q-and-a
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Defiance developers answer a dozen player questions
Good news, Defiance fans: Your questions have been answered. Assuming that your questions were closely tied to the 12 questions answered here, of course. Otherwise your questions remain unanswered. But if you want to know more about expeditions or the upcoming Alcatraz hub, the answers have you covered. Whether or not you'll like the answers is another story entirely; expeditions are very much about straightforward shooting engagements with a full group using a drop-in-drop-out approach to forming a party. At this point there's no exact ETA for when the Alcatraz update will be available on the game's test server, although the developers are hopeful for "soon." The answers also discuss some long-standing issues and a few bugs as well as take on the issue of character customization, which isn't going to be expanded any time soon. Even if your question isn't among the ones answered, it still would behoove Defiance players to take a peek at what's in store for the game.
The Elder Scrolls Online answers player questions on its buy-to-play model
Even if you were among the many players predicting a business model shift for The Elder Scrolls Online, a change in business models can be kind of disturbing. Suddenly the game doesn't behave according to all of the same rules you've been familiar with since launch. To help alleviate that confusion, the ESO dev team hosted a quick question-and-answer session with players over the weekend to help answer some of the major questions about the change, the next major patch, and balance issues moving forward in the game. To start with, if you've still got time cards for the game on your desk, fret not; you can still use them after the model transition to add the equivalent amount of subscription time to your account. You might want to use them ahead of time, though, since there are plans to add in a special veteran reward for players who stayed subscribed during the game's entire subscription lifespan. DLC prices are not finalized, but they are intended to be around the normal DLC price points for other games. Take a look through the whole of the answers for more details on balancing and issues like controller support.
Get your Tree of Savior beta questions answered
Tomorrow's a big day for Tree of Savior, as the colorful fantasy title will begin its Korean closed beta. If you have questions about the beta test, MMO Culture posted a short interview that covers several of the details. The team's primary goal during the first closed beta test is to ascertain "development direction in the future." This will be done by letting gamers check out features like the circle ranking system, companions, and 28 playable classes. A post-beta wipe is confirmed as well. However, as 90,000 people have registered for Tree of Savior's test and only 3,000 of those will be admitted, the chances are not great that you can hop into the beta... at least for right now.
Tree of Savior will launch free-to-play, heads toward first closed beta
If you had any lingering doubts that Tree of Savior would be launching as a free-to-play title, best to put them out of your head now. The game will indeed be launching free-to-play, at least in Korea, with an undisclosed number of "extra" items in the cash shop (which will be revealed in the future). Recruitment for the first closed beta is already underway, with the first test starting on January 15th, 2015. This early test will be limited to 3,000 participants, and as it's for the Korean version, you'll need a Korean Nexon account. Some clarification regarding the game's class structure has also been posted; it lays out how players can move up to the more advanced classes at regular intervals. The first test features only 28 possible classes rather than the full 80 of the final game, but more options will be made available as the game moves through testing.
Dark Age of Camelot takes aim at group finder and bug fixes
An end-of-the-year community Q&A at Dark Age of Camelot revealed that the team has a lot on the docket for Patch 1.117, including the long-awaited casual group finder and a heap of bug fixes. "We think that focusing our development resources on bug fixing for an entire patch cycle is something that hasn't been done in a long time and is something that will make everyone's gameplaying experience that much better!" Broadsword posted. Other topics discussed include freeing up space in quest logs, plans to update the patcher, and ideas to help out starter guilds. The Q&A even revealed that there will be "official Broadsword player reps" and "scheduled raids of all sorts" for trial accounts, although details on those will be coming later.
Tree of Savior reveals more classes, promises a surprise on December 12th
Whether or not you think that Tree of Savior is going to be a game to watch out for, you have to respect the game's dedication to class diversity. A new batch of classes has been unveiled by fan translation work, and it's certainly a far cry from the usual fare. How many other games expect you to choose between Doppelsoldner, Pied Piper, Murmillo, and Schwarze Reiter? And that's just out of this group! At character creation, players will choose between four basic classes (Swordsman, Wizard, Cleric, and Archer), which leads into the extremely diverse lineup of advanced classes such as the aforementioned additions. You can see some of these classes on display in the game's trailer from G-Star 2014, embedded past the break. The game has just put up a teaser site promising a reveal on December 12th, possibly the game's first beta test.
