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Jukebox Heroes: Chatting with Neverwinter's Kevin Manthei
This week on Jukebox Heroes, we're sitting down with Cryptic Studios Composer Kevin Manthei to talk about his work on the studio's most recent title, Neverwinter. So Kevin, Can you introduce yourself and give us a little background on you and your history with the company? Kevin Manthei: Hi! I am Kevin Manthei, a Minnesota-born, California-living composer. I write music for film, TV and games. I have been doing this for over 20 years and have worked with most of the big publishers in the gaming world and have scored music on feature and indie films, television shows, and animated projects. Currently I just finished scoring the Guardians of the Galaxy section of Disney's Infinity 2 video game and am in the middle of scoring Season 3 of the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series for Marvel/Disney XD. I also recently started work on the animated series Transformers: Robots In Disguise for Hasbro/The Hub network. I have been working with Cryptic on music for its games since City of Villains. I have scored music for City of Villains, Champions Online, Star Trek Online and Neverwinter. Each project I worked on for more than a year, and each game has about 100 minutes of music I scored.
Neverwinter announces Rise of Tiamat module
Perfect World Entertainment has today announced Neverwinter: Rise of Tiamat, another chunk of the Tyranny of Dragons plotline that just so happens to coincide with the story in new Wizards of the Coast tabletop series of the same name. The module "brings a new paragon path for the recently released Scourge Warlock class" with both solo and group play. Highbies can hunt for artifact gear as they prep for the resurrection of the goddess Tiamat and the epic battle being so heavily foreshadowed. We've got screenies and the new trailer below.
Farewell to Rusty Hearts
Back in August, Perfect World Entertainment announced that it planned to shut down story-driven action MMO Rusty Hearts come mid-September, and that date has now come and gone. Last night was the game's final evening, and players gathered to say farewell without much fanfare from PWE, which has not yet updated the website or forums to indicate that the game is now closed. One forum-goer was kind enough to provide screenshots of the game's last 10 minutes, which another poster said featured "more people than the average population of the servers these days." Farewell to you, Rusty Hearts. [Thanks, Fakepants.]
Marvel Heroes welcomes Rogue into its fold
There's a new addition to Marvel Heroes' roster, but this one might be a total game-changer. Added to the game yesterday, Rogue is a superhero who not only possesses super strength and flight but can steal powers from enemies to customize a unique powerset. You can get your first look at Rogue in a trailer after the jump and see whether this absorbant lass is the hero for you!
The Siege of Neverwinter begins next week [Updated]
Perfect World Entertainment has just announced a new in-game Tyranny of Dragons-themed event for Neverwinter: the Siege of Neverwinter. Apparently, Justin was right not to trust those dragons. Those guys are always up to no good, trying to kick your favorite fantasy city in the knees. Are you going to take that? Are you? No. I didn't think so. From September 18, 2014 until September 25, 2014, players are tasked with defending Neverwinter from encroaching foes in the new Siege Battlefield area. Two new Heroic Encounters will challenge players with a variety of different battle types and assaults from furious dragons. Additionally, a new profession will enable players to craft defensive supplies and work to protecting the brave warriors who venture past the safety of the walls. Neverwinter promises "new fashion items, enchantments, companions, and more" for participation in the event.
The Daily Grind: What game needs (better) tutorials?
Let me state up front that I thoroughly enjoy Marvel Heroes. That said, I find some of its mechanics pretty obscure. Like, costume cores. What the heck am I supposed to do with those? To be fair, I could probably find the answer on the game's labyrinthine forum, but since I play it ultra-casually and somewhat infrequently, I'm usually too busy enjoying the clickfest to tab out and search. TLDR, this game needs a tutorial or two, in my opinion. What do you think, Massively readers? Is there an MMO or an MMO-lite in your rotation that needs some in-game explanation? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Path of Exile preps new flame effect and Taiwan patches
Have you long wanted to summon demonic flame from your fingertips in Path of Exile? You'll get your chance in the game's 1.2.2 patch; it's being added as a new microtransaction spell effect. The developers are also rolling the game's latest mini-expansion, Forsaken Masters, out to the Taiwanese servers as well, launching it before the game's first mini-expansion. It's a more beginner-friendly update, so it makes more sense to launch it first. This all comes courtesy of the game's recent mini-news roundup, covering several small but relevant points of interest. Other updates include discussions being held on the game's next race event, which will probably be significantly different from prior events as the team wishes to clearly distinguish between races meant for hardcore or more casual players. Master/Grandmaster supporter art packs have also begun the process of shipping, with several more prepared for the mail now. Check out the full post for a few more details, or just check out that demonic flame effect in a video past the cut.
