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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]
This is the advanced AI tech that's powering Star Citizen
Cloud Imperium has publicized its relationship with Moon Collider, maker of an advanced AI middleware technology known as Kythera. A new press release says that Star Citizen fans will get their first taste of what Kythera can do in April's dogfighting module, while CIG chairman Chris Roberts enthuses over what the tech brings to the table. "The dynamic nature of the technology allows for more realistic dogfights, but at the same time it delivers a very true-to-life universe where planetside environments will be able to display very large scale city simulations all going on at once," he explains. "Kythera will give Star Citizen a true world AI rather than a less dynamic scripted AI which you may find in other games." You can read the full release after the cut. [Source: CIG press release]
What the Dev Watercooler says about the future of PvE
This week's Dev Watercooler post served up a lot of changes for healers. But just because the article -- and the follow up conversations on Twitter -- is dense with healing talk doesn't mean that the tanks and DPSers out there can just ignore it, because these healing notes offer some tantalizing hints at what PvE group content in Warlords might be like. Of course we're missing a lot of details with Blizzard's bit-by-bit announcements, but we can make some leaps based on what we've been told so far. We already knew that the game would be changing significantly in Warlords. Stats are being reduced (squished) across the board, but Blizzard has already said that while stats will be going down, your relative power won't -- back in September Ghostcrawler assured us that mobs will still take the same time to kill, even though the numbers involved will be different. And in this update, Blizzard let us know that they're still on track for that relative power idea... that is, unless you're a healer, specifically saying, "we're buffing heals less than we're increasing creature damage." So just what does this mean for future PvE encounters? Let's take a look.
Watcher on health and healing changes in Warlords of Draenor
If you remember after the last Dev Watercooler, there was a flurry of activity on Twitter as Celestalon and Holinka answered questions. This time Ion "Watcher" Hazzikostas has taken to social media to answer questions and explain what's up. We're collecting his tweets here, to give folks a chance to see what he's got to say about the big changes coming to health and healing mechanics in Warlords. Currently, with healers able to heal everyone so quickly, fight damage has to almost kill them instantly to get healer attention, which is a design they want to get away from. The goal is for every healer to have a triage-capable healing kit without feeling the same. No, they're not just trying to repeat Cataclysm's healing game. Shamans have too many smart heals. But they have less instant cast healing that other healers. The changes to crit damage and healing in PvP mentioned in the watercooler are indeed PvP only. These changes are intended to affect all healers - this is a start for beta iteration to follow. Healers may have time to put DPS attacks into their rotations while healing in the new healer paradigm. Baseline mana regen will be higher, but you'll still use spirit to boost it when you get it on gear. There's more after the jump.
Shroud of the Avatar eyeing PvP balance while placating its 'large segment' of PvEers
The 63rd edition of Shroud of the Avatar's Update of the Avatar is a biggun. It covers topics ranging from upcoming events to the latest chapter of the Blade of the Avatar novel to current dev thinking on various game mechanics. One of those mechanics is PvP, and executive producer Starr Long's treatise touches on the fact that the team wants to a) have PvP, b) have PvP that isn't segregated via dedicated servers, and c) avoid forcing PvP on the "large segment of the community" that doesn't want it. Some of his proposals include PvP zones, duels, and guild warfare. Click through the links below to read more details.
Black Gold dungeons to feature 'consequential death,' traps, and more
Snail has updated its Black Gold website with a look at the steampunk title's dungeons and instances. The post highlights groupfinder functionality as well as several gameplay mechanics including "difficult maps with no clear path," consequences in the form of respawning at the dungeon entrance after a death, and "hidden perils" like static and dynamic booby traps. The update also features a few dungeon-centric screenshots, which you can see by clicking the links below.
