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Darkfall rolls back Stamina changes after player protests
The development team behind Darkfall had a couple of issues. The first issue was that no one was using Primalist armor. The second was that stamina regeneration was disabled during sprinting. So it seemed like an obvious combination. Give Primalist robes the ability to boost stamina regeneration, let other armor types see stamina drop a bit faster, and everyone would have a bit more motivation to use robes. Elegant, no? As it turned out, the resultant regeneration and overall issues led to an immediate rollback and a 40% decrease in stamina consumption across the board, meaning that these issues are all back to the drawing board. An apology was issued for the unintended consequences of the patch, with the team promising to examine the issue in more depth whilst looking for a solution that doesn't lead to this level of fan outcry. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
Mortal Online claims 'breakthrough' with improved client performance
If you've been frustrated by bad client performance with Mortal Online, then you'll be glad to hear that developer Star Vault has isolated the problem: It's Gordo the Carniverous Sea Slug (as seen above) who is eating your packets and pings with wild abandon. In all seriousness, the team has pinpointed the issue as related to the new armor models and is beginning to work on a solution. "We have made a very exciting breakthrough in how to handle player performance cost," a team update reads. "We have identified one big thing that does indeed add quite a bit of drop on client performance when the client sees many players." In addition to fixing the performance drop, Star Vault announced that the territory control system is "progressing very smoothly" and that the team has added a new concept artist to flesh out the world and lore. [Thanks to James for the tip!]
Darkfall introduces PLEX-like 'D.U.E.L.' subscription currency
Yesterday, Aventurine added what it called a "minor" new feature to PvP sandbox Darkfall: a payment system remarkably similar to those found in EVE Online, WildStar, ArcheAge, and most recently Anarchy Online. Says the official site, Several minor changes were included in the same update, also the addition of a shop item named D.U.E.L which, when purchased with selentine gold, will add 30 days of subscription time to your account if activated. The purpose of D.U.E.L is to give Darkfall players in-game options to renew their subscriptions. Redditor mmochallenge notes that the in-game D.U.E.L. items are currently selling for around 150,000 gold.
Wizardry Online is now... Wizardry Offline
The MMO world mourned Vanguard's sunset yesterday, but as The Ancient Gaming Noob reminded us, Vanguard wasn't the only MMO SOE shuttered in July. Wizardry Online also closed its doors permanently last night, bringing to a end one of the stranger games SOE has published in its long career. Over on the official forums, where players have been posting their goodbyes, a player named Dremlock published a video of the game's last moments. We've included it below (start at about 1:29:00 to see the final curtain call).
Darkfall creates a new customizable user interface
Today's patch for Darkfall brings a major revamp to the user interface that's long been in the making. "We started changing things with the revisions we did to windows like chat, feats, and roles, and as it was expected, the time had come to give some attention to what we call internally the 'Front of Darkfall,' aka the Action Mode HUD (Heads-Up Display)," Aventurine posted. The action HUD has several new components including crosshair, healthbar, and target information. This then can be customized in regard to location, opacity, icon selection, and size.
The Daily Grind: What upcoming MMO are you giving a second look?
Up to this point I've been pretty meh about Camelot Unchained. It's nothing personal, I always enjoy Mark Jacobs' game development perspectives, but to be frank neither Warhammer Online nor Dark Age of Camelot held my attention for more than a month. Blame Star Wars: Galaxies, I guess. Then I started reading some of these "batshit crazy" CU reveals and now I'm thinking that this game might be for me. I'm saying "might" because I've followed this genre long enough to take grandiose design docs with a grain of salt. But hey, at least I'm hooked and will keep reading, right? What about you, Massively readers? What upcoming MMO are you giving a second look? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
SOE Live player panels include support for military gamers
SOE Live posted its list of player panels today for its convention, with topics ranging from supporting military gamers to fansite management. The full list is as follows: Friday, August 15 11:00 am - 12:00 pm -– EQ2U & Dragon's Armory 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm –- Live Together, Die Alone: Surviving H1Z1 as a Group 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm –- Inter-Outfit Operations in PS2 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm –- Become Your Character: Tricks and Tips for Cosplay 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm –- Military Gamers: Taking Care of Each Other Saturday, August 16 10:00 am - 11:00 am -– Social Media/Steaming & Fansites 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm -– Effective Guild and League Management 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm –- Improving Your EverQuest 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm –- DCUO – Advanced Raid Tactics 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm –- The New Conglomerate 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm -– Hardcore Decorating in EQII 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm –- EQII Game Macros, ACT Triggers, and You!
