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The National Lottery was not hacked
Camelot yesterday reported that a few days prior, it had noticed unusual activity on a number of online National Lottery accounts. Roughly 26,500 of 9.5 million accounts are thought to have been compromised, with suspicious activity -- in this case, personal details being changed -- noted on less than 50. Since then, UK and international media have reported on this incident, with the vast majority of coverage sporting striking headlines along the lines of "National Lottery hacked." This statement is simply untrue. The National Lottery was not hacked.
Camelot Unchained offers a status update for the end of January
So, is Camelot Unchained going to have those alpha servers ready in February? That's a great question! No, really, it is; the most recent official development update makes it clear that even the staff is unsure whether they'll be ready to go, as the team is currently a bit short on programmers and is trying to make do. A lot of bugs have been fixed up and several of the items on the game's update checklist have been crossed off, though, and the team is confident that any delays will be for less than six months. The update post also contains new concept art for camouflaged archers as well as a mission statement regarding some of the systems that should be coming to the test version soon. If you can't wait to see the latest news on the game's progress, head along and check out the full update now.
PAX South 2015: Camelot Unchained's proactive approach to community management
In the crowdfunded independent industry, we are starting to see some ups and downs. Backers have seen some games fail and other games soar. One of those games that seems to be doing very well, at least if you ask its Community Manager Jenesee Grey and its legions of fans, is Camelot Unchained. At this weekend's PAX South, I spoke to Grey about her experience as a CM for a crowdfunded game.
Camelot Unchained posts new art, dev checklist items
If you missed Thursday night's Camelot Unchained update, CityState bossman Mark Jacobs recapped it prior to the close of business on Friday, and he also threw in some new art assets and a project checklist for good measure. The latter is interesting if you're following the sandbox PvP title's development closely, as it features both recently completed milestones and some new ones that the team will be tackling in the very near future.
Camelot Unchained funds sound engineer, looks to speed up world building
Dear Camelot Unchained: What's up with the duck? Is that your mascot? Does your artist love duck doodles? Or is it referring to a secret race in your game? Please let us know. Sincerely, Massively. Some good news for fans of this upcoming RvR title as City State Entertainment announced that it has crossed the $3,025,000 fundraising mark and thereby hit a stretch goal to hire a sound engineer for the game. Next up on the stretch goal docket is a "Hug the World" campaign at $3,225,000. If this target is hit, Camelot Unchained will hire more artists to "accelerate the building out of the game world" and improve the quality of other art assets.
Camelot Unchained's latest newsletter tackles player-built structures
Camelot's Unchained's latest newsletter is hot off the virtual presses. It's a lengthy read, too, so grab yourself a snack and a beverage before perusing the community Q&A section, a state of the build update, an art update, and a design discussion on the RvR sandbox's building system. "The world of CU, while it will have some important pre-built structures, leaves the dynamic creation, capture, and destruction of keeps and castles firmly in the hands of our players," City State says.
Dark Age of Camelot takes aim at group finder and bug fixes
An end-of-the-year community Q&A at Dark Age of Camelot revealed that the team has a lot on the docket for Patch 1.117, including the long-awaited casual group finder and a heap of bug fixes. "We think that focusing our development resources on bug fixing for an entire patch cycle is something that hasn't been done in a long time and is something that will make everyone's gameplaying experience that much better!" Broadsword posted. Other topics discussed include freeing up space in quest logs, plans to update the patcher, and ideas to help out starter guilds. The Q&A even revealed that there will be "official Broadsword player reps" and "scheduled raids of all sorts" for trial accounts, although details on those will be coming later.
Camelot Unchained prepares to cross $3M in fundraising
As of the writing of this post, Camelot Unchained is on the verge of hitting $3M in fundraising donations at $2,952,875. City State Entertainment said that when that already-impressive sum climbs to $3,025,000, the team will sign on a sound engineer to kick the game's audio up a notch. "Part of this goal will cover licensing the Audiokinetic Wwise engine and technical support for it, as well as some great plug-ins, while the rest will go toward the salary and expenses of the sound engineer," CSE posted. To help prompt more of those donation dollars, Camelot Unchained began selling unveiled lifetime subscriptions today at the builder's level.
