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The Game Archaeologist and the What Ifs: Climax's Warhammer Online
Let's begin with a little personal history. Back in 2008, I decided to get into the blogging scene by jumping on board the latest MMO hotness -- in this case, Warhammer Online. As I was growing increasingly tired of World of Warcraft, WAR seemed to offer a refreshing alternative: a darker world full of brutal PvP and awesome new ideas. So I joined the elite ranks of bloggers (hey, stop laughing so hard) and spent the better part of two years jawing about Mythic's latest fantasy project. And while Warhammer Online was, in my opinion, a solid product, it certainly failed to live up to the extremely high expectations held by both the development team and the players. No matter how it turned out, I really enjoyed talking about WAR, especially in the days leading up to its launch. One of the first articles I ever wrote for my blog WAAAGH! dealt with the first attempt to bring Warhammer Online into the MMO genre (as a fun aside, it was one of the first times I got my name on Massively!). It's a "what if?" tale that's tantalizing to consider -- an entirely different studio, Climax Online, creating a much darker version of Warhammer than we've ever seen online. The tale of the game's rise and fall (and subsequent rise and fall again) captivated me, and I wanted to expand my old article as part of our recent series into exploring MMOs canceled before their launch. So what if Climax had brought Warhammer Online to bear? Would it have eclipsed Mythic's vision or been its own animal? Hit the jump and let's dive into the pages of ancient history!
Fukushima plant operator uses modded robot vacuum to suck up radioactive dirt (video)
A few months ago, back when Japan was freshly reeling from that devastating earthquake and tsunami, it became obvious that robots could help survey radiation levels in Fukushima, even if they were powerless to lower them. Now, Tokyo Power Electric Co., the company that operates the damaged nuclear plant, is experimenting with an ad hoc system designed to clean at least some of the radioactive dirt from the reactors. What you see in that clip below is an industrial-grade vacuum cleaner attached to a Warrior, the most heavy-duty of iRobot's mobile bots. The idea is that workers can control the system from a safe distance, and let the robot handle the dirty work of removing toxic sand and debris. Head past the break to see it in action, combing the floor of the (eerily) empty plant.
Wings Over Atreia: You are what you play
Have you ever noticed how some people just gravitate toward certain archetypes when it comes to choosing a class to play in-game? That some players just seem to really fit their role? It doesn't matter if it is the first class they dive into the moment that character selection screen pops up or the one they always end up with no matter how many times they try something different. Not only have I seen this play out repeatedly in Aion, but I have experienced it firsthand. It's quite fascinating, really -- certain personality traits are simply drawn to certain classes. More so than any other aspect of gaming, character class is a reflection of some of our core traits and beliefs; character creation is rarely just random but rather is guided by conscious and unconscious desires. Don't believe me? Take a look around Atreia -- it is demonstrated time and time again. Warriors, scouts, mages, priests... each has idiosyncrasies that are unique to the archetype and are fitting for the gamers who play them. And don't think others' opinions aren't colored by your class; each also subtly alludes to these specific traits. So what does your class say about you (or your legionmates)? Step past the cut into my office and we can delve into these personality profiles within Aion.
A look at Luvinia Online's Berserker and Watchman
As Luvinia Online's heading toward closed beta testing here in the states, Outspark is trying to pump up interest in the title by highlighting the game's classes. Two of the revealed classes are the Berserker and Watchman, subsets of the Fighter and Scout roles. The Berserker is your typical barbarian-who-unleashes-his-inner-Hulk character, utilizing rage to increase his damage, hit multiple targets, and pump up critical strikes. As Outspark says, "The heavens hath no fury like a Berserker scorned!" On the flip side of rage is the Watchman's cool, collected poise. She uses ranged skills, traps and tricks to frustrate and kill enemies from afar, preferring the use of a bow over melee weapons. An interesting mechanic to the class is that the farther the Watchman is from her target, the more damage she does. You can take a peek at the many classes of Luvinia Online, including the class grid, in the gallery below! %Gallery-126599%
E3 2011: Spacetime Studios on the Legends franchise
Blackstar has a new name to capitalize on the Legends brand -- it's now known as Star Legends: The Blackstar Chronicles. At this year's E3, we caught up with Spacetime Studios' Fernando Blanco to see how the revived project (as well as the company's hit Pocket Legends) is coming along. Star Legends is only a month away from launch, and Spacetime hopes that the Pocket Legends fever will spread to its sci-fi brother. The name's been changed to communicate the studio's intent to provide an ongoing story rather than a one-shot experience. The game will launch with the first 20 levels of content, but Spacetime has grand plans to expand this much further. Blanco gave us some of the backstory to the game: In the far future, humans are exploring the cosmos and have stumbled upon a resource-rich area. Corporations, as they are wont to do, have swooped in to exert their dominance but have come across hostile aliens in the process. War breaks out, invasions start popping up all over the place, and you're called in to clean up the mess -- and make a quick buck in the process. Hit the jump to hear more about Star Legends' classes and gameplay!
