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WildStar puts up patch notes for its latest weekend beta
It's about a month until WildStar launches in full, possibly while playing an electric guitar and riding a motorcycle over a bus that's been set on fire. That means that the patches are coming fast and furious with each weekend beta, and this weekend is no exception. The most recent patch trims up some lag and instability issues while also updating and improving several aspects of the game, from character customization to Warplot functionality. For example, players will no longer be subjected to having facial customizations that don't quite work, nor will they be able to hurl themselves to their doom while building Warplots. War parties now require at least 10 members online to queue as a group. Players will now be limited to editing their costumes at Protostar Dye Specialists in Illium and Thayd. Dead players may no longer be the target for starting a duel (not counting Mordesh, obviously). You get the idea. Check out the full patch notes for a clearer picture of this weekend's beta.
Carbine CM David Bass leaves WildStar
Community Lead David "Scooter" Bass announced today that he has decided to leave Carbine Studios and his work with WildStar. In a farewell letter, Bass notes that the decision was made on his end: "The truth is my personal life's taken a turn and I've made the impossibly difficult decision to leave Carbine. The guys will continue building up the community team, and will share some of their plans with you in the near future, and I have no doubt that you guys will see some amazing stuff as we get ready for launch and beyond." Bass said the community team is hitting its stride and has a great foundation going forward. He also said that he can't wait to experience the game's launch as a regular player.
WildStar dev donates LEGO sculpture to Child's Play charity
WildStar developer Carbine Studios made a special donation at PAX East this year that included a $10,000 check and a 50,000-piece LEGO Rocket House that will be auctioned off for the Child's Play charity. The rocket house LEGO sculpture stands three feet tall and four feet long and was created by LEGO artist Mariann Asanuma specifically for the charity. The sculpture will be auctioned off at the annual Child's Play Dinner later this year with all proceeds going towards partner hospitals and facilities. "We wanted to not only find a fun way to bring a small piece of WildStar to life, but also see the efforts go to a good cause," said Mona Hamilton, vice president of brands, Carbine Studios. "Child's Play is a wonderful charity doing really great things with the gaming industry and we're looking forward to seeing the result of the auction later this year. It was also important for us to say thanks by giving back to the Boston community; they've been great to us over the years at PAX East." You can check out a video of the LEGO sculpture being assembled just after the jump below. [Source: Carbine press release]
WildStar unveils Warplots DevSpeak
Do you consider yourself something of a military genius? Do you also consider yourself a big enthusiast for player housing? Have you long wished for some form of gameplay that combined your love of building the prettiest dwelling possible with your love of killing other players? Then you're looking for WildStar's Warplots. They're a thing. Yes, they're customizable fortresses that you pit against other customized fortresses from other players, that is the whole deal. Want to know more? Well, if you see that little "Continue Reading" button down there, you can click that and watch the latest DevSpeak from the development team covering Warplots. Is that not enough for you? All right, then, you can read through our coverage of the gameplay mode from PAX East when we got to take an advance look at it. Still not enough? Maybe you'll need to wait until the game launches in June, then. Do not convert your front lawn into a death fortress and attempt to fight a PvP Nerf war with the mail carrier. That won't go over well. [Source: NCsoft press release]
WildStar springs another 'bonus' beta weekend for all
Carbine's limited four-part WildStar beta weekend run leading up to release is now in danger of becoming a Friday the 13th-sized franchise, as the studio announced today that it will hold another bonus beta weekend starting on Friday. Anyone who has signed up for the beta will be given a code for the weekend, so there's no reason not to check this game out if so inclined. The bonus weekend begins on Friday the 25th at 10:00 a.m. EST and will conclude on Monday, April 28th, at 3:00 a.m. EST. The team is raising the level cap to 25 and giving everyone a hoverboard to enjoy. Each day of this bonus beta weekend also counts toward accumulating "boom boxes" full of goodies that will be delivered at launch. [Source: Carbine Studios press release]
The Nexus Telegraph: In which no WildStar injuries happened
My performance on the dance floor during PAX East 2013's WildStar party is the stuff of dark legends (in my mind, anyway), but it was not replicated this year. Indeed, when I tried to get into this year's WildStar community party, the entranceway was inaccessible due to the sheer mass of people. As I naturally handle crowds about as well as a Mechari handles knock-knock jokes, I opted to turn around and go back to my hotel room. There was a Ghostbusters marathon on, so it was still kind of awesome. This did not, however, mean that the convention was devoid of interesting stories; it just was devoid of stories in which I sustained injuries greatly impacting my normal hiking routes. So let's talk about what things really stuck out in my mind through the whole con. For my money, that comes down to the focus on the endgame and a really stupid statement. Where to start?
