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Trion details RIFT, End of Nations, and Defiance plans for Gamescom
Trion is one of many MMO companies gearing up for a big showing at this month's Gamescom, and a new interview with Adam Gershowitz, David Luehmann, and Rob Hill lets fans in on what they can expect regarding the world of Telara. For starters, there will be a lot of lip service given to RIFT's "Endgame for All" initiative, specifically the new Chronicle instances coming with the 1.5 patch. Gershowitz also mentions the Hammerknell weekend warfront and says its a way for Trion to "spice up the normal warfront grind" via new gameplay and additional rewards. Said new gameplay takes the form of a new mode called escalation, which is essentially the Telaran equivalent of capture-the-flag. The interview also touches on Trion's End of Nations and Defiance titles, both of which will also be featured at Gamescom (though it's worth noting that Defiance will be restricted to industry previewers as Trion says the title "isn't quite ready for its player debut").
End of Nations video features factions and explosions
Trion Worlds is known primarily for its wildly successful RIFT MMORPG, but that will soon change thanks to an upcoming MMORTS called End of Nations. The title, developed by real-time strategy specialist Petroglyph (and published by Trion) is a two-faction romp through a future earth that has been decimated by war and is teetering on the brink of societal collapse. Today, Trion and Petroglyph have released a three-minute trailer for the game that touches on the lore behind the opposing player factions. The clip also features more explosions than your average Michael Bay film, but we'll get to that in a minute. The Liberation Front and the Shadow Revolution factions are mortal enemies who share a common goal: the destruction of the tyrannical Order of Nations. Said destruction involves a lot of things blowing up, and despite the fact that the video features a few talking heads pontificating on factional lore, the focus is on gameplay-related mayhem. Helicopters, tanks, and even closing title screens are liable to burst into flaming fireballs at any moment, and fans of gratuitous military violence will no doubt want to click past the cut to check out the full trailer.
Trion Worlds releases new End of Nations video feature
The world's economies have crashed, governments are crumbling as a result, and a totalitarian regime is looking to assume control over the chaos. This is the world of End of Nations, the upcoming MMORTS from Trion Worlds and Petroglyph Games. The game sees players rising against the aforementioned tyrannical organization, known as the Order of Nations, in a struggle for control over the world's resources. To tease the new title, Trion Worlds has released a new video that showcases some gameplay clips, fills players in on the game's setting, and includes snippets from the game's developers explaining their goals and hopes for the game. If you're itching for more information on this upcoming addition to the MMORTS genre, Massively has not one but two hands-on previews and a Q&A with the game's developers. If that's not enough for you, the End of Nations official site has gone live as well, and there's sure to be more information to be gleaned there. And lastly, of course, you can jump past the cut for the video itself.
End of Nations preview: Real-time synergy
A few years ago around this time, Trion was suggesting to gamers that despite the overwhelming domination of World of Warcraft, there definitely was room for more than just Blizzard's opus in the MMO market, though the suggestion didn't raise much more than an eyebrow among those interested at the time. A few years later, Rift is out and stealing both players and mindshare, even getting hinted at on a conference call as one reason for WoW's numbers being slightly down. As much as Trion has been able to do with Rift, that game is only the beginning of the company's plan. As we saw at a pre-E3 event last week, the next step is to break ground on a second MMO title, this one built as an "MMORTS" with veteran strategy developers Petroglyph. We only got to play through part of a short match, but what's there showed that Trion is aiming to do with this genre what it did with Rift, even if there's a long way to go. %Gallery-124499%
Trion CEO introduces MMO investing to Bloomberg TV
Have you ever wondered where to invest your savings for the future? Have you thought about the MMO market? Apparently, multimedia companies like Time Warner, NBC Universal, and Bertelsmann believe it is worth their money. These three media giants have invested over $100 million into Trion Worlds, the top-tier gaming company featuring upcoming MMOs like Rift: Planes of Telara and End of Nations. Yesterday, Trion's CEO Lars Buttler was featured on Bloomberg's CEO Sitdown. In the interview, Buttler mentioned the role that games, specifically MMO games, will play in the future economy. "This is actually one of the fastest-growing segments of the games industry. And there are markets like Korea or China where you can see what a massive potential these online premium games already have," Buttler explains in the video. As MMOs become more mainstream, the media industry is beginning to see them as a viable form of entertainment. They are not just pretend fun for teenage boys anymore. Buttler expounds later, "It's really once-a-gamer-always-a-gamer, so as people get older they stay with their favorite game types." The industry is constantly growing because the audience sticks to its favorite form of entertainment. For more on this story check out the full video on Bloomberg's website.
