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Instance finder coming to LotRO in Update 5
When Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard launched, it did so with the understanding that it wasn't quite completed. The expansion had no new instanced content apart from a 24-person raid, and Turbine promised that this would be rectified by the end of the year. Enter the redemption of Update 5, where a new instance cluster will be introducing five additional dungeons into the game. These instances include a walk through Fangorn Forest and a personal encounter with Saruman. Ten Ton Hammer got a chance to talk with the devs about Update 5 and discovered a few previously unreleased details. The biggest of these is word of an instance finder feature -- AKA a "dungeon finder" -- that is similar to those found in World of Warcraft and RIFT. Through the instance finder, players will be able to queue up for level-appropriate runs and be matched up with other eager adventurers. Update 5 will also include the next book of the epic storyline titled The Prince of Rohan in which players will part with the Grey Company for new vistas. Stay tuned to Massively as we'll have a hands-on look at Update 5 later this week!
Fighting the EverQuest hacking wildfire
While hacking and botting may not be a source of frustration to you in your daily MMO, to the denizens of EverQuest, it is a real and ever-present headache. In what is already not the easiest MMO on the planet, players are experiencing an onslaught of hackers who go out of their way to ruin the fun for everyone. In a three-part series, Ten Ton Hammer exposes the systematic problem of rampant hacking in the game, especially on the new progression servers. While guilds are doing their part to crack down on hackers in their midst, it doesn't seem to be enough to stem the flow, especially as with a much smaller team in place these days. Ultimately, fighting this problem does not seem to be SOE's current priority. EQ Producer Thom Terazzas addressed the issue of hacking by saying, "The expansion is something that we're really focused on right now. That has gotten, I would say, 80 percent of the focus here. So doing anything that dramatically combats the hacking is something that we would really like to do, but it is not something we've been able to do." Terazzas followed that up by talking with the Customer Service team and promised that the hackings will receive higher priority once the expansion crunch is over. In the meantime, he urged players to file reports with CS if hacking was observed.
Turbine: LotRO revenue tripled since going F2P
Lord of the Rings Online's future is so bright, it's wearing shades these days. At least, according to a new interview at TTH, where LotRO's Kate Paiz and Adam Mersky opened up about the success of the free-to-play conversion. Turbine has seen LotRO's profits triple since F2P along with a huge influx of new players, and that spells good news for the future of the game. The duo turned its attention to the upcoming year for LotRO, which includes the Rise of Isengard expansion. While Paiz and Mersky didn't indicate whether there would be any new zones between now and then, they did confirm that the epic story would be continued, leading up to the confrontation between the rangers and Saruman's growing forces. Rise of Isengard will feature a push to the south with the Dunland and Gap of Isengard zones, whereas Isengard proper will pit players against the foul forces of the Tower of Orthanc. Isengard isn't the only thing players have to look forward to in the next year -- a big cosmetic system revamp is planned along with non-combat pets. Hardcore players also have a new raid cluster to look forward to before Isengard's release. Other possibilities for the future? Cosmetic weapons, a Rohan expansion and the Battle of Helm's Deep are all on the table. [Thanks A Casual Stroll to Mordor!]
All you ever wanted to know about Rift's gear and were not afraid to ask
While some players may possess the tact not to come right out and say it to a dev's face, when an upcoming MMO is being discussed there's always the inner voice shouting, "What about my loots? Is the gear pimpin' or what?" Forget zones and races and dynamic events -- today at Ten Ton Hammer, the crowd finally got the Rift: Planes of Telara dev team to open up about the outfits that constitute a bulk of the rewards of the game. In this reader Q&A, Game System Designer Drew Clowery tackled numerous questions about Rift's gear. Rift will launch with 48 armor set models -- each boasting a number of variants and texture options -- but will not initially offer armor set bonuses. Veteran MMO gamers will feel at home with Rift's armor system, which is restricted by class (warriors will be able to wear heavier armor than rogues, for example) and can be bound on pickup or equip. Loot comes in one of four levels of rarity -- common, uncommon, rare and epic -- based on its utility and difficulty to attain. Crafted gear will be competitive (and apparently customizable) to dropped gear. And finally, Rift will not launch with an appearance system that replaces the look of worn gear with cosmetic items. Clowery feels that the team has struck a good balance between loot being useful and being a barrier: "Loot is an important part of our game, and so it has to have an important impact upon the characters. That said, it's not completely overwhelming... We don't design encounters to be gear checks. We design them to see if you can get together and do this."
