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RIFT adds streaming client
The barrier between interest and hands-on play was knocked down today as Trion Worlds introduced a streaming client for RIFT. The new client will allow players to jump into the game without fully downloading it first. Players with a faster connection are invited to start the streaming client and then log into the game soon thereafter. The new client will continue to download the remainder of the game even while the player is logged in. However, Trion said that slower connection speed computers should wait for the full client to finish downloading first. RIFT's launcher will automatically convert to the new system. Players experiencing background downloading while in-game will see a symbol on the screen to indicate the fact.
EVE's Crucible 1.5 patch hits tomorrow, brings new launcher
As part of CCP's refocusing on EVE Online, the studio announced that work had begun on a new game launcher last November. Players with an out-of-date client currently receive a patch popup on logging in that requires the client to be restarted, and frequent optional patches to fix non-critical issues can force you to restart the client several times. The new patcher brings EVE up to the industry standard for MMO clients, pre-loading the game in the background and announcing when it's ready to launch. The new launcher will go live tomorrow with the Crucible 1.5 update, but it's not the only thing getting some much-needed attention in the patch. All of the rookie ships have been visually revamped, three new 2/10 DED complexes have been added for newer highsec explorers, and the overview will now be more responsive. The patch also brings a whole host of user interface changes and bug fixes.
New EVE Online launcher will simplify patching
EVE Online developer CCP Games has dedicated this winter's expansion to small features, balance changes and small quality-of-life improvements. Most of the changes we've heard about so far have been gameplay features and graphical improvements, from starbase tweaks and blaster balance changes to magnificent new nebula graphics. In a new devblog, CCP Topknot shows off a brand new launcher program designed to simplify the patching process. Currently, players launching an out-of-date client get a pop-up about the latest patch and have to restart the client. This becomes a nuisance when frequent optional updates are released. The new patcher will work like a standard MMO launcher, detecting which files aren't up to date and downloading new versions. "A big-ass progress bar will tell you what's going on and how much work is left," explains Topknot, "and an unnecessarily huge button allows you to play the game once it is ready." The new patcher is currently on the test server and should be making its way to the main game with the winter expansion. In the future, the patcher will be able to download updates in the background and may be able to download content in stages, giving new players access to character creation while the game content downloads.
EverQuest reduces downtime with faster patches and expanded hotfixes
While behind-the-scenes logistical tweaks may not get the glory that other news does, they can and do have a huge impact on the game. This looks to be the case with EverQuest, which has undergone "substantial server side changes" to allow the team to update the game more efficiently. The bottom line is that now Sony Online Entertainment can apply EverQuest updates much more quickly than before while reducing the potential for issues to pop up during file transfers. As a result, players should be seeing reduced downtime in the future during these updates. The changes have also expanded the team's ability to apply hotfixes on the servers without bringing them down for patches: "While we still aren't able to hotfix everything, the hope is this will reduce the number of times we have to bring the servers down between our regular monthly updates." You can read the full notice at EverQuest Players.
Jumpgate Evolution still alive and kicking
Jumpgate Evolution has been flying a bit under the radar since E3 2010, but we're happy to report that the space-based action MMO is still seeing active development. The recent forum upgrade, coupled with a producer update that outlines what the NetDevil folks are currently working on, has conspired to give us a bit of hope that we might be barreling through hyperspace and setting spaceships afire sooner rather than later. In the post on the official boards, executive producer Lance Robertson touches on everything from the patcher and the live support team to PvP, the economy, and compatibility testing as ongoing areas of concentration. The details are a bit sparser than we'd like, but we'll keep our scanners peeled for more Jumpgate Evolution news as it happens.
Scheduled downtime for December 8th, 2009
Looks like we're in for a long maintenance period with a great reward for our patience this week, folks. Blizzard announced their window for this week's scheduled downtime on the official forums, and given its length, we'll be seeing Icecrown tomorrow after all. Maintenance is scheduled to start at 1 AM PST/4 AM EST and end at 11 AM PST/2 PM EST. Given that this is a patch day, it's likely that maintenance will be extended at least once, likely several times, meaning your forays into Icecrown might end up a little later than you expect. Just remember that this is the big one, the one we've been waiting for, and that you can wait a little bit longer. In the meantime, brush up on what's coming with Patch 3.3 in our big ol' guide. Patch 3.3 is the last major patch of Wrath of the Lich King. With the new Icecrown Citadel 5-man dungeons and 10/25-man raid arriving soon, patch 3.3 will deal the final blow to Arthas. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3 will keep you updated with all the latest patch news.