Tamriel Infinium: Building the best DPS class in The Elder Scrolls Online
Commenters and gamers around the internet have wondered aloud whether it's really true that any class can play any role in the Elder Scrolls Online. Developers have said that with a simple weapon swap, we can instantly change the group dynamic. Being a hard-nosed MMOer, I admit I thought that was a stretch. We've seen the pseudo-roleswaps in Guild Wars 2, but based on the videos that I've seen of both GW2 and ESO, the latter defines the roles even more stringently. If you're a tank in ESO, you will take the brunt of the damage and you will keep aggro off other players. As a healer, you'll find your job will be to keep others' health points from reaching zero. And DPS will be required to drop enemy health points to zero as fast as possible. That's the reality. So is it actually possible for any class to play any role, as the developers claim? I might enjoy talking about builds and what works for different playstyles, but math is far from fun for me. Fortunately, I have friends for whom theorycrafting is their calling. I wrestled down Calls1gn, a top-tier raider formerly of Memories of Xendor. I sat him in front of a skill calculator for ESO and made him create some amazing, yet viable, builds in some obscure classes to prove once and for all whether the class system is as flexible as ZeniMax claims.
Transform yourself in Eclipse War Online's closed beta February 25th
A game that lets players transform into the mobs they kill? If you've got to see it to believe it, Eclipse War Online is opening its closed beta doors from February 25th to March 11th. All interested players have to do to get access to the beta is become a member of Playrohan.com, then watch the official Facebook page and Twitter for the exact times the servers open. Besides collecting transformation cards from monsters, players can also participate in PvP in arena mode or in the three-lane AOS mode (complete with minions and towers). If you just want just a bit more challenge to your PvE instead, know that time of day, geographic location, and predator/prey status affect gameplay in Eclipse War Online. [Source: Playwith Interactive press release]
Tamriel Infinium: Story and character in The Elder Scrolls Online
This past weekend, ZeniMax invited the press to play its addition to the Elder Scrolls franchise: The Elder Scrolls Online. We were allowed to play any faction or race that we wanted, with the exception of the newly introduced Imperial race. We took video and screenshots. We truly wanted to see whether this game lived up to our expectations for the series, and most of all, we wanted to know why this game has hidden behind an NDA for much longer than its closest competitors. Not everyone is going to love The Elder Scrolls Online. Many of the things you find in ESO coordinate with existing MMOs, but it also has its own twists on certain aspects of the genre. Although I didn't find every moment a thrilling dive into the world of Tamriel, I did enjoy myself, and I can certainly see myself playing this game for a while. For the next few minutes, I would like to put aside the marketing strategy and the issues I have with the payment model and preorder bonuses. Let's examine just the story and the characters in the game and take the measure of their worth.
WoW Moviewatch: Burning Crusade The Movie
Let me tell you about this guy named Jack. Jack makes some of the absolute best movie compilations of kill videos that I have ever seen, and probably ever will see. The pinnacle for me was always the movie shown above, simply titled Burning Crusade The Movie. It's not just about the stunning visuals, it's also about the clever use of in-game sound files from various NPCs in order to tell the tale. It's a long video, but it's well worth watching -- not only for the nostalgia factor, but because it has gotten me even more ridiculously excited to see Warlords of Draenor and a return to an Outland that isn't really Outland at all. Jack has done a crazy amount of WoW movies over the years. You can check out his Youtube channel for movies dating all the way back to the original vanilla 40-player version of Naxxramas. Sadly, we haven't seen any Mists-related content from Jack, and I don't know if we will at this point. But Burning Crusade The Movie remains one of my favorite kill-compilation videos to date, and it's always worth a re-watch.
Why do we still have separate PvP and PvE gear?
While seeking out questions to a Queue I wrote, I was asked by a Twitter follower why we had separate PvE and PvP gear in the first place. A question I love, and that I wouldn't be able to respond to briefly enough for The Queue. I'm not going to go into a complete, exhaustive history of PvP gear. For starters, I didn't play in Classic, so I can't really comment on the gear then, but I gather that there was a lot more overlap between the two. Then, with Burning Crusade, back in 2006, the combat rating system and Resilience were both introduced, along with arenas. PvP gear was born. It's been through many different iterations since then -- too easy to get, too hard to get, too bad for PvE, too good for PvE, different effects, stat budgets, you name it. But history, while it merits repetition, shouldn't have too much bearing on this question in today's game.