GamersFirst revamps Knight Online's capital city
GamersFirst is getting a lot of press lately due to its resurrection project on APB: Reloaded, but it bears mentioning that San Paro isn't the only city receiving some love from the free-to-play company. Knight Online's capital city of Moradon "has risen from the ashes to be completely redesigned," according to a new GamersFirst press blurb. Moradon's architecture has been permanently redone, and the questing hub boasts a graphical revamp that reflects the city's rebuilding efforts following the destructive machinations of the god Pathos in Knight Online's chapter eight update. Knight Online is a PvP- and story-centric MMO that allows players to fight for lands and castles in the kingdom of Carnac. Four character classes are available, and you can learn more about the Warrior, Rogue, Priest, and Mage at the game's official web destination.
The Game Archaeologist sees The Shadow of Yserbius
Really, I blame my parents for not being filthy rich. If they were, we could've afforded the $130/month unlimited subscription fee to the ImagiNation Network (INN) back in the early '90s. Just think! All of the gaming, the socializing, and the roleplaying that you could handle -- for such a low price! I mean, sure, there were hourly options, but who'd want to play for a mere five hours a month? So instead of becoming part of a growing online community, I had to be content with my SNES and copy of Chrono Trigger -- hard times, indeed. Sometimes I think how my life would've been different if we had subscribed to Sierra's colorful online world, because I would've had a chance to get in on one of the first graphical MMOs: The Shadow of Yserbius. It was a step forward in graphic quality from the text-only MUDs of the day but perhaps a step backward from the complexity that many MUDs brought to the table. Still, for a few shining years, it entranced thousands who lined up to delve dungeons deeply alongside their friends (and a couple of complete strangers with odor disorders). Today we're going to take a quick peek at one of the first MMOs that stepped into the realm of lush color and animations and see what made The Shadow of Yserbius so enduring.
Ask the Devs Round 9 wants your tanking questions
At precisely noon today (that's right now!), Ask the Devs Round 9 will be up on the official forums. This time, the devs want to know what you want to know about tanking. Are you interested in the incoming 4.2 change that strips dodge from agility for warrior, paladin and death knight tanks? I'm personally interested in why they bothered to do that. Maybe you're more curious about the general direction of tanking in 5-mans, raids and even tank specs in PVP, or you're wondering about how good mastery is going to be for your paladin tank in 4.2. Whatever your questions are, now is your chance to answer them. So go! Go, my legion of the tanks, go and get the developers' aggro and do not let it go until your questions are answered! The news is already rolling out for the upcoming WoW Patch 4.2! Preview the new Firelands raid, marvel at the new legendary staff, and get the inside scoop on new quest hubs -- plus new Tier 12 armor!
Aeria releases new Eden Eternal Warrior video
Class systems are sometimes maligned by certain segments of the MMORPG-playing population. Whether these folks feel that classes are too restrictive or simply desire gameplay that deviates from the norm, anti-class rhetoric is fairly common. While Aeria Games' free-to-play Eden Eternal MMO still makes use of traditional MMO class archetypes, one thing the game has in spades is variety. Eden Eternal allows players to freely swap between 15 classes, one of which is the venerable Warrior and the subject of a newly released video. Warriors, as you might expect, fall under the game's tanking branch. What you might not guess is that in addition to being meatshields, Warriors do respectable damage. The class uses shields, seven different types of axes, five tank branch skills, and seven class-specific skills that you'll see in the trailer. Have a look after the break.
Raid Rx: Pick the best moments for Rallying Cry
Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poobah of World of Matticus and a founder of No Stock UI, a WoW blog for all things UI-, macro- and addon-related. Catch his weekly podcast on healing, raiding and leading on the Matticast. 4.1's out! I've been busy killing trolls in Zul'Aman and Zul'Gurub, grabbing healing loot for my alts. I wasn't able to get a chance to explore the new healing synergies with all the new healer abilities and Rallying Cry. Warriors have that new ability which temporarily grants 20% maximum health to members in your party or raid for 10 seconds before the health fades away. Like it or not, warriors are now a part of the arsenal that healing leaders have. Also, a nifty trick includes combining both Rallying Cry and Last Stand that leads to mega-health for your tank. Doing this requires two warriors. From what I can see, Rallying Cry needs to be used first, before Last Stand, to maximize benefits. Get your tanking warrior to use Enraged Regeneration, and that'll just about outheal anything most healers can do. Get used to adding Rallying Cry to your skills. Warriors, please remind your leaders that you have it available. Now, on what fights would your warriors be doing their whole yelling thing? I've got several in mind.
