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Nab your very own Gods & Heroes beta key! [Updated]
Heatwave Interactive's mythology-driven MMO Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising is cresting toward its official launch on June 21st, but there's still time for you to dive in early! Until June 12th, curious would-be players can sign up on the official Gods & Heroes site for an open beta key, free and clear. During this final open beta phase, testers will romp through the early levels of gameplay, boss their minions, and preview the estate system that impressed even our own Beau Hindman. If you like what you see, then you'll want to preorder the game to access the Gods & Heroes head-start program, which will allow gamers to sail past the competition and enter the game officially a full week early. Have fun! [Updated: It's June 12th, so the beta key giveaway has now officially ended. Hope you had a great time!]
Mythos European open beta starts today
It's been a long road home for Mythos, the free-to-play hack-and-slash MMO from HanbitSoft and Frogster. The game, which enters its European open beta phase today, originally began its life at ill-fated Flagship Studios and was resurrected after the company's dissolution. After a lengthy development cycle, Mythos has officially thrown open its doors to all registered players (over 100,000 of them to date) in preparation for the game's April 28th launch day. A Frogster press release indicates that additional optimization and localization will continue throughout the open beta, and considerable new content will be introduced as well. The level cap will be raised from 27 to 50, and adventurers will be able to explore the snow-capped Umbral Peaks. Players can download Mythos for free at the official website or pick up a retail box version at stores or online retailers. The box copy includes several bonus items as well as a two-day head start on the game's official release.
Enter at Your Own Rift: Getting a head start
Dateline: Thursday, February 24th, 12:55 p.m. EST. After having rushed home from work (huzzah for a half-day), I was frantically putting the kids to bed for an afternoon nap and patching up my RIFT client. Twitter was abuzz with gamers sitting at the starting gate and revving their mice. It was here. After seven betas, it was here, and we would be the first in the door. 12:59 p.m. EST. Began checking the server status list, trying to will the dull grey names to light up as they signified activity. 1:00 p.m. EST. Scott Hartsman posts a short message on Twitter: "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to RIFT." Right on cue, the servers came up, and what felt like the entire population of Oregon tried to cram into the game all at once. By 1:01 p.m., when I logged in, my chosen server of Faeblight was already full and had 461 people in the queue. I was 462. It would be another 45 minutes until I was able to play the game proper.
One Shots: The calm before the storm
Today marks the official lauch of RIFT for those who didn't pre-order and get in on the head-start action. As such, it only seemed natural to feature a RIFT screenshot from the pre-launch so those who are just now joining up get a glimpse into how things were in-game just a few scant days ago. This image comes to us from chadwich, who writes in to tell us more: "Sanctum was packed and bustling as RIFT opened its doors to the world. This is Bartlebe the Dwarven Mage sitting atop his first mount on his way out of the bustling city. I snapped this shot, and I felt like it really captured the finer side of the city." One Shots is all about great reader screenshots. If you've taken a dazzling screenshot recently, then why not send it in to us? It's easy to do. Email it to oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing in the picture. You never know -- your image could be the next one we feature here on Massively! %Gallery-112285%
RIFT opened!
"So when you take all these new types of things to do and you put them all together, that's when you know -- this is RIFT," Scott Hartsman proclaims in a launch day video for Trion Worlds' MMO. Although you either already know or are more into macrame than MMORPGs, today is RIFT's official release in North America following last Thursday's head start program for pre-orders. RIFT will be rolling out across the globe in the next few days, with Australia slated for Wednesday, March 2nd, pan-European countries March 3rd, and in the UK March 4th. To celebrate the launch, the overworked Trion crew put together a special video titled "This is RIFT" that highlights the strong selling points of the game, such as the wardstone system, the dynamic rifts, and the high-level raid content. Check it out after the jump, and if you're stuck at work, we have a terrific launch day roundup to feed the info beast lurking in your belly.
Are other game studios taking countermeasures against RIFT? [Updated]
If you didn't know, today is the head start launch of RIFT and the beginning of many strained household relationships as players finally dive into Telara for real. While we've known for some time that Trion Worlds' creation was going to be a major player in the MMO field, it seems as though RIFT's release has caused other MMO studios to step up and take countermeasures. In the past 24 hours, there have been a few significant developments that seem suspicious in regard to timing, at least. The first is that Blizzard dropped World of Warcraft's next content update, Patch 4.1, on to the public test server in the middle of the night. Mortal Online's announced that its free 14-day trial program is now active for any interested parties. We've also received numerous tips that EA Mythic disabled the cancel subscription option for Warhammer Online. Although we obviously can't be certain that all of these events are due to RIFT, timing, as they say, is everything. Have you seen any other MMO studios stepping up their game today as a distraction from the new shiny? [Update: The Warhammer subscription option was a bug that should be resolved today, according to the devs.]
