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Take a tour of DCUO's Amazon Fury raid with the devs
Coming soon to DC Universe Online is the Amazon Fury Part II DLC, because Amazons are not known to be timid, quiet souls. All about the fury, they are. Anyway, part of this upcoming patch is the new Halls of Hades raid, and the devs are inviting you to go along with them on a tour of this intimidating experience. We've got a 43-minute video of the Halls of Hades with devs and test center players after the break if you want to get a good feel for what's going to be faceplanting your heroes in the near future.
The Road to Mordor: A dev tour of LotRO's Update 15
Bear with us folks, there are going to be a lot of unintentional puns in the column this week. Perhaps we have ursines on the mind lately since Lord of the Rings Online is on the cusp of rolling out its first new class in several years. Amazingly enough, the Beorning class isn't the beginning and end of next Wednesday's Update 15; it's merely one of several bullet points punctuating this meaty content release. I sat down with the developers at Turbine this past week to get a tour of Update 15 and ask my usual barrage of questions like, "You promised quarterly updates for 2014, but by my count we're going to end up with only three. What's up with that?" Executive Producer Aaron Campbell said that while this was true, he thinks Turbine did a great job getting out regular updates and has some "really big set pieces" for next year. It sounds as though Turbine's distancing itself from a quarterly schedule to a more flexible plan that allows for maximum polish and quality. But next year will take care of itself, so I hunkered down to focus on the last big update of 2014. What will Update 15 add to LotRO and who at Turbine thought it was a good idea to put the power of honey creation and bee attacks in the hands of players?
EverQuest: The Darkened Sea expansion is live today
We got our first glimpse of EverQuest's 21st expansion back at SOE Live, with its impending new features, a slew of new zones, and the promise of the return of two classic characters. For the past month, some folks have even been testing these things out in beta. Now with launch finally just around the corner (as in today!), Designers Jonathan Caraker, Alan VanCouvering, and Doug Cronkhite joined Producer Thom Terrazas and Creative Director Akil Hooper to talk shop while zipping through the newest zones of The Darkened Sea on a tour of what players will get to dive into. The Darkened Sea actually builds upon a previous expansion, The Buried Sea. "We have some stories and characters... that we liked back then that we wanted to continue," Terrazas explained. "So we're bringing back some familiar characters that have been off the grid a little bit the last few years." The story itself also takes place in the Buried Sea, starting off on a little tucked away island called Tempest Temple.
Sneaking a peek at EQII's Altar of Malice with SOE
When EverQuest II's next expansion, Altar of Malice, was announced at SOE Live in August, we heard about upcoming features, perused concept drawings, and even saw some screenshots. As exciting as all that can be, nothing compares to actually getting in the game and seeing the living breathing world of Norrath. And that's exactly what I got to do last week on a tour with Senior Producer Holly Longdale and Creative Director Akil Hooper. While we have to wait a bit longer to hear more about the Aerakyn (the new winged dragonkind race) and what special goodies will be included in the collector's edition, the tour of the zones allowed me to bask in the beauty of the artwork while weaving through dinosaurs, pygmies, and my favorite-yet-long-lost starting zone. And it definitely made me even more excited for the upcoming release of Altar of Malice!
The Road to Mordor: A tour of LotRO's update 14 and majestic Gondor
With Update 13, Volume III, and the good nation of Rohan in our rear-view mirrors, we now turn ahead to see Gondor, next six exits, straight ahead. Lord of the Rings Online players have a lot to be excited for when Update 14 arrives, not the least of which is a new country that was central to the events of The Return of the King. Update 14 is scheduled to release on Monday, July 14th, because marketers always get a special little thrill when they match up similar numbers. It's a pretty sizable content patch that's almost a mini-expansion, with five additional levels, a new epic book, three questing regions, well over 100 quests, and a new essence system for gear. This past week I sat down with Turbine to get a whirlwind tour of what lies beyond Rohan, and after seeing it, I think that LotRO fans have good reason to hope for an exciting summer.
