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Dragon's Prophet kicks off anniversary events in Europe
Those of you who remember the distant and far-off past of 2013 may recall that Dragon's Prophet launched last year. Those of you still playing the game a year later are probably very aware of that anniversary. The game launched on September 18th in Europe and September 23rd in the US, so there's still a day until the anniversary hits on these shores. But the anniversary celebrations have already begun on the European servers, possibly offering a taste of what US players can look forward to shortly. You can see a new video celebrating the game just past the break, and there are two major events running as part of the anniversary. Players can take part in the Creation Night event, which includes a variety of rewards as well as a chance at taming the Illusion Night dragon. Meanwhile, the monsters in Wynnadia and Porthis have taken to celebrating themselves, and they've gotten bigger and meaner than usual. It's unclear yet whether US players will be getting the exact same celebration events, but EU players still have time to jump in on the festivities.
The Mog Log: Happy birthday, Final Fantasy XIV
Congratulations, Final Fantasy XIV! It's been a year and you're still going after the relaunch, much to the surprise and consternation of the many people who were hoping for the opposite outcome for... well, I'm not clear on that exit strategy. Bragging rights, I guess. The point is, you turned out to surprise pretty much everyone, you've been posting incredibly solid numbers for a while now, and you don't seem likely to go anywhere in the near future. You can take a load off, maybe take a nap. Now that I've gotten the congratulations out of the way, let's talk about Final Fantasy XIV and the many ways that the designers have screwed up so far. Sort of. I mean, over the past year I've been more than willing to fire with both barrels when a screwup was made, which has happened... about once every major patch. But here's the thing: I'm glad to see that happening, on some level. It gives me hope for the future.
Final Fantasy XIV gearing up for its first anniversary
In one sense, Final Fantasy XIV is approaching its fourth anniversary, since its original incarnation launched in September of 2010. But in another, more immediate sense, the relaunch was just about one year ago. That's what the development team is celebrating now and through most of August, with plenty of in-game events including the Moonfire Festival and several new contests for players to show off their creativity and affection for the game. The anniversary page is now live, and while it's not displaying everything just yet, there's plenty to be excited about. Aside from another round of the Moonfire Festival, players can look forward to the return of all three major cross-promotional events as well as a special event called The Rising. There will also be a special 14-hour livestream event starting on August 22nd, a one-year anniversary login campaign, and real-life events at PAX Prime, Gamescom, and the Tokyo Game Show. Check the official anniversary site for more details, and get ready to celebrate a full year of a reborn Eorzea!
Star Trek Online posts a four-year infographic
Space -- it's not really much of a frontier any longer. These are the voyages of a large number of different ships in Star Trek Online. Their continuing missions: To complete reputation projects. To seek out new ships and new duty officers. To boldly go where a lot of people have gone over the past four years -- specifically, 3.2 million captains -- but it's still worth exploring just the same! With the official four-year mark for the game just around the corner, Cryptic Studios has put out a new infographic detailing stuff like exactly how many captains are currently exploring the final not-so-much-a-frontier. It also contains a handy timeline of the game's major content releases over the past four years and all of the former Trek actors now providing voices to iconic characters in the game. If you want a quick look at the game's history for yourself, check out the infographic on the official site.
World of Warcraft breaks out a decade in Azeroth by the numbers
World of Warcraft is hitting its 10-year anniversary this year, and the franchise as a whole is turning 20. So it's a find time to take a look at the numbers behind the game, something Blizzard Entertainment did today with a large and exhaustive infographic. That header up there? That's a count of how many worldwide accounts the game has had created, including trials. Yes, that's 100 million. That's a lot of people who have stepped into Azeroth (or Outland for a little while). There are a lot of interesting bits of information in there as well. As a whole, the game has seen more than 500 million characters created (more characters than there are people in the United States). Approximately 2.8 million auction house transactions take place every day, 11 million achievements have been earned per day since the launch of Mists of Pandaria, and the game currently sits on about 6 million words written for quest content. There's a lot more in the infographic; feel free to jump on over and take a look at it for more stats on the game's decade of history.
