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Working As Intended: The forgotten fields of Green Acres
My first trip to Ultima Online's Green Acres was in 1998. The first guild I'd ever joined had just split up into a bunch of... let's call them "philosophically incompatible" groups, and I was still hanging out with some of the shadier types because I was a clueless teenager in my first MMO and wanted desperately to fit in and hadn't yet figured out where I belonged. "Hit this rune," my new guild leader commanded. His favorite murderin' weapon was a poisoned warfork. He was not a nice man. "I'm being evicted from my safehouse in Green Acres. Help me move my crap."
RuneScape's legacy mode goes into testing next Monday
If you yearn for the way that RuneScape used to play before its shiny makeover, Jagex both hears and feels you. That's why the studio has prepared a new option called "legacy mode" that will begin testing on June 16th. Legacy mode allows players to access traditional combat, the pre-RuneScape 3 interface, the old minimap icons, and a 990 hard cap on life points. This mode can be freely toggled on and off at will. Jagex will see how legacy mode tests and will poll players as to whether or not they want it brought into the live game. The team's also preparing a patch to improve combat and better balance characters' stats, penalties, and bonuses.
Lineage Korea adds a new Warrior class
Who says old-school MMOs are dead? Here in North America, Ultima Online and EverQuest are still updating on a regular basis, while over in Korea, Lineage is quietly going about the business of being one of the most played MMORPGs in the world. The title, released in 1998, is still NCsoft's top earner, and now its loyal fans have a new Warrior class to play. This is the game's first new class in six years, according to MMO Culture, which also has a video of the Warrior in action. Click past the cut to have a look!
RuneScape shows you the making of an epic quest
RuneScape puts more thought than most MMOs do into the creation and execution of its quests, so when the devs want to share how they make one of these, it might behoove you to show some respect. No, you don't need to kneel. Maybe give it a solemn nod or something. In a new video -- one that you, yes you, can watch after the break -- Jagex takes its playerbase on a tour of the making of "The Mighty Fall" quest. Get a feel for where this quest fits into the greater storyline as well as see how an entire team works together to fashion such a mission. We don't think you'll be disappointed.
Anarchy Online prepares 'huge' fall patch
Funcom's Joel Bylos posted a producer's letter today for Anarchy Online, promising a major patch for the game later this year. Among other features, Patch 18.7 will include changes to the Martial Artist and the Trader classes and will begin to automate seasonal events. "In the 18.7 branch, we have placed out all seasonal spawns in the game world and we will start testing on the closed beta in the upcoming weeks to ensure the automated system works as intended," Bylos reported. The "huge" patch will be put on the test server this summer with a release date sometime before Halloween.
Perfect Ten: The MMOs that influenced me greatly
Every one of us has an "MMO resume": a list of titles that we've played, whether briefly or extensively. Some of those are just games, casual flings that meant nothing. But others can take a more meaningful role in our lives, influencing how we experience and view MMOs. I would scarcely say that my resume is one of the most robust you'll ever see; I'm sure plenty of you have played more than I. However, I like to think that I've had a journey over the course of a decade or so that's shaped who I am as a gamer. Since it's my birthday today, I'm going to share 10 of those influential MMOs with you and what they've done for me. You're going to get me cake.
Mythic closes, 'end of an era' for former MMO studio
We saw this coming, but it doesn't make it any less regrettable: Long-time MMO studio Mythic Entertainment has been shut down by EA. "We are closing the EA Mythic location in Fairfax, Virginia, as we concentrate mobile development in our other studio locations. We are working with all impacted employees to provide assistance in finding new opportunities, either within EA or with other companies via an upcoming job fair," EA told Kotaku. Former Mythic lead Josh Drescher tweeted his reaction to the news: "Condolences to everyone at Mythic today. It's the end of an era, but you were all part of something amazing." Mythic shuttered Warhammer Online last December, while Ultima Online, Dark Age of Camelot, and many Mythic developers moved over to Broadsword Online Games this past February.
