community-q-and-a
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Defiance developers answer a dozen player questions
Good news, Defiance fans: Your questions have been answered. Assuming that your questions were closely tied to the 12 questions answered here, of course. Otherwise your questions remain unanswered. But if you want to know more about expeditions or the upcoming Alcatraz hub, the answers have you covered. Whether or not you'll like the answers is another story entirely; expeditions are very much about straightforward shooting engagements with a full group using a drop-in-drop-out approach to forming a party. At this point there's no exact ETA for when the Alcatraz update will be available on the game's test server, although the developers are hopeful for "soon." The answers also discuss some long-standing issues and a few bugs as well as take on the issue of character customization, which isn't going to be expanded any time soon. Even if your question isn't among the ones answered, it still would behoove Defiance players to take a peek at what's in store for the game.
The Elder Scrolls Online answers player questions on its buy-to-play model
Even if you were among the many players predicting a business model shift for The Elder Scrolls Online, a change in business models can be kind of disturbing. Suddenly the game doesn't behave according to all of the same rules you've been familiar with since launch. To help alleviate that confusion, the ESO dev team hosted a quick question-and-answer session with players over the weekend to help answer some of the major questions about the change, the next major patch, and balance issues moving forward in the game. To start with, if you've still got time cards for the game on your desk, fret not; you can still use them after the model transition to add the equivalent amount of subscription time to your account. You might want to use them ahead of time, though, since there are plans to add in a special veteran reward for players who stayed subscribed during the game's entire subscription lifespan. DLC prices are not finalized, but they are intended to be around the normal DLC price points for other games. Take a look through the whole of the answers for more details on balancing and issues like controller support.
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 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.
Final Fantasy XIV Q&A teases future content and pacing
Final Fantasy XIV has been a little pokey in rolling out major new systems. Will this be the case going forward? Not so much, according to a new producer's letter Q&A, in which the team says that future updates should be coming more frequently. "Due to scheduling issues and circumstances surrounding implementation, we've been prioritizing the implementation of party-based challenges utilizing the duty finder whenever possible," the letter states. "As a result, we were a step behind in implementing systems that make use of the open world, or those that require time but can be completed at one's own pace. With the introduction of zodiac weapons followed shortly after by the Hunt, it may seem as though we're shifting focus toward time-consuming systems, but rest assured this is not the case, and we plan to strike a balance with party-based activities as we move forward." Other topics of discussion include the upcoming Rogue class and Ninja job, the approximate release window for Patch 2.38 (about a month), word of a new expansion release, and hints about the expansion and new race.
Star Citizen answers a new round of subscriber questions
Ready for another round of answers about Star Citizen's mechanics? Because that's what you're going to get in the video just past the cut. Chris Roberts picks out 10 questions from the game's subscriber base, talks a bit about the community, and then answers all of them in as much detail as he can provide. Rather fittingly given recent events, he starts off with questions about electronic warfare, data hacking, and stealing data from ship databases and the like. Other questions ask about being able to take jobs on NPC ships, using rovers on different planets and for different purposes, and the encounter slider for ships crewed by players who prefer different sorts of content. There's also an in-depth discussion of some of the guiding principles used to make decisions and solve problems when crafting the game's fictional environment. Hop on past the break to watch the full video, although you may want to wait until later if you're pressed for time right now (it's nearly half an hour).
World of Warcraft gears up for its Arena tournament with a $250,000 prize pool
Still hoping to prove you're the best World of Warcraft PvP player around? You're in luck; qualifying rounds have just begun for the 2014 North American Arena Tournament, which will be held at BlizzCon this year. Qualifiers are open to 3v3 teams who are ranked at or above 2500 on their home realm. The best of the best will face off against seven other teams for a chance at a $250,000 prize pool, so there's certainly motivation to smash some faces. If that's not your thing, you've still got something to look forward to. A special live developer Q&A session will take place on Friday at 1:00 p.m. EDT with lead game designer Cory Stockton and lead narrative designer Dave Kosak, answering player questions on everything from world design to Garrisons. There's no prize involved there aside from information, but if that's what you're tuning in to get, you'll probably be happy with it.
