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APB's lead designer on the changes in 1.18.0
If you're curious about what's happening in the world of APB: Reloaded, why not read the latest dev blog? Lead designer Ricardo Viana writes that the team's focus for the forthcoming 1.18.0 update is on APB's missions, dynamic events, and visual effects. He also mentions that the patch will tweak APB's team leader system, primarily by adding messaging, the ability to request the leader role, and an AFK parameter for the existing demerit system.
Previously on MV TV: The week of September 1st
This week I have quite the selection of tasty video tidbits for you to enjoy. What better way to spend the weekend than staying inside away from the nasty pollen and wasps, watching amazing gameplay videos hosted by yours truly and his band of fellow pixel-heads? That's right! You don't even have to buy MMOs anymore! By simply clicking on the "continue reading" link below, you step into an expansive world of MMO exploration, teeming with sights and sounds unlike you have ever seen or installed before! Why should you go through the trouble of standing in line, purchasing a box, spending two days installing it on your massive PC, pulling up that huge plastic chair, waiting for the game to patch, and attempting to make a character who doesn't look like a 17 year-old pop-punk band member only to find that you suck at PvP? The simple answer to your problem is to watch us play ALL OF THE GAMES! Which games, you might ask? Well, this week I have some Piggy action as he streams Fallen Earth, followed by Richie with some Guild Wars 2, Mike with some more EVE Online, World of Tanks and Tribes: Ascend. And I follow it all up with a trip through Wurm Online to view the mystery behind the Puzzles deed and then chat with Illyriad CEO James Niesewand about his game's new patch! Check it out!
Big faction changes coming to Fallen Earth
Big changes are coming to Fallen Earth's faction system, and the latest GamersFirst dev diary has the details. Lead designer Marie "Aro Sei" Croall says that the devs "want to make sure it is clear to all players who they are fighting for and who they are against." The current faction dynamics can be confusing, she explains, and GamersFirst feels that Fallen Earth's learning curve can be smoothed out "without dumbing it down." To do so, shoulder factions are being removed, and wastelanders will need to pick a faction and remain loyal to it in order to earn points. Missions may be accepted from three factions, but only the primary faction will determine PvP objectives, missions, and faction channels. Finally, the devs are removing factional friendly fire except in cases of clan wars, bloodsports, or dueling gameplay. Croall says this is intended to curb same-faction griefing, and ultimately contribute to "a less jarring PvP experience in Fallen Earth."
Fallen Earth's 2.3 patch live today, new world bosses incoming
If you're looking to play a little Fallen Earth this morning, you may have to wait a couple of hours. That's the bad news. The good news is that the servers were scheduled to come down at 11:00 a.m. EST so that GamersFirst can roll out the 2.3 patch. The latest update for the post-apocalyptic sandpark MMO features new PvE content for levels 30 through 35, rare and prized treasure boxes, and several world-boss events. There are also a number of bug fixes, mission tweaks, and art updates. The full patch notes are viewable at the official Fallen Earth website.
The Daily Grind: What game do you wish you had time for?
There's no shortage of MMOs, and whether your tastes include big budget titles like The Secret World or EverQuest II or small-scale niche products like Glitch or Darkfall, these are the salad days in terms of choice. While you probably won't find many folks complaining about the genre explosion we've witnessed over the past few years, it is becoming harder to see it all, even though the free-to-play movement has removed many of the financial obstacles inherent in the game-hopping lifestyle. There's always one game (or two, or seven) that you never seem to have time for, despite the fact that it looks really cool and dammit you're going to make time for that starting... sometime. For me, that game is Fallen Earth, and I'm bummed out by the fact that I'm still saying that two years after its launch. What about you, Massively folk? Is there a game (or games) that you keep meaning to play? 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!
The joys of scripting the apocalypse: A behind-the-scenes look at Fallen Earth
What's it like to have a post-apocalyptic landscape as your writing canvas? According to Marie Croall, it's pure heaven. Fallen Earth's lead designer opened up to Rock, Paper, Shotgun about the joys of writing and designing the myriad of quests for the game, as well as the free-to-play transition, plans for PvP, and the dynamic world events. Croall is part of a slimmed-down team of 12 developers who currently develop Fallen Earth's content. Saying that the team is always trying to "push the envelope" when it comes to the stories told, she notes that each area contains the imbued spirit of each writer: "I worked on a lot of the conflict towns early on and we knew that this was a place for people to kill each other, so a lot of the missions ended up being really thinly veiled insults." One of the aspects of Fallen Earth that Croall loves is how crazy the team can get. In one instance, the team decided to redo the starter town of Boneclaw by dropping a missile right into it. "We killed off all the players that were there, all the NPCs, and left it as a radiation zone for a good two months, while we made the new town. We flat out nuked it because it wasn't doing what we wanted it to do. Boom!" While Fallen Earth skirts the line between sandbox and theme park, Croall says the team is devoting a great deal of resources to beefing up the former. "The more features we add, the more ways for players to drive themselves, it makes the world better, it makes it feel like what we saw it as," she said.
