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FACTIONS: Origins of Malu opening early access in 'a couple weeks'
After Origins of Malu got the green light on Steam, developers went to work getting the sci-fantasy sandbox ready to release to players on that platform. All that work is about to come to fruition: Producer Michael Dunham told Massively that the early access release for the game's PvP build is only a couple of weeks away. FACTIONS: Origins of Malu is launching an invite-only closed release to ensure the systems are in check as far as user capacity, client integration, and the like today, February 1st, 2015; the EA will follow shortly after. Dunham anticipates early access to open before the 15th. To learn more about FACTIONS and future plans, read our exclusive interview with Dunham, then check out MassivelyTV on Monday, February 2nd, at 9:00 p.m. EST for a special Stream Team sneak peek of the game with devs.
Crowfall's Legionnaire is a four-legged powerhouse
Today's a series of firsts for Crowfall reveals. It's the first glimpse of the game's second announced class, the Legionnaire. It's the first look at a character who is other than human -- and is in fact a Centaur. And it's the title's first in-game environment screenshot. Crowfall has also posted a handy FAQ that goes into depth about the character creation process, teases Mac support, and eschews traditional MMO levels as a means of progression.
PAX South 2015: Slaying giants in Motiga's Gigantic
Motiga's Gigantic is one part Team Fortress, one part Dota, and one part Monster Hunter. The basic match structure will sound familiar to MOBA lovers -- two teams of five slug it out for superiority by controlling resources, leveling up, and killing one another -- but the skill-based mechanics, multiple maps, and shifting strategy priorities make the game more than a three-lane farm fest. Gigantic isn't about last-hitting or memorizing meta. Instead, it's about slaying giants and aiming true. I hopped in on a quick Gigantic match with some other press folks this afternoon at PAX South 2015, and in the midst of delivering an absolute drubbing to the scrubs (kidding!) on the other side of the table, I was able to get a feel for the game's combat system, characters, and the way its massive guardians change the way battles play out.
PAX South 2015: The Untitled Game is whatever you want it to be
The Untitled Game, better known as TUG, is one of the many recent titles that have earned a small crowdfunding fortune by shouting the word "sandbox" as loud as the internet will allow. The game's initial Kickstarter campaign raised $293,000; launching on Steam's Early Access marketplace helped Nerd Kingdom rake in an unspecified amount of additional dollars. The studio had a bold plan for an open-world, innovative crafting MMORPG, and it appeared as though players were ready to pay for it. Things haven't gone so swimmingly since then. Funding issues in late 2014 forced the studio to lay off around half of its staff. Many MMO industry followers have been wondering whether the project will ever be released or it's just another crowdfunded pipe dream. I took a look at TUG on the show floor at PAX South 2015 and talked to COO Brennan Priest about crowdfunding, layoffs, and killing things with axes. The one thing I can say for sure is that there is definitely a game here, and it seems as if it could be a good one.
PAX South 2015: Notes from a Star Citizen town hall
Star Citizen is such a big fancy deal that instead of having a panel or booth at PAX South 2015, Cloud Imperium booked a theater down the street and hosted 10 straight hours of forums and chit-chats with backers. That's right: There wasn't enough room in the PAX convention hall to accommodate all the Star Citizening Star Citizens needed to Star Citizen, so they had their own one-day mini-convention dedicated just to their game of choice. One has to respect a development team willing to spend the entire day with its community (for a nominal fee, of course). I'm sure Star Citizens were absolutely amped to pay the same amount of money as a PAX day pass to hang out with CI all day. Unfortunately, I attended only the evening town hall with Chris Roberts, which I would describe as impenetrable to anyone without a license to pilot one of Star Citizen's $350 ships. I did take some notes. I will try to parse them here.
PAX South 2015: Garriott and Long talk Shroud of the Avatar
In 2013, Ultima Online creator Richard Garriott took to Kickstarter in the hopes of funding an old-school, sandbox-y MMO. Titled Shroud of the Avatar, the new project would be built in Unity and aimed squarely at those MMO fans who longed for the days of player-driven economies, crafting as a focus instead of a side activity, and the ability to impact the game world in a real way. The plan worked. Shroud of the Avatar pulled $1.9 million on Kickstarter alone, almost doubling its $1 million funding goal. Since then, the team has been hard at work bringing Garriott's vision to life (and keeping backers happy). I spoke with Garriott on the PAX South 2015 show floor about crowdfunding, loot, and the mistakes of the modern RPG. I also got to play a bit of SOTA with the help of executive producer Starr Long, who kindly did not make fun of me when I was killed by the second mob in the demo.