Hasbro working on The Old Republic action figures for 2012
If you're anything like the other billion Star Wars fans in the world, then you most likely harbor a deep-rooted affection for the action figures (NOT dolls!) that became synonymous with the film experience. Ever since Kenner started the toy line in 1977 (and Hasbro after that), kids and grownups alike have decorated their bedrooms, offices and private sanctuaries with hard plastic likenesses of Luke, Leia and Chewie. Star Wars action figures have not been confined to just the movies; sets such as Evolutions, Clone Wars, and Shadows of the Empire have all received their own lines. To have action figures made meant that you had "arrived" in Star Wars fame, which is why The Old Republic fans should rejoice to know that their as-of-yet unreleased MMO will become immortalized in Hasbro's lineup. TTH reports that Hasbro's Derryl DePriest confirmed TOR action figures are in the works for the 2012 roster. DePriest said on ForceCast.net, "We're going to have to work in some of those great characters." Just which TOR characters will be made into dolls, er, ACTION FIGURES is anyone's guess at the moment, but there are already several possibilities in the characters we know from the cinematic trailers and the Holonet.
So say we all: Battlestar Galactica Online's blueprints revealed
Whether you're a human, a Cylon, a human working for the Cylons, a Cylon working for the humans, or a slightly off-kilter Massively editor, Battlestar Galactica Online promises to appeal across a wide spectrum. Ten Ton Hammer got in the good graces of Bigpoint at Gamescom this year and smuggled out information vital to the war effort. While it's not even in the alpha stage as of yet, BSGO is reportedly looking solid, especially for a browser-based title. The primary focus of this space-shooter MMO is the PvP conflict between human and Cylon forces. Players should expect to handle ships from the series (such as the Viper), but Bigpoint is planning on creating new spacecraft unique to the game. Each ship will handle differently, forcing users to adapt on the fly or die. Although the main stage of the game is the struggle to control systems (and their precious, precious resources), you'll be able to explore areas on foot, such as the titular Galactica, although this is mostly for atmosphere and storytelling. For players worried about the game's microtransactions model, Bigpoint promises that everyone will be able to experience the game from beginning to end without being forced to spend a penny.
A timeline of Tabula Rasa
As Tabula Rasa approaches its final lap, the community retrospectives continue to arise, showcasing the best and worst that the game had to offer. Over at Ten Ton Hammer, they've compiled a short run-down which chronicles the rise and fall of NCsoft's failed sci-fi shooter.Beginning in August of 2007, open beta rolled out, in what easily became tens of thousands of beta testers. Reviews for the game were mixed as the NDA lifted, and the polarizing opinions that later defined the game's community came out in full force. From there, the game suffered a few personnel changes and brought out its biggest guns when Richard Garriott announced a promotional tie-in with a space flight. This wasn't enough to keep the game afloat, as Garriott himself left the flock and the game's closure was announced 10 days later. This article at TTH gives a brief timeline for the features and highlights of the game from early beta to now. It's worth a read if you're curious about the game's life, or want to simply look back fondly at its progression.
Matt "Positron" Miller confident in the face of costumed nemeses
Matt "Positron" Miller, NCsoft's NorCal Senior Designer, was snatched and grilled by the gang at Ten Ton Hammer just recently. Among the topics touched on were speculations about the impact of upcoming costumed nemeses in the super-hero-themed MMOG genre. City of Heroes/Villains was, back in the day, something of a dark horse. While Cryptic Studios and NCsoft were working on the game, there was intense speculation and skepticism about the material. How could it even work? Well, work it did, and very well. Miller is confident that it will continue to do so. Miller acknowledges that it's hard to predict what impact the new games will have on CoX's player numbers. We wouldn't be putting any money down on predictions ourselves, but it's going to be interesting.
