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SOE is streaming H1Z1 live right now
SOE has just announced that members of the H1Z1 dev team will be streaming the recently revealed zombie survival sandbox for the first time tonight on Twitch starting at 7:00 p.m. EDT, which is right this very minute. We've included the stream embed after the cut for your entertainment. Popcorn sold separately. [Update: The devs streaming are Game Designer Jimmy Whisenhunt and Technical Director Tom Schenck] [Source: SOE press release]
Darkfall clarifies vision to get 'back on track'
Aventurine admitted today that it has faltered on its core vision for Darkfall due to "compromises" but is rededicating itself to restoring its focus. "We are committed to our original vision of a politically and economically driven sandbox PvP MMO where risk dictates the reward, leading to meaningful massive battles," the studio posted. As such, Aventurine revealed that it will be introducing mix-and-match custom roles, rebalancing the economy, adding in siege engines, and conjuring a quest system to beef up the new player experience. On the way out are timed events and "the purpose of safe zones."
Smedley talks H1Z1's map size, population density
SOE CEO John Smedley's not done talking about zombie sandbox survival MMO H1Z1. Earlier this afternoon on Reddit, Smed posted a lengthy comment addressing questions about the game's map size. Rather than summarize it for you, I'll just go ahead and leave the whole thing here. I've seen a bunch of people asking questions about the map size. Forgelight is built to handle arbitrarily sized worlds. Our plan is simple -- we're building the core of "anywhere USA". When we first open it up to users the map will be huge, but nowhere near as big as it's going to be in short order. Our map editing system allows us to quickly add massive areas. We want to make sure we clearly understand how the players are playing the game before we do that. On PlanetSide 2 we made a mistake by making multiple continents before we had a strong enough idea of what worked and what didn't. This game is different. We're doing it smarter. When we open up the early access there will be a massive map for players to enjoy. Over time (very quickly) they'll magically just be able to keep going further than they've gone before. It's a very unique way of doing it, but we actually think this is a better way to go. So not to worry. Zombie Apocalypse isn't going to be any fun if it's like Disneyland on Spring Break and super-crowded. We want remote... haunting... being scared when you see someone. Your first instinct needs to be to hide. If there are 20 players in your view it's not a very convincing Apocalypse. So how many players per server? Who knows. As we add more land the number of people we can hold on a server goes way up. So we're excited. We have a ton of zombies for you to fight too. You'll be seeing hordes, oh yes you will.
Darkfall's territory control update has arrived
Greek indie dev Aventurine has just announced that the much-foreshadowed territory control update for PvP sandbox Darkfall: Unholy Wars arrives today. The studio hopes to draw upon its "sandbox PvP and massive-battles heritage" for the update, which allows players to claim, hold, and control "areas of influence" and tax each other into oblivion -- just in time for tax day in the US! Enjoy the patch notes on the official site and the new trailer below. [Source: Aventurine press release]
Next Darkfall patch to introduce Areas of Influence
A new patch is coming to Darkfall next week that is said to bring new features tied to territory control that offer special bonuses and more visual indicators of that control. The Aventurine team has been teasing the Areas of Influence feature for a few days on its Facebook page, but next week's patch will put it in the game. The Area of Influence is an expanded bit of land that's attached to each capturable control point. These areas show up on the map and offer a set of stackable buffs to the clan members and allies that control the area. Read through the forum post for complete info on the addition. [Thanks for the tip, Dengar!]
Darkfall's getting PvE dailies, and no, it's not April Fools' Day yet
From the things-I-never-thought-I'd-type category, here's a story about Darkfall adding PvE dailies. Aventurine calls them feats in keeping with the PvP title's Unholy Wars progression system, and "there are several personal PvE daily feats that require specific monsters to be killed in order to be completed." The firm is also adding weekly feats, which, like the dailies, will reward prowess and occasional material rewards like raw resources. [Thanks Dengar!]
