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Newest patch notes Star Wars: The Old Republic highlight bug fixes
Bugs are frustrating, and inevitably some of them seep through to launch with a new MMO. Star Wars: The Old Republic produced a fairly polished end product, but there were still issues, most notably certain memory problems with Taris and some harvesting nodes that couldn't be harvested. As a result, the game's first patch has been rolled out following this morning's maintenance, and the first set of patch notes have gone live detailing the bugfixes and minor updates provided. Aside from the two obvious changes, there has been a handful of balance adjustments. Slicing has seen a slight downgrade to bring its rewards more in line with those of other gathering professions, and the Mandalorian Raiders flashpoint has seen several enemies lose their immunity to crowd control. Players can look forward to more steady adjustments as the game continues, but some quick fixes to noteworthy issues are always good to see -- especially so close to the holidays.
Class adjustment philosophy previewed for Final Fantasy XIV
The next major patch for Final Fantasy XIV has been discussed in broad strokes, but the upcoming changes for said patch have only just started to be revealed. Today saw the unveiling of the abstract for patch 1.20's class revisions, aimed at making each class more unique and interesting to play without changing the fundamental cross-class system in place. To this end, every class will see significant overhauls, and the Armoury system as a whole will be undergoing some streamlining. Among the bigger changes is the abolition of the current system for setting actions, replaced by a much more straightforward setup. All class actions will be automatically added to a players' bars, with players able to equip more actions from other classes as they increase in level. Traits are also being revised to be class-exclusive and automatic, helping to differentiate the classes as you obtain more via leveling. The full rundown is even more extensive, but it looks to be aimed at keeping classes more fun as a whole in future updates.
EVE Online expanding API functionality
Amidst all of the scandals and player controversy, it's important to remember what really matters in EVE Online -- API development. Well, maybe not for every player, but there's certainly a burgeoning community that's quite happy to hear about major updates to the game's overall API structure. And there are indeed two large changes discussed in the newest devblog -- the addition of customizable API keys for players and the inclusion of new contract functionality. If you're not familiar with the programming side of the API, naturally, the developer blog is largely going to read like so much arcane nonsense to you. The takeaways for all players are that there is greater flexibility in setting access keys with limited durations, and calling contract information is now easier than it was before. On the other hand, if you are a part of the game's programming community and want to know more about the changes, the blog should provide a great deal of more in-depth and useful information for improved functionality.
Face of Mankind under new management, adding new features
If you've ever played Face of Mankind, you may have gotten something of a blast from the past in your inbox this morning. The sci-fi sandbox MMORPG is under new management, and the team at Nexeon Technologies sent out an email blurb advertising the fact that the game has undergone significant changes (and has a new website and forum to boot). Nexeon provides a list of all the tweaks that have occurred in recent months, including frequent patches and bug fixes, account portal integration, a new tutorial, and the implementation of famous New York City locales including Brooklyn and Ground Zero. The press release also hints at major updates still in the planning stages, including an item shop, additional colonies, customizable apartments, and more. Face of Mankind is notable for being one of a very few MMORPGs to emphasize roleplay, community, and player-driven politics as primary gameplay systems, and you can read more about the title at its official website.
Mythos Europe adds PvP features and new levels
"Lamentation" is a word that isn't associated with PvP as often as it ought to be, with the lyric "QQ" generally taking its place. But the latest update for Mythos is bringing back lamentation in style with the new Lamento PvP system in place. Players at level 50 or up can fight in 1v1 or 2v2 matches against other players, with the winner obtaining Lamento points that can be used to purchase new level 51 armor and weapons. What's that? You're stuck at level 50? Well, not any longer -- level 51 has been added, allowing players access to new pieces of equipment and another notch of power. The full list of patch changes is quite extensive, including new rewards for clearing dungeons quickly, improvements to movement speed, and new stats that can be generated when items drop. Amidst all of the new doses of power, it's for the best that PvP is coming out in force. After all, why settle for crushing computer-controlled enemies when you could be hearing the lamentations of your opponents?
The Daily Grind: What's your favorite post-launch feature?
