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The Mog Log: A patch called quest
When I sat down at my computer on Thursday, I was honestly feeling a real sense of trepidation, and not just because it meant that my column would be in later than usual. (I really dislike being late.) Patch 1.16 is important, after all, not just because of the changes it brought but because it was the first proof-of-concept for Naoki Yoshida's plans for the game. I've never doubted that Yoshida had the brains and the genre knowledge necessary to make a great game. I have been very pleased with everything he's said about Final Fantasy XIV and have been an ardent admirer of the public face he's put on. But 1.16 was the first time we'd get to see what it was like when he actually put content into practice. Would it be awesome? Would it be lackluster? Or would it be outright awful? So I was nervous when I logged on. A good patch would be a huge draw, but a lackluster one would destroy a lot of player confidence and a lot of slowly accumulated goodwill. So what are the actual net effects of this addition to Final Fantasy XIV?
Dervishes get a major turnaround in Guild Wars
Introduced with the third campaign of Guild Wars, Dervishes have always been a unique class, swinging scythes in wide arcs and using a combination of enchantments and melee strikes to take out opponents. Of course, being a unique class also leads to a lot of unique issues, which the development team is hoping to address with the coming update. The preview promises that over 90% of the Dervish skills have been changed, with the overall goal of improving the class in a broad spectrum rather than just tweaking the numbers on a handful of skills. Among the more far-reaching changes are several Dervish skills using Adrenaline, the addition of new "flash enchantments" to allow Dervishes to enchant themselves while on the move, and a restructuring of the many "teardown" combos in place that capitalize on Dervish enchantments. Several of the new skills are previewed, as are examples of how players can use the changed mechanics to still retain the essential playstyle of a Dervish with much more flexibility than before. If you're a Dervish in Guild Wars, the changes should keep you spinning up in the best possible way. [Thanks for the tip, Teina!]
Breakfast Topic: What post-launch game features do you most appreciate?
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages. World of Warcraft has been up and running for six years now, and to anyone who played in the early days, the game is barely recognizable. I'm not talking about the Shattering; I'm talking about the meat of the game, the interface and UI and mechanics that allow us to interact with Azeroth. Blizzard is a great innovator, and over the years we've gained such features as battlegrounds, linked auction houses, meeting stones, heroic dungeons, arenas, the dungeon finder, heirlooms, and the in-game calendar. None of these were present at launch, but they all affect our playstyles today. These are all great, but that doesn't mean I stop daydreaming about what else Blizzard could do. I love the armory calendar view, but I'd be thrilled if the Blizzard calendar integrated with my Google calendar so I could see raids and guild events alongside my real-life schedule. I also yearn for variable speed scrolling quest text. Instant text encourages me to skip to the end, but the scrolling option is vastly slower than my reading speed, and I just can't handle it. Which feature added after launch do you think was the biggest game-changer and why? What new innovations would you like to see? Which new Cataclysm features do you think will have the greatest impact on the way we play?
The Mog Log: The directed route
First things first: I should have pimped this last week, but the Aetheryte Radio Network's community show had me as a guest for the most recent episode. If you'd like to listen to my dulcet tones alongside Steak and Fusion as we discuss the game, The Mog Log, and how much we all hate Final Fantasy VIII, you are most definitely in luck. And because we've seen the last Final Fantasy XIV update we're going to get this year, the game seems like the thing to discuss. With the most recent update, pretty much anything that players claimed was just plain broken has been trimmed up and cleaned. (Whether or not that should have been the case in September is another discussion altogether.) So we're moving into the new year with everything working and a new team primed to start taking the game forward. So what exactly will that entail? Now that the functional issues of Final Fantasy XIV are tackled, there's just the other half of the equation to deal with -- making the game more engaging for a broader playerbase. Or to be more specific: the easy part is done, and now it's time to work on the hard part.
Apple engineer uses Lego to rebuild ancient Greek mechanism, will surely try to patent it (video)
The Antikythera Mechanism is what you call truly old school technology. Argued to be the world's oldest known computer, this ancient Greek invention was used some time circa 100BC to calculate and "predict celestial events and eclipses with unprecedented accuracy." Skipping past the two millennia in which it lay lost on a sea floor somewhere, the Mechanism has now been recreated by an Apple software engineer by the name of Andrew Carol, who has lovingly pieced 1,500 Lego Technic blocks together, creating 110 gears and four gearboxes in total. Each box is responsible for performing one piece of arithmetic, and when the resulting machine is fed with appropriate calendar data, it spits out a (hopefully accurate) prediction for the next time a solar eclipse should occur. All well and good, but we're really just amazed by the beauty of those gears working. Check them out after the break.
