Matt Daniel
Articles by Matt Daniel
Lord of the Rings Online dev diary discusses 'reincarnation' of PvMP
Today's Lord of the Rings Online dev diary begins by stating that "over the course of LotRO's lifetime, the Ettenmoors has been updated several times." It continues, "this is not one of those times. This is a new beginning; this is a reincarnation." Those are some bold words, so what about this new incarnation of the Ettenmoors is so revolutionary? Well, a number of things, according to the dev diary. The team is not looking for a "mystical silver bullet that magically makes everything better" but instead is looking at three primary areas to revamp. First, the team is taking a look at the many keeps, outposts, and the Delving. The current model rewards players for flipping control points to their faction's control, but there's no incentive to continue to hold them, so the studio aims to "shift the model to instead provide large benefits for having and keeping locations." Secondly, Turbine is analyzing Creep traits and skills for "usefulness, potency, and acquisition costs. Finally, all Creep classes will be receiving new skills and "an overall balance adjustment on... damage and healing" to ensure they are balanced with the Free Peoples. The full dev blog is far too in-depth to post the whole thing here, but if you're interested in the nitty-gritty of all the PvMP changes coming with Riders of Rohan, head on over to the full post.
Perfect World Entertainment's Mark Hill previews Rusty Hearts: Reborn
About a week ago, we got our first look at the first expansion to Perfect World Entertainment's side-scrolling hack-and-slash title, Rusty Hearts. On July 24th, Rusty Hearts: Reborn will be bringing a wealth of new content to the game, and I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Mark Hill, senior product manager of Rusty Hearts, about the new update. What's particularly interesting about Rusty Hearts: Reborn is that many of the features coming with the expansion are a direct result of player feedback. According to Hill, the studio recognized that many players were quitting the game prematurely, sometimes as early as level 5, and as such, the expansion is focused on retooling the early- and mid-game to make it more welcoming to new players. That's not to say that there's nothing for established players, however, so if you're interested in what Rusty Hearts: Reborn is bringing to the table, head on past the cut, where I'll share all of the information gleaned from my talk with Mr. Hill.
Marvel Heroes turns the flame on with the Human Torch
We hope you're dressed for warm weather because Marvel Heroes' latest addition to the roster is sure to heat things up a bit. The Fantastic Four's cocky Johnny Storm, better known as the Human Torch, has officially been announced as the title's newest playable character. Johnny's presence in the game also makes him the first member of the Fantastic Four to hit the playable character roster, though hopefully Sue, Reed, and Ben will be around to help keep the Human Torch in line. We don't have any details on the Human Torch's gameplay abilities or anything of the sort, but we do know that he's categorized as an energy-based ranged attacker, so players can probably expect to be flinging fireballs with reckless abandon. But while you wait for more details and more heroes to be announced, head on over to Marvel's official site to check out the company's live coverage of San Diego Comic-Con 2012.
A roadmap to The Secret World's ability wheel
After months and months of warning us that dark days are coming, Funcom's new horror-sprinkled title, The Secret World, has finally arrived. The game brings a number of new twists to the tried-and-true MMORPG formula, but its character progression is its biggest departure from the MMO formula. While many modern titles rely on class-based systems or other linear progression paths, TSW takes a considerably more open-ended approach with the ability wheel. However, this freedom of progression comes with a price. With more variety, there's more choice, and with more choice, there's bound to be more indecision. But don't fret: I'm here to help pull back the curtain on the mystery of the skill wheel and its many offerings. Want to know which route to take to dish out damage, take the hits, or heal and support your allies? Then follow along with me as I delve into the many intricacies of The Secret World's ability wheel.
Allods Online announces patch 3.0.4, new North American server
Allods Online players are probably still busy playing with their new toys from the recent patches, such as the new Dead City raid and the Bard class, but gPotato has plenty more tricks up its sleeve. In a new post on the game's official site, the studio has announced Allods' next major update, patch 3.0.4. Information on the new update is scarce at the moment, but the post promises that "previews... of some of the new content and mechanics [players will] be able to experience in the new update" will be cropping up over the next few weeks on the official site. A few of these features include "changes to the mentor system and autorun, the Psionicist and Paladin reworks, new Allods to explore... and more." But that's not all that this new update is bringing with it. North American players are in for an extra treat in the form of a brand-new server. That's right, in addition to all the fancy new features that 3.0.4 is bringing to the game, NA players will be able to start on a fresh, clean server. This is somewhat odd, considering that the game recently merged two of its servers into one. The studio claims that it will "go into more details about the server and what to expect in the first preview which will arrive tomorrow." While you wait on more juicy information, though, just head on over to the Allods official site to give the full post a read.
