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Warhammer Online releases patch 1.4.5 highlights
Despite Mythic Entertainment's recent winnowing of the Warhammer Online servers -- bringing them down from four servers to a measly pair -- the company is still hard at work developing patches for the RvR-based title. Patch 1.4.5 will be hitting the live servers tomorrow, January 31st, and it brings a number of interesting changes and also ushers in the return of fortresses, which should be good news for open RvR fans. With the recent Skaven invasion, a number of relics have been found in myriad underground tunnels dug below the game's fortresses. Players will be charged with guarding their faction's relics while attempting to purloin those of the enemy. The Grovod Cavern scenario is also making a return, allowing two teams of 12 players to duke it out in the crumbling cave. But this time, there's a twist: Players will be taking control of two teams of Skaven; hilarity will ensue. To top it all off, 1.4.5 is bringing fortresses back into play (after they were removed some time ago), which should hopefully encourage players to head back into the open RvR lakes for fun and profit. For the full details, just head on over to the Warhammer Online official site.
Wings Over Atreia: Bribing for Balance
Nope, this isn't a new game show on a cable network but rather the idea behind the latest program from NCsoft to help increase and balance the populations of the servers in Aion. In a game heralded for its PvPvE, keeping enough enemies around to ensure PvP is more than just a passing fancy -- it's vital to the welfare of the game. And of late, on some servers it almost seems as if Asmodians are just mythical creatures that Elyos tell stories about. Although I won't speculate (here at least) on the decline, Asmodian populations have dwindled across many servers as has their participation in PvP. Besides the universal events that celebrated the release of patch 2.5, Aion has aimed some new (or revamped) events specifically at reversing this population trend. The basic premise is this: If you bribe them, they will come. The plan, unveiled in May, would encourage players to return to their furry-backed roots or even try some claws on for the first time by offering special faction incentives. Couple this with the free trial and the hope was that servers would see an influx of Asmodians and a return to the days of faction warfare glory. Just what exactly are the incentives and -- more importantly -- how well are they working? Glide past the cut for details and to join in a discussion on the matter.
GRIN founders say Square Enix turned their smiles upside down
Despite shipping three poorly received titles back-to-back – those would be Wanted: Weapons of Fate, Terminator: Salvation, and Capcom's reboot of Bionic Commando – it was still quite a surprise when developer GRIN suddenly closed its doors in August of 2009. Shortly after the shuttering, we learned that the Swedish developer had been working on a new Final Fantasy game titled 'Fortress' for Square Enix and now, nearly two years later, co-founders Ulf and Bo Andersson are finally pointing fingers. And they're both pointing right at Square Enix. "We wanted to come in and revolutionize Final Fantasy, which is exactly what they need," the brothers told Sweden's Aftonbladet in a far-reaching article on the demise of the once-mighty studio. "The latest version sucks of course." After working on Fortress for Square Enix for six months without receiving any payment, the studio simply couldn't afford to stay open. Square Enix, for its part, introduced seemingly impossible restrictions on the delivery of milestones. At one point, GRIN was directed to deliver its code to Japan via fax. Bo Andersson told Aftonbladet, "It is as silly as it sounds. It is an impossible requirement, you can not send ascii or binary codes on the fax. It is backward. Really retarded. It was almost a criminal activity." To make matters worse, Andersson claims that Square Enix then said the milestones were not being sent to the right person and instead should have been sent to the legal department. The Andersson brothers suggest that Square Enix had already made up its mind that Fortress wasn't a project it wanted anymore. "Nothing seemed good enough. Square did not believe anymore that the Nordic style suited Final Fantasy," the Anderssons said. To test their hypothesis, they sent over concept art from Square Enix's own Final Fantasy XII, to which Japan responded, "It does not look like Final Fantasy." While many former GRIN staffers landed at studios like Fatshark, others formed their own outfits, like Might&Delight, Outbreak Studios, and Whiteout. The Anderssons, however, have been hard at work on a new studio, one with a notable change: It won't be dependent on big publishers. They'll be at E3 next week showing off their new project, so expect to learn more about it – and more about the demise of GRIN – then.
