world-events
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Lost Pages of Taborea: Where's the fun with world events?
Borrowing a lesson from one of Justin's Road to Mordor articles, I decided to tackle Runes of Magic's world events. I'm talking about those repeatable events sprinkled around the world, events we'll be getting a lot more of when Chapter 4 hits, events anyone can jump into for fun and profit. It's the fun-vs.-profit scenario I want to look at. Recently, the memento rewards on world events were nerfed. This comes after a lot of drama over players who were going AFK in droves to collect large numbers of the shiny coins to buy purple statted gear from the Black Codex vendors. My only concern with the events is that players can go AFK. Large groups of players, whose soul intention is to go AFK, block people who actually want to play and (dare I say) enjoy the events. However, there are still discussions surrounding the loot aspect of events.
Fallen Earth state of the game talks combat tweaks, progress towns, and more
It's the beginning of another month in the wasteland, and that means that in addition to scavenging for scrap metal and dodging ginormous prairie chickens, denizens of Fallen Earth are heading to the game's official website to check out the latest state of the game address. Much of producer Marie "Aro Sei" Croall's letter concerns progress towns, Alpha County, and combat tweaks. While we've previewed progress towns before, there is an interesting nugget in this month's letter that details a new form of related currency. Croall calls it "a PvE form of death toll" and explains that it is intended to reward players for capturing and building one of the three progress towns. She also takes the time explain the changes to minimum skill levels, which is an important consideration when it comes to players spending their hard-earned stat points. Finally, there's a bit of discussion about post-Alpha County development plans including an objective system and potential world events. Check out all the details at the Fallen Earth website.
The Daily Grind: Is it better for devs to try and fail than never to have tried at all?
Recently, two of the MMOs that I'm playing -- RIFT and Lord of the Rings Online -- both experienced rather lackluster events. In RIFT, the much-anticipated final phases of its first world event fizzled out so quickly that several players never saw it at all, and LotRO players have their ire up over the grind and mechanics associated with the fourth anniversary event. In reading the forum comments and comments here on Massively, I started to wonder: Is it better for devs to try and fail than to have never tried at all? Obviously, it's best to try and succeed, but that's not always the case (or the question for today). Are we as a community too harsh and unforgiving toward developers when we feel that a promised feature or event hasn't lived up to its potential? Are the flaws and failed attempts worth the experimentation? Would you rather have developers trying new things -- even if they don't always work out great -- than to just not do them at all? Let us know what you think; there's a lot of meat to chew on this bone! 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!
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.
Just say no: Apple and Intel stop using conflict minerals
While the US government hasn't issued an outright ban against the use of 'conflict minerals' coming from the Congo, it has passed a law that will require companies who use them to tell all of us when our gadgets have been paid for (in part) with blood. Looks like Apple and Intel weren't too keen on the bad PR that would come from such disclosures, and joined the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition and its Conflict-Free Smelter program. The program requires mineral processing plants either prove that they don't fund the ongoing hostilities in central Africa or peddle their war-supporting wares elsewhere. For now, that means that the folks in Cupertino and Santa Clara will have to find other sources for the three Ts (tungsten, tin, and tantalum) needed to sate our technological appetites.
RIFT's endgame detailed in 18-minute video
Much has been written about RIFT in regard to the title's first 20 levels, its soul system, and the titular rifting mechanics. Endgame has remained something of a mystery up to this point, but a new article (and an accompanying 18-minute video) at G4TV has conspired to shed a little light on the proceedings. RIFT's endgame features both 10- and 20-man raid types. Trion calls the 10-man exterior raids "on-demand rifting," and in a nutshell, the encounters function similarly to the game's public quest system. The main raid group initially opens the rift and deals with the resulting enemies. Random players can also join, and the more who do, the harder the content becomes. What about loot? Only members of the rift-opening group are eligible; late-comers will receive tokens and cash. The 20-man raid experienced by G4 was an interior instance named Greenscale's Blight, which featured a more traditional setup in that there was a lockout timer and no provisions for public participation. RIFT will feature five unique raid types at launch, with more unlockable instances scheduled for post-release. These raids will open up via world events, and they're not progression-based, "meaning you don't have to do the 10-man exterior rift raids in order to try out the 20-man ones." Hit the jump for the full video. [Thanks to Puremallace for the tip!]
The Rikti return to City of Heroes
If you've played City of Heroes, you know who the Rikti are -- the dangerous race from beyond our dimension who invaded and nearly destroyed Paragon City. Over time they've slowly become less of a threat, but they've never truly left, and amidst all the talk of Praetorian invasion they've decided to remind heroes and villains alike who they're dealing with. That's right, it's time to get ready for another brawl for the fate of humanity as the full-scale Rikti Invasion returns to the live servers. Paragon Studios has announced that the invasion will commence at 9:00 a.m. PDT on November 4th and last until midnight PDT on November 7th, giving players ample time to take part in the battle against the invaders. While lesser invasions have happened from time to time, the full-scale invasion has been on hiatus for a while, but it remains one of the more popular server events. And if you're a new player to City of Heroes, it's your chance to see one of the biggest enemy groups in the game face-to-face. Fair warning, however -- despite what the header might suggest, most of the Rikti do not simply wish to dance at the tailor.
