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Resident Evil: Revelations developer diary discusses heritage
This video discusses how Capcom took inspiration from the first few games in the Resident Evil series when developing Resident Evil: Revelations. The game's HD port is coming to Wii U, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC on May 21.
SWTOR brings Smugglers and Imperial Agents up to date
With Rise of the Hutt Cartel finally open for business, the folks at BioWare are doing their best to educate players on the significant changes in Star Wars: The Old Republic's first expansion. Today sees not one but two class dev diaries itemizing the tweaks and upgrades to the Smuggler and the Imperial Agent. As both classes mirror each other and use similar skills, the twin dev diaries cover mostly the same basic topics. Alacrity has been buffed to genuinely speed up attacks, DoTs are cheaper to throw down, shields now absorb any type of damage, and accuracy's importance has been raised when you're fighting elite and tougher mobs. The diaries also cover changes to specific advanced classes and skill trees. BioWare says that it will be releasing similar diaries for the remaining six classes in the near future.
Guild Wars 2 puts the 'guild' back in play with new group missions
Next week's update to Guild Wars 2 will do its darndest to get players to group up via new guild missions. These missions, which can be done with guildies or friends, are a new type of PvE experience for the game that offer special challenges that take place in the persistent world. There are several types of unlockable guild missions, including bounty hunting, exploration, coordinated challenges, races, and puzzles. Players can earn new features for their guild and garner personal rewards by participating. ArenaNet released a video to show off the new guild mission system, and it's unlocked by clicking on the green button below. Ready? Set? Go!
Latest Camelot Unchained dev diary touts 'no risk, no reward' philosophy
Mark Jacobs does not want to hold your hand in Camelot Unchained. Or spoon-feed you. In fact, he doesn't want to make the upcoming RvR-centric unduly easy -- he wants you to make mistakes. In his most recent dev diary, Jacobs ruminates on Camelot Unchained's third foundational principle of no risk, no reward. How will this philosophy be put into practice? The diary gives three examples. For one, there will be no magical glowing lines to lead players to quest areas or NPCs and maps will be very simplistic. Players will have to explore and learn the terrain on their own to be able to navigate the world. Next, the auction house is abolished; while a commodities market might be introduced for gathered resources, crafted good will be sold via player-controlled shops or in specific areas of town. The third example involves class respecs: To allow for flexibility in the class-based system but to help prevent flavor-of-the-month switches, limited respecs will be available to players, though difficult to acquire.
Forge developer diary discusses the state of the game and what comes next
Forge isn't your typical MMO, set up as a straightforward PvP arena without niggling little issues like outside quests to get in the way. The development team behind the game has been looking at its current state, and in the newest address to the players they state what the game is doing wrong and how to fix it. The diary makes it clear that while the number of people playing Forge is down, they believe a lot of that has to do with the steep learning curve new players experience. To fix this, there are plans for a new starter area in which players can practice against bots to get accustomed to the combat and the game mechanics. The team also plans to improve the tutorial and the UI so that what an ability does is more transparent. For players already at the higher end, this is still good news -- the matchmaking system will be updated, visual customization will be improved, and you'll be able to respec at any time to ensure that you aren't stuck with poor choices forever. Check out all the details in the latest development diary.
Massively Exclusive: The MapleStory developers talk about the Root Abyss
When dealing with international games like Nexon's MapleStory, it's a simple reality that updates are often going to be coming out later for US players. It's just the nature of the beast; new updates have to first be tested natively, then localized. But the upcoming Root Abyss breaks the mold, with the full version due to be released on the global servers on January 16th before the Korean servers get a live push of the update. But there's more to the dungeon than just the release date -- there are four new bosses and a variety of updated prizes for everyone to earn. If you're looking for more insight into how the dungeon was designed, click on past the break for an exclusive developer diary from the Korean design team. You can also check out the dungeon's trailer, which features a quick preview of all four monstrous and disturbing bosses.
RuneScape explains why it does what it does
Have you ever wondered how an MMO studio plans its upcoming content delivery? A new RuneScape dev diary takes us behind the scenes at Jagex, where Mod Mark outlines the nuts-and-bolts of the process: "We think about the next 12 months of content and what we want to achieve within those 12 months and have a broad idea of what we want to achieve over the next three years. We think about what sort of players we've got and we try to make sure that the content we have planned over the next year is appropriate for all of those groups of players." Mod Mark said that the team also considers what it's focused on recently, what areas haven't been touched on in a long time, and what parts of the game may have become dated. Content additions and improvements are then scheduled according to the time available to the team. One lesson to take away is that it always takes the development team a lot more time and effort to create new content than players assume. Sometimes even a single quest may spend up to a year in development before being pushed to live. You can watch the full dev diary after the jump!
