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The Daily Grind: Do we really need greater Web integration?
You hear it all the time, especially when pundits talk about Second Life: how our virtual worlds and MMOs will one day become so integrated with the World Wide Web that you'll be able to check your bank balance from World of Warcraft; you'll order books from within Everquest; you'll chat with AIM friends while still in Pirates of the Burning Sea. Sure, at first glance, it seems like a good, maybe even necessary. But think about it -- when you're playing your favorite game, do you really need to do any of those things? Isn't that the reason you play in the first place, to get away from other concerns?When we're in Second Life, we're engaged with talking and playing with our SL friends. When cutting a swath of destruction through marauding bands of orcs in Lord of the Rings Online, we're miles away from worrying about what our stocks are doing. And just think of how much concentration Puzzle Pirates demands -- do you really want to dilute it with putting together an important email? What does greater Web integration mean to you?
Chat with the PotBS devs
So you've spent some time destroying ships and blockading ports. You've dutifully upgraded your ship, crafted and stockpiled your ammo and taken out the competition in your quest to go from bilge rat to buccaneer. What to do now? That's easy! For those of you who love nothing more than spending time in Pirates of the Burning Sea, Warcry has set up a chat this Thursday (March 20th) with several folks from Flying Lab. Have some burning questions about the Burning Sea? Here's your chance, mateys. Yarr!
One Shots: Combat on the high seas
Today lands us a treasure fit for any seafarin' scallywag. Not only do we have a lovely sunset on the water from Flying Lab's Pirates of the Burning Sea to enjoy, but we also have some ship-to-ship combat, with the cannonballs whizzing across the landscape to the left. Makes you wonder what the other people did (or perhaps more properly, what kind of nifties they've got in their cargo hold, depending on what side you're playing on!) If you're wondering why, you'll have to hunt down Daggith Defoy of La Fédération on the Guadeloupe Server, who didn't tell us why he was unloading on that other ship. Got some cool screens of combat from your favorite game? Better yet, do you have one that combines sunsets and combat? (Mmm. Two great tastes that go great together.) We want to see them! Just pop those screens and a short blurb about what game/who you are/what's going on into the mail and fire those off to us at oneshots@massively.com. We promise we won't keelhaul you.%Gallery-9798%
Clan Gear: guild clothing for the masses
Adam and Freya Chapman have run Threadsafe, a direct-to-garment printing business, for the last two years, and have managed to pull in a number of corporate clients. They provide printing services for Bountee -- a custom t-shirt site on the internet -- and shirts for Freaklabel music, just to name two. Now, in conjunction with Adam's brother Keith, they're opening Clan Gear, a direct-to-garment printing outlet for gamers, where the focus on the printing is your artwork, your character, and your designs.Here's the rub: while Threadsafe has been in business for a couple of years now, Clan Gear is just starting up, and they're still working on their proof catalog. While you can keep up with the advances in technology (and the company itself) via Clan Gear's official forums, the best way to see what they've done in the past is to check out Threadsafe's commercial customers and the clans that have already availed themselves of Clan Gear's printing. Current samples up on their web page include shirts for Marshmallow Underground -- a World of Warcraft guild with over 300 members -- and Guilds United, a coalition of ten WoW guilds.
New producer, patch for PotBS
Joe Ludwig announced on his personal blog as well as in a new Pirates Devlog, that he is officially taking over the producer duties for Pirates of the Burning Sea, replacing John "Rev" Tynes in the position. No reason is given for the shift, Ludwig only briefly and cryptically saying that Rev is "going to work on other things." Ludwig assures us that he's fit for the role though, jokingly claiming that he's made it his job to meddle in relations with SOE over the last year anyway, even when it wasn't a part of his job title.Without sparing any time for further pleasantries, Ludwig dives right into business, announcing that their first big content patch is on its way. Among the most significant additions to the game will be a new and improved French Capitol. They are reimagining Pointe-a-Pitre both in terms of looks and mission content, and Ludwig assures us it will be quite the sight. Another interesting tidbit is the addition of a quest called "Bey's Retreat," which will be the first of hopefully many "epic" missions, and should take players in the area of 4-6 hours to run through completely. There's even more juicy bits that we don't have the space to describe here, so make sure to check out the new Devlog.
One Shots: All aboard!
