dev-diary
Latest
LotRO dev diary, "Solving Problems and Making Friends, Part II" live
Earlier this week Matt "Scenario" Elliott posted part 2 of his "Solving Problems and Making Friends" dev diary on the Lord of the Rings Online official site. Right after Mines of Moria released, Elliott took a break from management and returned to the design trenches for a month. The second installment picks up in the fourth week of his life as a live designer.It's a short read, but an interesting one for anyone interested in how a design goes from concept to execution on a live MMOG. At one point, Elliot admits that time management is as important as the idea itself: "Nearly everything we dream up has to be scaled down to fit realistically within our schedules," he wrote. "In my case, I had a couple of ideas that either fell on the floor during planning or were cut due to the unnecessary complexity they added."
LotRO Book 7 dev diary: Lothlorien quest notes
Lord of the Rings Online's Volume II: Book 7 is right around the corner, and the developers at Turbine are breaking out their best teasers for the new content with a recent dev diary. This diary, entitled "Lothlorien Quest Notes" gives us some comprehensive details about what to expect with the upcoming free content patch.Over at the LotRO fansite MMeOw, they take their own look at this dev diary and what it means to them. "Book 7 is a new "on ramp", as has been stated previously in the forums. This means it doesn't require you to have finished the previous Volume II books to start it. It's still heavily recommended that you finish Books 1 through 6, however, so you'll get the full effect of the storyline." Check out the complete dev diary for more information.
Star Wars Galaxies Dev Diary and video: Behind the scenes at Echo Base
The Star Wars Galaxies developers have been neck-deep in snow for months now, it seems. Since the launch of the Hoth heroic encounter in late November of last year, the SOE Austin devs have been tweaking and fine-tuning the experience for the enthused playerbase.The actual encounter is massive, and introduces a number of new roles and play opportunities for even longtime SWG players. We've talked about that before, with a highlight being a look at the encounter from the dev viewpoint at SOE Fan Faire.Today we have the pleasure of offering up a brand-new developer diary from SOE designer Stephen Wyckoff, all about the "engineering support" required to put players in massive Imperial vehicles! Join Stephen below the cut as he talks AT-STs, design, development, and tuning encounters to meet high player expectations. We also have a fantastic new video from the developers that will give you just a taste of what it's like to experience the frozen fury of the Hoth battle. All that and more is beyond the cut.%Gallery-37499%
Discover the wizardry of game design with WAR's Brian Wheeler
Gather around folks, get comfortable; we've got a tale of fantasy, kings and wizards to share with you. As seems to be the norm with our friendly neighborhood Mythic developers, Brian Wheeler has done his best to avoid bringing us a boring and straightforward Dev Diary, instead opting to explain his role of Senior Designer for Warhammer Online through a short story.It turns out that game designers are not unlike the great wizards Merlin and Gandalf (coincidentally, these two exist in the same space in Wheeler's fantasy world, and often enjoy a pint together) in that they come up with multiple ideas and solutions for a single problem, and present them all to the king to decide which will be used. They aren't necessarily ideas that the king couldn't figure out on his own, but the wizards can afford to spend all their time researching every possible strategy, giving the king the freedom to attend to other business. That's the short version -- to read Wheeler's longer and much more entertaining take, visit the latest WAR dev diary.
Bruce Maclean's WAR dev diary is crazy but awesome
The latest Warhammer Online developer diary is up on the official site, and we've got to say, Bruce Maclean's eccentricity is infectious. The subject of this dev diary is an explanation of Mythic's patching schedule, which could well have been a very boring topic, but if you visit the page you'll soon see that Bruce is just brimming with AWESOME! HOT! FIXES! and SEXY! COOL! NEW! FEATURES! that he simply must share with the WAR-playing world.It sounds like Community Coordinator Missy Hatch had a hard time getting Bruce to cough up his input to the dev diary series -- she'd been chasing it up for the better part of two months -- and perhaps it is because he and his team were working non-stop to bring that sexy content out, improving WAR for current and future subscribers. He mentioned that, without including smaller things like server maintenance, there have been ten proper patches since the game's launch, which really wasn't that long ago. We've got no idea how Bruce got so zany, but if this is one of the secrets behind Mythic's patching schedule then we hope that he stays that way.