Wings Over Atreia: Daevas of Our Lives -- The siege
The battle was sore. The sound of wings beating the hot air of the Abyss filled the ears of all of us, soldier and commander alike. Singed feathers, both black and white, floated about, as fireballs flew between factions, pelting any who could not dodge fast enough. Shadowy forms dove, weaving between the raining arrows, looking for targets. Sounds of steel clashing rang out as spies tried to sneak past enemy lines in search of kisks. The battle was immense, a sea of red crashing against us, trying to claim what was rightfully ours! We knew we must give our all to repel the enemy onslaught. In the heat of battle, immediate decisions had long-reaching consequences; the tide of battle could turn on a single kinah. All voices hushed as the Commander, MrAwesumPants, issued the order that would bring victory, that would bring us closer to eradicating this threat upon true Daeva. One force was dispatched to take the artifact and activate it. "Do it. Do it now. Do it. Do it. Do it now. Do it do it do it do it now do it do it do it now... now... now... now... get it. DO IT NOW... come ON! Are you paying attention? NOW NOW NOW!! DO IT DO IT DO IT! NOWNOWNOWNOWNOWNOWNOW!!! Do it. Don't do it. OMG you *expletive* I can't believe you just did that!" Everyone could hear the spittle dripping from his mic, spraying against his monitor. The hush continued. Have you ever sat in a faction Ventrilo server and heard the siege leader repeat an order like a rapid-fire machine gun for what seemed like five minutes straight, then right as it is being accomplished, immediately rescind the order, demand his followers stop, then totally berate whoever followed the order? No joke -- true story. If you thought drama was just for individuals or legions in Aion, think again! There is a seemingly endless supply of siege drama to keep Daevas entertained -- or disgusted. Settle back and tune in past the cut for the latest episode of Daevas of Our Lives.
Aion: Assault on Balaurea zone trailer -- Inggison
Today, NCsoft unveils a video tour of Inggison, a new zone introduced in Aion's upcoming expansion, Assault on Balaurea. No longer confined to Atreia on the interior of the planet, players will venture forth to the lands on the outside. Filled with a variety of new plant and wildlife, Inggison is the Elyos foothold in Balaurea. Even as they bask in direct sunlight (a treat not possible in the sundered lands of Asmodae and Elysea), Daevas in Aion will encounter new foes -- such as the Balaur-worshippers of Undirborg -- and fight old ones, as the Asmodians try to claim the Temple of Scales and Altar of Avarice Fortresses. After watching the video, Massively asked Chris Hager, Producer of Aion, NCsoft West, a few questions about this new area. Check out the video after the cut, as well as Chris' comments.
Massively interview: Elysean Council captures Divine Fortress
Keeping our eyes on the Aionosphere, Massively applauds the accomplishments of fellow gamers. At the end of June, Daevas were introduced to the Elysean Council during an interview with NCsoft; this group from Trineil was heralded as the first to capture the Divine Fortress on any North American server in Aion. In their interview, leaders in the council chimed in to give their fellow Daevas a glimpse of this ground-breaking experience. Interested in diving more in-depth with the Council, Massively had the chance to speak with one of the leaders -- Nightroad -- about the siege, and what's been happening since. Read about it after the cut.
Addon Spotlight: Four data broker plugins
Addon Spotlight focuses on the backbone of the WoW gameplay experience -- the user interface. Everything from bags to bars, buttons to DPS meters and beyond -- your addons folder will never be the same. This week, LDB! LDB! LDB! Brooooooker addons! Welcome, again, to the Spotlight, readers. I have got a treat for you today -- four of my favorite broker addons that you can plug into your Data Broker Display bar of choice! I love data broker addons, mostly because of the space-saving functionality and compactness of it all. If you are also denizens of Reader UI of the Week town, then you know Mayor Mathew likes some serious space-savers.
Rumor: Former GRIN/Square Enix title 'Fortress' tech demo leaked
It's been awhile since we've heard anything about GRIN's "unreleased masterpiece" -- a collaboration with Square Enix (and assumed Final Fantasy off-shoot) titled Fortress. An anonymous report released last September claimed the title was currently in the hands of another, unnamed developer. Yesterday, some tech demo footage purportedly displaying the fruits of said studio's labor landed on YouTube. We've posted said video after the jump. Without any inclination of who is responsible for developing Fortress -- if anyone is developing Fortress -- it's impossible for us to test the credibility of this video. The original poster, YouTube user DiipuSurotu, doesn't mention where the video came from, only stating that it's a tech demo for an "official, but currently unannounced sequel to Final Fantasy XII." We've contacted Square Enix to see what they think of the footage. It doesn't really look like your traditional Squeenix fare, but the character models certainly resemble those featured in the leaked concept art that surfaced last year. Oh, also? There's totally a Chocobo at the 1:15 mark. That's Final Fantasy-y enough for us. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Aion players ding 50, reduce your ego
Every time an MMO launches, we're witness to a bevy of firsts. Aion has already has a few, like its first State of the Game address and first fortress defeat. Today, however, we're here to inform you that two hearty players -- Almisaela and Drno -- have reached the level 50 milestone in Aion.We'd like to offer our congratulations to both players, who're no doubt in the middle of a three-day sleep marathon in an effort to regain their much deserved sanity. It's never not impressive when people hit these numbers so fast, and frankly makes us second guess our ability to play these games. Then again, we've got that constantly nagging voice in the back of our heads telling us we should be writing more and playing less.