Watch a dev tour of Defiance's Gunslinger DLC
Defiance is going all Old West on us with its next DLC pack, and we've got an up-close look of the update to share with you. The Gunslinger DLC will take players on a trio of new mission arcs and deliver good-looking Western gear to go along with the theme. The DLC will also include nine additional co-op arenas and a new system of scoring arenas that gives incentives for teams that work together. Check out the developers' tour of this update in a 14-minute video that includes commentary, feature spotlights, and story missions in action.
Shroud of the Avatar video gives six-month dev update
Buckle down to a half-hour video from Lord British himself taking you through the development progress of Shroud of the Avatar now that it's hit the six-month mark. Lord British begins by showing off Kingsport Village and talking about how housing is one of the big features and choices of the game. The video continues to another town where the devs fade player housing in and out to demonstrate how towns might be built up over the course of the game. The housing decoration system and the different types of dwellings were toured, including Germanic, Druidic, and Nordic dwellings. He also shows off the female avatar, crafting, and the "natural language conversation system." The latter allows players to type full sentences to NPCs, who will then parse the conversation for important keywords. We've got the full developer commentary video for you after the break.
Thirty thousand Orcs and you: A LotRO epic battle story
The rain beats hard down on steel helms as a flash of lightning illuminates the horrible truth: a carpet of monsters stretching to the horizon, advancing on the last refuge of an entire country. A catapult rolls up and fires a flaming shot over the battlements and into the troops behind you. People die. More people take their place. As you watch, a formation of 600 Orcs breaks away from the host for the first charge against the wall. Your wall. The wall you've sworn to protect at all costs. The wall that may well be your grave in the next 30 minutes. This isn't just flowery language but actual in-game events we witnessed when Turbine took us in for our first look at the epic battles coming to Lord of the Rings Online: Helm's Deep. There's been plenty of talk on the studio's part as to the scale and scope of the system, but it's something else entirely to see it in action. Turbine's been working on the epic battle system for well over a year now, drawing inspiration from World War II documentaries as well as the 10-page description of the battle in Tolkien's novel. The team reworked the game's technology from the ground-up to allow for thousands of characters to fill the screen and up to 50 NPCs to be in combat at any one time. And even though the outcome of the battle is locked into place by lore, the conceit is that you will be judged based on your performance. Join us and 30,000 Orcs as we go over the many, many details of epic battles. But be quick about it -- we've only a few moments before the fight is rejoined.
Hands-on with The Secret World's Issue #8: Scoping out scenarios
"I know your people are eager to go to Tokyo, but now is not that moment." - Arturo Castiglione, Council of Venice representative. Truer words have never been spoken. As much as players are looking forward to exploring Tokyo in The Secret World, that time is not yet at hand. (If you doubt, just look at how much Filth is still left to clear out in Agartha!) However, now is the moment for something else: the Venetian Agenda. And despite its unfortunate luck to be the DLC right before the most anticipated Secret World update ever, Issue #8 is more than just a stepping stone on the way to bigger and better things. This issue has merit in its own right; it introduces another layer of endgame as well as an entirely new mode of (replayable) gameplay. Although the update isn't live on servers until next week, I had the opportunity yesterday to travel to a sunken slice of Venice and dive into the new scenario and augment systems of Issue #8 in a special tour with Funcom Creative Director Joel Bylos and Communications Manager Tor Egil Andersen. After that hands-on experience, I've got to say that I think this DLC will keep folks sufficiently occupied, if not totally distracted from thoughts of Tokyo. And believe me -- you don't want to be distracted during these scenarios!
Dawn of the Hunter Rangers: Touring Neverwinter's Shadowmantle module
Considering all of the exciting reveals of Neverwinter's second module, Shadowmantle, I think it's prudent to start with the unknowns. No, we don't have a specific date of release (although it will be "by the end of the year"). No, we don't know whether Druids or Warlocks or any other Dungeons and Dragons classes are in development for next year. And no, we can't tell whether there's a massive honey badger conspiracy in the city of Neverwinter. With that said, there's plenty that Lead Designer Andy Velasquez had to reveal to us for this upcoming module. For starters, it's 100% free, just in case you were wondering. Sure, Cryptic will continue to run a robust store (and doesn't seem to have any inclination to rein in the lockbox invasion), but all of the content of Shadowmantle will be available to the entire playerbase on day one. It's shaping up to be an even meatier update than Fury of the Faewild, believe it or not. The big star of Shadowmantle is the first new post-launch class: the Hunter Ranger. But this flexible fighter won't be hogging the entire spotlight; Neverwinter will also be adding a new zone, additional paragon paths, and a spiffy artifact skill system. So read on and prepare for the stampede of players rushing to be the next online Legolas-slash-Drizzt.
