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WildStar's Nexus Report on megaservers and the state of the game
WildStar's latest Nexus Report has been posted to YouTube. Carbine's Chad Moore, Tony Rey, and Craig Turner are your hosts for a 35-minute show that delves into the specifics of megaservers as well as the current state of the game. You can watch the full clip just past the cut!
Art director Matt Mocarski leaves WildStar
We'd heard about recent departures, but this one is new. Former art director Matt Mocarski has apparently left Carbine Studios to work at Amazon Game Studios; no specific date for the departure has been given beyond the fact that he has already started his new job. WildStar has already seen two high-profile names leave the game post-launch, president Jeremy Gaffney and design producer Stephan Frost. We wish Mocarski the best of luck in his new workspace. [Thanks to JesLyck for the tip!]
A look at NCsoft's upcoming MOBA, Master X Master
Yes, another MOBA is coming out, this one by NCsoft. The game is currently in its beta test over in South Korea. Steparu took the Master X Master beta for a spin to see if the game was worth paying attention to in an already crowded field of games; rather than finding a game that was essentially a slight reskin and retune of League of Legends, she found that the gameplay is closer to a mixture of Heroes of the Storm and SMITE with third-person shooters. The game uses a WASD control scheme whilst allowing players to tag between two characters with the Tab key, bringing in elements of team-based fighting games. It also features PvE missions for players who'd prefer to take on purely team-based challenges, further setting itself apart from the pack. Take a look at the full rundown for more details; while there's no definite release or localization date, it might be different enough from its contemporaries to pique your interest.
WildStar's state-of-the-game missive promises new content, quality-of-life adjustments
Carbine Studios has just posted another WildStar state-of-the-game letter to fans. In it, the studio says that an upcoming content update will provide two content chapters: The first, Mystery of the Genesis Prime, will introduce a new level 50 zone and tie into the plot from The Strain. The second, Journey to OMNIcore-1, opens up the "galaxy-spanning Nexus Saga," which the devs say includes "content for players of all stripes, from lore-filled immersive solo content, to fast and furious 5-player quests and massive 20-player public events." Carbine also mentions sweeping bug fixes, ELO tweaks, housing remodeling, extensive quality-of-life adjustments for lowbies, and tutorial-skipping for alts. The studio does not provide a date for the release; Carbine has previously floated November for the patch's likely arrival. The devs do say they're putting more into this release "than [they've] put into any update so far."
The Nexus Telegraph Extra: WildStar's deafening silence
How many people are currently playing WildStar? I don't know. You don't know, either, beyond vague guesses based on things like Raptr numbers, which say more about what Raptr users like to play than about actual game popularity. But it seems like the sort of answer that could be used to at least deflect a great deal of criticism, doesn't it? If Carbine Studios is sitting on two million players at a reasonable level of activity, that wouldn't shut down all discussion of the game's myriad problems, but it sure as heck would demand some rethinking. That's precisely what I asked when I, at Carbine's behest, sent the team questions about the health of the game over a week ago. The bad news is that Carbine still hasn't answered my questions, nine days later. But the good news is that in the interim, Carbine was willing to tell another site that WildStar does not have a "player interest" problem, which seems like the sort of waffley question you'd answer if you really didn't want to be specific.
Jonathan Sharp bids farewell to Guild Wars 2
Jonathan Sharp has been involved with Guild Wars 2 for eight years as an important part of the public-facing development team. But all good things must come to an end, and Sharp's time with ArenaNet has done just that. Associate Game Director John Corpening announced on the forums last night that Sharp is moving on to pursue an undisclosed opportunity elsewhere. Sharp included a personal farewell: Hey all. I'm sad to say that I'll be leaving ArenaNet after 8 years with the company, and it's been an amazing ride! I've chatted with many of you on vent, we've debated on State of the game, we've tossed ideas back and forth on the forums, and I've met many of you in person at various cons! It has been my privilege, pleasure and honor to work with such a passionate and intelligent group of fans. You guys have always kept me honest, you've pushed me to better myself, and your ideas have helped to create GW2's success – we couldn't have done it without you. Thank you for your love, passion and communication. I will always look back on my time here with love and gratitude, and much of that is owed to you, our wonderful fans. -Chap Sharp's role on the GW2 PvP team will be filled by PvP designer Hugh Norfolk, already well known to players who follow the game's developer activity with zeal. [Thanks to Dystopiq for the tip!]
