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Jurassic Park: The Game promo Jeep deal causes dino-sized kerfuffle on Reddit
Yesterday, we received a flood of tips from Redditors and other folks urging us to report on a post at the community site, titled, "I let TellTale borrow my Jurassic Park Jeep and all I got was this lousy Dino-Damage." Written by Jurassic Park-themed Jeep Wrangler owner Kevin "Boomerjinks" Henry of the Jurassic Jeep group, he recounts the events that transpired upon arranging a deal with Telltale Games to use his vehicle for promotion at this past September's PAX, where the studio was showing attendees its upcoming Jurassic Park game. Henry alleges that a variety of communication issues transpired prior to shipment of the Jeep from his location in Colorado to the convention in Washington, and that upon arrival, the vehicle itself had been damaged (scuffs and chips, mostly). Though he says he was assured that he'd be compensated for the damages, the company apparently went dark on him after several exchanges in the weeks following PAX. So he took to Reddit, but we'd only heard one side of the story. But after a minor uproar ensued, Telltale head Kevin Bruner took to Reddit himself to air his company's side of things, even agreeing to pay the damages in full out of pocket immediately. While he says he doesn't like "the circumstances this is going down in," he'd rather move things along. "This way we won't need to hash this out publicly any longer." As Telltale has been going through the vehicle transport's insurance holder, things haven't been speeding along for Henry's Jeep fix, Bruner claims. Meanwhile, as a fallout from the initial report, the ex-Telltale employee who organized the Jeep deal with Henry has been virtually mobbed by angry Redditors -- one of which posted the former employee's name, which resulted in "83 phone calls (according to Google voice), 41 Facebook messages, and 19 emails." Also, Jurassic Park: The Game is out today, in case you were wondering. Update: Apparently Henry himself outed the former Telltale employee, according to this Reddit comment.
TERA podcast highlights convention news
Episode five of the official TERA podcast is in the can, and it's also available for your listening pleasure on the TERA website. The show finds En Masse community manager Evan "Scapes" Berman talking with producer Chris Hager and COO Patrick Wyatt for approximately 20 minutes. The subject? Convention season, of course, and the gang talks about everything from the TERA Gamescom demo to the preparation necessary to convey a certain message to members of the gaming media. The trio also mentions the challenges inherent in answering difficult questions on stage at a major convention, and Wyatt even chats briefly about his experiences working on Blizzard's seminal StarCraft RTS.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: PAXflop
It's been anything but a quiet weekend in my neck of the woods. I'm currently writing this with no real ETA on when I'm going to have power back, which is a bit of an issue considering that my job sort of requires a functional internet connection and a computer to type and play things on. Also, there was a hurricane that sort of prompted that string of events, which made things all sorts of interesting and has led to a variety of interesting circumstances at home and abroad. In short, thank you, but I could really do without living in these particular interesting times. You know what was remarkably quiet, however? PAX Prime. OK, that's not true; there was a lot of interesting information to be seen on display over the course of the event, not the least of which being previews of WildStar, which only increased my enthusiasm for the title. But for me and my fellow City of Heroes fans, despite the game's staff's having a definite presence, there wasn't a whole lot to be said about the proceedings that I saw. (Admittedly, that may have something to do with the fact that, as mentioned, I'm kind of limited in my current ability to correspond with the outside world.) So what happened? When did City of Heroes fall off the radar?
Hyperspace Beacon: More nuna bites
Like just about everyone else watching the PAX coverage, I was expecting something big to come from Star Wars: The Old Republic. However, aside from a release date, I really didn't know what the team could give us that everyone would find important. At this point, you either like what you see or you don't. Nothing short of actually playing the game is going to make a difference. This oversaturation of information is a direct consequence of starting a marketing campaign three years ago. This long campaign results in news being regurgitated a few times over, as if it were new info. Take for instance the same-gender romance arc -- that was a topic we covered two years ago. As I did in the last nuna bites segment, I'd like to take a moment to discuss some of the smaller bits of news that you may have missed. At the same time, I would also like to weigh in on the same-gender-romance-arc subject because it is important, and I would like others to feel comfortable about expressing their personal viewpoints on the subject too.