Paul Barnett thinks you look like a Dwarf
Since Warhammer Online's launch, we haven't heard much out of the normally very vocal Creative Director for Mythic, Paul Barnett. Yet, in a recent interview at Ten Ton Hammer, Barnett speaks out about a few topics that are near and dear to his heart; most notably, the psychology of player races in WAR and how they pertain to appearance.Barnett is usually full of witty metaphors and clever comparisons, and he certainly doesn't disappoint in this interview. On the topic of Dwarfs, Barnett muses on the people who play them and how "Most of the people I've met who like Dwarfs basically look like Dwarfs". He goes on to discuss the psychology of the Greenskins, Chaos players and finally the Elves. "I don't think people that play as Elves look like Elves either, because then I'd have to hunt them all down and kill them because they're too perfect. And if you did look like a Dark Elf or High Elf, you wouldn't be playing our game, you'd be walking around asking people to look at you because you're so beautiful." Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out our Warhammer guides: Massively's Character Creation Guide and our WoW Player's Guide to Warhammer. Plus, don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
Initial impressions of EVE Online
Cody Bye over at Ten Ton Hammer is a man of his word. He recently announced that he'd be exploring EVE Online and writing about the experience. Well only a few days later, he's posted a follow-up editorial: "EVE Online Impressions - Riding the Unicycle." Sorry but there are no actual unicycles in EVE, it's just his reference to how the game takes some adjusting to before one can really feel comfortable flying in New Eden. The piece is geared towards players who are already well-versed in more standard MMORPG game mechanics and UI, and explains some of the differences between EVE and most other titles in terms of character creation. Bye also touches on advancement in EVE, and the importance of patience and slow deliberation in planning your career (as well as succeeding in the game). It's a nice, easy introduction to the title, so if EVE Online is a game you've been interested in but haven't quite found the motivation to start a trial, you might want to check out Ten Ton Hammer's recurring editorial on the sci-fi MMO.
The Chronicles of Spellborn close in on a North American Publisher
In a recent interview over at Ten Ton Hammer, Pierre-Yves Deslandes, the Public Relations Manager for The Chronicles of Spellborn answered some interesting questions about the upcoming fantasy MMO. One of the first questions on the minds of those at TTH and the minds of most players is why the game's launch has been post-poned another six months until autumn of 2008.Of course, as with most game-launch delays, the development team is still working out some bugs. Plus, to complicate matters, the game is still without a North American publisher. But in addition to this news, we get treated to some wonderful information regarding the unique features of the game, including the "Dress to Impress" gear system. Head on over to TTH to read the complete interview.
An ION 08 interview with Nexon America's Min Kim [Updated]
In a recent interview at Ten Ton Hammer, Nexon America's Min Kim spoke out about some of the company's plans for upcoming games, including their online FPS entitled Combat Arms which will be entering closed beta next week. He also talks a bit about another upcoming MMO title being produced by their Vancouver studio, but details are still not available.In addition, Min Kim speaks at great length about some of the existing titles they have have available in Korea, that they're hoping to port to the North American audience, including the wildly-popular Korean title KartRider. To garner interest with North American players, Min Kim realizes that the audiences are different, and social competition is where it's at. No other information was said about KartRider's introduction to North America, but he says more details will be available soon.Update: Though we initially listed both Audition and KartRider as games Nexon was looking to bring to North America, Audition has been available to North American audiences for some time now, complete with a catalog of familiar songs!
AoC feats calculator released into the wilds
World of Warcraft's various talent calculating applications have always been an essential item in every player's toolbox. An empty talent tree is rife with possibilities; who do you want to be, and how might you become that awesome person? Most importantly: how much longer will you have to grind before you finally get Silencing Shot? Talent calculators helped you figure all that out.We don't doubt that a similar tool will be just as important for players of Age of Conan. Neither did Ten Ton Hammer; that's why the folks there released a fully functional feats calculator to coincide with with AoC's public launch. All the classes are there, everything seems accurate, and the interface is pretty good; it's a great tool. Go forth, fledgling barbarians, and calculate your paths to greatness!
38 Studios developers finally speak up
Though it seems like we've been reporting on 38 Studios forever, we still know precious little about the Boston-area company that has attracted so much industry talent and generated so much buzz with little more than a code-name for their top-secret fantasy MMO. We got a little preview of the 38 Studios approach when Steve Danuser moderated a panel on building community at ION, and now another interview has bubbled to the surface to give us even more insight on the burgeoning developer juggernaut.Steve Danuser and Jason Roberts sit down to explain (as vaguely as possible) their approach to the challenges of entering an ever-crowded MMO space. They riff about about building on the model developed by Everquest and seemingly perfected by World of Warcraft, working with a fan community before they've even announced their game, and their long-term hopes for community management and engagement. It's really no substitute for concrete information about Copernicus, but it seems like we're finally getting closer to the point where that sort of information is going to leak out.