Learn to live in a State of Decay with Undead Labs' new survival guide
There's a lot to consider when you're stuck in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Do you have enough food? Will your shelter hold up against the endless legions of undead? Do you have enough of that ammo that makes zombie heads explode? Thankfully, Undead Labs is here to help make State of Decay players' transitions to the post-apocalypse as simple as possible. The studio has released a day-by-day survival guide written from the viewpoint of characters within the game's universe. The guide provides a flavorful look at some of the features players will be utilizing to survive in State of Decay. Players will learn how to construct a defensible stronghold, how to scavenge for supplies, and of course, how to defend themselves against zed onslaughts. It's quite a read, but a very worthwhile one for anyone who would prefer to remain on the side of the living in the war against the undead.
Final Fantasy XIV developer blog reveals chocobo-barding-in-progress
Today's Final Fantasy XIV developer blog is a bit on the light side, but it does provide us with a sneak-peek at the in-game model for some chocobo barding that producer Naoki Yoshida had teased in a previous Producer's Letter Live. The concept art was revealed in a batch of screenshots and artwork back in October, but now, thanks to the wily Fernehalwes, we have a shot of the barding model in progress (see above). Fernehalwes notes that the armor "appears to be lacking textures" while pointing out that "those horns have an uncanny resemblance to the ones found on a certain legendary beast... in a recent Final Fantasy XIV trailer." Gee, whom could he possibly be talking about?
LotRO details remaining Moria revamp
Way back in May, Turbine expended a fair bit of resources to revamp half of Moria, the large underground complex that was the centerpiece of Lord of the Rings Online's second expansion. With Update 9, the team is completing the task, paving the way for better transportation and a smoother questing experience. In a new dev diary, the team shares a few of the pertinent details of the remaining revamp. The bottom line? "Each zone now has many more quests, a simple questing path, fewer monsters, and hopefully no more frustration with excessive back-and-forth questing." Update 9's revamp covers the areas of Zelem-melek, The Redhorn Lodes, The Flaming Deeps, Nud-melek, The Dimrill Dale, and The Foundations of Stone. The team added 70 new quests, removed some deadwood, and added the remote quest bestowal system that is being used in Riders of Rohan.
LotRO talks Update 9 instance cluster
The first half of Riders of Rohan's instance cluster is arriving with Lord of the Rings Online's Update 9, and the devs are excited to talk about the variety of experiences and challenges that went into making the trio of three-man dungeons. A new dev diary on the site gives the story overview for Webs of the Scuttledells, Seat of the Great Goblin, and Iorbar's Peak as well as a few behind-the-scenes notes. Developer Pinion discussed how the team wanted to make the return to Goblin-town special: "I wanted to ensure that this new interpretation stayed true to the source material while still providing a very different experience from our existing instance in the Misty Mountains. With all the different varieties of goblins that make their home here, I felt it greatly important to distinguish them both in appearance and in drastically varied abilities." A major change coming to these instances deals with loot. Not only is there remote looting for these dungeons, but each treasure chest will automatically reward class-appropriate gear for each player.
LotRO introduces travel to quest feature
Sometimes it's the little things in life, such as a McFlurry in the middle of a business day or an MMO giving you an express ride to where you need to go. Among the bushel of features coming with Lord of the Rings Online's Update 9 is a cool tool to let you do just that (and no, we're not talking about McFlurries). In a new dev diary, the LotRO team explains that it's adding a new icon by most quests to allow for an easy return to the quest-giver. If the icon is clicked, players have the option to immediately travel to the NPC in exchange for a Traveller's Writ. If you feel the whisper of money behind that last sentence, then you probably suspected that these items will be in the game's cash shop. This shall be the case. "For long-standing players with several level-capped characters," the dev writes, "I expect this will make it easier to try out a new class or race." The feature won't be available for some quests. It also won't function while you're in combat, in an instance, riding a stable mount, or in the PvMP zone.
Darkfall Unholy Wars dev diary addresses changes to the clan system
Another Darkfall Unholy Wars dev blog hit the interwebs today, this one focusing on the many changes to the clan system that will be coming with the game's reboot. One of the largest tweaks to the system is in the way that clan ranks will operate. Previously, a player's clan rank (and corresponding clan privileges) was determined by the number of enemy clan members killed. This will no longer be the case in Unholy Wars, which will instead allow clan leaders to set the ranks and privileges of each member, therefore allowing more control over who has the ability to invite new members, access the clan vault, and so on. The old clan rank system will still exist but will be known as military rank and will have no bearing on a player's privileges. In addition, the founder and leader of the clan are no longer tied together, so the clan's creator can easily transfer leadership to another member. Aventurine also wants to "give clans a greater sense of ownership over the world," so the studio is implementing a system that will "link villages to nearby clan holdings." By improving the rewards for village ownership, the team hopes that clans will consolidate their power thus creating more border conflicts as clans attempt to extend their reach. Aventurine realizes that villages "have always been hot-spots for PvP activities," however, so a resource-stealing mechanic is also being added. This will allow any player to steal resource rewards from a clan-controlled village, which means that clans will have to keep close watch over their domain to ensure that they receive all of their rightfully earned resources. For further details, check out the video below.
