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Get ready to grow: Albion online adds farming
If you are all thumbs at PvP but have a green thumb in real life, Albion Online has the calling for you: farmer. The upcoming sandbox is adding an agriculture system for players to engage in when not out braving the dangers of the world. On top of a relaxing alternative to combat, farming will provide buffs via foodstuffs and potions made from the bounty of the land. The system is an involved one. Players can grow crops on farms and/or raise livestock on pastures. The farmed produce and grains can then be processed via mills and cooking pots into consumables or fed to the cattle, goats, chickens and more (which in turn produce consumables like eggs, milk, and meat). So grab your overalls and get ready to share some cakes, kabobs, pies, and potions with hungry friends and customers. [Source: Sandbox Interactive press release]
The Game Archaeologist: Four online sci-fi titles no one remembers
In the MMO industry, science fiction has always taken the role of the overlooked little brother to big sister fantasy's popularity. Sure, there have been several online games that eschewed dungeons and dragons for spaceships and solar radiation poisoning, but even today the fantasy genre continues to be the dominant one in the genre. So not only have we had fewer online sci-fi games, but the ones that have attempted to make in-roads are all too soon forgotten. Over the years that I've been researching and writing The Game Archaeologist, I continue to come across these little games that have been all but forgotten by modern gamers, and many of these titles are indeed of a sci-fi bent. This week I'll be taking a look at four such games, including one that never even made it to launch, in an attempt to acknowledge their place at the family dinner table.
The Daily Grind: Which style of crafting do you prefer?
I enjoy crafting in ArcheAge, but XL's fantasy sandpark leaves a little to be desired when it comes to the actual item-making process. Like many MMOs, AA opts for a basic collect-subcomponents-and-press-the-button approach to crafting, whereas older titles like Final Fantasy XIV, EverQuest 2, and Vanguard gave crafters an actual crafting process with options that affected the quality of the finished product. Assuming you're an MMO crafter, which style do you prefer? 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!
Lost Continent: Living a fisherman's life in ArcheAge
Fifteen years ago, I was floundering around southern Florida in a rudderless post-graduation haze. I rented this dinky apartment across US1 from the University of Miami, and my summers were equally divided between a series of forgettable jobs and a series of lengthy fishing excursions around the Keys and out into the Atlantic. The fishing was basically something to do; I didn't dislike it, but neither did I wake up thinking wow, I can't wait to get that gooey chum all over my shorts and bake in the sun for 10 hours. Now, in an odd but enjoyable art-imitating-life moment, I'm revisiting the experience in ArcheAge.
EVE's Phoebe introducing simultaneous multiple market sell orders
EVE Online's Phoebe release draws near, and as we approach the November 4th launch date, CCP is publishing all manner of dev blogs designed to apprise players of the patch's additions. The latest blurb concerns item-selling, and more specifically the long-awaited ability to create multiple market sell orders simultaneously. If you're an EVE trader you'll probably want to skim the details, and you can find them via the links below.
The Daily Grind: Do you miss maker's marks in MMOs?
An off-hand joke in the Massively team email last week prompted a neat conversation about items in MMOs -- specifically, crafted items that have maker's marks attached to them so that players know which characters made them, even as they're traded from player to player through the years. Sadly, MMOs' insistence on bind-on-pickup items frequently makes discovering a crafted item made by someone famous, someone with a cool name, or someone who left the game years ago less possible. Do you miss such items in MMOs? Can you think of modern MMOs that include maker's marks? 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!
Lost Continent: Carebearing your way through ArcheAge
ArcheAge is, in part, an open PvP MMORPG. "In part" is the key phrase there, and I've had a few people ask me if it's possible to play XL's sprawling sandpark opus without getting ganked or otherwise forced into an ill-fitting playstyle. Not only is it possible, but PvE has made up the overwhelming majority of my gameplay for the past month.
TUG updates metallurgy and multiplayer capabilities
TUG is about to get a lot more metal. It's about to be so metal that you won't be able to handle all of the metal. At least, you'll need to be skilled with forging to handle all of the metal, as the game's initial implementation for metallurgy is coming to a test client near your desktop. The game has posted an update for backers explaining that the first pass is nearly complete, and the next game update will allow players to build a forge, make simple bronze age tools, and mine for important minerals. But what's it all worth if you can't show off to your friends? Multiplayer support is currently high on the priority list, with no specific ETA provided beyond a promise of another update in the near future. For more details on the developing features, check out the full update on Kickstarter.