Patch 3.3 downloader active again
Looks like the wait for Patch 3.3 is getting even shorter now. We're getting the second chunk of data for the upcoming content patch now via our Blizzard downloader, making sure most of us are ready for patch day without having to spend the day wrangling with the downloader. The first piece of the patch, wow-partial-1.mpq, was 459 MB, and this newest piece of the patch, wow-partial-2.mpq, is 656 MB, making the total size of the patch so far 1.1 GB. That's a pretty big patch! Fitting for the wrapup of the Wrath cycle and the culmination (and fulmination) of one of the last remaining Warcraft III storylines. We'll keep you posted as either more parts of the patch drop or as the patch goes live, but in the meantime you can brush up on what you'll have in store when the patch hits by reading our Guide to Patch 3.3 or checking out our Icecrown Citadel coverage. Patch 3.3 is the last major patch of Wrath of the Lich King. With the new Icecrown Citadel 5-man dungeons and 10/25-man raid arriving soon, patch 3.3 will deal the final blow to Arthas. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3 will keep you updated with all the latest patch news.
Champions Online experiences open beta troubles
For many people, today was supposed to be a magical day filled with ponies and superheroes. But what should have been a wonderfully magical experience has left many with a bad taste in their mouth and a patcher that constantly disconnects. We, honestly, blame Foxbat for this. He once tried to steal the Empire State Building, you know.In all seriousness, many users have been reporting that the official Champions Online patcher has been both downloading slowly and disconnecting from the server after timing out, leading to many people becoming furious over not being able to log in. FilePlanet users have also been affected by this as well, even after pre-loading the Champions Online client to be ready for this day.
Never wonder about Lord of the Rings server status again
Play Lord of the Rings Online? Yes? Good. Now, are you running Windows Vista? If you said yes again, then do we have a gadget for you.Galdorad over at the LotRO forums has found a pretty nice gadget for the Vista sidebar that checks in on the status of LotRO servers. He's made a few tweaks to the gadget to add some more functionality, but it's still a handy little gadget that can keep you apprised of the game's state.With it, you don't have to log into the patcher or leave it running, if you want to keep your system resources down. If you're interested, you can jump on the gadget download over at the forum post, which also shows you how to add the LotRO patcher news feed into your Vista RSS reader.And yes, we know you're going to complain about Vista in the comments. We're psychic, you know.[Via 2 High Road]
Beware third party downloads for Darkfall
Brannoc, the community manager for Darkfall, has released an announcement today regarding downloading the Darkfall client from any group other than Aventurine. In a nutshell, he says don't do it. Aventurine cannot guarantee the quality of those downloads or what may be hidden inside of them. If you wish to download the Darkfall client, do so from Aventurine's official torrent.Brannoc's official announcement states, "Many people have begun to host the client we made available by torrent on other websites for direct download. Aventurine cannot guarantee the efficacy of these clients and make no guarantees as to their security or freedom of malware. For that reason we recommend only utilizing official download sources for the Darkfall client. Aventurine also does not support any 3rd party applications or programs for use with the Darkfall client. Anytime you utilize non-official resources you run a security risk for your system and for that reason we recommend you keep an up to date antivirus program and firewall software up and running. "
LotRO soundtrack, available for free!
When you can't be slaying orcs in Lord of the Rings Online, you can at least take the music with you to remind you of your glorious defense of the free peoples of Middle-Earth. Turbine is releasing fifty tunes from LotRO as a test of their Turbine Download Manager, a peer-to-peer downloader similar to Blizzard's World of Warcraft patcher. Since the download manager uses Microsoft's .NET frameworks, this only will work under Windows, but the music itself is in .MP3 format and can be played anywhere.Turbine doesn't seem to have included a recording of a line of minstrels playing Freebird in the Prancing Pony in this collection. Maybe next time?UPDATED: Free music no longer available from Turbine. Sorry. :(
Pumping Irony gets philosophical on patchers
Patchers. The upside and downside to online gaming. Sure, they bring you oodles of new content, but they can also result in wait times before you get in to play you favorite game. But did you ever stop to think about the difference in patchers across the genre? The subtle difference that's exhibited in each company's updating program, like logging in before downloading your update, or the amount of updates in a game?Pumping Irony did. That's why they sat down and looked at the patching process amongst different games and began to get philosophical on your favorite (or most hated) launching device. Is requiring a player to log in helping you with your download times? Or is it just another barrier to keep you waiting longer before you get in to play, which may offset companies getting subscribers back into action? These questions and more are described within, and it's certainly worth the read for any MMO junkie.
iPhoto Mailer Patcher hack for iPhoto 5
If you aren't happy with the small selection of email clients that iPhoto 4/5 can export to, Hawk Wings has found a handy little applescript by the name of iPhoto Mailer Patcher that can add quite a few clients to the list. Mailsmith, Outlook Express, PowerMail and more can be set as iPhoto's default email client, with one exception: there's some extra work you'll have to go through to get this to work with iPhoto 5. Fortunately, it isn't hard work, so check out the Hawk Wings post for a short how-to. iPhoto 4 users, however, can skip ahead and simply use the applescript as is.
