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Massively to co-host STO panel at the Official Star Trek Convention
Hey MMO Trekkies, are you beaming down to Las Vegas for this year's Official Star Trek Convention? If so, we've got one event that you won't want to miss: a Q&A panel with Star Trek Online's developers co-hosted by Massively and TrekRadio.net! We'll be on the scene as Cryptic Studios fields a wide variety of questions from ardent fans of the game. If getting that burning question you've had off your chest isn't enough of a reason to attend, the developers will also show a few trailers and sneak peeks of upcoming content. The panel will take place on Saturday, August 11th, from 2:00 to 3:00 EDT (11:00 a.m. to noon PDT) at the Rio Suites Hotel in Las Vegas.
RuneScape dev panel highlights incredible success of bot bans
Over the past few weeks, we've heard a great deal about browser MMO RuneScape's struggle against botting and RMT. The bot problem has become progressively worse over the past year, with bot makers countering every change developers made to stop their bots from working. This week developer Jagex celebrated bot-nuking day as it deployed a massive update designed to permanently stop all of the popular reflection and injection bots from working. At this year's annual RuneFest event, Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard presented a fantastic insider panel on the facts and figures behind bot-nuking day. Mark explained the company's position -- that normal players botting to speed up gameplay was counter to the goals of RuneScape. "We don't want your computer to play with our computer," he told attendees, "we want you to have fun with our community." Before delving into facts and figures, Mark reminded attendees of the element of unfairness that bots create. "I want to know that if I'm putting in 30 minutes this evening, that that 30 minutes is equal to everyone else's 30 minutes." Want to know how many million accounts were banned since bot-nuking day? Read on for a summary of the facts and figures from the talk and to watch the full video in HD.
WWI '08 Notes from the PvP panel part 3
1:55: Time to talk Arenas. Design ideals for these are: Keep it simple Still leave room to innovate (keep it simple, but add some new twists) Dynamic points of interest (read: moving objects) Unique starting areas/events. Might put starting teams close to each other. Room to grow: we need to be able to make quest adjustments during beta 1:57: Stockton takes center stage again to talk about the two new arenas in Wrath: Dalaran and Orgrimmar.Dalaran Arena: Located in the sewers of Dalaran city. When Dalaran came over to Northrend, it took a large chunk of rock out of the ground with it, including the sewers.This environment seemed like a great fit for the arena. Dynamic line of sight: we can move objects in arenas and have the line of sight move with them. Think about the pillar in the Nagrand... and think if that pillar could move. We could make these move randomly or based on a specific timer. This can mix up the gameplay. Simple layout Mounts will not be usable. It's a small arena and wanted to let people get right into gameplay. There's a pipe in the center of the arena that water will occasionally pour out of. While the water is falling, it will block line of sight. It's a simple layout, but a few dynamic elements that will mix it up. There's a pipe on either side of the arena where each team will start, and a blast of water will push people out of the pipe early on.It's currently in playtesting.Orgrimmar Arena: There's been an arena in Orgrimmar for a long time in the Valley of Heroes, but Blizz has never done anything with it. Elevating pillars will create line of sight (on set timers -- there will be little wheels and gears on the side of the arena that will spin before the pillars move) Triggered objects that damage players (thinking as the pillars go down, a wall of spikes may come up -- you can get across them but you'll take some damage) Extremely close starting areas: players start on elevators that rise out of the ground ten yards apart from each other. The elevators will be surrounded by spikes that will drop a couple of seconds after the elevator reaches the top -- so you'll have a couple of seconds. Mounts will be allowed inside -- this arena is a bit larger than Dalaran. Thought this was the perfect place to get NPC spectators who cheer, etc. These dynamic elements will make each arena feel different. Not testing yet. NEXT: Northrend Battleground and Q&A ===>