The path of the Dark Side: The Old Republic shows Sith Warrior progression
Can't wait until Star Wars: The Old Republic comes out so you can get your Darth Vader or Darth Malak on? BioWare's here to help with a tantalizing new video that shows the progression of a Sith Warrior in TOR. While the Sith Warrior begins as an unskilled neophyte with a lightsaber substitute, he soon grows in power and chooses one of two advanced classes: the Sith Marauder or Sith Juggernaut. The video shows off a range of each class' skills from stealth attacks to lightsaber flinging. The Sith Warrior's not about a subtle appearance, of course; both advanced classes are shown wearing truly wicked-looking armor and intimidating masks. If you want even more TOR news, take a look at the new dev blog from lead UI artist Michael Voigt, all about designing the UI for the game. You can check out the Sith Warrior in all his glory after the jump!
Frogster gives us piles of Runes of Magic stats
While not everyone is a math or statistics geek, there's a certain intriguing quality to MMO stats. Whenever we post statistics for games, there are inevitably discussions on concurrent users, paid subscribers, and overall registered accounts. Unfortunately, free-to-play games like Frogster's Runes of Magic don't really lend themselves to discussions of subscriptions vs. registered accounts since it has no monthly fee. Nevertheless, the game still provides some interesting statistics. According to a release sent earlier today, Frogster has posted a handful of curious stats that are sure to pique the interest of those who love to dissect MMO minutiae. Over the last two years, 6,657,370 characters have stepped into Runes of Magic. Mages are an incredibly popular class, with 2.2 million characters, and there's a tie at 650,000 characters created for both Rogues and Warriors. Apparently, the Priest/Mage dual class is a highly popular combo for players; and Priest takes secondary class of choice at 350,000, followed by Warriors with 150,000. Over three million characters serve as Herbalists, with 1.1 million players dabbling in Alchemy. English-speaking servers have seen 3,505,269 quests turned in and 4,622 guilds created. Groups in the game have taken the Demon Lord down 4,521 times and have wiped the floor with Erekat III almost three times more. Raksha is still the one to beat, according to Frogster's metrics, which suggest that boss has only been downed 182 times on the highest difficulty. Finally, no raid would be complete without silly pets along for a screenshot -- we're told that there are over 100,000 rune pets tagging along with players. In all, it's certainly an interesting set of statistics, if a bit random. After all, Frogster was very careful not to say which class was the overall most popular one!
Triple your pleasure with three Dragon Nest updates
Your typical Massively news post centers on an item or two of interest from a current MMORPG. It might be class-related info, it might be a juicy dev quote, or it might be a video. Rarely, though, do we manage to cram all three of those items into a single, value-packed news post quite like this one. And we owe it all to the folks at Nexon who've smothered us with a veritable gob of new information about Dragon Nest. The free-to-play fantasy MMO's website has just updated with our trifecta, and you can pay a visit to link number one to learn about the game's Warriors, Clerics, Archers, and Sorcerers. Behind link number two is a lengthy dev blog from Desmodeus Dragon Nest's lead producer who talks about the title's visuals, action, and story. Not to be outdone is link number three, which boasts a shiny new video detailing various combos and attacks from Dragon Nest's battle system. OK, maybe it is outdone, since you can also watch the video behind the cut without leaving the comfort of your Massively home. Either way, a smorgasbord of new Dragon Nest info awaits.
Enter at Your Own Rift: Zero-sum game
Ever since I started following RIFT, I've been entranced by the wide-open -- but not limitless -- class system. After all, the virtual world and everything populating it is only half the game; the other half resides in the avatar that sticks with you while you explore it all. Many MMOs have interesting ways of letting you build and grow your character, but sooner or later they come to a point where there's little more to be done other than incrementally increasing your stats by gaining better gear. Not so with RIFT, as even a level 50 can drop a few coins to shape a completely new build from scratch. No longer are we bound to a rigidly defined creation; we are free to experiment, tinker, and try out these roles to our hearts' content. With RIFT's soul system, there are a few ground rules that everyone learns early in the game. You can have up to three souls in your archetype active at any one time; you can only spend as many points in a build as you have in levels (such as 10 points at level 10); and you'll end up with 66 points at level 50, which means that you'll at least dabble in a second soul tree with every build. And while you can certainly spread soul points across all three trees, today I wanted to look at the benefits of a zero-point soul, the "third wheel," if you will, of builds.
