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SOE Live 2013: DCUO changing its loot mechanics
Even though the focus of DC Universe Online's presence at SOE Live was the upcoming DLC Sons of Trigon, SOE had some other superheroic news to deliver as well. The devs are rebooting the game's loot system, so now when groups and raids kill a boss, every single person will get items of their very own. The items will be random as far as piece and class, so no one is assured to get something they can actually use. Although no exact date was given, Creative Director Jens Andersen stated that the change would be rolled out in stages instead of waiting for the entire system to be overhauled. He added that the newer tiers would see the change first, then the lower levels. Keep an eye out for our upcoming DCUO panel impressions for more info. What happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas, at least where SOE Live is concerned! Massively sent intrepid reporters MJ Guthrie and Karen Bryan to this year's SOE Live, from which they'll be transmitting all the best fan news on EverQuest Next, EverQuest II, DC Universe Online, and the other MMOs on SOE's roster.
SOE announces DC Universe Online Sons of Trigon DLC
Are you craving more superheroic content in DC Universe Online? SOE has some good news for you in the form of DCUO's latest DLC release. It's called Sons of Trigon, and it will feature new high-level multiplayer and solo stuff as well as the game's 11th power set (Celestial). SOE hasn't announced an official release date beyond fall 2013, but the firm's new press release does detail what looks to be a pretty meaty update. New legends PvP characters Cheetah and Donna Troy are in the works, as is a new shared zone (Gotham City wasteland) featuring daily solo quests. A new alert and three new duo instances are also coming along with new gear and the requisite feats and collections. Sons of Trigon will be free for Legendary members. Premium and F2P players can purchase it via the in-game marketplace, the PlayStation Network, or the DCUO website. [Source: SOE press release]
SOE Live prepares for record attendance, debut of EverQuest Next
Sony Online Entertainment's SOE Live event is promising to be bigger than ever this year, as the company is reporting that advance passes are sold out and that walk-up tickets are expected to do the same, and quickly. SOE Live 2013, which takes place August 1st through 4th at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, is surrounded by hype thanks largely to the long-awaited debut of EverQuest Next. SOE will also host five tournaments, a silent auction, a pool party, and talent and costume contests. Fans of DC Universe Online, PlanetSide 2, and EverQuest may want to check out the official event lineup for details as to when their games will be featured. We have two Massively staffers on deck in Vegas: MJ Guthrie and Karen Bryan will be covering news as it happens, and Karen is set to host a player panel dedicated to helping guild leaders find better ways to run their guilds at 7:00 p.m. EDT (4:00 p.m. PDT). Stay tuned: SOE Live starts tomorrow Thursday with a keynote address at 10 p.m. EDT (7 p.m. PDT). You can watch it live on SOE's EQ Next and main Twitch channels. [Source: SOE press release]
Coming soon to a console near you: MMOs
Remember E3 2013? That huge video games conference thing from earlier in the summer? Weeks have passed since Microsoft and Sony squared off in the Los Angeles convention center (while Nintendo posted up at Best Buy and Ouya sulked in the parking lot), but the news made there continues to reverberate through the games industry. One curious trend seems to have been missed amid the clashing of proverbial titans: There sure are a lot of MMOs and online-focused games due on consoles this generation. And since MMOs are the business of Massively, we thought it might be fun to compile a quick list of all the ones we can find that are either already available on our current consoles or set for launch on the next batch. The list, as it turns out, is pretty extensive.
SOE reveals new Recruit Rewards program
SOE has taken the wraps off its new Recruit Rewards program which currently covers EverQuest, EverQuest II, DC Universe Online, and PlanetSide 2. The firm has created an achievement system of sorts, with reward tiers starting at two recruits and going all the way up to 25. Each tier offers titles, in-game items, and in-game achievement points. Recruits receive a free welcome kit upon logging in initially, and once they make a qualifying purchase, both the recruit and the recruiter get to choose from a selection of rewards. SOE has put together a lengthy FAQ on the subject, which you'll find at the company's official website. [Thanks Kinya!]
