TL2
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Leica's TL2 gains more megapixels and 4K video
When you consider the limited features you get for the astronomical prices, it's easy to roll your eyes at Leica. However, it's just released the TL2, the compact APS-C successor to the original TL, that finally looks like a modern mirrorless. For $1,950 -- a lot, but not as crazy as some models -- you get an all-new 24-megapixel sensor, a shutter that allows up to a 20 fps shooting speed and 1/40,000th of a second and, yep, 4K video.
Modding tools released for Torchlight II
If you're a Torchlight II fan, you've got GUTS now. As does the rest of the community. The game's latest patch doesn't just add new armor sets, pets, and tilesets, it also adds the game's primary modding tool known as GUTS. And this isn't just a halfhearted implementation, as the modding functionality extends through the game to the very core. Playing the game through Steam? It's integrated through Steam Workshop. Want to play a multiplayer game with your favorite mod? There's full multiplayer support and the ability to see which mods are enabled in a given game. Want to start modding but have no idea where to start? There's a whole wiki filled with documentation on how to get started. Don't own the game but love the idea of modding a multiplayer game? That's cool, too. The game is on sale until April 8th for $9.99 to celebrate the release of the modding tools. So if this sort of thing tickles your fancy, you've got almost no reason not to check it out.
Second Wind Roundtable: Torchlight II
Welcome to the first ever installment of this "roundtable" edition of Second Wind, where the best and brightest (or barring that, whoever's available) here at Massively get together for an evening to act stupid in video games and then talk about it. For our first trip down the rabbit hole, Bree, Eliot, Lis, and I decided to give our mouse-clickin'-fingers a workout by way of Runic Games' Torchlight II. Our intrepid party of fearless adventurers was made up of Viase the Engineer (played by Eliot), ZERKIN the Berserker (played by Bree, and yes the caps are necessary), and a pair of Embermages played by Lis and me because it was the only class neither of us had played yet. We spent a few hours hacking and slashing our way through the first couple of zones of TL2's campaign, and much hilarity ensued. Click on past the cut for our full, insanity-fueled conversation on the ups and downs of our joint Torchlight II experience.
Check out the D.I.C.E. awards finalists
The nominees for the 16th annual D.I.C.E. (hint: It's spelled out right in the image) awards have been listed! While Journey is (deservedly) leading the list with 11 nominations, MMOs and not-quite-MMOs have done their genre proud. Diablo III, Torchlight II, and Guild Wars 2 are all in the running for Role-Playing / Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year. Diablo III also got tapped for a shot at Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay, Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design, and Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition. World of Warcraft's Mists of Pandaria expansion is also in the running for the original music composition award. Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on Thursday, February 7th. There are oodles of other games in the running for oodles of other titles, so be sure to check out the complete listing of nominees.
Torchlight 2 has sold more than a million copies
If you're the proud (or maybe humble; that's OK too) owner of a copy of Torchlight 2, you're far from alone; Runic Games recently announced that over a million copies of the game have been sold. If you're not the proud (or maybe humble) owner of a copy of Torchlight 2 but have been toying with the possibility, this is a pretty good time to pick it up. Steam, known for its annual wallet-eating sales, has marked the game down to $9.99 (or 50% off). You can also pick up Torchlight for a measly $3.74 if you're the kind who likes to test out the original.
Time names Guild Wars 2 the top video game of 2012
What's the best video game of 2012? If you're Time magazine or are looking at the headline of this article, chances are you probably know the answer. Time's website counted down the year's top 10 video games, putting Guild Wars 2 at the top of the list. The author seems taken with the game's dynamic event system: "All those events and hundreds more play out in real-time -- with, as Bono would say, or without you -- lending Guild Wars 2 the feel of a living world, and the sort of compulsive anywhere-you-go playability other MMOs only dream of." Torchlight II also made it into the list at the number 10 spot, with the author saying that it delivered the same action-RPG rush of Diablo III at a third of the price.
Torchlight II might take some inspiration from Minecraft down the road
You like Torchlight II, right? Pummeling your way through waves of baddies, reducing those baddies to nothing more than piles of gold and items -- it's exhilarating, isn't it? But what if you could do more? Maybe like building a little house or planting a field of wheat? Max Schaefer, designer extraordinaire, hinted in a recent interview that that's the sort of future addition he'd like for Torchlight II. He said that his personal hope for the game would be "to get the building and resource aspects of Minecraft and put them into an ARPG, just so it's a little more than just wandering from one monster to the next and hitting them." Schaefer is a fan of this idea as a way to lend a sense of permanence to the game and a way for players to add to their game world. However, he's not the only person at Runic Games, which means his idea is just one of many possibilities for the future of Torchlight II. "We're a long way from exhausting the possibilities," he added. To hear about power creep, player mods, and how awesome a Minecraft-Torchlight II fusion would be, hit up the full interview.