G-Star 2010: TERA G-Star reveals outlined
Curious about the TERA-centric G-Star revelations the week has in store? We are too, and even though we've got Editor-in-Chief Shawn Schuster as our man in Korea, we're still combing the intarwebs for the very latest about the fantasy title from Bluehole Studio and En Masse Entertainment. En Masse has provided a helpful scorecard for the G-Star event in the form of a forum post that outlines what fans can expect to learn over the course of the convention. Bluehole representatives will be revealing information about the game's skill system, equipment system, PvP mechanics, guild systems, and the mysterious political system. Check out all the details at the official TERA website, and also have a look at the various translations available via TERAfans.
Exclusive: Aion's Beshmundir Temple goes hard mode
Assault on Balaurea has been a part of Aion for nearly two months now. Are you getting bored yet? If you feel like you've done all of the new content so much that it's a snooze, get ready for a new challenge. Beshmundir Temple is going into hard mode. Aion developers have been hard at work on this for a long time, and they've prepared a huge guide for the PowerWiki. You'll find advice, walkthroughs, details on the named bosses, and much more. The guide will be released next week, but Massively got an exclusive look at it ahead of time. We've formatted it all up into a handy overview for you, so follow along after the jump for a look at what Beshmundir Temple hard mode has to offer!
First Impressions: LEGO Universe
Playing. It's one of our earliest lessons from childhood, and one that we as gamers hold on to with gusto. Let's face it -- in just about every gamer out there is a kid who, at least in some small way, refuses to grow up entirely. We love to play. It's that love, coupled with childhood memories of clicking tons of brightly colored LEGO blocks together, that has made the idea of LEGO videogames a huge hit. Now have a new contender to the LEGO gaming play-space: LEGO Universe. It's a game that has the potential to offer all the things we as MMO gamers would love: an open-ended world, a great known IP that reminds us of youthful days, and the social aspects many of us enjoy. Aside from this, LEGO Universe also offers many things that parents of young gamers will value. As someone I spoke with recently asked: "What's stopping people from building offensive adult-themed content with LEGO bricks that my child might see?" The answer lies in LEGO Universe's moderation team, known as the Mythran (a shadowy group actually written into the lore of the game), which personally reviews personal free-build areas for compliance. The Mythrans also oversee character and pet names. When combined with a speedchat and whitelisted word chat system, it makes for a very workable solution to keeping kids safe online. Curious about a look into LEGO Universe? Join me behind the break as I take a more detailed look at this colorful game, and be sure to check out the extensive gallery below! %Gallery-105603%
Our tour of Fantasy Earth Zero's October update
Fantasy Earth Zero is an interesting little title, a game that's not for everyone but will hit just the right notes for some. It isn't a graphical powerhouse or a deep PvE title, but what it does accomplish is the laudable goal of being a PvP-focused game that both lets low-level characters perform useful tasks and remains balanced despite being free-to-play. Having released this past May, it's a four-year-old title that keeps itself on solid grounding with its systems. Still, five months out from launch there's something big coming for the game, with a major update scheduled to go live on the 19th of October. Featuring a new gameplay mode as well as a new class for players to enjoy -- and Fantasy Earth Zero players will know that a fourth class in the game's environment will have a big impact. Take a look past the break for a rundown of the game as well as the big changes coming with the October update.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Steal me
A while back, a reader suggested that I talk about the five things that City of Heroes ought to steal from other games, inspired by a column written by our inimitable Ryan Green for a different game. (I've sadly lost the original mail through various cleanups of my inbox, so if the reader in question might speak up, that would be great.) In the wake of the big upgrades coming with Issue 19, now is a wonderful time to take a closer look at the things that would make fine additions from elsewhere. Of course, part of the reason this took a while (as the reader noted in the mail) was that, truth be told, there are a lot of systems that Paragon Studios was either the first or darn near the first to innovate. How many games even have content-generation at the level of the Mission Architect? But there are still places where City of Heroes could take a lesson or two that (hopefully) wouldn't require rewriting the entire game from the ground up.
