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Project Gorgon engages its second Kickstarter campaign
After its Kickstarter campaign fizzled back in 2012, Project Gorgon and its team regrouped to prepare a second, and hopefully successful, crowdfunding drive. The campaign launched a couple of days ago and is attempting to rake in $100,000 in pledges before the end of its 30 days. Project Gorgon bills itself as "an indie MMORPG with the deep gameplay of the classics, all the features of a modern game, and a unique immersive feel." The team promises a virtual world with a focus on exploration without signposts and immersive aspects such as being able to write in-game books for others to read. Project Gorgon also allegedly rewards certain types of gameplay with "behavior badges." Project Gorgon has been in development for four years and is nearing the production stage. The game is actually playable in an early state right now, so if you're curious, you can check it out before deciding whether or not to sponsor its development. We've also got a preview video for you after the jump. [Thanks to Gaming Conjecture for the tip!]
Project Gorgon seeks Kickstarter funding
Is your Kickstarter fund depleted yet? Designer Eric Heimburg is hoping that you've got a bit more money left in there for his small-scale game, Project Gorgon. A long post on the game's official site outlines several major updates to the game's systems as well as what the Kickstarter funding will be used for, with an eye toward an official launch date in fall/winter of 2015. Heimburg's post explains the current state of the game's testing, including what is working and what is not in the current build. He also explains why some skills level faster than others; Necromancy, for example, requires you to fight a boss, while Swords can be advanced from the start of the game. Take a look at the site if it seems like your sort of game and consider funding it if you like what you see; Heimburg states that while he'd like to bring on additional staff, he won't allow extra funding to change the launch date.
Firefall outlines progression on the path to launch
As Firefall approaches an official launch at long last, the game's design team is taking a look at the game as a whole and trimming up parts of the game that can be made better than they are. The newest development diary on the official site discusses doing just that with the game's progression system, a task accomplished by removing some systems, consolidating others, and generally making progress that much easier to understand all around. As players go out and fight things in a given battleframe, the frame will level up, with new abilities coming regularly as you level. Frames will visibly improve as you increase in level, unlocking perks as you level up that can be used across all frames, with new abilities and weapons containing module slots for customization purposes. The new frame core equipment replaces the more fiddly systems of before, making it easier to slot in effects for improved jump jets or the like. Check out the full diary for all the details on how progression will be more straightforward for launch.
The Daily Grind: What was your most memorable launch day?
The day World of Warcraft launched its first expansion, my wife and I stayed up for the midnight launch. We rushed home, installed the game, made our characters, and slept for a few fitful hours before getting back up and playing until we could play no more. Pizza was ordered, soda was drunk, and the entire day was a celebration of The Burning Crusade. We don't play any longer, but all I need to do to bring a smile to both of our faces is to just mention that launch. Considering how important MMOs are to many of us, I'd bet it's almost certain that you've had a launch day that meant the world to you, a day when you broke from your normal routine and did something really neat and out of the box. So we want to know about it today. What was your most memorable launch day? And was it a game you still play or one you've left behind? 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!
Final Fantasy XIV beta phase 4 starts on August 17th
The latest Final Fantasy XIV live letter with producer Naoki Yoshida included some pretty big news for the community: the dates of the last beta phase and early access. Beta phase 4 will run from August 17th until the 19th (with previous participants welcomed starting on the 16th) and early access for preorders and Legacy subscribers running from the 24th through the 26th. Followed, obviously, by the launch on August 27th. All progress made during phase 4 will carry over to full release, although the level cap for the test phase will be set down at 20. Players will have access to the Arcanist class as well as the first implementation of the game's PvP area and a housing area for testing. The transcript of the live letter also includes more interesting tidbits such as confirmation that Arcanist will not be the only class with multiple jobs. Keep an eye on the transcript for more information as the letter progresses.
The Nexus Telegraph: What WildStar isn't revealing
We now know about the last two races coming to WildStar. We don't yet know about the last two classes, but that's pretty much assured for release in the near future. (I'm betting on PAX Prime, based on nothing more than speculation.) In fact, we're getting plenty of interesting and deep reveals... as well as a few things that the developers aren't talking about, things that are mentioned in passing and then allowed to just go unaddressed. Some of this doesn't really matter one way or the other, but there are some places where these unreveals are pretty worrisome. I'm not sure how much of this comes down to limited time for reveals and how much is actually shady, but in lieu of more information, I think some questions should be asked about why we've heard nothing regarding some stuff that, logically, should have gotten its own day in the revelation sunlight.