Tree of Savior might be getting published here according to an unofficial interview
Tree of Savior got a pretty strong showing at G-star 2014, where the staff announced that Nexon will be handling the publishing duties for the game in its native country. But what about worldwide releases? There might be hope yet. A fansite for the game has posted an interview with members of the imcGAMES staff who asked to remain anonymous. These anonymous interviewees state that the company is still looking into worldwide partners and has considered simply publishing the game itself in foreign markets. Other revelations include the prospect of developing the game for mobile devices in the future and that the game will most likely work as a free-to-play title with a cash shop. The interview also notes that these statements may not reflect the official view of imcGAMES and are subject to change without notice. Still, the full interview is worth a look, even if you need to take everything with an appropriately sized grain of salt.
Tree of Savior shows off its gameplay at G-Star 2014
There's no denying that even in static shots, Tree of Savior looks like a very pretty isometric game. The title is on display at G-Star 2014 and showing off a new trailer courtesy of Steparu that highlights some of the game's big field bosses, playable classes, and the general look of the world as a whole. And you can watch that trailer just after the break to see all of these moving parts in action. Nexon has been confirmed as the Korean publisher for the game, but there are still no announcements to be had about any sort of publication in the US. The game's control layout has been revealed to be a far cry from the point-and-click interface suggested by the overhead view; movement is handled with the arrow keys, and the first two rows of the keyboard serve as hotbar bindings. Check out the video past the break to see if it looks like something you'd like to play in the future. [Thanks to Yorai Dragon for the tip!]
Camelot Unchained celebrates new website and forums
Camelot Unchained is now boasting a shiny new website and player forums, according to the game's second newsletter. That's only the tip of the wordy newsletter. A brief community question and answer section addresses a few in-game topics, such as boat travel and caravan details. Then it dives right into a treatise on world game design and how the team is still attempting to figure out how large Camelot Unchained's landmass should be and how quickly players will be able to traverse it. "In our case, we are making what is essentially a medieval fantasy war game conquest map, which means things like territory and resource control, logistics, and force projection are extremely important considerations, but things like good quest flow are less so," the team said. The art department also piped up to say that it's working on the Tuatha Dé Danann race, the Arthurian Storm Rider, and pre-alpha testing support.
Final Fantasy XIV Q&A teases future content and pacing
Final Fantasy XIV has been a little pokey in rolling out major new systems. Will this be the case going forward? Not so much, according to a new producer's letter Q&A, in which the team says that future updates should be coming more frequently. "Due to scheduling issues and circumstances surrounding implementation, we've been prioritizing the implementation of party-based challenges utilizing the duty finder whenever possible," the letter states. "As a result, we were a step behind in implementing systems that make use of the open world, or those that require time but can be completed at one's own pace. With the introduction of zodiac weapons followed shortly after by the Hunt, it may seem as though we're shifting focus toward time-consuming systems, but rest assured this is not the case, and we plan to strike a balance with party-based activities as we move forward." Other topics of discussion include the upcoming Rogue class and Ninja job, the approximate release window for Patch 2.38 (about a month), word of a new expansion release, and hints about the expansion and new race.
Destiny hedges on raid info, character names, and chat channels
A Destiny community Q&A posted today on IGN is quite illuminating as to Bungie's approach to this upcoming online shooter. The studio is "very cagey" on releasing any details about its raiding system pre-launch, is struggling to figure out whether the game will have a chat system, and is against letting players give their avatars unique names. "The team thought a lot about how best to have players identify themselves in the world," Bungie said in regard to the last topic. "Ultimately, we've landed on PSN ID and Xbox LIVE Gamertag, so other people don't have to manage a third list of identities (real name, platform tag, Destiny character name)." Bungie was non-commital following beta feedback that players wanted a chat system: "We've seen the feedback, and there's quite a bit of ongoing discussion happening around this right now." The studio promised that it was hearing out players on this issue, however.
Tree of Savior introduces new classes in Q&A #9
Tree of Savior, the upcoming MMO from Korean studio IMC Games, has unveiled its ninth Q&A about the game, revealing more classes, costume details, an explanation of the Chronomancer's time-travel skill, and some special hidden content. With an advertised 80 classes in the game, these four new class introductions just scratch the surface, but we do get some details and animations from the Thaumaturge, Archer, Pyromancer, and Centurian. Be sure to check out the video after the cut for more on the new classes. If you have any questions for the dev team that you'd like answered in the next Q&A, send them along to the game's Facebook page or the developer's blog.
MechWarrior Online vid talks upcoming changes
In a new MechWarrior Online video, members of the dev team take time to discuss the upcoming overhaul to the module system, gameplay updates, community warfare, and new maps. One of the neat features coming to the game is the match rejoin feature, which will give players a grace period to get back into a match and get rewards if they are disconnected for some reason. There's a ton of preview drops in this 13-minute video, and it's all yours to enjoy after the jump!
