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PAX 2010: Your questions answered by SWTOR's Blaine Christine
A little over a week ago, I asked you all what questions I should ask SWTOR developers at PAX. Well, wait no longer -- the answers are here! Blaine Christine, the Senior Producer for BioWare, took some time specifically to answer some of Massively's readers' questions. There were five main categories I wanted to hit on when approaching BioWare about the content of Star Wars: The Old Republic: playable species, classes, space combat, starting zones, and endgame. I did focus heavily on endgame in the interview -- including crafting -- but I did not neglect the other portions. Player species are not that complicated at this point. BioWare hasn't really announced anything new regarding species for a couple of weeks. However, if Zabrak is not a playable species for the trooper, then the devs will have to build the species out of the game I played this weekend, because the trooper I played was definitely a Zabrak! I will dig into starting zones a bit more in depth when I do my version of a hands-on for SWTOR. That will probably end up being next week's Hyperspace Beacon. Lastly, before I begin the interview, I did not ask Blaine Christine anything about space combat because the night before the interview, Daniel Erickson, the Lead Writer for BioWare, brought it up in the official presentation, saying: "You remember that part where Han Solo and Chewbacca are in the Millennium Falcon? Han's like, 'Hey, Chewie, let's go into space, and let's just dick around. Let's go off in that direction and see if there is anything interesting'? Remember how they went off and there was this asteroid, and they mined the asteroid? Yeah, we couldn't find that either. Two things happened when you went to space. One: You took off to space when you wanted to go somewhere. You took off into hyperspace -- BAM! -- and got there. Two: You wanted to go to a battle or you were trying to go somewhere and someone stopped you. Uh oh! Giant exciting combat! ... That is why we did space combat the way we did." After the break, your other questions are answered by Blaine Christine. What's in there? Only what you take with you.
PAX 2010: How to build LEGO Universe, piece by piece
The world of LEGO is being destroyed by the mighty Maelstrom. Imagination is being sucked into its evil vortex, and only you and your friends can stop it! Customize your minifig to fit your personality, choose your favorite faction, and launch into battle against Maelstrom and its minions. Save imagination! LEGO Universe Online is the LEGO brand's first leap into the MMO genre. After LEGO's success with single-player games, such as the extremely popular Star Wars and Indiana Jones series, it only seems natural for the company to jump into the massively multiplayer universe. The design team of over 150 people has built a wild and whimsical world, Brick and Knob by Brick and Knob, and the crazy thing is, you can add to this world, too. At PAX, LEGO was kind enough to give me a personal guided tour through this universe of adventure and creativity. Follow me after the break as I guide you through my hands-on with LEGO Universe Online.%Gallery-101842%
The Road to Mordor: You've beaten Sauron. New game? Y/N
Huh... what is there to talk about these days? Really? Such a slow news cycle for LotRO... hm. I guess there's that whole "getting rid of pesky radiance" thing that's going to save me from having to write a column on that convoluted system, so thanks Turbine! Other than that, life in Middle-earth is as quiet as... As... as a... GEEKQUAKE! RUN FOR COVER! EMPLOY EXCESSIVE CAPS LOCK STATEMENTS! LOTRO AHOY! OK, so I might have been a bit facetious there. Shocking all of us, Turbine brought up the servers with the new patch an evening early, granting access to the head start of F2P on Tuesday night. I sort of suspected the devs were up to something when they kept rubbing their hands and cackling maniacally at PAX last weekend, although they claimed it was just a nervous disorder. So it's here -- the biggest non-expansion update to the game yet and a literal game-changer to boot. F2P, wardrobe, scaled instances, Enedwaith, the LotRO store, and lots and lots of new (and returning) players have existing players giddy and twitchy. So how'd the first couple days go so far? Is LotRO F2P really all that and a bag of Shire Sweet-leaf? Read on, my short and stout brethren!
Exploring Eberron: One year of DDO free-to-play
Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of Dungeons and Dragons Online's switch to free-to-play, a move that worked out extremely well for Turbine. In the past 12 months, the developers have kept the content coming with six sizable updates, and they're now preparing for Update 7. We got our first peek at Update 7 at PAX last week, and I also got a chance to hang out with Executive Producer Fernando Paiz. We talked all about the past year's ups and downs as well as what he sees coming in the next year. So follow along after the cut and join me in wishing DDO free-to-play a happy first birthday. (And enjoy these retro screenshots that I couldn't resist including!)