Forsaken World details protector class
Hot on the stiletto heels of their assassin and vampire spotlights, Perfect World Entertainment brings us a brand new Forsaken World class preview focusing on the protector. According to the game's official blog, protectors are "nine feet tall, carry hammers the size of people, and are regularly seen carrying dwarves on their shoulders." Dwarf-tossing references and subtlety-related snarkiness aside, the protectors serve as Forsaken World's tanking class, complete with the usual amenities such as aggro-building taunts and very large pieces of armor. Protectors also make use of a special ability called fury, which gradually charges up over the course of a fight. Theoretically, protectors grow stronger and more dangerous the longer the fight continues. To learn more about the protector class, head over to the class preview at the official Forsaken World blog.
Final Fantasy XIV expands details on the battle system
While Final Fantasy XIV doesn't go out of its way to be massively accessible, Square-Enix is clearly making a conscious effort to avoid confusion wherever possible. The official player site has been steadily receiving updates about how game systems work and what's going on behind the scenes, with the newest update discussing Battle Regimens and incapacitating body parts in combat. The systems had never been discussed in-depth before, but they now offer players a chance to understand exactly what each system entails. Battle Regimens are distantly similar in theory to the skillchains that ruled Final Fantasy XI's combat, but they have many differences in practice. Rather than being a chained deployment of specific skills, chains of general ability types will both buff the party and debuff the enemy party. Body parts, meanwhile, are targeted and damaged by certain weaponskills, with a helpful chart explaining what skills target what and which types of monsters can be affected. While it doesn't reveal the full details of Final Fantasy XIV's combat, it should provide players with an excellent place to start understanding the system.
A World of Warcraft player's guide to Final Fantasy XIV
Tweet So you're a veteran player of World of Warcraft, and you're ready to take a step away from the game that you've been playing for however many years and start in on something new. And you even know where you want to forge your new home: Eorzea, the continent on which Final Fantasy XIV's adventures take place. It should be a fairly easy transition, yes? While Square-Enix has taken a distinctly different approach with its newest game compared to the decidedly old-school Final Fantasy XI, that doesn't mean that Final Fantasy XIV is World of Warcraft with moogles and chocobos. There are a lot of similairities, a lot of differences, and some subtle points that can be all too easy to miss when you're just starting out. So if you're moving from the current 100-pound-gorilla of the MMO scene into the newest title, you might be well-served to take a good look at this guide first.
Rift: Planes of Telara announces Sentinel Soul
Information on Trion Worlds' upcoming Rift: Planes of Telara is starting to flow fast and furious, and we couldn't be happier with that fact. In addition to what looks to be a novel take on dynamic gameworld events, the title features unique class elements in the form of Souls. Souls are, in lore terms, the actual souls of dead heroes that the player uses to realize his full potential. In game terms, they fill a role similar to that of the traditional talent tree, albeit with a few twists. Today, the fans at TelaraCentral.com have unearthed some tasty information on the Sentinel Soul. The Sentinel Soul enables players to be defensive clerics, focusing on group support and boasting a strong defense and comparatively weak offense. Head over to TelaraCentral.com for more lore-centric details.
EQII devs brave class mechanics panel
Interesting tidbits continue to flood the web regarding last week's SOE Fan Faire in Las Vegas, with the latest coming courtesy of EQ2Wire. The Norrathian newshounds have posted a series of video captures from the EQII Mechanics panel, featuring (from left, above) developers Rich Waters, Greg "Rothgar" Spence, Paul "Frizznik" Carrico, and Mike "Xelgad" Ganz. The panel is divided into a series of six 10-minute clips, all of them informative if you're an EQII regular and concerned with any aspect of class and balance mechanics. The dev team fields a number of questions from the audience, including queries on ranger and other assorted class fixes, as well as a clarification of a Dave "Smokejumper" Georgeson forum post that some players incorrectly interpreted as foreshadowing major changes. "We're just trying to be more transparent in our design for the classes, not trying to redesign the classes at all," Spence explains. Most questions are answered with a necessarily vague "we'll look into it" and/or "soon," but the videos are nonetheless worth watching to get a glimpse at what your average developer deals with when subjected to a room full of min/max players. It's not quite an inquisition, but there is a palpable combative energy (and a few hecklers) present.