The Nexus Telegraph: Dribs and drabs of WildStar
The past few weeks have not been a fun time to be a fan of WildStar, and we still have heard distressingly little about what's coming in the next patch. Heck, the most I can think of hearing about in recent memory is the announcement that the game will not feature any sort of holiday content this year, and as those of you who know me will probably guess I kind of wanted a Halloween event. (I like October.) But let's talk about what we do know and where we are right now, since barring any further developments, there's not much more to be said about what isn't working. Either things get addressed or they don't. So let's talk about the next drop, what we will and won't be getting from it with any measure of luck, and about the complete lack of holiday content and why anyone should care. Yes, even if you normally don't care about holiday content!
Guild Wars 2 requests input on guild halls
ArenaNet Design Director Chris Whiteside has given a glimmer of hope to Guild Wars 2 fans hungry for more and better private spaces in the game. Earlier this week, he posed a broad question to the community about how it'd like to see guild halls implemented -- assuming, of course, they are ever to be implemented. ArenaNet has previously stated that it'd like to include guild halls but wasn't actively working on them. Whiteside isn't making any promises either, but it's likely a big hint all the same. Personal housing was rumored prior to 2012's launch but has since been ostensibly supplanted by weakly upgradeable home instances. Guild Wars 2's elder sibling, Guild Wars, featured decadent instanced guild halls with both PvP and PvE accoutrements. Massively's Anatoli Ingram wrote about housing mechanics in the two games earlier this year.
Aion punts Hackshield, talks transfers and 4.7
What's up, Aion? Long time no talk. Looks like your EU community manager has released a community report that talks up everything from Hackshield integration to character transfers to the upcoming 4.7 update. Hackshield will be going away, as the devs have "decided to halt the integration and look for something new," though that something new hasn't been finalized yet. Transfers are also in the works, but the devs have to plan carefully to avoid borking the game's server-based factional/racial balance. There's no date on 4.7 yet, but localization is current in process and the team hopes to "update you about the content and features of 4.7 anytime soon."
WildStar's Stephan Frost calls it quits
In a new WildStar Nexus Report livestream, Design Producer Stephan Frost stunned listeners by announcing that he would be leaving Carbine Studios. "It really pains me to say this, but this will be my last show and my last week at Carbine," he said on the show. "I'm off to a new adventure; I got an offer that I couldn't turn down and so I'm going to take it. This is super-hard for me. This is one of my proudest achievements. A lot of my heart and soul is in this game." Frost assured fans that it had nothing to do with the game and the community, and he promised that he would still be playing WildStar even after his departure.
Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars 2's gender divide
When I sit down to write an installment of this column that is strongly critical of Guild Wars 2 -- a game I love, in case that was ever in doubt -- I try to follow a simple format in order to keep my criticism from turning into a venting session. That format is to establish that there is a problem, explain why it's a problem requiring a solution, and finally to offer any ideas or suggestions I think might be useful to that end. I do this because I want my articles to be helpful on some level to both ArenaNet and other fans, and while blowing off steam is excellent for the bilious humors, it's not so great for creating actual change. Sometimes, though, the only suggestion I can offer is to please stop doing something because the fact that it's a problem is reason enough for it to require that solution. This is especially important when the issue isn't gameplay or monetization but rather something that personally affects me and the people I play with. As a warning, several of the source links in this article lead to discussions of graphic and disturbing language and events.
WildStar settles on megaserver names
Players have cast their votes for the new megaservers coming to WildStar, and the decisions have been reached. In North America, the PvE server will be Entity and the PvP server will be Warhound. European players will soon be hanging out on Jabbit (PvE) and Luminai (PvP). WildStar previously announced that it would be merging all current servers onto these four megaservers to facilitate increased population density and player interaction (and, presumably, to clean up the desolated servers). Until megaservers are instituted, players may transfer to other servers for free within their region.
EGX London 2014: Guild Wars 2 promotes e-sports
ArenaNet was in London this past weekend promoting its Guild Wars 2 e-sports angle to show-goers, including some who might never have played or even heard of the MMO. A pair of videos serve to explain how Guild Wars 2 works; the first covers PvE from character creation to skills to armor, and the second, hosted by Competitive Community Manager Joshua "Grouch" Davis, covers all things PvP. We think having a Competitive Community Manager is a pretty serious declaration of your e-sports intent. Enjoy the vids below.
WildStar adopts quarterly update cadence: 'No more drops before their time'
WildStar Product Director Mike Donatelli has penned a new state of the game post to address concerns about the themepark in the wake of Jeremy Gaffney's resignation as Carbine President and the announcement of server merges in the form of megaservers. Donatelli says that WildStar will now function under a quarterly cadence for major updates. In August, he told players that the team was adopting a "when it's done" approach to drops instead of its originally planned monthly cadence. "If it's not ready, we'll hold it until it is," he reiterates today, citing quality as his motivator. "This doesn't mean we won't have other activities available to experience on a more regular basis; we're just taking the necessary time to get the major drops right." The next drop, scheduled for November, will include both solo and world story content. He also promises improved elder game itemization, disincentives for toxic PvP behavior, attunement adjustments, and a new training dungeon to prepare players for WildStar's controversial raid content. "I want to stress that we're not nerfing raids," he writes. "We're just giving you the tools to succeed when tackling them."
