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Fallen Earth rolls out the '13 Vandal
April Fools in the wasteland of Fallen Earth is just like our holiday, except that pranks tend to be a lot more radioactive and fatal than ours. But just as funny, y'know? What isn't a joke is the new Fallen Earth state of the game post, in which the team unveils the latest car coming to the game: the Vandal. The Vandal is a decked-out car with as much style as it has armor. While the model on display was a uniformly plain gray vehicle, the devs promise that there will be several different paint jobs available when it rolls off the assembly line. The team is also working on resolving issues with Blood Sports; it says that these issues should be resolved soon if they aren't already.
Survarium alpha signups now live
Vostok Games has announced the opening of alpha test registration for its S.T.A.L.K.E.R.-esque Survarium MMO shooter. "Soon the first of you will be able to witness the world of 'green apocalypse' and try out the boots of various faction fighters," the company says. "The server tranquility will burst with first gunshots; man will face man in PvP combat, while the will of one fighter will clash with the will of another!" There will also be a lot of bugs, and Vostok cautions funseekers about the nature of early game testing. "Remember that alpha testing of Survarium is hard work rather than entertainment," the firm's website reads. Still interested? Sign up at the links below.
Gamigo cancels Grimlands development
We hate to be the bearer of bad news, especially if you're a fellow post-apocalyptic shooter fan, but gamigo's upcoming Grimlands title is no longer upcoming. The latest we-hardly-knew-ye F2P flameout was apparently pretty far from prime time despite a public beta late last year. A terse gamigo press release states that "the game still requires substantial additional funds to be brought to completion." [Source: Gamigo press release]
Fallen Earth prepares new Deathtoll weapons and the perilous Dome
It's March! Spring is in the air, bringing with it the lilting cries of embattled players and their screams of horrific agony floating on the breeze. March is bringing its springtime magic to Fallen Earth in the form of new Deathtoll weapons, a new two-player PvE gauntlet, and the long-awaited AP Augmentation system. Players will soon be able to snatch up the Jet Engine Hammer and the sawn-off Murder of Crows Shotgun for their arsenal. These Deathtoll weapons will be some of the first to use AP Augmentation. We don't have a lot of details on this new customization system yet, but we do know that "weapons will have various stats that players can put AP in that will enhance aspects of the weapon." The system will be introduced with weapons for max level characters and expand to armor later. The Dome is an abandoned football stadium that's been repurposed as a deathtrap for level 55 players. When it goes live, you'll be able to queue as a pair or get matched up through solo queue before heading in to face 10 deadly bosses. Each boss you defeat will ramp up the difficulty and rewards for your next encounter. One of the key rewards from this experience will be recipes and components for the new Augmentation system.
The Perfect Ten: Creative MMO minigames
Few people are without opinions on minigames in MMOs. Some love 'em, some hate 'em, and some just ignore 'em. Some even despise that I won't type "th." Takes all types, really. Personally, I'm all for including new types of enjoyable systems that can be repeated, particularly if it benefits my character in some way. There's also this perception that minigames are just for kids. It's true that more kid-centric titles like Free Realms and Clone Wars Adventures thrive on minigames like you thrive on deep-fried butter balls, but these little diversions exist all over the place in "grownup" titles too. Holidays are a favorite time to trot them out, although there are plenty that exist year-round. Today we're going to look at 10 creative minigames that have tickled my fancy over the year. Yes, I used the word "fancy." Whatcha gonna do about it?
The War Z returns to Steam
The War Z is back. On Steam. Apparently Valve no longer considers publishing the title on its ubiquitous digital download service a "mistake," and as such Hammerpoint's much-maligned exercise in surviving the zombie apocalypse is now available for 15 bucks. Valve says that it has "collaborated to address community feedback" with Hammerpoint. The company has issued a patch that updates existing customers, and the special refund offering for initial War Z Steam buyers has now concluded.
State of Decay Q&A talks skills, traits, and more
Undead Labs has posted the results of its latest State of Decay-focused Q&A session. The company parsed a bunch of the best community-generated queries and posted the answers in a mammoth forum thread that represents a great starting point if you're looking to learn more about the upcoming console zombie title. Several of the questions involve the previously mentioned skill system, and there is also some info on traits and survivor characters. Most crucially, we learned that sexting is an actual skill in the game (as are Sudoku and Reality Show Trivia)," according to community guru Sanya Weathers. "It does nothing in a world where cell towers no longer function," she quipped.
