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PvP touched on for DC Universe Online
Studio creative director Chris Cao (aka The Biggest Designer in the Building) has tossed up some initial details on PvP in SOE's upcoming DC Universe Online. It sounds like plans are being drawn up to create a varied and worthwhile system for heroes and villains to duke it out within. We're going to be getting some open world PvP, arena-based PvP and even a system allowing heroes and villains to battle over control of the world itself.Basic PvP will be over stuff like protecting cops, or trying to beat them down in the case of baddies. Arenas are going ot be instanced content where both sides struggle over things like downed alien spacecraft --- mmm, alien technology. Finally, control over the world wasn't delved into very much. All we know is that strategic points in the world play a role in who controls how much of what.Chris ends it with a few notes, stressing things like the availability of PvP servers, opt-in PvP and designated zone. He also touches on SOE wanting to make the experience more skill-based in lieu of purely stat-based. So the better fighter should usually win in DC Unvirse Online.
Massively in Metropolis: Paper isn't play
During our lengthy look at SOE Austin's in-development game, we asked a followup question about DC Universe Online's concept of factions. Called causes, we've already outlined for you what we know about them in our discussion of making friends with Superman. Our innocent question, though, netted an interesting response from SOE Austin Creative Director Chris Cao that we think is highly indicative of the studio's outlook on game-making. Chris Cao: We always like to have someone play something instead of just talking about it. It's not a laziness thing, it's a clarity thing. That's why we started with this public event. The hardest thing to do in an MMO is to make an event that everyone can participate in, within a shared world. Arbitrary number of players, arbitrary space ... we tackled this hardest part first because we wanted to show we could do it. As we put each of these components in, we can show it to you so that you can really understand what we're doing. We can give you an explanation, but it just wouldn't be the same. We put the factions in because we know it's important to be able to make decision about what kind of hero you are. We want the flavor of both the Batman vigilante hero and the Superman boy scout hero. Having made a few of these MMOs now, I'd rather not promise all sorts of things specifically. I'd rather just show you when we have something to show you. Paper isn't play. Did you enjoy this? We've donned our capes and tights to explore SOE's DC Universe Online in-depth. Come explore more of Metropolis and Gotham with your friends at Massively!
Patches pose a problem for DC Universe Online cross-platform play
DC Universe Online Creative Director Chris Cao told MTV's Multiplayer blog that SOE hopes to support cross-platform play between PlayStation 3 and PC DCUO players, but isn't ready to commit to it just yet.Cao said that cross-platform play is still high on the priority list, but no definite promise has been made because delivering game updates to PS3 users is a very different process than delivering them to PC users. SOE is still trying to figure out how to do simultaneous updates on both platforms.We've heard about this problem before, of course. Funcom is facing something similar as it works to port Age of Conan to the Xbox 360. SOE is in a good position to deal with it though, since it is actually a part of the company that's responsible for the PlayStation Network authentication process. "I think if anybody is going to do it and make it simultaneously seamless for people it's going to be us," said Cao. "It's just that we haven't done it yet, so we don't like to promise what we haven't delivered yet."
Comic-Con 08: Hands-on with DC Universe Online
Two weeks ago at E3, the Massively staff had their first glimpse of DC Universe Online gameplay footage. Developers showing the trailer promised players could play equally well whether on a PC or PS3, engage in battles unlike any before and push the limits of the Unreal physics engine that is the technological base of the game. After getting my hands on a pre-Alpha build of the game this week at Comic-con, I can tell you one thing for sure: this game delivers on its promises.I've rarely had so much fun playing an MMO in such an early stage of development. Running up the sides of skyscrapers at superspeed, picking up city buses and smashing them into enemies, encasing the bad guys in blocks of ice and punting them two city blocks, the list goes on. These activities not only make the player feel truly heroic, but create an environment where players can coordinate their attacks with each other to defeat supervillains in all new and unexpected ways.
E308: A top to bottom exploration of DC Universe Online
Superman soars above the skies in Metropolis. Batman swings from rooftop to rooftop in Gotham City. The world of DC comics is an extremely venerable IP, with numerous evocative characters, locations, and villains. It's set to be the backdrop for one of the most ambitious new titles planned by Sony Online Entertainment: DC Universe Online. We had the chance to talk with DCUO Creative Director Chris Cao and SOE-Austin VP of development John Blakely all about the game.Join us as we explore the game from top to bottom, uncovering tidbits about the game's raid gameplay, the underlying technology, holiday events, and the game's business model. We even ask about the game's launch date, with pretty well expected results. For a taste, here is what the game is capable of as far as world events: "We actually have a dynamic content system. What that means is that we hand-craft each event (like an armored car robbery or a hostage situation) and then we spin them up dynamically based on who is there and what they're doing. It allows us to easily replace every single encounter in Metropolis and Gotham and suddenly have Brainiac Attack or the Thanagarians Invade. Next week at Comic-Con you'll be able to play through that event."
E308: DC Universe Online already 'released' inside SOE
We had a lengthy chat with the folks behind Sony Online Entertainment's upcoming super-hero MMO, DC Universe Online. Creative Director Chris Cao and SOE-Austin VP of development John Blakely were extremely forthcoming with details and preview information on the gigantic game. Make sure to check back over the next day or so for more on your passage into the world of the DC heroes. For now, we wanted to mention that (surprise) the game is already released! At least, within the halls of SOE, the game is very much a live product. Chris Cao: John Blakely has started a "play it like it's live" initiative. We actually run everything like it's a live service. We do update notes to ourselves. We basically do everything you would do as a normal MMO that's already live because we've learned that changing that rhythm going from pre-launch to live is where most of the mistakes happen. Suddenly you are doing things faster, suddenly you're assuming consumer concerns instead of your own. By being our own consumers and being a provider to the company we get that experience up-front. By the time we get it out to you guys, we'll be old hat at it. We've already been doing it a year and we're going to keep going throughout the development process.%Gallery-27756%