Operation: Gnomeregan and Zalazane's Fall events over
Blizzard just ended speculation that the two pre-Cataclysm world events for the gnomes and trolls, Operation: Gnomeregan and Zalazane's Fall respectively, have entered "stage 2" and are no longer available for players to complete. Here is the official blue response: Re: Operation: Gnomeregan Quote: I don't see it in the 4.0.1 patch notes, but it's been in the 4.0.1 PTR. Is the next phase of Operation: Gnomeregan going live today as well? The next phase does start today, but it's a passive phase. There will not be anything for players to do outside of Gnomeregan, or on the Echo Isles, until the new bases of operation for gnomes and trolls are complete, and the new level 1-5 starting experience is added in patch 4.0.3. source If you missed either of these two events, it looks like you're out of luck. As mentioned, the new leveling experiences for trolls and gnomes is coming with patch 4.0.3. This is it! Patch 4.0.1 begins the slide into December's upcoming expansion. It's a whole new game from here on out. Get oriented with our roundup of everything there is to know about patch 4.0.1 and how it changes the game until the launch of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.
Pre-Cataclysm world events live on the PTR
As we speak, fires rage in Orgrimmar, the Alliance leaders have called an emergency meeting, and new enemies have been revealed all across Azeroth. The cataclysm is on our very doorsteps! The pre-expansion events are now live on the public test realms. So far, here are some cool things we are hearing about: New bosses are in some 5-man dungeons, including quests for Grand Ambassador Flamelash in Blackrock Depths, Crown Prince Theradras in Maraudon, Prince Sarasun in the Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj, and Kai'ju Gahz'rilla in Zul'Farrak. These instances are much like the holiday bosses -- queueing for them takes you to a special version of the instance, where you fight alongside a faction leader. These instance bosses are dropping ilevel 251 necks and rings for brave adventurers. Horde and Alliance towns are being attacked by waves and waves of elemental adversaries. The Twilight Cultist quest lines are active. Orgrimmar is on fire. Like, all of it. Magni Bronzebeard has called for an emergency meeting of the Alliance leaders to discuss what he believes is a horrible event that's about to occur -- in his words, dwarves are "close to the ground" and can feel that something's going to happen. But what can they do? Maybe these tablets Brann found in Ulduar could help ... And much, much more! We will continue to update the site with more information as it becomes available. Also, check out our write-up of the Tablets of Fire quest line, and the Twilight Cultist event gallery below. Get excited, folks. The reckoning is almost upon us. %Gallery-102854%
Operation Gnomeregan and Zalazane's Fall events now available
Players who're able to log on after maintenance is over today will discover that the Operation Gnomeregan and Zalazane's Fall world events are now available! These are two of the introductory Cataclysm world events. Head to Kharanos in Dun Morogh or the Echo Isles in Durotar to take advantage of these limited-time experiences. To start the Echo Isles quests, you want to talk to Vanira, who is right next to Voljin in the Sen'jin village in Durotar. To start the Operation Gnomeregan quests, you want to talk to High Tinker Mekkatorque, who is located in the Tinker Town district of Ironforge. These quests are counting towards the Loremaster achievement. More information on the event: Official Gnomeregan and Echo Isles announcement and information Operation Echo Isles / Zalazane's Fall: Transcripts and details Operation Gnomeregan: Transcripts and details Echo Isles / Zalazane's Fall quest summary and gallery PrintWarcraft.com offers original WoW posters %Gallery-93811%
New law requires gadget companies to disclose 'conflict mineral' use
When President Obama put his pen to the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act last week, it wasn't just financial reform he signed into law, but also a stipulation that may affect your gadget purchases down the road. You see, at present your technology includes some amount of tantalum, tungsten and tin, three rare earths that happen to be mined heavily in the Congo... and thus indirectly linked to poverty, rape and death. The new US law won't stop that, and doesn't restrict any sort of trade -- it merely requires companies to disclose the use of such materials in independent audits filed with their annual financial reports. It does, however, allow companies that don't use bloody rocks to label their products "conflict-free," so we're sure astute marketing gurus are developing plenty of new all-plastic gizmos even as we speak. For the children, of course.
