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Valve experimented with VR in other games, Team Fortress 2 'obvious choice' for Oculus Rift
Valve revealed that Team Fortress 2 will be the official first game to support Oculus Rift's VR headset, something Valve programmer Joe Ludwig told Engadget was an "obvious choice" for Valve – not only because of the size of the community, but because of how rapidly Valve is updating the game, meaning the community is used to being sort of a test group for new concepts."Team Fortress was sort of the obvious choice for this," Ludwig said. "The Team Fortress community is large and healthy. There are millions of people playing TF every week, but they're also used to us shipping a lot of updates." Team Fortress 2 receives updates nearly on a weekly basis, but it's not uncommon for players to see multiple updates to the free-to-play shooter in one week.Ludwig said Valve is currently experimenting with VR in its other games, but is hardly committing to anything beyond testing at this point. "We've played a bit in Left 4 Dead; we've played a bit in Half-Life 2. We haven't taken any of those other games to the point where they're anywhere close to being ready to be shipped; we've just sort of experimented with head tracking a little bit."Valve chose to partner with Oculus as opposed to creating its own display simply because it made more sense to go that way – the two companies each had something the other wanted. "We've done a bunch of experiments with various bits of hardware, but we don't have a display that we can ship. Oculus is actually out there doing this, and so we're partnering with them because they have the hardware and we have the software and we can help each other out. And we can both learn a lot in the process.""We don't know how strongly people will react to VR," Ludwig concluded. "We don't know how popular it will be, what people wanna see. It might be that we need to learn a lot more from TF before we move on to other titles. We just don't know what's gonna happen."
Team Fortress 2 is Oculus Rift's first official game
Our pals at Engadget toured the Valve offices last week to check out virtual reality support in Team Fortress 2, something Valve programmer Joe Ludwig has been working on for quite a while now. Ludwig reveals that Team Fortress 2 will be Oculus Rift's first official game and that Valve will push a VR mode update to players "sometime within the next couple of weeks.""This is a mode that everybody who has a Rift dev kit and access to Team Fortress 2 will be able to play, just on public and in the same servers that everybody else is playing in," Ludwig told Engadget. Initially, VR mode will be available to only Windows PC players – Mac OS X and Linux platforms are a possibility down the line, after Valve gets access to SDKs for those platforms. "We don't have a Mac or Linux SDK from Oculus quite yet, but once we get those, we'll get it ported over to those other platforms."Ludwig will provide a talk on Valve's hurdles porting the free-to-play shooter over to virtual reality at GDC in San Francisco in two weeks. The Oculus Rift is an upcoming VR headset that was successfully funded through Kickstarter and ships to backers in April. Oculus Rift's 40 "pilot" dev kit prototypes will begin shipping this month and pre-orders are currently open through Oculus Rift's website.
The Game Archaeologist and the What Ifs: Middle-earth Online
I had so much fun walking down the halls of "What if?" last week that I thought I'd keep the streak going for the rest of the month (if you'll allow for some summertime indulgence). It's not that I necessarily wanted MMO history to turn out differently than it did, but it's always tantalizing to wonder what the field would look like with different games out there. Would they have proven more popular than our current crops? Would they have pushed the envelope of innovation? Of course, it's easy to project greatness onto never-released titles, bemoaning that "if only MMO X had launched, we would've had the perfect game!" What ifs are interesting but should never be taken as absolute fact. This week I wanted to look at a project that's related to an MMO near and dear to my heart. As most of you know, I'm somewhat of a Lord of the Rings Online nut here at Massively. Sure, the rest of the staff is upset that I smoke pipeweed inside and never wear shoes, but that's just how far I go to understand the game. But even my LotRO isn't immune to a massive what if. Known to some but not to all, Turbine wasn't the first MMO studio to take a crack at Tolkien's license -- no, for that we have to travel back to 1998 and revisit Sierra On-Line. It was this company that had a brief but memorable run designing Middle-earth Online, aka "What if LotRO had permadeath?" It's a fascinating glimpse into an entirely different approach to the IP, and even though it died a fairly early death, it's important to be remembered. Frodo lives!