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Superhero news of June
June was definitely a month. And things definitely happened during it. And some of them could sort of be seen as relating to superhero games, so that's good. Unfortunately, most of them sort of... weren't. That's not entirely true, really. There was some news about superhero games all through June; it's just that most of it had very little to do with the here and now. Most of it focused around what will happen, where games will be going, and what players can expect in the future. There was a decided lack of news about what's going on right now. Still, that makes it no less worthy of review. So let's hop in the not-very-far-back machine and take a look at the news from June, which also featured some sort of gaming convention or another. I can't remember which one, exactly. It'll come to me in a minute.
DCUO has 11 million registered users, SOE explains F2P strategy
DC Universe Online was built with a subscription model in mind, creative director Jens Andersen recently told Gamasutra. How, then, did SOE manage to convert the superhero MMO to a free-to-play model and grow the playerbase to include 11 million registered users? Andersen says that SOE wanted people to be able to freely access all of the game's launch content while offering the option to maximize playtime via various convenience items. "If you like this game a lot, and you want to dedicate more time to it -- not pay-to-win, but dedicate more time to it, and front-load that time and progression, you can do that through various means," Andersen explains. "Otherwise, if you want to play it for free, you'd go at the pace that the game determines for you." SOE came up with a system of replay badges that serve as gear reward gates, effectively allowing players to (re)play content for free but preventing them from claiming the reward a second time until the lockout timer has cycled through. Cash shop items can reduce or eliminate the lockouts. "So your time in the game is the same as a free-to-play person's time, you're just front-loading that time," Andersen says.
PS4 PlanetSide 2, DC Universe Online will not require PlayStation Plus
The free-to-play MMOs DC Universe Online and PlanetSide 2 will not require a PlayStation Plus subscription to play when they hit the PS4 later this year, publisher Sony Online Entertainment confirmed with Polygon during E3 last week. Sony announced during E3 that a PlayStation Plus membership is required for online multiplayer in PS4 games, leading some to question whether free-to-play games would be exempt from the platform's subscription requirements. "As far as free-to-play games are concerned, it's a publisher's decision whether they put it inside or outside of the PlayStation Plus requirements," Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios President Shuhei Yoshida said. Yoshida additionally confirmed that the PS4 versions of Zombie Studios' Blacklight: Retribution and Digital Extremes' Warframe will be free-to-play, and will not require a PlayStation Plus subscription to play.
E3 2013: Porting DCUO and PlanetSide 2 to the PlayStation 4
Just because SOE didn't have many new games to showcase at E3 this year doesn't mean that the studio didn't have a lot to talk about. In fact, there was plenty to be said about two of the existing games porting to the new PlayStation 4. And while some of it is good, sadly there's some not-so-good thrown in as well. Joystiq caught up with DC Universe Online's Creative Director Jens Andersen and Adam Clegg, a game designer on PlanetSide 2, to get the scoop. Mirroring the executive producer's sentiments from our interview, Andersen noted that DCUO has an advantage thanks to being currently available on the PS3. And while not having specifics to announce, Andersen added that he'd be very surprised if the game didn't take advantage of PS4's social functions. However, the game will not (at least initially) be able to use the console's streaming and quick installation features, remaining a download and install title. For PlanetSide 2, the big news is that the console will allow optimization of the graphics "1,000 times better" according to Clegg. The big bad news is that it will be impossible to have cross-platform play, so folks who want to play on the PS4 will not have access to their PC characters. In a separate interview with Rev3Games, Art Director Tramell Isaac noted that the PS4 version would feel like a native console game, not just a jerry-rigged PC game. Massively's on the ground in Los Angeles during the week of June 10-13, bringing you all the best news from E3 2013. We're covering everything from WildStar and Elder Scrolls Online and ArcheAge to FFXIV's inbound revamp and TERA's latest update, so stay tuned!