The story of saving APB
While many of us are aware of the basics behind the rise, fall, and re-rise of All Points Bulletin, it's only been from a partial, fragmented perspective. GamesIndustry.biz conducted an in-depth investigation into the story of how GamersFirst swooped in to save the drowning APB, which barely had 130,000 registered users at the time of its shutdown last year. As the game and company went into administration, GamersFirst sent in a team to assess the title and see what could be done. The company decided to purchase it and convert it to a free-to-play model, although Bjorn Book-Larsson said that the price tag for the company was higher than initially anticipated: "It ended up not being a cheap deal for us, but obviously a lot cheaper than the initial development." In restructuring the development team, GamersFirst reduced the number of developers by 90% to make it more agile, often recruiting former Realtime Worlds employees who showed promise. "Our production designer used to be the lead QA person. He'd spent years taking notes on how things should have been different. Essentially, when I met him the first time he rattled off a huge list of what he thought should have been different. Just an insane amount. We just said, maybe we should just hire you as a designer," Larsson said. So far, it looks as though the restructuring and new focus is paying off, as APB Reloaded's beta is currently seeing five times as many players as those who registered for the box product last year.
Massively Exclusive: GamersFirst on yesterday's layoffs and the future of APB
It's been a whirlwind couple of days for the folks at GamersFirst. Yesterday we broke the story of layoffs at the company, and today the free-to-play firm has come forward to chat with us about what exactly is going on (and what exactly it's thinking in regard to the new Occupy Free2Play promotion). We talked with Rahul Sandil, G1's senior vice president of marketing and business development, and he had some interesting things to say about the future of both APB Reloaded and Fallen Earth.
GamersFirst challenging players with Occupy Free2Play
Occupy Wall Street is the phrase on everyone's lips these days, and the folks at GamersFirst are getting in on the action with a lighthearted spinoff of the movement. GamersFirst is making the bold statement that it's "challenging video game players and consumers to break the cycle of MMOs that require you to commit to a subscription after spending as much as $60 for the honor of playing their products." The company continues, "Worse is the latest crop of subscription-lite and freemium games claiming to be Free2Play. GamersFirst is challenging gamers to reject this propaganda of what other publishers are calling free and demand more from their gaming experience." It's an interesting take on gaming, but G1 has even more to say and a very clear idea of what F2P is not: "Free2Play is NOT a thinly-veiled game trial. Free2Play is NOT titles that require cash shop purchases to play. Free2Play is NOT experience level caps. Free2Play is NOT exclusive content for paying players. Free2Play is NOT pay-to-win." Strong words, but is there anything behind them? The answer seems to be yes, since GamersFirst is backing up its words with -- what else? -- free items. Massively has been given 5,000 codes for APB: Reloaded gift packages that include three days of access to both a Colby CSG-20 PR2 shotgun and a ACT 44 Golden Marksmen pistol. The package also includes three days of premium access to the game. Head to our giveaway page to pick up your items, and make sure you hit the comment button to give us your take on Occupy Free2Play!
Rumor: GamersFirst lays off 32 staffers, CFO [Updated]
If the rumors are true, today has not been the best of days for MMO industry staffers. Hot on the heels of our NCsoft layoff story comes distressing news for fans of GamersFirst, as we've just received an anonymous tip concerning the apparent dismissal of 32 people from the firm's west coast office. According to our tipster, "Most of the APB team was let go. A lot of the support staff was let go. The development team was not, to my knowledge, so the game is still being developed in Scotland." We've also been told that GamersFirst's CFO was let go. We've reached out to G1 for clarification on this story, and as of press time there is no official word on the staffing decisions or how the shake-up will affect Fallen Earth and the rest of the company's free-to-play lineup. [Updated: Reader alacritythief let us know that GamersFirst's Revoemnag and TechMech have responded to the layoffs in regard to APB's future. Their comments are just behind the break.]