Darkfall discounts six-month sub, updates weather effects
Aventurine has announced its March Darkfall update, and with it a new promotion tied to the PvP MMORPG's six-month subscription plan. The update features more realistic weather effects. Snowfall and rain will now affect Agon's landscapes as well as buildings, mobs, and player characters. The devs have also added a new clan market system which facilitates goods exchanges within clans and enables the creation of city-based trading hubs. The six-month sub promotion costs $49.95, which amounts to 45 percent off the usual monthly fee. Finally, Aventurine wants you to know about Darkfall's other recent updates which include a new chat system, duels, and the Sinspire Cathedral epic dungeon. To get a better look at the new weather effects, click past the cut and watch the video. [Source: Aventurine press release]
Darkfall to add clan markets and realistic weather effects
If you haven't had enough snow this winter, you'll be able to get some more in Darkfall Unholy Wars! The PvP sandbox's upcoming patch is introducing realistic rain and snow weather effects. Snow will soon be dusting buildings, trees, ships, and the ground, significantly altering the visual landscape. Suddenly, those stark white mounts will no longer be such a liability! The update also includes a new way for clans and alliances to do business amongst themselves in the form of clan markets. The clan markets have individual permission settings, so business can be restricted to individuals (when clan-only), allies, non-enemies, or everyone. As an added benefit, clan markets won't have any courier fees or taxes, at least for the time being. These structures can be built within any clan holding, be it a a city or a hamlet, and trade can commence between all locations. Markets can be damaged to the point of deactivation or lost if holdings change owners. The patch is due out next week. Check out more details about these features and other fixes in the patch notes, and watch as snow covers the landscape and ships alike in the weather video below. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
Introducing Das Tal, a PvP sandbox where players make the rules
If your fun's been stunted by a sad lack of free-for-all PvP sandboxes, then might we suggest you're not looking very hard? Let us give you a start in this direction, at least, as Fairytale Distillery announced its upcoming project, Das Tal. Das Tal is a "fast-paced" sandbox that includes open PvP, full looting of players' corpses, a classless character system, and a constant struggle over resources and player settlements. Probably the most interesting aspect of this MMO is that each server will eventually reach a "climactic end event" and then restart, allowing players to vote on the rules and features for the next iteration. Das Tal is on Steam Greenlight, is currently in the pre-production stage, and will most likely be doing a fundraising campaign at some point. We've got a teaser trailer for you with the creepiest voice-over ever after the break. [Thanks to Skurvel for the tip!]
Some Assembly Required: An anniversary look at Darkfall's fifth year
Gimme five! Five years that is, in honor of Darkfall's anniversary. This week the PvP-centric sandbox celebrated its fifth year of bringing murder, mayhem, and fun to friends and foes alike in the brutal world of Agon. And while it may seem as though you could pretty much sum up the entirety of Darkfall's last 12 months in two words (Unholy Wars) and call it a day, there's actually been much more to the game than just the reboot's long-awaited release. In fact, that was only the beginning. The game has continued to expand and develop even after the initial launch of Unholy Wars, shaping it into the experience that it is today. That's precisely what we're here to toast together -- the ups and down of 52 weeks in Aventurine's hardcore sandbox. Be sure to leave your favorite memories from the past year in Agon before you go!
New Darkfall patch features Chaos Primalist, village requisition
Today's Darkfall patch is a significant one since it brings major changes via village requisitioning and the new Chaos Primalist school. Chaos Primalists "specialize in disrupting, relocating, and general face-melting," according to Aventurine's patch notes. You can read up on the school's ability descriptions on the official Darkfall website. While you're there, you might also want to look through the forum thread that explains the new requisition mechanics in more detail.
Darkfall runs one-week promotion
Darkfall really wants you to be playing it and is willing to make a few major concessions to pave the way for both new and returning players to join the fold. The subscription PvP MMO is running a February promotion aimed at, well, everyone. Lapsed players will find that Aventurine has reactivated their accounts for a week, new players can pick up the game for 75% off, and current players can pick up a six-month subscription for 45% off. This promotion will go through February 13th. Aventurine also posted a note saying that lapsed accounts three months or older will require a support ticket to dig those characters out of storage. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
Darkfall adds weather effects, duel system
Darkfall's sporting a new patch this week, and no, I'm not talking about one of those old-school iron-on things that your mom put on your jacket when you were a kid. This patch contains performance tweaks, new environments, a duel system, and the new weather effects system. Aventurine says that "74 new environments have been added all around Agon." The update post on Darkfall's official website -- viewable via the links below -- contains a full list of fixes and changes.
The Daily Grind: Which of the recent SOE shutdowns will prove the most influential?