Old School RuneScape begins two-week free trial
Old School RuneScape, also known as RuneScape 2007, has begun to offer a two-week free trial for those interested in going back in time to a simpler version of the game. Players can access the free-to-play server by making a brand-new RuneScape account or by using a subscribed account. Jagex said that if the trial is successful, it may become a permanent addition to the game. The one big restriction for the F2P server is that yew trees will not be harvestable in order to combat gold farmers. Old School RuneScape is a 2007-era version of the game that Jagex resurrected following an enthusiastic player vote. Even though it required a subscription to access, it grew to over a million players by October 2013.
Asheron's Call 1 and 2 go free-to-play in August
We are in the final months of a pay-for-play Asheron's Call, as Turbine announced yesterday that it will not be charging a subscription after June 31st. "As of August 2014, Asheron's Call and Asheron's Call 2 will no longer charge a subscription fee for players," Turbine posted. "The last payments will be processed on June 31st [sic], making July the final 'paid' month. Note that this means some players will technically receive some portion of July free as a result, as we have decided to absorb the cost and not run partial payments to cover it." The free-to-play version of both MMOs will continue operating, although new or lapsed players will need to pony up $10 to activate an account. Turbine also said that the forums will remain running, that help will be limited, and that it will no longer be doing MSN Zone migrations after May 31st. As for player-run servers, Turbine plans to offer up a "basic" Asheron's Call server and client download by the end of the year, supported by new sub-forums. [Thanks to Jack for the tip!]
Ask Massively: Misconceptions about new, old, and sunsetted MMOs
As the editor-in-chief of Massively, I make it a point to read as many of our comments as I can. We have some really smart people here chatting at the bottom of our posts, and I learn a lot from them. But I also see the same illogical statements and easily countered arguments being made independently by different commenters across many different threads and games. I'd like to address some of those misconceptions today in the first part of a new Ask Massively miniseries. Today's misconceptions are all about new, old, and sunsetted MMOs.
The Daily Grind: What's the nastiest player behavior you've ever seen in an MMO?
It was early 1998, and I had been playing Ultima Online only a few short months. A male character with an offensive name approached me and began harassing my toon, using a quick succession of emotes to simulate something that I suppose to him looked like pelvic thrusts as he informed everyone at Serpent's Hold bank, including my not-at-all-amused guildies, that he was "raping" me. I think I was too astonished to be upset, and my guildies immediately called a GM, who arrived swiftly, renamed the miscreant "George," and whisked him off to prison. It didn't scar me for life or anything; I was already accustomed to rampant murder and thievery and espionage. But it was a brutal introduction to online behavior (and probably a brutal introduction to online justice for the character suddenly known as George). Curiously, that lame attempt at faux "rape" paled in comparison to the extreme psychological warfare and character defamation that I saw presumably much more mature roleplayers employ in later games. That, I found far more emotionally disturbing. How about you guys -- do you have a memory of a really nasty display of online behavior in an MMO? What's the worst you've ever seen? 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!
Dark Age of Camelot plans New Frontiers tweaks, player polling
Broadsword Online continues its push to revitalize the veteran games it took over from EA earlier this year, including Dark Age of Camelot. The studio recently released yet another question-and-answer session with players, this time focusing on the new New Frontiers patch and ending with a soaring explanation of what makes the game so great after a dozen years. Some of the highlights: There are plans to revamp PvE after the New Frontiers content is properly tweaked. First on the PvE list is the top 10% most rewarding and difficult encounters. On the flipside, the devs agree there's too much PvE emphasis in the RvR Frontiers. The team is still looking at incentives for keep, tower, and relic defense. Shards will not be usable in housing zones. Legendary weapon updates are still on the table. Finally, there's a note that the game will ultimately benefit from in-game polling systems as opposed to relying on feedback from just the vocal minority of players. "You will be heard. Count on it," Broadsword promises.
