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Camelot Unchained Q&A talks PvP looting, physical growth, and crafting
There's a new community Q&A up on the Camelot Unchained site dealing with a wide range of topics concerning this up-and-coming RvR MMO. The topics in it range from hooded cloaks (yes, they're in) to just what players will be able to loot from enemy corpses and structures. Perhaps one of the most interesting pieces of information is that the team is putting in a physical growth system similar to the one that was promised but never delivered to Warhammer Online. Mark Jacobs confirmed the feature: "I'm happy to say that yes, certain races (I won't commit to all of them yet) will have meaningful changes happen to them, both cosmetic and gameplay. For example, our Dvergr might have more stone covering their body and their beards will grow. Other examples could be with our HelBound's faces, Hamadryad's tails, etc." The Q&A also addressed the role and importance of crafters, emphasizing that those players will be able to generate basic materials from their land and that they'll "contribute majorly" to battles.
Pantheon posts Dwarf reveal, new pledge addons, McQuaid AMA [Updated]
With the imminent closure of Vanguard after seven years, there are a lot of eyes on Brad McQuaid's Kickstarter project for Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen. With 23 days to go on the project, McQuaid took to Reddit to answer a variety of fan questions about the game's design goals and his feelings about Vanguard's closure. He's sad to see his previous game close down, but he also states that he's happy it had seven years of life before it went. As for the design goals, if you had any doubt remaining that the game would be a very group-centric venture, McQuaid puts that theory to bed. He stresses again that the game is inheriting a variety of traditions from the original EverQuest, including corpse runs and uncapped raids for immense numbers of people. It's a throwback to an earlier time in MMO history, even if McQuaid does emphasize that the game should be playable in 1-2 hour increments. [Update: Pantheon's Kickstarter page has also just posted the Dwarf reveal and new pledge addons.]
Camelot Unchained Q&A talks box copies, name reservations, and stretch goals
The community got to kick several questions at the Camelot Unchained team lately, the answers to many of which were returned with gusto in a new Q&A post. Some of the topics included boxed copies of the game being limited for collectors only, name reservations being done on a first-come basis through Founder's Points, and additional funding stretch goals for developing the Depths and adding more team members to the project. The magic system is coming along as well: "Mark [Jacobs] has been writing and editing the magic and combat systems documents and we have had team meetings to give him feedback. Once we have these systems to a point where the team feels that they are exciting and workable, then we can start releasing details to the community." The team also gave its monthly update regarding the development of the game. Special mentions were given to work being done on the archery system and preparation for the January playtest.
Age of Wushu promises latency improvements and matrix authenticator
In a new set of questions and answers from the Age of Wushu community, Snail Games promised that North American players experiencing lag will soon see relief. "We are taking serious measures to solve the latency problems after escalation," the devs promised. "Server fixes are already on their way. Players in North America will see considerable improvement starting from this week!" The devs said that a mobile matrix authenticator is coming later this month to provide better account security. "Think of it as a private Bingo card that works as a key to your account," Snail PR explained. A separate mobile authenticator is being worked on for iOS and Android, but no release date has been set. The Q&A article covered other topics such as the cash shop skill, bug fixes, cross-server interactions, and unnecessary chat spam. For those interested in Age of Wushu's upcoming Steam release, the devs said that this is still in the works but currently there is no release date set. In a separate post, the studio announced that the Phantom Twin Dagger skill set will be coming to the game next week. [We erroneously reported the matrix as a mobile authenticator and have corrected the article accordingly.]
Star Trek Online's newest Ask Cryptic takes aim at revamps and Romulans
The Romulan faction in Star Trek Online will be unique in many ways, but exactly how the addition will work within the context of the game is still unclear. That's why many of the questions in the latest edition of Ask Cryptic focus on Romulans, such as what ships they will have access to from the C-Store (all ships from a player's chosen allied faction) and how Romulans with different allies will interact (they will not be able to group together for Romulan missions but can group for cross-factional content). Other topics of discussion include the long-anticipated revamp to Exploration, which is being moved over toward encouraging the use of the Foundry to fulfill a similar niche. Klingon progression will be improved with a full leveling path, including episodes ported over and heavily tweaked from the Federation line as well as unique bits of content just for KDF characters. For the usual buffet of questions and answers you can check out the full installment on the official site.