Religious group calls for removal of Hindu deities from Hi-Rez's SMITE
In Hi-Rez Studios' upcoming action-oriented MOBA, SMITE, players are able to play as a variety of gods, goddesses, and miscellaneous deities from multiple world mythologies and religions. If you recall my impressions of the title from PAX East earlier this year, you'll remember that I got to play as Kali, the four-armed, scimitar-wielding Hindu goddess of change and destruction. Well, it turns out that the Universal Society for Hinduism has caught wind of the fact that SMITE players can control Hindu deities such as Kali and Agni, and the organization's president, Rajan Zed, is not pleased. Zed claims that "controlling and manipulating goddess Kali and other HIndu deities... is denigration as these deities are meant to be worshiped," not "reduced to just a character in a video game." As such, Zed called for the immediate removal of all Hindu deities from the title. Hi-Rez, however, has no plans to do so. The studio's COO, Todd Harris, gave the following response: "SMITE includes deities inspired from a diverse and ever expanding set of pantheons including Greek, Chinese, Egyptian, and Norse. Hinduism, being one of the world's oldest, largest and most diverse traditions, also provides inspiration toward deities in our game. In fact, given Hinduism's concept of a single truth with multiple physical manifestations one could validly interpret ALL the gods within SMITE to be Hindu. And all gods outside of SMITE as well. Ponder that for a minute. Anyway, going forward SMITE will include even more deities, not fewer."
Star Wars: The Old Republic talks adaptive gear, augment tables
Star Wars: The Old Republic's upcoming patch 1.3 looks like it's going to be bringing a bunch of fun goodies for the crafters in its playerbase. BioWare has posted a new update on the SWTOR official site to give players a look at some of the changes coming in the patch. For starters, we have the new adaptive gear weight system. When a character or companion is equipped with a piece of social armor with the adaptive armor weight, that character will automatically "use it to maximum effect, gaining the benefits of the highest armor weight [the character] can equip." The big crafting-related feature hitting in 1.3, however, is the addition of augment tables. BioWare has noticed that crafted items with augment slots (which are created only through a critical crafting success) are almost disproportionately powerful due to their "exceptional stat potential", which the devs say is "indicative of a systemic inequity between different types of items." Augment tables, which will be accessible through the current item modification stations, aim to fix this by allowing players to add augment slots to existing items without having to rely on a critical crafting success. Players can acquire additional slots by paying a flat cost of credits at an item modification station or by using an augment kit crafted by Armormechs, Synthweavers, and Armstechs. The full system is a little too complex to delve into in this post, however, so if the idea of augment tables piqued your interest, head on over to the full post to read more.
Brian Knox discusses the future of TERA
En Masse Entertainment's action-packed title TERA has been out for just over a month now, and the game's really beginning to pick up steam. The title recently unveiled its much-awaited political system, which led to some pretty exciting activity in the campaign for Vanarchy. Still, many players are now looking toward the future. Do you wonder what En Masse has up its sleeve now that TERA is up and running? Then you're in luck because the game's Senior Producer, Brian Knox, sat down to answer a few questions for the folks at DualShockers. It's a pretty interesting interview that covers a range of topics, such as the relationship between En Masse and Bluehole Studio and plans for expansion of TERA's endgame. Roleplayers get a couple of shout-outs as well, which is a refreshing change. Heck, Knox even comments on the game's ridiculous MMO-Fo ad campaign. For all of the delicious interview details, click below to read the full piece.
Star Wars: The Old Republic brings team ranked warzones back to the PTS
BioWare has some good news today for the more competitive Star Wars: The Old Republic players: Team ranked warzones are back on the PTS. With this feature, players will be able to rally into groups of eight to take on opposing groups for honor and glory. Thanks to some newly implemented tech, players will remain in their premade groups even after the PvP match is over, which should make re-queuing after the fact considerably simpler. In addition, the studio has announced a feature known as dual queuing. With this feature, players will be able to queue themselves for both a ranked and an unranked warzone simultaneously. If a player in a normal warzone gets a ranked warzone pop, that player's spot in the ranked warzone will be reserved until she finishes the normal warzone match, which should help make the waiting time for ranked warzones pass a bit more quickly. For the full details on the upcoming team ranked warzones, check out the full post on SWTOR's official site.
