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Trion's dynamic duo talks dynamic content on the RIFT podcast
The river of RIFT news and discussion seems to be swelling to flood stage these days, especially surrounding the recent world event and the upcoming 1.2 update. If your appetite for all things RIFT wasn't satiated by our recent talk with Scott Hartsman, then you'll definitely want to tune in to the latest RIFT Podcast. During the podcast, the hosts talk with Trion World's Will Cook and Cindy Bowens about dynamic content, the world event, authenticators, the wardrobe, and -- of course -- RIFT's Update 1.2. They even touch upon the controversial continued lack of guild banks and the fact that daily quests are no longer stackable. Head on over to The RIFT to glean nuggets of pure interviewee gold out of this chat!
An exclusive look at RIFT's Update 1.2 and beyond with Scott Hartsman [Updated]
With almost two months on the post-launch clock at Trion Worlds, RIFT appears to be holding its own in the wild and woolly field of MMORPGs. With a major update and the first world event under its belt, RIFT is sailing into the future with the wind at its back and a hull full of subscribers below. We got Trion's Scott Hartsman on the phone to discuss RIFT's second big patch, Update 1.2, as well as to see how the game's progressed thus far and where the team is trying to take it into the future. And of course we couldn't let this opportunity pass by without a candid dissection of the uneven world event and how Trion plans to learn from its mistakes. So hit the jump and witness Scott Hartsman giving us a Care Bear Stare full of info and exclusive tidbits about the inner workings of RIFT!
Enter at Your Own Rift: Cry me a river
Yep. That was the sum of my experience with Phase 2 and 3 of RIFT's world event this past weekend. I was unable to log in early to stake my place for the fireworks (I was over in Lexington watching the Red Coats and the Minute Men putting on their own fireworks show). As I learned later from guildmates, it wouldn't have helped even if I were on early, since Trion Worlds took down the servers just before the event, causing a mess of sharpened elbows and broken keyboards as people frantically tried to log back in. It was a white hot mess, and no one will argue that fact. But there are a few interesting observations that can be made from this rather bleak moment. Read on for a look at what Alsbeth's finale can tell us.
RIFT world event fizzles, Trion reevaluates approach [Updated]
What could have gone out with a bang turned out to be a mild whimper. RIFT's first world event, River of Souls, moved into its final phases today but experienced several difficulties. Players in both Europe and North America reported lengthy queue times to access the game. These queues were possibly exacerbated by the additional trial players joining for the weekend, although Trion Worlds claimed that subscribers had priority access. On top of that, some servers saw the second and third phases pass by so quickly that many players simply were not there to see it, while other servers experienced unexpected intermittent outages. As you may expect, player discussion about RIFT's world event has heated up in the forums, blogosphere (NSFW), and elsewhere. In the middle of the event rollout, Scott Hartsman wrote a forum post in which he addressed some of these issues. Hartsman promises that those who missed out on the final portion of the event would be compensated: "Since we are very likely to end up in a situation where we have people queued who could not participate, and people who could not make the finale at all, we're already making sure we have a way to reward people appropriately after the fact." Trion assured players that it is using the lessons from this world event to shape upcoming ones. "We're already taking what we've learned over the last week and today into account as we work on the next set of world events, and will be designing them such that full-server-population flashmobs aren't quite as likely to occur -- both for fun factor and performance," Hartsman said. "Equally importantly for the future, we'll be ensuring there are more phases that each last longer, and a more clear progression, to maximize everyone's chance of participating." Let us know your own experience with this event in the comments below! [Update: Scott Hartsman posted a follow-up to the event as well as a list of compensation rewards for those unable to participate.]
CNN looks at RIFT's server technology
MMORPGs don't get much virtual ink on the world's top news sites, and when they do, it's usually because someone's died during a grind session. RIFT recently bucked that trend with a lengthy spread on CNN.com, and somewhat predictably, the initial focus is on the "battle" between Trion's upstart and Blizzard's World of Warcraft behemoth. While the first half of the article is devoted to describing RIFT in layman's terms, there are a few interesting snippets focusing on Trion's technology (specifically the fact that RIFT's servers are organized by function rather than by location as per usual with other games in the genre). Producer Scott Hartsman tells CNN that developing the new tech was a challenge that will prove worthwhile in the long run. "Yeah, it was hard, but it was well worth it. We're really just now at the point [where] we're about 25% into all of the things we can do with our technology and we're looking to add more," he explained.