Star Trek Online's Romulan expansion prompts special Ask Cryptic
Do you have a burning question about Star Trek Online: Legacy of Romulus? Get in line behind pretty much every single STO player, pal. But while your specific query may not reach the ears of top admirals, Executive Producer Daniel Stahl created a special edition of Ask Cryptic devoted to answering the most common questions out there. So what's included with the Romulan faction? Stahl says that there are three races (one free, one unlockable or purchasable, and one for subscribers only), adding, "The Romulan Republic was created from the ground up as a complete new faction. They have their own backstory, their own exclusive missions and episode series, exclusive costumes, faction-exclusive social hub, unique playable species, a full ship progression line from level 1 to 50, unique HUD UI, and more." While Romulans will be an independent faction, Stahl explained that these captains will choose to ally with either the Federation or Klingons for the purposes of storylines, PvP, and starbases.
February's Star Trek Online Ask Cryptic is all about May
Star Trek Online players have questions, and Cryptic Studios has answers. The latest installment of Ask Cryptic for the month of February mostly gives the same answer to several questions, however, and that answer is May. More specifically, it's something contained in the May update, which some fans are speculating will include a playable Romulan faction. Producer Dan Stahl does not come out and say as much, but he does agree that previously issued hints strongly suggest Romulans and that the design team is holding back iconic Romulan ships for a playable faction in the future. Beyond those updates, players can look forward to seeing a revamped and streamlined character creation process in May, as well as an overhaul to the game's existing trait system for characters. New equipment that allows for a socketing system is also en route. And there may well be a new tribble to unlock, if you like having a sentient furball sticking around. For more answers covering topics such as ship appearance, ship weapons, and Earth-based pets, read through the full list of answers.
Star Trek Online September Ask Cryptic on future content and cosmetic updates
It's the start of a new month, and that means a new Ask Cryptic for Star Trek Online. Executive Producer Daniel Stahl answers a wide array of player questions for this month, with questions that range from a timeframe on new KDF content (Season 8 at the earliest) to whether or not the game will do something to commemorate series creator Gene Roddenberry (on the table with the 1000 day veteran rewards coming shortly). Stahl also addresses the reason that the game's featured episodes vanished for a while. He explains that the team was too short-handed for a long time to develop multiple systems and updates in parallel. As the base behind Star Trek Online has expanded, the developers have moved toward having a more robust and multi-tiered development strategy once again. Players interested in the game can find all these answers and more in the full article.
Guild Wars 2 boots up support and help forums
Those seeking help from the Guild Wars 2 pantheon of gods (and developers) now have an official source of help and information. ArenaNet brought online a portion of its forums for the game to deliver news and support from a centralized location. The new Guild Wars 2 forums include a place for official announcements, the dev tracker, account issues, technical support, and reporting game bugs. For those looking to talk about the game, ask questions, and share tips, ArenaNet's also opened a Players Helping Players forum to facilitate that discussion. [Thanks to Cecil for the tip!]
Star Wars: The Old Republic posts final weekly community Q&A
It's going to be a few more months before Star Wars: The Old Republic goes free-to-play, but the community still has questions about what will happen with the change, and the latest community Q&A is meant to address the most pressing of those questions. Among the answers is confirmation that neither gear nor characters will be deleted if you opt for the free option rather than a subscription; you'll be able to choose which characters are playable with your limited number of free slots, and you'll retain everything you had as a subscriber with those characters. This week's installment is also the last of the weekly community Q&A posts. As explained by community manager Joveth Gonzalez in a recent forum post, the team is trying to move to a more active system of communication on the forums and through social media rather than providing a structured answer session once per week. Gonzalez hopes that the net effect will be more information for the players and less ambiguity. That being said, if you're curious about the change in business models, there's still important information within this final installment of the weekly series.