Fortune Online video dev diary details classes
Judging by a new (and slickly produced) dev diary video, Gazillion is spending a fair bit of money on its new Fortune Online MMORPG. The video features a mixture of in-game footage as well as commentary from producer Ricardo Mendoza, design director Adam Maxwell, and senior content designer Chris Holtorf. Most of the discussion is focused on two of the game's classes, the Master of Arms and the Disciple of the Dragon, which belong to the Warrior and Guardian archetypes respectively. What's an archetype? "Fortune Online has several classes that you can choose from but we've done something to sort of simplify it for more casual players. We've boiled them down into very basic archetypes," Maxwell explains. Check out the full video after the cut.
The Daily Grind: What class would you add to your MMO?
I have to say that last week's revelation that the latest Guild Wars 2 class to be unveiled was the Thief was a mite bit underwhelming to me personally (although I'm sure quite a few Guild Wars fans immediately had to change their pants). It was underwhelming because to announce a Rogue-type class in an MMO is akin to saying that you're including NPC vendors: "Yeah, and...?" Sometimes it feels like it's the same classes in different games, just cut 'n' paste for our usual expectations. Once in a blue moon, however, a dev team creates a fairly unique class that is not just a cleverly renamed "Warrior" or "Medic" or "Gandalf" copycat but adds something new to the game that wasn't there before. So if you had your druthers -- and we all know how fond you are of your druthers -- what class would you invent for your MMO? How would this class be different than what's already out there, and what role would it perform? 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!
Patch 4.1 PTR: Warrior buffs and nerfs
Another set of patch notes for the 4.1 PTR is among us, and as always, some of the changes are unforeseen. While I am not surprised at the removal of Shield Slam and the change to Pummel (the two abilites were doing the same job and one was better), some of these other changes, clearly aimed at PvP protection warriors, did surprise me. Just when I thought I was getting my bearings, another set of patch notes came along today and completely altered things again. Let's take a look at exactly what they did and then discuss what it means.
The Care and Feeding of Warriors: Patch 4.1 PTR Warrior changes
Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Care and Feeding of Warriors, the column dedicated to arms, fury and protection warriors. Despite repeated blows to the head from dragons, demons, Old Gods and whatever that thing over there was, Matthew Rossi will be your host. It wouldn't be a patch without warrior changes, and patch 4.1 is nothing if it isn't a patch. What are the really big standouts from an initial overview pass of the changes? Rallying Cry is a new ability that seems to work like Last Stand for the entire party or raid. Colossus Smash now only lowers armor by 70% for 6 seconds, down from 100%. Intercept stun is reduced to 1 second. In addition, Juggernaut will no longer increase the stun duration of Charge. Whirlwind will now reduce its cooldown by 6 seconds if it strikes four or more targets. Several arms abilities have had their damage increased, from Mortal Strike (175% weapon damage) to Overpower (145% weapon damage) to the talented Improved Slam (increases slam damage by 20/40%, up from 10/20%). These are most likely intended to compensate arms for losing Colossus Smash's armor penetration, indicating that nerf was aimed at fury DPS. Finally, Improved Hamstring will now also reduce the global cooldown on Hamstring by half a second for 1 point and a full second for two. Less stunning for warriors and more snaring seems to be the order of the day.
In defense of gear simulations
Josh Myers is not a scientist. The closest he's ever come to being one is winning the Science Fair in 8th grade and getting straight As in physics in high school. Despite these clear signs telling him to look for a career in science, he decided instead to go for a degree in English. His wallet hasn't forgiven him since. "Just sim it" is a phrase almost everyone who has played World of Warcraft in the past few years is familiar with. Should my enhancement shaman use Tunic of Failed Experiments or Voltage Source Chestguard? Sim it. How much of a DPS increase is the four-piece Firelord's Vestments bonus? Spreadsheet it. How much DPS am I losing since I can't afford a Flask of the Winds on my hunter? SIM IT! I'll be the very first to say that saying "just sim it" isn't a constructive thing to say. Beyond being slightly rude, it doesn't explain why simming is such a good idea. However, while I find "just sim it" to be in poor taste, the actual act of simming or spreadsheeting gear choices is a really good idea. This post aims to address why we encourage spreadsheeting your DPS choices.
TERA class videos explode from Frogster!
Bluehole Studio has been a bit silent as of late regarding its action MMORPG, TERA. But today, European publisher Frogster treated us with not one, not two, not even three, but eight trailers from the lands of TERA. These stunning videos give us a taste of each player class: Warrior, Lancer, Slayer, Sorcerer, Archer, Priest, Mystic, and Berserker. Despite what it may look like, each teaser is shot using TERA's in-game engine and textures -- there's no outside studio work here. Never-before-seen class features are showcased, and Frogster hopes to whet your appetite with these action-packed videos. Follow after the break to judge each class video for yourself. So, truthfully, do these videos make you more excited about TERA?
