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Shroud of the Avatar adds multiplayer features for release 3
If you backed Shroud of the Avatar chiefly to play around with its semi-online functionality, the newest release of the game should make you happy. The third test release features several of the multiplayer functions of the game, including chat, emotes, and friend lists. Combine that with the addition of a crafting system and new merchants, and the whole thing is closer than ever to being a fully featured online-but-not experience. The third test session will also feature a village, Braemor, expanding the amount of land that players have to explore and work within. Obviously, this test will be available only to backers of the game, but you can still jump on that through the game's official site if it sounds like something you want to play. For more details on the improvements as well as how to get into the game if you are a backer, take a look at the full release notes. [Source: Portalarium press release]
The Elder Scrolls Online offers a look at making dark anchors
Look, we realize that this might be a minor spoiler for the story of The Elder Scrolls Online, but those huge portals of darkness tearing open the sky and shooting anchors into the ground? Those are not good news. The Dark Anchors are visible manifestations of Molag Bal's power, an attempt to pull Tamriel into his realm of Coldharbour, and the latest development diary explains exactly how these pulling mechanisms were conceived and designed. Originally, anchors were smaller in scope, but the team wasn't happy with the idea that these were local things. As a result, steps were taken to ensure that Dark Anchors were visible from far away and had wide-ranging effects, giving players a solid indication that something Very Bad was taking place. If you want to gaze deeper into designing the yawning maw of darkness, take a look at the full development blog for more details on how the anchors took shape.
The Daily Grind: When should a game lose the 'beta' defense?
There are people who will cry that a game is "just a beta" right up until the day before a launch. There are also people who will proclaim that a game should have been ready for prime time as soon as players were let loose in the playground, even if release is a day away. There appear to be no methods to counteract these two stances. But there is a happy medium somewhere, isn't there? Final Fantasy XIV launched largely clear of bugs despite its brief beta; Cataclysm had a normal beta but still arguably launched in a mid-beta state. Realistically, if a game is suffering from glaring performance issues or enormous bugs when it's a month from launch, these things will not be fixed in time for launch. The few games that have tried to do launch-day patches (such as Champions Online) rarely go over well. But it's hard to know how much work fixing something will take. So when does a game lose the defense of "it's just a beta"? When release is announced? When there's one month remaining? Two? Does it depend on the size of the bug or the issue? 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 Elder Scrolls Online has been given (very) unofficial Oculus Rift support
If you're looking forward to playing The Elder Scrolls Online but want to really feel that you're in the game, your options are a bit limited. Odds are you don't want someone standing by to hack at your torso with an edged weapon during on-screen combat, for instance. But if you've got an Oculus Rift and want the full VR experience, that might be a bit more doable after all; a fan has hammered together unofficial support for the headset. The video contained past the break shows about five minutes of footage -- nothing novel, but more than enough to get a sense of the game running on the Rift's paired screens. The fan in question is aware that this is breaking the terms of his testing agreement; however, he hopes that this will convince ZeniMax Online to add in native Oculus support before the game goes live. If you want a peek at what it looks like, feel free to check out the video past the break.
Destiny beta is incoming for summer; Activision predicts big successes
Is Destiny really going to be the next big thing in gaming? Activision CEO Bobby Kotick certainly thinks so. In the recent fourth quarter earnings call for the company, Kotick went on the record saying that it will be the best-selling new IP in video game history, which is potentially true; any new IP has that potential, but Bungie's upcoming MMOFPS has slightly better odds than most. It's helped by launching on four platforms at once: Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4. All of that potential is based on how well the game actually plays, though, and potential players will get to find that out this summer. The current target for release is September 9th, although there's obviously plenty of time and space for that date to move forward or backward depending on beta testing. Keep your eyes peeled for more information as we move out of the winter and into spring; a lot can happen over the next few months.
A look at WildStar's crafting mechanics
As WildStar nears its ambiguous-but-soon release date, questions have to be asked, aside from "when is this game releasing, anyway?" Like crafting-related questions. Why haven't we heard more about crafting yet? What are the mechanics? Is this another example of a game wherein crafting is just a matter of assembling a pile of materials and clicking a button? The answer to that last one is a pretty firm no. As it happens, there's a lot going on under the hood of WildStar's crafting mechanics, enough to intrigue dedicated crafters of many styles. We had a chance recently to sit down with system designer Phillip Chan to talk in-depth about the game's crafting mechanics and how the team is working to keep crafting relevant through the whole game, from start to finish. The goals were to create crafting mechanics that rewarded players for taking part, gave room for custom creations and specialized crafters, and to make the whole thing feel fun. The net result? Not just clicking a button and going off to make a sandwich.
