Nether
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Steam Summer Sale, day 5: Dark Souls, Rogue Legacy, Saints Row 4
Twas' the fifth day of the Steam Summer Sale, with deals in droves. At just five dollars, prepare to die with Dark Souls. Fan-favorite Rogue Legacy is slashed by 75 percent ($3.74), You can play Arma 3 ($29.99) and keep half your rent. Phosphor Games' Nether is down to just three bucks, Yet it's Saints Row 4 to which we give all our [expletive] ($9.99). Surgeon Simulator 2013's been cut ($2.49), call the doctor, it's an emergency, Unless you'd sooner blast heads off with Insurgency ($6.74). The Lego Movie video game is 75 percent off too ($7.49), And at 60 percent off, FTL says it's still faster than you ($3.99). These deals are good for two days. [Image: Valve]
Rust, H1Z1, and the emerging 'survival MMO' genre
I'm naked and alone again, but that's OK. After having to level up in other games a million times, deal with boring tutorials, repeatedly turn in quests that add no value to my play time, and then watch as my guild slowly bleeds members to the next MMO asking us to repeat the whole ordeal, "naked and alone" is actually nice. Well, maybe just the naked part. And that, my friends, is the horror-survival/post-apocalypse genre. I love MMOs, but recent themeparks and building games have left me wanting something a bit more dangerous but still not a pointless murderfest. For the most part, these games are less about levels and quests and more about finding items to make sure you don't die. Hunger meters, diseases, and limited supplies in a world filled with enemies who loot you certainly feels like a good throwback to classic RPGs mixed with the multiplayer I've been craving since Asheron's Call first hooked me on MMORPGs. But community-wise, these games have seemed more like lobby shooters than MMOs, which for a long time made me hesitate to try them. If you've been finding yourself in the same situation, hopefully my little plunge into this bloody genre will give you some ideas of what to expect.
We're giving away Nether closed beta steam keys
Nether's spooky catchphrase is "prey or pray," but you'll be required to do neither to snag a key in today's beta giveaway. The closed-beta post-apoc sandbox is updating today with its Territory Wars patch that allows players to compete to control bases and buildings within the city. The patch also introduces playable female characters, an expanded loot system, and an underwear uniform for the most hardcore survivalists. Seriously. Joystiq and Massively have 2,000 Steam keys for Nether to give away, coinciding with the release of the new update. The Steam passes include closed beta access, 50 Nether gold, a Chosen-only exclusive in-game item, five 72-hour guest keys for your mates, forum access, and a highlighted forum name and rank for your account. Additionally, once the Steam bundles are gone, we've got 18,000 more guest keys that grant 72 hours of beta access without the other goodies. To redeem your Nether Steam key, install and launch the Steam client software and log into your Steam account (the client, not the Steam website!). Click the Games Menu, then Choose Activate a Product on Steam, and then follow the onscreen instructions to complete the process. You and your friends can redeem your guest keys by creating an account on the Nether website and following the instructions therein to download the game. Steam is required for all keys. Have fun saving the world! Update: We're already out of Steam keys, but there are still guest keys left.
Nether adds crafting, creature mode, and tribes
The mean streets of Nether are easing up a bit on players, as Phosphor Games has patched in a slew of helpful systems for its February update. The trio of new features includes crafting, a creature mode, and tribes. Crafting encourages players to scavenge from their adventures and fashion gear and weapons to use and trade. If being a bad guy is your thing, then the new creature mode allows users to step into the twisted role of a nether to stalk victims. And tribes, Nether's version of guilds, are now in the game with bases, a skill tree, and special objectives to be patched in later in the month. Players who join a tribe from now through February 15th will earn special bonuses including currency and a free uniform. We've got a video showing some of the February update features after the jump, so get a move on, little doggy! [Source: Phosphor Games press release]
Nether's January update introduces dirt bikes and group options
The survival horror world of Nether continues to take form and shape as the devs are introducing the year's first update this week. The big addition that will come in this patch is the dirt bike, which gives players a faster means of navigating the post-apocalyptic landscape. Of course, when you do so you'll be making an awful racket and since the enemies are very sensitive to all sound, any riders will probably enjoy a few breezy minutes of transportation followed by a few painful minutes of being disembowled. The patch is also including group features such as group chat, invites, nametags, and locations on the map. There are also some new cosmetic items to check out (Russian hat, anyone?) and plenty of fixes for various bugs. We've got the video of the dirt bike in action after the break.
Ask Massively: Giveaways, zombies, and capturing the spirit of Ultima Online
This week in Ask Massively, we're answering questions about eerily quiet games, giveaways, and capturing the spirit of classic sandboxes and The Walking Dead. Holden asked, "Why has Perpetuum dropped off the map? I never hear about it anymore. The only time I even remember it is when I am doing searches for (more) robot/mech desktop wallpapers. Once monoclegate blew over, it was as if Perpetuum fell of the face of the earth, but it seems that it is still around from glancing at the website." This was such a good question that we went digging for an answer before we even added it to Ask Massively. It had been a long time since we'd reported on Perpetuum because it had been a long time since Perpetuum had made a big splash in the news. Readers speculated that the game's playerbase has shrunk over the last two years, but in fact over the winter holiday, developer Avatar Creations posted a dev blog detailing plans for a newbie tutorial island intended to bolster the new player population. Hopefully Holden and other fans of the game will enjoy this "island of noobs" (Avatar's words, not mine!).
