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EverQuest producer's letter looks to the year ahead
The luster on 2015 has come off at least a little bit by now, but that doesn't mean that it's too late for the EverQuest team to start looking to the year ahead, and it's going to be a big one for this classic MMO. The most recent producer's letter looks to the upcoming year, starting with Erollisi day to serve as a suspiciously similar substitute to Valentine's Day. You know how these things work. Moving along through the year, the development team is looking forward to celebrating the game's 16th anniversary, along with an improved looting system and a stream of steady updates to the game. There's a lot of life left in the original EQ, even with the next big installments of the series just around the corner. If you'd like to see what the next year will hold, read the full letter.
Age of Conan gives rewards for testing achievement system
Age of Conan is hopping on board this cool, hip achievement train that all of the kids are talking about these days with its Update 4.5. In November's game director letter, Joel Bylos said that the upcoming achievements will be merely "the first wave" in an ever-expanding system. In fact, if players help the team test achievements before they go live, they will be given a random pet as a thank-you. Bylos said that work is also progressing on revamping the world boss event "to provide a more entertaining experience." He also asked the community for its input on which one of two styles of lore entries that players preferred.
Hyperspace Beacon: The 2014 spring roadmap for Star Wars: The Old Republic
Late is better than never. The producers of Star Wars: The Old Republic have finally let players know what their plans are for the next couple of months. Senior Producer Bruce Maclean jumped onto the producer's blog and dropped some tidbits just before Update 2.6 launched. Although it would have been nice to have this info last month when everyone was making new year's resolutions, Maclean did give us some really nice items to look forward to. Unfortunately, I'm not sure whether it's enough to change my resolution to play less of SWTOR. I recently started a series of articles about roleplaying a Sith, and I promise that I will get back to that, but this producer's letter gave us too much timely news to pass up. The biggest piece, of course, was buried at the bottom in a paragraph that would likely be skipped if a person just skimmed the article. "We are moving to a 9 week cadence for the major content updates," Maclean says. He explains that this cadence will be more beneficial to the game because it gives the team more time to squash the bugs, but I suspect it's more that his team just cannot produce what it wants to this year without a bit of extra time. With SWTOR earning $139 million last year, you'd think that EA could toss in an extra developer or two to help keep up the current six-to-eight-week cadence. Where is that six weeks or more of extra time going this year? For that, we turn back to Maclean's roadmap.
Fifth live FFXIV producer letter to air next week
If you are fluent in Japanese and happen to be awake early on February 22nd, you can watch Naoki Yoshida answer fans' questions about Final Fantasy XIV in the the fifth live letter from the producer. The broadcast begins at 6:00 a.m. EST. For those who can't tune in (or who don't know the language), all questions and answers will be posted as they are addressed on the official Twitter account, and a full summary will also be posted on the forums afterward. Folks who want to ask Yoshida questions about the game's beta and official release can submit them either ahead of time on the official thread or during the livestream via Twitter using #XIVLive.
Anarchy Online feels the impact of Funcom layoffs, recommits to engine upgrade
Game Director Fia Tjernberg begins her monthly development update for Anarchy Online on a somber note, saying that the layoffs at Funcom have put a hold on the team's growth and a number of planned projects, such as the improved character creation system. Tjernberg did transition into a more upbeat tone as she emphasized that the team is still progressing with the graphical update: "Our Dreamworld engine upgrade is still one of our top priorities! We believe this is an important step in evolving AO and building for the future, and as this work is done in parallel to the rest of our commitments, we do not have to delay any other content because of this!" Other topics of the letter include a report from AO-Con, improvements to seasonal content, testing the new player experience, strengthening the community, and discussions revolving around the game's PvP.