WWI '08 Notes from the PvP panel part 2
1:46: Siege vehicles! Chilton covers five different types, all usable for both factions: The Demolisher: baseline vehicle. Has both short and long-range attacks and a ram attack. Can carry a driver and three passengers. (The passengers are exposed, can be targeted and attacked -- but it also means you can fight back!) Drive-by shootings. The driver is also the gunner. Forsaken Catapult: much quicker than The Demolisher (says Chilton: more agile). Not as long range as The Demolisher, doesn't do quite as much damage, doesn't carry any passengers, has a flame attack. Lowest cost vehicle. The Siege Engine: hardest-hitting and longest range vehicle. Carries a driver, gunner, and passengers (but not exposed -- which means they can't attack). Flying Machine: a flying vehicle that's very quick but fragile. Vulnerable to anti-air weaponry. Carries a pilot and a gunner. Goblin Shredder: an anti-air vehicle that fires rockets and can rocket boost yourself into the air to reach air vehicles (or jump over walls!). Essentially a personal armor suit -- if the suit is destroyed, you can jump out and keep fighting. Close-range melee attack. Vulnerable to siege vehicles. They're still considering how to obtain the vehicles, but they want the process to be fast-paced and fun. NEXT: Arena Design in Wrath ===>
WWI '08 Notes from the PvP panel part 4
2:09: Chilton comes up to talk about Northrend's new battleground Tital isle located off the southern coast of Dragonblight Attack/Defend gameplay, but a bit different since it's instanced. You play half the game on defense and half the game on offense, switching mid-fight. This battleground will have siege vehicles and destructible buildings Based on the Titan lore. A lot of Northrend circulates around Titan lore. 2:11: Stockton explains the layout. Attackers will come in on boats and assault the city. Siege vehicles will need to be used to break through the city's walls and break in. The further you get, you'll capture points allowing access to more siege weapons. They're currently planning it to be 10v10 or 15v15. They BG is currently being play-tested. Q&A2:17: Q: Now we have one source of honor, Alterac Valley, and everything else is a source of marks. Some people lose on purpose to get marks quicker. Is there anything being done to solve this problem?Chilton: It's a very very difficult problem to solve. We find that if we give no rewards for losing a battleground, it's very punishing. That's why we have systems to report players for not participating and we've lowered the number of players who need to report someone. (There is a certain point where the system can't determine how hard you're trying.2:19: Q: Do you have plans to implement a spectator mode?Chilton: Definitely on our list of things we want to do. To add to that, we also have the idea of using that spectator mode to extend to other things, in raids for exampleQ: Unique (racial) combat moves?Chilton: We don't plan to add any more racials.2:24: Q: My girlfriend and I love PvP, but since the Burning Crusade, we feel like we're forced into arenasChilton: We do plan to keep a pretty similar sort of reward items.Q: For the frost mage, some crowd control talents seem to be PvP-oriented, don't you think this could cause unbalance?Chilton: It's always going to feel that way because bosses tend to be immune to crowd control, but we're trying to open it up.Q: What do you plan to fix Warlock pet scaling?A: Right now we're pretty happy with pet scaling. It should be a viable tactic to spend some time attacking the pets. A player has to make a choice. We feel like if that scales very well, it's going to be a viable tactic to just focus on one.2:34: That's all she wrote, folks! The Invitational's final World of Warcraft panel has come to a close.%Gallery-26320% WoW Insider is on the ground in Paris at the Blizzard Invitational bringing you the big announcements and latest Wrath news as it happens. Check out our latest coverage!
WWI '08 Notes from the Dungeons & Raids Panel
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Wrath_revelations_from_WWI_08_Dungeons_and_Raids_panel'; At the Worldwide Invitational, the Dungeons and Raids panel is about to begin. We'll be bringing you updates on the anatomy of dungeons and raids straight from Blizzard's mouths, and of course any tidbits of information about dungeons and raids to come, all after the jump. Stay tuned!