PAX 2011: RIFT sifts through the Ashes of History
PAX has come and gone, but the good news keeps pouring out. Over the weekend, RIFT fan site Rift Junkies got the opportunity to grill Trion's Simon Ffinch and Hal Hanlin about the show itself and the upcoming 1.5 patch. Generally, the devs were pleased to see the crowds pack around Trion's booth, especially since playable stations were always full. They noted that many current RIFT players came to log into their accounts and show off the game to newcomers. Patch 1.5 was a major focus of the interview, and Ffinch and Hanlin said that casual players should rejoice at its approach. Tentatively scheduled for September, 1.5 will include the new Chronicles system that has solo or duoing players exploring hand-crafted instances. These instances are designed to be "snapshots" of the larger raids they're associated with, and will give both casuals and raiders a better glimpse into the lore behind the setting. For example, the Hammerknell Chronicle will tell the story of how the king and prince become corrupted. The patch, which is called Ashes of History, will also include the new planar attunement trees ("It's the players beginning to start taking controls of the powers of the planes," Ffinch explained) and the super-tough "master mode" for dungeons. It's interesting to note that this patch is setting the groundwork for the exploration of a larger Telara, as players will begin to find and renovate items that will eventually allow them to head to new zones. Hit the jump to watch the full interview!
Flameseeker Chronicles: PAX 2011 travel diary
Welcome to my own version of post-holiday letdown. Just like last year, PAX is over and I'm a little sad. I'm dead tired, my feet are killing me, and I'm dreading trying to organize and pack the chaos of my hotel room, but I wish it were last Friday morning again. I had meetings that took me all over the show floor during the three days of PAX, but of course my downtime was all about Guild Wars 2: standing in line for demo time, checking out what panels I could, and chatting with the development team. Today's Flameseeker Chronicles is what I can now call my annual PAX travel diary, so hit the jump and I'll catch you all up on PAX, ArenaNet style!
PAX 2011: Massively's hands-on with the Guild Wars 2 Asura
The new demo has arrived to the United States! ArenaNet unveiled the newest demo version of Guild Wars 2 last week at Gamescom, and it was filled with new surprises. Orrian undead, one of Zhaitan's underlings, the Charr starter area, playable Asura and Sylvari, and much more captured the attention of fans. ArenaNet has returned to its home turf and was presenting the demo at PAX this weekend, and I had the privilege of diving into the game's new content. Follow along after the jump for the latest look at the Guild Wars 2 demo!
PAX 2011: On the (re)starting line with APB: Reloaded
There's nothing like a car crash to slow down traffic as everyone rubbernecks at someone else's misfortune. Likewise, gamers and media alike were fascinated with the premature demise of last year's All Points Bulletin, craning their heads to see how extensive the damage was. But out of the wreck a new and improved version of the game was born, and now the crowds are equally taking notice of this resurrection. Not every canceled MMO gets a second chance at life, after all. This is why we were glad to sit down with GamersFirst's Jon-Enee Merriex at PAX to discuss how APB's reloading is going, what the devs have planned between now and launch, and what other projects they're tackling. Put the pedal to the metal and hit that jump -- this interview can't drive 55!
The Daily Grind: What was your favorite PAX reveal?
PAX Prime 2011 has come and gone, and it's now time to turn our eyes to DragonCon and what is sure to be an eventful final few months of the year. Before we move on, though, it's worth looking back at the events of this past weekend and thinking on a few favorites. While this year's PAX didn't boast any zomg-that's-awesome reveals, there was a steady stream of new and interesting information flowing out of Seattle over the weekend. Whether your taste runs to PvP and Star Wars The Old Republic, endgame content and Korean imports like TERA, or interesting newcomers like WildStar and its decision to insert the Bartle model firmly into the midst of its game design, there was a bit of something for everyone. Today's Daily Grind is an easy one: What was your favorite PAX Prime reveal? 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!
PAX 2011: SWTOR Alderaan PvP session captured on video
Darth Hater has posted a new Star Wars The Old Republic clip direct from this year's Pax Prime. The clip was captured on a hand-held camera, so the quality isn't the greatest, but we do get a good long look at the Alderaan warzone PvP (as well as some dancing Sith Inquisitors, if you're into that sort of silliness). The video runs for around 10 minutes, and we get to see quite a lot of action as well as a good bit of the layout of the Alderaan warzone. Also of note is TOR's unique take on respawning after death. There's no annoying countdown timer like in your standard online PvP match. Instead, you'll spawn on your ship and have to fly a speederbike back to the battle zone in real time, which gives you a tactical view of what's going on as well as the feeling of still participating in the game as opposed to watching a clock for several seconds. Check out the clip after the cut. Massively's on the ground in Seattle during the weekend of August 26-28, bringing you all the best news from PAX Prime 2011. Whether you're dying to know more about SWTOR, Guild Wars 2, City of Heroes, or any MMO in between, you can bet we'll have it covered!