Final Fantasy XIV producer letter discusses the game's end and new beginning
In the 35th installment of Final Fantasy XIV's producer letter series, Producer Naoki Yoshida delves into details about both the grand finale for the game in its current version and the impending alpha testing for A Realm Reborn. The grand finale includes a final save maintenance for characters on November 1st, 2012. World servers will then be shut down on November 11th at 3:00 a.m. EST. At this point, the plan is to keep the game off-line until launch of the alpha. However, Square Enix is offering the chance for players to vote on whether or not to bring the servers back up in order to play together during the wait. The caveat is that all progress and changes will not be saved and carried over to the new version. The letter also discloses information about the upcoming alpha test. The test will be in four phases; the first will be restricted to Japanese residents only. Beta will not follow until the producer is personally 100% happy things are ready for that stage. For further details, check out the full producer's letter.
Darkfall specializes magic schools, replaces death with limbo system
Aventurine continues its trek toward Darkfall's game revamp, aka Darkfall 2.0, and in a new producer letter, Tasos Flambouras drops a few interesting info nuggets to tide loyal players over until the job is done. He states that the team is retuning each of the game's eight schools of magic so that each one feels more unique and focused. For example, air magic will be specialized to do more damage in close quarters against fewer targets, while fire magic will excel at long-distance AoE attacks. The team also thinks it has figured out this pesky "death" problem by coming up with a more interesting limbo system. The way it works is that when players are taken down, they have a choice between either respawning back at a bind stone or waiting for a timer to count down to zero and initiate a respawn on the spot. If players opt to endure the limbo period, they can re-equip their characters from their bank boxes. Aventurine continues to hire on new team members for the project, including a designer who will facilitate communication between devs and the community.
TERA producer's letter discusses new launcher, development progress
A new holiday edition producer's letter has been published on the official TERA site, and in it Chris Hager announces that he is currently using the studio's new launcher to log in to the game. Why is this such a big deal? Hager explains that it "represents a huge leap for us here at En Masse." He goes on to tell how, over the past year, the team has worked "directly and intimately with the Bluehole development team to... add features that appeal to western gamers." But why is the new launcher so important? Because it's one of the features that the studio built from the ground up. Hager also notes that the game has been in alpha for "about 4 months" and that this week is the last week of alpha testing. He says the team is also looking forward to "the next step in TERA's journey toward launch next spring." Here's to hoping that next step is a beta test. For the full letter, just click on over to the official TERA site.
Age of Conan dev update talks House of Crom, upcoming content patches
Craig Morrison has posted his latest monthly Age of Conan dev update. Funcom's game director is known for his interaction with fans and for his verbosity when it comes to all things AoC, and this month's letter is no exception. The lengthy read lays out current and future AoC updates in a linear fashion, beginning with yesterday's 3.1 patch (which Morrison says was slightly delayed and also slightly problematic due to the slew of behind-the-scenes tweaks that were performed on the game's Dreamworld engine). The extra time apparently benefited the upcoming 3.2 patch, though, because it gave Funcom artists even more time to add both beauty and detail to a patch that will add both Khitai raids and the huge House of Crom dungeon instances. Head to the official AoC website for a look into Morrison's Hyborian crystal ball.
En Masse releases October TERA producer's letter
It's been a while since we last heard from En Masse Entertainment, but the wait is now over. Chris Hager is back on the scene with the newest TERA producer's letter, and there are a few details that may make fans a bit more excited about the upcoming title. The studio recently met with a few members of the Bluehole Studio overseas team. The result of this meeting? "A firm alpha/beta/launch schedule" for the upcoming action MMORPG. What is that schedule? Well, we don't know yet. Sorry! The next phase of alpha testing will be taking place soon, though it's important to note that the studio is selecting testers internally. With any luck, this means that beta is just on the horizon. Keep in touch for further updates, which Mr. Hager assures us are coming soon.