TUG's multiplayer goes live
Yesterday, the first stage of TUG's multiplayer went online with its 0.8.1 alpha patch. Players can now bump into each other in both survival and creative modes. But wait -- there's more! The patch also sports a brand-new terrain engine, a new UI, better mod capabilities, additional AI characters, and a handy return stone. The TUG team will be at booth #1483 at PAX South this weekend and will be selling access to the game at a discount for the duration of the convention. Massively will be reporting on TUG from the show floor, so stay tuned!
First Impressions: H1Z1 is more boredom than terror
What would video game purgatory look like? After spending an afternoon wandering aimlessly across a mostly-deserted countryside, I'd have to say that H1Z1's early access build fits the description of limbo perfectly. I even smacked into a wall of grey nothing that bordered the eight square kilometers of play space and wondered whether it might be more interesting in that haze than back among the living dead. H1Z1, as SOE will emphatically tell you, is not anywhere near to being done. Features are missing, placeholder art is everywhere, and there isn't a female character to be seen. It's only just playable on a larger scale, and yet the studio felt fit to open hundreds of servers (and take in thousands of dollars) so that the early crowd could sate its curiosity. There's no NDA, either, which means that the studio definitely wants people to chat the game up, whether good or bad. I'm happy to oblige.
H1Z1 is going 'nuclear' on hackers
From the sound of it, the H1Z1 crew put in some serious overtime during this past weekend. SOE President John Smedley has been posting updates across Reddit, especially in reference to hackers and important patch fixes. Smedley said that the team is "extremely on top of" any hacking going on in the game and will only get better as time goes by. "What we have is extremely robust in terms of detection and prevention," he posted. "Now that we started with detection, you'll be seeing the prevention go nuclear." Patches that are coming soon to the game will cover many vital issues, according to Smedley. These fixes include more loot, frame rate fixes, the infamous G29 problem, the floating arrow bug, and a slower drain rate for hunger and thirst.
Shroud of the Avatar's elementals run (not so) wild
The elemental forces of nature are one of many inhabitants of Shroud of the Avatar that can be either friend or foe, depending on the situation -- and the binding. In a recent newsletter, the devs showed off several of the elementals and golems in both bound and unbound varieties. Mages will be able to use magic to subdue and order these beings to protect and serve. The newsletter also showed the progress being made on Dragon Pass and promoted the Release 14 grand tour quest reward, which is a very pointy hat called a Hennin. You know you want to wear a princess hat, you pretty little thing. Well, you'll get your chance when that update comes out on January 29th.
Under construction: Who benefits from MMO early access?
On its Early Access page, Steam posts a manifesto of sorts praising this radical new type of development in which players get in on the alpha or pre-alpha stage, saying, "This is the way that games should be made." Is it? I'm not so sure. Early access -- and all of the other similar names for the same concept -- appears to be the latest trend that's sweeping not just MMOs but video games in general. Both Steam and crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter are largely responsible for promoting early access, and it has been a popular attraction for players who previously had to sit on their hands and wait for a game to get, y'know, finished. Now we can indulge instantly and run around the structure even as it's still under construction. I was talking about early access with Bree on the podcast the other day, and both of us were expressing distaste and an increasing uneasiness with the early access trend. Popular as it may be, is it really the way that games should be made? Will it result in better titles in the end? And who is getting what, exactly, out of it? It's this last question I want to address today.
Eleven alpha tester: Game is 'identical to Glitch'
"Incredible! I didn't expect it to be identical to Glitch, which it is." So sayeth one of Eleven's select few alpha testers, some of whom posted testimonials on the site about their experience. While a second tester cited "overwhelming" nostalgia, others were more critical of bugs, reloads, and generic visuals. The fan remake of Glitch has more than doubled its alpha test pool, from 13 to 31 players, and continues to advance the project as a whole. "This has been a great success, with many improvements being made to help improve the stability and experience while some other work is ongoing in order to bring over some more features," the devs said.
Early enrollment comes to Pathfinder Online tomorrow
The hour has come at last! Almost. The hour of Pathfinder Online's early enrollment approaches swiftly with a scheduled start time of 1:00 p.m. EST on December 31st, assuming some horrible bug doesn't crop up between now and then. More posts will appear on the official site to detail how, exactly, one takes part in Early Enrollment if eligible; there will also be detailed information on how the game world moves and behaves so that no one is caught off-guard. The last day of the alpha servers won't be quiet either; testers will be given access to developer powers, allowing them to make whatever ludicrously overpowered superheroes they want for fun. This starts today at 1:00 p.m. EST and runs until the servers go down for the last time before early enrollment. So have some fun today, and get ready to start in on the real thing tomorrow.
