producers-letter
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WildStar launches with new trailer, patch, and free realm transfers
It's the official launch day for WildStar, and Carbine's got a lot for you to digest this morning! We'll start off by pointing you to Executive Producer Jeremy Gaffney's speech to the community. "If we're going to play with the big boys, we have to earn the right to be one of the few MMOs that can not just draw gamers in, but can earn those gamers' loyalty over time," Gaffney vowed. There's a new patch for launch day that includes more optimization and the ability to roll both factions on a PvP server. Carbine's also allowing players to transfer to and from certain realms for free in order to alleviate population issues. Finally, the team posted a new launch trailer, which we've got for you after the jump!
Anarchy Online prepares 'huge' fall patch
Funcom's Joel Bylos posted a producer's letter today for Anarchy Online, promising a major patch for the game later this year. Among other features, Patch 18.7 will include changes to the Martial Artist and the Trader classes and will begin to automate seasonal events. "In the 18.7 branch, we have placed out all seasonal spawns in the game world and we will start testing on the closed beta in the upcoming weeks to ensure the automated system works as intended," Bylos reported. The "huge" patch will be put on the test server this summer with a release date sometime before Halloween.
Shroud of the Avatar's Release 6 brings better visuals and combat
Shroud of the Avatar's Release 6 is set to roll out this Thursday with a host of new goodies for backers to enjoy. Release 6 includes visual improvements, player-to-player secure trade, additional crafting animations, combat improvements, looting fixes, revised animals, a new iteration of the overworld map, and a "sanity pass" on NPC dialogue. The weekend's website update was primarily focused on the improvements being made to the game's housing system, including larger abodes and even new types of homes. The Founder Lord Town Home was scaled up to include more rooms and even a secret hiding spot. Meanwhile, the Benefactor Town Home was displayed in all of its glory, boasting several rooms (including another secret one) and twin decks. If living the high life isn't for you, the team also made a rustic barn house featuring two stories and four rooms.
EverQuest II's dino-tastic expansion pack is still in the works
EverQuest II folks, fret not, for SOE has not abandoned you for shiny new sandboxes. The recent producer's letter mentions several projects that the team is working hard on, the biggest of which is the upcoming unnamed expansion pack. "We are working on a variety of themes again, one of them we have hinted at with dinosaur-like creatures," the letter teases. SOE goes on to say that expansion previews will be happening soon, and come June there will be a "Gear Up, Level Up" promotion aimed at preparing the playerbase for the release. All players will receive bonuses that month, although All Access players will get the better end of it. It also looks as though there will be an expansion discount for those who pre-order in June. The team is also working to improve its matchmaking code, add a new Tunaria PvP warzone, create a Fabled Deathtoll dungeon zone, and toss in dressable NPC mannequins for housing.
The Secret World's Tokyo story missions will be replayable
The Secret World's Issue #9: The Black Signal is coming this month (when, Funcom, when?), and in today's newsletter, the studio announced that all of the main storyline missions for Tokyo will be replayable for the first time in the game. Funcom posted a three-page comic for the issue and promised that it will be talking about Tokyo quite a bit in the coming weeks. "With Issue #9, we will be releasing the first part of the zone, the first chapter in the continuation of the main story, several side missions, and of course, the AEGIS system," the studio summed up. To fill the weeks between now and then, Funcom is triggering a repeat of all of the stages of the Whispering Tide event. This encore event will begin on May 7th and end on May 21st.
Anarchy Online and Age of Conan players vote on new content
Newsletters for Anarchy Online and Age of Conan were posted yesterday, and both of them had a common theme: an intiative by Funcom to let players vote on what new content they want to see developed. Anarchy Online players voted for a new Shadowlands mission, which is currently being made for the Inferno zone. AO is also getting ready to show off the 18.7 patch, which contains a new ICC headquarters, the new player experience, and shop changes. As for the Age of Conan community, players voted to see Conall's Valley and the Wild Lands of Zelata included with PvP events. The studio has scheduled a world boss event for May 7th, the sixth anniversary event for May 20th, and Patch 4.2 for some time this month.
Eternal Crusade delivers sneak peek of new website and founder's program heroes
Behavior Associate Producer Mathieu Fecteau penned a new producer's letter today in which he showed off both a mock-up of the upcoming Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade website and some concept art of the founder's program heroes. The website will be launched in the early summer, Fectaeu said. "I'm really proud of the direction the design is taking. Ghislain Barbe (Art Director) helped by Nicolas Brunoni (Lead UI/HUD) and I are working closely with Turbulent to get something immersive, dynamic and appealing for our dear crusaders!" As for the founder's program heroes, the sketches provided in the producer's letter merely give an idea of what they will look like when comleted. Fecteau said that all factions will have heroes, special units that are sent out for certain situations, but are "mostly aesthetic."