EVE Online brings back live events with Tyrannis
Read that title for a second. No, you're not dreaming and you haven't stepped into a time machine and emerged on April 1st. EVE Online is finally bringing back live in-game events that players can participate in. Any player old enough to have participated in EVE's live events should be as giddy in their seats as I am right about now. In years gone by, CCP ran short sequences of events that pushed an important storyline arc in the game's fiction. Developers would take on the roles of key figures in the story, acting their part according to a guideline script. The idea that if you were in the right place at the right time you could become embroiled in a terrorist plot or find yourself in the midst of an epic battle between NPC factions was as intoxicating back in 2005 as it is today. This is sure to be a huge boost not just for EVE's role-playing community but for the everyday player that wants to get involved in the great stories of New Eden. Skip past the cut for more details.
Operation Echo Isles: Transcripts and details
WARNING: This post is chock full of spoilers. Spoilers like you would not believe. If you'd like to be surprised about anything involving the Echo Isles and what is contained within, I wouldn't recommend continuing onward. If, however, you are clamoring for more information, read on! There is a lot of great information about upcoming world events in the current patch 3.3.3 PTR. We've already posted about some of the story inside the Ruby Sanctum as well as what is being referred to as "Operation Gnomeregan". However, the trolls have their own operation underway in trying to take back the Echo Isles from the evil hex master Zalazane. There are lots and lots of spoilers about the quest line and the story behind it. Please note that this is just an assembly of transcripts from all of the sound files put in what appears to be a proper order. Dere be some dark voodoo inside. Do ye have what it takes?
Breakfast Topic: Day of the Dead ends today
Whoosh. Well, that went by rather quickly, didn't it? Day of the Dead ends today. Two days is most certainly a short time for a World of Warcraft holiday, but fortunately, there was little to do. Just a visit to Catrina, buying a bread recipe, sharing it with some dead folks, and that's it. It didn't exactly go off without a hitch, either, as there were some known issues with the event. But everything was fixed, eventually, and the short event is now about to finish. How did everyone find the short holiday? It mirrored the short holiday it was based on in the real world, and even similar holidays all over the world. In the Philippines, we got a non-working holiday for November 2, where most folks are off to the provinces visiting their dead. How did everyone's Day of the Dead go? Were you able to take a gander at the lovely dancing Catrina? Were you able to bake some (presumably stale) bread? What's your take on these short holidays? Personally, I think it's a nice touch. These blink-and-you'll-miss-it events similar to Pirate's Day are nice nods to our real world happenings. Hopefully, all of you got a chance to enjoy this new but brief world event.
Patch 3.3 PTR: Love is in the Air Valentine's Event may get a new boss
While most of us are probably still downloading the massive PTR files, as usual, some people have had more time than others to download them and root through them for gems and treasures. MMO Champion's database of new spells has revealed something pretty intriguing. Note the following list of spells: Concentrated Irresistible Cologne Spill Alluring Perfume Alluring Perfume Spray Cologne Immune Perfume Immune [ph] Exotic Cologne Perfume and Cologne, as you may recall, are two of the main parts of the Love is in the Air Valentine's Day related world event, wherein players exchange tokens with NPCs for fabulous prizes. Given that we now have a set of spells coming up that put those two substances in the context of damaging abilities that can be protected against, it seems like Kisirani and the world event team are ready to deliver again, and we'll possibly have a very interesting new boss this coming February. Unfortunately, we can't tell much else about it right now, although hopefully we may learn more as the PTR progresses and more data is found. It's worth noting that if the world event design team is creating a new level 80 boss for a February event, they may not be expecting Cataclysm to be out by then.
Breakfast Topic: Harvest Festival
The Harvest Festival is kind of the garbage holiday. It's the holiday that all the cooler holidays like Hallow's End and Brewfest make fun of, trip along the hall, and ostracize in the cafeteria. Harvest Festival is the weird kid who doesn't have any friends, smells funny, and whom teachers forget when making a headcount on the school bus. As far as holidays go, it's kind of the nothing holiday. It's there, but nobody really knows what it's all about and very few people bother to participate. I mean, hey, feast table outside of Orgrimmar! Then what?Then nothing! Well, you see all sorts of ghosts all over the place (which is creepy, but hey, it's almost Hallow's End, anyway), but there's really nothing that stands out. At least the ghosts from the Lunar Festival had those cool moonbeams. No, Harvest Festival is the half-baked holiday that doesn't even have an Achievement. Yep, it's so bad that even a one day event such as Pirates' Day trumps it with an Achievement, and was even cool enough for WoW.com to organize some shenanigans around it. No wonder nobody hangs around that smelly kid!So today, on the beginning of Harvest Festival, let's dedicate a word or two to World of Warcraft's most unimpressive holiday. What are you planning to do? Without any Achievements, you can even ignore it! If you're Horde, there's that quest to visit Grom Hellscream's monument in Ashenvale, but his son Garrosh has been such an unbearable asshat that even that has lost its charm. Unless Blizzard plans to hotfix the event and dredge it from the murky depths of suck, here's a Breakfast Topic to welcome the holiday that's so uncool that even artwork of a Harvest Golem looks better. And man, Harvest Golems are ugly mothers.
