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Trion apologizes for Defiance issues, outlines contract system
Ready for some more Defiance updates? Good, because Trion and Syfy are obliging with a couple of news blurbs and another TV spot. First up is executive producer Nathan Richardsson's day four game diary, in which he mentions that the dev team is hard at work addressing connectivity and patching issues, server crashes, chat and VOIP problems, and the problematic U.S. Xbox server cluster. "After five years of creating this, it saddens us and frustrates us that you aren't getting the great experience we strove to create. The upside is that it makes us quite determined to get you there," Richardsson writes. On a happier note, the Defiance blog updated on Friday with a look at the game's contract system. Contracts are basically missions that offer extra rewards, and you can find them under the goals section of your EGO menu. They refresh on a daily and weekly basis and offer scaling rewards. Finally, Syfy has released a new 30-second teaser for the television show which you'll find after the break.
Defiance devs put priority on operational issues
Day three of Defiance's launch week is upon us, bringing with it a new post from the Dev Blog Fairy. The game has been hit with some nasty lag, courtesy of the "very complicated but wonderful beast" that is the Xbox cluster. A lot of people are watching data, analyzing things, fiddling with hardware, and generally trying to get to the bottom of the whole ordeal. The devs' first priority is to deal with the continued Xbox issues (namely, the lag and server crashes), followed by solving the mysterious case of the disappearing items. The team is also trying to deal with game server crashes across all platforms, as well as connectivity and patching issues. A huge patch with scads of updates is coming on or around the 15th ("hopefully sooner, possibly later"), so keep the faith. We've also got a new Ark Hunters video just after the cut.
Massively's Defiance launch week diary: Recap
By popular forum-rager demand, I present to you Massively's "real" Defiance launch week impressions. I guess some folks aren't satisfied with the general contentment expressed in the diaries I posted Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and they need a chance to vent. So for those people: Defiance is the worst launch ever! It's worse than Anarchy Online! My pet peeves from alpha/beta haven't been fixed, and worse yet, Trion has not called me personally to apologize! Boo-hoooooooo! Oh, you did actually come here to read some day four Defiance impressions? Good. Today's entry is going to be a recap of sorts because my brief play session last night was likely my last until the TV show's debut. I feel sorta bad typing that because ultimately I want to like Defiance more than I do, not because I spent 60 bucks on it but because I think Trion has the makings of a title with some staying power. After 20 hours of play, though, I feel as if I've seen enough until the game matures a little bit. No forum rage required.
Defiance team prioritizing fixes for crashes, lag
The excitement, fun, chaos, and occasional frustration that swirls around every MMO launch is squarely on Defiance's shoulders this week, so Trion Worlds Executive Producer Nathan Richardsson is back with a follow-up to yesterday's post to discuss what the team is currently addressing. Richardsson says that the team has to be agile and that its priorities change on a daily basis. Because of this, today's critical issues are different from yesterday's; the team is working on game server crashes, lag, patching woes, and client crashes. He promised that yesterday's issues were still being worked on, just that these were more important for the time being. He did say that console account linking with the Arkhunter website should be resolved, and that the team's already put out a couple of patches in the last 24 hours with another one on the way to make the play experience more smooth.
Massively's Defiance launch week diary: Day three
You know what? Defiance's PvP is pretty enjoyable. Most of that enjoyment stems from my ability to actually kill people, contrary to typical MMO themeparks where I stand no chance against gear grinders and theorycrafters who have bested me before I even manage to tab target them. Here you have to aim, dodge, roll, reload, and do all that crazy skill-based stuff that shooters make you do, and while my K/D ratio is reminding me of the fact that I'm getting old and slow, it's still been a blast. Last night I dipped my toes into something called Shadow War, which is Defiance's answer to open world PvP.
New Defiance TV spot features Mayor Rosewater
This week's Defiance media assault continues, the latest salvo of which is a new trailer for the television show featuring Defiance mayor Amanda Rosewater. Rosewater is played by actress Julie Benz, and the 30-second spot provides a bit of insight into the trials and tribulations she encounters while trying to hold her community together. Defiance the TV show premieres on April 15th. Defiance the game is now playable on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. If you're on the fence about the title, check out our ongoing launch-week impression series as well as our livestream footage. The new trailer is embedded after the break.