Atlantica Online's Mercenaries are historically significant
Atlantica Online sure is making news lately with the ways they're incorporating so many different features in their game to make it truly unique. We know about the turn-based combat from a previous developer diary, but in this latest article, we're treated to an explanation of the Mercenary system.Originally, Mercenaries were going to simply be like items that a character can collect, but the devs at NDOORS found themselves discovering new ways to use the Mercenaries. They created backgrounds for them and actually developed a sense of affection for them, so their importance is much greater now. Each Mercenary can eventually evolve into personages of historical significance. For instance, the archer would become Robin Hood, the inventor would become Leonardo da Vinci, and so on. Not only will this add some concrete understanding of these high-level Mercs, but it will hopefully force players to research these names if they were sleeping in History class again.
Turbine breaks out with the funny in the latest Moria dev diary
In probably one of the most entertaining dev diaries we've ever read, Turbine's Tim "Raskolnikov" Lang gives us a look into what is involved with creating the new creatures in Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria, and more on the upcoming changes arriving with the expansion.The entire monster creation process is explained step-by-step, which would ordinarily be extremely boring, yet "Man-Bat", as Lang is affectionately called, provides a humorous Q&A throughout the entire diary. That certainly doesn't mean that this eight-page article isn't packed with useful info though, as it gives us plenty of new information on the upcoming monster features we have to look forward to in Moria.
Building WAR's Reikland Factory
In a recent dev diary, Warhammer Online's Lead Artist, Russell Chamier, takes us through the process of creating one of the newest RvR scenarios coming to the game. The Reikland Factory is a Tier 4 scenario that will only be available during the Heavy Metal event. According to the diary, control of this key RvR location will dictate the region's war machine production.As far as the artistry involved in a project like this, Chamier says that the art team minimized recycled content from the launch library by creating all new assets. The step-by-step process is detailed in this dev diary by showing and explaining the concept art to finished product. Once this scenario goes live, you can have a greater respect for what went into building the location, as you spill your opponent's blood all over it.
LotRO Monster Play class enhancements
As promised, Turbine has delivered yet another informative dev diary regarding the changes coming to Monster Play with the Mines of Moria expansion to Lord of the Rings Online. Yet, this one isn't a simple report on tweaks and adjustments here and there; this dev diary explains the dozens of new skills and traits that will be introduced for your favorite Monster classes come November 18th.Plus, in the second part of the Ettenmoors dev diary we showed you last week, Turbine discusses the mechanics of capturing flags and artifacts, as promised. Why so much information regarding Monster Play lately? As we can see from these dev diaries, the changes to Monster Play will be substantial for several reasons. This includes providing more direct PvMP gameplay, providing greater incentive for players and monster players alike and providing a greater level of advancement for monster players. Be sure to read the entire series if you're a diehard PvMP fan, or even if you're considering getting into LotRO's Monster Play system for the first time.
LotRO PvP gets a revamp with Moria
Battling other players in Lord of the Rings Online's Ettenmoors will become a bit more balanced (read: challenging), once Mines of Moria releases next month. According to a recent dev diary, the devs have been aware of some issues with the PvP zone since the game launched, and have performed a complete revamp just in time for Moria.Changes include: More fortifications for the main monster-player and player bases to prevent camping the exits (we're talking to you, Burglars and Wargs) Pathing and structural changes to increase the challenge within camps and keeps The introduction of artifacts and flags Controllable bridges The removal of hot points A proper place for the five outposts throughout the map, used for smaller skirmishes Turbine promises that the PvP love will continue in an upcoming dev diary which will explains the dependencies of each location and more about artifact-control and flag-play.