"Solid one-two punch": Trion responds to account hacks
The saga of RIFT's account security woes continues, as Trion World's Scott Hartsman responded to the hacker attempts, reassuring fans curious about what steps were being taken to secure their accounts. Citing "constant attacks" since the launch of RIFT that have impacted 1% of accounts, Hartsman said that the team is blocking hackers and botnets as quickly as they are identified, but that this will also be an ongoing process. "Both the login fix and the Coin Lock addition have been doing their part in signficantly reducing overall incidents over the last 18 hours," Hartsman wrote. "Neither one is a silver bullet, but so far it is looking to be a solid one-two punch for the weekend." According to his post, Trion will be hiring additional staff to tackle the problem, and is working on a "two-factor authentication" process for the future. Hartsman also praised the efforts of the player who brought a serious log-in vulnerability to the team's attention. ZAM tracked down the player for an interview, who himself had his account hacked in early March. The player is an "ethical hacker" who owns a security software company and realized that these hacks were not the fault of the player, but an exploit that had been discovered.
PAX East 2011: One Massive roundup
PAX East has already begun fading into memory, but there was a lot to see and do over the three days of the convention. Even if we disregard the numerous fan gatherings and community events taking place, there were an awful lot of games on the floor, with showings from MMOs that dwarfed last year's offerings. If you were lucky enough to be there, we can only hope that you had fun and got to see all of the impressive displays. Of course, you may very well have missed one or two things, what with all of the sound and lines and people walking around with a pixel costume. Even if you were sitting at home, you might have missed some of our coverage of this event. Just jump on past the break for a full recap of Massively's coverage of the con, covering everything from the venerable City of Heroes to the highly anticipated Star Wars: The Old Republic.
PAX East 2011: The future of MMOs from the mouths of the developers
The PAX East panel that almost made me late for the Star Wars: The Old Republic Meet 'n' Greet was a panel hosted by MMORPG.com and featuring some of the heavy hitters in MMO development for this year. I am certainly glad I did not skip this one. This was the chance for the fans to hear what the future of MMOs will bring from the people who are making them. Let me give you a rundown of the panel members -- and tell me you don't just stand in awe of these guys: (from left to right) Curt Schilling, the founder of 38 Studios; Craig Alexander, the VP of Product Development for Turbine; Jeremy Gaffney, Executive Producer at Carbine Studios; Scott Hartsman, Executive Producer for Trion Worlds; Brian Knox, Senior Producer for En Masse Entertainment; James Ohlen, Creative Director for BioWare; and Colin Johanson, Lead Content Designer for ArenaNet. The opening question really set the stage for the panel. It let us know where the minds of these producers and executives are. The question was simple: Where do you see online games going in the next 10 years? Follow after the cut to find out their thought provoking answers.
PAX East 2011: Massively interviews RIFT's Scott Hartsman
With the launch of RIFT still fresh, members of the Trion team packed their bags and flew to Boston to attend PAX East. Even though they didn't have a booth, their "We're not in Azeroth anymore" banner made their presence known. In addition, Community Manager Cindy "Abigale" Bowens hosted a party in Boston to celebrate the launch with players and fans. Massively had a chance to sit down and talk with Trion CCO and RIFT Executive Producer Scott Hartsman about launch day, security, plans for the future, and a whole lot more. Read on for the full interview!
Enter at Your Own Rift: Getting a head start
Dateline: Thursday, February 24th, 12:55 p.m. EST. After having rushed home from work (huzzah for a half-day), I was frantically putting the kids to bed for an afternoon nap and patching up my RIFT client. Twitter was abuzz with gamers sitting at the starting gate and revving their mice. It was here. After seven betas, it was here, and we would be the first in the door. 12:59 p.m. EST. Began checking the server status list, trying to will the dull grey names to light up as they signified activity. 1:00 p.m. EST. Scott Hartsman posts a short message on Twitter: "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to RIFT." Right on cue, the servers came up, and what felt like the entire population of Oregon tried to cram into the game all at once. By 1:01 p.m., when I logged in, my chosen server of Faeblight was already full and had 461 people in the queue. I was 462. It would be another 45 minutes until I was able to play the game proper.
