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Gloria Victis paves the way for territory capture and sea travel
A new pre-alpha patch has not only squashed several nasty bugs in Gloria Victis but added a pair of promising systems: territory capture and sea travel. Territory capture is exactly what you are thinking right now. Player nations can conquer territory for both bragging rights and (more importantly) resource control. The devs said that these territory squabbles have the potential to blow up into large-scale PvP conflicts. The game also added "about 50%" more size in the latest patch, with some of that being shoreline and sea. As such, players can now board and use ships to travel the ocean. We've got a look at both territory control battles and a couple of the new ships in the gallery below.
Gloria Victis team summarizes new patch, May updates
Gloria Victis updated its website over the weekend with a bit about what the dev team accomplished in the month of May. First and foremost is that the fantasy sandbox now features a basic crafting system. The game's map size also increased by about 30 percent. Additionally, the team "implemented many fixes of already existing systems," including an improved texture load process to combat low framerates. You can read all about the latest patch at the Gloria Victis website. [Thanks Mae!]
Some Assembly Required: The ultimate MMORPG
It's been raining for four days straight, and I've been cooped up in my house with nothing but a head cold and a bunch of time to think about my ideal sandbox MMORPG. For this week's Some Assembly Required, then, I'm shamelessly borrowing the format from Massively's MMO Blender column to construct a perfect(ly) theoretical hybrid. I've done so once before, but this time I'm going to put the focus on fantasy instead of on the sci-fi stylings of Star Citizen and Star Wars Galaxies.
EverQuest II's GU63 tweaks crafting, adds hundreds of new items
If you've been slacking when it comes to keeping up with EverQuest II tradeskill news lately, the recent Game Update 63 (otherwise known as Skyshrine) featured quite a few noteworthy tweaks. Sony Online Entertainment has posted a dev interview detailing some of the larger changes, including the addition of several hundred new craftable items. SOE's Brian "Omougi" Ferguson says that Carpenters and Alchemists got a lot of love during this patch, and combat-only players will be pleased to know that crafters can now make even more handy upgrades. There are two new consumables for each class archetype, and Ferguson is particularly fond of the tank versions which gives meatshields an additional 20% damage reduction for 12 seconds. Full details are yours at the official EQII website.
Some Assembly Required: I saw the wilds of Salem (and lived to tell about it)
I spent an hour romping through the woods of Salem last Friday with Seatribe head honcho Bjorn Johannessen. The tiny indie company (current dev population: two) is hard at work on its followup to Haven and Hearth, an acquired taste of a sandbox game notable for its no-holds barred approach that includes permadeath and the ability to summon (and kill) criminal characters -- even while their lulz-loving puppet-masters are offline. Publisher Paradox bills Salem as "the crafting MMO," and boy it's not kidding. Over the course of this particular dev tour, I saw crazy amounts of tradeskill functionality, all kinds of cool world-building stuff, and ultimately, more than enough reasons to spend time with the game when it launches later this year.
Some Assembly Required: Can Darkfall and The Repopulation end the sandbox drought?
It's not often that we use this space for news recaps. Generally MJ and I have a particular topic (or game) in mind for Some Assembly Required's biweekly rotation. This time, though, I figured we should highlight some of the recent goings-on with a couple of pertinent sandbox titles simply because Massively news posts don't offer enough space to expound on anything other than the basics. Join me after the break, then, for a rundown on what's new with Darkfall and The Repopulation.
En Masse reveals TERA crafting guide
Crafting probably isn't the first (or even the second) thing that springs to mind when someone says TERA, but thankfully Bluehole and En Masse didn't opt to leave the system on the cutting room floor when designing the new fantasy MMO. En Masse recently released a fairly detailed tradeskilling guide, and while it won't tell you exactly where to get rare materials, it does give you plenty of info on the basics. TERA features six different crafting disciplines, and your character can learn them all at any time. There are no training costs; all you'll need to worry about is finding patterns and raw materials. Crafted items are usually better than random loot drops, but generally you'll be outpacing your gear every five levels, so you'll want to upgrade fairly often anyway. There's a lot more info on TERA's tradeskilling system at the official website.
Some Assembly Required: Is The Secret World a sandbox?
I'm more excited than I thought I would be for The Secret World. After playing it at last week's Game Developer's Conference and getting a preview of the game's crafting system, I think it's safe to say my anticipation went up a few notches. The real-world setting and horror-fantasy elements have always been appealing, but a general lack of info throughout 2011 -- coupled with Funcom's decision to add a cash shop to a subscription game -- conspired to knock The Secret World down a few pegs. Now I'm almost willing to forgive the business model faux pas because it seems like the game will feature significant sandbox elements. Is it a sandbox, though?
