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City of Titans wraps up Kickstarter project with over $675,000
When a company shuts down your favorite game, what do you do? Raise more than half a million dollars in funding to build a spiritual successor, apparently. City of Titans, the fan-conceived inheritor of City of Heroes' legacy, has finished its Kickstarter campaign with a grand total of $678,189 raised. That means several stretch goals unlocked, a huge pile of additional content for the game at launch, and a lot of fan expectations about what the game will contain. As a quick recap for those who have not followed the game's stretch goals, the net result is that the game will launch on both PC and Mac, with iOS and Android versions of the character creator available as standalone apps. The game will also contain wings, extra costumes, and more powers beyond the base version that was budgeted for $320,000. It's quite an accomplishment for the team at Missing Worlds Media and a testament to how deep the passion for a City of Heroes revival remains.
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding October 20 - November 2, 2013
The news meter for crowdfunding keeps right on ticking. The last two weeks have seen a score of changes in the realm of community funding initiatives, with some titles experiencing success, others not meeting their goals, and even more joining the ranks. One big name in gaming, Brad McQuaid, is even planning on launching a campaign in the near future. The zombie-centric The Living was unsuccessful, and Story Quest Online failed for a second time. Mixmaster Online removed itself from the field and canceled its campaign. On the other hand, 8BitMMO met its first stretch goal, ensuring that a Mac edition of that game will be available for players. And then there's City of Titans, which is climbing closer to doubling its goal with only two days left. Finally, there are all the progress updates for those already-funded campaigns, conveniently rounded up right here for you in Make My MMO.
Devs dish out details in City of Titans interview
With such an outpouring of support for City of Titan's Kickstarter campaign, you can bet there's a crowd of fans who want to hear as much as they can about the game as often as they can. And thanks to an interview at MMO Games with CoT Project Lead Chris Hare and Technical Director Nate Downes, they can. Fans get to hear some juicy tidbits about their favorite aspiring game like how the game came upon its new title, why CryEngine 3 was dropped in favor of the Unreal Engine, and plans for player-generated content (partially out of respect for a prominent City of Heroes player, the solid track record of Unreal 3, and possible costume contests and sport leagues, respectively). Besides playing a hero or a villain, the team is also planning for a special costume slot to allow players to run around as a secret identity. Devs are also looking at ways of making this secret ID playable within the game. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding October 6 - 19, 2013
This was quite a fortnight in the realm of crowdfunding, and for once we don't mean just Star Citizen news! More than one game met its funding goals, with one title proving that fans can be a very passionate lot: City of Titans reached its lofty goal within days. On top of that, two other games joined the fight for funding. Conversely, Alteil Horizons pulled its campaign at literally the last minute to avoid the stigma of an unsuccessful stamp and plans to launch again. Want the scoop on all these stories and many more? Learn the latest right here in Make My MMO.
City of Titans gives a cab's-eye view of the city
Superhero games aren't just about having fantastic powers; they're about the space you live in. Cities have characters all of their own; Metropolis is all gleaming idealism, Marvel's New York is like an enlarged version of the real New York, and Gotham City is approximately 85% gargoyles by volume. So it's important for City of Titans fans to know what Titan City is like before they start playing. And who better to explain the city than your average Titan City cab driver? As it turns out, pretty much every joke you can think of about superhuman battles has already been made. In a city filled with heroes, you know that every so often there's going to be a villain knocked through your office, and a support structure exists for dealing with just that eventuality. Read the full Kickstarter update for more details on how the game world works and how people can keep living in a city where you occasionally find a portal to nether dimensions opening right above your favorite Thai restaurant.
City of Titans team discusses following and evolving from City of Heroes
There's a hole in the heart of every City of Heroes fan, a hole that City of Titans intends to fill. With the game's Kickstarter quickly moving toward half a million dollars of funding (for an unknown team of volunteer developers), a lot of attention is being focused on the project. Project lead Chris Hare sat down to discuss some of the team's goals in a recent interview, both in terms of mirroring and building upon the foundation laid by Paragon Studios. Hare explains that while the team at Missing Worlds Media wants to recapture the spirit of City of Heroes, there's also a desire to do things that the original game could or would not do. The active combat of Champions Online is cited as an inspiration, as are the public quests of Warhammer Online. At the same time, promising too much and underdelivering is a trap no one wants to fall in. Take a glance at the full interview for more details about how the game promises to evolve while keeping true to its roots.