Leaderboard: Will you be trying ArcheAge?
ArcheAge's closed beta is coming in a couple of weeks, and if Trion stays on schedule, the long-awaited sandpark's western launch will happen some time prior to year's end. The only real question, then, is will you be playing. There's clearly a lot to like about the game in terms of features, but there's also the specter of open PvP, which has traditionally hamstrung MMO sales and retention figures in the West. So, how about it, Massively readers? Will you be trying ArcheAge despite (or perhaps because of) its PvP? 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 releases E3 gameplay demo
Unless you were personally at E3, you didn't get to see the H1Z1 gameplay demo shown to the media, but SOE rectifies that injustice today with a new video in which Senior Designer Jimmy Whisenhunt walks viewers through a version of the same demo shown at the con. Clocking in at over 11 minutes, the video demonstrates resource acquisition, crafting, driving, scavenging, archery, dynamic weather, and more gameplay elements. You know -- killin' baddies, choppin' trees, just a day in the life of a dude with a rusty jeep and a zombie plague chasing him down.
You could write the next Darkfall quest
Yes, Darkfall has quests, smart-aleck, it's not all-gank-all-the-time. In fact, Agonian group PvE is some of the most enjoyable I've experienced in 15-plus years of MMO playing. In any case, Aventurine kicked off a quest-writing contest this week, and you can enter it by sending your stories to the firm's submission email address. The devs ask that you limit your stories to 1500 words or less and that you make sure they're based on "anything Agonian." Aventurine notes that it is currently crafting "some fairly long and epic stories" of its own, so the winning submissions will be used for sidequests in the world of Darkfall. The best story will net its author a unique in-game item, and the contest runs through July 20th, so you better get cracking! [Thanks Dengar!]
H1Z1 working hard on Steam early access prep
SOE Technical Director Tom Schenck penned the first dev blog for H1Z1 yesterday, saying that the team is in overdrive preparing the title for its debut on Steam Early Access. However, in regard to a specific date as to when H1Z1 will be publicly available, Schenck wasn't sharing. Schenck said that the team is strongly focusing on getting the antagonists to look and play the part: "High priority on our Early Access feature list is polishing group behavior and tuning Emergent AI systems to the entire ecosystem. Our AI team is going nuts regulating interactions for all of the NPC characters in the game including zombies, deer, wolves, and more." Other stated priorities for the team right now include fine tuning melee combat, maxing out performance, and bug hunting.
Darkfall's action-mode HUD to get some lovin' in July patch
Aventurine has published a lengthy blog post previewing Darkfall's update schedule. Now that the game's custom roles are a thing, the devs are turning their attention to two July patches. The first is basically a fix and balance update to address bugaboos with the recent custom roles patch. The second update will the first of two designed to flesh out the game's action-mode HUD and will provide "a far more customizable experience with those GUI elements that are most used and most visible)," Aventurine says. After that, the devs are circling back to the planned economy rebalance as well as tweaks to quests, inventory management, alignment, and more.