Single-player games can occasionally get major DLC or expansions to change the face of the game, but for the most part MMOs are the field where a game can change between two patches. Champions Online recently made a major change with the addition of hideouts, adding in a form of housing to the game that hadn't existed at all when the game launched. It's a recent example, but it's hardly the only time that a game or a expansion has gone live and later had a major addition to its features list. Sometimes features are added in shortly after launch as promised features not quite ready at the time the game went gold, but far more frequently an entirely new feature is developed and added. So what's your favorite feature that was introduced after the game's launch? A player-generated content system a la City of Heroes or Star Trek Online? The addition of instanced PvP such as World of Warcraft's Battlegrounds? Let us know! Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
New producer's letter planning for future upgrades to Final Fantasy XIV
Almost immediately after taking the helm of Final Fantasy XIV, Naoki Yoshida posted a large list of planned changes and updates to the game over the near future. In his most recent letter to the community, Yoshida both highlights the goals already achieved as well as adding a variety of additional goals besides. It's a large list of updates that the community should welcome, along with the announcement that everything on the list (including major battle revisions, chocobos, and the item-enhancing Materia system) should be ready by the end of summer. Yoshida also discusses the overall goal of the battle system revamps, echoing several parts of the document posted earlier regarding the revamp's details. As he puts it, the goals with the changes are to reward skill and interactivity while removing tedium. Final Fantasy XIV players have a great deal of improvements to look forward to over the next several months, and the newest letter helps make it clear exactly how those improvements will be coming down the pipeline.
Lord of the Rings Online releases Update 2
If you've been waiting for the next installment of the epic story behind Lord of the Rings Online, today is your day. Update 2 is now live, containing among other things the beginning of Book 3 for the current story. Along with the revisions to make the preceding Volume II much easier to solo, players who love delving into the game's story and lore will have plenty to be happy about in this update. But there are improvements for the endgame as well. Aside from the previously mentioned removal of radiance, the update features two three-player instances, two six-player instances, a new 12-person raid, and three new scaling skirmishes from the depths of Mirkwood. Add to that the revisions made for monster players, class revisions for Hunters, Burglars, and Minstrels, and a variety of improvements to quality of life, and the most recent Lord of the Rings Online update should bring plenty for everyone. %Gallery-9579%
Player poll results and future plans for Final Fantasy XIV
After a week of silence, it seems the new development team has finished putting together data from Final Fantasy XIV's start-of-year player poll. Naoki Yoshida makes as much clear in the first few lines of his incredibly dense producer's letter, which contains a broad outline of what the team is targeting first in the game's development, as well as the results of the first poll. The results alone merit a great deal of discussion, with the responses charted out for ease of viewing and Yoshida devoting much of his letter to his interpretation of the results. Among the more interesting takeaways are the plans to implement official forums starting in early March, with Yoshida stating he will be posting regular updates on the front page until the forums launch. Several items are under close examination, including jumping, increased stack sizes for several items, and the addition of an auction house -- all of which are very real possibilities for the near future. There's also plans to add in more story-based quests and mini-quests, the addition of public companies (no word on how this will interact with the previously promised company system or if it replaces it), and so many changes that it's hard to summarize. Final Fantasy XIV players should take a look at the full letter, which boasts a lot to get excited about.
Star Wars Galaxies looks to the latest update and beyond
The most recent update to Star Wars Galaxies was a big one all around, adding in the Wookiee Life Day event for the holiday and new content for the Witches of Dathomir. So it's no surprise that the newest producer's letter from Teesquared focuses on several sides of the multifaceted update -- but it doesn't stop there. The letter also addresses some of what players can expect to kick off the next year, as well as notes that the Rebels have regained control of the ongoing Galactic Civil War. For starters, players can expect the long-awaited update to Officers and the Galactic Civil War 2 update, with the latter bringing space and player cities into the ongoing struggle for the galaxy. Players can also look forward to some new old structures becoming available -- according to the letter, the models have existed in the game files but haven't ever been quite finished and implemented before now. And the update promises to give characters more ways to access Rare Loot System chests that don't rely upon the more frequent method of combat. Star Wars Galaxies players should take a look at the full letter and start getting excited about the new year -- it's not so far away.