The Daily Grind: What did you accomplish in your games this weekend?
This past weekend I played a little Marvel Heroes, a lot of Space Engineers, a bit of War Thunder, and a few other things that I can't justify writing about on an MMO site. I gained some Storm levels in MH and got a few nice drops, but I had the most fun building up my outpost in SE and inviting a friend into my game to serve as my mining slave help me design and craft a few essentials. What about you, Massively readers? What did you accomplish in your MMOs or multiplayer games over the weekend? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Daily Grind: Have you branched out beyond traditional MMOs lately?
As I mentioned in this space last week, I've been suffering a bit of MMO burnout. I've still been gaming, though, mostly via single-player stuff but also a smidge of Marvel Heroes. I was never much for Diablo, which is why my ongoing MH fixation is somewhat surprising. Maybe I'm just an action RPG late-bloomer, and I'm curious to see if I might enjoy something like Path of Exile now, too. What about you, Massively readers? Have you branched out beyond traditional MMOs recently? How so? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Path of Exile unveils more of the Hall of the Grandmasters
Is your character in Path of Exile the greatest of all time? Do throngs of people spontaneously assemble around her to sing Eye of the Tiger when she's just walking down the hall to the kitchen? More specifically, did you purchase the Grandmaster Founder Pack for the game? Then you can be immortalized in the Hall of the Grandmasters, a unique map canonizing player characters whilst pitting everyone against these champions. The development team has recently posted screenshots of the map still under development in addition to some planning details. Players will be able to challenge specific hallways within the Hall of the Grandmasters, which pit players against several random grandmasters who must be beaten to continue onward. This allows the developers to continue expanding as more grandmasters are added in the future. Check out the full thread for more details and preview shots of the map under development. The team has also posted two new skill effect microtransactions; the videos showing them in action are below.
Neverwinter auctioning off five Sergeant Knox companions
The famous Sergeant Knox, Neverwinter NPC questgiver extraordinaire, will be available as a special companion. For a short time, players can bid on one of these purple-quality companions through the auction house. The catch is that there will only be five such Sergeant Knox companions put up for auction during this event, which means that only five (or fewer) players in the game will own one, at least for the time being. As a gold sink, this will undoubtedly be quite effective to suck some of the excess money out of the economy. This special auction will take place from September 11th through the 14th.
PAX Prime 2014: Marvel Heroes is the industry's surprise success story
Meeting with Marvel Heroes' David Brevik at PAX Prime confirmed what I have been observing over the past year or so: This game has quietly and steadily become one of the bigger success stories in the online gaming industry. Brevik told me that the Marvel Heroes playerbase continues to grow, boasting four times as many players as it had nine months ago. What did Brevik attribute to the game's meteoric rise? The promotions and sheer mountain of new content that the team's been adding certainly helped, but he said that it really came down to terrific community relations. Brevik streams the game four nights a week and talks to the community members as though they were part of his family.
Get a glimpse of Rogue in Marvel Heroes' video preview
Few are the superhero fans who don't like Rogue, the saucy southern villain-turned-hero, and Marvel Heroes will soon be adding this powerful X-Man to its lineup. With her unique power-absorbing abilities, how will Rogue work in the game? Devs hosted a lengthy livestream to introduce the hero and show off her versatility. Of Rogue's three power sets, only one is pre-defined -- the Miss Marvel set with flight, strength, etc. The other two are customizable based on the powers players actually steal from friends! If you missed the stream, you can get full details on stealing powers (as well as forgetting them to learn others), in the hour-and-twenty-minute video right here. There's also some talk about Jean Grey and Ghostrider, who get a Dark Phoenix power and more single-target attacks, respectively. Fans can also discuss Rogue in her special forums on the official site. Rogue is available currently for pre-order.