SOE is putting down four of its MMOs this year, and while this has been discussed to death here and elsewhere over the past few days, one thing I haven't seen is any chatter about the legacies -- good or bad -- of Vanguard, Free Realms, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Wizardry Online. So, let's talk about that now. Which of these four games do you think will prove the most influential in the long run? Why? 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 shuttering Vanguard, Clone Wars, Free Realms, and Wizardry [Updated]
SOE is closing down four of its MMOs. Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures and Free Realms will close on March 31st. Vanguard and Wizardry Online will bow out on July 31st. "At Sony Online Entertainment, we are always evaluating our portfolio to ensure we're providing players with the best gameplay experiences," the company said via press release. "At times, as part of this commitment, we have to make the difficult decision to sunset a game so we can refocus our resources on other areas in the best interest of our company and player community." SOE CEO John Smedley will be fielding questions on Reddit at 6:00 p.m. EST. We'll update you with the link when it's live. [Update]: Smedley's Reddit AMA
Stick and Rudder: Five reasons Star Citizen isn't a dedicated PvP game
Is it just me, or does a new PvP-vs.-PvE fight break out on the Star Citizen forums every five minutes? In fairness to everyone involved, the jousting we've seen over the past few months is pretty typical of every early adopter MMO community. There's plenty of preening, pseudo-intellectualism, and outright trolling on both sides of the aisle as two player groups make their preferences known early and often in a blatant attempt at influencing game developers to develop something more to their liking. With Star Citizen, though, and with the all-PvP-all-the-time crowd in particular, I'm constantly left wondering whether these people have bothered to research the game they're backing.
Some Assembly Required: Virtual world roundup for 2014 and beyond
Just over two years ago there was a great disturbance, as if millions (or so) of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. Yes, something terrible had happened: a beloved virtual world was destroyed. And that left a number of sandbox refugees looking for a new place to call home. At that time, Some Assembly Required offered a roundup of the then available virtual worlds that could possibly offer accommodation, depending on what qualities players most desired in their games. But as things are wont to, they changed; a lot can happen in the MMOverse in 24 months, from additional features in existing games to new games to the loss of more worlds. So it's time to update this list of virtual worlds to reflect 2014 and beyond. Take a look and see what titles or titles-to-be have the sandbox features that best make a game a home for you.
EVE Evolved: Designing EVE Onland, part 1
When I'm not playing or writing about EVE Online, I can usually be found huddled over my computer typing lines of code into a compiler and chipping away at bugs that make varying degrees of sense. Designing my own hardcore space game is a really fun challenge and very fulfilling work, but I have a dirty little game dev secret: I've actually always wanted to make a fantasy game. While the budget and personnel required to take on a project the scale of an MMO remain quite far outside my grasp for the moment, it's still fun to think about how I might design such a game if the opportunity arose. The MMO genre seems to be heading for a sandbox revolution this year, and there's no bigger sandbox than EVE Online, but could all of EVE's gameplay translate to a fantasy game? EVE is probably the most atypical MMO out there, maintaining a subscription-based single-shard PvP sandbox in a genre that's typically headed in the exact opposite direction. There are several new sci-fi sandboxes on the way that may or may not qualify as massively multiplayer titles, but the vast majority of MMO gamers still prefer to keep their feet on the ground in fantasy lands. I often find myself wondering how much of EVE Online's core gameplay is possible only because of its setting -- and how much could actually be applied to a fantasy MMO. Not only should it be possible to adapt most of what makes EVE great to a modern land-based game, but many of the mechanics sandbox gamers now attribute almost solely to EVE actually started life in classic fantasy MMOs like Ultima Online. In this week's unusual EVE Evolved, I'd like to start a game design thought experiment as I delve into the hypothetical world of EVE Onland.
Massively's winter holidays MMO roundup
The holidays are here! That means the hustle and bustle of the season is in full swing, with gifts to get, treats to taste, deals to nab, and plenty of festivities to partake in -- and that's just in the MMOverse! Yes folks, there's a plethora of holiday celebrations out there -- so many, in fact, that it can be hard to keep track of them all, let alone participate to them! If you're trying to catch everything in your favorite games, we're here to help. We've got a round up of the various winter celebrations across the gaming sphere all bundled together right here for you. If something catches your eye, hop in and join in the festivities!
Mortal Online overhauls characters and armor visuals
Mortal Online has been hard at work performing comprehensive overhauls to character and armor, making them look better than ever. The character improvements for the game include visual passes, more natural animations, a new character creation system, and high-definition upgrades to armor. The visual improvements to crafted armor make up 90% of the game's wearable gear. The recent update also added in three new craftable armor sets and improved large-group performance for mass battles. Due to the character overhaul, Star Vault is giving a free recustomization option to all players. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
