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Smedley announces SOE is no more, becomes Daybreak Game Company
In a surprising move, CEO John Smedley just announced on Reddit that Sony Online Entertainment is leaving behind its Sony roots and becoming Daybreak Game Company after being acquired by the investment firm Columbus Nova. This change allows the company to publish online games on multiple gaming platforms, including the XBox. Smedley also assured players via Twitter that all of the games in the company's portfolio are staying and will continue to be a part of the new company. Here's the full announcement plastered on the official forums of each of the company's games: Dear Players, Partners and Friends, Today, we are pleased to announce that we have been acquired by Columbus Nova, an investment management firm well known for its success with its existing portfolio of technology, media and entertainment focused companies. This means that effective immediately SOE will operate as an independent game development studio where we will continue to focus on creating exceptional online games for players around the world, and now as a multi-platform gaming company. Yes, that means PlayStation and Xbox, mobile and more! As part of this transition, SOE will now become Daybreak Game Company. This name embodies who we are as an organization, and is a nod to the passion and dedication of our employees and players. It is also representative of our vision to approach each new day as an opportunity to move gaming forward. So what exactly does this mean for you? It will be business as usual and all SOE games will continue on their current path of development and operation. In fact, we expect to have even more resources available to us as a result of this acquisition. It also means new exciting developments for our existing IP and games as we can now fully embrace the multi-platform world we are living in. Our games and players are the heart and soul of our organization, and we are committed to maintaining our portfolio of online games and pushing the limits of where we can take online gaming together. Thank you for your continued support. See you in game! The Team at Daybreak
Das Tal devs: 'We don't even own a gauntlet'
Yesterday, we posted about an article penned by Das Tal Head of Communications David Wells in which he threw down the proverbial gauntlet, as we put it, at ArcheAge's feet; he laid out many of ArcheAge's faults and explained how Das Tal, an admittedly indie sandbox, could improve on the format and avoid some of ArcheAge's infamous mistakes. This prompted a fiery debate, particularly among ArcheAge's fans and frenemies, over sandbox design in the indie and AAA space. Das Tal Managing Director Alexander Zacherl hopes to expound on that treatise with a letter to players of his own; he emphasizes that Fairytale Distillery's intent was not to provoke a duel with ArcheAge but to improve the studio's corner of the genre. We've agreed to publish that letter in full today. Read on!
H1Z1 suffers overnight downtime, whispers of server wipes [Updated]
It's not an easy time to be playing H1Z1 right now, especially since you sort of can't. The game's servers went down last night for a quick fix, according to Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley; they've been down since, with players getting increasingly vocal and anxious about what comes next. No further updates have come from the company after Smedley's assurance that there are issues to be fixed that cannot be solved simply by rolling back to the previous patch. Once players can get back in to the game, there may very well be a server wipe greeting them (a possibility suggested by the technical director), although perks like tickets, crates, and cosmetic recipes will not be lost in the event of a server wipe. SOE has promised to give plenty of notice before taking such drastic measures. Players are divided on whether this is a good thing or not, although widespread reports of item duping sit at the root of the issue. There's still no ETA on when the servers will be back online or what will be fixed when they come back up, but players could be looking at a very different environment. [Update: Servers appear to be up again now. SOE has said that the promised European servers are still incoming: "getting MORE servers, still calculating what we can fit."]
First Impressions: H1Z1 is more boredom than terror
What would video game purgatory look like? After spending an afternoon wandering aimlessly across a mostly-deserted countryside, I'd have to say that H1Z1's early access build fits the description of limbo perfectly. I even smacked into a wall of grey nothing that bordered the eight square kilometers of play space and wondered whether it might be more interesting in that haze than back among the living dead. H1Z1, as SOE will emphatically tell you, is not anywhere near to being done. Features are missing, placeholder art is everywhere, and there isn't a female character to be seen. It's only just playable on a larger scale, and yet the studio felt fit to open hundreds of servers (and take in thousands of dollars) so that the early crowd could sate its curiosity. There's no NDA, either, which means that the studio definitely wants people to chat the game up, whether good or bad. I'm happy to oblige.