The Road to Mordor: Birthdays and Beornings in LotRO
This month Lord of the Rings Online will be hitting its seventh anniversary. That's right: Seven years ago, LotRO opened the doors to Middle-earth in a way that we never had before. Some took cheap shots by calling it a World of Warcraft clone, but the less inflammatory and more intelligent in the crowd realized that there was something more to this MMO than a Hobbit-infested Azeroth. We've had ups and downs in LotRO since 2007, but one continuing testimony that I see mentioned on a regular basis is how welcoming and wonderful it is to return to this game. There's something special -- almost magical -- about Turbine's version of Middle-earth that has entranced many players and continues to do so. Heck, in my very first Road to Mordor back in 2010 I tried to articulate why I felt that this game was set apart from the pack in significant ways. Today we have much to discuss about the future of the game, but I want to start with one overriding factor that so much of the game connects to: its sense of cohesiveness. This is not a scattered playground full of discordant toys but a unified world with intricate bonds that we are still exploring.
Camelot Unchained gives a first look at the Viking Jotnar [Updated]
A new producer's letter from Camelot Unchained's Tyler Rockwell is out today with a first look at one of the giant races of the game. The game posted a piece of concept art for its Viking Jotnar as well as an image of a creature found in The Depths dungeon. Rockwell said that the team has a lot to do over the next month, including integrating a new game designer into the team, developing the Tuatha giant race, and vastly improving the internal testing client so that large-scale battles can happen. The game's scheduled to get Havok physics and collisions added in, allowing for jumping and projectiles to be included in the future. [Update: Tipster Matthew let us know that CU also uploaded a new developer video. It's after the cut!]
Camelot Unchained's internal testing 'successful' so far
Camelot Unchained Producer Tyler Rockwell wrote a letter to the community today saying that internal testing on the MMO is going well and that the team is ready to work toward its second milestone. "We had a very successful start to internal testing," Rockwell reported. He mentioned that while Camelot Unchained's internal testing has taken place with small groups in limited environments, at one point the team had worked up to 286 players fighting in an area. With the game's first development milestone reached, Rockwell said that the team is now focused on hitting the second one. This includes work on the Depths dungeon and the Giants race. The project will also continue to refine the technical aspect: "Moving forward over the next month we'll be focusing on continued server and client performance and stability. We hope to continue adding art to the client and recently added some simple combat. The big goal is even larger numbers of people in testing with a continued frame rate of 60fps."
Camelot Unchained producer: 'Be excited. Be very excited.'
Camelot Unchained Producer Tyler Rockwell has emerged from a busy year of work on this upcoming RvR MMO to look forward to the next year through the lens of the game's development. Rockwell's December producer letter claims that a game is beginning to emerge from all of the hard work. He reiterates that the main focus is preparing Camelot Unchained for January's internal playtest. He also praised many members of the team, including the animation editor, the engineers, and the artists, for their hard work. Rockwell says that fans of Camelot Unchained have good reason to be pumped for the title: "[Bat shit crazy] is a favorite term of Mark [Jacobs] that, honestly, I believe defines what is going on, mostly in secret, right now. We use the term BSC knowingly because many of the ideas are counter to much of the current MMOs out there. We hope our fan base will be excited by these ideas as we are here. Be excited. Be very excited."
EverQuest Producer's letter talks race/class combos, scaled Heroic Adventures
Want your favorite race/class combination to make it into EverQuest for its 15th anniversary? Then you'd better jump on the site and vote! The December Producer's Letter noted that the semi-final round just started, with three Elvenkind and one Iksar battling to be the chosen one. But the news doesn't stop there: The letter goes on to say that Call of the Forsaken: Hate Rising -- the first large free content update for those who own that expansion -- is launching in January, bringing new raids, new rare loot, and new Heroic Adventures to Norrath. On top of that, Heroic Adventures are getting tweaked so that they will be scaled by level, giving players the opportunity to play this content even earlier.
Lord of the Rings Online forgoes expansions in 2014
Hey LotRO -- no expansion for you! In a letter to players today, Lord of the Rings Online's Executive Producer Kate Paiz announced that the game would not have any expansions in 2014. That doesn't mean that the game won't have any additional content, however; instead of one big avalanche of content at once, the goal is to "focus on a steady flow of content throughout the year." The content that rolls in over the coming months will be free for VIP subscribers. Paiz continues on to ask for suggestions about inventory and festivals as well as touches on housing, noting that that particular conversation will be continued throughout the year.
Dungeons & Dragons Online looks back at 2013 and forward to 2014
December isn't just a month for frenzied consumerism; it's almost the end of the year and time to start reflecting on what went well, what went badly, and what needs to change. So it's appropriate that the latest producer's letter for Dungeons & Dragons Online focuses on precisely that, looking back at 2013 and counting up the game's big hits and misses. The team feels that Epic Reincarnation and the Storm Horn Mountains were big wins, while the bug-plagued Mabar Festival was definitely a nadir. But there's no point in looking back if you don't look forward, and the letter does that as well. Four major content updates are planned for next year, featuring a boost of the level cap to 30, two new raids in the dwarven ruins of Thunderholme, a new set of guild airship models, and more beyond that. Take a look at the letter for an exact schedule and more discussion about the year's highs and lows.