Neverwinter boasts character customization equal to Cryptic's other titles
Even with the fantasy trappings and Dungeons & Dragons background, it's important to remember that Neverwinter is as much a Cryptic creature as anything. And because of that fact, the game will ship with a very robust character creator on par with the studio's other offerings. A new character creator dev diary walks us through the process of making a dungeon runner, which is both as you'd expect and slightly different for the genre. One important note is that you will actually roll for your ability stats. These stats will be augmented by the race chosen; each race has a special ability and specific stat bonuses. Once you get past the stats, it's on to the visual creator. It's here that you'll customize a unique-looking avatar. Cryptic says that if you've played one of its other games, you'll know what to expect here. The creator includes all kinds of skin complexions, skin color, tattoos, hairstyles, horns, scars, and a plethora of sliders.
Elite: Dangerous developer diary details evolving galaxy
Elite: Dangerous, the Kickstarter project by Frontier Developments, has a new developer diary video from Founder David Braben discussing the ways in which the game's galaxy evolves over time. In the video, Braben describes the development of planets and the various contracts that players complete in the game, including the transportation dignitaries that may have bounties on their heads.The Kickstarter project is at the half-way point of its nearly $2 million funding goal with 33 days left before its January 4, 2013 deadline. Providing the goal is met, Elite: Dangerous is set to launch on PC in March 2014.
EVE Online readies Retribution deployment
You EVE Online pilots better have a yummy bag lunch prepared by your moms because you're going to need all the nutrition to carry you through the launch of the game's newest expansion next week. The folks at CCP announced that the game will go down at 4:00 a.m. EST on December 4th and hopefully will come back up around 6:20 a.m. on the same morning. While most of the major features have received the all-star dev diary treatment, the studio doesn't want to overlook the smaller but still important line items. A new "little things" dev diary highlights all of the lesser-known changes that are coming with the expansion, including the ability to drag icons into text fields, an easier way to find yourself in a fleet, a streamlined repair list, and many other quality-of-life improvements.
SWTOR explains the rules of the Ancient Hypergate warzone
As Star Wars: The Old Republic continues testing Issue 1.6, PvPers are understandably anxious to get their hands on the new warzone coming with this update. Senior Designer Rob Hinkle has a few words of instruction, wisdom, and teasing for those waiting, as he lays out a new developer diary dedicated exclusively to the Ancient Hypergate warzone. Hinkle explains that the warzone is all about a mad scramble to secure old technology, namely a Gree hypergate. Players have two objectives to conquer and defend as well as several energy orbs that need to be grabbed and thrown into the nearest friendly energy pylon. Little orbs just want to go home, after all. There's a pretty cool mechanic with the pylons whereby they are charged up over time until they eventually unload a massive amount of energy (as well as an explosion). The release can be magnified if a lot of enemy players have been defeated since the previous discharge, and it can also be increased or decreased if the team controls both or neither of the pylons. It's a tricky warzone to explain, and we get the feeling that it will make a lot more sense just to see it in person. Even so, you might want to give this dev diary a read to help you prepare!
Splinter Cell: Blacklist dev diary examines the art o' choke
In this latest Splinter Cell: Blacklist developer diary, stuntman and combat consultant Kevin Secours puts some of his best choke holds and close-quarters combat maneuvers to use. These moves should come in handy the next time we're trying to get information on the next Xbox.
Newest Darkfall dev blog shows off Unholy Wars' streamlined UI
In any game, a clunky, unintuitive UI can hamper players' ability to enjoy a game. But in a game like Darkfall where mere moments can be the difference between life and death, a bad interface can be a deal-breaker. In the latest dev blog, Coordinating Designer Tork Shaw explained some of the changes coming to Unholy Wars to give the game a fast-paced UI that won't impede combat. The video portion of the blog demonstrated some of the new features, including the new radial menu, which Shaw called "a whole new way to interact with the game." He said, "It allows for much more action-based combat, so players who are familiar with FPS games or action-combat games will be much more at home playing Darkfall." The new UI will allow also players to switch between the different roles, such as from warrior to caster, at will. The dev blog also offers more details on the feat system (which rewards players for acts of bravery, skill, exploration, or development) as well as the new personal and clan currencies. You can read more on these changes in the dev blog and preview the new UI in the video after the break. [Thanks to Bartillo for the tip!]
EVE Online sorts out its inventory system
While inventory management might not be at the top of everyone's most-anticipated expansion features, CCP is going to lengths to drum up enthusiasm for EVE Online's upcoming inventory overhaul. In a new dev diary, the changes coming with the Retribution expansion are laid out in excruciating detail. When players get their hands on Retribution, they'll find a much more streamlined inventory experience. The windows will persist longer, performance time will improve by leaps and bounds, the system will be easier to use, a compact view will be introduced, and there will be multiple ways to access one's inventory. Even something as small and mundane as the scroll bars are being revamped. The devs are also adding an intuitive feature to allow players an easy way to loot wrecks either all at once or one at a time based on whether or not the index tree is expanded.