Guild Wars 2 starts up the final countdown to launch [Updated]
It's the final countdown for the Guild Wars 2 launch, and that means that time is becoming very important. If you're desperately trying to get a specific name on launch or just aiming to be ahead of the curve when you play, the exact times that the servers come online will be very relevant, which is why there's a new official post explaining exactly when everything is happening on the road to a full launch on August 28th. Pre-purchasers with access to the headstart will be able to start playing on August 25th at 3:00 a.m. EDT, with the caveat that servers may be brought up three hours early to check stability one last time. Those who pre-ordered the game but didn't fully purchase a copy will have access to a one-day headstart beginning on August 27th at 3:00 a.m. EDT. If you're in either camp and want to get patched up ahead of time, you can download the client now and ensure that your computer is ready to catch every moment of the last two weeks before launch. [Thanks to miattavich for the tip!] [Update: The team has also posted the full server list for launch.]
Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet gets an August 23rd release
Lenovo had a bit of an issue saving the date for its summer tablet launch, but no longer. Confirmed via a product page on the company's site, its Honeycomb-flavored ThinkPad Tablet will finally hit retailers' shelves on August 23rd. If you're not into waiting that long, you can always snag the IdeaPad K1 -- we hear Lisa Stansfield recommends it. [Thanks, Jeff]
Lenovo ThinkPad, IdeaPad tablets coming later this month?
Well, what do we have here? From the looks of it, we've got ourselves launch dates for a slate of new Lenovo tablets. A little note from the outfit's Affiliate Program, pictured above, shows the Android-packing IdeaPad K1 will, unsurprisingly, debut in late June or July, with a June 28th arrival being pegged for its rumored ThinkPad tablet. What's more, we could see a refresh of the company's IdeaCentre nettop coming our way August 30th. Looks like this summer could be a hot one for Lenovo, but we'll just have to wait and see how things pan out. Update: We just heard from the folks at Lenovo, and they're saying the dates here are "no longer valid." Unfortunately, that sounds like an unwanted delay to us, but we'll keep you posted as we hear more.
T-Mobile announces June availability for Samsung Exhibit 4G and Gravity Smart
We've heard rumblings that Samsung's Exhibit 4G would be making its way to T-Mob on June 8, but now the carrier has confirmed that the Gingerbread smartphone will be available sometime in June. The Exhibit will join Samsung's Gravity Smart, both featuring grounded sub-$100 price tags (after $50 rebate) when they hit stores. T-Mob is displaying the Exhibit with violet and black finishes, and says you'll see "theoretical" peak download speeds of 21Mbps on the HSPA + handset. As for the Smart, the carrier's first Android-powered Gravity smartphone will launch with 2.2 Froyo, and includes a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, so you'll be sending Group Texts to 50 of your closest friends with four rows of hardware keys. Both phones include 3 megapixel rear-facing cameras with flashes, while the Exhibit adds a front-facing cam as well, so that myTouch 4G girl may be hawking a new smartphone on your TV later this month.
Samsung Exhibit 4G coming to T-Mobile on June 8th?
It wasn't even two weeks ago that we first glimpsed the Samsung Exhibit 4G for T-Mobile in the wild (and spied its FCC footprint). Now it looks like this Gingerbread phone will go on sale June 8th -- if this flyer sent in to TmoNews is to be believed. Still no word on pricing, though we know dealers will pay $325 a pop. To recap, a peek at the filing and unauthorized photos reveals the Exhibit 4G is an HSPA + handset running TouchWiz on top of Android 2.3, with front and rear-facing cameras, an LED flash in the back, and a microSD card slot. The site's sources also suggest the phone will pack a 1GHz Hummingbird CPU and a 3 megapixel back camera, a departure from the speculation we were treated to earlier this month. In any case, it looks like T-Mobile will set the record straight in a matter of weeks.
Qtek 8500 / HTC Star Trek gets UK price, launch date, new name
Contradicting an earlier report that the Qtek 8500 / HTC Star Trek smartphone would available in the UK sometime this month, The Register is now citing an official announcement from HTC that claims the Windows Mobile-powered clamshell won't hit stores until "late June." Furthermore, Reg Hardware is reporting that the Star Trek will henceforth be known as the STRTrk, probably to avoid trademark issues with Spock and friends, due to the fact that the internal codename has seen widespread adoption. (Not sure that this will do any good, as now we'll have to include a "the phone formerly known as the HTC Star Trek" every time we mention one of the rebadges). Whatever you want to call it, the music-centric device will supposedly come in black, silver, or pink, and go on sale during the third week of June, at least according to distributor 20:20 Logistics, for around $500 before carrier subsidies.