Gloria Victis plays host to Santa
Over this past weekend, Santa Claus had the opportunity to visit the in-the-making Gloria Victis and delight testers. In the newest pre-alpha patch, Santa appeared on Stoneholm Island and regaled listeners with his... rather unusual adventures. The patch also implemented a new gathering system, animations for said gathering, added in a few new locations, and buffed bow-and-arrow attacks. The team also had a special message for the game's supporters: "Thanks to all of you who put your trust in ourselves. You gave us the chance to continuously create the project of our dreams. You are our everyday Santa Clauses and support the Gloria Victis developing in any possible way." [Thanks to Chrysillis for the tip!]
Realm Zero enters alpha testing
Looking for another indie sandbox title to follow along? Realm Zero has your number, and not coincidentally, it just entered its second phase of alpha testing. No, really, it's not just a collection of concept art! There's a video past the break and everything. So if you're leery of giving your heart to a game that's a bunch of lovely ideas with no actual game, well, at least that's not quite what's happening here. The game promises to have an evolving world based on player action, with combat based upon FPS models rather than on the traditional level-based grind of most MMOs. It also boasts a skill system that allows you to build a character without having to make permanent choices, so you can mix and match over time to build your preferred character. Read more on the official site. [Thanks to Sandboxer for the tip!]
Gloria Victis is all up in your beeswax
In yesterday's pre-alpha patch, Gloria Victis shattered all sense of boundaries and decided that it was going to make your beeswax its business. Yes indeed, we are finally living in an era when beeswax has been added to beehives in an MMO, and life will never be the same again. (Actually, my editor informs me that Ultima Online has that as well because it has everything.) Other changes with the patch included global buffs for capture-the-flag winners, cattle horns as "by-products of [the] animal skinning process," a buff to gear durability, a higher change to get weapon drops from humans, and a rework of the mob spawning system.
Sandvox SkySaga hits alpha in the UK
Sandvox SkySaga has officially entered alpha, says developer Smilegate. The team announced the start of the testing phase over social media yesterday and today: Great news! We've just started up the Alpha servers (UK only still, I'm afraid), and from now on they'll be running 24/7 (with the exception of maintenance periods!). You read that right: The alpha's open only to UK players right now, though we've had reports that there's no IP blocking just yet. Release is still set for next summer. The game is a voxel-based sandbox with the usual trapping: crafting, harvesting, combat, arena PvP, and an "evolving" online world shaped by the players themselves.
Albion Online's winter test begins January 26th
Backers of Albion Online have been sitting on their hands for a while now, waiting for the next alpha test of this isometric sandbox. The good news is that Sandbox Interactive has announced that the alpha winter test will begin in a little over a month on January 26th. There will be plenty of new and updated systems to check out during this testing cycle, including an extensive farming system, consumables, more weapons, more skills, and player and guild islands. Another significant change is that players can flag themselves as friendly or hostile in PvP areas, effectively adding consensual PvP into the game. Albion Online's winter test will be available to legendary ($100) and epic ($50) founders and will last for four weeks.
Shroud of the Avatar's Richard Garriott and Starr Long on MMO community
If you've been making a list of sandbox features and checking it twice, chances are you'll find many of those items in Shroud of the Avatar. And if player-generated content and a great community are near the top of that list, then this crowdfunded title might very well be the present you want to get yourself! While still under development, this sandbox has already grown exponentially from its humble beginnings of a chicken in a room to a current state that includes a bevy of features -- with more arriving like clockwork every monthly update. And plenty of those features are tools and systems that allow players to make the game a personalized experience for themselves and others. What about Shroud of the Avatar makes it so great for player-generated content? What makes the community great? And how has Steam affected the game? I sat down with Portalarium's Richard Garriott and Starr Long to talk about the move to Steam, updates, PGC, and the amazing community that's supporting the game. These guys had so much to share that this is only part one!
Gloria Victis pre-alpha patch adds weather system
While it's still very much a work in progress, a weather system (with clouds!) has come to Gloria Victis with the advent of pre-alpha patch v.0.1.1. The new patch isn't solely about additions that make Weather Channel fans geek out, of course. The title added an item decay and repair system, updated the world map, included more music, improved mob AI, and further optimized performance. Still, if gorgeous sunsets and foggy days are the sort of eye candy that gets you excited about an MMO, the weather may be the biggest addition yet to Gloria Victis.