All the best AoC pre-launch info in one spot
Are you excited yet? Age of Conan's Early Access Weekend is soon upon us, and the forums -- both official and unofficial -- are ablaze with information, speculation and anticipation as that final retail launch date closes in on us.The good people over at Ten Ton Hammer have gathered a wonderful compilation of the best of the best when it comes to AoC forum posts, fan site info and all the general information you'll need to get started on the right foot this coming May 20th. If you were lucky enough to get into the Early Access Weekend, feel free to leave some comments to this post as to your impressions of the game outside of beta.
JGE writer talks shop in a pair of interviews
In their on-going efforts to win over the hearts and minds of gamers everywhere, the NetDevil team have been out on the prowl, sending out lead writer Keith Baker out to conduct a a pair of interviews to keep Jumpgate Evolution at the top of every gamer's mind. The first interview over at TTH focuses mostly on the Solrain Empire, the premier mercantile power in the JGE universe. Baker explains the choices players have within the faction and the general voice and tone that the team was going for in developing these hardened profiteers. The other interview over at Vault focuses on more general information like the link between Jumpgate Classic and Jumpgate Evolution, and gives an explanation for the context of the larger universe. You can tell that Baker is excited about his work and that excitement is sort of contagious.
Mythos crew addresses the issue of bird-men
At this stage of the game, it really feels like we've culled absolutely every bit of information that Flagship Studios has to give about their upcoming dungeon crawler Mythos. We've already found out about the in-game mall, email system, group content, mini-games, the class differentiation, and what color sherbet Max Schaefer prefers on a particularly hot day.As it turns out however, there's always more minutiae to mull over! In the latest interview, the Flagship boys are asked about a bunch of things that you likely didn't even think to ask in the first place. What's going to be done about farmers, griefers, and spawn campers? (Something) How awesome will crafting be? (So awesome!) Will there be a bird race? (Like Big Bird? Maybe...) And as to the elusive question of whether and when the open beta is going to start, they still wouldn't give a solid answer. While that disappoints a little bit, at least their release date isn't set in mud, because we all know what that meant.
SOE exhibits 20 new pics of EQ2's Game Update 44
The official EverQuest II community site has been updated with 20 screenshots of the forthcoming Game Update 44. The screenshots illustrate the new features that were announced a week ago. There are quite a few shots of the new Shard of Hate instance and its related events, as well as the updated trade skill facilities in Freeport. You can also see the two new warg mounts and an oh-so-titillating shot of the new "Show Ranged Weapon" option for Rangers who'd rather show off their epic bows than their melee weapons.Once you're done looking over those, you can go read some snarky, sarcastic remarks about all the new Game Update 44 content in a pretty amusing commentary titled "Island of the Patch People," provided by EQ2 players RazorX and Coyote over at Ten Ton Hammer. All patches can be nitpicked at least a little, even the awesome ones!%Gallery-19417%
New MMOs breaking the combat mold?
With the recent death of Gary Gygax, one of the original creators of Dungeons and Dragons, lots of people have stopped to reflect on the way his work continues to affect the games we play. In many ways, the dominant style of MMO combat we see in games today, particularly in the Everquest and World of Warcraft vein, is a direct descendant of tabletop gameplay. As much as that model has served us well over the years, some, like JoBildo over at TTH, believe that the future of MMO combat is almost upon us, and once we see the light, we'll never want to go back.It does certainly seem like combat is one of the most obvious areas where MMOs can use improvement, which is why it's really not so surprising to see so many developers try and attack it in order to become 'the next big thing.' Still, new combat systems haven't really done anything to help the success of DDO or Tabula Rasa, and rumors are flying around that the combat is just about the only thing going right in Age of Conan. You just don't see gamers defecting from World of Warcraft and its relatively old-school combat system, which leads one to believe that gamers are still more interested in the package deal. Including new ways to swing a sword will get you some curious attention at first, but in order to keep players coming back you've got to have a lot more than that.
Jumping through the Gate: Factions and Missions
Ten Ton Hammer has posted another of their Jumpgate Evolution bi-weekly interviews, this time with Hermann Peterscheck, Producer for JGE. In this installment, Peterscheck answers questions about the game's factions and missions.While reading through the Q&A I was comforted by the fact that Peterscheck continues to push the idea that JGE doesn't have hard and fast rules, and that they are trying to put as much of the game's outcome into the hands of the players (through their choices) as possible. This was something he mentioned during his interview about death and roleplaying as well, so it really does seem like something they intend to follow through with. In this case, while players will have to choose what nation to play (Quantar, Solrain or Octavius) there are no rules about allegiances, thus factions can interact in a myriad of ways with all of them.