DCUO and PlanetSide 2 devs deal with good and bad on PS4 ports
Sony Online Entertainment doesn't have any new games at this year's E3 conference. But the developers behind DC Universe Online and PlanetSide 2 are hard at work anyway, and not just because they're running two live MMOs. Both games, which currently run on the PC (for both) or the PS3 (for DCUO) are coming to the PlayStation 4, which presents both positives and negatives for the developers involved. Adam Clegg, game designer on PlanetSide 2, says he's excited to develop for the PS4 rather than the PC, because it'll make optimization for the game's graphics "1000 times better." Currently, the PC team has countless builds of hardware to optimize the game for, but everyone playing on a PS4 will use the same hardware, which makes things much easier. Additionally, Clegg says improvements should go the other way, too, as optimizing for the PS4 should make the game better for PC users.
E3 2013: DCUO plans to remain completely free on PS4
The PlayStation 4 made headlines at this year's E3 thanks to its console wars one-upmanship as well as its newly announced launch library. But one previously announced had a live demo at the L.A.-based convention extravaganza; DC Universe Online offered players a chance to experience some next-gen superhero shenanigans for themselves, so we totally jumped in on the action! After engrossing ourselves in the world of capes, masks, and super powers, we nabbed Executive Producer Lawrence Liberty to talk with us about DCUO's conversion to the PS4. He shared details about performance, uses for the touchpad on the new controller, a new companion app, and the plan for DCUO to be available at the console's launch. Liberty also noted that the team is working with Sony to keep the game free on the PS4 so players won't have to purchase a PlayStation Plus membership.
One Shots: March beneath the raptor's wings
Man, it's downright shadowy underneath the raptor's wings! Reader Draxos is kicking off our player screenshot exhibition this week with an interestingly lit picture from Star Trek Online's new expansion. "This picture is of my new Romulan character inside a Romulan space station that was having a few ... issues," Draxos wrote in. "When the lights suddenly go out in a space station, you become thankful for the brightness outside the window because then at least there is some chance of seeing what may now be lurking within the darkness. Although you could say that my Reman crew members are the true ones to be fearful of in the dark." Couldn't you use the Borg's head as a flashlight? That's what I would do. Join us for more shadowy flights into dangerous worlds of characters who do not exist in today's One Shots!
Some Assembly Required: Three games that need player-generated content
At times over the last half decade, I've felt as if the MMORPG genre lost sight of itself. It seemed that all any gamemaker wanted to do was emulate a certain wildly successful outlier, and this in turn threw a wet blanket over the sandbox play, emergent design, and player-generated content that separates MMOs from run-of-the-mill video games. The last year or so has seen the collective industry start to wake up from that bad dream, as there are now a half dozen really promising sandbox or sandpark titles in development, several of which are backed by millions of dollars and major studios. What about the current crop of games, though? Is it a stretch to imagine a few of them, even the unapologetically linear ones, expanding their horizons with a little bit of player-generated content?
PlanetSide 2, DC Universe Online confirmed for PS4
Sony Online Entertainment has announced two of its most recent games, PlanetSide 2 and DC Universe Online, are coming to PlayStation 4. Both Planetside 2 and DC Universe Online will be free-to-play and bolstered by microtransactions when they launch on PS4 later this year. DC Universe Online, the first MMO to ever grace the PS3, tasks players with choosing a mentor and aligning toward good or evil as they start their super-careers in either Metropolis or Gotham City. PlanetSide 2, a sequel-slash-reinterpretation of SOE's persistent-world MMOFPS, allows hundreds of players to battle over territories simultaneously.