Help a newbie with RIFT's upcoming mentoring system
RIFT fans are surely excited about the game's upcoming patch 1.9, which will bring a number of new features, such as the three-way conquest PvP mode, to the popular fantasy title. The mentoring system allows players to scale their levels down so they can play with lower-level teammates while still receiving XP and rewards comparable to their true levels. Trion Worlds has designed the system to be easy to use: If you want to drop your level to match someone else's, simply invite that player to a party, right-click on his character's portrait, and voila. In addition, if you join a random instant adventure group, you will automatically be lowered to the appropriate level. And remember, you do continue to gain level-appropriate rewards and XP even when your level has been lowered by the mentor system. For instance, if your character is level 45 but you're mentored down to say, level 30 to play with a friend, you'll continue to gain XP suitable for a level 45 character, and you'll always be rewarded with the appropriate variety of sourcestone. For the full details on the game's upcoming mentoring system, head on over to the RIFT official site.
TERA Vanarchy candidate Oloh on the political game within the game
For some time now, meaningful in-game politics have been the domain of sandbox golden-children like EVE Online, but En Masse Entertainment's action-oriented TERA aims to break that monopoly. The studio recently introduced its much-touted Vanarchy system, which allows players to run for political office and has resulted in a rush of guilds vying for the coveted positions. The Basilisk Crag server's Nagafen is one such guild. The guild, headed by founder and Vanarchy candidate Don Shelkey (in-game alias Oloh), is in the midst of a large campaign for control of the province of Ostgarath, and the group means business. Shelkey even went so far as to rent ad-space on the front page of TERA's ZAM network database site, TeraTome, bringing the in-game campaign into the real-world of hundreds of TERA players. We had the chance to have a little tête-à-tête with Shelkey himself to talk a bit about the socio-political climate of TERA and its implications on the real world. OK, not really. But we did talk to him about the joys of playing politics in a virtual world and what it takes to run for a Vanarchy in TERA, so head on past the cut and check it out!
DC Universe Online brings fans into the recording studio with Mark Hamill, Adam Baldwin, and Arleen Sorkin
DC Universe Online's upcoming DLC pack, The Last Laugh, will be hitting the live servers tomorrow, June 19th. As you may have surmised from the DLC pack's title (which it shares with a renowned comic story arc), the new content will heavily feature everyone's favorite Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker. And of course, when it comes to voicing the Joker, we know there's only one man for the job: the legendary Mark Hamill. In a new video released by Sony Online Entertainment, Hamill brings fans into the recording studio as he lays down his lines for the maniacal Mistah J. Joining Hamill are the voices of Superman (Adam Baldwin), and Harley Quinn (Arleen Sorkin). Together the trio talks about the joys of voicing three of DC Comics' iconic characters and their work on the upcoming Last Laugh DLC. To see these talented voice actors bringing your favorite DCUO characters to life, just click on past the cut for the full video. [Source: Sony Online Entertainment press release]
Free Realms prepares for The Gloam Invasion, teases Sunstone Valley
Rally yourselves, Free Realms players; the Shrouded Glade is under attack! In the latest update to Sony Online Entertainment's kid-friendly F2P title, players are tasked with assisting the nature-loving Shrouded Glade Druids and the technological Sunstone Dwarves in the reclamation of their home from the threat of the Gloam, which is warping the glade's former inhabitants into hostile creatures. After players have had ample time to fight back the Gloam in the Shrouded Glade, players will be rewarded with a bit of a respite in the bright and sunny home of the Dwarves, Sunstone Valley. The dusty crags of Sunstone will bring myriad new activities for players, such as fighting in the Rumbledome, exploring the wilderness, or just relaxing at a shady oasis. To get an early look at the two new additions, check out the Free Realms official site.
Guild Wars 2 could launch before Thanksgiving, release date announcement 'imminent'
Yes, Guild Wars 2 fans, we know that ArenaNet can't put the game out quickly enough. Believe us, we know. Thankfully, some new information uncovered through a bit of detective work on behalf of Gamebreaker's Jason Winter indicates that we may not have to wait too much longer. Financial reports issued by Korean Development Bank's securities firm, which is one of the largest brokerage firms in Korea, have included a number of documents involving the much-hyped title, in which predictions are made for a Guild Wars 2 release date in Q3/Q4 2012 (likely before Thanksgiving) and an "imminent" release date announcement. Keep in mind that this isn't just some random guy on the internet; these predictions come from people who report on these things for one of the largest brokerage firms in Korea, which means a lot of money (and probably some jobs) are on the line. To get the full details straight from Winter himself, go check out the full video on Gamebreaker, but take it all with a grain of salt. As ArenaNet is fond of reminding us, nothing is official until Anet says it is, and the game will be out when it's ready.