Roberts discusses Star Citizen's inventory system, balancing, and factions
Star Citizen fans can get some answers from Chris Roberts, assuming that the questions they have match up with the five questions featured in the latest video. There's nothing fancy about this one, just Roberts sitting down and answering top fan questions about the game as collected from the game's Reddit directory. Roberts starts off by discussing inventory and how it will be influenced by player outfits, along with the different inventories for ships, player characters, and the like. He also talks about balancing with weapons and items in the present and in the future, the interplay of organization membership with enemy NPC factions, ship durability, and the details on the Caterpillar. If you want to hear about all of that, jump on past the break to watch the full video; it's only eight minutes long, but it contains plenty of information for fans to consider and discuss in depth.
Destiny hedges on raid info, character names, and chat channels
A Destiny community Q&A posted today on IGN is quite illuminating as to Bungie's approach to this upcoming online shooter. The studio is "very cagey" on releasing any details about its raiding system pre-launch, is struggling to figure out whether the game will have a chat system, and is against letting players give their avatars unique names. "The team thought a lot about how best to have players identify themselves in the world," Bungie said in regard to the last topic. "Ultimately, we've landed on PSN ID and Xbox LIVE Gamertag, so other people don't have to manage a third list of identities (real name, platform tag, Destiny character name)." Bungie was non-commital following beta feedback that players wanted a chat system: "We've seen the feedback, and there's quite a bit of ongoing discussion happening around this right now." The studio promised that it was hearing out players on this issue, however.
MechWarrior Online vid talks upcoming changes
In a new MechWarrior Online video, members of the dev team take time to discuss the upcoming overhaul to the module system, gameplay updates, community warfare, and new maps. One of the neat features coming to the game is the match rejoin feature, which will give players a grace period to get back into a match and get rewards if they are disconnected for some reason. There's a ton of preview drops in this 13-minute video, and it's all yours to enjoy after the jump!
Skyforge abandons leveling in favor of a prestige system
The Skyforge development team has been on a streak of answering pressing community questions over on the game's Facebook page, with one question answered per day over the previous week. A few of the questions centered around how Skyforge has eschewed a traditional leveling format in favor of a "prestige" system. Prestige is like gearscore, a sum total of the stats from a player's equipment. As a player gains more prestige, more content, gear, and followers are unlocked. "Instances are tied to the amount of prestige your character has," the team explained. "The better your character[s are] developed, the higher their prestige is and the more adventures they can go on." Other questions concerned whether there will be a test server (there will be) or a global chat channel (there won't be). The team did indicate that there would be a multi-platform chat system on launch, however: "Our programmers wrote a special chat service that will allow players in the game to chat to friends that are reading messages from other devices. This means that you can chat with other players regardless of whether they are in the game or not." [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
Tree of Savior answers questions about wizards and companions
Are you excited to get your hands on Tree of Savior when and if it gets a release over here? Then you'll be happy to look through the latest community Q&A, which has been helpfully translated into English. Like most community addresses, it covers a variety of different topics, ranging from casting spells on the move to working with companions in the game. Not all spells in the game can be cast while moving, depending greatly upon the type of spell and the class using it. Similarly, there's been discussion about which classes, if any, will be allowed to dual-wield. Companions can be stored at the barracks, allowing you to choose between several different companions based upon the situation, although not all companions will have the same degree of closeness with a given character. For more information, peruse the full set of answers.
MechWarrior Online video blog answers game balance questions
MechWarrior Online has just released its fifth dev vlog, in which the team answers questions about the title in an eight-minute video. Some of the topics up for discussion today are clan battlemech cockpits, general game balance, and updates on the matchmaking system. You can check out the full video after the break to see if your pressing concerns got addressed!
Darkfall Unholy Wars answers questions on custom roles
In the original version of Darkfall, skill selection was a wide-open field. When the game relaunched as Darkfall Unholy Wars, the role system was introduced, narrowing the field of options significantly. Now custom roles are incoming, and that means that players have questions about how the new mechanics will work. Those questions are being answered in a three-part series of community Q&A sessions, with the first two parts available now. Some mechanics are being removed -- Wobble, for instance, was introduced solely to balance roles, but with the new system the developers no longer need balancing specifically between roles. There have been significant adjustments made to some skills, in part to avoid the situation wherein everyone has a ranged kill skill and super-powerful healing. Despite this, the answers also point out that most characters will actually see a net increase in power overall. If you want to know more, feel free to glance at the full rundown of answers for more details.
