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EverQuest Next's producer letter asks for more community feedback
The development of EverQuest Next isn't meant to be sterile. Just as the game is meant to draw in players with a hankering for creative play patterns and original ideas, the development team wants to draw upon community involvement to help shape the path of both Landmark and the core game. So the first video producer's letter from senior producer Terry Michaels is as much about asking for more community interaction as it is talking up plans for development. Michaels states that the team will be discussing two major parts of Landmark in the near future: globetrotting and item creation (which he refers to as "break it, take it, make it"). The core game will also be expanded with the addition of a new lore story homing in on one of the new areas found in EverQuest Next. On both points, the need for community input and feedback is stressed. But you don't need to take our word for it -- view the full video just past the break. [Thanks to Tony for the tip!]
Camelot Unchained producer's letter talks new race, development progress
Tyler Rockwell recently joined the crew of City State Entertainment as producer for Camelot Unchained, and recently took a few thousand words to introduce himself to Kickstarter backers and CU fans via producer's letter. The update covers Rockwell's design history, introduction to the games industry, and recent migration to CSE's Virginia studios, in addition to a few developmental points regarding Camelot Unchained. According to Rockwell, he is working to learn everything he can about the game and its community while simultaneously unrolling new task-tracking software and getting up to speed on what CU's team is doing. Current projects include updates to the internal patcher, further development of the game's networking system, polish on the engine's character importer, the creation of a brand-new race, and the synchronization of team animators and designers working on a variety of tasks. Rockwell said he considers himself the member of the team that's there to help everyone get the job done, similar to a Battlefield sniper or League of Legends healer. He also included a bit of concept art as "a not-too-subtle hint of what [CSE's] modeler is working on right now," which you can see after the jump.
Hear the latest FFXIV news in next Producer's Letter Live
Sometimes words on a page (or screen, obviously) just can't convey the spirit and feeling behind a message. Even all caps or a series of !!1!1 can't adequately express some sentiments -- for that, you need visual cues and tone of voice. Final Fantasy XIV fans will be treated to those when Producer Naoki Yoshida livestreams the next Producer's Letter on August 8th at 8:00 a.m. EDT. The topic: beta and the official release. Questions for the show can be submitted to the designated thread before airing and via the game's official Twitter account during the stream; just be sure to attach #XIV to all tweeted inquiries. If you miss the stream live -- or don't understand Japanese -- you can still catch the answers to all the questions addressed in both real time on Twitter and a Q&A summary to be posted on the site shortly afterward.
Checking out the 44th Final Fantasy XIV producer's letter
Final Fantasy XIV has been ramping up to A Realm Reborn, the massive reboot that has fans excited and nervous at the same time. In the hopes of whetting fan appetites even further, Naoki Yoshida is letting players know just what's cooking via a new producer's letter. It turns out that gamepad users have reason to be excited for phase two beta testing. It might be standing room only, though, as 100,000 testers have joined up so far. It's caused some issues on the servers but a weekend of tweaks to FATE-related performance issues might help loosen things up a bit. That is until phase two kicks in and even more testers are welcomed. After all, how else can you stress test a server? Phase two testing should begin in early April, so grab your controller and jump in if you can. There's also news about phase three testing! Guildhests, which are based on behests from version 1.0, will welcome groups of players even from early levels. They are supposed to be a great way to party with friends before going out and tackling the big stuff.
DCUO's producer recaps power retooling
It's tough enough to balance an MMO for a single platform, but DC Universe Online's team has the unenviable task of doing so for both the PC and PlayStation 3. Due to the latter's "strict limitations," Executive Producer Larry Liberty and his team had to prioritize performance and balance over visual oomph. In a new producer's letter, Liberty recaps the changes that the team has done to four of the game's powersets -- Mental, Gadgets, Fire, and Ice -- and explains why the devs did what they did. Sorcery and Nature powers are next on the retooling table, and he said that SOE will try to get feedback even earlier than before for these changes. "In short, we want to make sure that powers are balanced, defects are resolved, and ensure that things that cause slow-down or gameplay issues are remedied," said Liberty.
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.
EverQuest II starts its new year with new challenges and dungeons
Another expansion is out for EverQuest II, but this is no time for the game to rest upon its laurels. Producer Holly Longdale recently took to the game's forums to make it clear that the developers have big plans for the game in 2013, and they've been hard at work since December putting together a long-term plan for what will happen over the next year. That starts with a new patch on February 26th. The update will include a new two-group dungeon in Wurmbone Crag along with a raid version of Dreadcutter. Beyond that, there's improved bag functionality as well as new daily, weekly, and monthly objectives for players to complete for special rewards. And that's not even the next big game update, which is scheduled for some time in the spring. Even though we're in the second month of the year, it's the start of a new cycle for EverQuest II's development, and hopefully players will be pleased with what it has to offer.