Mastering the Rune-keeper in Moria
If you've been following along at home, you should have a pretty good idea of what Mines of Moria's Rune-keeper is all about, thanks to a previous Turbine dev diary and the coverage we've given you from our beta experiences. But what about advanced game mechanics with this new class? How will you go beyond simply playing the Rune-keeper and advance to mastering the Rune-keeper?Well Turbine is here to help us with this once again. In a recent dev diary, the design team explains the best roles for this new class, and elaborates on the most effective ways to nuke or heal, depending on the situation. Plus, each skill's description is explained as they relate to each Trait path. Check out the complete 10-page article for all you'll ever want to know about mastering your Rune-keeper.
How the new combat changes will affect you in Mines of Moria
With Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria just around the corner, Turbine is piling up an unprecedented amount of dev diaries in preparation for this new expansion's launch. In the latest one, we get a thorough explanation of the changes to the combat system, and how the new combat mechanics will work. In a nutshell, the mechanics have changed from a percentage-based system (with an infinite end of 100%) to one with more open-ended bonus possibilities using whole numbers that will apply to your avoidance chances, resistances, and mitigations. This was done to allow the game to expand throughout its lifetime, as the team plans to stick around for quite awhile.On the heels of these game mechanic changes comes some angry posts in the forums concerning what we can expect from the Minstrel in Moria. Inevitably, many players aren't too happy with these changes, and since the beta NDA has been lifted earlier this week, they're expressing their disdain in droves.
Life After 50: Progressing your Captain, Guardian and Warden in Moria
Finishing off their Developer Diary series for the Lord of the Rings Online classes progressing past level 50, Turbine has recently released their final article for the Captain, Guardian and Warden. As with the previous two, this one show players the most effective ways to play these three classes as they venture into Moria and explore the all-new Trait Sets. Each trait in each set is explained, as are the benefits for pursuing each path.If you missed the other dev diaries for the remaining classes, take a look back at our previous coverage concerning the Burglar, Hunter and Lore-master, plus one concerning the Minstrel, Champion and Rune-keeper. Now that all classes are covered, you can get your mains ready and effectively plan your attack on Moria for November 18th!
LotRO dev diary looks back at creating the Warden class
Turbine's posted a new developer diary that exposes the creative and mechanical processes of designing the Warden, one of the new classes coming in Mines of Moria. There's something for everyone in the diary from the inspiration of the Warden to its gambit combat mechanic. We don't get an in-depth look at gambits and instead get a more introductory look at how they function. Thankfully we didn't come out of the read-through confused, in fact we felt like Turbine did a good job of laying the groundwork for understanding the class even before it hits retail.Anyone who's watched movies like 300 or Troy is definitely going to fall in love with the Warden. Not that the class is exactly like the Spartan soldier led by Leonidas -- it evokes that imagery a bit, though. We can't wait to see the Warden in action on our monitors in just a months time.
Life after 50: Progressing your Minstrel, Champion and Rune-keeper in Moria
As with last week's dev diary concerning class changes to the Burglar, Hunter and Lore-master, this week's guide to life after level 50 pertains to the Champion, Minstrel and Rune-keeper. When Mines of Moria hits the shelves (and our hard drives) on November 18th, most of us will share our time between experimenting with the new classes and advancing out existing ones. That's where this dev diary comes in handy.As with the previous article, this one discusses the changes to skills and play style introduced with the new expansion. However, this one is the first to mention one of the new classes: the Rune-keeper. Following an article from a few weeks ago regarding the Rune-keeper's 1-50 level progression, this one picks up where the original left off. Check this one out, and make sure to look for the final installment, presumably involving the Guardian, Warden and Captain, hopefully coming soon!
