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EVE Evolved: Fixing EVE's player activity
It's been a sort of running gag in EVE Online throughout the years that players spend inordinate amounts of time docked in stations and spinning their ships around in the hangar, but this is oddly close to the truth. Those of us who have been hooked to EVE for years know just how intense the game can get at its most frantic and how incredible it is to be present for historic events and important PvP battles, but those moments are rare, and there's typically a lot of downtime between periods of activity. For every PvP battle fought, incursion fleet formed or wormhole op organised, players often have to spend hours in stations or in space amusing themselves or doing busywork. With gamers now spreading their increasingly limited free time across a growing catalogue of online games, some EVE players log in for only a few minutes per day to queue skills, chat with corpmates, and see if anything interesting is happening. The recent announcement that the upcoming Phoebe release will contain infinite length skill queues has some players concerned that people will lose the motivation to pop their heads into New Eden each day and see what's going on. Since the best sandbox gameplay is emergent in nature, just getting players to log in so they're available to take part in something awesome when it happens is extremely important. In this edition of EVE Evolved, I ask whether EVE is in trouble due to its recent decline in player activity, look at the impact of people with just a few hours per week to play, and suggest a new app idea that could help solve all of those problems.
League of Legends reimagines Sion, the undead juggernaut
A new and terrifying Sion is stomping across lanes in League of Legends lately, thanks to a long-overdue "reimagining" and re-release. Riot Games was pretty harsh in its post-mortem of the old version, saying, "Old Sion had countless problems: He was a mage with an ax, he'd end up with two redundant abilities regardless of how he built, his model had aged horribly, and he had some pretty... interesting voiceover." The team decided to rebuild him to fit his profile as an unstoppable undead warrior. The new Sion is tanky with powerful attacks that can be deployed dupliciously in order to mess with the reflexes of opponents. You can check out Sion's champion spotlight video after the jump.
The Stream Team: Dota 2's 6.82 madness
The last few months in Dota 2 have come with a sense of stagnation. The professional and high-tier play meta, on display most prominently in this year's $11 million International championship, was in a rut. Something had to change before players grew bored or frustrated with facing the same three or four team strategies. Last week, Valve delivered an earthquake of a content patch, providing a ridiculously huge update that changed items, heroes, abilities, game modes, core mechanics, and even the map itself. For the next few months, pros and casuals alike must sift through the wreckage and try to re-optimize how they play. Tune in tonight as Massively's Mike Foster takes one of Dota's newly-reworked heroes for a spin and tries to make sense of the post-6.82 carnage. The action begins at 7:00 p.m. EDT. Game: Dota 2 Host: Mike Foster Date: Wednesday, October 1st, 2014 Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT Enjoy our Stream Team video below.
League of Legends introduces Ranked Restrictions for toxic players
League of Legends is a really popular game, but it also has a pretty noxious community reputation. That's something that's on the forefront of the mind of the Riot Games team, and it's being addressed with the latest patch. Players voted down for negative behavior are already operating under a chat restriction, requiring them to play a certain number of games before they can speak in the game again. Now those players will see another restriction, though: the inability to access ranked play. Rank restricted players will have a certain number of games that they must play before they can return to queueing for ranked matches just like with chat restrictions. Players who are deeply into negative territory and rank restricted at the end of a given competitive season will also be ineligible for receiving special rewards for ranked play, meaning that poor sportsmanship doesn't pay at any level of the game. While there are potential abuses for the system, it's an obvious effort to make the play experience on all levels a more positive one for players.
Get Imagine Dragons' League of Legends song for free
League of Legends has an official song for its 2014 World Championship, and you can get it for free today. The song is "Warriors" by the band Imagine Dragons. "To kick off the start of the action, we set out to craft a war cry to rally behind in a creative collaboration with Imagine Dragons," Riot posted on its site. "Whether you're a solo queue warrior or fighting off the LCS jitters –- every moment counts." The MP3 is available for free on the site, but if you want the full animated music video, all you have to do is hit the jump below.
Hear snippets of Chance Thomas' Dota 2 score
Composer Chance Thomas has revealed his latest project: creating a Compendium score for Dota 2. In a new behind-the-scenes video, you can see Thomas conducting a choir and orchestra as they perform snippets of various tracks for the popular MOBA. Thomas previously worked on MMOs such as Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online. You can watch the Dota 2 soundtrack video after the jump!
Riot Games kicks off e-sports documentary
Want to know more about e-sports without all of the "watching e-sports" that it would otherwise entail? That's the purpose behind a new documentary being assembled by Riot Games. Road to Worlds is all about tracking the path of professional League of Legends players as they fight through the championships, culminating in a shot at the top prize at Worlds. The first episode is available past the cut and runs for about 25 minutes, exploring the origins of several competitive teams and how players first broke into the industry. If you want a deeper look at the culture, or if you're already a big fan of e-sports and want to watch more about them, jump on past the break. The remaining portions of the documentary will be posted later this month, on September 12th and 15th.