Get a fighting edge with TERA's combat indicator guide
TERA players, are you tired of being on the receiving end of a BAM's fury? Do you need a little extra edge in combat? If so, En Masse Entertainment has you covered. The studio has released a new combat indicator guide that should help struggling players get a bit of a leg-up on the competition. It's not exactly an in-depth tutorial or anything, but the guide does highlight some of the finer points of combat that many players might miss. For instance, how can you know when a monster is ordering its minions, changing targets, or leaving aggro range? Just pay attention to the indicators above each monster's head. Perhaps you're more PvP-minded and would like to know when your opponent is about to unleash a stun or a power-attack so you can be sure to skeddaddle. With a little options tweaking, you can ensure that ability icons appear as enemy attacks so you're always aware of what's coming. For the full guide, head on over to the TERA official site.
Scarlet Witch joins the Marvel Heroes roster
Marvel Heroes got a little more magical today as developer Gazillion Entertainment announced the addition of the Scarlet Witch as a playable character. This heroine/villainess is perhaps most famous for depowering 90% of the mutant population in House of M (spoiler alert!), and her reality-altering powers are certainly not to be scoffed at. Scarlet Witch is the first character to be announced since the game's first official trailer was unveiled last month, but hopefully we can look forward to quite a few more in the coming weeks. For more details on newcomer Scarlet Witch and the other playable characters of Marvel Heroes, head on over to the game's official site.
Star Wars: The Old Republic unleashes second wave of server transfers
Star Wars: The Old Republic's server merges are continuing at a steady pace, and today BioWare has sent another round of servers up to bat. If you've been waiting patiently for your chance to hop to a more populated server, now's your opportunity. The sheer number of origin servers now available to players is a bit staggering, so we won't dare try to list them all here, but if you're a SWTOR player, you should definitely check out the full list. If your server is eligible for transfer (and you haven't gotten your account banned), then you can take any characters from that server (that aren't guild leaders) and slap 'em on a transdimensional ship to a galaxy almost-but-not-entirely like your old one. For the full details, plus a handy and helpful transfer FAQ, check out the SWTOR official transfer page. Oh, and while you're at it, check out the newly released group finder guide, so you'll know what to do with all of these new people around.
Universal Monsters Online is a thing
MOBAs seem to be the hot new thing, with games like the indie SmashMuck Champions following in the footsteps of heavy-hitters such as League of Legends and Dota 2. Now we can add another one to the list, as Bigpoint Games has announced an in-development MOBA centered around some unlikely champions: classic Universal Studios movie monsters. That's right: In the upcoming Universal Monsters Online, players will be able to go head-to-head with one another as iconic movie monsters, including Dracula, the Wolf-Man, Frankenstein's monster (and his bride), and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Gameplay details are scarce, but if you happen to be in the game's target demographic of classic-horror-movie-buff-slash-MOBA-gamer, head on over to the game's official site and have a gander.
Red 5 unveils part one of Firefall manga, shuts down ARG [Updated]
Firefall's beta test is moving steadily along toward the game's (hopefully) upcoming release, and fans are probably hungry for some more background on the MMOFPS title. To help satiate that appetite, Red 5 has released part one of the Firefall manga series penned by legendary sci-fi author Orson Scott Card and his daughter Emily Janice Card. The comic, entitled Trespasser, is penciled by renowned artist Joe Ng of UDON comic fame, and follows mohawk-sporting heroine Pilgrim as she kills gargantuan mutant bugs and has a bit of a run-in with the law. The manga's story begins prior to the crash of the Arclight, which heralds the beginning of the in-game timeline. Hopefully the narrative will serve to fill in some of the details regarding the events that lead up to Firefall itself. Red 5 will be unveiling two new pages every Tuesday, so head on over to the comic to get up-to-speed, then be sure to check in weekly for the rest of the story. [Update: Red 5 has also announced it is shutting down Firefall's alternate-reality game to avoid storyline overlap and conflict with the manga.]
Trion Worlds licenses CloakWorks cloth simulation tech
RIFT players, have you been feeling like the game is missing a certain je ne sais quois? Perhaps the way your cloak flaps in the wind just isn't quite dramatic enough for you. Well, you may just be in luck, as Trion Worlds has just announced that it has licensed CloakWorks' "advanced cloth simulation technology" known as Shroud. RIFT executive producer Scott Hartsman claims that capes are one of the most-requested visual features and states that he's "very happy" with Shroud's results. The studio hasn't released any previews of the new technology in action, but we'll be sure to keep our eyes peeled for new details as they come. In the meantime, though, why don't you busy yourself by catching up on all the latest news about RIFT's upcoming Storm Legion expansion? [Source: Trion Worlds press release]