Final Fantasy XIV's 2.1 patch coming December 17th
During Final Fantasy XIV's live producer's letter that aired this morning, Naoki Yoshida offered players a look at a variety of new features coming in 2.1 and dropped the date and name for the patch. A Realm Awoken will hit servers on December 17th in Japan (which could translate to December 16th in the West, depending on the time of day). Throughout the stream, Yoshida fielded player questions while discussing the upcoming content, which includes, but is not limited to, new gear, the Crystal Tower content, new hard-mode dungeons, extreme primal battles, veteran rewards, and Dragoon adjustments. You can read up on the answers in the Q&A thread available on the forums. An additional look at 2.1, including the PlayStation 4 version, is coming in the next live producer's letter on December 14th. We'll update you with the full recording as soon as the official Q&A summary goes live!
The Secret World hints at Aegis system with Issue #9
With Issue #8 on the way next week for The Secret World, Creative Director Joel Bylos hinted at what lies beyond in his latest game director letter. While the fans have known that the first part of the long-awaited Tokyo zone would be coming with Issue #9, Bylos dropped a small bombshell that a new system will arrive as well. "We will be introducing the new Aegis system," he said, "which will expand the horizontal progression of The Secret World and provide new mechanics that allow us to build consistent horizontal progression mechanics that will keep content fresh, not only in Tokyo, but also for all new areas in the future." Bylos reports that "full production is underway" for Issue #9, including work on missions, characters, motion capture, and voice acting. He said that once it's completed, it will be the single largest content update the MMO has seen to date. [Thanks to Cotic for the tip!]
Final Fantasy XIV producer letter talks classes, cheating, and housing
A hefty two-and-a-half hour live Final Fantasy XIV producer's letter has tackled a wide range of questions from the community, including issues regarding class balance, anti-cheating efforts, and housing details. While free company housing is coming soon, the producer said that it will be another half-year or so before individual housing arrives. One of the big topics of the day was how the team is dealing with the disagreeable elements arising from the use of the duty finder. Square-Enix is considering changes to add a bulletin board-style system for more specific groups, better communication options for group participants, and an MVP voting system that will allow players to give points to good teammates that can be later spent on rewards. Executive Producer Naoki Yoshida also addressed the question of whether the game's subscriber numbers are decreasing: "As FFXIV:ARR is a subscription-based business model, naturally there will be players who will not play anymore once they finish the main scenario. MMORPGs that launched after 2008 with a subscription based model retained a maximum of 35% of their users during the first month of subscriptions. However, FFXIV:ARR has surpassed this number by a wide margin." There's a lot covered for Final Fantasy XIV players who want to be in the know, so check it out!
Producer's letter details DCUO 'remastered'
DC Universe Online's Update 31 is on its way, and with it come some of the biggest changes ever implemented to the game's core design and appearance. Executive producer Larry Liberty today outlined the key points in a letter to the community, explaining to players what they can expect from Update 31 and beyond. According to Liberty, the bulk of Update 31 focuses on preparing DCUO for its impending PS4 launch. Changes include graphics upgrades like higher resolution textures and area redesigns, along with a "remastering" of the core leveling experience. Leveling from 1-30 has seen special attention; Liberty noted that new players should see a smoother progression of content with less chance of being stuck without a mission. Update 31 is tentatively scheduled for a November launch on PC and PS3. The game's PS4 release is still on track to match up with the console's release window.
Final Fantasy XIV promises 'fairly substantial' first update
Final Fantasy XIV Executive Producer Naoki Yoshida wrote that the upcoming first update for the relaunched title will be "fairly substantial" in several categories. He said that the update will contain more activities for players to do, including daily quests, treasure hunts, new dungeons, primal battles, housing, and the return of the Good King Moggle Mog. Update 2.1 will go on to introduce a character salon, a party search function, changes based on player feedback, an item-sort function, and the return of a character from the old version of the game. Yoshida said that before the update hits, the team will tweak tomestone drop rates to make them easier for players to obtain and fix an issue with the Binding Coil of Bahamut that's keeping players from completing it.
September producer's letter announces return of the Cat God to The Secret World
At the close of every month, Joel Bylos pens a producer's letter to all The Secret World fans reviewing the activities of the previous four weeks and outlining what's still to come. For September, Bylos updated players on the progress of both Issue #8 (scenarios are being balanced for solo, duo, and groups as well as nightmare versions) and the much-anticipated Issue #9 (when visiting Tokyo, bring your origami skills!). Bylos also invited players to jump in and participate in the current Whispering Tide event and reminded them that many more phases of the event are yet to come. On top of that, he announced that the Cat God event from last Halloween will be back, so everyone who missed out on completing that line will have a chance this year. Additionally, a new series of missions called Stories from Solomon Island will be available where players will investigate the legitimacy of the islands' various urban legends. This series brings players back to the stories of Tyler Freeborn and the Groundskeeper at Innsmouth Academy.