League of Legends moves beyond its own lore
What are your current thoughts about the storytelling in League of Legends? Yes, it's entirely acceptable to respond to that question with a cocked eyebrow and a confused expression. A new developer blog by Tommy Gnox addresses precisely that, explaining that from the beginning, the narrative side of the game has always focused around creating a justification for how the game works. That's all well and good, but it winds up not creating a great deal of space for any exploration of stories beyond the game itself. Gnox goes on to lay out a new plan for the game's storytelling in the future, explaining that there will no longer be a perfect one-to-one correspondence between the game and the lore. While older elements will remain in place, some of them will be allowed to fall by the wayside in favor of more interesting stories and character perspectives. If you've got an investment in the game's world and characters, check out the full blog for more information.
Heroes of the Storm is late to the MOBA party, but Blizzard isn't worried
Blizzard's upcoming MOBA, Heroes of the Storm, has a lengthy development history. Officially, development on the game began in 2010. The full story however, goes back to 2002, with the release of Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos and a mod called "Defense of the Ancients" (DOTA). If that acronym sounds familiar, it's probably because it's also the name of Valve's popular game, Dota 2. If you're confused on the capitalization, the former is an acronym while the latter doesn't stand for anything. As for why Valve would use the name of a mod created for a competing company's game and why Blizzard would let go of the name that kickstarted a genre worth hundreds of millions of dollars well ... there's a story there, too.
Riot Games starting programs to help support retired e-sports players
So what do you do when you're too old to play e-sports on a professional level? Do you accept that you had a good run being treated like a rock star for playing a lot of games and move on with your life? Heck no. You need to start worrying about leveraging your brand and your media training. That's the sort of material covered by a new program headed by Riot Games, guiding professional League of Legends players on the path from the start of their career to their expected retirement at around age 27. The accepted retirement age for professional players is due to a decrease in fine motor control and reflexes, which means that as in physical sports, it's impossible to continue playing as you get older. While the symposia Riot is offering don't yet go into detail about what players can do after playing, they are meant to help keep professionals in the spotlight and support them when they can no longer keep up with the events. It's useful training for professional e-sports players looking to move through their career and have some direction for after the game.
League of Legends spotlights Gnar in a new video
So you've heard a lot about the newest League of Legends champion, Gnar. You've read about his abilities. But do you know how to play him? Have you seen him in action? Then perhaps you should watch the newest spotlight video, which sheds some light on how to play the angry little guy -- which is good, since Gnar is currently the only champion whose transformation doesn't lie under the direct control of the player. The video gives an overview of Gnar's abilities in both forms, then runs through a quick guide to handling combat situations with the hoppy little bundle of rage. Essentially, it's all about keeping an eye on when you'll transform and making the most of the situation, hopping in and out as the change takes you and wears off. Take a look at the video just past the break for a more visual demonstration of how to make the most of the character.
Ubisoft analyst examines League of Legends' alleged business model flaws
Despite League of Legends' mind-boggling 67 million players and $624 million in revenue through 2013, it's not doing as well as it should be, at least according to Ubisoft Blue Byte's Teut Weidemann, who has been studying the game first-hand in conjunction with behind-the-scenes data. Weidemann argues that League of Legends' model has three major flaws: It gives too much away for free, it keeps releasing overpowered champions that are nerfed later after purchase, and it has a terrible 3.75% conversion rate from free to paying customers. Why is 3.75% bad? Weidemann explains: "Usually, conversion rates for client-based games is between 15 and 25 percent. World of Tanks has 30 percent. It could afford to have one-third of the customer base and have the same amount of money as League of Legends." He believes the only reason Riot is staying afloat is through the studio's extensive playerbase, and as such smaller games should steer clear of the same model.
League of Legends properly introduces Gnar
After teasing players about the nature of the newest champion arriving in League of Legends, Riot Games has provided a full introduction for the prehistoric yordle known as Gnar. He looks nice enough, actually, even sort of cute. At least until he gets angry and transforms into Mega Gnar, a hulking brute who's happy to crush everything in his path and then start down a new path so he can crush more things. Anger issues, in short. So how does Gnar play? It's all about managing the rage. In mini form, he's a quick attacker with some range who also has access to a handy escape ability. When he enrages, though, he's a tank-happy fighter with plenty of durability and burst damage. Both forms have their own weaknesses and strengths, so the art of playing him comes down to carefully maximizing his fits of rage before getting back out of danger. After all, who'd believe the little cute guy could get that angry?
