festival
Latest
Reserve wants you to order food at Coachella with your phone
Music festivals already dole out plenty of perks if you have a VIP pass, but Coachella is trying something new this year: ordering upscale food from your phone. Roll up to the event with a VIP wristband and you can use Reserve's restaurant app to order from pop-up locations at a flat $50 per person (not including the mandatory tip and Reserve's $5 fee). You can also use the app if you're a regular guest, but you'll be limited to the deluxe Rose Garden dinners at a hefty $225 a pop. You'd better like haute cuisine, folks. Still, you've already paid hundreds of dollars to see your favorite bands -- Reserve could be worth the added expense if it lets you enjoy concerts instead of waiting to get a seat or pay your bill.
ArcheAge details its upcoming update, PTS, and holiday events
What do stockings, a vengeful sea goddess, and a dragon have in common? No, it's not a titillating new fantasy paperback. It's ArcheAge's next update. Version 1.2 Build 4.6 (as it is officially known) heralds the introduction of the Red Dragon to Erenor, an insane ancient Wyrmkin that will test the mettle of the strongest adventurers. Additionally, the jealous sea goddess Dahuta will make traveling the waters near her domain even more treacherous. Other update tidbits include a five-second forced delay between land claim attempts "in order to disrupt rapid spam-placement attempt tools" and the sale of the Comet speedster for 800 gilda. Players can test these new experiences out on the newly launched public test server. More information on all this and instructions for installing the PTS can be found on the official site and the PTS FAQ. This update also introduces the Winter Maiden Festival for the holidays. Featuring buff-giving trees you decorate and stockings you assemble all from loot drops, the event sees players decking the mobs with swords and staffs all through the season. Plushie collectors have the chance to acquire seven new snowman plushies to decorate their homes.
RIFT's Autumn Harvest returns
Starting this afternoon, RIFT's annual Autumn Harvest will return, bringing back the special fall-themed realm and all of its related quests and activities. In addition to Halloween rifts and the monster mash, this year's Autumn Harvest will activate seasonal minion adventures and a trio of new followers to boss around. RIFT is also hotfixing several small issues today, such as tweaking the minion system, increasing XP in Nightmare Tide dungeons, and making sure hit was added to various quest and crafting rewards for endgame activities. The Autumn Harvest runs from today through November 13th. Both Junkies Nation and RiftGrate have excellent guides for those looking.
Engadget Daily: the culture of leaks, surviving music festivals and more!
Today, we investigate the culture of leaks, learn how to enhance your music festival experience, review the first Chromebook to feature an i3 processor, watch a robot assemble itself and more. Read on for Engadget's news highlights from the last 24 hours.
Stream Lollapalooza sets from Outkast, Skrillex and Phantogram this weekend
If you enjoy taking in the summer's big music festivals from the comforts of your sofa, you've likely already peeped this year's Coachella and Bonaroo livestreams. The in-home viewing continues this weekend with Chicago's annual Lollapalooza event, kicking off Friday, August 1st at 2PM CT on Red Bull TV. Over the course of the weekend, there's three channels of over 100 performances on tap, with interviews and behind-the-scenes content peppered in. In addition to web access, the festivities will be beamed to Apple TV, Xbox 360, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Samsung Smart TVs and a range of mobile devices for a truckload of streaming options. Notable acts set to take the stage between Friday and Sunday include Outkast, Kings of Leon, Skrillex, Phantogram, Broken Bells and The Avett Brothers -- just to name a few. [Photo credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella]
Neverwinter throws Protector's Jubilee for first anniversary
Can you believe it: Neverwinter is one year old today! It's been a strong first year for this D&D title, and to celebrate the occasion the team is hosting a new event in the game called the Protector's Jubilee. The Protector's Jubilee will feature bright decorations in Protector's Enclave, covert missions, defensive skirmishes, and plenty of rewards including the jester attire. Players can grab keys during the event to a new area called the Protector's Garden that will remain in the game going forward. The festivities will go from today through June 25th. [Source: Perfect World press release]
LotRO's Spring Festival returns with mushy romance and smooshy shrews
Were you wondering if Lord of the Rings Online forgot about its Spring Festival? Well, it didn't; the festivities have begun anew today and will continue through June 3rd. LotRO's Spring Festival includes the notorious hedge maze, the manic shrew-stomping event, horse races, romance-themed quests, and the continuing rivalry between the Ale Association and the Inn League. It's a good time of the year to stock up on cosmetic items, reputation points, and general tomfoolery, so get to it!
Lord of the Rings Online turns seven
Happy birthday Lord of the Rings Online! Today marks the seventh anniversary for LotRO, and as such, Turbine is handing out presents. All players who log in today will get fireworks, with premium and VIP players receiving extra gifts. The new seven-year gifts include a new portrait frame, a shield-cloak, a loot box key, and a dancing emote for your monster play character. LotRO's in-game anniversary festival begins tomorrow, April 16th, and will continue through April 29th.