Dark Age of Camelot celebrates 12 years of RvR madness
It's time to break out your party hats, Dark Age of Camelot fans. Today, Mythic Entertainment's seminal RvR-focused title turns 12 years old, and that can only mean one thing: bonuses for everyone! To celebrate the game's 12th anniversary, Mythic is giving players a smorgasbord of experience point, bounty point, and realm point bonuses. The official post also notes that there's plenty more birthday celebration goodness to come. And what would a game anniversary be without some heartfelt retrospectives from the developers? Members of the Dark Age of Camelot team, including Mythic Co-Founder Rob Denton, Senior Producer Colin Hicks, and many more all weigh in on the life of DAOC, from its humble beginnings in the ancient era of 2001 to its rise as an influential powerhouse of the MMO industry. So if you're not too busy wreaking havoc upon your enemies on the battlefield, why not head on over to the official site to take a trip down memory lane? Just click on through the link below and enjoy the reminiscence.
Double XP and giant cake mark Champions Online's fourth anniversary
September 1st marks the fourth anniversary of the launch of Champions Online, and Cryptic and Perfect World feel like celebrating. Players logging in to Champions Online after Thursday's regularly scheduled maintenance will be able to attend an anniversary concert, enjoy an enormous cake, and talk to special NPCs to receive free gifts containing new action figures, costume pieces, and water balloons. Also on deck for the celebration is a double XP and double Questionite weekend, which kicks off Friday at 1:30 p.m. EDT (10:30 a.m. PDT) and ends Monday at 1:00 p.m. EDT (10:00 a.m. PDT). The special anniversary events run until September 13th.
Guild Wars 2's Johanson hints at the game's anniversary plans
Have you gotten Guild Wars 2 a present yet? It's celebrating its first birthday in just under three weeks, so it'd be rude if you didn't get it anything. Even if you're not getting the game a present, director Colin Johanson has dropped some hints about the presents that characters and players will be getting from the game, including a promise that characters will receive annual gifts as seen in Guild Wars. Johanson is adamant that the update on the anniversary will change the world forever and will bring together all of the stories that have been in motion over the past year. He goes on to explain that the changes will help give players a hint as to where the game is heading in the future. Exactly what the changes will be and how well several disconnected stories will tie together remains to be seen, but fans have to wait until August 28th to see what goes down on the one-year mark.
Final Fantasy XI celebrates 11 years with high-level presents
Final Fantasy XI has been running continuously for 11 years now and just released its fifth expansion earlier this year. There are only a handful of other games that can boast that sort of longevity, so it seems only reasonable that the game would do something to celebrate. And it is celebrating... by granting every player several major high-level prizes as part of its Abyssea and Atma Axtravaganza. Aside from alliteration, that should give you an idea of what the prizes entail. Every player who does not already possess the three Abyssea add-on scenarios will receive all three free of charge. All players will also receive a free Lunar Abyssite, 11 different Atma, 100,000 cruor, and a major bonus to your traverser stone stock in Abyssea. Those who haven't played the scenarios might be looking on with confusion, but if you have played these before you know that this is a whole lot of power for free. So don't miss out -- the event is running until October 11th, after which point you'll just be celebrating missing out on a big giveaway.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Nine reasons for nine years of City of Heroes
This is not timed perfectly to coincide with what would have been the ninth anniversary of City of Heroes. It couldn't be, honestly; trying to do so would have resulted in a worse column. There's also the simple fact that the ninth anniversary did not actually happen, the game was gone before then. Sanctifying the date will not bring the game back, nor will it assuage the fact that it's not there any longer. Despite all of that, I liked the thematic structure put forth on the Titan boards, nine reasons for nine years. But since I'm incapable of doing things any way but the wrong way, I'm approaching this in my own style with my own nine reasons that I wish we'd had a ninth year. Even if the game comes back tomorrow in some form, it's never going to have the life that it should have had, and here's my nine reasons why I wish that weren't the case.