Unboxing the RIFT Collector's Edition
Like hyperactive kids on Christmas morning, we've been tearing into our copies of RIFT's Collector's Edition with unbridled excitement. Although Trion Worlds has offered a variety of versions of the game, from the standard to the Digital Collector's Edition, we're most interested in checking out the many physical goodies that come with the deluxe CE. Included with the RIFT Collector's Edition is the game, various digital in-game items, 30 days of gameplay, a poster, mousepad, 8 gigabyte flash drive, soundtrack, reference card, and a 128-page full-color comic set in the game world of Telara. If you like what you see, it's not too late to pick up a copy of the CE -- which runs you $76.99 from Amazon -- and get in with tomorrow's head start launch. You can view all of the CE's wonders and treasures by checking out the gallery below:%Gallery-117421%
Trion Worlds posts RIFT's official server list
With a little over a day until RIFT's head start kicks off the live version of the game, community anticipation is high for Trion World's dynamic brainchild. Players have been waiting for specific details of the list of server names and rulesets to pick their in-game home -- details that are now answered. On the RIFT forums, Community Manager Abigale finally posted a full list of the servers available for the game's launch. The list includes 17 US and 12 European servers, associated with PvE, PvP, PvP-RP and RP types. The European servers also are categorized according to language: French, English and German. The team is planning to release specific forums for each servers, but in the meanwhile you can check out the full list after the jump.
Down to the wire: Trion announces exact time of RIFT's head start
With three days to go until RIFT's head start kicks off (and a week until the official launch), excited players may be forgiven for running in circles in an attempt to speed up the passage of time. While Trion Worlds can't make Thursday come any quicker, the studio did finally reveal on Facebook the hour that the head start will go live: 1:00 p.m. EST (10:00 a.m. PST, 6:00 p.m. GMT). RIFT just completed its six-day open beta event, and developer Zann has promised more details on the head start as the week progresses (including, presumably, server names): "For everyone who is asking about the head-start client, we will post all the information and instructions before the event kicks off!" To get in the game on February 24th instead of March 1st, you'll need to pre-order RIFT either online or at a retailer. In the meantime, why not check out our guide to pre-launch preparations?
RIFT set to release on March 1st
Get ready rifters, as Trion Worlds has dropped a definitive release date for its forthcoming fantasy MMORPG. That's right, RIFT will be firing on all cylinders round about March 1st in the States (March 4th in Europe). Today's announcement also brings further word on the pre-order program and collector's edition items that we mentioned last week. Pre-order customers can choose one of three in-game pets and are eligible to jump in and play RIFT a week before the official launch date. The head start period begins February 24th, and all pre-order customers are automatically invited to participate in the remaining beta events (the details of which are available on the official site). Finally, Trion is also discounting multi-month subscriptions to the tune of $9.99 US with a time-limited Founder's Pricing program. "We've been able to create an exceptionally polished and immersive online world filled with adventure, surprise, and beauty. We can't wait to share RIFT with players around the world," said Trion CEO Lars Buttler.
Hobbits like gifts and you do too: Win 500 LotRO Turbine Points and get into the head start!
This is Iago Glennudh, and he's here to welcome adventurers to the new version of Lord of the Rings Online, complete with a free-to-play option. He may be an odd hobbit with a bit of plant life growing in the dirt behind his ears, but Iago is nothing if not generous. Turbine handed him a wheelbarrow full of Turbine Point codes, and instead of keeping them, Iago wants to share them with you! Each one of these codes is worth 500 Turbine Points to spend in the brand new LotRO store on anything from cosmetic outfits to expanded storage to zone content. Even better, these codes allow their owners to get into the current head start of the new patch instead of waiting until Friday! Read on to learn how you can be one of the lucky winners!
EverQuest's Underfoot expansion pushed back to December
It looks like EverQuest's upcoming expansion, Underfoot, will not be launching in November as was originally planned. A notice on the EQPlayers website has informed the community that the new launch date is the 15th of December, thankfully not too far from the previously nominated time frame. The reason given for the delay was fairly predictable: "To ensure that we can give our players the best possible gameplay experience and the amount of content that they've come to expect". Hopefully the extra time leads to a better expansion.Just as before, players can still get early access to the expansion by participating in all three of the events in the "Road to Underfoot" series. So far only two of the events have actually been revealed; the first is "Giants, Giants, Giants", and the second is the "Ancient Heroes" event that was introduced with this week's game update. This leaves one more event to be unveiled later on. The cut-off date to participate in all three of them and qualify for the head-start is December 1st, with early access to begin on December 8th. Just remember that you have to pre-order and pay off the Underfoot expansion too! You can visit the Road to Underfoot homepage to get all the details on the events.
Aion preselection and head start programs detailed
Aion is right around the corner and there are two big things you should be aware of leading up to its North American launch on September 22 (September 25 in Europe): preselection and head start. These items are only of concern if you are a preorder customer.Preselection begins this Friday at noon PDT (3PM EDT). Eligible players who preordered the game (check your master account status: as long as it doesn't say 'beta' you're golden) will be able to log into their game clients and create a total of two characters on their server of choice. This will help you get on the same server as your friends and hopefully reserve your favorite names (see official server list). Our understanding is that you can make two characters on one server or one character on each of two servers for those wanting to reserve an Elyos and Asmodian. Preselection closes on Sunday, September 20 at 9AM PDT (noon EDT).Aion's head start will begin on Sunday at noon PDT for those eligible players who preordered as well. It appears that both NA and EU players will have the same preselect and head start dates and times. The head start program allows players to experience the full spectrum of what Aion has to offer as there are no level/zone restrictions being put in place. It's just as if you're getting to play the full release... two days early (five if you're European). Want to avoid the launch day crowds? Play the head start!
