Eli Shayotovich

Eli was once an MMO cynic. Until he was introduced to the spandex wearing ways of City of Heroes that is. Now he’s a true believer, addictively sampling all those that don’t include orcs, mages and fairies. Eli has been writing about PC games since 2003 and playing them since the very Dawn of the Gaming Age. Reared on Commodore computers "The Mad Man" finds little use for consoles and game pads. Eli lives in the thin air of the Rocky Mountains (which may be the cause of his deteriorating mind) with his loving and very understanding wife, and his psychotic Alaskan malamute. When not virtually busting bad guys or laying waste to alien scum, Eli is obsessively analyzing each episode of Lost, tweaking one of his many fantasy sports lineups, or imbibing (and blogging about) fine craft beer.

Articles by Eli Shayotovich

APB gets interrogated
Back at E3 2005 I had the opportunity to interview David Jones, creator of Grand Theft Auto, about their cops and robbers MMO, All Points Bulletin . Since its announcement at E3 not much has been revealed about the game... until recently. Last week rumors swirled that APB was going to turn into GTA Online, then there was the re-acquisition of the IP rights by Realtime Worlds from Webzen, and now we have an in-depth and revealing interview with Walter Kong, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Realtime.While the concept of APB may sound similar to Grand Theft Auto, it's not. In APB gamers can play as either cops or robbers within the three dimensional, open world. What's more, Realtime is going to use "players as content. " Basically, they are attempting to take the PvP experience and craft missions around it. Most games are either PvE or PvP; APB will bring those two very divergent styles together.
Pieces start falling into place for Fallen Earth
The Fallen Earth forums were alive with the sound of falling chunks of information yesterday as the devs from Icarus Studios answered seven more questions about their post-apocalyptic MMO. At launch players won't be able to upload their own clan symbols, mainly because it's a headache for the devs to inspect each one of them. While it is a mature game with a bit more leeway, it still takes an incredible amount of manually intensive labor to make sure some wanker isn't trying to sneak something absurd into the game. Deep in the heart of the Las Vegas desert the real Lake Mead is "alive and well" with water skiers and jet skiers. The virtual Lake Mead found in Fallen Earth won't be ready for prime time when the game goes live, but will come online through a later expansion. However, it too will be accessible via the Hoover Dam. Just like in real life.The Sneak/Stealth skill is made up of both active and passive parts. The "I heard something" part is passive, while the "I think you're an enemy faction member in disguise!" part is active and requires a player to activate an ability on the target. Hopefully, this MMO won't sneak past the gaming populace when it drops because the more we learn about it the better it sounds.
SGW beta sign-ups hit 65k
Apparently there are a few Stargate fans out there. A day after officially announcing open beta sign-ups for Stargate Worlds the list has already hit 65,000. According to Senior Community Manager Katie Postma the overwhelming response by fans has given the dev team a huge boost of confidence and encouragement.Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment wants to remind everyone that the beta process for SGW has just begun, so they ask for your patience as applications are being sifted through as fast as possible. As with most betas, testers will be added slowly over time and will eventually ramp up to much larger numbers in the near future. Those of you who want a chance to jump through the gate and haven't signed up yet, get your money makers over to their site and drop in your beta application ASAP!
What's in The Day?
Precious little information has been revealed about Reloaded Studios' upcoming sci-fi MMO, The Day. Jino Lee, the game's lead producer, recently sat down with 1up and revealed a bit more about what we should expect to see. Players choose to be the "nobly oppressed" or the "power-hungry dominators" and fight via PvP battles to literally control time. A third unplayable "bad guy" class, referred to as "The Arch Enemy," helps drive the story along. The Day involves something that hasn't been attempted before on such a grand scale: time travel. Players (even low level ones) will have the ability to jump through time and visit the near future as well as the distant past.