PvP toggle for PvE realms coming in Warlords of Draenor
Addressing a forum thread about people inadvertently flagging for PvP when cross-realm grouping, Bashiok mentions a welcome change for Warlords of Draenor that I hadn't heard before -- namely, a more robust PvP toggle on/off that will prevent issues like that from occuring. Bashiok - Re: Stop..ramming..pvp...down...my...throat!!! Well, I understand where you're coming from, but flagging as a PvE character is based on a player's action to flag themselves (even if it's on accident), so I'm not sure it's us making you PvP. The systems that can cause someone to flag can absolutely at times be involuntary, which is notably frustrating. In any case we are continuing toward a goal of a PvP on/off toggle for players on PvE realms to be added in Warlords of Draenor, which would absolutely and in all situations allow someone to refrain from becoming flagged regardless of their actions. Heals toward flagged players would fail, coalescing to PvP realms wouldn't be possible, misclicks and AoE's would never damage a flagged opponent, etc. It's actually quite a bit of work because of all the systems involved, but it's still something we think PvE players should have, and how the game should work for them. source I admit I especially like the idea that misclicks and such would never damage a flagged player, thus preventing a host of shenanigans I've seen over the years (mounted flagged players crowding on top of quest givers, stealthed players jumping while flagged in front of melee characters in order to get them to flag so that their friends can kill them, you know the ones I mean) and would put the decision to PvP squarely in the hands of the player in question. I for one am excited for this. Keeping PvE-focused players able to absolutely refrain from PvP is fundamental to player enjoyment on both sides of the PvE/PvP debate, in my opinion.
Elder Scrolls Online Q&A focuses on group mechanics
ZeniMax Creative Director Paul Sage fielded 42 questions from the Tamriel Foundry community yesterday about grouping and other Elder Scrolls Online topics. Sage elaborated on various mechanics that PvE group members will encounter, such as healing, experience bonuses, role-swapping, switching alliances, and armor usage. He said that not every instance will require a four-person group to have the holy trinity, although the tougher dungeons will demand this. Skill synergy was a topic that Sage addressed at great length: "Synergies are those abilities which another player casts, they are useful by themselves, but take on new dimension if another player comes over and activates the synergy effect. They are much more about reacting to situations and using them at the right time. They aren't necessary, but they do provide a large advantage when used correctly and may be the difference between life and death in harder combats." Head over to Tamriel Foundry for the full read! [Thanks to Phanes for the tip!]
Tamriel Infinium: Look! A video not about Elder Scrolls Online PvP
I know that I've been hypercritical of The Elder Scrolls Online marketing strategy. For the longest time it's felt as if we have been hearing about PvP and nothing but PvP. From the launch announcement trailer to the Emperor skill line, most of advertising for the game has seemed like one big PvP push. Maybe it was. In the first Tamriel Infinium of the year, I predicted that we would see a greater push for PvE content in future ESO advertising, but then all we heard about after that was news about the sub model and more PvP. I wasn't crying in a corner, but I admit that I was disappointed. (OK, maybe I was crying in a corner.) Because I've been critical of ZeniMax's marketing, I should praise the studio when it does something right. And the video the team released on Wednesday was amazing. Don't get the wrong impression when I say amazing. I wasn't knocked out of my chair, but I did find myself completely engaged with the video. That, I think, is more important than feeling a rush of adrenaline following the destruction of a huge keep or the explosion of a Daedric beast. Although a rush might make someone artificially excited about the game, an informative and engaging video will make people want to stick to the game for the long haul. Let me break down this video for you.
The Repopulation will feature both standard and PvP servers
The Repopulation's going to have two distinct server rulesets when it eventually launches. Option one will be a standard PvE-focused environment with optional PvP and associated flagging mechanics. "The standard ruleset should be suitable for most types of players. You have a full compliment of resources and PvE tiers available in protected areas," explains the latest Repopulation dev diary. If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea, Above & Beyond Technologies is also hosting an open PvP ruleset with corpse looting, friendly fire, and EVE-like security sector mechanics. Some of the details are still being ironed out, but you should definitely read the lengthy new dev diary that lays out the particulars for each rule set.