Pumpkin Online Kickstarter promises farming and dating
If you've ever spend hours plugging away at Harvest Moon and thought that the game would be better if it were online, Pumpkin Online is aimed directly at you. The game is on Kickstarter now, and it's intended to be a combination of the best elements of games like Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing while also creating a robust environment for players to work, craft, and interact together. Players will have access to a variety of professions and goals as well as the ability to customize the inside and outside of their farms. They can also pursue friendly or romantic relationships with the townsfolk, with an emphasis on inclusive relationships and character options for all players. As of this writing, it's about halfway to its goal, so if you like the idea of an inclusive game or just want to farm with your friends, you might want to toss a few dollars into the bucket.
Latest Pathfinder Online devblog emphasizes player-driven economy
Although players in Pathfinder Online's Alpha 7 run will earn 5,000 XP per hour (in order to help them test more things), the latest devblog warns that things will get decidedly harder once gameplay starts after Early Enrollment. At that point players will face a "cold start," beginning the game with only simple peasant clothes, a club, and 1,000 XP to spend on initial feats. Everything else, from feats to gear to cash, will grow from that. The devblog also details the player-driven economy; by design, nearly everything characters use will be player-crafted. Mobs will drop only starter equipment, coin, salvage, or -- the rarest and most valuable -- recipes. Players can only upgrade gear past the starter level through crafting, and gear can be crafted with certain key words that add bonuses when combined with specific slotted feats. For full details, and a look at what Pathfinder devs are doing at PAX Prime, check out the official site.
Guild Wars 2 previews crafting backpacks
Do you consider yourself nice and crafty in Guild Wars 2? Are you fond of being a master of your chosen profession? If so, you're going to be nabbing some nice upgrades when the September 2014 feature pack rolls out. For example, there's the new line of craft-based backpacks available to players that don't take much to make but show off just how good you can be at making stuff in the game. If you've ever wanted to haul around a miniature forge on your back as part of your wardrobe, your ship has come in. Players can also look forward to new exceptional weapons that can either be crafted for leveling characters or found via exploration, giving your character a little boost while leveling through Tyria. There are also loot changes that make you more likely to receive items you can use on a character rather than receiving an endless string of greatswords on your Thief. Take a peek at the official post for more details.
Guild Wars 2's feature pack will improve dungeons and the crafting UI
September is just around the corner, which means that the next major update for Guild Wars 2 -- the September feature pack -- isn't far behind. The pack aims to improve several parts of the game, starting by demolishing the concept of dungeon owners. Currently, the first player to zone into a dungeon is counted as the "owner" of the dungeon, which can lead to problems if that player disconnects; by contrast, after September there will be no dungeon owner, avoiding issues with progression if that owner leaves or gets kicked. The game's crafting UI is also receiving an overhaul, making it faster and easier to access crafting sub-components without navigating away from the main item that you want to craft. The update will also bring a number of performance improvements to make the game run faster and better on various bits of hardware. Take a look at the full update for a few more details as the feature pack release approaches.
Final Fantasy XIV launches birds and hunt balances in patch 2.35
Another wave of beast tribe daily quests has flown in to Final Fantasy XIV, and this time around players will need to get crafty. Patch 2.35 ushers in Ixali daily quests, but these quests are focused on crafting items and turning in crafted pieces for benefits rather than simply hacking through enemy legions. The new quests also make use of special crafting facilities and help level your crafting classes faster, an excellent boost to adventurers who haven't picked up a craft beforehand. The patch also introduces major revisions to the game's hunt mechanics. All hunt bills have had their rewards increased significantly, while B-rank marks have been given a dramatically shortened respawn timer and no inherent rewards for killing them. This is balanced by the addition of extra rewards to unique weekly bills, which are now assigned to players individually rather than server-wide. Check the patch notes for the full details; the patch also makes minor Frontline adjustments and Chocobo Stable improvements.
Meet Haku, one of Path of Exile's new Forsaken Masters
The titular feature of the upcoming Forsaken Masters update for Path of Exile comes in the form of seven notable NPCs who have special tasks -- and rewards -- for the players. Each master is willing to train players and bestow upon them special hideout decorations, hideout tilesets, and crafting options. Yesterday the team unveiled the third Forsaken Master, Haku the Armormaster. Haku is an armormaster who wants you to do a bit of ghostbusting while recovering an ancient spirit that's near and dear to his heart. We've got a quick video featuring the Master and his insane missions after the break!