Q&A with PotCO lead developer Jason Yeung
Jason Yeung is one of the lead developers for Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean Online. During a recent Q&A he dishes out some very interesting info on what's coming for this free-to-play piratey good time.Both Davy Jones and the Kraken will eventually be included in the game, but the when remains locked up as tight as Jones' fabled locker however. Adding pets (such as a parrot, which every pirate must have) is something they want to do in future expansions, but they're more focused on creating end-game content for their hardcore players, which is a sign that they do listen to feedback. In fact, their biggest challenge at the moment is rolling out new content fast enough.If you've never given PotCO a try you really have nothing to lose -- it's free-to-play. If you like what you see, and over the last few months a great deal of new content has been added, a monthly fee will get you unlimited access to all the game's content (like the poker games).
A bounty of new booty for PotCO
A treasure chest of booty has just been dumped into the world of Pirates of the Caribbean Online. If you're an Unlimited Access player new weapons have been added that deal more damage, have faster reload times and sparkly new graphics. New quests have been included that can earn players things like a Fine Cutlass, Coltello Dagger, Harrow Voodoo Staff, and the walloping Heavy Tri-Barrel Pistol.If inking up the bod of your Caribbean Pirate is more important, new Tattoo Quests have also been added. These quests will award players special inkings that can not be bought -- they must be earned.Plus, some incredibly cool lore regarding who (or what) Jolly Roger actually is has been written up, and a tale of two islands explores the intrigue of a pirate from Spain and a pirate from France.
Caribbean pirates get some morale
Pirating ain't easy. Even rough and tumble scallywag types need a morale boost every once in a while. As such, Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean Online will soon offer a few new changes - all provided by community feedback.Tonics will soon be made available that recharge morale faster, and the groggy penalty (due to jail time) is being shortened. Added functionality to the Crew Panel will make the whole act of crewing easier. Players will not only be able to let other players on their server know that they are in need of a crew, but crewing up will also receive a bigger bonus. Now that's an incentive every pirate can get behind!Additional changes will improve player communications (the whisper feature in particular)... oh, and there are new Quests coming as well.
"SNAP" and virtual transference
Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment and their newly formed publishing company FireSky have some incredibly huge plans for the future of gaming. Stargate Worlds, the virtual MMO of the hit television show, is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Joe Ybarra, FireSky's Senior VP of Strategic Operations, recently spilled the beans about some of those plans... and they are nothing short of revolutionary.FireSky was created to publish SGW for a very simple reason. CME felt that they knew their product better then anyone else, and because they already had in-house talent with backgrounds in publishing, they figured why not do it all? With an already established focus on the service aspect of their product they truly believed they could create a customer support organization and technical infrastructure that was superior to anything out there. That in and of itself is a very bold move, one that not many companies would even consider let alone actually implement.But FireSky has a far greater purpose then just game publishing.
Today's sunrise brings updates to Earthrise
The Italian game site Alteregonline has a new interview with the CEO of Masthead Studios, Atanas Atanasov. In it which he reveals a few more nuggets o' knowledge about their upcoming sci-fi MMO, Earthrise. The site also has an exclusive new screenshot. When you first go to the site don't worry that it's all in Italian. Just scroll down until you find the English translation towards the bottom.When asked about the endgame, Atanasov said that term was very broad. When players max out their skill development they can do other things, like fight the biggest and baddest monsters in the game. If that doesn't interest them, PvP dominance via territory conquest is an option. Players can also gain economic power via brokering the world's resources or focus on crafting and selling the phatest loot in the land. Endgame content is important them, and the gang at Masthead realizes that if there's nothing to do -- players will leave. They hope to circumvent this with enough content at launch, as well as regular updates and expansions.
Playing with audio
Stargate Worlds Sound Designer Nick LaMartina penned a dev blog concerning in-game audio. As pointed out by one of the SGW forum members, most players usually turn off a game's audio and turn on their MP3 player of choice. LaMartina hopes to change the way we all look (and listen) to game sounds.LaMartina isn't happy with the way game audio has been designed in the past. He asserts that maybe the reason players strip out the music, almost immediately, is because it's been designed wrong for so long. "Don't wait for them to become interested. Give them a reason to be." That's his motto, and he promises that the way he and his group are making the audio portion of SGW will give us all "something very special to look forward to."There has always been visual cues and clues, but why haven't developers utilized the high end sound cards sitting in all our rigs? Film makers have known for some time that the auditory portion of a movie is just as important as the visual. It's about time someone took this sorely underutilized gaming component... and cranked it!