Japan's BitSummit indie festival hosts 5,000 people, 130 developers
Japan's BitSummit festival is a three-day showcase of indie games from the region and around the world, and this year it attracted 5,000 attendees, developers, publishers and press from March 7 - 9. BitSummit 2014 hosted 130 developers, three times as many as it had last year. During the show, Keiji Inafune announced his new 3DS project, Azure Striker: Gunvolt, in collaboration with Mega Man 9 studio Inti Creates. It's due out on the Japanese eShop in the summer, with a North American date on the horizon. The Behemoth co-sponsored BitSummit 2014, and studio founder John Baez provided a keynote, as did Lumines studio founder and ex-Sega head, Tetsuya Mizuguchi. Musical acts included Super Hexagon's Chipzel, PixelJunk Eden's Baiyon and Panzer Dragoon's Saori Kobayashi. BitSummit 2014 included the festival's first-ever awards show. First-place winners were, in part, Flying Carpets Games (The Girl and the Robot) for Narrative Design, Onion Games (Million Onion Hotel) for Public Choice and Media Choice, Team Poyhaymen (Graffiti Ninja) for Visual Design, and Vitei, Inc. (The Modern Zombie Taxi Driver) for the Grand Jury Prize. Japan's indie scene is garnering more mainstream attention, as last year's Tokyo Game Show debuted the Indie Game Area, and we took a tour of all the wild, worldwide games. Check out all of the BitSummit 2014 developers on the festival's site. [Image: BitSummit]
With Xbox, you can enjoy Bonnaroo from your couch
Can't make it out to Tennessee this June to catch the concerts at Bonnaroo? If you have an Xbox, you won't have to. A new Bonnaroo app will let you watch the music festival through your console. There will be multiple streams from the four-day show, and you'll get to socialize with other virtual attendees. You also won't have to wait until the spring to get a taste of the experience -- Bonnaroo will use its Xbox app to announce its artist lineup on February 19th. The internet feed likely won't have dedicated fans staying at home, but it may be just the ticket for music lovers who'd rather not deal with the crowds.
The Behemoth co-sponsoring Japanese indie festival BitSummit
Castle Crashers and Battleblock Theater developer The Behemoth is co-sponsoring the BitSummit festival this year. Set to to take place in Kyoto, Japan, the event offers a venue for independent developers to show off their games. It typically has the primary mission of bolstering the presence of Japanese indie game developers, though the event is open for developers outside of Japan to attend and showcase their work. In the case of The Behemoth, it believes that through events like this year's BitSummit MMXIV, "independent Japanese developers can build a healthy counterpoint to the industrial strength AAA video game industry in Japan." The event will be held March 7 through March 9; developers hoping to attend must register before February 7. [Image: BitSummit Organization Committee]
Guild Wars celebrates Wintersday in July
What is this? A winter celebration in the middle of summer? Guild Wars, you're so crazy! We love you, though. The classic Guild Wars is taking a break from reminding us that it still exists and is quite fun too by throwing an encore of its Wintersday celebration. Wintersday in July began yesterday and will continue until July 31st. There are plenty of activities to enjoy, including the snowball arena. The game will also drop plenty of cool rewards like fruitcake. OK, the game will also drop plenty of cool rewards except for fruitcake, which is nasty and evil to its sticky core. So egg nog it up with your fellow Tyrians for the next week because the hot weather is coming back!
Allods Online celebrates Needle Eye Day
"Raise those fabric scissors in the air like you just don't care," the Allods Online team soberly commands. This comes as the call goes out for tailors to celebrate Needle Eye Day (well, more like 10 days, but who's counting?). Needle Eye Day is a special in-game holiday for folks who have specialized in tailoring. Tailors participating in the event can earn several new items, including a peaked cap, festive suit, and a tailor's bag. The festival will take place from July 18th to July 27th. Just as a reminder, please do not run with those fabric scissors like you just don't care, because it's dangerous. Massively loves you too much to see you succumb to scissor wounds.
The Perfect Ten: Why game holidays rock
It's as inevitable as the tides, political scandals, and new flavors of Pepsi. Whenever an MMO announces that it's introducing new holiday content into its game, the grumpies come out. "Wah!" they cry. "Why are developers wasting time on this! It's useless! Pointless! Just the mere notion of it makes baby kittens die worldwide!" What my poetic license is trying to say is that some folks are displeased and they make themselves well-heard because of it. I like to think that after posting angry comments, they then go around the rest of the day slamming doors, flipping chairs, and sulking noisily so that someone will ask them why they're in such a foul mood. The answer, if truthful, would be endlessly entertaining. Then again, I used to throw snit fits when I got sent to jail in Monopoly. If you haven't figured it out yet, I love in-game holidays. Love. Them. Beyond the novelty of what they do, there are plenty of reasons that even the most jaded holiday-hater should simmer down around this topic. I think I'll list 10 of them.