Yarr, mateys! Today we be bringin' yeh landlubbers another choice screen from the Flying Lab game, Pirates of the Burning Sea! These screens are "taken from the adventures of my Freetrader Jerold Quinn. (British, Morgan Server)" We can't tell if that's another player he's getting ready to board, if it's an NPC, or if he's just hanging out and keeping the waterways free of pirates, so we'll leave it up to your imagination! Do you have a cool screenshot of some of your adventures? Wanting to show the world how awesome your gear, build, raid, or just landscape is? If it's going on in your game, we'd love to see it. Just send your screens and stories to us here at oneshots@massively.com. Your screenshot and story may wind up being featured next! %Gallery-9798%
When the MMO love affair wanes
Did you ever find yourself suddenly disenfranchised with the current state of games? What was once a beloved personal hobby and cornerstone of your social life suddenly seems shallow and empty. Tovin over at Allakhazam paused to reflect on her own MMO anomie. For her, the problem is that none of the games released in the last year or that being released in the next couple months really light that fire. She muses on the fact that players relegated to casual schedules still have to slap down that same monthly fee, whether they use the time or not. And when she does actually get a moment to dive into a virtual world, their design seems to discourage casual social interaction. What's a gamer to do?For my part, I think Tovin is just suffering from a gaming slump. I think we've all gone through it at some point; you look around you and just don't find anything of worth in the hobby that has engaged you for so long. Of course, in my experience, this is usually a reflection of one's own personal state of mind, and not the state of the industry. But in this case, I think Tovin might be onto something. It's rare these days to play a game that really encourages the social aspects of MMOs in gamers who can't go raiding or PvPing every night. Rare, but not impossible to find. Methinks Tovin would do well to look into Pirates of the Burning Sea, as it's the most social game I've seen in recent memory. Also, Pirates! Yarr!
Pirates of the Burning Sea free in Australia
Here in the US playing the newly-launched age of sail title Pirates of the Burning Sea will set you back $49.99, plus the $14.95 monthly fee. If you're living in the land downunder, though, you'll be able to hit the seas for nothing more than a smile. Flying Lab is making the game available as a free download to every Australian gamer that wants it, via one of the largest local ISPs (BigPond). You'll still have to pay the monthly fee, of course, but the download comes with a seven day trial to start you off. Interested fans can pre-register now for a copy of the game, which launches in Australia on February 27th. If you act now you'll not only get downloading rights, but will secure one of 100,000 DVD copies of the game for yourself. It's a mighty generous offer, and one I hope we see repeated state-side soon.[Via Kotaku]%Gallery-12977%
One Shots: Sailing off into the sunset
Today's gorgeous screenshot comes from Daggith Defoy of La Fédération on the Guadeloupe Server in Pirates of the Burning Sea. For those of you who haven't gotten to check this title out, the PvP in PotBS is done via ship battles, which makes for a gorgeous backdrop at the same time. Here's what he had to say:There have been a few screenshots of sunsets and water effects posted lately, so I thought I'd show you what it looks like in Pirates of the Burning Sea.We definitely love the seascapes there, ourselves. And hey, it's a game with pirates in it. You can't really beat that, either. If you'd like to show off some of the gorgeous water effects, sunsets, or PvP in your favorite game, drop us a screenshot and your story to oneshots@massively.com! You never know -- yours could be featured next for the rest of us to ooh and aah over.%Gallery-9798%
Pirates creator criticizes Disney's hesitance to jump into games
At the DICE summit in Las Vegas Wednesday night, Pirates of the Caribbean creator Gore Verbinski gave a chat to game creators about movies, gaming, and his perspective of the industry in general. Beyond his generally complementary comments towards gaming, one particularly interesting aside that perked our interest was the displeasure he expressed towards Disney for not adapting the Pirates universe for an MMO more quickly than they did. According to Verbinski, they didn't even think of starting the project until a few years after the release of the original movie, and did so without his input. Of course, as we all know, they did eventually release Pirates of the Caribbean Online this past year, but Verbinski's comments certainly make us wonder if the game is all that it could have been.As we reported earlier today, Disney has ramped up its efforts in the MMO space considerably, putting a significant capital investment into what they see as an extension of the brand immersion seen in their theme parks. This conflicts somewhat with Verbinski's perception that the studios see MMOs in the same way that they see plush toys. One has to imagine that Pirates of the Caribbean Online would have been met with considerably more fanfare if it had the Pirates of the Burning Sea gameplay under the hood, but at what point does this sort of discussion degenerate into armchair quarterbacking? In this case, while I don't doubt Verbinski's sincerity on this issue, it sure seems like was hamming it up for the crowd.