Star Wars: The Old Republic posts another weekly question-and-answer session
This week's set of community questions for Star Wars: The Old Republic asked about classes. Specifically, there were two big questions asked about Deception-specialized Sith Assassins and Operative melee mobility. Consequently, the two big answers this week were about those two classes. Operative mobility is apparently a hot topic among the developers at the moment, as high-mobility fights are seen as an excellent mechanic and they can cause issues with the class. Deception spec, by contrast, received a more in-depth response explaining that the developers consider the spec to very much be a hit-and-run playstyle rather than a melee class meant for long engagements. Its performance winds up varying a great deal depending on the player: Those who understand the design intent usually have more success than those expecting higher endurance. But even if neither of these answers appeals to you, there are still other questions answered in the latest round, and you can always post a question for next week.
Star Wars: The Old Republic posts the newest community answers
Are you looking forward to playing a Cathar in Star Wars: The Old Republic? Or are you looking forward to playing a different species? According to the latest round of community answers for the game, the Cathar might be one of many new species unlocked if they perform well once players get their hands on the new race. Certainly there are some other species that players are clamoring for as well, and the team is investigating other options. The answers also go into the details regarding how a tiebreaker is determined in the game's Voidstar matches; a tie goes to whichever team cleared the most objectives in the least amount of time. If none of this round of answers puts your burning questions to rest, there's always hope for next week; head on over to the official question thread and post it for next week's questions.
MechWarrior Online serves up community answers on the details of combat
Whether you're a fan of the original BattleTech tabletop games, a fan of the MechWarrior series, or a fan of both, you know that the details of 'Mech combat are always important. MechWarrior Online is being fortunately developed with an eye toward the fine details, as explained in the latest round of community questions and answers. For instance, the developers are designing LRMs to retain their intended long-distance functionality, with any missiles fired too close to the target simply bouncing off as inert duds. The game is remaining very true to its source in many ways -- for example, location of equipment in a 'Mech will still play a major part in design -- but it's also changing certain elements. One of the team's major goals is to ensure that light 'Mechs are still a threat to assault 'Mechs, making sure that no pilot will ever feel as if his machine is useless in a given engagement. There's a great deal of attention to detail in the project, something that fans of the game should appreciate.
Star Wars: The Old Republic explains mechanical questions in a new Q&A
The latest community question-and-answer session for Star Wars: The Old Republic doesn't answer any questions you may have about the server change kerfluffle. It does, however, answer a large variety of questions about mechanical changes and upcoming improvements to the game. If you're wondering about acquiring your very own HK droid, for instance, you should know that the designers are currently thinking it's going to involve a galaxy-wide quest, a level-50 character on one faction, a mid-level character on the other faction, and some different approaches to the game as a whole. Most of the other answers are somewhat less far-reaching, such as the rationale behind limiting group finder flashpoints to instances within a player's level range to avoid abuse. Players wondering about the fact that you can't find certain sister stats on the same Enhancements (such as Critical Rating and Power) can also find an answer which breaks down how stats are grouped together and why obviously linked stats are kept separate. Players should take the time to examine the full list of answers, and add any new questions they may have to the official thread for next week.
Star Wars: The Old Republic answers questions on companions and modifications
Companions are one of the main features of Star Wars: The Old Republic, but they're also sometimes very limiting. Depending on your class and spec, you can find yourself with only one or two companions with useful abilities. But that's partly by design; according to the latest community Q&A, the distinctiveness of companions is both a result of their abilities and their personalities. The team has no plans for making companions more interchangeable, at least for the moment. If you were hoping for better news, don't fret, as the other answers are a fair bit more positive. The technical hurdles preventing some classes from having a modifiable offhand are being looked into, and the answers also delve into the details of adding a new augment slot to existing modifiable items. There's also a discussion of the different rates of gear acquisition for players on the PvE and PvP progress tracks, along with a variety of other answers for players of several stripes.