H1Z1 is going 'nuclear' on hackers
From the sound of it, the H1Z1 crew put in some serious overtime during this past weekend. SOE President John Smedley has been posting updates across Reddit, especially in reference to hackers and important patch fixes. Smedley said that the team is "extremely on top of" any hacking going on in the game and will only get better as time goes by. "What we have is extremely robust in terms of detection and prevention," he posted. "Now that we started with detection, you'll be seeing the prevention go nuclear." Patches that are coming soon to the game will cover many vital issues, according to Smedley. These fixes include more loot, frame rate fixes, the infamous G29 problem, the floating arrow bug, and a slower drain rate for hunger and thirst.
SOE's Adam Clegg apologizes for H1Z1 airdrop snafu
In the wake of this week's H1Z1 early access launch issues and "pay-to-win" airdrop controversy, SOE's Adam "Arclegger" Clegg offered a lengthy apology and explanation to the unruly mob on Reddit. I wanted to address what I said in an earlier stream with NGTZombies prior to our release. I said you cannot buy a gun or ammo and it had to be found in the world. When you are on a stream, and you are talking about your game, you tend to talk a million miles an hour both to keep the information flowing and to keep it entertaining. But sometimes things get said without completely thinking about what you are saying 100% through. H1Z1 is a massive game with a lot of systems, some of which we were tuning every day and finishing last minute. When I said you can't buy any guns or ammo, I completely disregarded the possibility of airdrops and meant that you can't buy a gun or ammo and have it go into your starting loadout, or your loadout immediately like you were buying a gun from the gun store. All that being said, I totally understand how what I said was at the time lying to you guys and I apologize. But please understand that's not what I was trying to do. For those of you that don't know me or understand me, know that I'm not trying to be this monster that is conniving and lying in hopes that you get tricked into buying the game. I am very passionate about making video games and I want more than anything in the world for people to love the games that I am a part of making. Clegg explained that during testing, the loot-heavy airdrops resulted in a "gladiator style brawl" that epitomized the conflict SOE wanted to generate in the game. "Whether you agree with us or not," he wrote, "that is how we want airdrops to work." The second half of his post covers the details of the changes incoming to the system as noted yesterday. SOE President John Smedley announced last night that the studio will grant refunds to those early access purchasers who request them by Sunday. Self-initiated refunds through Steam are also now possible.
H1Z1 bests login issues, justifies and tweaks 'pay-to-win' airdrops [Update: Refunds being granted]
Zombie sandbox MMO H1Z1 launched into early access on Steam yesterday evening only to be plagued with login server issues that caused even us to cancel our planned stream. In other words, it was an MMO launch. Overnight, SOE's John Smedley told Reddit that those problems have been mopped up that that SOE is currently working on G29 and G99 errors, server framerates, disappearing chats, crash bugs, and a "runaway memory situation." Reddit and Steam's user review section have exploded not over the predictable early access technical issues but over cash-shop airdrops, which some players say constitute pay-to-win in violation of SOE's stated philosophy. Smed denied obfuscating the presence of airdrops, saying SOE has "been straight about it" and justifying the mechanic: 1) You cannot call in airdrops until the servers are 1/4 full. 2) You can't call in airdrops without generating a ton of zombie heat. 3) the airdrops are random in what they deliver. 4) you are not guaranteed to get a single thing out of the airdrop you called in. You could die trying and you're out the money. 5) We fly the plane in very slowly and loudly.. we also stream green smoke from it you can see from very far away. But he does note that SOE will be "making some big changes" to airdrops, including widening the radius, reducing the chance they'll drop guns, slowing the airdrop planes even more, and increasing the number of players who can call them at any given time. "If you think it's P2W don't buy it. Don't play it," Smed posted. "But I have to say wait until you've personally tried them before making the call."
H1Z1 is now available, here's a trailer
Zombie survival sandbox H1Z1 is now available to play. Or test. Or whatever it is ya'll are doing inside these half-finished games that are killing it on Steam. What can you expect for your $19.99 or $39.99? Well, lots of bugs, placeholder artwork, and low-quality character models, according to a recent dev post. You also get to shoot your fellow zombie fans in the face, though, and purportedly influence development of the game going forward. SOE has released a new trailer to mark today's launch. You can view it after the break!