Champions Online unveils the eight free-to-play archetypes for launch
It's an interesting road ahead for Champions Online as it prepares to go free-to-play. To facilitate the change and give subscribers a reason to keep paying regularly, the game is rolling out rigidly enforced archetypes that take away power selection but still allow for some personal customization. We've seen the initial description of how the archetypes will work, and the team at Cryptic Studios has just unveiled the eight archetypes that will be available to both free players and paying players when the conversion goes live. Each archetype has a strictly defined role, along with several powers meant to enforce that role. Tanking, DPS, and healing are all represented by the available choices, meaning that even players who haven't spent anything will be able to take on whatever role best suits them in the game. Players should take a look at the official listing to see exactly what powers will be available and at the lore description for an idea of where each archetypical concept fits within the Champions Online framework.
Issues 20 and Incarnates previewed for City of Heroes
If you were one of the lucky fans at the recent City of Heroes meet-and-greet, you were treated to a wealth of information from Paragon Studios about the future of the game. If you weren't, however, you still get a fair slice of luck with today's reveal on the official site about the Incarnate system, complete with lore illustrating the start of what promises to be a far-reaching storyline in the game. We've also gotten a look at the event's presentation on future content, which should give fans plenty to look forward to. The Incarnate system is kicking off with the Alpha Slot in Issue 19, which will be focused on wide-ranging enhancements to all of a character's powers. Unlike Enhancements, Incarnate abilities can be slotted and removed without destroying them. Each slot will have several branches that players can explore as well, allowing for a great deal of character customization. Moreover, the most powerful Incarnate abilities allow characters to improve their effective level in battle past the cap. You can head to the official site for more details on the next major system of City of Heroes -- or you can take a look at the gallery for a preview of what's coming and the slides which give us a sneak peek at a new warehouse map, new costume pieces, and the trials of Issue 20. %Gallery-107010%
Nexon changes everything about MapleStory in one Big Bang!
When darkness has covered the world, whom do you call? When everything you have seen on Victoria Island has been changed, is there a hero to save it? When the Black Mage unleashes his evil on the unsuspecting innocents, can he ever be defeated? Will the balance of power be shifted back to good? Will you, the greatest hero, stand up against the destruction and chaos? What are we talking about? Well, it is Nexon's side-scrolling, free-to-play MMO MapleStory, of course. Continuing a five-year tradition of constantly giving players new content, the developers will literally change everything you know about the world of MapleStory this winter in the game's newest story arc, Big Bang. In addition to crafting the new plot, the developers have seen fit to it to better the user interface, game resolution, and graphical textures. On top of that, players should expect a higher experience curve, updated maps, and brand-new character classes. Begin your new adventure by clicking after the break. We have stolen a glimpse of the exciting upgrades with a video trailer of Big Bang. Maybe you can be the one to save Maple World!
Demonflame now available for Champions Online
It was promised for this month, and Champions Online players can rejoice that the promise was true. Demonflame, the second adventure pack for the game, has just moved from the test servers to live. Following in the footsteps of the previous adventure pack, Serpent Lantern, the adventure can be undertaken by any size group from level 11 onward, scaling in both difficulty and complexity according to the number and level of participants. Not to mention that it includes new rewards for players of all levels, including new costume parts of an equally violet hue. In addition to the new adventure, the newest patch also included the pet revision, which might be even more interesting for you depending on your level and power build in the game. While there's no official list of patch notes, our resident columnist did a good job summarizing both the pet changes and the new adventure pack in the weeks leading up to their release. So if you've been holding off on logging in to Champions Online in anticipation of the new patch, now is the time.
New Ryzom patch enhancing PvP and other social functions
PvP is a tricky matter to balance in a game with players in all sorts of different gear levels, not to mention accounting for different player skills. Ryzom has tackled the age-old bugbear with its latest patch, attempting to extend and expand the PvP system in the game to everyone. The system has modified the rules for attacking, flagging, and supporting other players, with a small chart in the patch notes explaining who is allowed to do what to whom and when. In case skewering other players isn't your thing, however, you can invite them into your personal apartment now as well as take advantage of the newly added variable tags for the chat system. There are also enhancements to the apartment customization focusing on getting involved with the community team and as usual a smattering of bugfixes and general performance improvements. If you're part of Ryzom's dedicated audience, take a look at the patch notes to see what 1.10 brings to the game.
