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Trials of Ascension gives pay model details... sort of
Trials of Ascension has announced some -- but not all -- of the details of its pay model, which will be primarily buy-to-play with an optional subscription. In a new post, Forged Chaos outlines some of the preliminary details of its pay model, although the developer allows for enough wiggle room in case of changed minds. As it stands, Trials of Ascension will be playable as a one-time purchase, although adding on a monthly subscription (30 days of which is included in the box) opens up more races, the discovery of innovations, and the ability to be a lord, lady, king, or queen. The team is also "considering" a skill cap for non-subbers. A loyalty program will reward faithful subscribers with fun goodies like a treasure map and t-shirt. There will be other ways for you to spend some dough in Trials of Ascension, including purchasing Writs of Time, acquiring permanent race access, and making a custom crest. [Thanks to Android for the tip!]
Ask Massively: Why WoW's 1.3% matters
Welcome back to Ask Massively! Let's play with numbers and WoW. I like numbers and WoW. "I'm no WoW fan, but a change in population of 1.3% either way is nothing worth writing about," wrote a Massively commenter last week on the pre-BlizzCon news that World of Warcraft dropped another 100,000 subscribers over the last quarter. Sure it's worth writing about! Ever hear the phrase "no news is good news"?
WildStar's Gaffney on why the game isn't free-to-play
It's not enough any longer to simply say that your game is launching with a subscription when one considers that the past several years have seen free-to-play rise like a rocket approaching escape velocity. WildStar's Jeremy Gaffney recently took the opportunity to explain a little more about why the upcoming game decided to go with a subscription-based model (with added wrinkles) by explaining that he doesn't see free-to-play as a "magic bullet" for all games. Gaffney explains that from the developer's standpoint, having a free-to-play model involves having a small number of players paying for most of the population, which makes the experience far more variable and unsteady. He also notes that free players have a very different experience from those who play, one that often removes the incentive to pay money in the first place. The game's stated business model requires a monthly subscription, which can be paid for via in-game money on an open marketplace.
The Soapbox: The case against The Elder Scrolls Online's subscription model
The Elder Scrolls Online is one of the most anticipated online titles of 2014. Marking the first true massively multiplayer incarnation of the venerable Elder Scrolls franchise, ESO has the rapt attention of fans, developers, and industry watchers. It is the latest attempt to leverage an existing franchise into MMO territory, one that will without a doubt see a huge launch and immense media coverage through its first few months. Despite the hype, ZeniMax Online and Bethesda raised a few eyebrows last month when they announced that ESO would require a monthly subscription to play. According to game director Matt Firor, the subscription is required to ensure the game is a true "Elder Scrolls experience." Firor contends that predictable revenue streams generated by monthly subs are necessary to guarantee players the massive amounts of high-quality content they have come to expect from games in the Elder Scrolls universe. There's just one small problem: The history of the Elder Scrolls franchise directly contradicts the idea that expansive, interesting content is intrinsically reliant on monthly payments from players.
Elder Scrolls AMA talks stealth mechanics and more
Now that the furor of The Elder Scrolls Online's business model announcement has died down, ZeniMax can get back to its regularly scheduled content drip. Wait, who are we kidding? Fans are still frothing at the mouth over TESO's launch subscription, but fortunately none of that discourse makes its way into this week's Ask Us Anything post. Instead, the devs focus on topics like character roles, magic, the UI, and stealth mechanics. This last one is particularly interesting given ZeniMax's description of how the tactic will function in PvP. "If you are in stealth, you will be invisible to enemy players unless they detect you. It will take more than just a casual look in a stealthed player's direction to uncover them," the post explains. "During a recent playtest, one of our developers was ambushed by a hidden enemy. It was a very effective tactic; the ambusher took advantage of the fact that his target wasn't being cautious and using the Magelight ability, which would have thwarted the ambush."