The Digital Continuum: This year, PvPing is the new raiding
Ever since World of Warcraft hit the scene back in late 2004, it has experienced enormous success that even its creators hadn't foreseen -- with an estimated 2.5 million active player-base in the United States, 5.5 in Asia and around 2 in Europe. I think we can all agree that World of Warcraft's position as king of the hill isn't going to change anytime soon, because change takes time with all things. There is, however, a change that's been coming to a slow boil. For the past three years players have been leveling up in WoW, but when they get to the end most players have only two choices. They can either choose to focus on battlegrounds/arena PvP or they can partake in endgame raiding of various instances.These last few months I've been looking closely at the two hyped-up massively games 2008 has to offer; Age of Conan and Warhammer Online. It has become more and more apparent to me that this year is going to be the year of the PvP endgame focus. A lot of people have played or seen the raid game and found it to be something they had no interest in. Ideally, if a developer can make a PvP endgame experience that's easy to get into and fun for everyone involved they will have something different on their hands that could potentially grab tons of subscribers.
PotBS: Seattle launch party
A little more than five years ago, Flying Lab Software began nudging their pirate ship into the treacherous shoals of software development. As they navigated through the vagaries of deadlines and beta tests, constantly circled by the ever-present threat of player ennui, they made their way into the Bay of Beta Testing, and users got their first glimpses of a new, immersive world. As of yesterday, Pirates of the Burning Sea is live, and now everyone has the opportunity to participate in a battle royale between the naval forces of France, Britain, Spain, and the hordes of pirates that roamed the Caribbean in this version of 1720.Massively had the opportunity to attend the Flying Lab PotBS launch party in Seattle, and also had the opportunity to sit down with some of the movers and shakers who brought you this phenomenal title. What does all of this mean? It means we managed to get some more information about future patches and expansion plans. Now that we're back home, we can tell you what the developers, the producers, and the CEO of the company told us. So get a firm grip on your tricorns and batten down your hatches, you swabs, the seas are fierce ahead.%Gallery-14155%
Hoist the sails! Pirates of the Burning Sea is live
After a brief hiccup earlier this morning, pirate-themed MMO Pirates of the Burning Sea hoisted its sails and left port for the wide open sea where, SOE hopes, it will be greeted by thousands upon thousands of patiently waiting pirates who've got treasure aplenty to spend in their virtual Caribbean. If you're a lowly stowaway aboard this latest MMO, you'd be wise to stop off at the port of Massively wherein you'll find plenty of features to orient yourself. If you're an old hand, been playing since this morning, let us know what you think in those there comments. %Gallery-8176%
Pirates of the Burning Sea is Live!
Today's a holiday! Launch days are always days to celebrate, if you like MMOs. The last six months or so have shown every fan of the genre how hard it is just to get to the point where you can launch a game. So let's take off our great big feathered hats in a show of respect: Pirates of the Burning Sea is live!Folks who took the day off to play already in and sailing, but the rest of us can reflect on the great work Flying Lab has done bringing this ship into harbor. They had a slight delay this morning getting the servers open, but players began logging on this morning as per the plan. The official post has details on getting access to the exclusive keys that tend to go along with MMO launches nowadays. Boarding Party members get those great swords and a parrot, while folks who purchased a guidebook get a need red birdy companion. They also make sure to specify that players who bought the game via Digital Download need to verify their accounts before they jump into the game if they're having difficulties.To tide yourself over before you jump in tonight, why not check out some of the Pirates of the Burning Sea coverage we've got here on the site? We certainly have enough. We've got a guide to crafting, a preview of what it's like to run missions in-game, and a press tour of the endgame experience! That'll give you something to look forward to. If you'd rather just look at pretty pictures, why not check out our galleries of PotBS images? We even have photos from on-the-ground at the PotBS launch part in Vegas the week before last.I'm looking forward to getting under sail tonight, for many reasons. The most basic reason is relief: I've been writing about Pirates of the Burning Sea for years now, since back in my days of freelance writing. Congratulations to the Flying Lab folks, and here's hoping for a steady launch and smooth saililng.%Gallery-12965%
The Daily Grind: Paying to play... in beta?