PAX East 2014: The future looks bright for the next generation of MMOs
While last weekend saw a surprising lack of noteworthy announcements at PAX East 2014, one panel gathered several industry veterans to answer a not-so-simple question: How does the future look for the MMO industry as a whole? The panel, titled Next Generation MMO Games: What's Next for Multiplayer Trends?, featured Ian Fisher (Director of Design, Robot Entertainment), Stephen Frost (Game Design Producer, Carbine), Dave Georgeson (Director of Development, SOE), Kjartan Pierre Emilsson (Principal Game Designer, CCP), and Stephen Johnston (President, Guild Launch) in a roundtable discussion about where MMOs have been and where they're headed. While panelists agreed that there is a huge barrier to entry when funding, developing, and launching a new MMO, their outlook was positive overall, and in general they believe there is still plenty of room for growth in the industry.
WildStar's new interface profiled in video
Friend of Massively Richie "Bogotter" Procopio is back with yet another WildStar video, this one focusing on the beta title's brand-new user interface 2.0, which flattens some of the UI elements that before floated a little bit too high into the field of play. Of course, as he notes, the UI is moddable and can be altered to taste by each player. Combat popups, inventory, and menu options have also been tweaked. If you missed it, Bogotter covered the new character creation options in yesterday's video. Enjoy his UI preview after the break!
Check out WildStar's new body customization options
Earlier this month we discovered that Carbine was planning to add additional (as in "more than one") body types for each race and gender in WildStar. The changes are in with this weekend's beta test update, and YouTube sensation and friend of Massively Richie "BogOtter" Procopio made a 21-minute video looking at all of the new options for characters. He's got the video broken down into sub-sections, so if you want to skip to a certain race/gender combo, you can do so. He also includes the new hairstyles that went in with the patch. Give the video a watch after the break and let us know whether Carbine did a good job with these additions or not!
PAX East 2014: WildStar shows off Warplots at last
Do you want to go to war in WildStar? Then you're going to want a stronghold. No, that's not right, you're going to want a fortress. You're going to want a fortification that makes others quake in terror. And then you're going to want to drop that fortification down on your enemy's front lawn and claim their territories while laying waste to their fortifications. Welcome to Warplots. They're the game's answer to player-made fortresses and high-end battlegrounds all at once. More specificially, they're team-based 40 vs. 40 maps that drop you into a race to tear down your enemy. At either end sits the carefully constructed fortress held by each team, in the middle sit resource nodes, and both sides are pushed together to be the last side standing or the one putting a fortress back together post-battle. Want to know more? That's a good thing. Take a look at the typical WildStar trailer past the cut, and then let's talk details.
PAX East 2014: Pre-launch words with WildStar's Jeremy Gaffney
WildStar is being released in about a month and a half. It feels as if it's been forever since the game first revealed its announcement trailer. Now we've finally got a release date in sight, and the last few features for the game are being revealed to the public. It's one of the last chances that we'll have to talk about the game before it releases. On the last day of this year's PAX East, I had a chance to sit down with executive producer Jeremy Gaffney to chat a little bit more about the game before it launches. While the game has gone gold and the discs are being manufactured, the team is still refining and improving the game and plans to do so up until the day of launch. That meant talking about the endgame, the development process, and the changes that have been made already in the most recent stages of beta.
PAX East 2014: WildStar's panel is all about the endgame
So what happens when when you reach the end of WildStar? You've got a while to think about it, obviously, the game isn't even out just yet. But it's an obvious concern. People are going to hit the level cap, and what are they going to be doing then? Staring at the walls, singing songs, perhaps clawing desperately at the metaphorical walls in the hopes of getting the next major patch somewhat sooner? According to the WildStar panel at PAX East, the development team is hoping to launch with a fairly robust endgame no matter what you're hoping to do. The panel went through pretty much every part of the game, from items to PvP to solo story questing, all of which is intended to work together to create an environment wherein you don't run out of things to do and don't find yourself forced out of what you find fun. How well it will work remains to be seen, but there's certainly a lot on the table to start with.
WildStar's elder gem system to get post-launch love
What you see is only half of what you get, at least in regard to the elder gem system in WildStar. Carbine Studios Product Director Mike Donatelli churned out a good-sized post on the forums this morning concerning WildStar's elder gem system and what the studio has planned for it after the game's launch. He said that what's currently in-game is "only half of the intended final system," and while the team can't get in the full deal by release, the rest will be included in the first major post-launch patch. Elder gems are a type of currency that players will earn with XP once they hit the level cap. There's a weekly limit to the number of gems that can earned, and players can use these gems to buy gear and items from special vendors. Future plans for the system include the ability to buy amp and ability tier points that haven't been procured elsewhere and weekly and daily quests to earn more gems.
