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End of Nations second closed beta event scheduled for early August
This cold war... just got hot! Now that we've got cheesy movie poster taglines out of the way, let's talk about End of Nations' upcoming closed beta event. Trion Worlds announced that the event is scheduled for August 3rd, starting at 12:01 a.m. EDT and going until August 5th at 11:59 p.m. EDT. If you don't have a key for the beta yet, don't despair. You can sign up on the End of Nations beta page for a chance to get in, or watch Trion's social media for giveaways. Alternatively, beta access is guaranteed for those who pre-purcase the digital Founder's Edition. [Source: Trion Worlds press release]
End of Nations dev diary explains lore
Chaos. Turmoil. These are the terms developers of the free-to-play MMORTS End of Nations use to describe the upcoming game from Trion Worlds and Petroglyph Games. Yesterday, the studios released a new video dev diary in which the developers discussed the background and lore of the game. Audio Director Frank Klepacki explains the setting of the game this way: "What would the very near future be like if the economy actually did collapse, if the world really gave rise to a military power that controlled everything?" Petroglyph President Mike Legg explains that the the villain of the game is the oppressive Order of Nations, which strips civil liberties from the population. The team then describes the rise of the two rebellious factions, the Shadow Revolution and Liberation Front, which must try to set aside their own fighting to team up against the larger foe. You can watch the video, which also includes a good dose of gameplay footage, after the break. [Source: Trion Worlds press release]
Exclusive: Illyriad major trade update launching this week
Illyriad fans, rejoice! The highly anticipated trade revamp is hitting the free-to-play fantasy MMORTS at the end of this week. This huge update will significantly alter the economic landscape of the game. Going beyond just an overhaul of the trade system, this update also introduces crafting, expands harvesting, and opens the way for players to gain power and wealth through commerce. How significant are these changes? Currently there are 17 items that can be traded among players; after the update, that number skyrockets to over 300. With the addition of crafted equipment, troop customization increases from eight basic troop types to include thousands of possibilities. Other changes include over 50 new special resource types, nine new mounts, 72 new weapons, 53 new armor types, 13 new specialist buildings, and 187 new technologies to research. The sheer number of additions is not the only change. With many commodities being regional, potential business moguls will find that establishing trade routes and even creating monopolies will be profitable. If you enjoy economic strategies instead of just military, check Illyriad out. [Source: Illyriad Games press release]
Catch Trion's End of Nations livestream tonight
Want to see some End of Nations gameplay? Of course you do. Trion's upcoming MMORTS made a big splash at this year's E3, and now the devs are gearing up for the world premier live broadcast of the game on Trion's TwitchTV channel. Be at your computer around 8:30 p.m. EDT tonight and you'll get to see senior producer Chris Lena, community director Elizabeth Tobey, and community manager Lance James putting the game through its paces. Tonight's shindig is a preview of EoN's initial closed beta event, which kicks off Friday, July 20th. [Source: Trion press release]
End of Nations' elite units and 56-player battles
Trion Worlds is on the cusp of opening the doors for End of Nations' July 20th closed beta event, and its staff is busy talking up the free-to-play MMORTS to any and all who will listen. French Community Manager Franck Vacher spoke with ZAM about controlling a chaotic battlefield and how the game is developing in these late hours. While End of Nations has instanced battles as small as 2v2, the crown jewels of the system are its massive 56-player battles. Vacher said that the team is preparing to test the large battles and gives a good reason that players will want to do their best to take over the game world. "Usually you get some type of bonus -- for example, a loot bonus of, say, five percent -- because you control the territory," he said. "For some of the maps, it changes the objective. On the Bluewater map, you're defender or attacker, so your objective will be completely different." Vacher also commented on the new elite units that were recently added to the game. "It's hard to say [whether] they're overpowered or underpowered -- sometimes when I'm playing, I don't take any heroes because they don't fit with my other units. We'll be working more on balance in the beta, as our alpha's been more about the technical aspects of the game."
Star Supremacy holds storyline contest
Before Star Supremacy's launch, Barbily Games both sought player input on design decisions by offering a spaceship design contest and solicited feedback for future events. Fast forward to today, when players now have the opportunity to submit their own ideas about what the MMORTS title's storyline should be in a new contest. Players eager to see their ideas truly influence a game need to post their entry on the official event thread. The winner of the storyline event will have his or her ideas about how Star Supremacy should grow and develop story-wise incorporated into the game. [Source: Barbily Games press release]
End of Nations beta starts July 20th, founder's edition guarantees access
What do Trion and Tears for Fears have in common? Not much aside from the title Everybody Wants to Rule the World, which will now be stuck in your head for the next couple of hours. You're welcome. Trion has co-opted the phrase in its latest press release for End of Nations, which reveals that the game's first closed beta event is coming on July 20th. The first event "promises both large and small player maps across a variety of different terrains, as well as a multitude of upgrade options and a wide range of units and battle tactics to deploy," according to the devs. You can either apply for beta and hope for the best or shell out $29.99 for the founder's edition and its guaranteed access. Details on both options are available at the official EoN website. We've also got a complete list of founder edition goodies listed for you after the cut.