There's a Fire in the Sky!
Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, the developers behind the upcoming sci-fi MMO Stargate Worlds, announced the formation of a new game publisher called FireSky that will release SGW and other unannounced titles. FireSky is headed by the same guy who holds the reins at Cheyenne Mountain - CEO Tim Jenson. Several other CME execs are on board as well, including Senior VP's of product development Rod Nakamoto and strategic operations Joe Ybarra. Just as intriguing as the announcement was this bit of info that Tim Jenson revealed: "It's almost time for us to lift the veil and show the world some of the unique projects we're working on in addition to Stargate Worlds." We had no idea they were working on anything else. This oughtta be good![Via Gamasutra]
More questions arise for Earthrise
The gang at Masthead Studios recently answered another question from the community about Earthrise. This one is about how the main storyline will effect player development within factions. The answer - for those of you who aren't jaded - may surprise you.After getting familiar with the game, players can attempt storyline quest arcs that eventually lead to an epic story played out across the whole of Enterra. Completion of these tasks will vary depending on the faction the player is affiliated with. Case in point: some quests might involve a moral dilemma wherein the player must protect a settlement from attacks by mutant bugs... or kill every living person in the settlement. Virtually every quest will have dual options. Players can complete quests in favor of an opposing faction, sacrificing quest rewards for a good reputation. While players can change their allegiances and join different factions, that betrayal will be difficult and won't come without a cost. Plus, factions will have certain requirements that must be met before they welcome you with open arms. Some might not be easy.The game mechanics for this post-apocalyptic MMO (one of many it seems) sound very intriguing. We can't wait to jump in and go all Mad Max in the world of Earthirse.
Stargate Worlds gets updated
Fans of the upcoming sci-fi MMO Stargate Worlds can finally freshen up their websites with a brand spanking new Web kit. The kit includes two exclusive wallpapers, new SGW logo, a logo branding guide (which explains how you can use/not use the logo), favicons, avatars, and an updated FAQ and legal. Plus, four new images have been added to the SGW gallery. These new images show off the planets of Lucia, Tollana, Agnos (nothing really "new" per se since we've seen images of them before). The last new image though is a dozy. How about the very first look at a female Jaffa (seen above)! She's one bad mutha. Look at the legs on her!
Updates fall onto a Fallen Earth
The gang at Fallen Earth released four new images and some new nuggets o' knowledge about their upcoming end-of-the-world MMO. The images show off the updated graphics engine. While the landscapes look great we're a bit concerned about the rigidity of the humans. Granted, this game is a long ways off from being released so it's too early to lose sleep over.They're working on a new tutorial level as well as finishing out the starter towns of Zanesville and Needle Eye. They're also revising a bunch of items and balancing out creature abilities. A question was raised by the community asking if 64 equipment slots was enough space given that crafting will be a big emphasis. Crafting = lots of raw materials, which takes up a lot of space. There are three options to offset the limited space. First are clan banks, which are accessible just like a bank vault. Next, players can store gear either in their vehicles or on their horses. Each will have different storage capabilities. Lastly, each player will have their own personal vaults set up by sector. Granted, this means there will be some back and forth running, but it does provide a large amount of storage space, which should offset any headaches.Three more questions were answered about the state of Fallen Earth, so if you're interested in this post apocalyptic MMO, head over to the forums for all the lowdown.
Stephen King goes batty about video games
Stephen King is "the man." He's one of my favorite authors and a very big reason why I'm a writer today. I've followed the ebb and flow of his career, from his meteoric rise (and eventually perpetual stay) on the New York Time's Best Seller list to the the mostly abysmal adaptations of his books to film. Anytime he talks, I tend to listen.So you can imagine my intrigue when King, a man who has never tested the virtual waters (F13 doesn't count) with his magnificent worlds - how great would an MMO set in the world of The Dark Tower be? - voiced his opinion about the proposed Massachusetts bill to ban the sale of "violent" video games to anyone under the age of 18.
