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Earthrise game mechanics confirmed in Masthead Studios dev chat
The creators of the sci-fi MMO Earthrise have been very active in recent months -- granting a number of interviews, releasing monthly newsletters, and participating in dev chats. Stratics recently hosted the third Earthrise 'House of Commons' dev chat, with three members of the Masthead Studios team.The Masthead Studios devs that took part were Atanas Atanasov (CEO of Masthead Studios), Apostol Apostolov (Lead Game Designer), and Moll (Community Manager). Their discussion ranged from the professions available to players to the extensive crafting system in the game. Read on after the jump for details straight from the devs about what we can expect from Earthrise.
Breakfast Topic: When do you start working up a profession?
I'm not entirely sold on leveling trade skills in World of Warcraft. By leveling up professions you can create armor, weapons, and goods that theoretically benefit your character. With a little luck, you can even make some money from your trade. It usually takes a major investment maximize your professions and get the goods that you want. In most cases I prefer to wait until I've reached the level cap to start professions. There are two exceptions to this. Whenever I roll a character on a server that's new to me, I invest in skinning and mining and sell the materials for gold for my mount and equipment. I used to level fishing too. Until Blizzard added the aggressive mobs on the shore of Dustwallow Marsh, I would swim past the Mirefin Murlocs and fish among the turtles for loot that was much higher than my level. I don't usually level anything useful for my class until I've crossed through the Dark Portal.
The Light and How to Swing It: The paladin's guide to engineering
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article suggesting that blacksmithing may be the best profession choice for paladins. However, a metric load of engineers wrote in to inform me that a) I am dumb and b) engineering offers some great options for paladins. I disagree with option a on principle, but after doing some research, I've come to agree more and more with b. Engineering is indeed a viable (if still largely unprofitable) profession. While I might have soured on engineering after a torturous pre-BC time on my warlock, the new, revamped engineering has some wonderful tricks, toys, and ways to fill in the gaps in the paladin playstyle. The basics Dynamite and Bombs: They come in many forms, from these ultra-cheap versions to sophisticated gadgets. But no matter what type you make, they fulfill two important functions: they're wonderful ways to level engineering, and they provide a ranged attack/pull for a class that is otherwise lacking one. (Unless you grab Avenger's Shield or Holy Shock, but those are only available at later levels.)
The Daily Grind: Should crafting be risky?
In certain MMOs like EverQuest II, you can whiff profession combines -- which is to say you can fail to craft an object if your skill isn't high enough. We've even heard tales of people bombing them so badly at the highest levels that they wind up nearly killing you on top of destroying pricey materials. In other games like World of Warcraft, your tradeskill combines are guaranteed to work every time. There's also no mechanic in "specialization" that opens up the ability to make slightly better gear than a non-specialized person -- in WoW, you either are able to do that tradeskill, or you aren't. Some of the hardcore crafters out there enjoy the element of risk for the trade-off of being able to make slightly better items if you've practiced that trade a lot. Others like the knowledge that you're guaranteed to make at least as good an item as everyone else with your expensive materials. This morning we'd like to ask you where you stand? Do you think that crafting should have an element of risk, wherein you can lose materials but may wind up with slightly better items on a particularly good combine? Or do you prefer the model that WoW uses, that guarantees that you'll wind up with an item, exactly the same as everyone else's item, without the fear of losing materials or taking damage?
Are you a recipe completist?
Earlier today I was perusing the official WoW forums, looking for any new info about our favorite game, when I noticed a particular post. Warla, the player in question, was announcing that they had collected all of the cooking recipes in the game. At first glance, this might not seem like much of an accomplishment, but there are a lot of recipes that are more readily available to one faction or the other, such as Dig Rat Stew. Taking into consideration that Warla is on a PvP server and can't easily do a trade through the neutral auction house, this is actually quite a feat.I'm not really a perfectionist when it comes to my professions (and I'm definitely not the type who would announce such accomplishments in a public forum), but I have known other people that were. One guy I know is a blacksmith and spent hours researching and tracking down every last pattern that was available to him. The same guy was making a point to complete every single available quest in the game too, so his blacksmithing goal wasn't really his loftiest.
Winter Veil mysteries
The Feast of Winter Veil will be upon us in less than a week and we already know that there will be new elements added to WoW's biggest holiday. Item database and news sites have been publishing information about this year's festivities for quite awhile now, but nonetheless there are still two mysteries that are pestering me. First of all, as you are probably aware, there is a Winter Veil quest to kill the Abominable Greench and retrieve the stolen Smokywood Pastures' treats in the Alterac Mountains. Upon completion of the quest, you're rewarded with a box that can contain a special profession recipe. Alchemy, Engineering, Enchanting, Leatherworking, Blacksmithing and Tailoring have all been represented in the possible rewards. This brings us down to my burning question: Will jewelcrafters have a new design added to the gift box this year? If so, what could it possibly be?