Hyperspace Beacon: PAX holo-journal
You are reading your guide to Star Wars: The Old Republic and beyond! The scoop on EA-BioWare's next great MMORPG is brought to you here in the Hyperspace Beacon. As everyone should know at this point, Penny Arcade Expo exposed players to the latest video game experiences this past weekend in Seattle, Washington. Three representative from Massively attended this extraordinary event. Contributing editors Justin Olivetti, Rubi Bayer, and I braved the cross-country travel to the "sleepless" city. Although we were there to get interviews and impressions of all MMO games, we each had our own specific games that we wanted to see in action. Justin came to see Lord of the Rings Online. Turbine was demonstrating its free-to-play model. Rubi wanted to see DDO and, of course, Guild Wars 2. In fact, we could barely tear her away from GW2's booth for more than five minutes at a time. And I had one goal in mind for the weekend: play Star Wars: The Old Republic. Follow my daily adventures in SWTOR at PAX after the break.
A look at Gamescom 2010: Part two
As promised earlier this week, we present part two of our video series documenting Gamescom 2010 from the good people at Maverick Media. In this one, we have a look at Warhammer 40K: Dark Millennium Online, TERA, End of Nations, The Secret World's amazing booth and Ben before his morning coffee and makeup. If you enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek humor of the first video, you'll certainly love this second video found just after the jump. So check it out and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Massively's hands-on with End of Nations' PvE and PvP
You know that scene in Contact in which Jodie Foster is looking out at the cosmos, telling the folks at mission control that they should have sent a poet? All the while I was playing End of Nations at Trion World's Gamer's Day event, I kept thinking, "Massively should have sent a StarCraft guru!" I initially felt very much out of my element. MMOs and RPGs are my shtick; I only rarely dive into turn-based strategy games. And RTS games? Forget it. They don't agree with me. If it doesn't have a pause button, I probably don't have time for it. I'm too easily distractible, too impatient, and too exhausted after a work-day of multi-tasking to spend my playtime multi-tasking even more. There's just no time for cooking meals, browsing lolcats, and chatting with the spouse when you're neck-deep in an RTS. RTS games are serious business; they require my undivided attention and concentration, and I don't like doing things halfway. And yet maybe that makes me just the right person to try out an MMORTS hybrid like Trion's EoN. Most people who give it a spin when it hits the market will probably have a lot in common with me -- they'll be loyalists to one side or the other, not to both. Maybe an RTS novice is just the sort of person who can test out the game, present it to MMO gamers, and explain just what the heck this game thinks it's doing playing around in our end of the pool. Or maybe I'll end up sobbing amidst the charred remains of my tank minions. You'll never know if you don't hit the break! %Gallery-99563%
Rift: Planes of Telara and End of Nations get exclusive comics at Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con is traditionally not known for its game-related content. (The name is something of a dead giveaway.) But this year it's hosting quite a bit of MMO-related content, such as a large NCsoft presence covering Aion, City of Heroes, and Guild Wars 2. Add Rift: Planes of Telara and End of Nations to the mix, as both will be previewing a special comic mini-series with a limited-edition #0 issue at the convention. They've also provided some previews of the rough art for each series, included in the gallery below. Both series will be written by Ricardo Sanchez, with the interior art for Rift: Planes of Telara provided by Pop Mhan and the interior art for End of Nations by Yvel Guichet. Published under the Wildstorm imprint of DC Comics, both limited series should be hitting store shelves in the fall, but attendees of SDCC will be getting a special preview. If you're attending, you may well want to pick up a copy, and even if you're not you can take a gander at the rough art in the gallery below. %Gallery-97523%
Massively Exclusive: A Q&A on Trion's upcoming MMORTS End of Nations
One of Trion Worlds' upcoming games that we've had the chance to experience hands-on recently at E3 and earlier in April is the RTStastic offering, End of Nations. C'mon -- heavy machinery, a dystopian setting, RTS elements, high-explosives.... What's not to like? Well, when they offered us this exclusive developer Q&A on End of Nations, we couldn't resist. We knew we couldn't be the only ones interested in what they have in mind for the future of this fun title. (Editor's Note: They've written the questions and answers, not us. ~Sera) For those who, like us, hunger for a game that will involve large chunks of twisted metal and the ability to play RTS-style with a bunch of friends -- all at the same time -- then you'll definitely enjoy this batch of questions. From their plans for live world events to the burning question of why RTS players might be willing to pay a monthly fee for this game, the development team at Trion Worlds have given us a very solid first Q&A to read. You can check it out in full behind the break, or poke through the gallery of shiny screenshots offered for your eyes below. %Gallery-96732%
E3 2010: Hands-on with End of Nations
We at Massively have been loving all the hands-on time we've been getting with new games at E3 this year. End of Nations was no exception -- we played through this MMORTS back in April and were eager for a second look. We revisited some features of End of Nations that caught our eye back then, such as the war room, home base, and the announcement feed, then moved on for some more gameplay! While crashing our tank through the local vegetation in an attempt to take down the Order of Nations, we also had the opportunity to ask questions of the Trion team. Follow along after the jump to see what they had to say, and take a look at the gallery for some gameplay photos.