Life after 50: Progressing your Burglar, Hunter and Lore-master in Moria
Believe it or not, there's a lot more to Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria than just the Rune-keeper and the Warden. Chances are, if you already have a favorite class that you've leveled to 50, you're going to be more interested in getting that character through the mines and onto 60. Turbine realizes this, and have recently written three wonderful new Developer Diaries featuring the Burglar, the Hunter and Lore-master's roles from 50 to 60.These new Dev Diaries do more than just list new skills, they actually cover certain roles that these classes may play to use certain spells more effectively. Plus, with the introduction of trait sets (much like armor sets work now, with bonuses given to certain trait combos), the roles are much more defined for each class. Check out each of these three articles for the Burglar, Hunter and Lore-master to get yourself ready for Mines of Moria, coming very soon!
LotRO Dev Diary: Moving the Fellowship
As we reported last week from our Lord of the Rings Online Book 14 tour, the time has arrived for the Fellowship to finally leave Rivendell. For the players who enjoy the game's connection to Tolkien's work, this is truly an exciting time. For the game developers, it's a fairly unique challenge.In a recent dev diary entitled Moving the Fellowship, Jeff "MadeOfLions" Libby discusses the problems faced by the development team in regards to this challenge, and how they solved them. For example, throughout the game as it stands today, the nine Fellowship members are not all together waiting for their big move. Some are in various locations throughout Rivendell, while Gimli is in the Misty Mountains. Each member is simultaneously involved in dozens of quests throughout the game, which poses its own set of challenges. Check out the complete dev diary to find out how they overcame these obstacles, and how they will continue to implement these ideas in the future of the game.
LotRO dev diary: Book 14 instance updates
We've heard so many recent reports about the upcoming changes with Lord of the Rings Online's Book 14, including class improvements, new emotes and large-scale events. In a recent dev diary, we now get word of some changes that will be implemented regarding the instances of LotRO. The largest changes will occur with the three main instances of Angmar: Urugarth, Carn Dum and Barad Gularan. These instances will receive significant tweaks to the gameplay and new armor sets will either be added or greatly improved to add balance. In addition, many of the epic storyline quests will be reworked to add replayability. You can then access any of these replayable quests by talking to a Sage of Eriador who is located near the reflecting pools of the pertaining instances. Check out the complete notes from this dev diary, as well as a follow-up forum post with questions from players that are answered by the devs themselves.
Developer diary: Preview of the new Velon Hollow instance
The folks at Destination Games sent over another one of those Tabula Rasa developer diaries, giving us some insight into the content coming in the game's next big content drop: Deployment 9. We already knew generally what was coming thanks to the official site preview: a squad merge feature, a PTS-only tag, and a new questline leading to the subject of today's diary. Designer Brian Hudson is onhand today to walk us through the process of putting together the Velon Hollow instance for TR players around level 30. Hudson walks us through the different elements that lead to the area's development, and even goes so far as to recognize something we've seen as a standard in Tabula Rasa play now: post-level soloability. While the area is designed for 2+ players of a given level range, they're now tuning with the knowledge in mind that players will likely come back several levels later to take on the content in a solo fashion. Interesting stuff. All that and more are after the break. %Gallery-9822%
Star Wars Galaxies Beast Masters getting a revamp in Update 5
Thomas "Hanse" Eidson, designer on the SOE title Star Wars Galaxies, has released another developer diary detailing his latest efforts to improve the game. The upcoming Game Update 5 will tackle the Beast Master expertise system, a sort of alternate advancement path every class can use to tame and train fearsome beasts. It was introduced in Chapter 6, and in this newest patch will see a number of usability and game design tweaks. Many of them are simple quality of life issues; you'll be able to call you beast in combat, for example, and there's a new dye system in place the will allow you to recolor your pet even after it leaves the cloning vat.Eidson also notes some major 'under-the-hood' revamps. The way a beast's happiness worked was arcane and hard to understand, both from a player perspective and in the code. Beast happiness has been refactored, with the end result being that beasts can be made happier, more easily. From the player perspective, this will result in beasts doing more damage and earning experience more quickly - a much requested feature. Additionally beasts can now be stuffed, their movements should be more in-line with player expectations, and eggs and enzymes are more informatively named. An interesting look behind the scenes - expect Game Update 5 on the live servers soon!