Guild Wars 2 promotes its World Tournament Series Championships, goes on sale
Earlier this morning, ArenaNet delivered its 2014 Guild Wars 2 World Tournament Series Championships roadmap from London's Eurogamer Expo, where the studio is livestreaming its latest e-sports endeavor. ANet is calling the tourney the game's "first truly international competition" as it pulls players from three continents; opening rounds of qualifiers have already concluded. The studio explains, "Each event will pit four teams in a fight to become the world's best Guild Wars 2 PvP players, with the top two teams from the host region facing off against two visiting teams. The debut event is scheduled for December 4-5 in Beijing, where players will vie for a $50,000 (USD) prize pool and the title of first-ever Guild Wars 2 WTS Champion." As promised Tuesday, the buy-to-play MMO's free trial also began this morning at 3 a.m. EDT; it's active for a week until the wee hours of October 2nd. Box prices (specifically, Digital Heroic Editions and Digital Deluxe Editions through the GW2 storefront) have also been halved throughout the promotion. [Source: Anet press release]
Rumor: Blade & Soul 2 is under development
If you're still holding out hope for a Blade & Soul release in North America, you have an admirable amount of patience. But a recent rumor might sink that hope a bit further. Website 2P.com claims to have insider information that points to the development of a Blade & Soul 2, which is good news if you're a fan of the game but bad news if you're still hoping to see an official release of the original. The Shanghai studio behind the concept art was a part of the original team responsible for the game's art direction, so it could very well point to something new in the works. Whether that means a sequel, an expansion, or even an actual release on this side of the pond is all up for speculation. It's too early to flag as anything but a rumor, although the concept art that's been leaked certainly looks as if it comes from the game in question.
Guild Wars 2 opens limited free trial access [Updated]
OK, guy in the comment section who always asks whether Guild Wars 2 has a free trial: The answer is finally yes. But there's a catch; free access to the game lasts for one week only, beginning at 3 a.m. EDT on September 25th and ending 2:59 a.m. EDT on October 2nd. ArenaNet says it has already opened registration for the trial so that interested gamers can start downloading the client ahead of time. Old trial accounts will work for this promotion. Earlier this month, Guild Wars 2's second feature pack overhauled the early game experience, making this an ideal time to be a newbie in the buy-to-play title. [Update: ArenaNet has posted a number of mechanics changes that will be in place for the trial and affect trial accounts, including restrictions on mail and chat.]
WildStar puts megaserver names up for a vote
Do you have strong feelings about the name of your server? Then you'll want to make sure to get involved with the poll for WildStar players that's running until September 24th at 12:30 p.m. EDT. While the megaserver system has not yet been rolled out, the team is nearly ready and is looking for feedback on just what to call the new PvE and PvP servers for each region. Both server types have five names to choose from. Currently, the North American vote is leaning toward Entity for the PvE server and Deadeye for the PvP server, but there's still enough time for players to change that trajectory. If you don't care about your server name, it's nothing to worry about, but if it matters a lot, jump on over and share your feelings.
The Nexus Telegraph: How to fix WildStar
It's been a quiet couple of weeks for WildStar, which could be taken as indicating the team is making major changes, or it could just be pre-patch preparations that are taking half of forever. It'd look the same either way. We know the next patch is coming, and we have some idea of what it's going to contain, but we still haven't gotten anything resembling a release date. Still, leaving aside the obvious shift in patch schedules, I'd like to think this is the start of a paradigm shift for the game's development as a whole. This ties into the last column's topic quite well. The game has issues at the moment; it's not hitting the notes or player numbers it wants. What can actually be done to address this? How can the game draw players back and keep them engaged, especially when it's in need of some pretty serious server consolidation so early in its life?
Gaile Gray returns to the community team for Guild Wars 2
If you played Guild Wars when it launched, you remember Gaile Gray. Heck, odds are you remember her if you've been at all active in the community for Guild Wars or Guild Wars 2 over the past decade; she's worn many community-facing hats over the years. She's donning a new one now, or perhaps more accurately re-donning an old favorite, as game support lead Michael Henniger recently took to the forums announcing that Gray has moved from customer support to the community team. Community interactions were a large part of Gray's role when the original Guild Wars launched, and long-time fans in the thread are happy to see her making the move. If you had a sudden sweep of nostalgia, you're not alone.