More thoughts on Dofus
I wrote up my initial thoughts on Dofus over here. Here I am back with more pictures and a final report on why it didn't gel for me. Whilst I would love to write a totally unbiased review of Dofus, I don't think I can. I will try to highlight my experiences of how it works, and how it can be used so you can make an informed decision as to whether it is your kind of thing. Keep in mind that my opinions will be coloured by the fact it didn't grab me hard enough to make me carry on. The first thing to say is that you can almost certainly get a good experience from playing Dofus as a free-to-play user. Pay-to-play (about US$6.90/month) gives benefits: better drops; no limits on professions; certain drops only accessible to pay-to-play; certain areas only accessible to pay-to-play. This lets you try before you buy. %Gallery-10531%
Preparing for 2.3: Pre-patch farming, part 2
The other day I listed the items that will be used in new recipes after the patch. I did miss a few things, but with your helpful comments, I've updated the original article to be more complete. I'll mention again that it's difficult to make predictions on what will sell the best, but nonetheless I've decided to list some of my thoughts on the subject below.
Fish school tracking in patch 2.3
El's Extreme Anglin' Guide (which we've linked to before) has a nice wrapup on their site about all the fishing changes coming in 2.3. Lisa actually covered a lot of the fishing changes in 2.3 already, but El's has updated info from the PTR, including new fish added to the game, skill level changes around Azeroth, and lots of info on where to get the Weather-Beaten Journal, the item that adds the new "fish school tracking" ability.Apparently, there are a few different crates you'll be able to fish up, and each one of them will have a different chance to drop the journal. The earliest you can obtain the journal will be at about 55 fishing, while the easiest you can obtain it appears to be from pools in Outland, that require a much higher fishing skill. If you need to powerlevel your fishing, you might want to start now, as it seems Blizzard wants the school tracking ability to be a reward for mid- to high-level fishermen. Which makes sense-- since it doesn't matter where you fish, the school tracking ability only helps when you're looking for a certain type of fish, and wouldn't really be necessary when just starting out as an angler.Definitely sounds like a new bit of fun, and a fairly useful ability, for those who choose to level up fishing.[ via World of Raids ]
Breakfast Topic: Things they'll never announce at BlizzCon
We've all heard rumors and speculations about what's due to be announced at BlizzCon today: a new expansion, a new class, and who knows what else. Now let's turn aside from what we think will happen and consider the infinite possibilities of what will not happen. Yes, indeedy -- today's the day we'll look into our crystal balls and talk to our Ouija boards, predicting with 100% accuracy all the things Blizzard will not announce today at BlizzCon! To get your inspiration going, I'll give you a few examples. New Expansion: The Search for Mankirk's Wife (in which the new area is just an expanded Barrens -- ten times larger than the original) New Class: Teletubby. Available races: Gnome, Blood Elf. Signature spell: "Infuriating Giggle" New Profession: Retail Salesmanship. Lets you set up shops and stand around all day waiting for customers. Raid bosses will drop epic brand name contracts.
Fishing and fun (or the lack thereof)
Fishing is probably the strangest implementation of activity in WoW-- there's really nothing like it (well, except everything-- it's basically clicking in a certain place at a certain time, and when aren't you doing that in this game?). But for all its boring qualities, players are still fascinated with it. Blizzard has hit on that weird balance of positive reinforcement-- it's boring, but gives just enough reward to keep you doing it.And so it's not surprising that, once again, players are asking for fishing to be made "more fun." What that means, no one is really sure-- they could add better rewards, or make it a less boring minigame, or just make it require less attention (all other professions don't require any attention to be paid).Lo and behold, Drysc actually acknowledges that there's something wrong with fishing-- something that has to do with the unquantifiable quantity known as "fun." But what it is, even Blizzard doesn't seem to know-- they added nodes to fishing to join a bit of exploration with it, but once you've found a node, it's just back to that same old clicking. Drysc suggests that real fishing is just as boring for some people, and that's why not everyone likes fishing in WoW, either.My personal preference would be to put more into the fishing minigame-- catch different fish at different times of the day, or use different lures to attract various catches. Either that or make the skill involved something other than "waiting"-- maybe a meter where you have to click when the bar reaches a certain point. There's lots of reasons to fish, and that's why people still do it. But there's no question that sitting there waiting for the bobber to bounce needs more cowbell fun.
WoW Rookie: An overview of professions
While some may argue that World of Warcraft doesn't have enough professions, there are enough choices to leave any new player at a loss when it comes to selecting one for the first time. So today we're going to discuss the good and bad of the game's ten primary professions and six secondary professions -- and hopefully give you the knowledge to make some informed decisions next time you need to chose a profession for yourself.Interested in knowing a bit more about the game's professions? Keep reading! Want to tell us which professions you find the most useful (and why)? Leave us a comment!