Fallen Earth's spiked chopper debuts in new trailer
Why did the Fallen Earth chicken cross the road? To get a closer look at the game's new choppers of course. When we say choppers, we mean badass bikes and not helicopters (although that would be cool too -- chop chop GamersFirst). Anyway, as we reported earlier this week, Wednesday marks the final day to subscribe to Fallen Earth prior to its free-to-play/hybrid makeover, and the faithful will receive a new spiked chopper mount for their trouble. You can take a good long look at the bike -- as well as plenty of post-apocalyptic wasteland visuals and the aforementioned chicken -- in the latest game trailer after the cut.
Fallen Earth state of the game talks 1.9.2, economics, and more
Curious -- and perhaps a tad impatient -- regarding the status of Fallen Earth's free-to-play transition? We were, and fortunately for everyone, producer Marie Croall just penned a dev blog that's given us a bit more insight into the goings-on around the wasteland as of late. The good news is that "the heavy lifting is over" in terms of the account and services migration to GamersFirst. Croall says that the Fallen Earth team is a smidge over halfway through the entire transition process, so for now it'll still cost you a few bucks to log in and get your post-apocalyptic sandpark fix. Croall spends some virtual ink talking about this month's fast travel/1.9.2 patch, and she also goes into a bit more detail on the combat changes that came with it. Finally, she touches on the game's second anniversary (yeah, it's been two years already!), which happens next month and will also herald some economic changes designed to make the game's well-regarded crafting system pack a little more punch. There's more too, but much of it is farther down the development pipeline, and we highly recommend heading to the official Fallen Earth dev blog to check it out.
Fallen Earth subscriber appreciation gifts detailed
If you're a Fallen Earth subscriber, you're about to get a few thank you gifts from Icarus and GamersFirst. A new blurb on the post-apocalyptic MMORPG's website outlines the goodies in store for loyal wastelanders that stay subbed from August through October. Fancy white boots, hats, and jackets are the order of the day, so if you've ever had the urge to dress your clone like a pimp or an extra from the Matrix, now's the time. The devs are giving away some pretty cool pets as well, and you'll take home a skin dog, a chupacabra, and an old creeper if you stay subbed for all three months. Subscribers "won't have to buy these or do anything out of the ordinary to get them; they will gravitate towards you like mosquitoes to freshly exposed skin," says the Fallen Earth website. It's also worth noting that these gifts are not part of the veteran rewards system which Icarus says will be taking effect when the free-to-play transition is complete.
GamersFirst revamps Knight Online's capital city
GamersFirst is getting a lot of press lately due to its resurrection project on APB: Reloaded, but it bears mentioning that San Paro isn't the only city receiving some love from the free-to-play company. Knight Online's capital city of Moradon "has risen from the ashes to be completely redesigned," according to a new GamersFirst press blurb. Moradon's architecture has been permanently redone, and the questing hub boasts a graphical revamp that reflects the city's rebuilding efforts following the destructive machinations of the god Pathos in Knight Online's chapter eight update. Knight Online is a PvP- and story-centric MMO that allows players to fight for lands and castles in the kingdom of Carnac. Four character classes are available, and you can learn more about the Warrior, Rogue, Priest, and Mage at the game's official web destination.
APB Reloaded closed beta to start in February
The official Twitter account for APB Reloaded, the free-to-play relaunch of the troubled MMO shooter by GamersFirst, says that the closed beta of the new version will begin as soon as next month. Information will reportedly be sent out to interested parties (presumably including former APB players, though you can sign up on the official site as well) this week. Then, in February, closed beta servers will come back online as the game gets its second chance to succeed. GamersFirst told Joystiq recently that its first priority is to "get the game up and live again" and then drop an unreleased patch, open up some of the zones originally locked to free players and, finally, institute microtransaction plans and offerings like premium accounts. The company also plans to target new markets with the game, specifically Brazil and South America. Here's hoping the second go-round turns out better than the first one did.
GamersFirst rezzes Acclaim 9Dragons characters
Where's a good cleric when you need one? Apparently they're at the GamersFirst offices, performing the herculean task of reanimating thousands of 9Dragons characters left for dead when Acclaim (the title's original publisher) pulled the plug on the martial arts MMORPG this past summer. If you're a former 9Dragons player and you submitted a character request earlier this year, you can now claim your rebuilt level 80 avatar at the official GamersFirst website. "We are excited to finally be able to offer character restoration options for the 9Dragons community. We want players to know that we appreciate their support during our transition. We have spent a large amount of time and effort processing and improving the template characters to get players back into the game without having to redo all their hard work from before," said David Demers, 9Dragons Associate Producer.