The Incident update includes iPhone as iPad controller
I'm a sucker for retro 8-bit games, and the addicting iPhone/iPad game The Incident is no exception. Its interface is simplistic, but gameplay is fast and fun. What's more, it's a universal app that costs only $1.99 -- a bargain! The app has just recently undergone a significant update, including a new "Endless Night" mode, additional objects and music, and new balloon power-ups/downs. But the neatest addition to the app is the ability to use your iPad as the gameplay screen and an iPhone as the controller! I gave the game a go in controller-mode, and it was surprisingly responsive. Tilt the phone to move Mr. Soloway to the left and right, tap the screen to jump -- that's all the controls you need, and they work flawlessly. Thankfully they made it difficult to accidentally tap out of controller mode, requiring you to use a slider to deactivate. Of course, you need both an iPad and iPhone to try the new controller feature. If you have both, definitely give it a try. Hopefully we'll see a lot more games give this feature a go in the future.
NYCC 2010: The City of Heroes Issue 19 panel
It's the end of the convention season, and City of Heroes fans on the East Coast managed to get one last treat -- another chance with the development team that had long been anchored firmly on the other side of the country. The team's panel in March at PAX East saw the revelation of several new facts about the game, including the first announcement of Kinetic Melee and Electric Control, and the panel that closes out the year at New York Comic Con contained several interesting new facts as well. Melissa Bianco, David Nakayama, and Jesse Caceres were all in attendance, with the panel overseen by community representative Tia Parurahi. With Going Rogue having been out for nearly two months, this panel focused on the upcoming Issue 19 and what the changes mean for the game, as well as how much the development team is ramping up production to improve the game all around.
The Daily Grind: What changes were you worried about that turned out fine?
Whenever a new feature is put into a game, there's a portion of the playerbase crying foul before it even hits the test server, and not without cause. Nearly every fan crying out that this change will cause huge problems has evidence, both anecdotal and otherwise, that will be pointed to as an obvious reason why the change is a bad idea. The developers listen, nod quietly, and push it live anyway. And as it turns out, the sky remains where it is, cats and dogs do not begin living together, and the hysteria is remarkably contained. To claim that we don't all have our pet causes is ridiculous -- we all have certain things that we know will break the game beyond a shadow of a doubt. But sometimes these game-breaking changes go live after all, and as it turns out they aren't actually such a big deal. So when have you been frightened of a major game change that turned out to not be all that important? Was it a class redesign, a major mechanical change, or an apparent simplification that wound up making the game more fun to play in the end? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of our readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's The Daily Grind!
City of Heroes previews the coming Issue 19
We've known about the bare basics of Issue 19 for a little while now, but City of Heroes players have just been treated to a new explosion of information about the game's next major content patch. And it promises to be quite a big update, with two new task forces, new events in Praetoria, and some alternate animations and auras that had not been previously announced. Several powers will now have a number of locations that can be used as a launching point, so you could fire your Radiation Blasts from your eyes, one hand, both hands, or other possibilities. More tip and morality missions are being added, as well as the option for characters who were not from Praetoria to enter the city. It couldn't come at a better time, as Praetoria's infiltration and invasion are the center of the two new task forces. Overseen by Apex and Tin Mage, two important lore figures, the chains have characters face off against Praetors and uniquely Praetorian enemies to keep their world safe from Emperor Cole's designs. There are also new live events being added in Praetoria, such as a mass protest that heroes can take part in or help shut down. With the previously announced first Incarnate slot and the move of Fitness to inherent (with a slight clarification of unclear wording), the update promises to be an infusion of both content and systems for City of Heroes, so take a look at the official rundown for more.
Atlantica Online unveils Sheriff Christine
Atlantica Online has given us a rather appealing bit of information -- a new mercenary is moseying into town tomorrow. And true to form, she's promising to bring some interesting new wrinkles to the gameplay for anyone interested in laying down the law. Sheriff Christine is the latest addition to the game, offering players a variety of abilities to help control the flow of battle and interactions with the enemy party, using stuns and control-like abilities to turn the tide. Among her arsenal of stuns and control abilities is her new Arrest ability, which freezes an enemy unit for two turns. She also brings area damage into play with her Revolver Rush skill, or single-target damage with her self-buffing skill Steady Stance. We've also been given a few exclusive screenshots of Christine in action, so check them out in our small gallery, and keep your eyes open for Christine's full launch in Atlantica Online tomorrow. %Gallery-102377%