Valentine's Day around the virtual world
Do you hear the chirping of songbirds in love? Do you see the flirtacious glance that cute Orc is giving you from across the battlefiend? Do you smell the flowers of romance in bloom all around you? If so, man, you've got it bad. Fortunately for those suffering from VDAS -- Valentine's Day Addiction Syndrome -- plenty of MMOs are on hand to provide you with a temporary fix until you get proper medication and are carted away to a professional love care facility. It may not be the biggest of holidays in the virtual world, but when love arrives in February, it cannot be denied. And who knows for you single folk? The man, woman, or one-eyed Gnome of your dreams might just stumble over you on this fine day! Read on as we sum up some of the larger Valentine's events in MMOs today.
RIFT releases Update 2.1, begins Fae Yule
You've gotten a taste of the new festival content, you've seen the huge raid, but nothing will prepare you for RIFT's 2.1 update quite like this post will. Trion Worlds took the curtain off of its first post-Storm Legion update today, triggering the game's seasonal Fae Yule celebration as well. The centerpiece of Update 2.1 is a 20-person raid called Endless Eclipse. The new endgame raid is not the only challenge being added, as Trion's patched in a new expansion-themed chronicle, updated the PvP conquest system for level 60 battles, and added weekly crafting quests for high-level adventurers. With Fae Yule's second round in the game, Trion's shoved in plenty of more activities and rewards. There's a nifty sledding minigame, holiday-themed instant adventures, lots of dailies, and merry decorations for players' dimensions. This update comes out on the heels of Trion's announcement that the studio was suffering layoffs.
Vanguard expands F2P perks, introduces lockboxes
Vanguard has become even more accommodating to free players as today's update lifted the restriction against such players using uncommon items. SOE says that this now opens the door for free players to equip almost 20,000 additional items and weapons. It seems that Vanguard isn't able to escape all the trends of free-to-play, however. As the Festival of Gloriann rolls in next month, so do new lockboxes to the game. These lockboxes have a chance of containing a rare item like festive horses and cool pets, but are only openable by using cash shop-purchased keys. The patch also contains tweaks to the newly opened City of Brass, a resurrection gem in the marketplace, and performance tweaks.
Turbine releases new LotRO video dev diary and Harvestmath Festival screens
A major component of the Riders of Rohan expansion for Lord of the Rings Online is the epic journey of the fellowship. In the latest video dev diary, developers discuss the game's return to the core of the Lord of the Rings story. It is during this part of the adventure that the war in Middle-earth gains momentum and the fellowship falls to pieces. You can watch the dev diary after the break. Turbine has also released a number of screenshots highlighting this year's Harvestmath Festival, which is going on now through October 14th. During the festival, players can explore the Haunted Burrow beneath the Party Tree, participate in games of skill, join the horse races, and even play tricks on various citizens of Middle-earth. New Harvestmath-themed housing items as well as a new Harvest-brew steed are available. Check out the Harvestmath images below. [Source: Turbine press release]%Gallery-32889%
Enter at Your Own Rift: Fall colors... and more mead!
It wasn't that long ago that if you ever asked me what my favorite season was, I'd respond without hesitation, "Spring!" Being a Midwesterner means that spring is the rescue of winter doldrums and the march to summer. However, the past few years have swayed me to a different answer. I honestly feel that autumn has so much more to offer. Maybe it's that my favorite holiday, Halloween, lies smack-dab in the middle of it. Perhaps it's the fragrant smells and gorgeous sights of leaves turning. Definitely it has something to do with bonfires, hot apple cider, hayrides, and fleece jackets. So even while the last vestiges of 80-degree weather clings to my state, I'm already eager to dive head-first into a pile of leaves. Barring that, I'm more than content to revel in RIFT's newest festival, Autumn Harvest. Now with 100% more MEAD!
RIFT adds pumpkin patch lootables to mobile app
RIFT's recent 1.10 patch triggered the start of a brand-new festival for the game, the Autumn Harvest, and now Trion Worlds' mobile app is getting in on the fun. The team has added a Pumpkin Patch scratcher to its lootables section, giving users a chance to win festival loot for their in-game characters. The new lootable is available for a limited time only, presumably until the end of the game's festival. Lucky winners can nab currency for the event or a goodie bag containing special food. Lootables are free lottery-type scratchers that are granted once every hour on the mobile app, with a maximum of six kept in reserve at any one time.