While Richard Garriott only recently figured out that open betas were more for marketing, and less for testing, it is a strategy that's been in use for some time. The Matrix Online was also one of the titles that did the "put $5 down for a pre-order and get a beta key" deal -- and while theirs felt more "finished" from a bug standpoint -- it came back to haunt them as well. Several people we know won't even try it again due to that experience, even with large changes to the game including a complete overhaul of the combat system. More recently, the folks at Flying Lab finished their beta and then entered a "pre-launch" phase (wisely avoiding calling it "beta" at all) and allowing people to level to 20 before today's launch of Pirates of the Burning Sea. (We can't speak for you, but several of us have had a blast in the pre-order.) So this morning we ask you -- have you ever "paid to play" in a MMO beta by going the pre-order to get in route? What was your experience like? Do you think that the idea of paying even a nominal fee to get into a beta makes you evaluate a game more harshly? Are you also unlikely to give a game a chance later after a bad beta experience? For that matter have you ever bailed on a game pre-reservation after a bad beta?
Flying Lab banning for RMT already
In an almost "news of the weird" situation, word came out yesterday evening that the fine folks at Flying Lab are already seeing grey-market gold selling in their still-in-pre-launch game Pirates of the Burning Sea. While any MMO veteran knows just how pervasive gold selling is in any game, this is perhaps the first time we've heard of them opening up shop quite so openly before a game is even officially launched. As Aether states, "we will [be] following up with the appropriate disciplinary actions, which could include confiscation of the resources in question, and ultimately banning accounts that sell or buy these illicit resources." We certainly wish Flying Lab the absolute best of luck with stamping it out -- and hopefully keeping chat channels clear of the spam that seems to be everywhere these days. But you have to admit, the fact that the gold-selling companies are getting this brazen before official launch isn't exactly a good sign.
Blackstar's prophecy revealed
We've got to admit, for a game that's relatively new to the scene, Spacetime Studios' Blackstar definitely has serious style. A new update has gone out on the Spacetime Studios' website which adds a good deal of information about Blackstar. We're talking a game summary, new concept art and a bullet point list of several features to expect from the game.Of course we have to remain skeptical for now, seeing as this is all on paper for the time being. That doesn't mean we can get a bit excited for a new, sexy space combat MMO. Although there is a bit of apprehension at the concept of both space combat and "ground" or "on-ship" combat. It brings to mind Pirates of the Burning Sea and the constant issue of developers' imaginations exceeding their initial grasp. Hopefully a publisher will give these guys a call and make them a good offer, because the more developers competing in the space MMO market, the better for all of us.
PotBS gets patch 1.0.44.0 before launch
Pirates of the Burning Sea has received its first patch (and whaddaya know, even before it actually gets released). Preorder-ers got to start playing last week, and apparently there are already a few fixes that need to go in.As you might guess, it's mostly a stability patch, although a few exploits were fixed as well (there was one where you could stack buffs and become invincible. Lower level missions were also retuned-- apparently there were too many missions in the beta that were too low, so FLS has tweaked those up a notch. Bam! Keen loves this change, but he would-- he loves everything PotBS (I kid! Keen's actually been doing a great job covering the game).The only other change of note is that FLS "removed text we thought might offend the ESRB." That's not piratical behavior! When you're a pirate, you don't worry about what landlubbers think! You say what's on yer mind, and damned be the consequences!
Pirates of the Burning Sea late-comers need not worry
Tobold has written a great post concerning whether or not players coming into Pirates of the Burning Sea at launch should worry about not getting into the pre-order play period. Well worry not -- aside from the fact that the level cap is 20 until launch day -- some solid points are also made by Tobold about why players late to the party are going to have an easier time starting from scratch. That reason? Simply put, there should be plenty of fair priced ships ready for purchase as players ding through content. Not only that, but new players will also have access to cheap ship outfittings, consumables and ammo from the moment they log in. Not only do we agree with Tobold on all of that, but we agree on the point that experience is going to play the largest advantage. The most experienced players are part of the super-dedicated beta guilds and will probably be helping to guide all the newbies at launch in the first place. Well that and blasting ships out of PvP waters. Either way, when you log into Pirates of the Burning Sea on launch day, feel comfort in knowing all the leg work of starting the economy is done.
PathEngine version 5.14 announced, new licensees
Gamasutra has a news post for all you tech-heads out there interested in pathfinding technology. It would appear that PathEngine has announced the latest release of its middleware technology, which touts quite a few improvements. On top of all those new performance boosts, the company has also announced some new licensees; Korea-bases Flyff developer Aeonsoft being one of them.Also, PathEngine let everyone know it was the winner of the middleware category of Game Developer Magazine's annual Front Line Awards. The PathEngine SDK is used in several games such as Granado Espada, Pirates of the Burning Sea, Titan Quest and Mobile Suit Gundam: Operation Troy. We're sure that if PathEngine were here it would like to thank the academy. It does seem like things are going quite well for the company, so don't be surprised if you start to see them in a few more massively games down the road.