Some Assembly Required: One last jump to lightspeed
Eulogizing Star Wars Galaxies is difficult. In fact, I've written some 2,200 articles since signing on with Massively a couple of years ago, and none of them has come close to being as painful as this particular wall o' text. The fact that I even used the word eulogy in reference to a video game says it all, really. Join me after the cut for as brief a remembrance as I can manage.
Scarlet Legacy raises level cap, adds new dungeons and crafting recipes
GamesCampus is raising the level cap on its Scarlet Legacy MMO, and players can now strive for level 55 while toodling around the martial arts title's fantastical setting. The game's latest content update also boasts 35 new skills, a new story quest line, and more than 400 new items (including epic gear that is designed to do away with cookie-cutter avatars). GamesCampus has also added more than 130 new crafting recipes and several new maps. Windy Cliff and Windy Valley are designed for players between levels 51 and 55, and the new Altar of Wind dungeon is ideal for folks between 47 and 50. More info, as well as the client download, is available via the official Scarlet Legacy website. [Source: GamesCampus press release]
Lime Odyssey introduces crafting professions
Aeria Games is ramping up its PR efforts for Lime Odyssey, a new free-to-play fantasy MMORPG that's been in the works for a while now. The newest info drop concerns the game's dual-class system that "allows a character to adopt both a battle-themed role and a professional trade." In addition to a race, players will need to pick a battle class and a domestic profession for their avatar, with the latter featuring a choice between Chef, Tailor, or Blacksmith. Aeria says that players may then "switch between their character's battle class and profession at any time with the push of a button." In sharp contrast to many combat-focused MMOs, Lime Odyssey features hundreds of crafting quests, and the end results of a crafting combine are "either a helpful tool or a viable commodity for trade." [Source: Aeria press release]
Some Assembly Required: An early look at Dawntide
Hey folks, and welcome back to Some Assembly Required. The column's been around for a little bit now, and we've done everything from developer interviews to opinionated rants to sandbox and player-generated content feature spotlights. One thing we haven't done is an impressions piece on new sandbox titles, and I aim to fill that void today with an early look at Dawntide. The title is an open-world fantasy sandbox under development by Working as Intended, an indie outfit that calls Copenhagen, Denmark home. Dawntide has been under construction for quite a while now (we first spoke with the devs way back in the summer of 2009), and after a series of funding and development challenges, the end of the long beta journey is in sight.
The Anvil of Crom: Surviving the craftpocalypse
So last week we started talking a bit about Age of Conan's 2012 crafting revamp. I laid out a few things that foul up the current system -- from a tradeskiller's point of view, naturally -- but I didn't quite get around to talking about solutions. Though that's on the to-do list, I may not get around to it this week either, since a few mails and some forum discussions brought up a couple of interesting tangential points that I hadn't considered. Surprisingly, I got email from folks who aren't really looking forward to the big tradeskill upheaval that Funcom game director Craig Morrison hinted at in the August development update. Even more mind-boggling was the fact that these folks aren't even crafters.
Some Assembly Required: How to screw up your sandbox
Between bouts of Global Agenda, Age of Conan, and a stack of single-player games, I've been taking my own advice lately and looking for a new sandbox. The end of Star Wars Galaxies is forcing my hand, and I figured I'd better start now if I don't want to be stuck with nothing to play on December 16th. While there is a veritable ton of different sandboxes to choose from, I must admit to being a bit frustrated with nearly all of them. If it's not one thing, it's another, and most are such glaring deficiencies that I can't help but wonder what was going through the minds of the development teams during the construction process. Join me after the cut for a few things you should consider if you're making an MMORPG sandbox.
Uncharted Waters Online adds shipbuilding
MMO shipbuilding is a time-honored tradition that's shown up in titles as wide-ranging as Wurm Online, Vanguard, and even Star Wars Galaxies (hey, spaceships count!), to name but a few. The latest game to take the plunge is Uncharted Waters Online, and the free-to-play title from CJ E&M is looking to expand both building and customization options. Players may choose materials for the hull, sails, and gunport, and how the ingredients are combined will determine how durable the ships are (and, of course, how they fare on subsequent expeditions). New mechanics like steering proficiency "give players more control while sailing," according to a new press release, and players can also work towards a high wave resistance stat that will enable a ship to power through a storm or blizzard. Check out all the details at the official UWO website.