The Elder Scrolls Online will be subscription-based [Updated]
WildStar isn't the only upcoming MMO that's dipping back into the subscription well, as The Elder Scrolls Online has announced that it will be subscription-only when it launches. ZeniMax General Manager Matt Firor confirmed TESO's subscription model in an interview with GameStar. "Charging a flat monthly (or subscription) fee means that we will offer players the game we set out to make, and the one that fans want to play," Firor said. "Going with any other model meant that we would have to make sacrifices and changes we weren't willing to make." Firor was adamant that this was the right move for the game. "The Elder Scrolls Online was designed and developed to be a premium experience: hundreds of hours of gameplay, tons of depth and features, professional customer support -- and a commitment to have ongoing content at regular intervals after launch. This type of experience is best paired with a one-time fee per month, as opposed to many smaller payments that would probably add up to more than $14.99/month any way." TESO will offer 30 days of play with the purchase of the client. The subscription price will be $14.99/€12.99/£8.99 a month, and Firor said that the studio will announce pricing discounts in the future. [Update: Fixed quotation.]
WAKFU's Haven Worlds update postponed
WAKFU is pushing back its Haven Worlds update a week to June 25th as the team cites testing concerns. "Our forums and internal discussions, as well as the internal playtest, raised concerns on some of the main aspects of the Haven Worlds," Ankama posted. "Since our intention is to offer quality content that matches your expectations, we decided to take one more week to improve a few gameplay details." The team decided not to implement tollbooths in the patch but created a more "malleable" system to fill the role. Several other small changes, including those to taxes and GvG features, are detailed in the delay post. To fill the void between now and the 25th, Ankama has put up a new dev diary to show off Haven Worlds and all the goodness that is to come. Check it out after the break!
The Daily Grind: Are subscriptions worth it any more?
It's amazing to me how quickly the MMO industry (at least in the west) went from being dominated by a subscription model to adopting free-to-play nearly across the board. In just a couple of short years, the hold that subs had over us was broken and players were free to sample way more MMOs for no money down than they ever could. It's also amazing to me how this movement has turned my general acceptance of subscriptions into somewhat of a dealbreaker. When I went back to World of Warcraft for a 10-day free trial a few weeks ago, the looming thought that this game would require a subscription to continue deeply influenced my enjoyment of it or interest in pursuing it past those 10 days. I had to ask myself the question, "Does this MMO offer something above and beyond what I can get elsewhere for free or a one-time purchase?" And I felt like the answer was "no." Subs aren't dead, of course, and they certainly have their attractive aspects (cutting through F2P red tape and getting exclusive benefits, for example). I like having the option to sub, but I no longer like being tied down by one. So what say you? Are subscriptions worth it any more? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Darkfall Unholy Wars hits Steam as Valve introduces new subscription service
In a press release issued on Steam today, Valve announced that it now offers something of particular value to MMOs on the platform: subscription plans. Gamers can now subscribe to MMOs on Steam and manage recurring payments to those games using Steam itself. With Subscription Plans, Steam offers gamers the ability to sign up and manage payments for subscription-based games on Steam. [...] Steam customers may now sign-up for, manage, cancel or renew game Subscription Plans at any time, online directly through Steam. On the front lines of this new Steam feature is none other than subscription-based sandbox MMO Darkfall Unholy Wars, which relaunched just last week. Valve promises that "additional subscription-based games [will] follow" and posted a lengthy FAQ to ward off the tinfoil hat crowd.
Sonos offers up same bass, less shine with limited edition matte black Sub
Love floor-shaking bass, but can't stand the idea of accidentally catching your own reflection whilst seated on the couch? Good news -- well, limited good news, that is. Sonos has opted to make available a limited quantity of matte black Subs, in spite of its plans to focus on the gloss. Those deemed "loyal Sonos owners" can pick one up for $599 for the next fortnight by clicking the source link below. It's all first come, first serve. Once they're gone, you're matte out of luck.
Spymaster's Orcasub is a $2 million submarine for two
Sure, you could use an ROV to feel like a regular Jacques Cousteau (or James Cameron, for that matter), but nothing beats the real deal: a personal submarine. UK department store Harrods used its Technology Showcase 2.0 event to highlight a mockup of Spymaster's Orcasub: a made-to-order $2 million submarine that can drop up to 2,000 feet into the briny depths. A total of two passengers can climb aboard the 4-ton, 22 foot-long submersible thanks to a pair of 360-degree domes that offer 80 hours of life support for each occupant. The battery-powered sub is piloted by using two foot pedals and a joystick, and handles somewhat like an aircraft since it was built with the principles of flight in mind. Orcasub comes outfitted with sonar for collision avoidance, a digital long-range communications system and a 60,000 lumen LED lighting rig. What you see above is just a miniature, but Spymaster is taking orders for the real, full-size McCoy. In fact, folks who'd like to dive deeper can put in a request for pricier models, with the most expensive version nabbing explorers a maximum depth of 6,000 feet for a cool $9.32 million. If you ask us, this sounds like a perfect escape vehicle for any luxury yacht worth its salt. Hit the source link for Pocket-lint's photo gallery of the craft.