PotCO does double XP weekend
In the wake of the sad news about the Virtual Magic Kingdom... some yaaarfuly good news! Virtual pirates can double their piratey pleasure in Pirates of the Caribbean Online this weekend!Disney Online is giving Pirates of the Caribbean Online players the chance to earn double experience points and level up their pirate avatars twice as fast during two in-game events. But it's not all weekend so pay attention matey!Both Basic (free-to-play) and Unlimited Access (pay-to-play) players will be able to earn double reputation points in both land and ship battles this Saturday, April 12th... but only between the hours of 12:00 and 3:00 pm (Pacific Time). Pirating for Unlimited Access members will commence again on Sunday, April 13 during the exact same time frame (12:00 - 3:00 pm Pacific Time).Bonus bounty: later this month Disney Online will be be announcing details about new content that will include a bevy of new weapons, quests, and more... so stay tuned!
Jumpgate Evolution Limerick Contest
A limerick is a five-line poem originally popularized by English writer Edward Lear. Limericks are usually witty or funny, and often laced with humorous obscenities.Well, if you can take out the swear words then NetDevil wants to see what you got. Submissions for the Jumpgate Evolution Limerick Contest will be judged based on humor and originality. There is no length requirement, but entries must be PG-rated and based on the Jumpgate Universe. Submissions deemed inappropriate will be instantly obliterated by giant laser beams. But the prize is worth the effort. The top three winners will receive a guaranteed slot in the upcoming closed beta. All submissions must be posted in their forums and must be in by April 22, 2008, 3:00PM MST.
NetDevil talks about a car wreck and how it evolved Jumpgate
No matter what anyone says, some of us here at Massively actually enjoyed the short lived post-apocalyptic car fragging MMO, Auto Assault. As with everything in life though, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. But as long as you can learn something from each experience, and grow from it... it was worth the ride. Apparently the gang at NetDevil learned a lot about their experience with AA. Herman Peterscheck talked freely and at length about these lesson; lessons that are being applied across the board to all the games they are currently developing, including Jumpgate Evolution. Probably the most important one is to polish the game early and not at the end just before launch. A time when everyone on the team is in full on "fire fighting" mode. Chaos almost always leads to poor execution and ruin. Another is that if you don't have a great looking game that runs well out of the gate it's nigh impossible to evaluate how good it actually is. According to Peterscheck, "The 'law,' if you will, is there's no such thing as a good game with a bad frame rate."
Fallen Earth gets broken down
Lee Hammock, lead designer for Icarus Studios' Fallen Earth, recently gave a very nice, quick break down of what to expect in their upcoming "end of the world as we know it" MMO.There will be no classes; players will be able to allocate points however they want in order to advance their character's stats. Players will eventually have to choose which faction they want to belong to (Chota, Techs, Vistas, Enforcers, Travelers, Lightbearers) however, and it's a choice not to be taken lightly. Each character gets 22 equipment slots, six of which are dedicated to weapons. Armor and weapons have a set durability, and player generated content will be very popular. To help make your character unique, the game will include dynamic clothing (ski masks that roll up, baseball hats can be worn forwards or backwards, jackets can be unzipped, etc.) and an assortment of customizable options (i.e., war paint, tattoos, body piercings, facial hair).
AoC Lore: Boat Captain Amyr
Down in Stygia there's a river called Styx. Of all the boat captains in the Khopshef Province the most well known is Amyr, master of the Pride of Luxor. Unlike most of the other boats the Luxor is old, but so well maintained that you'd swear it was better than new. Decorated with bright colors, she glides across the lapping waves with little effort. No matter what it is (people or cargo) -- when it absolutely, positively has to get there... Amyr will get it there.The captain is a barrel chested, imposing man with a booming voice who has the command presence that even King Conan would admire. Blunt and forthright are his hallmark characteristics. While he may be stern he's also very shrewd, and can haggle with the best of them.There may be one (and only one) weakness. Rumors suggest that he has soft spot for a woman named Semira, a priestess of Derketo who lives on the island of Pashtun. No soul alive would openly suggest such a thing to Amyr's face.

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