RIFT opened!
"So when you take all these new types of things to do and you put them all together, that's when you know -- this is RIFT," Scott Hartsman proclaims in a launch day video for Trion Worlds' MMO. Although you either already know or are more into macrame than MMORPGs, today is RIFT's official release in North America following last Thursday's head start program for pre-orders. RIFT will be rolling out across the globe in the next few days, with Australia slated for Wednesday, March 2nd, pan-European countries March 3rd, and in the UK March 4th. To celebrate the launch, the overworked Trion crew put together a special video titled "This is RIFT" that highlights the strong selling points of the game, such as the wardstone system, the dynamic rifts, and the high-level raid content. Check it out after the jump, and if you're stuck at work, we have a terrific launch day roundup to feed the info beast lurking in your belly.
Enter At Your Own Rift: The first day FAQ
You've watched the trailers, downloaded the podcasts, scoured the forums, and sold your soul for a VIP key. Tomorrow, your patient wait is over, and the RIFT head-start officially begins. As you stock up on Red Bull and Mountain Dew and fight off the shakes during your server queue wait, you might have a few questions about what your first moments in RIFT will be like. For this week's Enter At Your Own Rift, we'll take a look at a few common questions that players might have. Are you wondering about how to form a guild? Have you already made a soul build that you regret and want to reset? Are you lost trying to find an auctioneer or a mount merchant? Read on for some answers!
Scott Hartsman answers RIFT player questions
RIFT's launch is getting ever closer, and that means more and more questions for players to start wondering about. Scott Hartsman recently took part in an interview responding to several player questions, ranging from guilds and dungeon grouping to the disruption the eponymous rifts can wreak upon a questing environment. As Hartsman puts it, the large-scale changes that can happen as a result of the dynamic spawns can shut down questing, but that's part of the goal, and it's tuned so that an empty zone will never be subjected to a cascading series of unbeatable enemy invasions. While the game isn't set to have any sort of group-finding system in place on launch, Hartsman is of the mind that it's better to wait and launch an excellent tool than to simply put in a half-hearted attempt. He also expands on the varied high-end content available to players beyond simply raids as well as what players can expect for content releases down the line. While RIFT still has about half a month until release, the information already available is painting a fairly cohesive picture.
RIFT podcast features Trion dev roundtable and fansite questions
The RIFT podcast is back with its 31st episode, and the latest show features a panel of distinguished developer guests from Trion Worlds as well as a smattering of questions from various fan website representatives. The guests include producer Scott Hartsman, vice president of development Russ Brown, and design producer Hal Hanlin, and the trio chats about a wide range of topics including botting, pet classes, and balancing game design with player demands. Also on the docket are tidbits concerning a RIFT random dungeon finder, target autofacing, and Trion's ultimate goals for RIFT (as well as a few thoughts on exceeding them). Head over to The Rift for all the audio antics.
Scott Hartsman wraps up the sixth beta event for RIFT
With the open beta less than a week away, now is the time for Trion Worlds to step up and address the lingering issues RIFT has before it starts being available for general consumption. Fortunately for the development team, it's a task it's proven quite accomplished at, and the newest wrap-up for the sixth event proves that there's still a lot going on behind the scenes. Scott Hartsman takes the opportunity in the last pre-open beta wrap-up to discuss PvP in the open world, damage tuning, and the difference in raid sizes for endgame content. As Hartsman puts it, some of the anti-PvP measures put into place will be removed on PvP servers, meaning weaker guards around hubs and destroyable wardstones. Damage levels seem to be in a fairly good place across the board from the development perspective, but they're something that will be watched closely during the open event. Hartsman also touches more on the late-game rift content and what it will mean for the game's balance and the availability of content. RIFT players should take a gander at the full rundown and get ready for the open beta starting on Tuesday next week.