Quaggan sad: A look back at the Guild Wars 2 Dynamic Events panel
At the top of my to-do list for Saturday morning at PAX was Designing Dynamic Events, a Guild Wars 2 panel with designers Eric Flannum and Colin Johanson. Talk and video of the panel have been everywhere this week, and I wanted to take a little bit of time to give my thoughts on what they did and how it was received. The panel was billed as a discussion about "how Guild Wars 2 designers create events in the dynamic, living game world and the many factors to consider when designing any kind of MMO content." It sounded interesting, but it was a ticketed event with limited attendance, which seemed strange to me. I managed to get a ticket and was even more confused when I walked into the relatively tiny room. Why such a small place for something that would certainly have drawn a huge crowd? It all became clear very soon, so follow along after the cut to hear more about my take on the new things we learned in Designing Dynamic Events.
The Daily Grind: What was your favorite PAX revelation?
While many of the Massively staffers weren't able to make it to Seattle for the recently concluded PAX Prime event, all of us followed the coverage smorgasbord in anticipation of learning just a little bit more about all of the new MMORPGs coming down the pipe. Whether it was Guild Wars 2, Star Wars: The Old Republic, TERA, or Rift: Planes of Telara, the convention featured a little something for all of us. The question of the day, dear readers, is all about you. Were there any juicy PAX revelations that tickled your fancy? Did anything change your mind, make you more or less excited, or come completely out of left field? Inquiring Massively minds want to know.
PAX 2010: It's clobberin' time with SHSO's PvP online card game
Massively has taken a swing at Marvel's Super Hero Squad Online several times in the last few months, now. So, on our trip to PAX, the boy-in-grown-up-shoes, Jay Minn, could not wait to show us the newly announced PvP portion of this dynamic game. Minn, who is the Director of Games for The Amazing Society, turned in to a giddy imp and directed me to a computer station that had a burning Human Torch on the screen, all prepared to fight some bad guys. Even though PvE wasn't what I was there to cover that day, Minn just had to show me anyway. "Click on a bad guy," he told me, "and good things just happen." I obliged; the Torch lit up and chased some bad guys away! At that point, we were told we had to move on to the PvP portion of the demonstration. Marketing people can be such spoil-sports sometimes. The giddy grin returned to Minn's face as he gave me instructions on how to get into the online card game. In the lower right-hand corner simply sat an icon that looked like fanned-out cards. As part of the demo I was able to pick my opponent, and since I just love seeing the Ol' Canucklehead Wolverine get beaten down, I picked him for my enemy. And who is the best Marvel superhero? Spider-Man, of course. I had to choose him as my character. Hero up with me after the break to find out the details of my adventure through this shiny and lively online card game.%Gallery-101337%
PAX 2010: TERA's David Noonan talks story, endgame
You might think that BioWare has the market cornered when it comes to story in upcoming MMORPGs. As we found out at PAX Prime 2010, however, TERA is also focusing on delivering an interactive narrative experience to complement its action combat gameplay. Our own Rubi Bayer managed to corner En Masse Entertainment lead writer David Noonan for a little one-on-one time regarding TERA's extensive storyline. Noonan also dropped an interesting nugget or two regarding the state of the title's endgame. Read the full interview after the cut and be sure to check out our gallery below. %Gallery-101708%
PAX 2010: Selena Gomez is Wizard101's new damsel in distress
She plays a fledgling spellcaster in Disney's Wizards of Waverly Place, but soon Selena Gomez will be taking it to the next level. KingsIsle just announced that Gomez will be coming to the magical world of Wizard101 as a princess in distress who needs a bit of saving. The actress-musician agreed to be featured in Wizard101 as a sort of cross-promotion for her latest album. The story goes that nefarious forces have kidnapped Gomez from our world into the layered realms of Wizard101, and she must be rescued and returned to Earth so that she can finish her epic video. As our world is part of the spiral (Earth is just non-magical, hence why Professor Ambrose is so startled when player characters arrive at Wizard City), this crossover doesn't break the lore of the game. Instead, KingsIsle hopes that the popular star will appeal to its core tween demographic. Hit the jump for even more juicy tidbits from PAX Prime!