Free for All: Wakfu's bizarre first year
Wakfu is not what many would consider a standard MMORPG. Its developer, Ankama, has never pushed out normal products. After all, this is a French company we're talking about. That's right, as in France, the same place that brought us amazing (but unusual) creations like Ryzom's plant-planet and the incredible art of Moebius. There's something going on over there, something that is refreshingly different from the typical game or art design. When I attended GDC Online 2011, I was floored by a session featuring Ankama's David Calvo called Chaos in Motion: Transmedia as a Living Community Experience. The panel implored developers to take a chance on development, to give players something unique to experience and world to have an impact on. That was a while ago, however. The game launched a year ago, but the studio had an imperfect year. Let's follow the timeline from then to now.
WAKFU welcomes the Masqueraider
First of all, the Masqueraider may be either the absolute best or worst class name ever devised depending on your tolerance for puns. Second of all, it's WAKFU's 15th class. Third of all, it's here, so go check it out. The Masqueraider switches between roles using a clever mask system. While the first couple of skills in any line are available no matter what mask is worn, all of the other skills are mask-dependent. The masks range from coward (which relies on heals, escapes, and ranged DPS) to classic (which allows for excellent melee combat and helpful auras). There's even a Psychopath mask, which gives you a shortcut to the game's forums so that you can quickly write rants. Just kidding -- it's all about fire DPS. The Masqueraider was part of WAKFU's February 26th update, which also included AP set rebalancing and profession bags.
One Shots: To those left behind
Good games may get cancelled, but as long as we have screenshots, they're never truly forgotten! Reader John sent us in this blast from the not-too-distant past that some of you may recognize. "While going through some old screenshots, I came across a few from Tabula Rasa," John shared. "It was taken in November of 2007 as Veracious Pearl was ready to do some fighting." Sadly, that soldier never made it out of the war. That doesn't mean we've given up fighting, however! Knock down a few mobs in the name of Veracious Pearl today, and when you're done, you should check out the rest of today's One Shots troops.
Encrypted Text: Subtlety doesn't need a buff
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Encrypted Text for assassination, combat and subtlety rogues. Chase Christian will be your guide to the world of shadows every Wednesday. Feel free to email me with any questions or article suggestions you'd like to see covered here. You would have to be pretty dumb to play a subtlety rogue right now, right? If you check out World of Logs or DPS Bot, it's one of the game's worst specs. Subtlety is ranking down there with frost mages, as usual. Blizzard is buffing Sanguinary Vein by 4% in patch 5.2, which results in a slightly smaller overall buff for subtlety. Toss in a couple of extra Vanishes from baseline Preparation, and you're looking at a reasonable DPS boost for sub rogues. But how can a few percentage points of damage make up for the 50% gap that subtlety is showing on the meters? Subtlety is not doing just 50% of assassination or combat's DPS. In fact, top subtlety rogues are parsing right up there with the best assassination and combat rogues in the game. Subtlety's problem is self-fulfilling: the rogues with the most skill and the best gear aren't playing sub because it looks bad. Subtlety looks bad because there are so few parses from rogues with the appropriate skill and gear. Most subtlety parses are from poorly played rogues in PvP gear that are just soaking up valor points and leather gear.