League of Legends previews Gnar without a word
Who is Gnar? An upcoming champion for League of Legends. How does he or she play? We don't know. All we know is a little bit of what Gnar is all about, and that is shown in a quick teaser site that manages to convey a story without using a single word other than Gnar's name. Gnar seems like a pretty happy sort at first, but when a calamity befell Gnar's family, Gnar didn't handle it too well. Gnar can be seen breaking out of an ice tomb and setting forth on what we can only assume will be a rampage filled with enemy champions. Take a glance at the preview page to watch the whole thing play out, and keep your eyes peeled for more information on how Gnar will play. (Speculation has him focused on crowd control and area denial.)
Dota 2's 10 million dollar e-sports tourney will stream on ESPN
Whether or not you believe e-sports are real sports, Dota 2 is at least big enough for sports TV. Valve today publicized a deal that will bring streaming coverage of its MOBA's The International tournament to ESPN. Well, ESPN3, which is sort of like ESPN in the same way Dota 2 is like a sport. We're kidding. ESPN3 will broadcast matches live, and come Sunday, "viewers can tune in to ESPN2 for an exclusive preview of the tournament's final match, featuring highlights from the games, expert analysis, plus interviews with the players and Valve's Gabe Newell." The International championships begin tomorrow in Seattle with a prize pool worth over $10 million. It turns out your mom was wrong: You can get rich and famous playing video games. [With thanks to tipster Mike!]
'Dota Dash' turns Valve's MOBA into Mario Kart-inspired racer
Ever find yourself playing a round of Dota 2 and think, "This is pretty alright, but what this game really needs is a kart racer spin-off"? Well lucky you, an enterprising player who goes by the handle "BMD" has created "Dota Dash," a mod that lets you experience what it would be like if Valve's multi-million dollar MOBA were given a blood transfusion from Mario Kart. The mod keeps the familiar camera angle of the original game, while changing its controls and map to match its new genre. Although it currently lacks the depth and variety of courses and maps that would be seen in a full-fledged racing game, players can nonetheless feel free to cackle maniacally as they drop banana peels and shoot shells at their enemies. There are several lines of communication through which you can learn more and contact those working on Dota Dash, including a Reddit thread and Steam Community page. If you're ready to skip all that and jump in, check out D2Moddin. Just be sure to record your race so we can witness the birth of a Luna Death Stare meme. [Image: BMD/Valve]
League of Legends public chat rooms disabled by Riot
What's the fastest and easiest way to deal with the problems in League of Legends chat channels? Apparently, just shutting them down completely. Riot Games has removed several of the public chat rooms until the company finds a way to turn them into something "useful and accessible." The company is aware that there are great communities in the game, but it's too easy for toxic individuals to mask that. Not only were the public chat channels problematic, but even the private channels lacked effective moderation tools outside of an ignore button. The development team is starting over from a new foundation, hoping to make the chat rooms a place to hang out with friends and more easily organize matches instead of being... well, what they were before. Feedback is welcome, so chime in on the official forums if you know what you want to see when the chats finally return.
University adds League of Legends team to its athletic program
Could being at wiz video games get you a scholarship and a college degree? As far-fetched of a dream as that may seem, it's now becoming a reality at one institute of higher learning. Robert Morris University in Illinois announced today that it will be forming an official League of Legends varsity team as part of its athletic program for the 2014-15 academic year. Team members will be treated on the same level as other athletes, meaning that they're eligible for tutoring, support, and scholarships. The team is a result of the university's associate athletic director's love of competitive PC gaming and acknowledgement that it requires the same level of teamwork as other sports. "Although e-sports have long been a part of the culture of gaming, competitions have seen a large surge in popularity in recent years," the university posted. "Robert Morris University recognizes the value and legitimacy of e-sports and is excited to add e-sports to its already rich athletic program."
Valve adding Stanley Parable announcer pack to Dota 2 store
Valve wants you to know that it's adding a Stanley Parable Announcer Pack to its Dota 2 cash shop this afternoon. The content inserts a narrator with a "particular blend of sardonic meta-commentary" into the MOBA, "rendering the game not only understandable but even downright accessible to the common layperson." The pack costs $10, though it will be 10 percent off this weekend. [Source: Valve press release]
Dota 2's playerbase tops World of Warcraft's subscribership
In the world of online gaming, there's been a longstanding perception that's not actually been true: that World of Warcraft has the most players. Today we can add another title to the "Greater Than WoW" Club, as the official site displays a counter showing that Dota 2 has a larger playerbase. Dota 2 had 7.86 million players log in during April, a number that outmatched World of Warcraft's current shrunken subscribership. Of course, it's important to keep in mind that we're comparing a MOBA to an MMO and a free-to-play title to a subscription game, but even so it's an impressive achievement for Valve. Gamespot noted that League of Legends has both games eclipsed by a teeny, tiny amount -- something on the order of 67 million players per month.