Entropia Universe raises a glass to its 10th anniversary
Entropia Universe, the "massively multiplayer online real cash economy," typically has been best known for its ludicrously expensive sales of virtual property and structure. Now it has another reason to be in the spotlight: The MMO(sigh)RCE has made it to its 10th anniversary. The title launched on February 1st, 2003, and has generated loads of money through the creation, sale, and purchase of its online worlds. According to MindArk, Entropia Universe is a favorite of the Guinness Book of World Records when it comes to the most valuable virtual items ever sold. MindArk recently released a mobile app for Entropia Universe and outlined a 2013 roadmap through the anniversary and beyond. [Source: MindArk press release]
Entropia lays out a roadmap for development in 2013
Did you know that Entropia Universe will be 10 years old next year? Possibly not, but if you did, you probably also know how much the team at MindArk has done to improve the game over the past year. That team is looking to make 2013 even better, and to that end they've put out a roadmap for 2013's development. Aside from the obvious anniversary celebration, the developers are hard at work fixing up areas for veteran players, trying to improve the return on several activities and making the game easier to get started with. There are also plans for new server infrastructure and an entirely new taming system, both of which should make existing players happier with the game as a whole. Beyond even that, the team has plans for shoring up the game's financial transactions in several ways. New functionality with PayPal and improved starter packs are in the works. Players can also expect to see a full rollout of the Calypso Land Deed system and accompanying political mechanics within the next year. So here's to a decade of development, and let's hope the team can manage another one. [Source: MindArk press release]
Perpetuum celebrates second anniversary with in-game events
Remember Perpetuum? Avatar Creations' sci-fi sandbox celebrated its second anniversary this past Sunday, but we missed it because we were too busy stuffing our faces with leftover turkey and dressing. A new dev blog outlines the requisite festivities (including a treasure hunt, a quiz show, and the ability to unlock golden sparks via special assignments) which run from November 30th through December 4th. There's no tournament this year, as Avatar prefers to devote the resources that such an event requires toward further development. And speaking of development, the anniversary post nicely sums up the game's initial 24 months, which saw more than 60 patches and two major expansions. [Thanks to Mark for the tip!]
Garriott shares Ultima Online anecdotes for 15th anniversary
It's been a week of remembrances for past and present members of the Ultima Online dev team. The title's 15th anniversary has offered ample opportunity for stories from the early days, the latest of which come courtesy of Lord British himself (and no, it's not the one about his in-game death). Richard Garriott tells of his run-in with a player thief bent on ruining the game experience for a new player. It's an amusing anecdote that illustrates how UO's early incarnation led to plenty of unexpected gameplay scenarios. "After [the incident], I began to think more carefully about the rules we ourselves put in the game, and the inevitable play styles that would come of it," Garriott writes.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: What City of Heroes needs for its ninth year
The past year of City of Heroes has been in no small part defined by the free-to-play revolution moving into full swing. 2010 was the year in which it became clear that free-to-play could work; 2011 was the year in which nearly every game moved over to the new model, with only a handful of stalwarts clinging to the subscription-only model. Unfortunately, this also means that the once-present divide between business models no longer exists, and by and large there's less sense that free-to-play games are inherently worse than subscription games. The imaginary barrier simply doesn't exist as it used to. What does that have to do with City of Heroes for its next year of development? Almost everything. I've talked about how the game has two obvious and direct competitors in the superhero genre, but now they're all competing with the same business model. They all have the same initial outlay, instead of City of Heroes being the oldest, most respected, and cheapest option. In order for a game to be successful, and it no longer has to convince players that it's worth $15 a month for a few months -- it just has to convince you that downloading it and giving it a shot is worth the effort. That means flash, fun, and a quick dose of what you're looking for.