PotBS policy updates on cross teaming and selling durability
Pirates of the Burning Sea's 1.5 patch deploys tomorrow morning, but effective immediately are two policy changes. In regards to cross teaming which is when a player uses two different accounts to play as a separate nation on the same server. The rule will be enforced and now applies to multiple accounts tied to individual account owners. It's not possible to play two characters of opposing nations on the same account so players would bypass this by using another account. The second policy change is that the selling of durability to Pirates is no longer allowed. Players with multiple accounts that play as a differing nation on the same server will be given the opportunity to transfer their characters to another server. If players have any further questions regarding the new policy changes please petition in-game. The announcement also warns that repeat offenders are subject to further disciplinary action, most likely the ban stick. Joe Ludwig is responding to some dismayed players over on the official PotBS forums.
PotBS 1.4 patch survey results and what players can expect in 1.5
Flying Lab Software makers of Pirates of the Burning Sea listen to their players, the developers really do! A player survey went live shortly after the1.4 patch, and after a few weeks of data-mining the feedback FLS is responding in a big way. In this latest dev-log by Joe Ludwig, Producer for PotBS, 55% polled in the survey said they prefer to focus their playing time on PvP, 58% from that group said that most of that time is spent on missions or economic activities. Developer logs show that players are repeating high level missions to afford ships and outfitting for PvP gameplay. To address this "time-sink" an insurance system will be added in the 1.5 patch. This means players will receive 90% of the minimum production cost and permanent outfitting when losing their ship. The other deterrent to keep players from PvP is the itemization gap. Starting in 1.5 all permanent outfitting is player-craftable, including green items and will also undergo balance changes. With these two barriers alleviated PvP will become more accessible to a broader audience.
Be heard this week with EQII and PotBS IRC chats
Stratics is going to play host to some more "House of Commons" IRC chats later in the week, for both EverQuest II and Pirates of the Burning Sea, giving fans a chance to pose some questions to the teams behind these two games. On Wednesday the 18th at 5PM PDT/8PM EDT, the PotBS chat will take place, and will feature producer Joe Ludwig, lead game designer Kevin Maginn, lead world designer Cory Herndon, community relations director Troy Hewitt and community specialist Tom Atkinson-Edwards. Full details on how to join in on this chat can be found here.The EQII chat will take place a day later, on Thursday the 19th at the same time slot of 5PM PDT/8PM EDT. Representing the game in the chat will be Josh Kriegshauser and Greg Spence from EQII Engineering; Kyle Vallee, designer of "Runneye: The Gathering"; Nathan McCall, designer of the Void Storm quest series; and Tiffany Spence and Aaron Bisnett from the community relations team. You can find out how to join this chat at this page, and don't forget that we here at Massively will be speaking to the EQII team this week as well, so you can also drop any questions you might have in today's Daily Grind for us to bring to them.
Why aren't there more console MMOs?
Joe Ludwig is probably best known for his role as producer on the historical MMO Pirates of the Burning Sea. Today the Gamasutra site is running an opinion article written by Mr. Ludwig, looking into the surprising dearth of console MMOs on the market. He's essentially responding to a post by Dan Rubenfield, a confrontational post that puts MMO developers "on notice". While undoubtedly there are several opinions in the post to take issue with, the Gamasutra article tackles this statement directly: "If you continue to refuse to acknowledge consoles as the de-facto standard for AAA gaming, you will go out of business. Quit making PC games. It's a waste of time and money."Ludwig asserts that he'd love to make console games, but there are numerous barriers between his interest and reality. We've even talked about a number of these problems on the site, but they're well worth exploring again. Problems like the lack of a keyboard, the rarity of a double-console household, and the hoop-jumping required to get content certified all warrant a look. Of these issues, Ludwig sees the console holder's demand for a share as the most daunting obstacle. In the near-future, console MMOs are probably doomed. What the future might hold is another story entirely.
Austin Game Developer's Conference announces speakers
This year's Austin Game Developer's Conference, slated for early September, sounds like it will be a good one. Though the ION 2008 event was a fantastic MMO-focused design and development thinktank, AGDC traditionally fills that roll. CMP (the event's organizer) has announced some of the speakers that will be participating in the event. The list includes industry heavyweights like Nexon America's Min Kim, BioWare's Damion Schubert, and Cryptic's Gordon Wei.We're particularly interested in Mr. Schubert's talk. Last year his Zen of Online Game Design discussion was one of the highlights of the conference, and his discussion for this year sounds equally engaging. Entitled "Endgame: How to Build High-End Gameplay for Your Most Devoted Players", it would seem to be tackling one of the issues that a lot of MMO players find very pressing. Make sure to check out the descriptions of the events, and if you're thinking of going make sure to register soon. Early registration is only open through the end of July. And, of course, you can look forward to extensive coverage from Massively.com; we'll be at the event in force!
