Shawn Schuster
Articles by Shawn Schuster
Skyforge to premiere at Gamescom
Skyforge, the upcoming MMO from Obsidian Entertainment and the team that brought you Allods Online, will be making its debut at this year's Gamescom in Cologne, Germany. Along with World of Speed and Armored Warfare, Skyforge will be presented by My.com at its booth in the business hall and as a playable demo for press. This will be the first reveal of two of Skyforge's classes and brand new locations. Interested players can also sign up for the closed beta for all three games at the official websites linked below. [Source: My.com press release]
Salem releases first major content patch under new management
The colonial perma-death MMO Salem has faced some publisher problems over the last year or so, but indie dev Mortal Moments has swooped in to take over the ambitious project recently. Project Lead John Carver made a formal introduction when the transfer was finalized, but what's even more interesting is the 51-page forum thread that answers many of our burning questions about the game's future. Carver touches on some important points that could get Salem back on MMO gamers' radars: "Some could argue that it has had its day. Some could say that the people have spoken and that the game itself is over, finished, destroyed. But is it? Salem offers the promise of witches and paranoia but currently delivers neither. Salem tantalizes us with the prospects of creatures in the darkness and all that is the unknown in Colonial America, yet we have only argopelters. Salem entices us with the wealth of possibilities afforded by Animal Husbandry, Alchemy, Wagons and Ships, none of which are in the game yet." If these staple features were finally added to the game by this new developer, would potential players give it another shot? Would you? Salem has just released its first major content update under Mortal Moments, and the studio aims to stay true to the game's original plan (no pay-to-win, no PvE servers, etc). [Thanks for the tip, Chrysillis!]
RuneFest 2014 dated for October 11
Jagex has announced the date and a few key details on this year's RuneScape-flavored real-life event, RuneFest. On Saturday, October 11, Jagex will be returning to London's Tobacco Dock for the largest RuneScape event of the year. This year will feature panels and parties that promise to be bigger and better than ever before. While more details are still forthcoming, we do know that the cost will be £99 for a full One-Day Pass. You can keep an eye on any further RuneFest news by watching the event's Facebook and Twitter pages.
World of Warships on board for Gamescom 2014
Fans of Wargaming's selection of multiplayer military games will be happy to hear that the naval battle MMO World of Warships will be available to play during Gamescom 2014 next month. This will be the game's first public debut as a playable demo for anyone in attendance. Gamescom will be held from August 13 - 17 in Cologne, Germany, and Wargaming aims to go big again this year with game presentations, talk shows, on-stage giveaways, and more on its 720-square-meter stage in Hall 8. [Source: Wargaming press release]
League of Legends cracks down on more bad seeds
Riot Games has announced its next level of enforcement for problematic players in the wildly popular League of Legends. After working toward player reform over the last few years, the studio is now looking at a more aggressive approach. In cases of "extreme toxicity" (i.e. racism, death threats, homophobic remarks, etc.), troublesome players can expect a more severe penalty ranging from a 14-day ban to a permanent ban from the game. In the case that an "unfair ban" comes into question, Riot says they will now be fully transparent with chat logs and post the exact log that led to the player's ban. Intentional leavers/AFKers are also a concern for Riot as they plan to address these problems in the future.
Tree of Savior introduces new classes in Q&A #9
Tree of Savior, the upcoming MMO from Korean studio IMC Games, has unveiled its ninth Q&A about the game, revealing more classes, costume details, an explanation of the Chronomancer's time-travel skill, and some special hidden content. With an advertised 80 classes in the game, these four new class introductions just scratch the surface, but we do get some details and animations from the Thaumaturge, Archer, Pyromancer, and Centurian. Be sure to check out the video after the cut for more on the new classes. If you have any questions for the dev team that you'd like answered in the next Q&A, send them along to the game's Facebook page or the developer's blog.
