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Watch Neverwinter's PvP state of the game
It's no surprise that big PvP changes are coming to Neverwinter soon, and Cryptic Executive Producer Rob Overmeyer has a state of the game video to help sum up what's going down in this action MMO. Coming "early 2014," the PvP update will contain stat changes, a new stat called Tenacity, crowd control tweaks, and new armor sets. But as they say, seeing is believing, so check out the overview by Overmeyer after the break.
Raptr hosts Neverwinter dev Q&A, prizes offered
Raptr, a gaming community that touts it rewards people for playing, is turning its rewarding eye toward Neverwinter players. The site is hosting a Q&A session with Lead Designer Zeke Sparkes, Foundry Producer Rob Overmeyer, and Community Manager Som Pourfarzaneh tomorrow, July 26th, from 1:00 to 9:00 p.m. EDT. Fans wishing to lob questions at these devs about the upcoming Fury of the Feywild module or the Foundry can leave their queries in the Q&A thread starting now. The community can also "like" others' questions, and the ones with the most likes will be answered first. But wait, what about the reward mentioned? That would be three Feywild starter packs, one for each of the top three questions submitted; these top questions, however, will be determined by the Raptr staff, not the likes. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
Neverwinter dev blog delves into the Foundry
Have you heard tell about this "Foundry" thingy-ma-bob in Neverwinter, but you're not exactly sure what it is? Then Cryptic's latest dev blog is for you! In it, Foundry producer Rob Overmeyer gives a heaping helping of the what, the why, and the how of the fantasy game's player-made content generator. Of course the Foundry is a tool for creating stuff. But more than that, Overmeyer emphasizes that "it's a place where your stories come to life." With extensive customization available in the map editors (both internal and external) and dialogue editors (for both people and objects), players can become immersive storytellers. For a look at what's possible, check out Overmeyer's overview. Then jump in game and test it out for yourself.
Champions Online has a new Executive Producer and a new State of the Game
Changes in administration for any game can leave players a bit rattled -- and with a game like Champions Online that's already seen several management changes, it's even more disconcerting. That's only one of the big takeaways from the game's newest State of the Game address, which opens up with Rob Overmeyer outlining the game's recent updates and announcing that he's stepping down from his current role as executive producer (although he's remaining with the game's development staff). Brad Stokan, the new executive producer, has enough in his portion of the letter that you might forget about the first half. He explains that the team is working on building new content updates around overall themes, with June's major theme -- in both story content and mechanical inclusions -- being powered armor. This is going to continue with new Alerts and special events based around themes. He also teases that we may very well see superheroic vehicles in the game in the near future, giving players of Champions Online plenty to look forward to under new administration.
Champions Online's On Alert launches, we interview Rob Overmeyer
There's been a big buzz for the latest update to Champions Online. The entire game is undergoing a significant overhaul for the newest expansion, On Alert, which has just gone live today. The developers are adding in talent trees for player heroes as well as a dramatic overhaul of the way equipment works. We sat down with Rob Overmeyer, executive producer for Champions, and asked him a few questions about the update and what it will mean for Millennium City's superhero population. Naturally, he had a lot to say!
Grab, smash, and burst: Champions Online summarizes Alerts
Champions Online's upcoming Alert system seems to be the perfect solution to Captain Immediate Gratification's urges. In the push of a few buttons, a primed and ready superhero can dive right into team vs. villain action. Executive Producer Rob Overmeyer writes an after-report of the Alert system from its recent stay on the public test server. His post provides a great overview and how-to guide of the system, starting with its three basic variations: GRAB Alerts (stopping villains from doing crime), SMASH Alerts (all-out brawls), and BURST Alerts (unstable environments necessitating instant action). Within the three versions of Alerts, all sorts of crazy events can occur. Players' nemeses may appear, and classic villains may team up to fight you. There are also specific rewards based on the Alert tackled; for example, Champions will give resources for GRAB Alerts and modifications for BURST Alerts. "Alerts are a great platform to offer a ton of gameplay with loads of variety," Overmeyer writes. "We're really excited to launch Alerts, and to see the feature grow with Champs over time."
Champions Online puts out Alerts for heroes
Executive Producer Rob Overmeyer is beating the drums about the "big goals" for Champions Online's next update. Possibly one of the biggest of these goals is the addition of the Grab Alerts system, and in a new dev diary, Overmeyer outlines how these will work. Grab Alerts are small team instances designed to allow players to get into exciting scenarios without a lot of waiting. Each Alert centers around a super-villain who's up to no good -- such as a heist or kidnapping -- and challenges players to thwart the evil-doer's efforts. Overmeyer promises that it will take just "two clicks" to get into an Alert, as the system will team up like-minded heroes automatically and then toss them into the instance. Alerts will be shuffled around on a regular basis as to keep things fresh, so players will need to check the Alert Rotator to see which ones are available. If a player is looking for a specific reward that's tied to a certain Alert, the Rotator will help him or her find it. Overmeyer promises a wide range of rewards including costumes, gear, and bonuses.