Darkfall blog talks crafting update, forthcoming relaunch timeline
There may be a little light at the end of the Darkfall 2.0 tunnel if the latest Aventurine blog update is any indication. The entry bills itself as a crafting system update, but it spends the first paragraph or so giving fans an update on the revamped siege system (which is now scheduled to be done in about a week). After that, producer Tasos Flambouras says, "We'll go into more detail about more relaunch features and the production schedule." So anyway, crafting. In a nutshell, the new Darkfall tradeskilling system places greater importance on rare ore, unique item appearance, more customization options, and "more opportunities to excel as a crafter." The new system will offer mastery skills as well as a choice between six distinctive base designs for each weapon type. You can read all about it at the game's official website, linked below.
New Fallen Earth dev blog talks fixing the economy
What does the Fallen Earth dev team mean when it says "fixing the economy?" The latest dev blog has your answer, and there's nary a tax cut, stimulus plan, or partisan political argument in sight. Instead, producer Marie Croall waxes on about what's wrong with wasteland supply and demand, with a specific focus on crafting component drops and rarity. The end goal is to "give value to basic, improved, and advanced recipes," and Croall hopes this will happen as a result of the team's manipulation of the market. "We had to, in some cases, actually create rarity where there was none or -- in the case of cooking components -- create common items where there were only rare and uncommon," she explains. Fallen Earth's cooking mechanic is also receiving special attention, due in part to the large number of required components and the lack of rare ingredients in the current game build. The dev team is also taking a hard look at consumable buffs, and Croall states that more details on the upcoming fixes will be available as the patch nears release.
Lichborne: Professions for level 85 death knights
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. Join World of Warcraft's first hero class as we head into a new expansion and shed the new kid on the block label. With your death knight at level 85 and all kitted out for raids, there's one more step you can take to make your death knight the best he can be: Learn some professions. A profession can provide self-buffs that nudge your DPS or suvivability up to the next level. It can grab you a lot of extra gold on the auction house (or drain all your gold, depending on which profession you take and how you choose to level it). Finally, it can provide you with some cool toys. This week, we'll take a look at WoW's professions to see which ones are tops for a death knight.
Choose My Adventure: Time management and the AFK game
Welcome back to Massively's Choose My Adventure. As I'm gearing up for the fifth week of my excursion through Darkfall and the lands of Agon, I've settled into something of a groove based on my own personal playstyle and the schedules of folks that I've met in the game. Aventurine's sandbox is a game that sucks you in in a number of different ways. It's a game that you can (and really should) play a lot, and it's not a game that I'd recommend to folks who are dabblers and game-hoppers or those who have a ton of additional demands on their free time. This isn't solely because of the skill grind, either, but also because of the large degree of freedom a player has to choose his own goals, path, and endgame. Ultimately, Darkfall is a pretty large middle finger in the face of the popular notion that MMORPGs are casual games. In fact, Aventurine said as much several months ago, and this attitude informs just about every aspect of Agon. Though some might consider this a negative, I've thus far found it to be quite a bit of fun as well as a refreshing change from the vast majority of the disposable MMOs I've played over the past half decade. Join me after the cut for a look at time management in Agon as well as my weekly recap. %Gallery-110478%
Breakfast Topic: Flying Mounts and Professions
The Engineering flying machine has been out for a while now, and it's been a pretty big hit. It's a nice classic piece of Warcraft tradition and lore and good unique reward for someone with enough gumption to craft what may seem like hundreds of Adamantite Rifles on their way to 375 Engineering. Of course, something that shiny is going to attract admirers and tons of people who want one for themselves. The issue crops up every few weeks on the general forums or the suggestion boards: Someone wants a crafted flying mount of their own without switching professions. If they got themselves up to 375 in their chosen skill and want to spend another thousand gold or so on expensive trade skill items for a flying mount, why shouldn't they? It'd be a great way to show pride in your trade skilling prowess and give one more way to shed that plain old Wyvern or Gryphon and set yourself apart from the crowd. You could go with, say a nice flying carpet for the tailors, maybe a flying mortar and pestle for the alchemists. Now, I tend to agree that it's probably good enough that Engineers are unique in getting a flying mount in the same way that, for example, Leatherworkers get drums or Blacksmiths get weapons and armor. But then again, I also have to say that Engineers already get some pretty awesome goggles for a unique reward anyway, and a flying carpet would be pretty sweet. So what do you think? How about a leather-winged glider for Leatherworkers? Or do you think that it's enough that the Engineers have a mount that's taken from previous lore and people should stop asking for silly stuff that's never appeared in Warcraft before?