Fallen Earth introduces new coresuit armor, free respecs
Reloaded Productions has thrown a bone to Fallen Earth players who have been getting rolled by PvPers with powerful G.O.R.E. weapons. There's some new player-crafted armor in town called a Stage 3 Coresuit which uses procs to increase survivability in both PvP and PvE. Fallen Earth's latest patch also features revamped Gamma radiation-powered mutation skill lines as well as two free character respecs for everyone. [Source: Reloaded Productions press release]
Free for All: Host your own Stanford Prison Experiment thanks to Die2Nite
Whenever I wander into a new town in Die2Nite, I try to be as quiet about it as I can. I walk in, nod my head at a few people, and settle down. I also try to figure out the pecking order of the town as quickly as I can. There is almost always a pecking order. If not, it's a town of chaos and likely won't last longer than a few days of zombie invasions. I've played long enough to recognize players who are trying to lead, those who are willing to follow any instruction (even if wrong), and the fact that most players are content with popping in, making a few moves, and logging out. The town I am in at the time of this writing is called Plagued Sanitorium. The names seem randomly generated for each town, but they always fit. I am a paid member, so I can choose the town I want to start in. Once a town has 40 members, the invasions begin. At 5:00 p.m. EST every day, the site literally goes down while the zombies come. After 10 minutes of attack, players log in to see what happened and who survived. check out any one of my livestreams on the game to see it all in action. Sanitorium is a pretty unique experience so far, but in most ways it's as common as basic human psychology.
Jukebox Heroes: Hellgate London's soundtrack
Hellgate London was a title that I was highly anticipating back in the day. It was a post-apocalyptic MMO action-RPG brought to us by the makers of Diablo, all with techno-warriors and jaunts through the London Underground. I was on board with that. Sure, we all know how it ended and will probably kvetch about it in the comments, but I feel comfortable in saying that the concept sounded pretty awesome. Ironically, the sound is what remained with me long after my days in that game were through. It's no surprise, as the composing duo of Cris Velasco and Sascha Dikiciyan have tackled many other high-profile video game projects together, such as Prototype, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3. This score is pretty easy to get a hold of these days (try Amazon). It's a solid pick that has a few great tracks, as long as you're willing to tolerate darker themes.
Fallen Earth devs prepping two-man Dome PvE content
The Fallen Earth dev team has posted a brief state-of-the-game letter for February. In it, we're treated to a preview of something called the Dome, a two-man PvE arena concept that is currently in pre-production. The Dome stems from a desire to provide "more ways for PvEers to distinguish themselves and provide a competitive outlet to test their mettle outside of PvP." Players will trigger a series of consecutive skirmishes that get tougher as a team gets farther, and of course the rewards will scale accordingly.
Some Assembly Required: Kick(start)ing the sandbox genre
Sandbox aficionados are known to reminisce about the "good old days." You know, that time long lost in the past when the greats of open-world play like Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies (pre-NGE of course) enjoyed their heyday. Many a lamentation has also been heard about how things have never been the same, or how nothing has filled that void. Of course, the sandbox never died. In 2012 we started the year off with a guide to games sporting sandbox features to scratch a variety of virtual world itches and we ended with a look at some promising upcoming titles for 2013. With plenty of choices abounding, why are sandbox fans still decrying the lack of a home? It could be because they want one home for everyone to settle in together, basically one game to rule them all. But how realistic is that? Even with the plethora of offerings now, many folks want to play their ideal sandbox, and everyone has their own idea of what the perfect one would be (and conversely, what would kill it). Perhaps the answer, then, is to forget about a single universal home that accommodates the masses and actually create a number of niche games where people find exactly what they are looking for. Wait, that's already happening? Enter Kickstarter.
MMO Burnout: A week with id Software's Rage
So I've been dabbing in id Software's RAGE over the last little while. Actually, I'm not sure whether the late-2011 shooter is called RAGE or simply Rage, but either way, it has the worst (or perhaps least descriptive) video game name of all time. Also, yes, I know it's not an MMO. This is MMO Burnout and I thought we were past that already. Anyhow, I'm afraid I'm going to have to recommend the title to burned-out MMO gamers for several reasons. It's quite beautiful, quite fun, and it's the perfect getaway from the typical massively multiplayer grind.%Gallery-176557%
Vostok aiming for Survarium beta by the end of 2013
Vostok Games has updated its website with a 2013 development timeline for Survarium, an online shooter said to feature PvE, factions, and task and auction systems. Vostok, which is staffed by veterans of the much-loved Stalker series, says that the title will go into open beta before the end of the year. The timeline also mentions an alpha due in Q2 of 2013. The build will feature PvP, four game maps, and two playable factions. Survarium is something of a spiritual sequel to the post-apocalyptic Stalker games, and the new title will incorporate concepts planned for the defunct Stalker 2 project.