Massively Exclusive: Elsword's two new systems
Elsword is adding in a pair of new systems for two of the MMO's key characters, Aisha and Eve. Both of these systems have something in common, which is the ability to automate or streamline some of the fancy combat moves. Aisha gets the memorization system, which takes three skills and mooshes them up into a single button press. Players can activate Aisha's legendary memorization during play, assigning specific skills in order for use later. It's helpful that MP is used while setting up the skill chain and not when triggered, although the chain will do only 70% of normal damage. As for Eve, she is being granted with the core release system. Players can trigger Eve's awakening mode to unleash automated attack and defense moves. By choosing certain skills during this phase, players can change the core from an automatic laser that lashes out at enemies to a protective shield. We've got pictures of the memorization and core release systems below!
Marvel Heroes now featuring Operation Omega
Operation Omega is going on right now in Marvel Heroes. In fact, it's a week-long event that started yesterday, so it will be going on for some time. It features 24 percent server-wide boosts to XP, SIF, and RIF as well as harder enemies and more loot. Oh, and don't forget to collect those Omega access files and trade them in to Dum Dum Dugan for exclusive items and artifacts!
Path of Exile launches Forsaken Masters
If you've been following Path of Exile news at all, you know that Forsaken Masters is set to shake up a fair amount of the game with its addition of masters, hideouts, crafting changes, new challenge leagues, and so forth. But did you realize that you can start exploring all of that right now? It's live! Well, maybe you can't explore it right now, you might be at work. But once you get home. The biggest addition is the eponymous masters, who will show up randomly throughout the game world in search of players willing to aid their personal missions. Earning their trust will unlock access to their hideouts, crafting facilities, and special item rewards. Players can also take part in the new challenge leagues or just enjoy reduced mana costs across the board; they're all in place now, providing new entertainment to veterans and new players alike. [Source: Grinding Gear Games press release]
Neverwinter's summer festival starts tomorrow
If it's Neverwinter, it must be summer, right? Now that you've stopped groaning, you might be interested to hear that the D&D MMO is kicking off its summer festival tomorrow. Cryptic is building on the previous year's festival by adding more content to the event. There will be a new summer-themed zone with daily quests, a water battle, new profession tasks, and a new dungeon for the web game Sword Coast Adventures. Players can try to grab a reward that they missed from last year or strive for one of the new prizes, such as the piñata or the Sunite Steed. The summer festival will run from Thursday, August 21st, through Thursday, September 11th.
Neverwinter expands artifact system
Cryptic is clearly in love with the artifact system in Neverwinter, having expanded it to include weapons and belts in the recent Tyranny of Dragons update. In a dev diary today, the team delivers additional details behind the new types of gear that will grow in power over time. Leveling up artifact equipment will take a lot of refinement, apparently: "These artifacts will use the familiar item refinement interface; however the primary difference being that other equipment is used to refine these artifacts rather than enchantments. Basically anything that can be equipped in the 12 slots on your character sheet can be used to empower these artifact." With Module 4 are six new level 60 artifact belts and 21 artifact weapons. The belts have a base attribute (such as strength) that can be increased from +1 all the way to +4, while artifact weapons have the potential for "the highest base damage numbers in the game." The studio said that it might expand the artifact system further if players show support for it.
Massively Exclusive: Previewing Path of Exile's Tora, Master of the Hunt
The newest expansion to Path of Exile is all about the eponymous Masters -- their goals, their attitudes, and what they can teach the player. Tora is fairly straightforward in all of the above. She is all about the hunt, taking out the monsters that surround Wraeclast, and in her own words, she wants to root out the corruption that has taken root in her world now, before it does any further harm to the natural balance. I had a chance to speak with producer Chris Wilson about Tora and the expansion as a whole the other day, and he happily shared details both about Tora herself and one of the new challenge leagues that will be going live with the expansion on August 20th. Hop on past the break to see Tora's video introduction and to learn more about what players can expect from the huntress, the challenge league, and the expansion in general.
Neverwinter's Tyranny of Dragons expansion live today
Perfect World has officially launched Tyranny of Dragons, the latest expansion for Neverwinter. The update features a new class (the Scourge Warlock), new heroic encounters, a new dungeon, and a new skirmish. Don't forget to check out the gameplay clip after the cut! [Source: Perfect World press release]