Enter At Your Own Rift: Dispelling the WoWhammer myth
If you've participated in RIFT's beta events at all, you're probably wishing you had a nickel for every time you heard a player claim that RIFT is just like World of Warcraft or Warhammer Online -- WAR because of the comparison of rifts to public quests, and WoW mainly because it's the gold standard of MMOs today. Last week, my colleague Justin gave a great argument as to why the familiar isn't necessarily a bad thing. But while RIFT does have several familiar features, it manages in several ways to set itself apart from the pack. This week, I'm going to tackle the argument that RIFT is just like WoW and Warhammer Online. Join me for a look at what makes this game stand out from the crowd, and see why it's time to dispel the WoWhammer myth.
RIFT beta 5 introduces public grouping, will be "twice as big" as beta 4
Ready for their fifth taste of RIFT this week, beta testers will find a host of changes and improvements waiting their assessment. Chief among these is a much-requested feature: public grouping. Because so much of RIFT's dynamic content revolves around spontaneous zone events, players have clamored for a way to quickly group up instead of spending precious time spamming the chat channels. Two UI additions now allow players to connect with public groups as efficiently and quickly as possible. This news comes from Scott Hartsman, who posted a lengthy preview of RIFT's beta 5 event on the official forums today. Announcing that beta 5 will be "twice as big" as the previous beta event, Hartsman revealed that the team is increasing the number of servers from 18 to 32, which should allow for up to double the amount of players. Other changes in store for players this week include a better organization of planar currencies, Rogue energy fixes, ranged sound improvements and "significant love" for invasion mechanics. Hartsman also revealed a few items that the team is working on for future updates, such as better racial abilities and master looting. You can read his full announcement here. %Gallery-111840%
RIFT developers explore the dynamics of PvP!
Trion Worlds treated us today with a video montage of the exciting PvP in RIFT. This is the moment many players have been waiting for! What is in store for the gamer exploring this dynamic world? Executive Producer Scott Hartsman and his crew have pieced together this exhilarating video to outline each part of RIFT's PvP. The journey for conquest begins with the zone-scale invasions. Members of opposing factions can cross enemy lines and assault the enemy adventurers while they are out questing. Next, Warfronts are cross-server instances that allow players to battle each other while completing specific PvE objectives. The Battle of Port Scion, for example, is the conquest instance that allows players to build an invasion force while the opposite faction attempts to stop them at every turn. PvP starts at level 10, at which point the players begin to gain Favor, the PvP currency. Prestige, the PvP ranking system, begins at level 50 and determines the type of armor and the number of points you can spend in your PvP Soul. But really, that's enough words from me. Check out the trailer after the break!
Enter at Your Own Rift: Community guide to RIFT
BLOG POST OPENED! Swiftly, readers rally together to fight the imminent threat to the internet as dark words stream down from the tear in cyberspace. Unholy pronouns and sentence fragments begin to march toward civilized forums, remolding the fabric of reality in their image. Fortunately, valiant defenders of all that is true and grammatically correct push back against the invasion, suffering heavy losses until... BLOG POST SEALED! If you couldn't tell, this is the maiden voyage of Massively's weekly column devoted to Trion World's upcoming MMO, RIFT. We've been excited about this game for a while now, and with the NDA drop, the announcement of the launch date, news of the collector's edition, and upcoming beta events, it's as good a time as any to start talking about this addictive fantasy experience. Karen Bryan and I will be trading off weeks to cover RIFT from our different vantage points, and we're pretty geeked at the prospect. To kick off the very first Enter at Your Own Rift, we'll be following the Massively tradition of posting a community guide to all the hottest and most helpful links about this game after the jump.
The Perfect Ten: The movers and shakers of 2010
Even though MMOs are the products of great teams of talented workers -- from sound artists to writers -- it's inevitable that a few of the people behind the curtain step out into the limelight. It's a smart move, really; it provides a personal face for people to associate with the game, it keeps messages consistent, and it draws any potential hate onto one person instead of the team at large. It stands to reason that these public figures end up being some of the major movers and shakers in the industry because of their high-profile positions. From CEOs to community managers, these are the people with power to make decisions, the voice to change opinions, and the personalities to inspire millions. Oh, that last sentence is pure poetry. Let's re-read it again, shall we? So in our last Perfect Ten of the year, I've asked the Massively team to compile a list of the 10 biggest MMO movers and shakers of this year. All of these people now owe us cupcakes of gratitude. (Legal Disclaimer: This does not signify a binding cupcake-blogger contract.)