Fallen Earth devs explain how schedules are made
As January is fairly quiet for the devs working on Fallen Earth, they've used the monthly state of the game post to share a behind-the-scenes look into the production process. The team begins by making a list of all of the ideas it wants for the game, and then reviews this list quarterly. Out of the list comes the schedule to bring these ideas to reality. Schedules are almost impossible to stick to 100%, however. Issues and limitations pop up, requiring the team to be flexible. "This is actually where the strength of the team comes into play," Napalm posted. "They're very adaptable and adept at changing direction or coming up with 11th hour solutions. And despite the best laid designs there are ALWAYS 11th hour solutions." The state of the game does mention that the team is cleaning up some bugs relating to farming and has hopes that the new system will be more integrated in the future. There's also a sneak-peek at the sector 3 coresuit, which is currently being modeled.
GamersFirst offers exclusive deals to cafe owners and resellers
GamersFirst is looking to make headway in two important markets: internet resellers and gaming cafés. To do so, the company set up a merchant center to offer a partnership with business owners to help promote and sell goods for APB and Fallen Earth. Café owners are tempted to feature these titles more prominently in exchange for a premium service. This service may, but not necessarily has to, include exclusive items, 20% more XP earned, 20% more loot earned, and login preference. Internet resellers also have good incentive to pimp GamersFirst products, especially as the company makes the point that they can set their price once game codes are purchased. Some of the things that can be sold include monthly subscriptions, in-game items, exclusive items, player currency, and exclusive packages. [Thanks to Hutch for the tip!]
Survarium challenges players to survive 'the green apocalypse'
If you're one of those bummed out by the lack of the apocalypse in 2011 because it meant that you couldn't exercise your survival skills, then Vostok Games' Survarium might console you. The team took many of the concepts that it was developing for the (now canceled) single-player Stalker 2 and decided to create a free-to-play MMOFPS out of it instead. In an interesting interview with PC Gamer, Lead Designer Alexei Sytyanov paints a picture of "the green apocalypse" that hits the whole world, causing mutations and a ravaged ecosphere. Sytyanov says that players will need to band together to overcome the odds: "On top of the story and game tasks, there is communication and competition between the players, all to add dynamics and unexpectedness to the gameplay. Each game session differs from the previous one. The game constantly encourages players to show their inventiveness and skills, abilities of strategy to achieve victory." From the sound of it, Survarium is a lobby-based MMO with timed sessions (Sytyanov says that these will go from 15 to 60 minutes based on the mode). Players can choose from PvP, co-op, or free play modes to explore the world, attempt to achieve objectives, and generally survive the best they can. Even with the lobby structure, Sytyanov indicated that there will be player actions that will persist: "Ultimately, the side accomplishing more tasks will impact the story. Therefore, it will decide whether that story object is to get preserved or destroyed for the entire world of Survarium."
Xsyon aiming for wider audience on Steam's Greenlight
Notorious Games needs your help to bring its Xsyon sandbox MMO to a wider audience. The title has a new Greenlight page on Valve's Steam digital download service and the post-apocalyptic survival MMO is seeking enough "yes" votes from the community to make it available to Steam's 40 million-plus users. Xsyon is "an entirely player driven online game with a living and changing environment." Gameplay involves the formation of tribes, the shaping of landscapes, and the construction of towns, not to mention variations on typical MMO questing, gathering, and hunting. [Source: Notorious press release]
Some Assembly Required: How do you define player-generated content?
During a recent conversation with my fellow Some Assembly Required columnist, it became apparent that we had slightly differing opinions on the definition of player-generated content. We both agreed that it was content generated by players (obviously), but when it came to the type of content, our opinions diverged. Seeing as PGC is one of the founding premise behind SAR, I thought it would be a good idea to start the new year out by defining the term more precisely to give us a stable foundation to build on. After all, we want to be on the same page, don't we? Of course, that gives you the chance to weigh in with your opinions as well! What is the first thing you think of when you hear the term? Let's see whether your ideas about player-generated content mesh with mine, more closely resemble Jef's, or embody something totally different.
Xsyon architecture contest runs through January 13
It's been nine months since Xsyon's last architecture contest, and Notorious Games has kicked off a new competition to recognize the most creative tribes in the post-apocalyptic sandbox title. Submissions will be judged on originality, uniqueness, design, layout, and beautification. The contest also features two sections, one for small tribes (one to five active members) and one for large tribes (six or more actives). Submissions will be accepted through January 13th, and you can see some of the competition (and get a few ideas) via the video after the break. [Source: Notorious Games press release]