Anarchy Online and Age of Conan players vote on new content
Newsletters for Anarchy Online and Age of Conan were posted yesterday, and both of them had a common theme: an intiative by Funcom to let players vote on what new content they want to see developed. Anarchy Online players voted for a new Shadowlands mission, which is currently being made for the Inferno zone. AO is also getting ready to show off the 18.7 patch, which contains a new ICC headquarters, the new player experience, and shop changes. As for the Age of Conan community, players voted to see Conall's Valley and the Wild Lands of Zelata included with PvP events. The studio has scheduled a world boss event for May 7th, the sixth anniversary event for May 20th, and Patch 4.2 for some time this month.
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.
Ultima Online, Dark Age of Camelot embark on Steam Greenlight campaign
Since its acquisition of Ultima Online and Dark Age of Camelot in February, Broadsword Online Games has not been content to let the titles sit around merely getting older. Earlier this month, the team hosted a large state-of-the-game chat about the future of UO's design, and now the developers have posted their latest ambitions: a spot on Steam bathed in green light for the venerable old MMORPGs. "We are in the process of getting UO on Steam but need your help. Please go here and vote for UO! Thank you for all your support!" wrote UO Producer Bonnie Armstrong on the official site today. DAOC's Steam Greenlight campaign is likewise now live. You heard the lady. Chop, chop.
The Daily Grind: What game deserves an expansion?
I'm actually really happy to see that Ultima Online might be getting expansions once again because I love seeing classic MMOs bucking the trend of fading away and becoming irrelevant. Actually, I'd really like to witness many more games get expansions, since an expansion gets the excitement, attention, and community interest like a mini-launch. That's always good for the genre as a whole. So what game deserves an expansion? What would you like to see in it? You get bonus points if you manage to go the entire comment without using the word "Cantha" in it! 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!
Ultima Online's April state of the game address
On Friday, Ultima Online Producer Bonnie Armstrong and the Broadsword Online Games crew took to Google Hangouts for an informal state of the game address and player question-and-answer session. The event marked one of the first times we've heard from the Broadsword team about its plans for the game since its pseudo-acquisition a few months ago. The highlights? The artwork update is still on the way, as are new housing tiles. A resurrection of the old MyUO.com website is planned, along with a revamp of the new and returning player experience. The team hopes to resume putting out one expansion or booster every year. On the downside, the team isn't currently working on new housing areas, new items for the cash shop, or storage expansions, and there's no ETA for the bug-free return of vendor search, which was implemented and promptly went kaput just a few weeks ago. An interesting factoid pointed out by Stratics poster Nails Warstein: The player split between the old classic client and the newest enhanced client is now 50-50.
Dark Age of Camelot eyes mail system
Grab bag Q&As are special, because you never know what you'll get. Dark Age of Camelot has a new one up on the site with seven pressing questions from the community. One big revelation is that the team is strongly considering adding a mail system to the game: "It's (high) on our list of priorities! Mail opens up the possibilities for many many other things so we definitely want it in the game sooner rather than later." The topics covered include the devs' speculation on how upcoming changes to RvR conflict will play out, gear with specific bonuses, improvements to the server list screen, and titles for crafters.
Ultima Online patches in searchable player vendors
Ultima Online's new developer Broadsword announced earlier today that the latest patch for the legendary sandbox has arrived. Chief among the new additions is the long-awaited vendor search feature, which allows players to search existing player-owned shop vendors across the shard for specific items and then pay to teleport directly to that vendor to make the purchase. The patch also kicked off the game's Easter gift period because nothing says Britannia like Easter bunnies and marshmallow ducklings. In six different colors, mind you.
The Game Archaeologist: Ultima Online field report
A recent Daily Grind here on Massively asked about what games readers think deserve more coverage on the site. That's a loaded question, of course, but the answers were still very interesting to me, especially the desire from some of you to read more about older games. Even though I've looked at the history and development of classic MMOs, I don't often know what's going on inside of them right now. With insular communities and a dearth of news being put forth by the studio, the only way that I can think of to find out the real skinny is to ask those who do still love and play these games regularly. So that's when the idea for a "field report" series on Game Archaeologist came forth. Every so often I'm going to track down players of classic MMOs and see what's happening in them and their communities from these first-hand perspectives. Today we've got Dimitri and Common Sense from Ultima Online, who graciously took the time to answer my questions.