Skyforge abandons leveling in favor of a prestige system
The Skyforge development team has been on a streak of answering pressing community questions over on the game's Facebook page, with one question answered per day over the previous week. A few of the questions centered around how Skyforge has eschewed a traditional leveling format in favor of a "prestige" system. Prestige is like gearscore, a sum total of the stats from a player's equipment. As a player gains more prestige, more content, gear, and followers are unlocked. "Instances are tied to the amount of prestige your character has," the team explained. "The better your character[s are] developed, the higher their prestige is and the more adventures they can go on." Other questions concerned whether there will be a test server (there will be) or a global chat channel (there won't be). The team did indicate that there would be a multi-platform chat system on launch, however: "Our programmers wrote a special chat service that will allow players in the game to chat to friends that are reading messages from other devices. This means that you can chat with other players regardless of whether they are in the game or not." [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
The Queue: Tree on a bike
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Sarah Pine (@ilaniel) will be your host today. The above is one of my all-time favorite WoW screenshots. Yet another reason why Ulduar was such a great raid. Mazuren asks: Q4tQ: After we're done with WoD, what would you most like to see? More Azeroth(Zandalar, Kul Tiras, Undermine, Azshara)? Or would you rather we head to the various legion infested worlds? Or maybe something else entirely? I'd love to find out what happened to Neptulon, and that also feels like the natural place for an expansion whose end boss is Azshara, which would be great. I'd also like to finally check out the Emerald Dream in a meaningful way, though that hope might be permanently dashed considering the fate of the Dragonflights at the end of Cataclysm. World hopping usually isn't my bag, but I'd be down for that if a major component of the story happened to be the search for Alleria. And Turalyon, I guess. But mostly Alleria.
MechWarrior Online video blog answers game balance questions
MechWarrior Online has just released its fifth dev vlog, in which the team answers questions about the title in an eight-minute video. Some of the topics up for discussion today are clan battlemech cockpits, general game balance, and updates on the matchmaking system. You can check out the full video after the break to see if your pressing concerns got addressed!
Tree of Savior Q&A highlights guilds, mounts, and parties
IMC Games' developer SY Kim has answered a slew of player questions about upcoming Korean character-driven fantasy MMO Tree of Savior. He begins by clarifying that while the studio has referred to the game as a "true successor" to the Ragnarok Online series, it is not an official sequel; the parent studios are unrelated. He also discusses party formation, cards and magical items, diminishing returns on experience gain from lowbie mobs, spear and poisoner classes, monster respawn, stat gain, and pets and mounts. A guild system, he relates, will not be in by closed beta. Read all the details on the official blog. [Thanks, tipster Yorai Dragon!]
The Queue: Removals, tree form, and Baine Bloodhoof
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Sarah Pine (@ilaniel) will be your host today. I'm not in the alpha, so I'm going to sulk, drink my coffee, and look longingly at this beautiful shot of Shadowmoon Valley. Oh, and answer some questions, too! CaptainCakewalk asked: Q4tQ: So far, what is the one single thing you are glad to see removed in WoD and the one thing you are not so happy about being removed?
Transformers Universe offers a peek under the hood
It's taken a long time for it to approach launch, but Transformers Universe is closer to being ready for public consumption than ever before. It's got pre-launch bonus sales in effect, it's revealing Autobots and Decepticons alike, and it's showing off its gameplay. If you're excited to see more of what's going on behind the scenes, you'll be happy to learn that the development team has offered a peek into the development with a new series dubbed "Under the Hood." So what's in the first episode? Aside from a text-only Q&A with vice president David Nicholson, the episode looks at the Founders program, a peek at voices, and a detailed discussion of what the game will play like and where it's going in the future. That includes plenty of footage of robots turning into cars and beating the tar out of one another, for the record. Check out the video and the Q&A just past the break.
Star Wars: The Old Republic housing will not disappoint, devs promise
Housing in a galaxy far, far away will be "nothing like any system" we have seen in MMOs before, say the devs. At a recent Vancouver Star Wars: The Old Republic cantina community event with the devs, McSleuth Gaming took down detailed notes from the Q&A session and intermingling that followed. One of the questions probed the type of housing that Galactic Strongholds will offer, to which a dev replied, "I will say though it is nothing like any system in any other MMO out there right now; it is completely different and a new style. I promise you, as a fan of housing you will not be disappointed in how our works. Seriously. We have put a lot of thought into making it customizable." If you're hoping for looser free-to-play restrictions, well, don't hold your breath. "Every time something new is added for F2P it actually is simultaneously taking something away from subs perks," the devs hedged. "So there needs to be balance and that is something we are always looking at changing." Meanwhile, Massively's Larry has several pictures of the new casino event and stronghold construction coming to the game, so check them out! [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