New End of Nations Warfront episode looks back at E3, forward to release
If you missed E3 last week, then you also missed Trion's spectacular End of Nations booth on the show floor. Fortunately the firm has released a new episode of its Warfront series. The clip runs for about five minutes, which is plenty of time to take in the E3 sights, sounds, and a few brief interviews with Petroglyph devs who are hard at work on End of Nations. You should also check out Massively's EoN impressions if you haven't already, and stay tuned for further updates from Trion's foray into the MMORTS space.
E3 2012: End of Nations shows its MMO-ish roots
If there's one thing I love about game companies, it's their capacity to innovate. Trion Worlds and Petroglyph are teaming together to do just that with their new MMORTS End of Nations. I had the chance to demo End of Nations at E3 and talk a bit to the folks at Petroglyph, which is gearing up to launch a strong seller that is taking risks with experimentation for the RTS genre. A lot of questions come to mind when one ponders how an MMORTS will function. How many players are there? Will lag be a significant problem? Unit control? These MMORTS games are so new that experimenting in how the game mechanics work is key. The demo was entirely functional and entertaining to play. Let's dive into some details.
End of Nations E3 trailer gets play-by-play treatment
Trion's MMO real-time strategy game End of Nations got a new E3 trailer loaded with in-game battles and voice-over commentary. The free-to-play game will go through a "PvP preview" period this summer, and is slated to launch this fall.
MMObility: Command and Conquer's new twist on the MMORTS
I've had my fill of MMORTS games. I love them, and I mean love them, but after being asked to look at the 567,386th title from the genre, I am getting a wicked case of tunnel vision. Sometimes I wish I could hit a switch and see these games with the eyes of a brand-new player, to truly judge their quality without any preconceptions. That's not possible, unfortunately. Luckily, once in a while there comes along a title that feels fresh or does enough with design to seem new and clever. Command and Conquer Tiberium Alliances stands out from the crowd with its interesting combat and a casual approach to hardcore gaming. I have to admit that, at first, I was a bit bummed at having to take a look at yet another epic strategy game that would probably not feel that epic, but my mind was changed after a solid week of playing.
Command & Conquer: Tiberium Alliance browser title launches today
Command & Conquer fans, today's a banner day. The latest entry in the long-running franchise is Tiberium Alliances, a free-to-play browser-based title that's now available. You can pick from either the Global Defense Initiative or Nod factions, then harvest resources, build giant armies, and foster strategic alliances as you will your side to ultimate victory. Players can take on the AI or each other, and TA's integrated status and news feeds makes it easier than ever to keep abreast of both in-game happenings and development rumblings. The game can be played on your desktop, your smartphone, or your tablet. Head to the official website to sign up and get started. Don't forget to check out the launch trailer after the break, and look for Massively's impressions on the game later this week in MMObility. [Source: Electronic Arts press release]
New End of Nations trailer shines some light on the Shadow Revolution
Last month, we got a look at the Liberation Front faction of Trion Worlds' upcoming MMORTS, End of Nations. Today, the company released a trailer highlighting the Liberation Front's enemy of war, the forebodingly named Shadow Revolution. Players of the Shadow Revolution faction have their choice of two classes: the Wraith class, which focuses on utilizing guerrilla tactics to strike quickly and retreat before counterattacks can be made, and the Phantom class, which takes advantage of cloaking devices in order to launch devastating surprise attacks that can cripple enemy forces before they know what hit them. To get a look at the Shadow Revolution's units in action, just check out the official trailer below.