DayZ griefers force victims to sing
It may be the most genial stick-em-up of all time. A group of DayZ bandits are ambushing players in game for a truly sinister purpose: to make them sing. In the following video, you can see and hear players sneak up on unprepared foes, force them to their knees at gunpoint, and then offer them a choice. Either they sing their national anthem or they get shot. The bandits don't make their victims sing the entire thing and are recorded saying that they'll help them out with in-game supplies if they go along with it. You can preview the spectacle after the jump.
Playwith Interactive announces Eclipse War Online
Playwith Interactive's upcoming new title, Eclipse War Online, is all about change. Specifically, about your character changing. Even more specifically, about your character changing into a monster. Yes, that's the big gimmick of the game. When you kill a monster, it can drop a transformation card, which your character can subsequently use to take the form of a monster with according stat boosts, abilities, and similar improvements. Don't just kill ten rats, become the rat! Or something like that. Transformations also play into the game's environmental systems, with climate and time of day both changing the overall efficiency of your transformed abilities. You can also take part in several different forms of PvP, including open world PvP as well as special instanced maps. The game is planning on hitting beta early this year, so keep your eyes peeled for more information if you just can't wait to turn into a spider after killing one. [Source: Playwith Interactive press release]
Final Fantasy XIV approaches test phase for Chinese version
Final Fantasy XIV is going global! Wait, that's not right; it's already global. It's been global. But it's going more global with the addition of a Chinese version. Talks about bringing the game to China took place around the time of its initial launch, but with the relaunch in full swing, it looks like the long wait is almost over. Shanda Games has updated its official site for the game with more information regarding the first beta testing phase as well as upcoming events that will allow potential players to win a testing key. What the actual business model will be for the game's Chinese client remains to be seen, although based on most other localizations for the Chinese market, a free-to-play model of some sort seems likely.
ArcheAge's English version in Friends & Family testing
No matter how dedicated you might be to the idea of ArcheAge, you could be forgiven for thinking that it was never coming out in the US. But there is something worth looking forward to on the horizon after all. The game's English client is apparently now in Friends & Family testing over at Trion Worlds, which means progress is being made. The game still does not have any sort of official date for wider-scale testing, much less release. Trion states that the UI is about 80% translated, with most of the base quest text having received a first pass. So it's not perfect news, but it at least means that the localization process hasn't completely stalled out.
DayZ won't be released in 2014
If all of the reminders from Bohemia Interactive weren't enough to convey the message already, DayZ is still very early in its testing process. A recent post summing up the game's third week in early access mentions that the team is not expecting to be further than beta testing by the end of 2014, stating once again that the only people who should purchase the game's early access are those who want to be a part of the development process. Aside from that, the development team is looking toward future features including customizable vehicles, structures, and in-depth mechanics for hunting and cooking animals in the wild. At 875,000 copies sold, it seems that the game is carving a niche for itself among zombie survival enthusiasts even if it is still very early in its development. Take a look at the full list of planned improvements to the game in the post.
Black Desert shows off new features for its second beta test
The testing process for Black Desert continues apace in South Korea, and the process of staring at the monitor and speculating continues apace for Black Desert fans who are not actually in South Korea. Luckily, there's a translation available of the game's latest development blog which shows off the new features available in the game's second closed beta test. We've heard about a new region, and now we know about some of the new monsters being introduced as well as a new town. The town is a coastal fishing city known as Eferia, offering players plenty of saltwater fishing opportunities as well as the other services you'd expect from a seaside fishing town. Players will also be facing off against new monsters including what appears to be a dinosaur, a harpy, and... well, that third one isn't exactly clear. Still, it's more new stuff for players to look forward to when the second test goes live. [Thanks to levakd for the tip!]
LEGO Minifigures Online puts together a new site, aims for summer 2014 launch
Anxious to know more about the adventures to be had in LEGO Minifigures Online? Curious about how the game's mechanics will play out? Just eager to see some of the sillier minifigures in play? The latest video update from the game will satisfy all of these needs right away. It's a top-level overview of the game as a whole, and it comes along with a full website overhaul to help potential players learn more about the game before its launch in summer 2014. The video shows off a small sampling of the many minifigures in the game, ranging from the obviously combat-oriented (such as the Knight and the Revolutionary Soldier) to the almost completely ridiculous (the DJ or that guy in the chicken suit). All of the figures will have a role and a purpose within the game, and each one has its own unique set of abilities the help allies and hinder opponents. Check out the trailer just past the break. [Source: Funcom press release]
The Nexus Telegraph: Talking a bit about WildStar's beta
As you probably saw last Thursday, the 1-15 beta experience in WildStar had its NDA lifted for us schlubs in the press, allowing us to chatter on quite a bit about the game. We've seen articles discussing the early levels, we've seen streams, and we've been treated to a surfeit of information on the game in its current beta state. I talked about all of that, and I want to talk about it some more because I am really excited about it. After playing the game through to 15, I've got a lot of stuff to look forward to as well as some definite criticisms. So above and beyond what I've already said, I want to talk some more about WildStar's beta.