Trion Worlds promises that it's addressing critical Defiance issues
Executive Producer Nathan Richardsson has mixed emotions in regards to Defiance's release. "This first day of launch of Defiance has been as awesome as we expected it to be," he wrote in a state of the game post. "And by awesome, I mean we're neck deep addressing all the issues that come up when you scale something up to a million people from a test environment of thousands." Richardsson promised that the large Trion team is working hard to "update, patch, fix, and improve" Defiance post-launch. The most critical problems that he identifies are connectivity problems, missing pre-order items, the scaling of bosses and arkfalls, and broken chat and VOIP. "We appreciate the trust that you are showing us by coming with us and we will address all these issues," he concludes. Speaking of awesome, check out the main theme to Defiance, composed by Bear McCreary, after the jump!
Massively's Defiance launch week diary: Day two
Welcome to day two of Massively's Defiance launch week diary. I've put a little over seven hours into Trion's MMO shooter thus far, so that zomg-it's-a-new-game! glow has worn off and I'm able to see things more objectively (i.e., find things to criticize). That said, I'm still having a good bit of fun, so join me after the cut to find out why.
Massively's Defiance launch week diary: Day one
I'm an ark hunter, or so they tell me. They being the ruggedly handsome NPCs on display in Defiance's opening cutscene. There's a gruff military man, a captain I think, and some balding suit with trendy eyewear named Von Bach. There's a bunch of frenzied activity on board the stratocarrier New Freedom, and I pass by a familiar roughneck and a red-haired alien girl that I've seen before in Defiance's ubiquitous television commercials. I'm a human male because I'm one of those weirdos who plays to real-world type in video games. I've got corn-rows here, though, blonde ones, and a face that only a mother could love. Much like my real face, I didn't have a lot of say in the matter because Defiance's character customization is rather bare bones. There's Human or Irathient, male or female. After that there's a choice of four origins: Veteran, Survivalist, Outlaw, and Machinist. I have a hard time with this because if the earth really were on the edge of sci-fi post-apocalyptic alien invasion extinction, I would no doubt be some sort of grizzled Survivalist/Outlaw/Machinist hybrid. Though this isn't a class-based game from what I hear, for now I have to choose. It's Survivalist.
Defiance launch day roundup and trailer
We've still got two weeks to wait for the television premiere of Defiance on April 15th, but shooter fans can lock, load, and get in on the Defiance action right now as the gaming half of the Trion and Syfy cross-media experience has officially launched today. Since we don't want anyone sent into battle unprepared, we've gathered plenty of intel for you! Get the scoop on what awaits you on this terraformed Earth, from villains (like mutants, scrappers, and hell bugs) to weapons to important facts on lore and the planet's new races. We've got a smorgasbord of videos, hands-on experiences, and even a livestream to help you map out your plan of attack before you jump into the fight. After all, the better you know your enemies, the better you can defeat them! And don't forget the launch trailer; that's tucked behind the break as well.
Syfy releases a new Defiance trailer
It's almost time for the cross-media extravaganza that is Defiance to grace the world with its fully realized TV-and-game presence. Defiance-the-MMO is set to open its doors officially on April 2nd, bringing people into the world of, well, Defiance in high style. The tie-in TV series will debut on April 15th, but you don't have to wait until then to catch a glimpse of its alien beauty. There's a new trailer out to prepare you for the show's release on the 15th; skip below the cut to check it out.
TV-Defiance's first 14 minutes, game-Defiance's launch teaser [Updated]
Can't wait until April for Defiance? Head to Syfy.com, then, because the network has posted the first 14 minutes of the upcoming television show to further whet your appetite. The new series formally debuts on April 15th, while the MMO shooter tie-in kicks off on April 2nd. You can get a preview of the game by checking out Massively's MJ Guthrie and her two-hour Defiance beta livestream. [Update: Whoa, even bigger day for Defiance than we thought! Defiance's YouTube channel is spewing videos today. We've embedded the new game launch trailer beyond the cut, and there's a new Ark Hunter Chronicles episode up too.]