Square Enix confirms layoff rumors, denies any impact on MMO operation
It's an unfortunate reality that layoffs are somewhat common in the gaming industry, and more often than not that means that games get cancelled or shut down. This weekend, Massively has been inundated with rumors that Square Enix has become the latest studio to suffer that reality. Tipsters suggested the company had laid off several people from its office in LA, people whose termination might impact the game's online offerings such as Wakfu and the upcoming relaunch of Final Fantasy XIV. Only part of these rumors appears to be true. Senior Director of Public Relations Riley Brennan has told Massively that the layoffs did occur for restructuring purposes but that the workforce reduction will have no impact on the company's online titles, though we don't still don't know which titles or departments were affected. In order to ensure it is operating effectively, the Square Enix Los Angeles office has reduced its workforce. This was a difficult decision and we wish the best for those affected by these changes. The decision will not have any impact on the operations of MMO titles. Customers can expect those services to continue, including the upcoming launch of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. While we're certainly happy to hear that our games will continue to operate without incident, our best wishes go out to those affected by this round of layoffs. [Thanks as always to our anonymous tipsters!]
Pocket announces digital publishing partnership with Matter
Just last week we mentioned that Pocket, formerly known as Read It Later, was growing its little empire of features and various apps, but hadn't yet landed on a solid monetary plan. Well here that comes now: Pocket has announced a partnership with a Kickstarter-funded digital publisher called Matter, teaming up to bring Matter's content into Pocket's readers, wherever they happen to be. Matter is a subscription-based content service, where you pay just 99 cents a month for a series of well-written pieces and editorial insight. And Pocket's made a deal to bring that content into its readers. So without installing or downloading anything else, you'll be able to access Matter's material directly, as well as use all of Pocket's various sharing and other features while doing so. It's a pretty smart plan, actually, though of course it will all depend on the quality of Matter's content. As The Daily has shown us just today, charging a subscription for digital content is a tough game to play, and one that quite a few smart people have failed to win just yet. But all of the ingredients are here: Pocket has a large audience of users who appreciate high quality content, Matter has a lot of supporters (through its Kickstarter campaign) also willing to pay for a good read and the groundwork's been laid in terms of making Pocket's interface and feature set very appealing. We'll probably look for more partnerships like this from Pocket in the future, and see if delivering this content is enough to earn these companies the money they're looking for.
The Daily Grind: Do you still subscribe?
Even in an era of extreme free-to-play proliferation, the subscription model isn't dead. There are still plenty of sub-only titles chugging on (EVE Online, RIFT) and many of the so-called "F2P" titles are really hybrids that also allow the option to subscribe. Subscriptions are what many of us MMO gamers grew up on, and for some they're still comforting to use. For $15 or less a month, players can bypass F2P restrictions, earn additional store currency, and access the game's full content without a care in the world. Studios are now treating subscribers better, almost like royalty, because the subscribers represent loyalty and a steady income in an increasingly competitive market. So do you still subscribe to an MMO, and if so, what? Do you feel like you get your money's worth every month? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Perfect Ten: Holiday shopping for the MMO gamer
With Thanksgiving almost under wraps in the states (Canada got an earlier patch of Thanksgiving because the devs love that country), the starter pistol is about to go off for the busiest shopping season of the year. Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and oh-crap-it's-Christmas-Eve-and-only-a-gas-station-is-open are all shopping experiences ahead on the calendar, but perhaps the most challenging experience is that of buying the perfect gift for an MMO gamer. Sure, you could just phone it in and buy a time card, some cash shop points, a subscription or two, or even a Prima strategy guide if you really hated the person, but a proper MMO gift goes beyond that. For a great gift, you need to put in some effort and actually research the field... or just be lazy and use my following guide. We both know which option you're going to choose. So while you slowly digest that turkey and moan about having to waddle your butt down to Best Buy at 3:00 a.m., why not allow me to help you with a few shopping suggestions? For this list, I wanted to focus on game-specific merchandise that isn't t-shirts, game cards, or CafePress coffee mugs. I mean, this shirt is the bomb and all, but we can do better!
SWTOR begins testing Update 1.6
Hot on the heels of last week's Update 1.5 release, Star Wars: The Old Republic has begun testing its next content patch. Update 1.6: Ancient Hypergate is currently on the test servers and allows players to experience a new warzone and tougher space combat. The Ancient Hypergate PvP warzone has been in the works for months now. In it, players will compete to control two energy pylons. While the pylons can open portals to let in reinforcements, they might also do some damage to the controlling team. Also available for testing are a dozen new heroic mode space missions, six per faction. These are designed for the most skilled (and geared out) pilots in the endgame. While the missions may be tough, the bounty of Black Hole Commendations and elite gear should be incentive enough to give them a go.