FFXIV's Yoshida answers fan questions in live producer letter video
If you're a Final Fantasy XIV fan -- and you're looking for a way to kill 90 minutes -- you might want to take a gander at the new producer letter video that's just been posted on the game's official website. Naoki Yoshida recently answered fan questions during a lengthy livestream session, and we've embedded the complete clip after the cut. If wading through an hour and a half of rapid-fire Japanese (sans subtitles) isn't your thing, Square-Enix has provided a few text highlights to help you make sense of the Q&A session. Among the interesting tidbits are potential new races (to include demi-humans and dragons) as well as a mention of the dev team's priority focus on improving FFXIV's linkshell system and its party formation features. Yoshida also offers a quick progress report on the process of transforming FFXIV from its launch state into a proper Final Fantasy game. "To be honest, I consider that we're about half-way to the point where we can confidently call it Final Fantasy," he says.
City of Heroes producer's letter talks story and solo-friendliness
City of Heroes is the latest MMORPG to feature story in its marketing materials, as producer Nate "Second Measure" Birkholz outlines a number of narrative-based initiatives in store for the seven-year old superhero title. "We view City of Heroes as a storytelling medium. We have a lot of long-term plans for the main story, and all of these plans are intended to provide a backdrop for the stories you tell with your characters every day," Birkholz explains. He also spends a bit of time reflecting on the massive changes that CoX has experienced during its live cycle, noting that the game is much more casual-friendly than it once was. More changes are coming too, among them a new zone in Issue 21 and "alternative ways to experience the Incarnate System, especially options that are more accessible to solo players and small groups." You can read the full text at the official CoX website.
New producer's letter for Ultima Online hints at future updates and an end to sobriety
For all that Ultima Online allows player freedoms, it's always had certain lacking features. As far back as the game's launch, you could run up and rob someone blind, but you've always been unable to do so while inebriated. But fear not -- as part of the project to revitalize Magincia, the distillery is being introduced, allowing players the freedom to brew and distribute all the joys that liquor can bring. It's only a small note as part of the overall producer's letter for the game, but it's still noteworthy. There's a lot else in the letter, however, including planned upgrades to the Enhanced Client and a number of story arcs set to begin in June. The restoration of Magincia is also ongoing, and while the distillery is one of the new additions, there are also new gardening additions and enhancements set to make unused land more vibrant. Ultima Online players can check out the full letter for a rundown of features in the pipe and on the horizon.
Naoki Yoshida hints at future developments in latest Final Fantasy XIV letter
One of the promises that Naoki Yoshida made to Final Fantasy XIV players upon taking over the job of producer was regular, open communication. It's an easy promise to make, but the producer has also followed through in the delivery with his regular letters to the community as a whole. The newest letter has just been released, promising a variety of changes and updates in tomorrow's patch 1.17 and beyond -- including hints of an additional job system supplementing the existing Armoury system. The main thrust of this particular letter is explaining the division of labor in the game's development, with teams working on battle system revamps and improvements alongside quest teams and art teams, allowing for the game's current pace of small, rapid patches. There's also a promise that the Grand Companies will soon be unveiled on the official site, organizations which Yoshida states will be extremely important in the game's upcoming content. Final Fantasy XIV fans can read the full letter on the official forums.
PlanetSide Next producer's letter hints at dev team expansion
News of PlanetSide Next has been scarcer than we'd like of late, so it was with marked interest that we devoured the preview of a new producer letter from Sony Online Entertainment's Andrew Sites. PlanetSide Universe has the early scoop on the document, which alludes to an expansion of the PlanetSide sequel's development roster to include "several team members from the original PlanetSide art, design, and code team." While Sites doesn't name names or offer much in the way of additional details, he does tease the fact that future producer letters will introduce both team members and game features, beginning with the next update.
Warhammer Online producer's letter mentions crafting additions
While we here at Massively are swamped with GDC-related news tidbits, life outside the annual conference does indeed go on. BioWare-Mythic's Warhammer Online is one such title that keeps on keeping on, and the latest producer's letter is up on the game's official website for your perusal. If you'd rather we peruse it for you, well, keep reading. Producer James Casey has a fair bit to say, and he starts things off with a mention of the new communication initiative that is ongoing in the Developer's Corner section of the WAR forums. Casey also touches on the upcoming tweaks to Grovod Caverns, a new live event called Sigmar Tide (currently scheduled for this summer), and a few proposed additions to crafting that are intended to "introduce new mechanics and flesh out the offerings available" for artisans throughout the realm.