Massively's hands-on with WildStar's Medic
My favorite classes in games are the ones that inspire spit-takes. The fact is that I don't really hate your bog-standard Warriors or Mages or whatever. But the classes that really get me interested are classes that demand that you explain what they do and how someone came up with that concept. Guild Wars has the Dervish, World of Warcraft has the Shaman, Final Fantasy XI has the Corsair -- they're flavorful, they're unique, and they're just plain neat. Combine that with my love of melee and WildStar's Medic had me from hello. I really like getting into the paint with things, I like the idea of a healer focused on getting up close and dancing, and I love the idea that medics balance between being doctors and technological shock troops. So jumping into the beta, I was happy to dive into the shoes of the doctor and start doing a whole lot of harm to anyone and everyone who opposed the Dominion.
Massively's hands-on with WildStar's character creation
Character creators are a big deal to me. If I didn't have to make my characters quickly enough at launch to avoid losing my precious names, I would probably spend the better part of a month before clicking "create" the first time. So you know that the first thing I did when I sat down to play WildStar's recent press beta was to play around with the character creator. All right, that's the first thing everyone does: You have to make a character, but I was playing that to win, people. Character creation in MMOs usually falls short of what's offered in games like The Sims and Saints Row IV. At the low end you have games like Final Fantasy XI (pick a race, pick a face, pick a hair color, am I seriously done now?), and at the high end you've got Champions Online or the dearly departed City of Heroes. WildStar does not hit the high end, but it does do some things pretty nicely, even if it also misses some opportunities.
Black Desert's English client is being worked on by Pearl Abyss
Are you eagerly anticipating a release of Black Desert in the west despite the lack of an official publisher or anything similar? There's good news to be had if you're one of the hopeful. Apparently an English client is being worked on by developer Pearl Abyss, reinforcing earlier statements by the company that success and release in the US is very important to the game's long-term viability. The preview screenshots for this client still aren't complete, but it's clear that the game is taking some serious steps towards localization for a non-Korean audience. A global simultaneous launch is unlikely, of course, but if the client is already localized that clears a major hurdle for the game's release prospects. It's not a deal with an existing publisher, but lately that may not have been so reassuring to fans after all. [Thanks to WNxArcticwolf for the tip!]
Inferno Legend moves into closed beta testing
Have you ever sat down to play Diablo III and thought that the game would be better if you were playing alongside the villains? Considering the fact that angels in that game are also tremendous jerks, it's kind of an understandable thought. Inferno Legend is meant to speak directly to that impulse, putting players on the side of Hell and the demons fighting back against legions of humans, angels, and similar antagonists trying to kick you out of hell. Taking the role of Vampires, Mummies, Cyclops, Faeries, or Samurai, players fight back in a turn-based Diablo-style environment. It's also boasting synchronization between browser-based gameplay, mobile clients, and traditional desktop clients, so you can play however you please while still making progress. The game has just entered its closed beta testing today, so if this sounds like just your cup of tea, you should go ahead and sign up in hopes of taking part. [Source: Changyou press release]
The Nexus Telegraph: WildStar's last two classes
In the wake of last week's class reveal, I'm going to start with a piece of information that was actually revealed shortly thereafter but might have been missed. According to the development team, the Chua can be Medics as well. So now, WildStar's full class and race layout has been made public, and what seemed to be a single odd omission is now corrected. You might recall that I did some serious class speculation when we didn't even know what the last two races were going to be back in March. Now we know the last two classes of WildStar and I can see how good my aim was. And once I'm done congratulating myself on fitting together pieces of obvious information, we can talk a little more about what the last two classes are actually doing within the context of the game. That seems fair, doesn't it? I'm glad you agree.
Bless announces beta plans for next year
Before we go any further in this post, you should know that Bless is still a long way away from any sort of western release no matter how its beta testing goes, seeing as it has no announced localization plans whatsoever. That having been said, the game is heading toward beta testing starting early next year, so if you're reading the site from Korea or are just deft at translation, you can look forward to that. According to the development team, the plan is to open up the beta test toward the beginning of the year with a January-to-March test window. Barring unusual developments or unforeseen glitches, the game is also slated to launch by the end of the year. From what we've seen of Bless so far, it certainly looks gorgeous with a focus on story and endgame content. Only time will tell when and whether we get to experience it firsthand.