Bungie explains no cross-platform play for Destiny
As most new video games are striving for a cross-platform multiplayer experience, Bungie decided against it with Destiny. Sure, the game can be played on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One consoles, but the studio feels that there are too many major disadvantages to allowing those consoles to battle against each other in the upcoming game. "I have a disadvantage sniping across the map because [my opponent with a next-gen console] is only two pixels on my screen and I'm four pixels on his," Bungie engineer Roger Wolfson told Digital Trends. "You see that in the world of PC gaming, where people are always racing to the best video card to give themselves the advantage." This is especially true when you consider the fact that the Xbox One version won't have 1080p resolution at the beta launch on July 23, but Bungie is still gunning for 1080p on all consoles for September's launch.
PlanetSide 2 opens up double XP to celebrate new Hossin map
To help celebrate the release of Planetside 2's Hossin content, Sony Online Entertainment is opening up a Double XP weekend for all players from July 18th (today) through the 20th. This double XP can stack with other in-game XP boosts including VIP membership, Hossin continent lock, purchased consumables, and more. If you want to go a step further and track your XP gain in its newly doubled state, you can do so through the Planetside 2 Players site, the PS2 app, the Recursion Stat Tracker, or the DasAnfall Stats page.
Destiny beta changes Dinklage's voice after criticism
When Peter Dinklage, aka Tyrion Lannister, was announced as the voice of Destiny's voice-in-your-head companion, Ghost, fans went nuts. That is, until they heard the lines in the game's alpha build. Many complained that the Game of Thrones star wasn't giving the role his best effort, and a bit of a meme even formed from some particularly lackluster lines in the game's trailer. But now, it seems Bungie listened to players and added a bit of effect to Dinklage's voice to spice things up a bit. The studio even went so far as to remove the now-internet-famous line, "That wizard came from the moon." Take a listen to the voiceover comparisons in the CVG video after the break to decide for yourself: did the mechanization of the audio improve things? Heck, it supposedly works for Britney Spears, right?
Elite: Dangerous aims to be future-proof
Time is not always kind to video games -- especially MMOs. So Frontier Developments decided to plan ahead by future proofing its sci-fi space MMO Elite: Dangerous. "Moore's law is our friend," company head David Braben told Eurogamer in a recent interview. "Even if your PC of today can't run [Elite] with all the features on, your PC of tomorrow might." The thought is to plan ahead by implementing graphical features that are so advanced, they can't even be run on modern computers yet. So when technology catches up, the advancements will already be in place. Check out the entire interview for more on how the team at Frontier aims to plan for the future in Elite: Dangerous.
MapleStory details Tower of Oz content coming July 23
MapleStory's new Rising Heroes: Tower of Oz update is highlighted in this week's official update notes on the site. This Wizard of Oz-themed content allows players to traverse 50 levels of monsters, jump quests, and more, including battles with the monstrous versions of Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman, the Cowardly Lion, and Dorothy herself. This new v.151 content will be available for free in game on July 23.
The Elder Scrolls Online coming to Steam today
Starting later today, The Elder Scrolls Online Standard and Imperial Editions will be available to download on Steam. This announcement was made to kick off QuakeCon 2014 in Dallas, Texas, where Zenimax Online will be hosting a panel entitled "The Future of The Elder Scrolls Online." The presentation will begin on Friday at 6:00 p.m. EDT and can also be viewed on Bethesda's Twitch.tv channel for those not able to attend. [Source: Bethesda press release]
SOE gives free game time for yesterday's login issues
If you were one of the players affected by Sony Online Entertainment's network-wide downtime yesterday, we have some good news. The company has announced on various social media outlets that it will be giving away two days of free access time to all accounts. This includes those on Landmark's beta access accounts as well. "We deeply regret the recent service interruption that is currently impacting all SOE games," DCUO Community Manager Mepps said in a forum post. "As a thank you for your patience, we will add two days of membership time to all members' accounts." According to EQ2wire.com, this downtime was caused by the SonyOnline.net domain name expiring, which SOE president John Smedley addressed in a tweet: "Sorry for the DNS problems folks. Won't happen again. Notices sent to wrong email. Doh."