Elite: Dangerous newsletter focuses on E3 offerings
It's impossible for any development studio not to be thinking about E3 next week. It sort of dominates the industry landscape, after all. So it's no big surprise that the latest Elite: Dangerous newsletter focuses chiefly upon what Frontier Developments will bring to the convention. In short, it'll be a chance for everyone in attendance to get their hands on the game and preview the game's current beta as well as chatting with the development staff. The newsletter also answers a few community questions. Many of the locations in the game are meant to be far away from the core of gameplay without any shortcuts, specifically to enhance the feeling of being far from core hubs and the majority of players. The game will have Imperial content, but that will come into play as the game's play space expands rather than being an immediate focus. For a few more answers, take a look at the full newsletter.
Transformers Universe offers a peek under the hood
It's taken a long time for it to approach launch, but Transformers Universe is closer to being ready for public consumption than ever before. It's got pre-launch bonus sales in effect, it's revealing Autobots and Decepticons alike, and it's showing off its gameplay. If you're excited to see more of what's going on behind the scenes, you'll be happy to learn that the development team has offered a peek into the development with a new series dubbed "Under the Hood." So what's in the first episode? Aside from a text-only Q&A with vice president David Nicholson, the episode looks at the Founders program, a peek at voices, and a detailed discussion of what the game will play like and where it's going in the future. That includes plenty of footage of robots turning into cars and beating the tar out of one another, for the record. Check out the video and the Q&A just past the break.
Star Wars: The Old Republic housing will not disappoint, devs promise
Housing in a galaxy far, far away will be "nothing like any system" we have seen in MMOs before, say the devs. At a recent Vancouver Star Wars: The Old Republic cantina community event with the devs, McSleuth Gaming took down detailed notes from the Q&A session and intermingling that followed. One of the questions probed the type of housing that Galactic Strongholds will offer, to which a dev replied, "I will say though it is nothing like any system in any other MMO out there right now; it is completely different and a new style. I promise you, as a fan of housing you will not be disappointed in how our works. Seriously. We have put a lot of thought into making it customizable." If you're hoping for looser free-to-play restrictions, well, don't hold your breath. "Every time something new is added for F2P it actually is simultaneously taking something away from subs perks," the devs hedged. "So there needs to be balance and that is something we are always looking at changing." Meanwhile, Massively's Larry has several pictures of the new casino event and stronghold construction coming to the game, so check them out! [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
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.
Elder Scrolls Online answers Craglorn questions
If you were intrigued by the reveal of Elder Scrolls Online's upcoming Craglorn zone expansion but felt as though there were gaps in your formal education, prepare to get schooled. ZeniMax posted a new community Q&A today about Craglorn. The studio said that there will be rewards for everyone, not just those who make the leaderboards. Players can expect to spend between a half-hour to 1.5 hours per trial with 60 resurrections allowed for the group as a whole, and they will need to be at least veteran rank 11 to participate. Some players had asked what these Celestials are, to which ZeniMax responded, "The Celestials are a new concept based on the existing lore of the constellations in The Elder Scrolls games. There's quite a bit of lore in Craglorn that will be interesting for fans to discover."
ArcheAge FAQ mentions testing plans, optional subscription, and housing limitations [Update]
Trion Worlds has published a new FAQ for ArcheAge today that concentrates on testing plans and core features of its upcoming Western version. The team said that alpha testing is imminent and will be followed by beta events leading up to launch, still set for sometime in 2014. While fans can sign up on the site for a chance at a key, Trion said that soon-to-be-revealed founders packs will guarantee beta access. ArcheAge will be adopting a hybrid F2P model including an optional subscription. This subscription will be necessary if a player wants to own his or her own house in the game, as the "limited real estate" will be earmarked for paying customers only. Trion addressed its level of control over the title in its relationship with developer XLGAMES and indicated that the Korean 1.0 patch changes will not be coming to the West: "We work with XLGAMES to understand and new features that are added to ArcheAge in the East to determine how well they will be accepted in our regions, and then offer feedback. XLGAMES has been fantastic in addressing that feedback as best as they can. In situations where a feature is added that we don't think will be appropriate for our audiences, we work with XLGAMES to modify or remove that feature from our version." [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