LotRO commits to housing revamp, player council, and more Rohan in 2013
Turbine's Kate Paiz might be brief in her Lord of the Rings Online producer's letter, but this economy of words holds a treasure trove of ideas for the year. In the letter, she outlines the primary goals for the game in 2013, including a much-requested housing revamp and further expansion into the Rohan region. Paiz outlines four initiatives for the year. The first is forming a player's council to facilitate discussion and feedback between players and the dev team. The second is adding Western Rohan to the game, initially through a region called Wildermore in the spring and later through a bigger addition in the fall. The third is the aforementioned housing revamp, which will take place later in the year. The fourth initiative is an effort by the team to make "significant changes" to classes. "We will be making some significant changes to the skills and traits of the Free Peoples classes," Paiz writes. "We'll be pruning out skills that just feel disappointing in play and increasing the potency of others. The end result will be fewer skills, but a more profound impact on moment-to-moment play."
Star Trek Online celebrates two million 'captains'
On the verge of its third anniversary, Star Trek Online has good reason to celebrate. In a state of the game post, Executive Producer Dan Stahl says that the title is growing by leaps and bounds: "You may have noticed that more than two million captains are continuing their voyages in Star Trek Online. With sustained increases in daily participation, the game is richer and more alive than ever before." Stahl looked back over the accomplishments and milestones of 2012, including Star Trek Online's transition to a free-to-play format. For the game's third anniversary, the team is releasing a featured episode on Thursday that will have a special reward for those who play it between January 31st and February 14th. The reward will be an Ambassador Class (the Enterprise-C model) for Federation players and the Kamarag Class for Klingon fans. Stay tuned for an on-air interview with Dan Stahl about STO in tomorrow's episode of Massively Speaking!
Naoki Yoshida discusses the upcoming beta for Final Fantasy XIV
It won't be long now until long-time Final Fantasy XIV players and eager test applicants can experience the beta of the game's new version. Producer Naoki Yoshida has understandably been busy with the ramp-up, but he's taken the time to pen a new letter for the game's players that starts off by displaying all of the racial creation screens for the revamped creator. That includes showing off genders that had previously been unavailable, including female Highlanders and Roegadyns. Beyond that, the letter talks about some of the restrictions in place from the beta that are still being developed, acknowledging that some character creation options will be held back until later in testing (the team is working to vastly improve hair color and style selections, for example). Yoshida goes on to talk about the production staff's New Year festivities and a visit from some of the Mythic staff members involved with Ultima Online. There are only a few more weeks until the beta stats, but Yoshida and the rest of the staff seems to believe that it's the first step to a better new year.
Ultima Online gives much love to housing
Ultima Online is well-known for being a player housing paradise, and it looks like the ability to make a comfy nest for oneself will get even better with the next game update. Producer Bonnie Armstrong posted a preview of what players should expect in the near future. The big news is that the UO team is considering allowing players to have houses on both Siege Perilous and standard shards, opening up the possibilities for multiple home ownership. Houses will also get a new theme pack that includes interactive gadgets. The art team continues to work on hi-res versions of house items, although this is "slow going" as it's a huge project. The UO team is also working on revamps to weapons and armor, the ability for players to run for ambassadorships of towns, new instruments, and a new global arc.
EVE Online gets 'ambitious' in 2013
Strap yourselves in: EVE Online is pushing the threshold in 2013, and there's no looking back. Two producer's letters today from the game attempt to outline the goodness coming for the game and its players in the coming months. Executive Producer Jon Lander puts it all on the line with his letter: "I think it is time to be a little more ambitious. Nothing crazy or away from the core spaceship game that is EVE, but something more inspiring for everyone." It's this ambition that's driving him and the team to produce "compelling themes" for future content that will take place across all of the game's systems. There's also a letter from new Senior Producer Andie Nordgren, who is now in charge of the product vision and roadmap for the game. Nordgren says that the team will create content for both "instigators" and "enablers" of sandbox fun, but the big priority for CCP is gearing up for the themed summer expansion.
Pirate101 enjoys strong headwinds as it goes into 2013
You know what's great about Pirate101? Every time we report on it, it's a new opportunity to use pirate-speak. So avast ye scallywags and pay attention to KingsIsle's Jay Gordon, who's got a new producer's letter for the powder monkeys who play the game. Amid raising the flag and giving a pep talk to the crew, Gordon does slip some scuttlebutt about what's coming to Pirate101 this year: "Looking ahead, 2013 is going to offer a veritable treasure trove of all-new pirate adventures and we can't wait to unveil new worlds, quests, gameplay features, ships, equipment and the wide variety of companions and fantastic combat attacks now in the works." In the meanwhile, players can enjoy the January newsletter that comes complete with a tip or two about the game.