Lineage II's new expansion to launch on July 30
NCsoft has announced today that its classic fantasy MMO Lineage II will be launching its next expansion on July 30. Entitled Ertheia, this free expansion brings new hunting zones, new adventures, and reveals the lore that explains the arrival of the Ertheia race. "As the last of Einhasad's four original races (Elves, Orcs, Dwarves, and Ertheia) enters the playing field, they will join forces with the other races and Heroes of Aden to save their world, all a part of the continuing saga within Lineage II's epic storyline," according to an NCsoft press release. Check out the video after the cut for more information on Lineage II's Ertheia. [Source: NCsoft press release]
Star Conflict adds Invasion and Observer modes
Gaijin Entertainment's Star Conflict was updated recently with a new Invasion and Observer mode, as well as several UI and bug fixes as the game continues its beta testing (but is technically launched on Steam) this month. The space-based MMO's Invasion mode is described as a PvE and PvP game feature that allows players to join up against alien invaders. This includes quests, resource gathering, and crafting to work toward certain goals. Be sure to check out the video embedded after the cut below as well as the official patch notes for more information. [Thanks to Simon for the tip!]
Yoshida: Let's analyze why Final Fantasy XIV's 2010 version failed
Final Fantasy XIV's game director, Naoki Yoshida, spoke candidly at his presentation during this year's Game Developer's Conference in March about what went wrong with the popular franchise's newest MMO during its first launch. As FFXIV fans might remember, the initial launch of the game in 2010 was plagued with problems, but a relaunch in 2013 proved successful. How did the team at Square Enix win back fans? How had the MMO landscape changed in those three years? The complete one-hour presentation video is available in both English and Japanese versions through the GDC Vault, or you can watch a translated version at Gamasutra.
Prepare for EVE Online's Crius with new dev video
If you're looking forward to the changes coming in EVE Online's Crius expansion next week, a new video featuring CCP Mimic touches on what to expect in New Eden's industrial revolution. CCP Nullarbor and CCP Tuxford describe the changes that will open up manufacturing to be performed wherever and whenever you like. "What we're leaving behind is what is really the core of industry," CCP Nullarbor says in the video. "Which [are] very interesting problems to solve, such as 'What should I be building?' and 'Where should I build it?'" Be sure to read our previous articles and guides on Crius for more info, and check out the dev video included after the cut. [Source: CCP press release]
A look at the Legend of the Condor Heroes Zero beta
Age of Wushu might have a bit of competition in Perfect World's newest Wuxia-themed MMO Legend of the Condor Heroes Zero. Despite the fact that the title sounds like a bunch of random words thrown together, Steparu took a close look at the game in its current beta state to let us know what to expect. In true Steparu style, we get a very detailed look at everything from character customization to gameplay to combat and more as shown in the videos embedded after the cut. Steparu ultimately thinks the game deserves another look in a more finished stage, but you can read more impressions over at the official review page.
LotRO Update 14 is now live
Today marks the official release of Lord of the Rings Online's Update 14, and with it comes the highly anticipated West Gondor content, as well as Epic Story Volume IV, the new Essence System, the level 100 cap, inventory tweaks, class balancing, bug fixes, and more. While none of this is a surprise to players, what did come as a surprise was some changes mentioned in executive producer Aaron "Rowan" Campbell's letter in the forums. First off, there will be no more level cap increases for this year to allow players to take their time and explore the new content. In addition, a new advancement system is being added to legendary items allowing them to grow with you without deconstruction for a new item at level cap. And lastly, the upcoming Beorning class will start at level 1 and include its own starting experience through Eriador. Be sure to check out the complete Update 14 patch notes as well as Rowan's Producer's Letter in the official forums.
Star Wars Galaxies lead designer passes away
Massively is saddened by the news that veteran MMO designer Ben Hanson has passed away, according to a recent tweet by friend and fellow designer Raph Koster. Koster and Hanson worked together on Star Wars Galaxies's Jump to Lightspeed expansion, on which Hanson was the lead content designer. In addition to working at SOE, Hanson worked with Simutronics, Origin, ArenaNet, and Digital Anvil during his long career. Our deepest condolences go out to Ben Hanson's family and friends.