Aeria Games announces its new MMORTS, Dragon Crusade
While years have gone by without many entries into the MMORTS genre, the list of contenders is slowly but steadily expanding. Add Dragon Crusade to the list; it's an upcoming free-to-play browser title just announced by Aeria Games. The game will feature six different races, each with its own strengths and weaknesses as well as a unique racial capital. The core of the game, however, isn't meant to simply be your choice of race; it's building an actual kingdom over multiple cities. Kingdoms are meant to add an important strategic resource to the game. Players are responsible for the defense of their cities, forcing a balance between gaining new ground and protecting what's already there. Players will also be granted a variety of different heroes, mounts, and pets, all of which have special development paths to give player forces a unique flair. There's no word yet on when the game will go into general release, but potential players can register for the upcoming closed beta on the official site. [Source: Aeria Games press release] %Gallery-154144%
End of Nations Liberation Front info and trailer
Trion's End of Nations MMORTS features two playable factions. One of them is the heroic Liberation Front, which is featured in the company's latest video release. The Front boasts two classes: the hard-hitting Spartan, who drives tanks and "other infantry units with high defenses and high damage output," and the Patriot, who specializes in multi-role support units. Both classes, as well as a number of selectable (and customizable) units, are highlighted in the new trailer, so take a look past the break and get a leg up on building your battle-ready company. End of Nations is a free-to-play strategy title that is currently in alpha testing. [Source: Trion press release]
Illyriad MMORTS adding emergent mob distribution
Large-scale game changes are a risky endeavor when it comes to MMOs. Today's Illyriad update is no exception, though we're excited to see what happens as the title switches from randomly generated world biology to an "organic and emergent model." Animal distributions will now take habitats, breeding, and migration into account, and players will notice various critters moving around the map and behaving in a more logical manner. "Now, each pack or herd of animals will be tracked in real time, its population increasing over time, and the pack splitting when the population grows to a certain point. Players will be able to dramatically impact the sizes of animal populations, which will have multiple consequences," says Illyriad founder James Niesewand. The tweaks are part of a warmup to the game's extended trade and economic revamp which is due later this year. [Source: Illyriad Games press release]
MMObility: Reaching the MMORTS sweet-spot, slowly
As a player of many MMORTS titles, I have grown to understand that patience is not only a virtue but a necessity. Many titles from the genre are designed to make you spend real time to do anything. It's not that they are boring or tedious; instead, they are representing what it might be like to actually grow an army or trade hub and to explore the often massive world around you. The pacing is meant to be slow. These are not games of instant leveling or non-stop quest grinding. They're meant to be played in as little as a few minutes per day. This explains a lot of their success -- just imagine how popular they are with time-strapped players. There is a time, however, after months of toiling away at building up various structures, growing a small army, or finally getting to the maxed out level in a certain area, when you can finally settle down for some real gameplay. It might sound silly to have to wait that long for glory, but come on... this is city-building we are talking about. It takes time.
Massively Exclusive: Trion previews End of Nations' armory
Trion's super-secret End of Nations is moving right along in its alpha cycle, and today Massively has an exclusive piece of news for you regarding the upcoming MMORTS. The game differs from traditional real-time strategy titles because it doesn't have base-building, but what it does have is something called an armory. Trion tells us that players will "set their loadouts, create companies, modify units, customize skins, and more" inside the armory. The dev team has just revamped the armory mechanics, and you can get a good look at the armory window in the image after the cut (click on it to zoom in!).
Ensemble Online gears up for beta, launches Kickstarter drive
It's been nearly two years since we first heard of Ensemble Online, a browser-based MMO that combines elements from RPG and RTS titles. SemiFormal Studios is gearing up to launch Ensemble's beta testing phase, and the firm has taken to Kickstarter to help with funding. SemiFormal bills the game as "the world's first MMORTS"; the company says that it allows you to "tactically control territory, harvest resources, and build buildings anywhere on an expansive, real-time, never-ending map." The game doesn't limit where you can build, either, and there are no text-based battles (nor do you lose your progress when you log out). If that's piqued your interest, head to the official site to learn more about the game, and don't forget to check out the Ensemble Kickstarter page to contribute.
Rise and Shiny: Remanum
This week I was lucky enough to come across a pretty cool browser-based MMORTS that offers no combat whatsoever. That's right -- this game is all about trading, conquering your neighbors with prices, and building a reputation that is better than everybody else's. Remanum is brought to us by the makers of the famous Travian set of games. Slowly, but surely, the developers are trying out different styles of gameplay that all offer an art style that is obviously their own. I was thrilled to see them again try out something different with Remanum. So how boring is a game that offers nothing but trade wars? Well, that all depends on how much you care for scratching your chin, sitting back, and plotting. It's a game of patience and working with others. I never pretend that most MMORTS titles are supposed to move at the same pace as Vindictus or Guild Wars; games just have different styles. Remanum is a great game to enjoy any place and any time, from a few minutes to a few hours a day. I had a few issues with the game, so let's cover those as well.