Vanguard team shares initiatives for the new year
Creative Director Steve Danuser shared the philosophy of the Vanguard dev team in his latest design update when he wrote, "We can't change the past. What we can do is make our best effort to improve things going forward." How? Danuser and his team are focused on several key initiatives, including putting in modern tech to improve performance, polishing the existing content, adding new challenges for experienced players, working on better character progression, designing introductions for crafting and diplomacy, and broadening the title's free-to-play plan. Danuser also teased the next big content addition for the game: "The next zone we will roll out for high-end players is Pankor Zhi, which begins a storyline that will carry forward into future content. The team is really enthused about revisiting this under-utilized area and adding a compelling new experience to the game. Pankor Zhi will feature content for soloers, groups, and raids. Obviously this is an ambitious undertaking, but we feel we have a realistic scope that can be achieved with our team." [Thanks to John for the tip!]
Anarchy Online moves forward with graphics overhaul and server migration
Executive Producer David Williams is completely pumped about the new graphics engine coming to to Anarchy Online, and in his most recent developer update, he gushes about it while explaining why it's not quite ready for prime time. There are a set of new pictures to help with the wait, however. One of the more interesting features of the new game engine is that it gives the developers the ability to both import old art assets and create brand-new ones for the game. "Since AO is huge, for most assets we don't have time to remake them," Williams explains. "The new player experience, for example, has all new assets. Most things won't." He also mentions that the team is finalizing some issues regarding the upcoming server merge and that this winter's holiday content will go live in the game next week. [Thanks to David for the tip!]
FFXIV producer letter addresses alpha questions
Although the curtain has fallen on Final Fantasy XIV as we know it, the story is not over; soon, the next act will begin in A Realm Reborn. But during the intermission, players have plenty of questions. What's going on in alpha? Why are tester numbers restricted? When can we see and test for ourselves? And what has become of Bahamut and Louisoix? In the latest producer letter, Naoki Yoshida set about answering the many alpha questions that have been pouring into Square Enix. (Sorry, but you'll have to wait for the launch to find out about Bahamut and Louisoix!) Yoshida explained why more testers aren't necessary, emphasizing that the alpha is currently locked at level 20 and focuses on simulating stress conditions for the lower-level areas. Folks still hoping to participate in the alpha might get invites for the fourth phase which will start December 3rd and go through mid-month. Additionally, a third testing world will be opened at this time to allow for even more testers than originally planned. For more details, check out the producers letter.
Anarchy Online prepares for Steam debut
You can't teach an old dog new tricks? Don't tell that to Anarchy Online because the classic MMO is preparing to carve a place for itself on Valve's digital distribution platform. AO Producer Dave Williams writes that the title should make its way to Steam very soon. In addition, he posted a chart of all of the new subscription options and bonuses that are now available. Williams touches on a number of important developments in the most recent producer's letter, in particular some staff reshuffling and word about the server migration. Of course, what everyone wants to hear about is the graphics engine upgrade. Williams confirms that it and the new player experience are still on course for an early 2013 public beta, and he was able to show one of the new features that the engine will allow: armor meshes. These meshes will allow the Funcom team to create additional 3-D objects to stick onto armor, giving players a more unique (and updated) look.
DDO Update 16 will have 'generous helping of adventures'
Dungeons and Dragons Online's Update 16 is preparing to deliver a "generous helping of Forgotten Realms adventures" this November, according to Producer Fernando Paiz. In a new letter to the community, Paiz looks ahead to the game's next major update, which he says will expand high-level content in the new world setting. "There will be new monsters to fight, a new story to explore, and castles to plunder (because every good D&D campaign needs castles)!," Paiz writes. He says that Update 16 will also contain an additional Epic Destiny called Primal Avatar. Turbine is also focusing on whittling down its known issues list with several bug updates and fixes. Paiz says that Update 17 should arrive by the end of the year as well, but it will be a smaller patch with updates to seasonal festivities. He also hints at the studio's plans for DDO in 2013, including updates to both campaign settings and a return to Gianthold.
TERA is merging down to three servers
The latest letter from TERA's producer is out, and while it includes some interesting statistics, the most important bit of information is that the game will be trimming down its server list. On September 18th, the game will be shrinking to three servers: an unnamed PvE server, an unnamed PvP server, and the existing RP server called Celestial Hills. The letter is quick to state that this is a net positive for players looking for a larger and more active population within a given server. Customer service has already assembled a set of answers for obvious questions. Any players with more than eight characters in total will be locked out of playing until some of those characters are deleted, so if you've got characters on several PvE or PvP servers, you might want to delete some. Players can also expect banks to be merged (with an overflow tab if you need to withdraw some items) and all vanarch statuses to be reset, with refunds to active candidates. The full producer's letter has some other things for players to look forward to during September and beyond. [Thanks to Marisa for the tip!]
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.
