mystonline
Latest
GameTap turning off Myst Online in 60 days
A little over a year after being reborn on GameTap, Myst Online: Uru Live will be unplugged. GameTap's VP of Content and Creative Director Ricardo Sanchez writes on the GameTap forums that the decision was made for "business reasons" rather than any design or vision issues with developer Cyan Worlds. The game will remain live for another 60 days and then it's over, but MystOnline.com will stay active.Sanchez went on to say that GameTap looked at a "wide variety of possibilities for maintaining the game," and in a later forum post writes the company "isn't a bunch of evil corporate types who do nothing but count pennies and wear Brooks Brothers suits." Taking a sip from the "glass is half-full" perspective: At least GameTap gave Myst Online a chance for a year.[Thanks to all who sent this in]
New Myst Online episode coming to GameTap
Like a red giant, the GameTap star continues to expand, and the helium at its core shows no sign of running out. The latest offering is a new episode of Myst Online: Uru Live debuting this Saturday. In "Deception," the guild system being built in the game will get some attention, including guild pubs for members to meet in. There are also new storylines we won't go into here, because if you care about them you probably don't want them spoiled for you. We'll put the full release after the jump, just in case.Interestingly, much of the content in the expansion has, according to GameTap, been molded by player input. That's literal in one respect, as "Deception" will bring displays of user-generated stained-glass art. ... We know, it may not mean much to most of you. But if you're a fan, you've probably already started the countdown.
Myst Online launches to a free trial
After our in-depth look at the final hours of the Myst Online: Uru Live beta, we were pretty eager to jump back into the caverns and get back to exploring. We didn't have to wait long as the game officially launched today and there was more going on than just the in-game block parties.Gametap is offering up a free trial of their service that comes along with a visitor account for Myst Online, though it does sound rather limited. You'll be allowed to create one character in which to explore one stage of the game, as well as any public neighborhood. It is worth a shot of course, if not just to scope out the locals.A new Linking Book was also released that takes players to age of Tsogal. Inside the book is an incredible looking water garden with, naturally, a few to hide. While we were initially stumped (and distracted) by an ominous locked door, spinning around and flashing patterns, we manged to break on through to the other side with the help of other travelers. As for any other additional content, we'll just have to do some more exploring.%Gallery-1651%
Mac OS X port, as well as new world, added to Myst Online
As one of the most captivating, if not vastly underrated, titles of last year, any news from the Ages of Uru is good news. GameTap has announced that not only will their MMO adventure, Myst Online be receiving an entirely new world to explore, but a new platform on the Mac.As GameTap is not yet (will not ever be?) available for the Mac, TransGaming Inc. will be in charge of porting the title over (using their Cider product we presume). With not so much as an estimated time for this release, Mac users will be left sitting on their hands until further information is revealed ... or discovered in a mysterious book. Those in the nether realm of the PC, however, will have new content to enjoy as soon as tomorrow with the release of the Great Zero area to explore. With a brand new platform of users to engage and a continued push of content, Uru sure has come a long way from the days of Ubisoft's waffling. If Mac gamers are really dedicated (and/or impatient), there's always Boot Camp to get your GameTap fix.
Uru Live to let players create ages with developer tools [update 1]
As mentioned in our interview with Rand Miller, co-creator of the Myst empire, Myst Online: Uru Live will eventually let users build their own ages. Miller has always had this poetic goal of letting players "write" Myst environments of their own; Cyan Worlds plans to provide its own development tools to gamers to make this happen.While Miller states that this is "forward looking" and may change, he thinks ambitious gamers are up for the challenge. He says, "We're always amazed at what our fans are able to accomplish, frankly, and by making those tools available, I think we'll be even more surprised. ... Essentially what we're creating in the mythology of all this is a writer's guild."Miller anticipates that the development tools will be available in about six months, the time he thinks is needed for them to stop being updated.Developers rarely give their own game- or level-creating tools to fans. This move is especially uncommon in an MMO with a plot, versus online sandbox games like Second Life. We're interested to see how Cyan Worlds lets players move between its content and community-created ages.Myst Online: Uru Live will launch this "holiday season" as part of GameTap's standard $10 monthly fee.[Update 1: fixed ship date error.]
Joystiq interviews Rand Miller of Cyan Worlds [update 1]
Myst Online: Uru Live will let thousands of players convene in Myst ages to solve puzzles. Touting the persistence of the world as a major feature -- light switches and doors stay how you leave them -- Cyan Worlds thinks the collaborative nature of Myst will make a unique Massively Multiplayer Online game. Two years ago, Uru Live was canceled just before its initial launch under Ubisoft. Now, after developing it for a total of six years, Cyan Worlds is working with its new publisher, GameTap, to prepare the game for a "holiday" release. Uru Live will be offered as part of the monthly $10 GameTap subscription for the U.S. audience, but GameTap will release Uru Live as a stand-alone subscription in other parts of the world. (GameTap is not yet offered outside of the U.S.) We recently spoke with Myst co-creator Rand Miller, while Producer, Mark "Moke" Dobratz demonstrated the game. They talked about how Uru Live supports the collaborative sensibility of Myst players, how the game will let you have individual experiences within its MMO structure, and plans to let users build their own ages.[Update 1: Fixed ship-date error.]