Exclusive WWII Online: Battleground Europe team interview
As we mentioned last week, WWII Online: Battleground Europe is still going strong. In fact, Playnet and Cornered Rat Software are on the verge of a massive update for the game. Update 1.31, currently in open beta, has been in the works for many months and is set to overhaul the graphics of this old-school MMOFPS. It might even give newer games a run for their money! We were lucky enough to sit down with several members of the Battleground Europe development team -- Amy-Lynn Engelbrecht, Dana Baldwin, and Geof Evans -- and fire off some questions about the visual overhaul, as well as a few questions about the weather -- that is, the game's new weather system, which will actually affect land and air conditions in PvP! Click past the break for our exclusive interview with the team!
The Daily Grind: What still doesn't make sense to you?
We've got a pretty complicated hobby here, even by the frequently vexing standards of general gaming enthusiasts. There are more than a few elements that we have to wrap our heads around in order to play effectively, much less be on the forward edge. So it's kind of inevitable that we each find our own breaking point for where we stop understanding why we need to do some things. The whole series of explanations eventually turns into an endless rant that looks similar to English but just doesn't make sense. You might have read all of the math for the defense cap in City of Heroes or the diminishing returns mechanic in Star Trek Online, but you might not have understood the numbers being flung around. Or perhaps it's something even simpler, like the very concept of the soft cap for Hit in World of Warcraft. Not for lack of trying, your brain just won't process it. So what still doesn't make sense to you despite your best efforts? Is it a small aspect of gameplay or something you urgently feel the need to get right? Has it made a major impact on your playstyle?
The Daily Grind: How concrete do you want your numbers?
RPGs in general have always been associated with the idea that abstract qualities can be quantified -- everything from strength and agility to personal charisma and willpower. The concepts have become so tied together that saying something has elements of an RPG usually means "you make numbers go higher." Games like World of Warcraft and EVE Online both have extensive information available about the numbers behind the working of the game. On the other hand, people have complained that the emphasis on numbers turns the game from an exercise in play and experimentation into differential calculus. And there's certainly room for games like Final Fantasy XI, which gives enough information for comparison without going into detail about what a given value actually does. On the other hand, by removing contextual comparisons, it becomes difficult to figure out what effective difference there actually is between Accuracy +3 and Accuracy +5. So which do you prefer in a game? Would you rather tend toward having all of the numbers laid out in front of you, even if it means needing ornate spreadsheets to enjoy everything? Or would you rather keep as much of the system as possible under the hood and invisible?
Blood Sport: Resource mechanics in arena, Part I
Want to crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of their women? Blood Sport investigates the entirety of all-things arena for gladiators and challengers alike. C. Christian Moore, multiple rank 1 gladiator, examines the latest arena strategy, trends, compositions and more in WoW.com's arena column. Listening Music: Roger Waters and the classic combination of Pink Floyd's "The Happiest Days of Our Lives + Another Brick In The Wall, part II." I hate when the radio only plays half of this piece. Even though Floyd split the piece into two on the album, I find it hard pressed to do the latter half justice by dropping the epic "intro." The helicopters and interlude scream is the best part, be honest with yourselves. Last Week: We addressed the issue of protection warriors in arena. We talked a bit about a few of Ghostcrawler's posts dealing with the most annoying specialization to face. After that, we discussed some of the problems with both perception and design. This Week: Before getting back to the beginner's guide to arenas, we'll be discussing energy, focus, and rage. Each have individual benefits and detriments in an arena setting, often very different from one another. More after the break!
First Impressions: Alganon
Today's First Impressions could use a little bit of external reading before you go too deeply into it. So I'm going to start by linking an article that's nearly seven years old but still excellent -- Fantasy Heartbreakers. Now that you've all clicked "Back" in some confusion or just avoided the link in the first place, some explanation. The article is the origin of a term that pen-and-paper RPG fans have come to use to describe a certain type of game referenced in the article. It's referring to the countless game companies who thought they could make a game that was better at being Dungeons and Dragons than, well, Dungeons and Dragons. Many of the games in question weren't bad games -- sometimes even good ones -- but they were built on the fundamental premise that they would be "like D&D but with X." Some of you probably see where this is going, or got it as soon as you saw the term. Because we're all very aware of how predominant World of Warcraft has become in the MMO marketplace, to the point where it's the essential standard that other MMOs are judged against. Alganon, then, could be seen as our genre's first fantasy heartbreaker. Because it's genuinely tough not to play the game and see that there's some really good stuff in here.