Torchlight MMO might be a long time coming
Even with Torchlight II newly released, people are already wondering what's in store for Runic Games in the future. A handful of questions about what comes next popped up in a recent Runic Games AMA, and Rock, Paper, Shotgun sat down with CEO Max Schaefer to talk about the future. If there is to be a Torchlight MMO, it will look radically different from most MMOs out there today. "We don't just want to make the standard MMO in the Torchlight universe. We want to change up the genre and put a unique stamp on it," said Schaefer of the Runic dev team. While the possibility of a new and different sort of MMO in the Torchlight universe exists, that's not what the team has its sights set on yet. Schaefer said that the devs "might be so tired of making Torchlight that we're kind of burned out" and may very well choose to do something outside of the Torchlight world entirely for now.
Torchlight II gives away its full soundtrack
Can you not wait for Torchlight II's release on Thursday? Do you need some form of the game right now before you lose your mind? If that's the case, you may wish to seek professional help, as that's not a normal level of excitement. But you can also sate that urge by downloading the game's full soundtrack right now completely for free off the official site, all 28 tracks mastered in professional quality for anyone who wants them. If you'd rather have a physical disc in an attractive jewel case, well, that's an option as well. The download contains a high-resolution booklet that you can print out and assemble at your leisure. The 120mb download might be a bit onerous for anyone still on a dialup connection, but everyone else should be able to nab the full soundtrack in a matter of moments. Completely for free. Who says we can't have nice things?
Chinese MMO developer accused of plagiarizing Torchlight backs down
Faced with ongoing allegations that it stole assets from Torchlight, Chinese developer EGLS has now agreed to modify "some parts" of its mobile MMO, Armed Heroes Online. Our sister site Joystiq reports that while the mobile company continues to deny any wrongdoing, it will alter the game "rather than go on arguing." In a formal statement, EGLS said: "We did great efforts to do each modeling, mapping, bone construction and action by our own on our self-developed 3D engine . . . We want to make clear, if necessary, that we would like to submit the documents, files, and other materials related to the game developing to Apple to prove the originalities of the game and the efforts we devoted into the game developing." Torchlight developer Runic Games appears mollified by the outcome though not convinced of EGLS's innocence. "We're really just trying to get the thing pulled down from the App Store and to have them use their own assets," studio president Travis Baldree told Joystiq. (Apple has apparently removed the game already.) In happier news, Runic announced that oft-delayed Torchlight II is still slated for a summer launch, though Baldree joked, "The end of summer is September 25th or something like that, right?"
Torchlight 2 available for pre-purchase on Steam
With all the buzz around a certain well-known third installment of a franchise, you could be forgiven for momentarily forgetting about Torchlight 2. However, the game is now available for pre-purchase on Steam, which should serve as something of a reminder. The game doesn't yet have a firm release date other than this summer, but you can still drop your $20 and have the game ready to play on launch day. The original Torchlight was hailed by many as the spiritual sequel to Diablo II (and some assumed it would also be the closest we'd ever get to an actual sequel). Torchlight 2 boasts more character customization, more pet customization, improved fishing and pet management, a new set of classes, and of course all of the same hack-and-slash gameplay that the first game featured. If you're a fan of the genre, that third installment likely has your eye for the moment, but you might want to see how the other half lives as well.
Max Schaefer talks Torchlight II development, potential MMO plans
There are a lot of people eagerly anticipating Diablo III, but there are also several people looking forward to Torchlight II, the followup to the hugely successful spiritual sequel to Diablo. A recent interview with Max Schaefer, co-founder and CEO of Runic Games, discusses the development of the sequel including some of the contrasting points between it and Diablo III -- including the lack of any sort of virtual item shop. As Schaefer puts it, the team wants to put together a good game that stands on its own, and if it's successful the developers will look in the direction of an expansion rather than a straightforward shop. Schaefer also discusses a potential MMO coming out of the studio, something that's long been among the studio's plans -- one of the big reasons that Runic partnered with Perfect World Entertainment was due to its expertise with running an MMO. He claims that it's definitely still on the table, but it would be a big change for the studio, since the company has focused on staying small and launching an MMO is a very long-term commitment. Somewhat sad news for those hoping that Torchlight II's launch would spearhead MMO development directly, but the possibility certainly remains.
