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Dark Age of Camelot plans character transfer service and new art
Dark Age of Camelot's grab bag -- written by Sir Grabford B. Bagsworth III Esq., no less -- is back, and at the top of the most pressing questions is the issue of character transfers. Broadsword said that these are indeed in the works: "We would like to provide the opportunity to allow consolidation. This will be among the many updates and upgrades to the Broadsword account center that is currently underway. Currently, it's planned as a premium service –- but there are no details on the prices as yet." Broadsword mentions how art improvements have been going in the game following the studio's acquisition of DAoC. "We have renewed investment in this area, and we're really excited about updating art for various features in DAoC. Things we're currently discussing are: fixes for art-related bugs, new maps, UI skins, new items, monsters, and more!" Other topics in the grab bag include the return of in-game surveys, the status of the new website, and details of the next patch. The studio teased that it will be adding "a new long-term live event with a very cool surprise" with the update.
Shadow of the Eternals uses assets purchased from Silicon Knights
A bit of that old Silicon Knights black magic lives on in Shadow of the Eternals, the "spiritual successor" to Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem from Precursor Games. Art assets originally created by Silicon Knights employees have been bought, paid for and implemented into this new project. "We did purchase some art assets from Silicon Knights," Precursor Games CEO Paul Caporicci told Wired. "We were very happy to be able to put those assets created by the talented past employees to use." It was reported last October that as much as 40 percent of Silicon Knights had been working on a sequel to Eternal Darkness, which may explain the existence of said art assets. Shadow of the Eternals is being built in CryEngine 3, Caporicci added – an important distinction to make considering the major issues Silicon Knights suffered after using Unreal Engine 3 and subsequently employing its own game engine. Though Nintendo owns the rights to Eternal Darkness and has patented the game's sanity mechanics, Caporicci said similar gameplay ideas can be safely implemented without breaking the law.
Glitch preserves game memories via encyclopedia
It's slightly unusual to get a "post-game update" from a closed MMO, but then again, Glitch always was unusual. Tiny Speck wrote a post to thank players for the support and encouragement received following last month's sunset and also to let everyone know that the team is preserving Glitch's art assets and memories through the website's encyclopedia under a Creative Commons license. "When we shut off the servers on December 9th, players left thousands of notes scattered throughout the world. They were wonderful -- sometimes sad, sometimes funny, occasionally weird, and always heartfelt," the team wrote. To honor the players, the staff has included these notes in Glitch's encyclopedia on the location pages. Tiny Speck says that the encyclopedia and other assets will remain up and running even as the rest of the website spins down in upcoming months.
The Daily Grind: When have reused graphics bothered you?
Reusing art assets in MMOs isn't done for style but for the continued sanity of the art team. Asking for 50 different variants on a sword design alone is pushing the boundaries of what can be done; asking for 500 different variants will have modeling artists throw their keyboards through a wall. I don't complain about that, but I'm really sad to see that the next latest and greatest armor for Final Fantasy XI's Dragoons is another reskin of the artifact armor, which looks blander and less interesting every time the artists slightly change which parts are purple and which parts are brown. Of course, for the most part we really do accept the slight reskinning and retexturing of game models as a matter of necessity. But there's always a point at which something makes you narrow your eyes in disappointment, one set of armor or another that you wish the art team had put together as an original graphic instead of yet another reuse of an old texture. So when have re-used art assets bothered you? Was it with a certain type of enemy appearing far too often? Armor or weapons that you seemed to be using for eternity? Or just a popular piece of equipment that everyone wanted reskinned ad infinitum? 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!
New EVE avatars coming soon to Singularity
Those of you excited by the prospect of EVE Online's impending Incarna expansion might want to check out the latest dev blog from CCP senior producer Torfi Frans Olafsson. Heck, even if you hate the idea of Incarna, you'll probably want to check it out since it heralds the first of some rather significant changes in the offing for the sci-fi MMORPG. The change in question is the upcoming test-server release of the new character generator, and in addition to a couple of nifty screenshots, the blog features a hypothetical question-and-answer session that details several aspects of the new system. For starters, Olafsson reiterates the fact that Incarna is coming in 2011, and these character changes are merely the first step. He also notes that the changes are not optional and that the player portraits are some of the last remaining original art assets from the game's launch in 2003. "The assets we are replacing are some of the oldest in the game. Most of our avatars were built in 2001-2003. That's a very long time ago. Nokia banana phones were still considered cool and futuristic," he writes. Olafsson also notes that CCP is sympathetic to those veteran players who may balk at the changes to their traditional portaits. That said, progress waits for no avatar, and it's clear that this is merely the first salvo in an upcoming onslaught of improvements and additions to the universe of New Eden.
Fallen Earth releases new fan assets
A number of our readers at Massively have been playing MMOs for years, but of course this means that some people out there have had their fill of the fantasy genre. There are more genres to be explored in the coming years, one of which should please fans of games like Fallout 3: post-apocalyptic MMOs. Perhaps chief amongst these upcoming titles is Fallen Earth, a Mad Max-like take on a post-apocalyptic setting... but populated with mutants and factions of zealots. Some gamers like the idea of playing in a very different kind of setting from what we've seen in MMOs thus far, and the Fallen Earth team's latest announcement is for those post-apocalyptic fans out there. They've put out a fansite pack, with all the art assets (new screenshots, wallpapers, textures and backdrops) you'd need to build your fan site. This will lead up to their Fallen Earth Official Fan Site Program, where approved sites will be eligible for "special site promotions and early access to Fallen Earth news and updates." If you find this appealing, you can grab the zipped assets (66mb) linked in the announcement over on the official Fallen Earth site.
EVE Online video shows off design evolution of Tech III ships
The CCP Games art team is behind the latest EVE Online dev blog, one that focuses on the game's newest ship class, the Tech III 'strategic cruisers', as well as the EVE's updated effects. Tech III has brought modular ship designs to the sci-fi title, introducing a new level of flexibility and complexity to the game. EVE developer CCP jBot writes that the hundreds of potential configurations available when the Apocrypha expansion launched has expanded into the thousands (4096 to be precise) with the introduction of the fourth Tech III subsystem. The versatility of strategic cruisers impressive but presently, as with anything new in EVE, their extreme costs make them a rarity in the game until prices reach something resembling equilibrium. Still, even ISK-challenged capsuleers dare to dream; CCP Games has put together a video that shows off the evolution of Tech III from the design sketches to blockout models, and right through paintovers to the the finished art assets. We've got it embedded for you below, best viewed in fullscreen HD.