Details on WAR's new user journey and apprentice system
Warhammer Online may have traveled a rocky road this past year but with each new patch, the game gets better and better. The latest patch installment to hit the public test server is 1.3.2, which features a New User Journey, Apprenticeship System, career balance changes, and further improvements to performance, stability, and RvR.The two biggest items being tested right now are the New User Journey and Apprenticeship System. The former introduces new players to the game much more effectively and efficiently, funneling them into the same starting area (Chaos vs. Empire), auto-adding them to a starter guild, and much more. The latter allows highly ranked players to drop their level (stats and abilities capped formulaically) and lowly ranked players to raise their level in order to play together.As for RvR, fortresses are being removed from the zone capture system, which should result in more frequent city sieges. Whether this is a good or bad thing is yet to be determined because depending on your timing you may not be able to join your friends due to the current instance mechanic. Keep warfare will now benefit from a new difficulty mechanic as well, which grants more rewards when more combatants are present.Check out the full 1.3.2 patch notes for all the gory details!
Rumor: GRIN Final Fantasy game in hands of new studio
While the closure of GRIN was sad for many reasons, some of you may have been disappointed never to have seen the company's Final Fantasy project, which we believe is the Fortress game seen in this concept art. Based on word from "sources close to both [GRIN and Square Enix]," GamesIndustry.biz reports that the game is actually still in development -- though obviously no longer by GRIN. So, assuming this new developer finishes the game, you'll get to see GRIN's "unreleased masterpiece" after all. Kind of.In fact, according to the report, GRIN was removed from Fortress after six months due to "quality issues," which means that the game was in someone else's hands before the studio shut down. The loss of the Fortress job may then have contributed to GRIN's financial troubles.
Leaked AT&T presentation confirms remaining WinMo releases for 2009, that employees can't spell 'proprietary'
Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.5 release is just a month away, and so too are the first phones that will utilize it. Boy Genius Report has managed to get its hands on one slide from a recent AT&T concall confirming a partial list of the handsets set to ship with the new, improved, more finger-friendly flavor of the OS, and even a few models that will be upgraded to it. Two from Samsung, the Epix and Jack, will receive version updates in October, while HP's Obsidian, earlier targeted for November, seems to have been pushed back to December, and LG's Monaco similarly has slipped to November. HTC's Fortress (a.k.a. the Pro2), however, will apparently be ready with bells on next month. As will we, dear readers. As will we.
Art from GRIN's canceled projects revealed
We knew that GRIN was working on a project in conjunction with Square-Enix titled Fortress at the time of its closure -- however, the portfolio of Bionic Commando lead character designer Björn Albihn offers a look at a few more of the studio's games which might have been. In addition to concepts from Fortress, the art collection includes a look at a spaghetti-western shooter called The Cult, a PSP game called Switch and a number of character models from an untitled project. All the models look amazing -- particularly the designs for The Cult. Though the smiling developer has closed its doors, we certainly hope these projects will see the light of day in some form or another. [Via Superannuation]
GRIN's 'unreleased masterpiece' was a Final Fantasy game codenamed 'Fortress'
GRIN closed its doors last week, causing a flood of ex-staffers to put their work online in the hopes of scoring a job. Tomislav Spajic is one of those former employees and has confirmed on his LinkedIn profile that GRIN's "unreleased masterpiece" was actually a Final Fantasy game for Square Enix. Yeah, we can hardly believe it, too.In fact, Spajic's personal site has a whole bunch of concept art and one of the games listed (called "Fortress") is likely the Final Fantasy game for Square Enix. We've seen it on other ex-GRINners' LinkedIn pages, like Erik Lindqvist's here, where Lindqvist flat-out says, "During 2009 I've been working on the preproduction for an unannounced, and now canceled project with the production name 'Fortress' for Square Enix."[Via superannuation]
AT&T news: Lancaster dead, Warhawk and Fortress coming in October?
We've received some pretty believable information this evening indicating that the HTC Lancaster -- a phone that would've likely been AT&T's first to run Android -- has been shelved. We don't know why, but considering that the rumored specs had it signed up for a weaksauce QVGA display, our hearts aren't really broken by the news as long as they make haste getting a more suitable model to market (and we're not talking about the Fiesta). In happier news, we're hearing that "two new Windows Mobile 6.5 models" will be gracing AT&T shelves in October, and considering everything we know about the carrier and its plans, we've got to believe these are the Warhawk and Fortress (better known as the Touch Diamond2 and Touch Pro2) from HTC. That'd lag T-Mobile's Pro2 launch by a country mile -- but then again, T-Mobile's running circles around everyone in the Android department, so why not WinMo, too?
