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Shroud of the Avatar sells player-owned towns for a steep price
An "epic" Shroud of the Avatar update this week revealed that Portalarium is making significant changes to its pledge tiers and store offerings. These changes include the ability to obtain more than one character per account, two additional pledge tiers, and a stretch goal store with horse mounts. Portalarium also showed off the new row house, concept art for the city of Ardoris, and announced the ability to purchase player-owned towns. These towns won't come cheap, however: Prices start at $750 and go up to $4000 for the privilege. Shroud of the Avatar will be re-opening Release 6 for play from June 9th through June 13th.
Fallen Earth posts its update on development in May
If you're a Fallen Earth player eagerly awaiting the release of the Outpost (the player-built town originally meant for live implementation this month) you're going to have to wait a little longer. But you're not being forgotten, either. The latest development update states that while it's taken a while to even bring the new feature to the test server, the team is still hard at work testing all of the ways it interacts with other systems in the game, and it's still on its way. Additionally, this update reveals that another developer has joined the team. The Scapegoat is a systems developer who will be responsible for tweaking the game's skills and mutations, with a build and patch notes due to arrive on the test server very shortly. While it's still largely quiet for the post-apocalyptic game, players should be happy that there are still signs of life.
Fallen Earth gives a sneak peek at its player-built town
The Fallen Earth team is hard at work on the next major update of the game, which will include a player-built town called the Outpost. In a new state of the game post, the devs show off a few of the structures in this town. "Since the plot for the area revolves around the Outsiders and GlobalTech, we wanted to take advantage of those groups' love of technology and give the buildings some high tech pieces as well as keeping the aged pre-fall feel," the devs wrote. The Outpost will be bigger and "more robust" than Citadel and should be hitting the live servers some time in May.
The Road to Mordor: Sandbox features that would serve LotRO well
The tug-o-war in the MMO community between the virtues of sandbox vs. themepark designs looks like it's starting to result in a muddy heap in the middle: the sandpark. Personally, I think there are wonderful aspects of both designs (and drawbacks too), and a marriage between the two could offer more player freedom and creativity while keeping it structured and balanced. So I've been thinking about Lord of the Rings Online in regard to this and how it might benefit from a greater number of sandbox features in the future. I mean, on one hand we have one of the most "on rails" PvE games out there, but on the other hand there are seeds of great player freedom. Elements like the music system, the Winter-home theater, Hytbold, and the quite robust crafting system all serve to take us a step beyond the themepark. But what if LotRO took a few more steps toward sandboxy goodness? Seeing as how the original vision for the game was to make it a pure sandbox, I think that's not too farfetched a question. Here are several sandbox features that I think if married to the game would add to its appeal and variety.
Istaria publishes September content update, looks to the future
A few days ago we told you about some sandbox games that are worth your time, money, and in most cases, both. We're also ashamed to admit that we overlooked one of the more unique free-form MMORPGs in existence. That MMORPG is Istaria: Chronicles of the Gifted, and the devs have recently dropped a pretty extensive content update on the long-running fantasy game. Aside from the usual bug-fixing and quest tweaks, the September patch added a new high-level region called Winter Vale and a revamp of the game's portal system. That's just for starters, too, since the Istaria devs are hard at work on the new Helian's Tomb mini-dungeon and quest series as well as the return of seasonal events. Finally, there are several network and game client optimization projects in the works, including new launcher functionality and character management options. In short, there's never been a better time to return to (or discover) the world of Istaria. If you're curious, the game client is free to download, and you can also partake of an unlimited 14-day free trial or a feature-limited free-to-play option. Oh, and did we mention that you can build your own town and play as a dragon? [Thanks to Paul for the tip!]
Eden Eternal's closed beta kicks off -- and we've got keys! Keys! Keys!
Are you lacking a heroic destiny in your life? Then Eden Eternal has something to sell to you: purpose! Saddle up your most trustworthy llama and get thee to the beta, ASAP. As of today, the colorful MMO has moved into closed beta, and Aeria Games is celebrating by throwing a party to end all parties. Beta participants will enjoy exclusive rewards depending on how far they progress in the beta. These rewards include titles, a spiffy hat, and a magical alpaca pet. There will also be a host of daily events and ongoing contests in the Eden Eternal closed beta. Of course, there's no reason making that pouty face if you didn't get in already -- we're here to help you out! Massively has 10,000 beta keys for the taking, so if you're interested, all you have to do is snag one on our giveaway page, then sign up and redeem it on Eden Eternal's beta page! Demand for the beta is strong; just a few days ago we reported that Eden Eternal already had racked up over 100,000 applicants looking to give this game a go. You can check out several new screenshots below and a trailer highlighting the player towns feature after the jump! %Gallery-120523%
Eden Eternal announces closed beta date
Eden Eternal has been moving quickly along the development track ever since our first look at the title scarcely a month ago. Today we've learned that Aeria Games has announced the title's closed beta starting date: June 2nd. As part of the Eternal Guardians, players will have a chance to shape the destiny of the world -- while getting a little fun in for themselves as well, of course. Eden Eternal will have to work hard to distinguish itself from a similar crop of brightly colored cartoony MMOs, but the fact that it offers so many options -- the chance to switch between all of the classes out of combat, build up player towns, and fight in real-time combat -- speaks in its favor. We have seven new pictures of Eden Eternal for you to peruse while we count down to June 2nd, and if you want to learn more about this title, check out our extensive interview with Aeria Games. The company promises an "avalanche" of closed beta events for participants, so head on over to the site to get your name on the roster! %Gallery-120523%
Fallen Earth dev talks progress town layouts and destructible buildings
Progress towns have been on the minds of Fallen Earth fans -- and developers -- for quite a while now. The unique mechanics, which offer a newfangled approach to long-standing player city designs, are currently on the game's public test server, where three separate towns exist for players to capture and rebuild. In a new interview at MMORPG Center, Icarus Studios' lead scripter Doug Goodall talks a bit about the mechanics of Fallen Earth's entry into the dynamic content wars, including interesting blurbs on destructible buildings and pre-defined layouts. "There are no pre-defined positions. The layout of the town is entirely up to the players," Goodall explains. While rebuilt progress town structures cannot be destroyed by enemy players, the buildings and defenses can be razed by NPC enemies bent on attacking the settlement. If this happens, Goodall says that crafters will not be reimbursed for the materials expended in the construction process. What if you mess up during the placement phase? "A refund [...] may be added to let players recover from placement errors," Goodall notes.
