows. As we add more land the number of people we can hold on a server goes way up. So we're excited. We have a ton of zombies for you to fight too. You'll be seeing hordes, oh yes you will.
SOE's H1Z1 is a zombie-flavored sandbox after all
SOE has just released more information on its upcoming F2P zombie MMO H1Z1. In a letter posted to Reddit just moments ago, President John Smedley explained his vision for the game. "It's a massively multiplayer game in which players fight for survival in a world where death is the only sure thing," he writes. Set in middle America with a distinct zombie flavor, the game will be a sandbox with a "deep crafting system" with which "players can build shelters out of resources in the world" and "work together to make amazing fortresses complete with weaponry to help defend against both the Infected and other players." How is the game different from the multitudes of other kill-or-be-killed post-apoc zombie sandboxes already in existence? Smed says it's a persistent MMO with thousands of players and different rulesets, a strong economy, open looting in PvP, access to devs, an emphasis on "player ownership and building," and cool tech borrowed from PlanetSide 2. The studio plans to have a player-playable version within four to six weeks; it will fall under the $15 All Access Pass and have microtransactions but will not be P2W. Have a look at the first released screenies below. The Game Talk Live stream is now over. [Source: SOE press release]
Fallen Earth nodes to get less 'willy-nilly'
Tired of node placement refusing to make a lick of common sense in Fallen Earth? There's a dev for that. Fallen Earth's new state of the game post for April has a word or two to say about how the team is moving around gathering nodes to fit the environment better. "What this will look like is an increase in hand-placed nodes that reflect the setting and environment better and fewer nodes scattered willy-nilly," said Producer Marie Croall. The post also talks about new armor suits and cosmetic gear recipes that are coming soon as part of the rewards for controlling the Outpost.
Post-apocalyptic sandbox Xsyon adds a PvE server
Who says MMO sandboxes are all about PvP? Not Notorious Games, which has announced the formation of a new PvE server for its post-apocalyptic Xsyon title. "Data from the original main world has been duplicated to both servers, allowing players the choice to play on either or both servers. New players can maintain a character on both servers as well," Notorious says in its latest press release. Xsyon is a player-driven MMO focused on building towns, forming tribes, and the shaping the environment. Players may "create quests, hunt, gather, and develop a new world." [Source: Notorious Games press release]
Fallen Earth gives a sneak peek at its player-built town
The Fallen Earth team is hard at work on the next major update of the game, which will include a player-built town called the Outpost. In a new state of the game post, the devs show off a few of the structures in this town. "Since the plot for the area revolves around the Outsiders and GlobalTech, we wanted to take advantage of those groups' love of technology and give the buildings some high tech pieces as well as keeping the aged pre-fall feel," the devs wrote. The Outpost will be bigger and "more robust" than Citadel and should be hitting the live servers some time in May.
Field Journal: Picking up the pieces of Fallen Earth
I was introduced to Fallen Earth way back in the mists of time, around when I first started reading Massively. It was one of the earliest Choose My Adventures, and I was so impressed that I made my own account and joined in on the fun part of the way through. My character even made a few cameos in the column later on. I have a lot of fond memories of the game, and a significant part of that is due to the crafting system. There are some really good ideas in there, even if the execution has always been a bit flawed. Despite those flaws, I wouldn't trade my early days with the game for anything. Well, other than a better version of the same game.
Choose My Adventure: Back in the saddle again edition
Yeeehaw! Now that Mike has finished his ride, they're lettin' me back in the saddle for another round of rootin' tootin' Choose My Adventure fun! And the opportunity has come not a moment too soon: I've had my spurs on and been raring to go for weeks now. As you know, this ain't my first CMA rodeo, and I'm sure as shootin' excited for this next wild romp through a new world. Of course, I won't be doing this alone. This ain't a one-woman show, and you ain't just spectators. I'm the rider all right, but y'all actually have a hold of the reins and will be leading me through the adventures. I'll wrangle up some options each week, and y'all will make the choices for what we do, where we go, and how we get there. Our first choice: which game we're going to tame! I've corralled a herd of titles that ain't seen their time in the spotlight yet (or at least, not for a long, long time). We've got an assortment of breeds to choose from -- some I've the barest hint of experience with; with others, I've none at all. Look 'em over, size 'em up, and then tag the one you want us to spend our next six weeks in. Y'all have until 11:59 p.m. EST on Saturday, January 25th, to make your selection. Then we rope the winner and get this ride started.
Here's Fallen Earth's latest state-of-the-game
There's a brief state-of-the-game update now live on the Fallen Earth website. The devs are apparently hard at work on some new content as well as various improvements to existing stuff. The post mentions PvP keep adjustments, and more specifically tweaks that will shift the focus from player-vs.-door to player-vs.-player. The game's Outpost area also gets a mention. It's "staged content will give players more to explore as well as give [the devs] new ways to challenge and reward both group and solo activities.
Some Assembly Required: Virtual world roundup for 2014 and beyond
Just over two years ago there was a great disturbance, as if millions (or so) of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. Yes, something terrible had happened: a beloved virtual world was destroyed. And that left a number of sandbox refugees looking for a new place to call home. At that time, Some Assembly Required offered a roundup of the then available virtual worlds that could possibly offer accommodation, depending on what qualities players most desired in their games. But as things are wont to, they changed; a lot can happen in the MMOverse in 24 months, from additional features in existing games to new games to the loss of more worlds. So it's time to update this list of virtual worlds to reflect 2014 and beyond. Take a look and see what titles or titles-to-be have the sandbox features that best make a game a home for you.
