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Allods Online launches new Renaissance patch, reincarnation system
Allods Online has just published its first content update since officially launching earlier this year. The Renaissance patch delivers a lot of new stuff, and it's a good thing too since Allods recently surpassed 3.5 million registered players. Those players now have a unique endgame feature to look forward to in the form of the reincarnation system, which allows players to re-roll while keeping their main character. The main becomes what's known as an Ascendant, while the new character (called an Incarnation) inherits certain abilities from the main. Both characters share gold, mounts, potions, and other items, and the reincarnation mechanic "offers the most powerful players in Sarnaut the opportunity to become even more unstoppable," according to the latest Allods press release. That's not all there is to Renaissance, though. Allods players will want to explore new zones like the Twilight Isle and the Cave of Tka-Rik, and there's also a new astral layer in store for spacefaring characters. Last but not least, there's the Happy Hours and Happy Days event, and though it doesn't feature the Fonz or Richie Cunningham, it does bring some nice XP bonuses at least once per month on every Allods server. You can learn more about Renaissance at the official Allods website, and don't forget to head past the cut for the new Renaissance trailer.
Big, huge interview: Big Huge Games head Tim Train
When 38 Studios isn't busy hiring former Nintendo execs, Curt Schilling's Massachusetts-based MMO developer is buying up close-to-death development studios -- take, for instance, Big Huge Games. Tim Train, the studio's president, illuminated the near-death experience that Big Huge had in a talk at PAX East earlier this year (slides from said speech can be found below). He explained how, with just a handful of days left and termination letters ready to send out, 38 Studios swept in and saved Big Huge and the vast majority of its staff. We found his story so interesting, we thought we'd follow up with Train and have him explain it once more, as well as speak about other topics. Will Big Huge ever produce another digital board game? Unfortunately, it looks like you could be waiting on that for quite some time. Hit the break for the whole thing. %Gallery-92043%
Interview: 38 Studios CEO on Big Huge Games acquisition
Is something in the air? While this week saw ZeniMax's acquisition of industry legend id Software, last month saw newcomer 38 Studios' acquisition of Big Huge Games, THQ's troubled developer that, like id, has rockstar status of its own. We had a chance to talk with 38 Studios' CEO Brett Close shortly after the announcement last month. On the plate: What will Big Huge be working on now? What's happening to the two titles BHG was working on for THQ? And when could we see something Copernicus-themed from Big Huge Games?Joystiq: Why Big Huge games? And were you looking or considering any other developers to bring into the 38 Studios family?Brett Close: Well, we've got 36 studios to go, of course.
Curt Schilling's 38 Studios acquires THQ's Big Huge Games
Looks like THQ's short-lived ownership of Rise of Nations-developer Big Huge Games has finally come to a close, with upstart MMO dev 38 Studios announcing an acquisition today. According to this here press release, the "acquisition is a critical step in 38 Studios' strategy to deliver a broad range of entertainment products centered on its original fantasy IP, codenamed Copernicus."So, Copernicus-themed projects only from here on out? 38 Studios' CEO and President, Brett Close, says, "The acquisition enables us to develop and deliver top-quality games in multiple genres that are based in a shared world, ultimately maximizing the value of our Copernicus MMOG and the intellectual property as a whole." However, the presser also mentions that BHG is actively developing an unnamed RPG for 360, PS3, and PC (ostensibly the rumored Ascendant), but makes no mention of God: The Game, in development for Wii. Will Ascendant be relocated into the world of Copernicus? We have no idea, but we do know that while BHG will be integrated into [Massachusetts-based] 38 Studios," the Maryland-based developer will stay put.More as we learn it.
In limbo: Big Huge Games ... games
Big Huge Games could be saved from the swinging axe, according to a report from Kotaku, which also details two games the company was in the middle of developing: God: The Game and Ascendant. God: The Game was planned for Wii, with obvious inspiration from games such as Animal Crossing and The Legend of Zelda, and seems to have been early in development based on the game art available.The other title, Ascendant, was destined for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC, and is (was?) an action RPG set in a fantasy world. A brief trailer for the game confirms that Ken Rolston, lead designer for Oblivion, was involved. Based on that trailer and some in-game shots, we'd say Big Huge Games was on the verge of living up to its name.There could still be hope for these games, though. Unnamed sources claim that several buyers are checking out the developer, including Curt Schilling's 38 Studios. Hopefully, Big Huge Games can be big huge saved.