Smedley plays H1Z1 on Steam, talks early access
John Smedley tells Reddit that he has played H1Z1 on Steam. "It's our first step toward early access launch," he writes, though the date is still up in the air. "We don't mean to be coy about the date," he says. "We just realized after that initial date it would be smarter to announce it after our feature list was complete. So expect to hear more on the date fairly soon." Smedley also mentions a few features that the dev team is currently working on, including bow crafting, "shooting a deer in the eye with the bow," and more. [Header image by H1Z1Jane via SOE]
Darkfall Unholy Wars custom roles raise balance concerns
After relaunching with set roles, Darkfall Unholy Wars recently introduced custom roles to the game, allowing players to take on any combination of abilities to build a truly unique character. If you guessed from that sentence that there are probably certain balance issues to be worked out, you'd be correct. The community team recently posted on Facebook to address concerns from players regarding balance, noting that it was inevitable that such a major patch would have some issues to be worked out. Rather than patching immediately, the team intends to wait for a few more days to see how matters develop before addressing balance issues. The posting also states that the game is based around large-scale combat, so duel performance is not necessarily indicative of the game's overall state of balance. A full update regarding balance adjustments and bug fixes should be available next week. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
Mortal Online upgrades its graphics engine
If you log into Mortal Online today, you'll be treated to a vastly upgraded game. The team switched the game's visuals to an updated Unreal graphics engine, including new lighting, better grass, Oculus Rift support, and "countless gameplay improvements." "Myrland has been remade, from the ground up, in a new modern terrain system," Star Vault wrote in a newsletter. "This means not only does the terrain look much better and less jagged, but also performs loads better." Today's changes mean that players should start seeing faster updates in the future. The patch notes for V1.80.00.03 are up for your perusal. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
E3 2014: Hands-on with H1Z1
I'm coughing. My head hurts. I'm tired, hungry, and thirsty. I'm not hearing things anymore, but when I close my eyes for too long, I feel disoriented. And this was before I got my hands on H1Z1! I'm sick at E3, but well enough to see through some spin while looking at a winner. If you're tired of hype, false promises, and pay-to-play alphas, come read between the lines with me as I recount the experience of my H1Z1 demo.
Darkfall Unholy Wars unveils custom role tutorial
The introduction of custom roles to Darkfall Unholy Wars is going to mean a major shakeup to the way that skills work overall. It's getting patched in today, and if you're not ready for the change yet, you're in luck; a tutorial video has just been released and is embedded just past the cut. If you want to be a master of magic with a two-handed weapon and leather armor? You can make that happen now. As previously revealed, players will be able to select eight role skills, one ultimate skill, and 16 total skills fr their custom arrangement. You can also choose your attribute boosts as well as the requirements of gear -- if you'd like heavy armor to be gated by your Dexterity instead of your Strength, that's a thing you can do. While the tutorial won't explain to you how to make a good built, it will give you the tools to make one properly.
E3 2014: SOE's evil ways on display in this H1Z1 teaser
SOE has taken the wraps off "My Evil Ways," a new trailer for zombie sandbox H1Z1. The clip is comprised of gameplay footage and seems to endorse the kill-or-be-killed mentality that typically permeates apocalyptic fiction. View it in full after the break!
Darkfall Unholy Wars answers questions on custom roles
In the original version of Darkfall, skill selection was a wide-open field. When the game relaunched as Darkfall Unholy Wars, the role system was introduced, narrowing the field of options significantly. Now custom roles are incoming, and that means that players have questions about how the new mechanics will work. Those questions are being answered in a three-part series of community Q&A sessions, with the first two parts available now. Some mechanics are being removed -- Wobble, for instance, was introduced solely to balance roles, but with the new system the developers no longer need balancing specifically between roles. There have been significant adjustments made to some skills, in part to avoid the situation wherein everyone has a ranged kill skill and super-powerful healing. Despite this, the answers also point out that most characters will actually see a net increase in power overall. If you want to know more, feel free to glance at the full rundown of answers for more details.
Darkfall demonstrates custom roles
Don't let your class define you; let you define your class. That's the message that Darkfall is trying to send with a new video showing off the "billions" of possible role combinations that are in the game. From melee magic users to high burst assassins, the options do seem intriguing. Give it a watch after the break and let us know what classes and roles you would mix-and-match!