Leaderboard: Are you playing H1Z1 this week?
SOE's zombie-flavored sandbox comes to Steam early access tomorrow, and despite the under construction warnings of CEO John Smedley, I'm betting that lots of people are going to buy it. The question, though, is whether or not you have bought it. How about it, Massively readers? Are you playing H1Z1 this week? Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
H1Z1 boasts 150-200 early access servers, including 'carebear' servers [Updated]
In preparation for the early access launch of zombiebox H1Z1, SOE's John Smedley has been busy on social media. Over the weekend, he asked Redditors for suggestions for 50 zombie-themed server names. Last night on Twitter, he indicated that the game will have far more servers come Thursday: looking like we'll have 150-200 H1Z1 servers on 1/15. [9:19 PM - 12 Jan 2015] we'll be announcing the distribution of them (i.e. rulesets, etc) in the next day or two. I think people will be happy. [9:19 PM - 12 Jan 2015] even the disgusting PVE carebear servers will be ready day 1. I'm not happy about that but people tell me I need to get over it. [9:20 PM - 12 Jan 2015] Don't worry, PvE players who've been buying SOE MMOs for 16 years. We're pretty sure he was kidding. H1Z1 early access launches January 15th. Smed has previously warned players that they should "NOT BUY EARLY ACCESS" if they are hoping for a completely finished game, but given the number of servers, we expect no one is listening to that advice.
Suba Games is interested in resurrecting Wizardry Online
Could Wizardry Online make a comeback in North America and Europe after being shut down by SOE last year? It's an outlying possibility, as a fan push and a positive response by publisher Suba Games have indicated interest in such a move. Fans struck up a player petition to revive Wizardry Online in the West, prompting Suba to affirm that it is interested as well. "It's always great to see people passionate enough to pool together and try to have their voices heard," Suba CM Xjmas posted on the studio's forums. "In this case, I want to let you know you all have been heard and Suba is interested in reviving this game. They have actually made contact with the developer but have yet to conclude an outcome with them yet." Such a resurrection is familiar territory to Suba; the publisher recently spearheaded an effort to bring Dream of Mirror Online back to life following that game's sunset. You can watch the Wizardry Online player petition video after the break.
Mortal Online is expanding into the deserts of Sarducaa
Is it too early to declare the MMO expansion of 2015 yet? If not, then Mortal Online might have it in the bag as it prepares to open the doors of a new continent. Coming soon(tm) to the game will be the continent of Sarducaa, a land dominated by deserts as well as a smidge of "inpenetrable jungle." Sarducaa will be broken up into six zones and is larger than the existing Myrland. It will also boast enemy creatures with "expanded AI" and better loot. The team has posted a preview of Sarducaa, including concept art and a few tracks of the new soundtrack. [Thanks to Sandboxer III: Return of Sandboxing for the tip!]
H1Z1 early access available January 15
SOE's H1Z1 zombie sandbox is coming to Steam early access on January 15th. CEO John Smedley posted the news to Reddit a few moments ago, and he was quite specific about who should purchase the title in its current form. "Is it going to be a finished game? Absolutely not. If that's what you're expecting, DO NOT BUY EARLY ACCESS," he wrote. "The goal here is to let you in early and help us mold it into a game you want to be a part of for quite a long time." Smedley went on to mention the entry-level price point ($19.99) and he also addressed comparisons between H1Z1 and Day Z. "Is H1Z1 going to be better than Day Z day one? No it won't. We'll get asked that question a lot and I wanted to be up front about it," Smedley explained. "We're not as feature-rich and they have a lot of really cool stuff we just don't have yet. That being said, we're also a different game. We're an MMO and our goals are to create a large scale world that gives you the incredible feeling of being a survivor in a zombie apocalypse."