WWI '08 Day 1 roundup
We had bloggers onsite for Day 1 at the Worldwide Invitational 2008 in Paris. Elizabeth Harper, Turpster, and Jennie Lees were all in France to provide in-depth coverage with liveblogging, pictures, and videos, and our entire staff was back here in the US to break out the analysis and coverage of the live streams. Here's a roundup of all the posts from Day 1.Liveblogging Opening ceremony Developer's panel Q&A with Developer's Panel Analysis by Class Death Knight Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Analysis by Topic Diablo 3 Announcement Gear resets High expectations Linux Raid buffs Talent trees Media WoW Insider podcast Gallery: Diablo 3 Gallery: Splash screen speculation Gallery: A first look at the WWI digs Movie: Turpster talks to people waiting in line for WWI Movie: Turpster amok in Paris UPDATE: A round up of our entire weekend of coverage can be found here!%Gallery-26320%
WWI '08 Panel: Gear Resets
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. And if current information holds, you'll be looking like one of his elves when you hit Northrend. Say goodbye to your cool-looking level 70 purple gear and say hello to starting over with greens. It'll be like reliving your junior high photo day -- or worse. Answering a specific question about the topic of ugly, mismatched armor during the WWI Q&A session today, the developer panel gave a cheeky answer: We ended up having a little clown action, ok, a lot of clown action in TBC. We aren't going to eliminate it, but we are going to improve it. You won't be happy 100%, but we could just solve it by making everything gray.I think this answer is perfectly reasonable. After all, it gives you an incentive to keep going for better gear: embarrassment. However, on the positive side, Blizzard will offer more armor customization in Wrath. For example, they will make Raiding sets look different from PvP sets. For me, this means if I spy someone wearing a clear-cut PvP getup, I'm going to get the heck outta Dodge lickety split.
WWI '08 Panel: Death Knight
Understandably, everyone is begging to know more about the Death Knight class. At WWI, the Blizzard developers discussed the class in depth at both the main Development panel as well as at the Q&A panel. So you don't have to go fishing everywhere to find what you want to know, here's a roundup of new information about Death Knights from WWI so far.Starting AreaThe Death Knight starting area will be an extended area in Northern Plaguelands. The developers feel strongly about keeping people interested in playing in the Old World so they are creating this new zone. I personally hate every zone that has the word "plague" associated with it. Admittedly, I didn't reach either of the current Plaguelands until after I'd upgraded to The Burning Crusade, which meant I really had no time for grinding there since Outland awaited alluringly. However, it will be interesting to see if they make changes to the existing Western and Eastern Plaguelands along with adding content to the North to make these areas more interesting to players -- be they Death Knights or not.
WWI '08 Notes from the WoW Q&A Dev Panel
The Q&A panel from the var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/http_www_wowinsider_com_2008_06_28_wwi_08_notes_from_the_q'; Blizzard Worldwide Invitational is about to begin. We'll be bringing you live updates on the latest tidbits and bombshells the devs have in store for us. Check after the jump for a minute by minute description of what's being asked and revealed. %Gallery-26320%
WWI '08 Panel: Hunters
The first WoW panel has come and gone at the Worldwide Invitational. It was focused on class abilities in WoTLK, and there was some absolutely juicy stuff, especially for Hunters. As the proud player of a 70 Hunter, I'm feeling amazingly awesome about my class right now. Two of the biggest, most universal Hunter complaints have not only been answered, but answered in a way that I think a lot of Hunter players are going to be incredibly excited about. Steady Shot ClippingFirst up, it looks like Shot Rotations as we know them will soon become a thing of the past, or at least be incredibly simplified, as Steady Shots will no longer clip Auto Shots. This is actually an issue that has gained some blue post love in the past, but it's nice to see it so directly confronted and dealt with. There may still be a shot rotation of a type for fitting in Arcane Shot and various stings, but it looks like Hunter DPS will no longer be a complicated dance of weapon speed, haste rating, macros, and server latency. That in itself is amazing news. Pet Talent Trees and Uniqueness One of the other major complaints of Hunters is the lack of pet diversity. It is generally expected that if you are min-maxing, you will go for a Cat, Ravager, or Scorpid and nothing else, because they are the only pet families that have the right combination of ability and DPS to get their jobs done. Some pet classes, like Sporebats, languished due to a complete lack of useful family skills.