Camelot Unchained's Mark Jacobs on the warrior class and development transparency
City State Entertainment -- an indie studio that's becoming better known to our readers, I imagine, after it ran away with our poll for best studio last week -- has today posted its first class concept reveal. The tentatively named Drengr is the Viking warrior class, and in its long design document, the studio has outlined just how the archetype fits into the proposed Path system that will govern character development in the crowdfunded RvR MMORPG. We spoke to CSE's Mark Jacobs about the Path system, warrior reveal, and the impact of transparency on the game development process. Enjoy the interview below!
Camelot Unchained tackles building systems, ability crafting
City State Entertainment has continued its daily Camelot Unchained updates with another batch of notes on the ongoing state of the build as the team gears up for alpha testing in 2015. Studio boss Mark Jacobs says that his crew has done a first pass on the building system as well as the ability crafting system UI, mage VFX and casting, and the grass system. The team is also working on improvements to client performance. "Last month we rocked the network and PhysX side," Jacobs wrote. "Now we begin to do the same on the client side." Critical improvements to duck pedestal collision are also included in the notes. Check the whole list out on the official site to understand that joke.
Camelot Unchained moves on to its third pre-alpha test
The bad news of the most recent Camelot Unchained update is placed front and center of the latest development update: Some of the features once slated for inclusion in the second pre-alpha test have been kicked back to the third pre-alpha test. This also counts as good news, though; because of the small number of features remaining on that particular checklist and the progress already made on the third checklist, the team decided to just go ahead and shift the items to the new checklist whilst moving on to the third test. Got all that? Good. Pre-alpha test #3 will contain the first pass of the game's building system, among other updates. While it has yet to be fully fleshed out, the core building blocks are working. So if you're a big enough backer to take part in these initial rounds of testing, you'll have the chance to start trying your hand at making new things when the test dates roll around.
Camelot Unchained's fourth newsletter covers the state of the game
The build for Camelot Unchained is constantly improving in functionality. Dual-targeting is now implemented, allowing players to have separate friendly and hostile targets for various effects. The hotbar UI is improving. Auto-run is in the game. How do we know all of this? It's all in the latest newsletter from the development team, which discusses every aspect of the title from the stability and performance of the current build to future plans and technology integration. Aside from the current state of the alpha testing build, the newsletter answers several community questions about possible new races and weaponry, shows off some of the armor designs that are being explored for mages, and talks about the game's reward structure. And even that isn't a full rundown of everything in the dispatch. If you're a fan of what's going on with Camelot Unchained, it might be best to just curl up with some holiday leftovers and read the full newsletter.
The armor of Camelot Unchained's mages
Mages have a certain amount of freedom with armor. Where other sorts of classes have to wear something bulky and, well, armored, magic-using characters tend to be able to dress simply for impressive image. The downside is that they tend to be vulnerable to sharp objects directed at their internal organs, but the upside is that they get to swing around the world looking stylish as hell while getting sharp bits jabbed at them. Camelot Unchained promises to be no exception to the trope. The latest development blog for the game shows off a variety of concept art for mage outfits, ranging from dyeing styles to headwear to cloaks and capes. It's simultaneously a traditional look and a somewhat diverse one, offering the caster-on-the-go a variety of options that are both active and stylish. Check out the full post for a comprehensive look at the modern Camelot Unchained mage's activewear. [Thanks to Matthew for the tip!]
Camelot Unchained explores the designs of the Tuatha De Danann
Armor is not a fashion statement. Well, all right, it usually is, but it's not just a fashion statement. How a race looks in a given game often says a lot about what that race represents and what matters to the members as a whole. Camelot Unchained's latest update talks about the Tuatha De Danann, both a concept that the team may use for the realm's armor and the updated visual design of the Baen Sidhe. Unlike the design for the Baen Sidhe's previous more macabre appearance, the updated design is still ethereal whilst being less overtly malformed. The scars and wounds that led to the death of an individual Baen Sidhe's line still play into the designs via shadowed tattoos. Meanwhile, the Tuatha De Danann as a whole are so in tune with the seasons and the flow of the natural world that several concept designs for season-themed armors are shown. If you want to see how you can protect your character while still making a fashion statement, check out the full update.