Champions Online looks back to look forward in January State of the Game
It's a new year, and many game studios are stating their revolutions for the coming months. Cryptic Studios is joining that club with Champions Online's first State of the Game post for 2012. Rob Overmeyer, the game's Executive Producer, takes some time to reminisce on CO's progress throughout 2011, which included the title's jump to a F2P business model as well as a number of content updates. After that little stroll down memory lane, Overmeyer gives players a glimpse of the future as he addresses the features of the game's next major update. These include an entirely overhauled itemization system, a new enhancement system, alerts, and more. For the complete details, click through the link below to Champions Online's January 2012 State of the Game.
Champions Online releases September State of the Game letter
Champions Online is two years old this month (yep, really), and Cryptic executive producer Rob Overmeyer has taken to the intarwebs to pen a lengthy State of the Game manifesto. The first half of the piece is basically a recap of the game's last few months, and touches on everything from Aftershock to player hideouts. The second portion of the letter focuses on upcoming content patches and also mentions the anniversary event (which is basically a social gathering featuring dev appearances). Upcoming content includes Comic Series 2: Whiteout, a new mini arc, and team missions called alerts that will scale to your level. Overmeyer has more to say, of course, and you can read all about it at the official Champions website.
When teddy bears attack: Champions Online suits up for another Ask Cryptic
Cryptic's future may be in flux, but the show, as they say, must go on. And part of the great Cryptic show is the monthly Ask Cryptic feature, the latest of which has landed at Champions Online. Champions Producer Rob Overmeyer tackles the smorgasbord of player-submitted queries, which range from vehicle transformation to shrinkage to shared banks. Overmeyer confirms that the team is working on revamping several additional lairs, including Dr. D's Robot Factory. The upcoming comic series, available for all types of players, looks to be promising: "Our first Comic Series is called Aftershock. The first issue is scheduled to release Wednesday June 1, 2011 and each subsequent issue in the series will be released each Wednesday of the following weeks. Each issue will be available to play following its debut along with any previous issues. You will need to complete any previous issue in the series before you can play the latest in the series. Aftershock will wrap up the first week of July and once the entire series is out it will be playable as a complete adventure. Each issue targets about 30 minutes of gameplay, however, that time can be affected by a number of factors." Overmeyer also said that while there are no set dates for porting Star Trek Online's Foundry system over to Champions Online, it's only a matter of time. "Getting The Foundry working in Champs is actually easier than getting Champs ready for The Foundry," he writes. You can read the full Q&A over at Champions Online.
Shannon "Poz" Posniewski leaving Champions Online
After stepping into the leadership role for Champions Online and launching the game's conversion into a free-to-play model, Shannon "Poz" Posniewski is waving goodbye to Cryptic Studios, at least for now. In a recent news post, it was announced that Posniewski was heading off to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, and in his own words, possibly face death by exposure. Rob Overmeyer has been announced as the man to fill Posniewski's shoes and continue to lead the game into the future. Although the absence is termed as a vacation (which certainly implies that it's a temporary affair), all signs point to Posniewski's departure being a permanent one. The rather tongue-in-cheek style of the announcement certainly doesn't help matters. While some fans are clamoring for a clarification, it appears the man behind the past year of development is departing the project, which makes it a sad day for Champions Online players pleased with Posniewski's leadership. We wish Poz the best of luck in his future endeavors.
Behind the Mask: Big weapons, big news
It's an exciting time for Champions Online. Although there was a lot of speculation about the level of success of the Free-for-All expansion, we know just by the increase in content being output that the F2P launch has been a very big success. In the recent State of the Game, Rob Overmeyer announced all sorts of new content, including the Resistance Adventure Pack currently on PTS, the new weekly Comic Series, and the most asked-for feature: player housing! I could write a whole column speculating on the SotG, and while it'd be kind of a fun read, we all know I like writing informative stuff, and we have a lot of things to cover. Heavy Weapons has been live for a week now. Some of you guys have been waiting with bated breath for me to answer one question: Is Devastator worth buying?
Ask Cryptic: Champions Online gets an April encore
The first round of Ask Cryptic: Champions Online for the month of April was a bit on the short side, at least compared to its Star Trek Online counterpart. Happily, Champions producer Rob Overmeyer is back with a second segment that is quite a bit longer than its predecessor. The encore covers a wide range of superhero-related questions from the free-to-play title's fans including the next power set revamp (telekinesis), feedback acknowledgment and pricing adjustments regarding the controversial costume slots, and some interesting bits about the last 10 levels of the game (as well as future level cap increases). "In order to increase the level cap we need to update how itemization and rewards work post-40. This is something that we are actively discussing now. Revamping rewards is a huge task and there are no quick solutions," Overmeyer explains. There's a lot more interesting Champions info to be found in part two of this month's Ask Cryptic, so head to the official website and see for yourself.