A pair of new Dragon Age 2 screens, care of PAX
Two new screens from Dragon Age 2 have been passed along from BioWare, one of which showcases dudes with anteater masks. Sure, that may not be the technical term for said masks, but we're totally going with it. %Gallery-101585%
Red 5 Studios pulls the wraps off Firefall
Red 5 is no longer standing by, and in fact has launched its first salvo of proton torpedoes at a crowded MMO market by announcing the long-awaited Firefall title at last week's PAX Prime. The game, a massively multiplayer team-based shooter, will feature microtransactions and sport a free-to-play business model. Red 5 made headlines earlier this year by laying off 30 developers, but looks to be back on its feet after a $20 million cash infusion from The9, a Chinese MMO publisher best known for Atlantica and Soul of the Ultimate Nation. Firefall's developer roster features a number of Blizzard alums, as well as lead designer Scott Youngblood of Tribes and Tribes 2 fame. Check out the official website as well as a lengthy trailer after the cut.
Flameseeker Chronicles: PAX 2010 travel diary
It's Sunday night and PAX is over. My iPhone and laptop are screaming for mercy. It's been a wild ride, I have the Con Crud, my feet hurt so much I keep checking to make sure they're not stumps, and all I want is to turn the clock back to last Friday so I can do it again. I had appointments and interviews with so many different game studios, and I was excited about every single one of them, but you guys know I was making Guild Wars 2 a top priority. I squeezed in time to indulge at every opportunity and have a lot to say. When I was spending time with Guild Wars 2 this weekend, something struck me over and over. Every employee whom ArenaNet could possibly spare from the office was there in force. I asked at one point and was told that every person wearing that white shirt was an ArenaNet employee. They were out there doing everything they could to spend time with the fans, and more than one developer told me that it was a huge thrill to finally be able to share all of this with people who love it as much as they do. The inability to share all of this exciting news has been as frustrating for them as it was for us, but it was for a good cause, and I think every fan at PAX this weekend agreed it was worth the wait. With that in mind, it was an easy decision to share my weekend experiences and photos with you guys for today's Flameseeker Chronicles. Follow along after the jump while I go find more Nyquil.
PAX 2010: Hands on with Rift: Planes of Telara
The dungeon portal loomed ahead as a developer pushed a headset into my hands. "You heal," he said to me then moved on to the other four players standing next to me. "You tank. You three DPS. Don't worry too much; you're all a little over-leveled for this dungeon. Let us know when you're ready." I hardly heard him as I frantically tried to memorize the full array of skills in front of me, rearranging my hotbar to put my heals up front and center. "Ohh, you're a druid," another Trion Worlds developer said over my shoulder. "They're fun -- they get a faerie pet that heals your team as well." I followed his pointing finger and clicked on the skill to summon what appeared to be a cross-breed between Tinkerbell and a Troll doll. Fun times. The developer who pulled me into the live demonstration at PAX Prime took up his microphone and directed everyone around the booth to look up at the big screen and watch a team of total strangers jump into a mid-level dungeon. Welcome to Rift, I thought nervously. There's nothing like diving in head-first with your potential humiliation on public display.
DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue's virtuous thongs: explained!
When DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue was first introduced, we were baffled by the mysterious origin of the game's various undergarments of legend. Now that we know where they're from -- thanks to this latest trailer, care of PAX -- well, we're just as baffled. Head past the break and see for yourself.
Free Borderlands update will raise level cap, rebalance main game
We've got bad news and good news. First, the bad news: The new Borderlands DLC pack – that's Claptrap's New Robot Revolution – won't include the two most requested features. Those would be a new level cap and a rebalancing of the main game to accomodate the new level cap. And neither of those will be included with the latest DLC. Now the good news: They are being included in a free update for the game across all three platforms, Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford told a live PAX audience that his studio resisted making it a part of a DLC pack since, if they included those features, "you'd have to buy every previous DLC" to get access to said features. So, instead, Pitchford said they were going to release a "free update to Borderlands that will both rebalance the original game around the level cap and increase the level cap for everyone." But Pitchford said the studio still struggled with how high to raise it. On the one hand, Gearbox didn't want to match the 11-point upgrade that many people paid for with the "General Knox" DLC, but on the other the devs didn't want it to be too low, like 5-points. Instead, they came up with another number. "With the current level cap at 61," Pitchford teased, "we realized if we added 8 levels ... " The audience groans. So the new level cap is 69 and it will be released sometime around the October 12th Borderlands Game of the Year Edition release.