PAX 2011: WildStar panel discusses playing with paths the Bartle way
Before Gamescom, WildStar was nothing more than a title without a hint of what the game would actually promise. But now that the game is being shown off, the combination of a unique aesthetic with a promise of uniquely focal gameplay has gotten a lot of people interested. The visuals, of course, have already been well-displayed by the trailers and preview shots, so this year's panel at PAX 2011 focused instead on the other half of the equation: the paths. The panel began with a brief viewing of the game's cinematic trailer to kick things off, followed by an explanation of the game's core design philosophy. As the team from Carbine Studios (Jeremy Gaffney, Eric DeMilt, and Mike Donatelli) put it, most games are built with a basic set of design assumptions that push players in a fixed direction determined by the designers. WildStar was built from the ground up to let players enjoy the game when they want to, with whomever they want, and most importantly however they want. The paths are the key to that system -- multiple overlaid playstyles that ensure you have your own play experience no matter what class or race you pick.
PAX 2011: TERA producers reveal server vs. server endgame content
This year's PAX Prime doesn't feature an En Masse Entertainment booth for TERA, but the company did host an informational shindig for journalists and fans at its offices in downtown Seattle over the weekend. Producers Chris Hager and Stefan Ramirez ran the show, and the presentation focused heavily on the action MMO aspects as well as the game's depth. The show started with a repeat of the recent Castanic healer video, and from there Hager and Ramirez set about profiling the game's mechanical aspects (including the combat, glyph, and crystal systems). The presentation was geared towards folks who haven't really kept up with TERA, as there wasn't much discussed that we haven't known about for a while. Aside from the action talking points, we also got bits about story, the details on the political and vanarch systems, and some info on the argons. En Masse also trotted out the first mention of its plans for server vs. server combat. The system is designed to provide additional endgame content via PvE and PvP. "It's going to have players from other servers coming to your territory, on your server, and invading your space," Hager explained. He went on to mention how guilds will need to ally with one another to repel the invaders, and if the alliance proves strong enough, take the fight back to the invaders' home turf. En Masse was very coy about the details on this new system, and we expect more information will be forthcoming as we move toward TERA's spring 2012 release date. Finally, we managed some quality hands-on time with the game during the event, so check in with us periodically this weekend and we'll bring you a detailed report. Massively's on the ground in Seattle during the weekend of August 26-28, bringing you all the best news from PAX Prime 2011. Whether you're dying to know more about SWTOR, Guild Wars 2, City of Heroes, or any MMO in between, you can bet we'll have it covered!
PAX 2011: SWTOR video guides us through the Eternity Vault
Who lies at the bottom of the Eternity Vault? Thanks to the commentary in the latest Star Wars: The Old Republic developer walkthrough, we now know that an ancient Rakata warlord named the Infernal One is held captive in this ancient prison. Director of Production and part-time superhero Dallas Dickinson explains that it took an army to take down this being the last time he arose, yet for some reason a group of eight can do it now. Yes, our characters are really that awesome in TOR. In the video, Dickinson guides us through the first two encounters: battles against two massive defense turrets and a rocket-launching gigantic droid. The turret encounter employs intense raid mechanics, like dual-tanking and crowd control, whereas the giant droid requires stay-out-of-the-green-stuff maneuvers and line-of-sight avoidance techniques. Beyond those two encounters, the Operation is a mystery. However, we catch glimpses of a couple of giant monsters and the final boss using the Force to toss giant columns around the room! After the break, check out the 10-minute video walkthrough and let us know what you think in the comments. And of course, you know SWTOR is at PAX, where we have just barely started our coverage of the event. Stay tuned here as we will feature more impressions and interviews in the not-too distant future. Massively's on the ground in Seattle during the weekend of August 26-28, bringing you all the best news from PAX Prime 2011. Whether you're dying to know more about SWTOR, Guild Wars 2, City of Heroes, or any MMO in between, you can bet we'll have it covered!
PAX 2011: Turbine lifts Rise of Isengard NDA, shows off LotRO and DDO
Turbine's two free-to-play star pupils are battling it out for their mother's attention at PAX this week, but mommy loves both equally. On one hand there's Dungeons and Dragons Online, which is releasing Update 11 on September 12th with the much-anticipated Artificer class; on the other hand there's Lord of the Rings Online, which has its third expansion, Rise of Isengard, coming out on September 27th. The studio is showing off both titles and their respective new content at PAX, and Turbine has announced that the NDA for Rise of Isengard has lifted as of this morning. So now beta testers can feel free to share their experiences and impressions of the expansion -- and we hope you do so in the comments section! We have several new screenshots from both Isengard and Update 11 in the galleries below, as well as a LotRO dev diary highlighting Dunland after the jump! %Gallery-9579% %Gallery-130189%
The Daily Grind: What are you looking forward to at PAX Prime?