AT&T's HTC Touch Pro2 hits the FCC
It looks like that slightly-tweaked version of the HTC Touch Pro2 codenamed "Fortress" and destined for AT&T is winding its way closer to store shelves -- a listing for a Rhodium 300 just popped up in the FCC database, complete with test results on all the necessary bands. So that's Rhodium 100 for T-Mobile, 400/500 for Sprint and Verizon (or vice-versa) and 300 for AT&T -- any questions?
Sunday scoops: Android on AT&T, Palm Eos details, BlackBerry Magnum, and more
Usually, Sundays don't get too crazy at Engadget -- after all, even super-nerds need to rest. That wasn't the case yesterday, however, as we found ourselves knee-deep in a handful of seriously sweet smartphone leaks. Most of the news centered around AT&T's upcoming devices (you know, like its first Android phones, brand new BlackBerry offerings, and... the Palm Eos), but we also saw a few new angles on the Pre. Do yourself a favor and hit all the links below -- you won't be sorry.AT&T leaks HTC Lancaster is a QWERTY slider with Android for AT&T Palm Eos on track for AT&T release second half of 2009 HP triumphantly returns to AT&T with iPAQ K3 "Obsidian" Blackberry Magnum, Onyx, Pearl 3G, and Gemini to harmonize on AT&T HTC's Warhawk and Fortress are AT&T's Touch Diamond2 and Pro2 Nokia Grouper, Mako, Snapper, and Thresher rolling deep on AT&T Pre leaks Sprint's Pre business launch guide leaked in its entirety Plethora of Palm Pre interface videos emerge from leaked emulator
HTC's Warhawk and Fortress are AT&T's Touch Diamond2 and Pro2
We know that Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile are all getting versions of the Touch Pro2, but what about little ol' AT&T? Turns out that device is codenamed "Fortress," and it'll accompany a Touch Diamond2 version known as "Warhawk" to market this summer. The Fortress is actually listed as targeted for May 25, which seems a bit unrealistic -- but we think the document we're looking at is a little stale, so we're sure the inevitable delay has crept into the schedule by now. It's expected to launch with WinMo 6.1 AKU6 (presumably upgradeable to 6.5 down the road) with full HSPA on three bands, AGPS, a 3.2 megapixel AF cam, 3.6-inch WVGA display, and Video Share support. Curiously, the bottom of the slide mentions that a "WM 7.X refresh" is in the works with a September 2009 launch date, which underscores the fact that this slide is likely a little old -- there's no way anything running Windows Mobile 7 is hitting this year if 6.5 will just be coming to market in volume toward the holiday season. Meanwhile, the Warhawk -- AT&T's Touch Diamond2 -- gets a 3.2-inch WVGA display, dual-band HSDPA, AGPS, and Video Share, but unlike the Fortress, it's scheduled to launch with Windows Mobile 6.5 installed out of the gate. It's targeted for August 24, so we'll see how closely they can stick to that.
Mark Jacobs details future Fortress changes
As was hinted at in a video featuring Mythic's Jeff Hickman not so long ago, the latest update to Warhammer Online's Fortress gameplay was only the beginning of a larger plan to improve the playability of this important aspect of the game. Mark Jacobs has now elaborated on these future plans, at the same time as giving a report on how the new update has been going on the live servers -- on the night of Jacobs' post, there were no Fortress-related crashes, and general performance was better but not quite where they want it yet.There are three initiatives that the dev team hope to put their focus on in the coming weeks. One of these is simply to see how the new population threshold is working, to determine if and how it should be tweaked with respect to balance and design issues. At the same time, they will be keeping an eye on the Fortress Lords to make sure that their difficulty aligns with the number of players attending a siege. The third change will involve optimizing the code that deals with large-scale battles, in the hopes of being able to open up the population threshold some more. Let's hope they succeed with this last effort, as some fans already have their torches and pitchforks out due to the reduced scale of these end-game encounters.
Counterpoint on Warhammer Online's Fortress siege population caps
We reported earlier this week that Warhammer Online has been having some issues with Fortress sieges, and opted to implement a solution -- population thresholds. That solution has led to fewer Fortress-related crashes and overall improved performance, but not everyone is as enthusiastic about the changes Mythic has made to Warhammer Online. A good example of this type of dissent among the WAR ranks can be found at MMOCrunch in a criticism written by Paragus. He takes aim at the Tier 4 campaign changes to Fortresses and states that imposing population thresholds diminishes the very thing WAR bills itself as -- a massive realm-vs.-realm game. He doesn't pull any punches when he states, "The fact that they are trying to spin this by saying 'to allow even more players to participate' by capping population in a given area only makes me feel better about pulling my guild out of this game. I'll be waiting for the flames from Warhammer fans."