Sonic Colors preview: Wisp you were here
We can all agree that Sonic Unleashed had some pretty deep lows -- specifically, the Werehog. But the daytime segments in the game showed promise; almost a return to form. These areas of the game, for the unaware, combined Sonic Adventure-like 3D free-running elements alongside more classical, 2D elements from the series' past. It was easily the highlight of that game. And Sega knows it, which explains why Sonic Colors is pretty much nothing but those portions of gameplay. That alone would make for a pretty serviceable Sonic game, but Sega has also added Wisps: small alien creatures who imbue Sonic with one-time-use powers.%Gallery-95227%
PAX 2010: Wrassling the FFXIV community with Square-Enix
It was hard to miss Final Fantasy XIV at PAX Prime this year -- its booth loomed large, white and sprawling right inside of the main exhibition hall doors. As players poured in to get their hands on this imminent title, Massively pulled aside Square-Enix's Yasu Kurosawa and Sage Sundi for a chat about managing the global community. Sage deals with more of the global aspect across multiple regions, while Yasu is Square Enix's North America representative and is tasked with bringing the community's voice back to Japan. Unfortunately, we were limited from discussing gameplay aspects of FFXIV, but the pair were open about the challenges and difficulties of handling a community worldwide, especially in regions where the game's developers are not linguistically fluent. Read on for their thoughts on the subject.
Statement: Snarky assassin droid steals the show in PAX TOR trailer
It was starting to feel like forever since any new information had come out of The Old Republic's well-oiled marketing machine. Happily, a new video released at PAX 2010 has temporarily quenched the drought and simultaneously provided a glimpse into ground-based combat in BioWare's upcoming Star Wars opus. The trailer is heavy on dialogue and even heavier on exposition, as BioWare shows us lengthy snippets of a conversation between a player group and an NPC officer who offers them the opportunity to poke around the former stomping grounds of the legendary Darth Revan. There's a bit of battle footage thrown into the mix as well, but the highlight of the two-minute video is undoubtedly the appearance of everyone's favorite assassin droid. Check out the footage after the cut or on the official website.
Portal 2's PAX co-op gameplay footage introduces robot hugs
Just because you aren't at PAX Prime this weekend doesn't mean you can't experience at least some of the joys and wonders that the show floor has to offer. For instance, the 10 straight minutes of Portal 2 co-op gameplay that we've dropped after the break, courtesy of GameTrailers -- hearing the "oohs" and "aahs" of the crowd on all sides, you'll feel just like you're there! And sure, you might not get a free Portal 2 shirt like this session's attendees did, but you can experience a heartwarming robot hug. And isn't that more than enough?%Gallery-101341%[Update 9/9: We swapped out the cam-capture with a direct feed version, muy better. Also, happy birthday, Dreamcast!]
PAX 2010: Guild Wars 2 hands-on
I finally found time to check out Guild Wars 2 firsthand this morning, and the experience will easily be counted as the highlight of PAX so far in my book. The demo booth was my first stop this morning, and I was excited to go through the character creation process and save Shaemoor. I've seen a dozen videos of just that, but there's nothing like playing through it firsthand. As I was playing, several ArenaNet staffers passed by, said hello, and chatted a bit. I spent much of my demo time exploring all the character options, learning the controls, and looking around Shaemoor, growing a little anxious all the while. The clock was ticking and I hadn't seen nearly everything I wanted to. With about 10 minutes left, a few ArenaNet devs surprised me by stepping in and offering to show off some more content -- particularly legacy sites, something that was at the top of my wish list for the demo. While there are no earth-shattering new revelations (sorry, no class reveal), it was exciting to check out some features in more detail. Follow along after the jump for screenshots, pictures, descriptions and video recorded in genuine shakycam!%Gallery-101397%