Some Assembly Required: A dev's-eye view of Dragon's Prophet's frontier system
For getting a better look at the big picture, there's nothing like witnessing a PvP battle from afar instead of being in the midst of it. And that's exactly what I got to do in a recent dev tour of a PvP event in Dragon's Prophet: Spectate. Thanks to the spiffy use of technology, I was able to zoom along through the air as the battles unfolded below and around me without my having to dodge killing blows from my enemies. On top of that, I got to hear Senior Producer Todd Carson and Associate Producer Rod Haza detail different aspects of this system that melds PvP and housing in Dragon's Prophet. Dubbed the Frontier System, this combination puts PvP on the housing islands of Auratia. However, the implementation is probably not quite what players envisioned when they first heard about it. Luckily, I got a pretty good look at how it all works from my invulnerable perch and can share that with you.
A wounded land: The sights of LotRO's West Rohan
In past developer walkthroughs of Lord of the Rings Online: Helm's Deep, Turbine gave us a broad overview of the expansion as well as a look at the next portion of the epic story. For our third tour, we got to check out the vistas and landscapes of West Rohan. One of our concerns was that after the expansiveness of East Rohan, the wast would be, well, more of the same. Lots of fields, horses galore, and so on. While the horses are still ever-present (this is Rohan, after all), West Rohan establishes a unique identity as a land that's more developed, more diverse, and more wounded. The theme of the region is simple: War is coming -- and is in fact already here. In our tour through the five ridings of West Rohan, the developers stopped to point out how they crafted the region to do the country and its many fans justice. If you think you know it all from the movies or from base assumptions, you might want to open your mind to a richer experience that's coming soon to LotRO.
E3 2013: Final Fantasy XIV shows off PS3 UI
E3 is proving to be an exciting time for Final Fantasy XIV fans, especially considering that the title has been confirmed for the PlayStation 4 next year. One of the new videos that's coming out of the convention is a dev tour of the new UI developed for the PlayStation 3 version. While the developers speak in their native tongue, the video is subtitled and shows off a range of UI activities from character customization to combat. Gaze upon it with your terribly perceptive eyes after the jump and make sure to read our preview of the rebooted title from the show floor!
Watch the backstory of LotRO's Wildermore zone
When Lord of the Rings Online's Update 11 drops next week, it will open the paths to a brand-new zone: Wildermore. While it's part of the Wold, Wildermore is definitely unlike anything seen in Riders of Rohan; for starters, the area is inexplicably covered in snow and jagged ice crystals. So what's up with this area? Turbine's developers have put together a video to introduce the zone and explain the main storyhook behind it. It appears that Saruman has fused an ancient relic with a giant, creating a nasty foe that will be the main antagonist as players travel through Wildermore. Don't fret, as there are good guys as well attempting to fight the snow powers that be. Check out the dev tour after the jump, and if you use the LotRO forums regularly, you may want to read up on the forum consolidation that's about to take place.
EQII's Scars of the Awakened highlights the story through art
With Scars of the Awakened going live today, EverQuest II fans are counting down the hours until their first trip into Cobalt Scar and its many adventures. And who can blame them? New content for crafters and adventurers alike is inbound. Along with the new Cobalt Scar overland zone, GU 66 also brings players a new dungeon filled with some brand-new creatures, a new tradeskill quest line along with hot-off-the-presses recipes, some class changes based directly on player feedback, and more. I got a sneak peek at what lies in store thanks to a tour guided by Holly Longdale, Producer, and Akil Hooper, Creative Director. From walks on the beach among the Ulthork to hordes of undead Othmir to a look at the second half of Sirens Grotto, this tour showed off how the art and the stories blend to create an immersive experience for players.