New producer's letter and battle mechanic changes for Final Fantasy XIV
Naoki Yoshida has been bringing change to Final Fantasy XIV, and while the previous changes have been largely based around communication, there are more substantial alterations just around the corner. With the announcement that tomorrow will bring patch 1.15a (coinciding with the abandonment of the "version update" naming schematic), the development team has explained some of the changes coming to the battle system, including better damage and healing displays without overlap, better gains for parties, and larger gains for taking on enemies that outlevel the player. Solo players aren't left out, either, as the experience curve has been adjusted to help ease some of the more onerous level bands. Yoshida has also penned his second producer's letter, this one clarifying the coming changes in more detail for both 1.15a and the further future. As he notes, there are many things that both he and players in general want to change, which means there's a lot to discuss in a limited amount of space. Players who were upset by the somewhat flippant tone of the last letter will hopefully be mollified by his apology for same -- as Yoshida himself puts it, sometimes his personality gets the best of him. The full list of planned changes is available within the letter, with more due in the near future, a clear sign that Final Fantasy XIV is being worked on with vigor by its new team.
Player poll results and future plans for Final Fantasy XIV
After a week of silence, it seems the new development team has finished putting together data from Final Fantasy XIV's start-of-year player poll. Naoki Yoshida makes as much clear in the first few lines of his incredibly dense producer's letter, which contains a broad outline of what the team is targeting first in the game's development, as well as the results of the first poll. The results alone merit a great deal of discussion, with the responses charted out for ease of viewing and Yoshida devoting much of his letter to his interpretation of the results. Among the more interesting takeaways are the plans to implement official forums starting in early March, with Yoshida stating he will be posting regular updates on the front page until the forums launch. Several items are under close examination, including jumping, increased stack sizes for several items, and the addition of an auction house -- all of which are very real possibilities for the near future. There's also plans to add in more story-based quests and mini-quests, the addition of public companies (no word on how this will interact with the previously promised company system or if it replaces it), and so many changes that it's hard to summarize. Final Fantasy XIV players should take a look at the full letter, which boasts a lot to get excited about.
Producer's letter for City of Heroes hints at the future and promises big improvements
It's the start of a new year, one that already promises to be an exciting one for fans of superheroic MMOs. DC Universe Online is launching tomorrow, Champions Online will be going free-to-play early this year, and City of Heroes is not sitting down either. In what we hope might be a new monthly tradition, fans have been treated to a brand-new producer's letter that looks back at the year before and begins peering ahead to the next 12 months while also hinting at some of the more interesting new additions to the game. Among the more interesting revelations are the promise of a double XP weekend this month, as well as more information regarding Praetoria's Hamidon when PAX East rolls around. The development team is also hoping to step up its communication this year, both from well-known members of the team and from some of the newer talent with less public exposure. While another expansion might not be in the works for City of Heroes in the near future, fans can take a look at the full letter on the site and rest easy -- it promises to be a very interesting year.
Age of Conan producer's letter talks new content, possible movie tie-in
It's the end of the month, and if you're following Age of Conan, you know it's time for the traditional letter from the game director. Funcom's Craig "Silirrion" Morrison obliges us with a lengthy look back at 2010's AoC milestones as well as a glimpse of what's coming in 2011. In addition to continual content rollouts and tweaks of the current 2.1 build (which is set to include two new Pai-Kang 6-man instances, new tier four Jade Citadel raids, a solo daily instance, and two new auto content generation dungeons), Morrison hints at a possible tie-in with the forthcoming Conan motion picture. "Some of the things [on tap for 2011] might just relate to the return of the great barbarian to the silver screen later this year in the form of the new Conan movie. That is something we are very excited about, and means there is great potential over the coming year, with a lot of renewed interest in everything Hyborian," he writes.