World of Warcraft will reign for another 20 years according to industry analysts
With all of the recent focus on World of Warcraft following its latest expansion, it's no surprise that the industry leader is at the center of another round of "What will topple WoW?" discussions. In an article on Eurogamer, industry analysts and developers lend their thoughts as to what made World of Warcraft so dang popular to begin with, and what it will take -- if anything -- for another game to beat its popularity, subscription numbers and cultural footprint. Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter declared that nothing will top the title for at least 20 years due to an insurmountable lead, although this became debated by the other participants. Cryptic's Jack Emmert thinks WoW will be "chipped away at" instead of toppled. Age of Conan's Craig Morrison thinks that nobody can consciously plan to overcome WoW's lead saying, "You don't topple a cultural phenomenon. But you can join one." GamersFirst's Bjorn Book-Larsson doesn't think there's a need for WoW to be toppled due to the size of the market. Codemasters' Dave Solari imagines that the winning formula "would have mass market appeal, with instant accessibility, would work on all platforms, particularly mobile, be incredibly viral and social -- like a feature-rich FarmVille." Undead Labs' Jeff Strain thinks that MMO studios should be looking at it a different way: "They should instead be striving to achieve the same level of success with their own game ideas." Some even speculate that Blizzard is the only studio capable of besting its own game, perhaps with its second MMO that's due to be announced in 2012. Head on over to Eurogamer for the full discussion.
APB: Reloaded blog chronicles the resurrection of an MMO
If you're as fascinated with the saga of All Points Bulletin's death and promised resurrection as we are, then buckle up, hang on tight, and cling to clichés like there's no tomorrow. We've already talked with GamersFirst about its tentative plans to tweak and reopen APB next year, but there's far more to the story than that. On the APB-Reloaded blog, GamersFirst's Bjorn Book-Larsson decided to chronicle the journey from acquisition to relaunch with a series of weekly posts. In the first such post, Book-Larsson makes the humorous observation that his company has been called the "Crazy Cat Lady" of MMO publishers due to picking up "strays" and nursing them back to health. He then dives into the challenge of balancing the game's content and play against its new free-to-play structure. This transitions to his second post, which examines the company's plan for premium (i.e., paid) players. "The goal then becomes nudging the most hardcore players into 'Premium' account status, in order to help pay the bills, while also letting people lease weapons and perform micro transactions for other items," Book-Larsson writes. So far, the blog is proving to be a great ongoing read of this high-profile situation, so head on over and check it out for yourself!
GamersFirst CTO talks about APB: Reloaded
While news of All Points Bulletin's impending resurrection is a few hours old at this point, it's still worth taking a peek at one of the better interviews on the subject. Our friends at Joystiq got to talk about the upcoming F2P APB: Reloaded with GamersFirst's Bjorn Book-Larsson, and the CTO/COO had some interesting thoughts on the subject. "We think of it as an opportunity. It's worth our effort to take it and combine it with all of the user data we have and let the game take its time to reach its full potential," Book-Larsson said. He goes on to touch on APB's potential popularity in non-traditional markets, particularly South America, and also illustrates how it complements the company's existing WarRock FPS. As for changes to the Reloaded version, Book-Larsson says the major one will be the fact that all the game's action districts will be accessible without a fee. As with most F2P titles, the ultimate goal is to get the player in and hooked "because at some point you're going to run into a situation where you'll want to spend money," he says. Check out all the details at Joystiq.
GamersFirst publisher purchases APB
Most of the time, when an MMO goes under, there is a strong core of fans remaining hopeful that their game will get picked up by another company and come back. Most times that simply doesn't happen, but APB might just be the exception to that rule. There have been rumors flying for a while, and speculation was that Codemasters had purchased the game. After David Solari put a stop to that, we all went back to wondering what -- if anything -- would happen. We've finally got our answer this morning. According to gamesindustry.biz, K2 Network, the publisher behind GamersFirst, has purchased APB. Sources say that K2 paid around £1.5 million for the game, and that there is a "possibility that the shooter may be up and running again before the end of the year." Furthermore, the game is likely to adopt a free-to-play business model. Check out the full story on gamesindustry.biz.