Star Wars: The Old Republic answers a new set of community questions
The Legacy update is live, the Rakghoul Plague is contained for the time being, and Star Wars: The Old Republic fans are eager for more content and more news. The latest set of community questions and answers doesn't really deliver any new content, but it does deliver tantalizing promises, such as the fact that players can expect to roster of playable races to expand this year. There are also promises of an overhaul to the Achievement system and more Legacy-wide rewards, potentially including datacrons. Not all of the news is good, however, with dual spec confirmed to not be included in the the upcoming patch 1.3 (but hopefully in the following patch). There are also a few in-depth answers about crafting and the necessity of finding a crafter for optimal item modifications. Players can also expect to see future spontaneous world events, although the team doesn't want to precisely replicate the Rakghoul Plague with a new skin. Take a look at the full list of questions, and if you want something answered that isn't there, submit it for the next round.
RIFT developers answer a new round of community questions
There are a lot of questions within the RIFT community, questions the development team seeks to answer with a new set of responses to community inquiries. Some of the answers are a bit on the negative side; there are no plans to expand the game's lore into novels, for instance. There are also no plans to add in arena-style combat or the option of visible cloaks, with the developers feeling that the former makes the game seem less massive and the latter has a detrimental impact on game performance. That doesn't mean it's all bad news, however. The developers are looking into more ways to allow cross-faction interaction beyond the mercenary PvP system. There's also some talk about the next big raid and player feedback, which according to the answers is largely positive. There are also plans for more Souls in the future, which should provide RIFT players with even more options to custom-build a character. [Update: Trion contacted us to clarify the cloak question. They say that cloaks aren't completely off-the-table, they're just not focusing on them right now. There was even a hint that cloaks will be a definite future addition to RIFT.]
Guild Wars 2 beta questions: Answered!
The second Guild Wars 2 press beta weekend has come and gone, and Massively was there every step of the way. Stay tuned throughout the day today for even more guides, impressions, videos, and Q&As to get you ready for the highly anticipated sequel to Guild Wars. Last week we asked for your Guild Wars 2 questions as we prepared to head into the beta weekend, and boy did you rise to the occasion! After sorting through all the questions, we made a list of the most interesting and frequently repeated ones to investigate. Have a question you don't see answered here? Tonight I'll be doing a live question-and-answer session on Massively's own livestream! Tune in at 7:00 p.m. EDT and ask away!
Star Wars: The Old Republic answers questions on 1.2 and priorities
With patch 1.2 on the horizon, most Star Wars: The Old Republic players have questions, which makes it a good thing that the game is still hosting a weekly community question-and-answer session to give players answers to those questions. This week, we've been granted a confirmation that more character slots are being planned, an assertion that new crafted items will still use existing high-end materials, and the promise that a "barber shop"-style feature is in the planning stages (even if it's not in 1.2). That last answer leads into a discussion of how the development team prioritizes updates, the pace of those updates, and what players can expect as each update goes live. As outlined in the answer, the big question is how much work any given feature is expected to take, which has to be juggled so that big features are coming out regularly without forcing development to stagnate. That means that some features have to wait for future updates -- but it seems like the team is still well aware of these issues just the same.
SWTOR putting a mailbox on the Millennium Falcon (and other Q&A tidbits)
With the upcoming Guild Summit for Star Wars: The Old Republic, BioWare had less time than usual to answer the weekly barrage of questions sent in by players, but an honest attempt was made to address some of them. The biggest news to come out of this new Q&A is that BioWare will be improving ship functionality through the Legacy system. We know that this system will allow players to unlock beneficial and cosmetic features inside the game, and Principal Leads System Designer Damion Schubert confirms that two of those unlocks will be the addition of mailboxes and Galactic Trade Network access to player ships. Schubert also said that BioWare is on the verge of revealing all about Legacies: "Watch for more information about Legacy unlocks coming in Game Update 1.2 -- we should be dropping that Real Soon Now." Other topics covered in the Q&A include endgame crafting gear, grey alignment rewards, why BioWare is sticking to a global maintenance window, the ability to turn off the smart camera in 1.2, and the mystery of the Accuracy stat. [Thanks to Drakkonus for the tip!]