New EverQuest dev video tours new Rain of Fear zones
With EverQuest's big Rain of Fear expansion hitting live servers tomorrow, players are eagerly awaiting the chance to dive into the new zones and get their questing on. Can't wait to experience all the new landscapes, ogle the new mobs, and check out all the scenery that awaits? Then sit back and watch Sony Online Entertainment's new video tour of the upcoming areas. For just over five minutes, you can soak up the visuals of Shard's Landing (which is billed as "the place you will probably die the least"), Breeding Grounds, Valley of King Xorbb, Eventil the Vile Oak, and more while listening to various devs offer commentary. See them all for yourself in the video after the break. And for more details on what's coming, check out Massively's tour with the devs. [Source: Sony Online Entertainment press release]
SWTOR community tour announced
Do you like free food, free drinks, Tauntauns, and a chance to talk with your favorite Star Wars: The Old Republic devs? Then the SWTOR team has fabulous news for you. A new string of community meet 'n' greet events has been announced! Starting with the New York Comic Con, the SWTOR Community Cantina Tour will be visiting different parts of the US to eat, drink, and be merry with fans. A blog post before each event will have all detailed information about then meetup, so be sure keep an eye peeled so as not to miss out! For a full list of the four planned tour cities and their estimated timeframe, hit up the official blog post. If you're more concerned about what's going on in-game than a chance to meet up with devs, you might be happy to know that community manager Joveth Gonzalez has made a post on the official forums responding to complaints about issues in update 1.4.
The Road to Mordor: Hands-on with Riders of Rohan's mounted combat
I remember the very first thought I had when Turbine announced Lord of the Rings Online: Riders of Rohan: If the mounted combat isn't very, very good, this expansion's going to be a big dud. I don't think we've ever had an expansion that leaned so heavily on a core system for not only the bulk of its gameplay but also its style. Crude my thought may have been, it felt like the truth. I don't know any other successful MMO that utilized mounted combat as anything but a sideshow curiosity. The LotRO team was putting too much emphasis on mounted combat for it to fizzle. I think I can breathe easier now that I've had a chance to spend an hour fiddling with mounted combat while talking to Senior Producer Aaron Campbell. What I saw was an alpha build of the expansion (the beta is scheduled to start soon, perhaps as soon as next week), but once I got used to careening over the plains at 88 miles per hour, it felt just right. It felt like LotRO.
Massively Exclusive: Seeing the sights in City of Steam
I can't recall the last indie MMO that was making any waves while still being in the pre-alpha stage, but that's the strange power that Mechanist Games' City of Steam has. Word-of-mouth and a clever setting have made this a must-see title, and we were pleased to join Editor Gabriel Laforge for a developer tour of the game in its current state. City of Steam is an indie MMO, but don't let that put you off; the team is substantially larger than you'd expect and brimming with talent. The steampunk title loads extremely quickly in your browser, thanks to the Unity web player and a ridiculously small client size. In its current state, City of Steam has four large overworld zones and around 80 instanced dungeons, and yet the total size is -- get this -- 70 megabytes. It's so tiny that some of the dungeons are only a few hundred kilobytes apiece. With the repeated caveat that this was all still pre-alpha and subject to change, Laforge let me log in and explore to my heart's delight. What follows is raw and shocking footage from that journey.
City of Steam offers personalized alpha tour via contest
Have you ever wanted to stroll through a game before anyone else, taking the first steps in an untouched world and exploring areas unknown to other gamers? The devs at City of Steam are offering just that chance with an exclusive personalized tour of the fantasy steampunk game during these early stages of development. Unlike many contests where you just submit your name for a random drawing, this contest asks tour hopefuls to post why they believe the tour should be given to them. Preference will be given to active community members, so be sure to jump in and start taking part in discussions on the forums to increase your chances! The lucky winner will then get to invite two friends along to peek into new aspects of the game, all while chatting with the tour guide developers. So brush up on those writing skills and dazzle the judges or just check out the other entries. In the meantime, tell us: If you were the winner, would you prefer to tour the game as a Goblin or a Draug?