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PotBS patch 1.5 is looming over of the horizon
Pirates of the Burning Sea has seen a few big changes since the game released. The latest addition to the fleet will be new pirate careers in patch 1.4. So what is coming up after buccaneers make their appearance on the high seas? A swabbing of the poop deck to be precise! All that combat and ship destruction leaves plenty of debris around that needs to be picked up. Patch 1.5 is going to do just that.The details were revealed through an interview with Ten Ton Hammer. According to Flying Lab producer Joe Ludwig, the team is "spending the entire month working on nothing but polish." The coffee is brewing at their offices as the entire team focuses on getting the game to a point where it appears just the way they want it. Some pesky annoyances players often report should be getting a swift kick off the plank as well. Those are, of course, not the only things coming in the next update.Joe declares that since users do pay a monthly fee, the team is committed to giving them both polish and new content. That content will be appearing as a second epic mission. Joe says it will be something based on the supernatural, but what exactly this means is not made clear. What is clear is that everyone from the lead developers to the interns are going to be cleaning up the world of Pirates of the Burning Sea for the benefit of swashbucklers everywhere.
The unaddressed impediments to console MMOs
It's a question we often ask ourselves, particularly when games like Grand Theft Auto IV sell over 3 million copies inside of a month: what's stopping developers from bringing more MMOs to the console space? If you ask the console makers, they'll say that the opportunities are there for the taking. They're stable platforms, uniformly online-enabled, and they have captive audiences in the tens of millions. So what's the problem?Joe Ludwig, producer of Pirates of the Burning Sea, explained in a recent blog post that it's really pretty straight-forward. He says that the addition of a platform-owner to the developer/publisher dynamic throws a wrench in the process. Not only do the console manufacturers demand a cut of the already-tenuous profit margins, but their certification processes also slow down the release of patches. Couple that with longer development times and the inherent limitations of voice-chat, and you've got a yourself sticky situation. Will we see successful console MMOs in the future? Undoubtedly. But the prospects of success in the short-term, Ludwig says, are likely slim.
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Land ho! Patch 1.3 is on the horizon
Ahoy land lovers and filthy bilge rats! Flying Lab recently announced that PotBS patch 1.3 will be hitting the test server on April 8th. The patch contains many changes to numerous aspects of the game, from the UI to the long awaited completion of Pointe-a-Pitre, the French colonial capital: Marks of victory will reap more rewards through an exchange shop Dueling allows players in port to immediately enter a private combat zone to defend their honor Contention of ports and the ensuing battles now require more group effort The UI has been improved Pointe-a-Pitre will be introduced The changes focusing on port contention are part of a larger effort extending through patch 1.4. Players on the conquerable Caribbean map now have the option to partake in group oriented missions in contestable ports. The design team also states that NPC vessel spawns on the open seas have been revamped. The most prominent feature of the PvP portion of the patch is the new exchange shop. PvP players should now be able to focus on combat and be able to replace their losses within the shop using Marks of Victory (like a badge of honor for you WoW folks). With the new character copy system for the test server, we should hear plenty of feedback once the patch is applied there. The updates don't end there. More broadsides are delivered with news of the upcoming 1.4 patch which producer Joe Ludwig seems quite happy about. "1.4 will include some big updates for pirates, a revamp of the contention system which I think will make a LOT of you very happy, and as always, more UI love from the UI Strike Team." Hoist the anchor, raise the sails, and be prepared for more exciting updates as 1.3 goes live and 1.4 continues to develop.
New producer, patch for PotBS
Joe Ludwig announced on his personal blog as well as in a new Pirates Devlog, that he is officially taking over the producer duties for Pirates of the Burning Sea, replacing John "Rev" Tynes in the position. No reason is given for the shift, Ludwig only briefly and cryptically saying that Rev is "going to work on other things." Ludwig assures us that he's fit for the role though, jokingly claiming that he's made it his job to meddle in relations with SOE over the last year anyway, even when it wasn't a part of his job title.Without sparing any time for further pleasantries, Ludwig dives right into business, announcing that their first big content patch is on its way. Among the most significant additions to the game will be a new and improved French Capitol. They are reimagining Pointe-a-Pitre both in terms of looks and mission content, and Ludwig assures us it will be quite the sight. Another interesting tidbit is the addition of a quest called "Bey's Retreat," which will be the first of hopefully many "epic" missions, and should take players in the area of 4-6 hours to run through completely. There's even more juicy bits that we don't have the space to describe here, so make sure to check out the new Devlog.