Playwith Interactive announces Eclipse War Online
Playwith Interactive's upcoming new title, Eclipse War Online, is all about change. Specifically, about your character changing. Even more specifically, about your character changing into a monster. Yes, that's the big gimmick of the game. When you kill a monster, it can drop a transformation card, which your character can subsequently use to take the form of a monster with according stat boosts, abilities, and similar improvements. Don't just kill ten rats, become the rat! Or something like that. Transformations also play into the game's environmental systems, with climate and time of day both changing the overall efficiency of your transformed abilities. You can also take part in several different forms of PvP, including open world PvP as well as special instanced maps. The game is planning on hitting beta early this year, so keep your eyes peeled for more information if you just can't wait to turn into a spider after killing one. [Source: Playwith Interactive press release]
EVE Evolved: Has colonisation been forgotten?
At last year's EVE Online Fanfest, CCP revealed its ambitious plan to take the game where no sandbox MMO has ever gone before: full deep space colonisation. The plan will be delivered over the next five years and will end with the incredibly exciting vision of players building their own stargates and colonising brand-new solar systems that lie off the grid. Rubicon was intended as the first step toward this glorious plan, and its new focus on deployable sandbox structures certainly seemed to be introducing a more player-directed form of colonisation. I've been cautiously optimistic about the whole endeavour so far, but five years is hell of a long time to wait for that vision to come to fruition. Rubicon's Mobile Depot structure was a great first step toward player-run empires on all scales, but none of the recently announced Rubicon 1.1 deployables has continued along the same theme of colonisation and exploration. The Mobile Micro Jump Drive and Mobile Scan Inhibitor structures I looked at last week provide extra tactical options in PvP, and the three new structures revealed this week are all designed to steal money and resources from nullsec corporations. In this week's EVE Evolved, I ask whether the newly revealed Encounter Surveillance System and alternate Siphon Units are a step in the wrong direction. With games like Star Citizen and Elite: Dangerous on the way, CCP may not have five years to deliver the promise of colonisation.
Tamriel Infinium: What to do in The Elder Scrolls Online besides PvP
As a part of my series of articles that explain some of the core features of The Elder Scrolls Online, I want to talk about what most people would consider obvious activities in the MMOs, but because of the way ZeniMax has advertised the game up to this point, many casual followers have come to believe that ESO will not have much in the way of PvE activities. Of course, players will level up via PvE, but beyond that, is there anything to do? What about group activities while you're leveling up? Are there endgame group activities? Is there raiding? Although I like PvP, much of my focus in MMOs is PvE-related. I enjoy story, exploration, and group activities. Save for the group activities, that's what The Elder Scrolls is to me. Exploring every ruin and cave or finding a hidden cult or hearing the NPCs talk about how they each took arrows to their knees defines the series for me. I don't think I could call a game Elder Scrolls without attaching defining PvE moments. I believe the developers at ZeniMax understand this, which is why they have hired some amazing voice actors to the game and why much of the website advertising revolves around the lore of the game. But is it enough to tell us what the game is about, and will ZeniMax finally show us?
Hyperspace Beacon: Entering the SWTOR Kuati Drive Yards
You all remember the very first scene from Star Wars. A tiny ship carrying very important cargo was fleeing an imposing mammoth of a battle cruiser. The gigantic ship eventually swallows up the smaller one. We eventually learn that the Empire owns fleets of these Star Destroyers, but we never learn where they all came from. In the Expanded Universe, we find out that the Empire-loyal planet of Kuat manufactures these behemoths in the Kuati Drive Yards. During the time of Star Wars: The Old Republic, we really haven't heard much about this planet or its starship manufacturing. We know that Grand Moff Vaiken created the first dreadnaughts the Sith Empire uses now on Dromund Kaas. We could only assume that Kuat was a member of the Galactic Republic. And we had no indication whether the Drive Yards existed at all until the latest expansion and the flashpoints that hit the SWTOR test center this week.
Stick and Rudder: Five reasons Star Citizen isn't a dedicated PvP game
Is it just me, or does a new PvP-vs.-PvE fight break out on the Star Citizen forums every five minutes? In fairness to everyone involved, the jousting we've seen over the past few months is pretty typical of every early adopter MMO community. There's plenty of preening, pseudo-intellectualism, and outright trolling on both sides of the aisle as two player groups make their preferences known early and often in a blatant attempt at influencing game developers to develop something more to their liking. With Star Citizen, though, and with the all-PvP-all-the-time crowd in particular, I'm constantly left wondering whether these people have bothered to research the game they're backing.