The future of the ingame Darkmoon Faire
Larisa over at the Pink Pigtail Inn misunderstood the news we posted the other day about the Darkmoon Faire live event in France being canceled, and instead thought that the actual ingame event had been shut down for good. And that brought up an interesting question to her: so what if it was? The original Faire was an interesting idea, a way to bring the fun of a regular holiday (along with the usual quests, special items, and even a reputation to grind) around every month or so. But just like having Christmas every month would get old after a while, the Faire has sort of worn out its welcome -- players really only go there for following some arcane questline, and when they do get there, they're undoubtedly disappointed by how barren the place is.So what to do? Larisa suggests that the Cataclysm might just claim the whole thing -- Azeroth gets rocked, and no more Darkmoon Faire. I'd actually like to see the story go the other way: if there's a traveling group of performers with vast magical powers that's allowed to move at will between Horde and Alliance lands, wouldn't it be great if they were actually part of a secret society that had bigger interests rise to the top in a disaster situation? I'm sure Blizzard has more than enough on their plate for the next few content patches, but the Faire itself is due for an update, too, and it'd be nice to see it included in the larger storyline somehow.
The Daily Grind: Celebrating real holidays virtually
My American sources tell me this is a long weekend for you folks across the pond. Something about independence from Blighty a few hundred years ago. Essentially an excuse to let off fireworks, have BBQs, enjoy the fine weather and skive off work. Good on you. It seems like lots of MMOs are using it as an excuse to take the real celebrations in-game. For example, World of Warcraft has the Midsummer Fire Festival which concludes tomorrow with a bunch of snoozing goblin guards and a whopping fireworks display. Likewise, Lord of the Rings Online has one festival with four different names.Given the fact the games are created by humans, it's no surprise the in-game festivals of all our favourite MMOs share a little in common with actual celebrations in real life. However they can also be handy for people too far away to meet up this 4th of July, most often troops on active duty or family members and friends separated by thousands of miles or even continents. So are any of you out there planning to eschew real celebrations in favour of meeting up with your guildies in-game? Are you going to travel around to see the fireworks or, if you play, WoW raid an enemy city. Do you prefer celebrating such events in-game? Do you mark them on your calendar and anticipate them as much as their real world counterparts? Do you wish the developers would expand world festivals to take account of more important holidays?
WoW as a channel for news from Iran?
Normally, this wouldn't rate too high for us -- lots of people have ideas about how to use World of Warcraft, and many of them never actually come about. But then again, this is in the Wall Street Journal of all places, so we'll give it a look. If you're on Twitter, you've probably heard about what's going on in Iran right now -- there was an election, the "official" results given were judged as rigged by many involved, and the government seems to be cracking down on both news media and citizen journalism, as well as protesting citizens, to very sad results. How does World of Warcraft fit in to all of this? Andrew Lavallee of the WSJ's Digits blog points to this report by Craig Labovitz, which talks about how Internet traffic has been filtered out of the country around the election. At the very end of his analysis, Labovitz points out that channels for videogames, including both Xbox Live and World of Warcraft, have shown very little government manipulation. That suggests that if the government in Iran does continue to shut down certain channels, citizens there might be forced to spread the news through any virtual route they can, including possibly Azeroth.This is obviously all just analysis and speculation so far -- while there clearly (from those charts) has been interference in the media, no one (as far as we know) has yet had to resort to chatting in World of Warcraft to get their message out, and though what's happening in Iran is made up of some very serious (and seriously unfortunate) situations, the fervor online about using brand new channels like Twitter to share real-time news is often overstated. Personally, I believe that even if Twitter didn't exist, this information would find another way to get out. Still, the interesting thing to take away here is that even our "silly" video games today are actually media on a global level.Thanks, Cedars!
EVE Evolved: World events in EVE Online
In the early years of the MMO genre, developers and game masters routinely ran special once-only events to immerse the playerbase in a game's storyline. Storytelling has always been one of EVE Online's strongest features and in the early days of EVE developers showed a significant commitment to immersive events. These events unfortunately became plagued with difficulties and inadequacies, leading to the eventual shut-down of events altogether. Of course EVE isn't the only game hit by these issues, it forms part of what I consider to be a very disappointing trend. In recent years, many MMOs have opted to replace authored events with predictable seasonal festivals or have even eliminated events altogether. EVE's storyline is now simply a collection of stories and the news items tell tales of in-game events which never actually happened. In my opinion, this was one of the biggest mistakes the game's developers CCP Games have ever made.In this article, I grapple with the problems EVE's events have had and find potential solutions in some unlikely places.