City of Titans reaches its Kickstarter goal after five days
After launching its Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign on October 2nd, City of Titans has met and exceeded its $320,000 funding goal. The self-proclaimed spiritual successor to City of Heroes still has 27 days left in its campaign as over 2,200 backers chipped in to see the project become a reality. Community Manager Lauren was thrilled at the news: "Well, that'll brighten up a Monday! As a special thank you to everyone for your support, your patience, and everything you've done for us, we've decided to unleash the beard! Everyone who backs us in the Kickstarter will be given a very, very special costume piece: The one, the only Nate 'Doctor Tyche's' beard, complete with animated eyes. Wear it with pride in Titan City. Thank you, guys. Watch this space for stretch goals and heartfelt thank yous from our developers. You are all amazing. Never let anyone tell you differently." Future stretch goals for the title include an Android port of the avatar builder at $350K, an iOS port of the avatar builder at $400K, and a MacOS version of the game for launch at $450K. [Thanks to Zjeven for the tip!]
The Phoenix Project dubs itself City of Titans and launches on Kickstarter
So how have you been doing since the closure of City of Heroes? If you haven't been doing so good, City of Titans is certainly meant to be your sort of game. If you've been fine... well, maybe you'll still want to check it out. One of the fan-made spiritual successors to City of Heroes, this game was previously known as The Phoenix Project but now has both a finished title and a Kickstarter project available. The game is taking aim at a modest $320,000 goal (and is already $60,000 toward it as of this writing), with the funding paying for servers and necessary production software. Developers are promising that the game is meant to focus on character attitude rather than skills or classes; players choose how a hero wishes to do something and abilities changed based upon that. Whether you're an old friend of the movement or just like the idea of a different sort of superhero game, consider throwing a few dollars toward the campaign. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
MIT's cheetah robot runs faster, more efficiently, can carry its own power supply (video)
When it comes to hunting down humans running speeds, MIT's cheetah might come second to Boston Dynamics' own high-velocity quadruped, but by substituting pneumatics with motors, MIT's version apparently runs far more efficiently. At the recent International Conference on Robotics and Automation, the Institute of Technology showed of its newest version, which reached a top speed of 13.7 mph. To accomplish this, the runner still needs parallel support bars to constrain movement in one dimension, reducing any roll, yaw -- and the chances of a pretty expensive fall. The team says the new version's cost of transport (COT is power consumption divided by weight, times velocity) is around 0.52. In comparison, Honda's Asimo has a hefty COT of 2. This impressive efficiency is down to the use of electric motors over hydraulics, with a new "three phase permanent magnet synchronous motor" providing the necessary torque. Researchers also used biometric principles to conserve energy and reduce stress on joints, including Kevlar tendons across the back of the legs. With all those efficiency increases, it mean that MIT's cheetah can theoretically run while carrying its own power source. We've added a video after the break, where you can see the bot hit its top speed while carrying some battery dummy weights.
Cornell's Ranger robot walks 40.5 miles on a single charge, doesn't even break a sweat (video)
A few years ago, engineers at Cornell were rejoicing when their Ranger robot set an unofficial world record by walking for 5.6 miles without stopping. Since then, the 22-pound bot has only built up its endurance, to the point where it can now chug along for a full 40.5 miles without a single battery recharge, or an ounce of human assistance. The Ranger pulled off the feat last week, when it completed nearly 308 laps around the university's Barton Hall running track, over the course of more than 30 hours. Engineers say that their bot's stamina has a lot to do with its energy efficiency. The Ranger runs on about 16 watts and uses them more sparingly than most of its mechanized brethren. It also saves juice by swinging its legs more liberally than most bipedal walkers, essentially allowing its limbs to fall freely before re-stabilizing itself. The robot's next challenge, apparently, will be to incorporate automatic steering into its gait, since walking in circles can get understandably dull, after a while. Gallop past the break for the full PR and a video of the Ranger's latest achievement.
New Caverns of Time instance coming in Cataclysm
The recent Twitter dev chat confirmed what is fast becoming a tradition: We will be getting a new Caverns of Time instance with the upcoming expansion. It's certainly not something I have much trouble with. The Caverns of Time are an excellent tool for looking back and understanding old pieces of the story that brought us to the current world as it is. Unfortunately, the devs were not willing to drop any hints as to the exact nature of the new instance, but we can, of course, make our own guesses. The original questioner suggests War of the Ancients as a possible destination. In a way, that might be an interesting battle. It would, if nothing else, give us some insight into the character of Malfurion Stormrage, who promises to be a key figure in the expansion. That said, Rhonin, Broxigar, and Krasus have already traveled back in time to deal with the War of the Ancients, and you'd have to think that if you keep shoveling more time travelers back there, something's bound to give.