Flameseeker Chronicles: The curse of Guild Wars 2's precursor weapons
My wife doesn't play Guild Wars 2 any more. She hasn't exactly made a deliberate choice to leave the game and never come back, but she used to play every day. Some time around the end of season one of the living world story, she started logging in only every week or so, and then finally not at all. She dips in for a few seconds to unlock the new story chapters, but only because I remind her that they're out. This is the first time the two of us have been seriously invested in different MMOs. When she stopped playing GW2 as often, she dived headfirst into Final Fantasy XIV, which is totally understandable because it's a great game and I play it casually myself. Normally I wouldn't consider this development to be article material because people drift away from games they used to love and find new ones all the time, and it's not necessarily a bad thing. But this wasn't a natural split: When I told her about all of the cool story stuff happening in season two, my wife's response was, "That sounds neat. Has ArenaNet implemented precursor crafting yet?"
Gloria Victis paves the way for territory capture and sea travel
A new pre-alpha patch has not only squashed several nasty bugs in Gloria Victis but added a pair of promising systems: territory capture and sea travel. Territory capture is exactly what you are thinking right now. Player nations can conquer territory for both bragging rights and (more importantly) resource control. The devs said that these territory squabbles have the potential to blow up into large-scale PvP conflicts. The game also added "about 50%" more size in the latest patch, with some of that being shoreline and sea. As such, players can now board and use ships to travel the ocean. We've got a look at both territory control battles and a couple of the new ships in the gallery below.
Tamriel Infinium: My love/hate relationship with Elder Scrolls Online
Quakecon was certainly interesting, wasn't it? Whether you're looking forward to new zones, the veteran system's extreme makeover, active world PvP via the thieving system, or combat upgrades, Elder Scrolls Online acquitted itself pretty well at this year's ZeniMax Media shindig. The reveals even led to positive ESO comment vibes here on Massively, which added some much-needed love to the love/hate relationship that everyone seems to have with this particular MMO. I've got my own twisted take on said dynamic, so join me after the cut to celebrate the good and ask for more of it.
Captain's Log: Star Trek Online's eternal crafting problem
I haven't had the chance to really dive into the new crafting system in Star Trek Online just yet, but I can tell it's certainly a valid effort to revitalize the crafting system for the third time in the game's lifespan, this time with an even more fundamental teardown. Memory Alpha is gone now, along with the exploration clusters that used to provide oh-so-many spots to analyze in the hopes of getting more materials. Back at the start of this year, the column took a look at the state of Star Trek Online's crafting and asked whether there really is a future left for it. After all, crafting as a source of items was up against the fleet stores and reputation items. Could you make something better than those systems without replacing those systems? Would it even be worth it? What could be done to clean up crafting? We've gotten our answer about what will be done, but is it a net benefit for the game as a whole?
Warlords of Draenor: Recruit Nat Pagle for your garrison
The folks over at El's Extreme Anglin' have provided a comprehensive step-by-step guide on how to obtain legendary fisherman Nat Pagle as a follower for your garrison in Warlords of Draenor. Over the years Nat Pagle has become somewhat of a beloved figure in World of Warcraft, and has been the focus of numerous fishing quests -- some obscure, some mundane. In Warlords, you're going to have to have him as a follower if you want a shot at fishing up the rarest and most difficult fish in the expansion: Lunkers. To get Nat, you'll first have to unlock the garrison Fishing Shack, which becomes available at level 96. From there, your garrison fishing vendor will send you on a quest to catch a specific type of fish from a specific place. Once you turn that in you'll get a quest to go find Nat Pagle, and from there begins his recruitment questline. Once you complete all his requirements -- to fish up various Lunkers throughout Draenor using special bait -- you'll be rewarded with Nat as a level 100 rare-quality garrison follower. You'll also be able to start catching Lunkers throughout Draenor without using bait. No word yet on what Lunkers do, but my guess is that they'll be required for certain high-level cooking recipes, so devoted raiders or guild suppliers probably want to make sure to schmooze Nat into their garrisons! Happy fishing!
EVE Online: Crius launches today
EVE Online is just churning out expansions (or plus-sized content updates, if you will) lately, with today's Crius release being the latest of the bunch. Crius' main focus is on revising and expanding the industrial and crafting portions of the game. Players can join industrial teams to get important jobs done, enjoy an overhauled research interface, partake in dynamic pricing of tasks, and add industry-related upgrades to starbases. Other fun features of this update include interior atmospheric audio, a new reprocessing system, the ability to opt out of fleet warps, and API support for the industry features of this patch.