It's something of a tradition here at Massively when there's a major convention just around the corner to ask our readers what they're looking forward to seeing. We like to know what other people are interested in, after all, and while we can certainly attest to our own excitement, that's nothing compared to what you'd like to see. Heck, if you're not quite sure what there is to look forward to, we've even got a handy-dandy guide to all of the stuff promised to be on display. So what are you looking forward to for this incarnation of PAX Prime? There's a heavy MMO lineup, ranging from current darlings Guild Wars 2 and Star Wars: The Old Republic to the much-discussed newcomer WildStar. Which of the many exhibitors are going to have you watching the news, or possibly traveling all the way out to Seattle? Or are you just not all that interested in all the proceedings? 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!
PSA: Visit OnLive at PAX, get a free OnLive console
OnLive has announced a tasty little scheme for PAX. Anybody who heads over to the site and signs up for a PlayerTag can snag a free OnLive console. All you have to do is show up at the OnLive booth during the Seattle show this weekend and tell them your PlayerTag. Simple. Recently, OnLive added a slew of social features to its games streaming service, including Facebook achievement posting and group chat. It also found itself dominating headlines all over the web when game retail giant GameStop pulled OnLive tokens from sealed copies of Deus Ex: Human Revolution on PC.
Massively's guide to PAX 2011
What can be said about PAX Prime in Seattle, Washington that hasn't been said already? Everyone knows that it is the largest public gaming event in North America. Attendance totaled 67,600 last year, not including press and exhibitors. And this year, even more gamers will descend on the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. The latest and greatest games -- released and unreleased -- will be available for public consumption. Developers will mill around the showroom floor, answering your questions. Not to mention that no one will look at you funny because you play video games! This year, MMORPGs really stand out in the crowd. Seattle native NCsoft has a huge presence at the convention, borrowing a theater just to showcase its games. BioWare comes armed with its heavy-hitter, Star Wars: The Old Republic. And free-to-play titles like Firefall, Lord of the Rings Online, and Wakfu promise to strut their stuff at this year's PAX. Punch past the break as Massively outlines the must-see booths for MMO fans. And don't forget the panels, including a couple of MMO spotlights for PAX Dev, the gathering of fans and developers at Sheraton Seattle Hotel on the 24th and 25th.
Rusty Hearts' closed beta swings into phase 2
It's an exciting time for the hyper-kinetic Rusty Hearts, as the title is not only moving into its second closed beta phase today but ramping up for a blockbuster appearance at this week's PAX. Perfect World is upping the ante for potential testers, offering a free costume item for those who log into the game in the first 12 hours. This costume piece will persist through open beta, so there's no worry it's going away anytime soon. Rusty Hearts' closed beta phase 2 is also increasing the amount of content available in the game, including a complete town restructure, a fine-tuning of the PvP system, the ability to compare yourself to other players, a side quest system, a revamp of the skill tree, advanced crafting, and unique cosmetic looks for crafted weapons. If you don't have the pleasure of attending PAX, the Rusty Hearts dev team has a present for you anyway: the full PAX walkthrough video that will be on display at the convention. You can check it out after the jump!
Hi-Rez prepping Global Agenda's largest expansion
Hi-Rez Studios has big plans for Global Agenda, and the autumn months will see the sci-fi shooter's largest expansion to date made available to everyone for free. The Recursive Colony patch (version 1.5 if you're counting at home) will include a new open zone with instanced missions, quest chains, social spaces, and mid- to high-level content. New enemies, daily repeatable quests, and further avatar customization options are also on the way. "Players seeking a quest-driven, narrative experience post level 20 can now level up in the new open zone as an alternative to, or in addition to, our instanced missions," said Hi Rez's Todd Harris. "We've also included a new set of instanced PvE and PvP content for players at all levels." Said PvP content takes the form of a new mercenary map (Push Dust) and a new acquisition map (Colony Caverns). Finally, if you're going to be at PAX Prime this weekend, stop by the Hi-Rez booth (number 252) and be the first to check out the new content.
SWTOR lead spills the beans about the Eternity Vault raid
At Gamescom this past week, Star Wars: The Old Republic concentrated on showing off endgame to prove to players that it is indeed an MMO. At the press conference just prior to the convention, Lead Designer Gabe Amatangelo demonstrated the very first part of the Eternity Vault raid content you will find in TOR. The demonstration group wiped on the second encounter, but we were assured that there was more. But how much more? Thanks to The-Force.eu, we now know. Amatangelo explained the encounters to the German fansite as follows: "The Eternity Vault has five. It has five encounters. 'Bosses' is such a loose term. One of them, you have to hack this puzzle. You've got to split up the group, and you've got to fight back a bunch of different waves while people are trying to solve a puzzle in tandem." This information should comfort some fans of the game; there is more to this dungeon than a simple tank-and-spank. More SWTOR information is headed our way as we gear up for PAX. Stay tuned this weekend as we give you the latest information from our reporters on the show floor in Seattle.