WildStar devs need your help building an in-game weapon
Carbine is partnering with PC Gamer to give players a chance to build one of WildStar's weapons. Actually, let me back up. You're not really building a weapon as much as you're voting for one of four pre-existing Carbine designs. The first is an Esper multitool, the second is some sort of toaster, the third one is a beer cannon, and the fourth one is a "mystical pointy uprooted tombstone with a handle," according to producer Stephan Frost. You can see all the choices in the video after the cut.
WildStar's beta patch expands character customization, balances classes
Carbine has just released WildStar's UI 2.0 patch notes, and while most relate to bug fixes and modest game enhancements, there are some real gems casually included in the list. Like these two: Added new character hair options in Character Creation. Character Creation now offers various body types for all races and genders. Oh, you care more about gameplay than about customization? Fine, fine: The patch notes have that too. All the classes got a hefty balance pass with plenty of bug fixes to boot. So did tradeskills. And the UI. And pretty much everything else. "Promise me no one's going to freak out about balance changes until you've had a chance to play with the new patch. Deal? Deal," the game's Community Lead David Bass implored on Twitter. If you're recovered from reading the Warlords of Draenor alpha patch notes, then enjoy another helping courtesy of WildStar's over on the official forums.
The Nexus Telegraph: Is WildStar a World of Warcraft clone?
No. That was quick, so we can all -- oh, wait, no, I need to write more. Also saying we can all go home is pointless; most of you are reading this from home. All right, we'll start over. This is one of those things that gets trotted out every time a new game comes along, and in WildStar's case it comes out twice as regularly, since it's the first game in history to use colorful and stylized graphics other than World of Warcraft, except that it isn't. It's kind of ridiculous, and it's a bit of a pet peeve. As someone who has played World of Warcraft extensively, I find the list of similarities between the two pretty shallow, and it comes across more as a way of dismissing the game without bothering to learn about it. So let's talk about where WildStar does take its cues from Blizzard's game, where they differ, and why saying it's just a clone is absurd.
See players take down WildStar's Forgemaster Trogun
If there's one thing that MMOs have taught us, it's that blacksmiths are eternally on the verge of snapping and becoming supervillains. It was true in many fantasy titles, and it's true in WildStar, where Forgemaster Trogun dominates as the final boss of the Ruins of Kel Voreth dungeon. Bog Otter survived his encounter with Trogun in the beta to bring us back a 13-minute boss fight full of tricky telegraphs, giant hammers, and oh so much fire. Give it a watch after the jump and see if you can't figure out a strategy or two that might work when you come up against this dastardly fiend in the live game.
WildStar LEGO rocket house landing at PAX East
If the Venn diagram of your interests overlaps at "loves LEGO" and "looking forward to WildStar," then boy howdy will PAX East appeal to you. Carbine Studios has commissioned a LEGO artist (yes, that is a real thing) to create a massive 50,000-piece rocket house for PAX East's main lobby. This ship will be donated to Child's Play with $10,000 after the convention, and a smaller version of the LEGO rocket house will be given away to one fan who pre-orders WildStar while there. WildStar will be at booth #562 during the show. [Source: Carbine Studios press release]
WildStar bonus weekend begins Friday morning
Carbine has just announced an extra special bonus beta weekend for its upcoming sci-fantasy themepark, WildStar. Says the forum post, Starting tomorrow, Friday 3/28 at 7:00am PDT, the servers will be live and the party ain't stopping until Sunday night! Also, the level 17 cap is gone and is now being replaced with a level 20 cap. My quick math skills tell me that's an extra 3 levels! This bonus weekend is a way to get more testing time for us, awesome, as well as more game time for all of you, double awesome! This is our way of gathering the feedback we cherish and saying thank you to all of our loyal testers. Which is why we would love it if you logged in this weekend, enjoyed the extra 3 levels and the bonus game time because it will greatly help us be that much more prepared come launch day June 3rd. That's 10 a.m. EDT tomorrow for those of you on the East Coast. Have fun, and don't forget that logging in gets you mystery boxes with special loot! [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
WildStar hosts a PvP AMA
Are you ready to fight for your faction in WildStar? Are you eager to feel blood and gore and guts and veins in your teeth? Then you're probably all eager to jump into the game's PvP. We've hosted some previews, but you probably still have questions, and that's why the PvP design team took to Reddit to host a PvP AMA. While the team couldn't answer every question posed by players, you can go on over and find out a lot more about how facing off against your opposite numbers will feel. Some of it is probably expected, like the fact that there will be no cross-factional communication during battlegrounds. Other pieces of information are a bit more interesting. For instance, the developers haven't placed much emphasis on open-world PvP for launch, mostly because they want to see what areas are the most densely populated in terms of PvE content, which will give a good idea of what can be made more interesting with PvP. Take a look at the full AMA for more details on how you can smash faces against your enemies when the game goes live in a couple of months.