Leaderboard: Defiance vs. DUST 514
Shooter gameplay is on the rise in the MMO space, as titles like PlanetSide 2, Firefall, DUST 514, and Defiance are all marrying twitch-based running and gunning with some sort of persistent open-world progression component. Defiance and DUST are particularly interesting, to me at least, because they're part of a larger IP. IN DUST's case, the title shares a game world and a server back-end with long-running sci-fi MMO EVE Online. Defiance, of course, is joined at the hip with the upcoming television show of the same name, though just how joined remains to be seen. For today's Leaderboard, let's pit these two titles against one another and see which is more anticipated amongst Massively readers. Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Final Defiance beta weekend starts March 22
If you're looking to get some play time in the Defiance beta, you'd best get a move on. Trion has announced that the final beta weekend for its sci-fi shooter MMO will run from March 22nd through March 24th. The company is inviting Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 users along for the ride, and it is also doing away with Defiance's NDA. Trion's press release says that more specific beta details will be forthcoming in the invites slated to go out over the next few days. The final beta "will let players explore the Mt. Tam and Madera regions with co-op battles on Angel Island and the Cronkhite Bunker," Trion says. "For Ark Hunters looking to test their might in some competitive multiplayer action, the Freight yard and Observatory will provide opportunities to prove themselves worthy of Von Bach Industries' recruitment." Defiance launches on PC and console platforms on April 2nd. [Source: Trion press release]
Seeing what it takes to be a Defiance Ark Hunter
What does it take to be an Ark Hunter in Trion Worlds' upcoming Defiance? If the following lore video is any indication, you have to be really into puking, eating mutant lizards, and having needles shoved into the back of your neck. But then you get weapons, and these are really big weapons that you can shoot things in the face with. So it's a trade-off. Check out the latest episode of the Ark Hunter Chronicles after the jump. Then finish your lizard stew because you've got puking to do!
Get your mod on by watching Defiance's weapons trailer
Normally the emphasis on customization in MMOs is on the characters. However, Defiance may tempt you to focus more on that high-powered weapon you're toting around. Trion Worlds has just released a new video spotlighting the weapon modification system in its upcoming MMO shooter. While the trailer is more flash than detailed substance, you can see how weapons change in both form and function with the aids of mods. Trion boasts "thousands of options" in Defiance's arsenal. Watch the video after the jump, check out our hands-on with the title, and let us know if this looks to be up your alley!
Hands-on with the pre-launch Defiance demo
Defiance: It's a game, it's an MMO, it's an FPS, it's a TV show! Before attending this past week's Defiance pre-launch event in San Francisco, I was aware of only one place on earth where all of those elements have seemingly been mashed-up before in quite this order: South Korea. And even there, the TV portion was more in a standard game show format. It's a risky combination in the West. Thus it was with trepidation and a hefty dose of skepticism that I attended the TV show pilot's screening, which itself was followed by some intense cooperative PvP gaming on the mainstream platform of my choice. The folks at Trion Worlds set up an impressive demo area, with PS3 and XBox systems trailing behind the PC platforms.%Gallery-181065%
Trion hopes you'll pre-order some Defiance DLC along with your Defiance pre-order
Trion has yet to release its sci-fi shooter TV tie-in called Defiance, but the firm is already trotting out pricing plans for season pass DLC content. A company press release mentions five DLC packs "rolling out after launch" which are now available for pre-purchase in a $39.99 bundle. Trion says that this represents a 20% savings over the suggested retail price of $9.99 per pack, which begs the question of whom exactly suggests the retail prices that generous game companies subsequently discount. In any event, Defiance is slated to launch on April 2nd. You can of course pre-order it, and if you're feeling especially impatient, you can now pre-order its DLC too. The packs will provide a new playable alien species, additional weapons, vehicles and missions, a lock box, and more. [Source: Trion press release]
Defiance shows off the 99er faction
Defiance's latest video teaser is showing off another villain group. The 99ers, despite their name, do not lure you into their lair with the promise of free popcorn and a markedly robust gluten-free menu; instead, they're crazed former miners who have augmented themselves with extensive cybernetic hardware. And continue mining. That part seems a little bit odd, since they're not willing to interact with others or sell off all the ore they're mining, but we'll go with it. 99ers are known to be extremely territorial and have physical abilities far beyond that of human beings. Players are advised to be on the lookout for unprovoked attacks by the miners, who control most of the valuable resources within their region of operation. Players should aim for exposed and unaugmented heads or visible fuel sources during a combat encounter. Or they can just shoot the crazy cyborgs until they fall apart; that would probably work as well.
'Shadow War' PvP is the star of new Defiance gameplay trailer
Come April, players won't just be facing the likes of giant mutated bugs and partially sentient robots in Defiance, they will also have the chance to face off against each other. Dubbed Shadow War, the open world competitive multiplayer combat system is the star of the show in the latest gameplay video from Trion. The PvP-focused Shadow War is fully integrated into the game's co-op experience, "giving players a choice to participate on their own terms, and allowing progression between co-op and competitive gameplay to be the same." Check out some of the alien technology-infused vehicle and infantry battles in the clip after the cut. [Source: Trion press release]