Trion reveals new End of Nations trailer
Civilization as we know it has collapsed. Anarchy reigns. People are dying in the streets. Things are looking desperate when the Order of Nations steps in to restore "security and basic necessities on a global scale." This powerful new organization seems like the answer to the crisis. Unfortunately, "peace comes at a price," according to the new trailer video for End of Nations, the upcoming MMORTS from Trion Worlds. Thanks to our hands-on with End of Nations back in April, we have a pretty clear idea of how gameplay will work, but this trailer gives us the story behind the game. Follow along after the jump to see what you'll be up against once End of Nations launches.
Massively's hands-on with Trion's End of Nations
Trion World recently unveiled a wealth of new information on three of their current projects, including the MMORTS that so many fans have been wondering about. End of Nations is the newly revealed title of this game, and Massively enjoyed a firsthand look at it. End of Nations promises to be a great blend of traditional MMORPG action play and MMORTS strategic play, something that could be tricky to deliver. Can they succeed in offering fans the best of both worlds? Follow along after the jump to see what we found when we played End of Nations.
Impressions: End of Nations
Last week, I got an early look at End of Nations, the latest RTS from Petroglyph, the developer of Star Wars: Empire at War and, more recently, Universe at War: Earth Assault. Founded by some of the principals behind the original Command & Conquer at Westwood Studios, the team is pouring its experience in the genre into End of Nations for publisher Trion Worlds. Due for release in 2011, the game is being pitched as the first "MMORTS" with a persistent game world, community features and player-vs-environment gameplay with support for 50 simultaneous players "and growing," according to the developer. End of Nations will undergo many enhancements and a lot of fine-tuning before release, but even in its current state, the game is unquestionably impressive. Specifically, the scale of the action is simply astonishing. The demo map I saw spanned many (virtual) square miles, featuring an array of locations and topography. One second I was seeing a skirmish in a burning forest, and in the next, several players were working together to bring down a massive Panzer Hulk (think: battleship with tank treads) at a heavily fortified construction facility. %Gallery-91784%
Trion Worlds 'Syfy Action MMO' likely coming to consoles; publisher shows off two additional MMOs
Four years and hundreds of millions of dollars in investment capital later, Trion World Network finally has a couple of "connected" games to show ... and a new name, to boot. Now known as Trion Worlds, the company held an event in San Francisco last week to take the wraps off of the Petroglyph-developed "MMORTS" End of Nations and its home-grown MMORPG Rift: Planes of Telara (formerly known as Heroes of Telara). End of Nations is the latest game from the developer of Mytheon, Star Wars: Empire at War and Universe at War, which hopes to break new ground in the RTS genre by introducing elements such as a persistent game world and player-vs-environment battles that support more than 50 players simultaneously. It's set in a near future where resistance fighters battle a totalitarian one world government that possesses superior technology, including battleship-sized tanks called Panzer Hulks. (Check out our End of Nations image gallery for a closer look at the title.) Shown at E3 last year, Rift: Planes of Telara has undergone more than a name change. The game's visuals have improved substantially and its new hook -- "rifts" that appear randomly and spawn creatures from other dimensions -- is something Trion Worlds is focusing heavily on, calling it "dynamic content" that only its server platform can deliver. (Peep the Rift: Planes of Telara image gallery here.) Both games are due out in 2011 and are expected to be playable at E3 in June. The company is also working with Syfy on a hybrid action MMO / TV series believed to be called One Earth. The project is not being shown just yet, but it was revealed that factions and players from the game will be written into the show -- should they emerge victorious in tie-in challenges. We were also told by a Trion World rep that the game, while currently announced only for PC, will likely be released for console platforms. Check out the first concept art from the game in the gallery below. %Gallery-91785%
Trion names upcoming MMORTS, renames Heroes of Telara
If you've been waiting for information on... well, pretty much anything from Trion Worlds, it's your lucky day. Trion has come forth with information about three projects that have gotten a fair amount of attention in the past, but left fans wanting to know much more. To begin with, Heroes of Telara is no longer Heroes of Telara. The game has been renamed Rift: Planes of Telara, a new title that reflects one of the most important mechanics of the game. Trion also revealed a little more information about the mysterious SyFy MMO that they're working on. No elaborate details are forthcoming quite yet, but we now know that it will be an "MMO action game" set on Earth between 50-100 years in the future. Finally, Trion unveiled End of Nations, which they say will be "the world's first premium massively multiplayer real-time strategy game." The fact that the game was an MMORTS has never been a secret, given that Trion actually named the game MMORTS for a while, but we've got a fair amount of new information with the unveiling. The game is aimed at existing fans of the genre rather than looking for converts, so players will be able to jump right into what they enjoy. Check out the full story on End of Nations and Trion's other projects over at Gamasutra.