Pre-order Nether to bring friends into a post-apocalyptic world of survival and demonic monster-killing
Phosphor Games' online first-person urban survival game Nether is waiting to pounce just around the corner, and it's carrying a live-action trailer and pre-order bonuses. Phosphor Games announced Thursday that pre-orders for the game are now live, and those who plunk down money early will be able to enter the world of Nether early, on October 31. Said players will also be able to share the post-apocalypse monster-hunting fun, as they'll receive 72-hour guest keys so friends can join in at no charge. Phosphor Games Creative Director Chip Sineni said in a press release that community would be important going forward, hence the pre-order reward of allowing more people access to the game. "We want to develop a game that fans are enthusiastic to play, and there isn't a better way to give players the experience they crave than to get them involved in selecting which features are patched in next," Sineni said. So don't get all down and depressed because an event called "The Cull" killed off or transformed most of mankind into horrible monsters, like that's sad or something. After all, you could be shooting those monsters in the face by the end of the month.
See the dark side of survival in Nether's live-action trailer
Last month, we gave you a deeper look into the post-apocalyptic survival game Nether being developed by Phosphor Games. Today, the studio announced that pre-orders for the game will grant early access and allow players to try their hand at survival against the mutated monstrosities starting (fittingly) on October 31st, 2013. Additionally, pre-orders will net 72-hour game keys to share with friends, as well as other in-game perks. Creative Director Chip Sineni stated, "As an online multiplayer game, we feel strongly that the focus is on community collaboration so we want to reward the early players with solid pre-order incentives and really make them a part of the future of the rich, urban environment that is Nether." Along with the announcement, the studio released a new live-action trailer. If you want to get a feel for the game, check out the video after the cut. Then if you like what you see, join the community and help direct the development path of future content in Nether. [Source: Phosphor Games press release]
An early look at Phosphor's survival pseudo-MMO Nether
When I first learned I'd be jetting off to meet with Phosphor Games for a first look at its upcoming title Nether, I must admit I wasn't enthusiastic. I expected to see just another zombie-esque first-person shooter in a genre already overstuffed with shotguns and undead targets. But now that I've seen the demo in person, I might just have changed my mind. It's not really an MMO, not with 64 people on a map, but it's certainly skirting the boundaries; I'd consider it a happy marriage between Left 4 Dead and DayZ, so it's certainly the type of game fans of post-apocalyptic survival pseudo-MMOs will want to watch. The game's backstory features a near-future world, about a decade after a major mutation event called "the Cull" in the game's lore. Thanks to the Cull, the majority of the population transformed into zombies violent mutated humanoid creatures. I guess there's an attempt to avoid the classic zombie trope in Nether, but who's fooled, really?
Nether gives unique twist to post-apocalyptic survival
Stop us if you've heard this game before: It's some time after the apocalypse, and you're one of the final survivors scrounging about for parts and gear to carve out a niche of safety. While that might sound like every zombie survival game that's come out in the wake of DayZ, Nether is eschewing zombies for something more insidious -- and interesting. The titular creatures are mutants that hunt by sound and teleport around, requiring players to adopt new strategies as they try to make it. The newly announced Nether is a persistent MMOish (well, 64 players per server) game where players explore West Chicago in the hopes of finding that one weapon or crate of goods that's needed to survive another night. Or you could just go to Chicago right now in real life and do the same thing. Phosphor Games Creative Director Chip Sineni says his title won't be the same-old zombiethon: "Our focus is to veer away from some of the 'traditional' survival-horror offerings in order to provide something new for the genre, with a great urban setting, a different type of story and an experience that excites us as fans and will be something definitely fresh and new for gamers." Nether is in alpha testing with an eye on a fall 2013 release for the PC and is currently accepting beta signups. You can check out its reveal trailer after the jump!
Forum post of the day: BOE Vortexes
In a post entitled BOE Vortexes a SLAP in the FACE to CRAFTERS Solarissa of Korgath claims that changes on the public test realm for patch 2.4 would devalue the efforts of crafters. She says that allowing players to purchase or farm their own materials would greatly reduce profits for crafters who have invested vast amounts of time in farming materials for their epic patterns, such as the Belt of Blasting. Instead of hefty auction house prices, they would receive meager tips for their crafting efforts. Disenchanted crafters believe that this change would make it so there is no way at all to earn money with trade skills. Responses vary from stalwart agreement to arguments that this change would actually drive up the prices for crafted items. Sylindra of Moonrunner is pleased with the change. She feels that it unfair for non-crafters to have to pass on Nether Vortexes since they could only be used by players whose primary characters were crafters. The materials could go into guild banks, or be given to non-crafters to sell on the auction house for a tidy profit of their own.