Camelot Unchained devs play music, talk audio stretch goal
If you've ever wanted to see Mark Jacobs fend off a wasp attack, the latest Camelot Unchained dev diary video is for you! It's also noteworthy because Jacobs details how the crowdfunded PvP sandbox met its previous stretch goal and how it is now on to a "sound and effects" stretch goal. "This is a very serious attempt to have triple-A sound and effects," he says, before going on to explain how CityState will hire a dedicated engineer, license a top engine, etc. Click past the cut to watch Jacobs, a wasp, Grumpy Cat, and the CU dev band.
Dark Age of Camelot grants accounts free playtime for its birthday
Like its sibling Ultima Online, Dark Age of Camelot is currently welcoming old players back with free account time just in time for its October anniversary. Unlike UO, though, DAOC's Come Back to Camelot promotion extends to the most ancient of accounts and runs for two weeks only: All accounts that were inactive on or before September 24th, 2014 are eligible for 13 free days! Simply login to the account center, re-subscribe, and the 13 free days will be applied to your account automatically! This campaign will run until October 31st. Broadsword Online also touted a hot fix that permits a dozen previously unrollable race/class pairings. If you've ever wanted a Troll Warlock or Sylvan Champion, now is the time.
Dark Age of Camelot builds statues of King's Tournament champions
Have you ever fancied the notion of having a giant in-game statue erected in your honor? This egotistical dream may come true for you in Dark Age of Camelot... if you are one of the winners of the October's King's Tournament. This brand-new event in DAoC kicks off tomorrow to commemorate the game's 13th anniversary. Each of the three realms will be tracking RvR stats for everyone in the game, and at the end of the month the top two players from each realm will be crowned champion. These six winners will have a statue of their character constructed in their realm's capital city. To track the progress of the tournament, players can check out an in-game leaderboard which will be updated on an hourly basis.
Dark Age of Camelot passes the torch to a new producer
It's a season of change over at Dark Age of Camelot, as the team is transitioning from former producer Talal Saad to the new one, John Thornhill. Saad said that he's not leaving the studio, but moving into a role that oversees more than just one game. "Rather than serving at the helm of one particular game, my responsibility will be to act as advocate and to use my time and energy to focus on how Broadsword can have a bigger impact, provide more investment, and achieve greater success for multiple products," he wrote. Thornhill introduced himself as the former lead designer for DAoC and outlined what the team would be focusing on for the future. He said that there are plans for the game's 13th anniversary (including new race and class pairings), the release of patch 1.116 around the end of November, the increase to champion level 15, an addition of a casual group finder, and more interaction with the community. "Our focus is going to be updating and modernizing the user experience of Dark Age of Camelot for the foreseeable future," Thornhill promised.
Camelot Unchained celebrates new website and forums
Camelot Unchained is now boasting a shiny new website and player forums, according to the game's second newsletter. That's only the tip of the wordy newsletter. A brief community question and answer section addresses a few in-game topics, such as boat travel and caravan details. Then it dives right into a treatise on world game design and how the team is still attempting to figure out how large Camelot Unchained's landmass should be and how quickly players will be able to traverse it. "In our case, we are making what is essentially a medieval fantasy war game conquest map, which means things like territory and resource control, logistics, and force projection are extremely important considerations, but things like good quest flow are less so," the team said. The art department also piped up to say that it's working on the Tuatha Dé Danann race, the Arthurian Storm Rider, and pre-alpha testing support.
Camelot Unchained launches pre-alpha test checklist
Camelot Unchained is running a little bit behind, as we learned last week. It happens; it's the nature of development. But what, exactly, is the source of the delay? The team has launched a pre-alpha testing checklist to explain just that. No, it's not the things players have to do before testing; it's what the team has to get completed before the game is ready for its earliest tests. While there are no time estimates available on the unchecked entries, fans can get a good idea just from the chart how far along the development process is. Presumably, more entries will be filled in as they are completed without other fanfare. If you want to have a one-stop spot to see the state of the game in development, check it out for yourself.