The (lack of) reality in the Caverns of Time
I've always considered the Caverns of Time to be like the theme park of Azeroth -- as we've discussed before, there aren't really any reasons to go to some of those instances in the first place, and the whole thing seems just so ludicrous. If we wipe, or we don't go in there, and Thrall isn't able to escape Durnholde or Arthas isn't able to murder Stratholme or any of the other premises they have set up, then wouldn't the world as we know it change? It seems like fan service -- Blizzard wants us to visit these great parts of lore, and it just seems to me like they've cooked up a weak story around getting us there.Which is why I was surprised to read this post over on Mystic Chicanery. They argue that the Caverns of Time are actually the most "real" of all the instances in the game. If we go into Utgarde Pinnacle, for example, and murder King Ymiron, there's no reason why he should be in there again the next time we head in. And yet he is -- we can go in and murder him time and time again, doing the same thing, and getting loot every single time. But in CoT, there's a logical explanation for why the instances are always the same: to the people we're encountering in the instances, it's the first time we've met them. From the outside world, the CoT instances may seem strange (the first time I was in Durnholde, we wiped with Thrall, and I jokingly checked with my guild to see if Thrall was still standing in Orgrimmar, alive and well -- he was), but inside the continuity of those instances, they work.Of course, we do still get different loot from it every time, as the MC post notices. But it is quite a thought: even though the Caverns of Time instances are the ones in the game that seem to least need us messing around in there, they also might just be the most logical.
The Queue: Tank talk
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Adam Holisky will be your host today.There was a good, and amazingly civil, discussion yesterday in the comments to the Queue about which instance a tank should head to first. Most of the debate came about via my suggestion that Utgarde Pinnacle was a good candidate for a tank's first heroic. The nice thing about this game is that there is no right or wrong answer (most of the time).However one of the only truths about the game is that you can get better at it by discussing it and debating the aspects of it with other people. So I do humbly recommend that no matter what question you ask, you always look for more than one answer and compile all the answers into one that fits you best. And with that said, ask your questions about the game in the comments and we'll see if we can't help you on this path of enlightenment. /zen Otharello mentioned..."I'm pretty sure that suggesting Utgarde Pinnacle for a new tank is the height of sadism."
The OverAchiever: Glory of the Hero, Continued
No one's kiling any folk here today, on account of we got a really tight schedule. -- Mal, "Trash." Seemed to have some good luck with a previous Firefly quote, so why not? We're all set in Ahn'kahet, so let's pop over to Azjol-Nerub and lay waste to some bosses there.AZJOL-NERUBEvery achievement here is, in one way or another, a DPS race. If you've had difficulty with previous achievements in that vein or your DPS is still gearing up, you'll probably want to steer clear of Azjol for a while.Watch Him DieThis is one of the few achievements in the game most efficiently done from a kamikaze perspective (Sarth-10 3D is the most notable of the other picks). Early attempts at this with two tanks, two DPS, and one healer failed miserably, mostly due to the combination of poisons, a Priest healer, and Watcher Narjil's Blinding Webs ability. I'll admit I tried that before anything good dropped from Naxx, so it may just have been a gear issue at the time, but:a). If you have very good DPS, and:b). If you're willing to suffer a repair bill -- you can probably get this achievement in one or two tries without worrying about keeping all three Watchers tanked, bringing an off-tank, or risking a DPS having to kite all three to the entrance.
Hi Arthas! Want some help slaughtering the innocent?
A guildmate of mine was healing a Culling of Stratholme run last night and finally broached a question that seems to have occurred to everyone who's helped Arthas take his utilitarian moral perspective on the road: "Why are we helping this guy?"It's a question that people used to ask about Black Morass a lot too (indeed, the first boss, Chrono Lord Deja, will ask you that himself), but Black Morass was a little more cut-and-dried. Medivh unquestionably cost many lives in bringing the first Horde through his portal, but if the orcs never set foot in Azeroth, then the world would have fallen to the Legion. The Bronze Dragonflight is unusually blunt about the cause-and-effect; war breaks out among the human kingdoms, the Alliance never occurs, the new Horde is not present at Hyjal to defend against Archimonde's forces -- indeed, the Legion may very well have swept the world without Hyjal ever occurring. So, despite the destruction wrought by the first Horde's entry into Azeroth (and you could argue, because of it), Medivh must succeed in opening the portal.I'm not sure it's quite that straightforward with "Old Strat" -- and questions about whether it is prompt some thought-provoking questions concerning Azeroth's past, present, and future.
Ask A Beta Tester: Kalecgos, Wintergrasp, and how much is this going to cost me?