DC Universe Online and PlanetSide 2 confirmed for PlayStation 4
Sony's next-gen console may not have a fancy tablet controller or an all-seeing, always-on eye that watches you watch things, but it does look as if it's getting a couple of high profile MMOs. Sony Online Entertainment has confirmed that both DC Universe Online and PlanetSide 2 are headed for the PS4 as free-to-play downloads later this year. DCUO is currently available on PS3, but PlanetSide 2 has yet to make a console appearance. This may be why more information is available as to the implementation of the former than the latter; DCUO's official Twitter account is currently fielding questions about the PS4 announcement, while PlanetSide 2's doesn't seem to be talking about it at all. For those keeping score, that's now at least four free-to-play MMOs due on the PS4 either at launch or soon after: War Thunder, Warframe, DC Universe Online, and PlanetSide 2. Larry Liberty (producer for DCUO) might have been onto something when he said the new console would be a "great platform" for MMOs.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Rounding up May's superhero news
Today marks the start of a new format for A Mild-Mannered Reporter, but it's a natural segue because this is what I'd be doing anyway. Yes, it's time for a roundup of news, and over the past month, most of the news has been about two superheroic games hitting the "action" button until it falls off. It's all about Marvel Heroes and Infinite Crisis, in other words. Not that these are the only two games that have been doing things, mind you. Both Champions Online and DC Universe Online have brought out some new content, although the volume differs. But the biggest waves are being made by games emphasizing the punching of villains with extreme prejudice. Or the punching of heroes; it's a fine line. The point is that there is no finer time to round up superhero news, especially with the return of ComicsAlliance. So let's move on to the roundup, taking it point by point.
DC Universe Online producer: PS4 should 'be a great platform for MMOs'
DC Universe Online producer Larry Liberty recently shared some interesting insights about SOE's cross-platform superhero MMO with NowGamer. The PlayStation 3 version of the game features a userbase that skews younger than its PC counterpart, and Liberty says that DCUO is the first MMO experience for many PS3 players. He also mentions that PC players appear to be more comfortable with traditional MMO gameplay like guilds, groups, and raids. In terms of the eternal controller vs. keyboard/mouse debate, Liberty says he prefers the former. That said, "the top three finishers in our first-ever DC Universe Online Legends PvP Tournament at SOE Live last year used the keyboard/mouse setup," he explained. Finally, Liberty says he expects the recently announced PlayStation 4 to "be a great platform for MMOs."
The Think Tank: The best MMO of 2013... so far
At the end of each year, we like to put our heads together and figure out the year's best MMOs in several categories. Often times, the games released earlier in the year aren't as fresh in our memories, so we might not be as excited about them by the time December rolls around. But in this week's The Think Tank, I wanted to make sure to play off of that mid-year enthusiasm and have the team members pick their favorites as they stand at this halfway point. So what did the team pick for best MMO or expansion released from January to May 2013? Read on past the cut to find out.
The Daily Grind: Would you like appropriate movie tie-in content in your MMOs?
I don't know if SOE has any plans to capitalize on the wave of Superman hype sweeping the nerdosphere on account of Zack Snyder's upcoming Man of Steel film. The firm's DC Universe Online title features the big blue boy scout rather prominently, of course, and the timing seems right if there aren't a bunch of legal stumbling blocks. SOE has done movie tie-ins with an MMO before, way back in 2005 when its Rage of the Wookiees expansion added a bunch of Episode III-themed content to Star Wars Galaxies. Last summer, though, the firm didn't really acknowledge Christopher Nolan's final Batman film in DCUO, so it may not be in the cards for Supes either. Regardless of what actually happens, would you like to see appropriate movie tie-in content in certain MMOs? Or do you prefer to keep the properties separate? 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!
A tour of DC Universe Online's new Origin Crisis DLC
DC Universe Online's latest DLC, Origin Crisis, allows players to fill the shoes of some of their favorite -- and not so favorite -- heroes and villains and fight to keep reality as it is. Thanks to yesterday's update, players will actually be traveling through time in order to stop a chain of events that might result in entirely new universes and timelines. You'll be bamming and powing your way through content in the hopes that history remains intact. We sat down with Jens Andersen, Creative Director of DC Universe Online, to discuss this special DLC, a pack that has been in planning since the game's conception.