Runes of Magic on its third anniversary
Runes of Magic's third anniversary is finally upon us. Frogster has been gearing up for the event by holding diamond sales and cash-shop specials. Each anniversary, you can also take part in multiple frog-related quests and events. Frog-bashing, frog disguises, and more frog-bashing have long been a staple. Frog-racing and frog etiquette have been added to the roster. What's frog etiquette? Why, it's either insulting or complimenting frogs, silly. During the festivities, various freebies are usually handed out to players who log in, as well. The real question is what's new in the land of Taborea, but if you wanted to know about new lands or dungeons, you'll have to wait a little bit longer. There's no official word, but given the time that's passed and the unofficial images and information that are floating around the Internet, we know Chapter 5 can't be too far off. There are still players out there who are far from making their way through the Chapter 4 content, but many guilds on the cutting edge are starting to trample Tomb of the Seven Heroes into a well-worn path. During this intermediary period, Runewaker added the random attribute extractor and the costume interface. This isn't a replacement to aggregating; it's more like an extension. Most recently, the team introduced a patch containing bug fixes and a sprinkling of changes to the user interface, guilds, pets, vendor NPCs, quests, crafting, and skills. Some of the most exciting information is sketchy but does point to two possible new classes. And what class (or race?) could possibly have skills with names like "forge" and "runecraft" in them? Hmm...
Star Trek Online looks to anniversary updates, free-to-play updates, and beyond
Star Trek Online's second anniversary is just a month away, but the game's transition to a free-to-play model is even closer than that. In the game's latest developer diary, executive producer Stephen D'Angelo talks about updates leading into the business model shift, the anniversary, and the eventual rollout of the game's next season. A couple of new bug fixes and feature improvements will be rolled out to the live game before January 17th, at which point the game will shift over to the free-to-play mode. In February, the game will be celebrating its anniversary with a new KDF flagship, the debut of the Odyssey-class Federation ship, and soon thereafter a series of Dominion featured episodes. Players can look forward to season 6 sometime in June, with the development team aiming at something new in the game roughly every other week once the game is free-to-play. It's a tall order, but Star Trek Online fans at least have those frequent updates to hope for if not necessarily expect.
Vanguard's fourth anniversary raises new questions
Vanguard is somewhat of a unique beast among other "AAA" MMOs; it's a forgotten child that still offers great adventure, open-world excitement, and hardcore raiding. While we all have heard of the botched launch and practically dead-in-the-water development cycle of the game, the fact of the matter is that players are still playing it. You can't force a player to enjoy himself, so why are the members of the Vanguard community still playing? Is it possible that they are having a good time? Or do social ties mean more than great adventure? Could it be that players simply have not found a game that they enjoy more than Vanguard, warts and all? We asked the players on the official forums and received a total of four responses. The thread was immediately pushed down by standard complaint posts. Could it be that the community has been the worst thing for the game, a game that needs, more than anything, positive word-of-mouth? Click past the cut and we'll look into it.
The Daily Grind: What little events do you celebrate?
It's Saint Patrick's Day, and if you're in the US that means a celebration of Irish culture... or at least, it means a celebration of wearing green clothing and drinking an exceptional amount for the middle of the week. And while it's not the biggest holiday, some people look forward to it as much or more than major seasonal events. A few games even celebrate the event, such as Fallen Earth with a pub crawl and Everquest II with its Brewday celebrations. It's a holiday with no real overarching purpose except enjoyment, and that's hardly a bad goal. Every game has little events that keep running long after they're no longer hugely pertinent. Every gamer has anniversaries or dates they remember, or holidays that they feel are important even if the game doesn't have a holiday event. So what small holidays or events do you observe in your favorite games? Do you make a point of memorizing important in-game lore dates and celebrating their anniversaries? Do you take part in no-longer-vital elements, such as the Elemental Invasions in World of Warcraft? Or do you just take the opportunity on days like today to outfit your Star Trek Online crew in green uniforms and hang around drunk?
The Daily Grind: MMO Anniversary Extravaganza!
This next week is quite a big week for anniversaries, birthdays and celebrations in our favorite MMOs. We kick off the festivities today with Lord of the Rings Online's 2-year anniversary, and finish off next Tuesday with a 5-year for City of Heroes, a 5-year for Lineage II and a 4-year for Guild Wars. Each of these games promises to have their own unique anniversary celebration in-game and out.So the question is, which of these games have you stuck with since day one? As traditional MMOs are entering their golden years, yelling at those younger F2P games to get off their lawn, it's becoming increasingly more difficult to stick with one game. Even if it's not one of these games celebrating a milestone this week, which games have you stuck with for years and years?