We're going to get right down to business this evening, folks. I was kind of heartened to see Willferal (our first questioner) ask about something that's bugged me for a while.EDIT: several commenters have taken issue with the lack of a spoiler warning on this post when it went live at 9:00 pm EST. I genuinely apologize; it should have occurred to me to write one, and it's entirely my fault that one wasn't present. So consider this fair -- if belated -- warning that there's a significant, if general, spoiler in this AABT concerning an important quest chain in Wrath, and if you're trying to avoid spoilers completely, please do NOT read AABT. This column is nothing but a pile of spoilers compressed into a spoiled package and tied with a spoilery bow.Willferal asks...I know that in Wotlk, the players are fighting Malygos. But in TBC, Kalec/Tyri are blue dragons that help us, and Kalec is especially vital in his help to kill Kiljaeden. What's their role in Wrath?I wish I knew. I never found any mention of Kalecgos while leveling, and Tyrygosa only got a brief mention at last year's BlizzCon. Tyrygosa's role in BC wasn't that extensive, but Kalecgos was all that and a box of crackers in Sunwell, so this is a little...mystifying. They both seem on passable (Tyrygosa) to good (Kalecgos) relations with the mortal races, so the involvement of their entire flight in Malygos' war would -- I hope -- concern them somewhat. I really hope Blizzard goes somewhere with this, but as of now I don't think you can expect to find anything in Northrend.
Breakfast Topic: The next Caverns of Time encounter
It hasn't shown up on the Beta servers yet, but it's probably still one of the most eagerly anticipated instances of Wrath of the Lich King, especially for us old timers. I'm talking, of course, about The Culling of Stratholme in the Caverns of Time. The nice thing about the Caverns of Time is that you can do stuff like this, sending people back to visit pivotal places, people, and things in the past without creating a whole new game. Despite the stumble in Mount Hyjal, when we appeared to go as tourists instead of agents of the Bronze Dragonflight to combat the Infinite Dragonflight, the Caverns of Time has been solid and well-liked, with 5-man instances that allow you to experience some important and intriguing lore and give you a definite story to follow in the instance, one that can be done in well under an hour. Certainly, this model has lead to a lot of fans, and a lot of people hoping we'll see many more CoT dungeons to come. There's even rumors (or wishful thinking) that we'll get another Caverns of Time raid for Wrath, possibly The War of the Shifting Sands. Whether it's true or not, I can't say, but the caverns definitely have room to expand. As the custodians themselves explain, passageways to new times could open up without warning, sending us off on new adventures. What times, places, and people would you like to visit via the caverns?
Ask a Beta Tester: (Almost) All about Death Knights
Have questions about the Wrath of the Lich King beta? We're here to find the answers! Leave your questions in the comments of Ask a Beta Tester and every day we'll pick a few new questions to answer. To kick off today's Q&A, I'm going to start with a question that's been asked a few times but left unanswered.Samman asks...For the last time, is the epic flying mount training the same price as on the live realms?Yes, the costs look just like they do on the live realms. Wasn't that a boring answer? Epic flying mount training costs 5000g, ordinary flying mount training costs 800g, epic ground training costs 600g, and ordinary ground training costs 35g.
Around Azeroth: The CoT swirl
Waiting for a tank to fill the last slot in his pick up group for Durnholde, player Corvia decided to take a break in one of the swirls in the Caverns of Time. A camera move later revealed a very cool symmetrical pattern with his party in key positions.Do you have any unusual World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? Because we'd love to see it on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next! Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. We prefer full screen shots without the UI showing. And please, no more sunsets. No, really. Ok, only if it's a sunrise in new Patch 2.4 lands. We'll take those anytime.%Gallery-1816%
Tuesday night live!
Live, from Blizzard H.Q., it's Tuesday night!The Blues (official Blizzard forum posters) have given us a few important late night news tidbits, including some new patch 2.4 news. However, they lack the comedy stylings of John Belushi in a bee suit: The World of Warcraft website at http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/ will be taken offline for about 90 minutes tonight, starting at midnight PST. There is no reason to suspect this will affect players in the game. On the PTR, Shattrath Flasks will soon work inside the Sunwell Plateau raid instance. Also on the PTR, the transporter to the Caverns of Time will soon require revered reputation instead of exalted. If you notice strange happenings with your sever, you can always checkout the realm status forum on Blizzard's site. And of course, stay tuned to WoW Insider for the latest news.Updated 12:16 a.m. EST: We are getting user reports of Canadians not being able to access either the game or the World of Warcraft website. However, Blizzard has yet to officially comment on this. We'll keep this post updated with anything more we learn.Updated 12:33 p.m. EST: I heard your calls for help! I've written up an article titled Solving recent connection issues, which goes into some details about what you can do, including Blizzard's tech support phone number.