Fallen Earth head start begins today
Despite the fact that the game's official launch has been pushed back to September 22nd, Fallen Earth's pre-order head start begins today at 2pm EST. So for anyone who purchased the game from their website for the special ATV mount, or purchased it through Direct2Drive for the warhorse mount, you get to play almost two weeks before everyone else!According to their official announcement, all special beta and pre-order items (including characters) have been reset, so you'll need to re-enter these codes once the servers go live. This is it, fellow wastelanders! The apocalypse is upon us.
DDO Unlimited begins head start today
With Dungeons and Dragons Online's upcoming venture into the world of free-to-play, we're all pretty excited to get into the game and see what it has to offer, without the worries of a monthly sub. Not only that, but the devs at Turbine are adding so much to the game, it really did its own relaunch for the event.The official launch of DDO Unlimited will take place on September 9th, but today actually marks a head start for all current beta players and previous subscription holders. This means you can reserve new character names, check out the new content and even make some purchases on the DDO store before everyone else. Active or former subscribers can simply patch their current clients, but beta players will need to head on over to this link to download the game.
The Daily Grind: Early starts, yay or nay?
Today marks the first day of Champions Online's Early Start program for special pre-order customers. That's not to say the rest of you aren't special, you're just... special in a different way. But the early start isn't a new concept, and has been going on for a while now. Warhammer Online did it last year, actually. What we'd like to know are your thoughts on the subject. Do you love, hate or just feel generally uneasy about early starts? For that matter, do you even care about them one way or another?It doesn't seem like the concept is going away any time soon, and you can bet your computer chair that Star Trek Online will have one as well. But who knows, it could just be a phase. Like that time in college when you thought The Cure were the only band in the entire world worth listening to.
Fallen Earth moves into open beta on August 17th
Yes, that's right, the apocalypse opens up its doors to all on August 17th. If you're really eager for the apocalypse, however, then we suggest you hurry on over to Fileplanet and sign up for an account, as they're going to be the ones handing out access to Fallen Earth. Fileplanet will be making the Fallen Earth beta accessible for download on Friday, August 14th, for all of you who want to get that download rolling early.If you're really excited for Fallen Earth's launch on September 9th, then you can also hop over to Direct2Drive and grab yourself a pre-order of the game. Pre-orders not only get guaranteed access to the beta, but they also get the exclusive in-game mount, the Wasteland Runner. The special mount has four more points of defensive skills, 2500 extra stamina, and six more pack slots over other horses.Even more importantly, pre-order customers will be getting a five day head start in the game. Yes, that's right, five days! This means the pre-order customers will be jumping into the game on September 4th, while everyone else will get to experience the Grand Canyon on the 9th.
The Daily Grind: How important is reserving your name on launch day?
By now, everyone with the Warhammer Online Collector's Edition and Standard Edition have reserved their character names, thanks to the special head-start promotions for each. Let's face it, besides the obvious allure of playing the game a few days early, that opportunity to grab the perfect name is why we pre-order and sign up for these head-starts in the first place. MMO bloggers from all across the blogosphere are discussing how happy they are to get their planned names, if they were lucky enough to get it.So we want to know how important it is to get that perfectly planned name. Were you able to get that holy grail name you've brought with you through your gaming career? More interestingly, if your name is taken on one server, will you switch servers just for that name?
Warhammer CE head start to launch later with many extra servers
In just six hours (1pm ET) the first official retail servers for Warhammer Online will spring to life, starting the launch-life of players who pre-ordered the Collector's Edition of the game. That's a few hours later than was originally announced by the company, but there's good news to accompany the slight delay. Instead of the ten servers originally announced for the startup, there will be fifteen shards ready and waiting for new players. Mythic CEO Mark Jacobs also says that the company is ready with additional servers onhand to roll out as the initial group hits capacity. In a post to the Vault Network boards, he goes into detail about what the company plans to do in order to ensure that the first public Warhammer servers don't melt under consumer interest. He lays out their 'step up' population plan, which you can read in detail in the post. We wish you the best of luck getting your preferred name, CE players! Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out all of our previous Warhammer Online features, and don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
A reminder from Mythic: Warhammer's head start begins this weekend
Mythic sent along a reminder that the headstart information we noted at the beginning of the month still applies: your very first chance to get onto Warhammer Online's launch servers is this weekend. Collector's edition preordering WAR-fans get in first at 7am EDT on Sunday the 14th. Everyone that preordered the regular edition gets in at 7am EDT on Tuesday the 16th. The game only went gold at the end of last month, after a beta period the developers have been running for more or less two years. This is the first time that players will be able to create characters that last longer than a few weeks; starting on Sunday September 14th, the world goes to war! The game launches 'proper' on September 18th. Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out all of our previous Warhammer Online features, and don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