Breakfast topic: Hardest tradeskill
Just like in real life, in WoW, some jobs are harder than others. Gathering professions tend to be pretty easy and lucrative -- it doesn't take a lot of effort to wander around and gather stuff, particularly herbs. Skinning's a little tougher, but at least you get to control how many "nodes" you have by killing everything. Mining is widely considered to be annoying because of the intense competition for nodes, but it can also make you a lot of cash. The crafting professions are much, much harder, and tend to require a significant gold investment. I've only been an alch/herb up to 375, so everything else is based on friends and guildmates. Alchemy ... well, alchemy is easy. It doesn't require a lot of materials, the recipes are usually easy to find, and everyone loves the guild alchemists. Enchanting has the major negative of depending mostly on the kindness of strangers, most of whom want you to enchant their gear for free, but at least you can get the mats free by disenchanting your old gear. Tailoring has cheap mats, but you need a lot of them. Jewelcrafting is apparently difficult without mining, easy with it. Blacksmithing can apparently be really easy or really hard, depending on your luck (and your patterns!) The two professions reported to be the "worst" -- both in terms of leveling and overall usefulness -- are leatherworking and engineering. Leatherworking from 350 up is a giant pain, since you need rare patterns, and you don't make a lot of money from LW unless you get hard-to-find epic patterns. Engineering requires a lot of rare materials and is just largely useless. However, on the pain-to-level scale, nothing beats fishing. I would seriously rather beat my head against a wall than fish for more than five minutes these days. Admittedly, it doesn't cost money, but the cost in brain cells is far too great. What do you think is the hardest profession to level? What about leveling time vs. usefulness at 70?
DS Daily: Are we going too far?
The DS has done a remarkable job of turning professions normally requiring years of dedication and intense training into spontaneous and exciting romps of fancy. Phoenix Wright and Trauma Center are still some of the most lauded games on the blooming handheld, and such fresh ideas are what keep the gaming industry healthy.But one look at this, and one's stomach feels a bit queasy. My God, a stock trading game? A reviled profession, virtually anathema to gamers, being made into a game? Of course, the title will in all likelihood never be localized, but is nothing sacred anymore? Are we overreacting? What other "profession" games would you like to see on the DS?We'd also like to take this opportunity to remind you about tips. The link is small and sadly difficult to find; many readers have no idea it even exists. But check it out: in the column directly to the right of the main posts, under "Resources", is a small "Send us news tips" link. Use it! If you send us a hot story or interesting article, we'll bake you cookies credit you with the tip in the post and you'll be totally famous.[Note to all business-oriented people: we were totally sensationalizing your chosen profession to incite teh flame. Please don't sell us.]
Burning Crusade profession updates
Some of this has been categorized as rumor before, but now there's official word on some updates for existing professions. All crafting professions can expect new recipes and all gathering professions can expect new types of item to gather, but there are a few interesting tidbits mentioned as well. Alchemy will have specializations that will occasionally allow the player two create two of their specialization's items. (Potions, elixirs, and transmutations.) Blacksmiths will be given powerful bind on pickup items for their specialization. These items will be upgradable to keep up with the blacksmith's progression in the game. (Nope, there are no further details on this yet.) Enchantments now seem to have a minimum level requirement (based on the sample enchants being shown) and there will be new enchants for rings in the game. Engineers are promised "many new and intense gadgets" but I'm not personally impressed by any of the previewed items. Herbalists can expect to find plant-based monsters beyond the Dark Portal from which a trained herbalist will be able to harvest herbs, much like a skinner skins beasts. Jewelcrafting will, as we know, allow for the creation of necklaces, rings, trinkets, and socketable gems. If you match the color of the gems to the color of the sockets on a socketed item, you'll receive an additional bonus from them. Leatherworking will offer more high-end armor options, with claims of viable crafted gear to help you venture into end-game dungeons. Miners will also find some creatures of the Outlands to yield harvestable minerals when killed. Tailoring is set to have its own specializations, though there's no announcement on what these will be, the specializations will allow the creation of multiple items occasionally, like alchemy. Most interesting, however, are the tailor-made (and tailoring skill required to use) nets that can be used to capture targets for several seconds. [Thanks, Bonemouse!]
All About Jewelcrafting
Blizzard has released some new information about the jewelcrafting profession that we'll be seeing in the Burning Crusade expansion. Jewelcrafters will be able to make jewelry, trinkets, and insert gems into socketed items - imbuing them with additional powers. Raw gems may be used by the jewelcrafter to create jewelry and trinkets, or they may be cut into gems suitable for use in socketed items (cut gems may be inserted into socketed items by any player). Interesting, to me, is the article's mention of how jewels are found:By processing the raw ore mined from the various deposits and mineral veins, jewelcrafters can extract gems from the ore which they can then use for their craft. Although miners sometimes find gems while gathering ore, jewelcrafters mostly rely on their prospecting skills to get more of the precious stones.Does this imply that jewelcrafting will be a natural match with mining for a supply of gems? Or that there will be a new "prospecting" profession for gathering gems? While we have a lot of new details, much is still unclear.