H1Z1 talks about the details of animations in new video
You probably don't spend a whole lot of time thinking about the animations of your favorite game, but they're still important. H1Z1's latest dev spotlight video highlights senior artist Dave Carter, the man behind motion captures and animations in the game, and he talks at length about what is in the game and how much influence animation has upon elements in the game. For example, adding zombies who can climb over vehicles and through windows is a balance issue, but it's also an animation issue; the developers can't add one without the other. Carter also discusses the existing animations in the game and some of the flow between them in the video. Although the animations aren't completely finished, the motion capture sessions have taken place and the team is fairly far along in bringing the game into motion. Check out the full video just past the break.
Darkfall patches in relics
Darkfall Unholy Wars really requires PvP to function properly; it's one of the big elements of the game. That's why the new Relic system was introduced to help encourage inter-Clan warfare, provide more benefit to Clan holdings, and generally shake up the established order of things. Nine relics randomly spawn throughout the world, and players who find them can bring them back to their Clans' churches to receive a global buff as long as the church is standing. Relics can also be destroyed by taking out the structure that holds them or via a special altar, both of which will cause the item to respawn at another random location throughout the game world. The intent is obviously to encourage players to go to war over the relics, stealing them from foes or ensuring that no one can benefit from their presence. Time will tell how successful the system is; take a gander at all the details if you're considering jumping in to hunt some relics yourself. [Thanks to Jane for the tip!]
H1Z1 dev vid talks cities, barricades, and more
SOE has published another H1Z1 dev spotlight vid. Environment artist Ruby Opfer is your host, and she spends the clip's three-minute running time expounding on various fan-submitted questions. Want to know about the zombie gankbox's underwater exploration potential? What about cities and the ability for players to take them over? How about structural barricades and whether or not you can line your bunker with crafted wooden spikes? All these questions and a few more are touched on just past the break.
Darkfall axes tutorial, for now
Aventurine has decided to temporarily remove Darkfall's Vale of the Custodian, otherwise known as the game's tutorial. The move comes "after some deliberation," and for now players will spawn into the fantasy PvPbox and begin their gameplay immediately. Aventurine's announcement post says that the firm will "be looking into revamping and improving the Vale area to provide a better and smoother starting experience for new players." In the meantime, the devs have created a new seven-minute tutorial video that you can watch after the break.
H1Z1's audio is a key part of its immersion
When done right, you hardly ever consciously acknowledge a game's sound, but when it's missing or done poorly, it can jar a player out of desired immersion. In a dev diary posted today, H1Z1 Technical Architect Greg Spence talks about the sound of the game and demonstrates a few tests. "So much goes into making these sounds seem realistic beyond just choosing an audio file to play," Spence explains. "Taking into account your surroundings, whether you are inside or outside, what type of ground you are on, time of day, and even weather can play a big part in the final thing you hear." Spence discusses sound effects, environment sounds, and, of course, music. You can check out the audio test videos after the break!
Das Tal launches merch while making a Greenlight push
If you're excited for Das Tal, now's a fine time to vote with or without your wallet. Yes, both work here. Voting without your wallet is as simple as moving over to the game's Greenlight page on Steam and supporting it if you haven't already; the developers have issued a statement claiming that the game is close to getting Greenlight status and just needs a final push. How can you vote with your wallet? Well, you can grab some Das Tal apparel, coffee mugs, or the like. The merchandise features art from the game's art director, so it's a good way to show off your affection for the game in physical form. You can also check out a video of the game's most recent test update just past the break, although you can't buy that on a shirt. It's hard to display video on a shirt. (It's the same video we covered recently, though, so if you saw it then you can safely skip it.)
H1Z1's senior designer on item degradation, crafting, and more
SOE has released a new H1Z1 dev spotlight video. The dev in question is one Paul Carrico, senior game designer on the open world survival sandbox. Carrico spends the vid's four-minute running time fielding fan-generated questions, one of which pertains to crafting. "Crafting can get really deep," he says, before giving an example of makeshift weapon fabrication. Carrico also mentions ammo variation, though he says that flaming, exploding, and poison-tipped arrows will have to wait until after H1Z1's early access goes live. Finally, Carrico talks about item degradation, which will affect everything from weapons to structures to tools. Click past the cut to watch the full clip.
