quality-of-life
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Halloween goes live in Anarchy Online
Halloween is officially a "go!" for Anarchy Online, which brings back the seasonal festivities as well as the sinister Uncle Pumpkin Head. In an October development update posted today, Gameplay Designer Henry Senger confirmed the start of the holiday. Senger said that there will be many varieties of returning Pumpkin Heads in the game, as well as an assault by the Entvined on Enigma Grove. Players can get cool loot not only by defeating these mobs but by merely logging in to claim several free items including a pumpkin helmet. Anarchy Online recently installed a quality of life patch and confirms that testing is ongoing for the 18.7 update. "Once the Inferno Missions have been patched to Live, the majority of focus will shift back to 18.7, which includes, but is not limited to, the NPE and profession rebalance," Senger said.
Age of Conan's Update 4.4 ushers in new raids, new tier sets
As summer fades into memory, Age of Conan players turn their gaze toward the Halloween event and the next major patch of the game. The latest game director's letter is about exactly those topics, as well, so that works out nicely. While update 4.4 will bring with it new Unchained raids, there are other improvements coming along as well, not the least of which are visual improvements to the Tier 5 sets that will be released along with the raids. The update also brings with it the PvP streak system and new area looting functionality; pressing Shift and V will automatically loot all eligible corpses in the immediate area. Players can also look forward to the upcoming gem system and Thirst of the Serpent God event at the end of the month. Check out the full letter for more details about what's coming next for the game over the next 31 days.
Warlords of Draenor: No more Tier vendors
One of the more irritating and frustrating aspects of winning Tier loot from bosses is having to take the token to a vendor in order to actually get the piece of armor you won. Nowadays it's rare for me to equip a piece as soon as I get it, unless it's a truly huge upgrade, but I still find it annoying to have to take a token to a vendor in order to get the actual piece of gear. In addition, as a druid, there are four versions of everything available for each token, and scrolling through page after page of nearly-identically named armor pieces makes my eyes cross. Minor complaints, really, but nonetheless the following announcement by Lead Game Designer Ion Hazzikostas, aka Watcher, on Twitter really made my day: @RhoWoW @MeaganTC They will work that way in Warlords. No more vendors - you can get your set piece on the spot. - Watcher (@WatcherDev) September 1, 2014 This is a fantastic quality of life change for raiders. No more running to vendors and no more waiting to get your new piece of Tier gear. I'd say "no more accidentally buying the wrong piece" with your token too, but in Warlords, your primary stats will auto-change when you shift specs anyway, so that's no big deal. In any case, this new system will be more convenient for players, and I'm certainly thankful for that!
Wurm Online pushes update 1.2 live
Are you ready for wagon time? Because that's what you'll be able to explore in Wurm Online's newest update. Patch 1.2 of the game is adding in plenty of wagons as well as boat carriers, giving players a variety of wheeled transport methods to bring stuff all over the self-made world. But that's only the smallest part of today's update. Players can also look forward to an improved crafting interface, new enemies, new rugs, a new invite function, and new crates. There's also a new system of maps that allow for personal annotations, making it that much easier to find your way around and move from village to village. The update notice promises that development will continue on the game, but players are going to have plenty to do with this update as it is. (Largely wagon-based things.) [Update: It seems that someone decided it would be fun to DDoS the game right at the launch of this update. So Wurm is currently offline until further notice.] [Thanks to Tom for the tip!]
The Daily Grind: What MMOs have surprised you with their growth?
The picture above is of my kitten. Yes, kitten; he's only nine months old, despite being enormous. I have pictures of him on Twitter of back when he was so tiny I could hold him in one hand. And he's still my dear little kitty, he still loves cuddling up to me when I hold him and flopping in front of me on his back like a baby... but it amazes me how much he's grown over the months. Kittens are not the only things that grow, though. Even though there have been some notable missteps, I'm dazzled by how much Final Fantasy XIV has grown over the past few months, and while I'm not playing Star Wars: The Old Republic at the moment, I'm similarly fascinated by how many ways that's expanded. What about you? What MMOs have surprised you with their growth, adding on strange or unexpected elements or just becoming bigger in ways you wouldn't have expected at launch? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
WTB generic glyphs
Glyphs have undergone some interesting evolutions since they were introduced in Wrath of the Lich King. From major and minor, to major, minor, and prime, and now back to minor and major, glyphs are, in my opinion, a good way to add both some functionality to your toons as well as give them some flavor. Minor glyphs can do a lot to make your character feel like its yours. And while minor glyphs are rarely necessary for performance, they can sometimes help in certain situations, at least a little bit. One thing that's always been true of glyphs, no matter what their incarnation, is the fact that they're class-specific. I think it would be interesting to see that change, if not for major glyphs, then at least for minor ones. There are certain aspects of the game I would love to have the option to modify, just a little, for quality-of-life reasons. There are also abilities that were once available that no longer are, which could be reintroduced via classless glyphs, useable by all. Here are some generic glyphs I would love to see.
Breakfast Topic: Quality of life
Recently I haven't been playing much WoW. It's not because of any disinterest in the game, in fact, I'd love to be playing much more of it. Unfortunately for me though, with patch 5.4, WoW's system requirements finally became too much for my system. I can still putter around leveling toons -- as long as I stick to deserted areas and don't run in groups -- but I can no longer raid, even in small 10-mans, and things like Battlegrounds or the crowded Timeless Isle are completely out of the question. As my system was sliding toward digital geezer-dom, I didn't necessarily realize what was happening, because that kind of decline occurs slowly over time. I did begin to notice that WoW was becoming more frustrating for to play, but it was a little while before I put my finger on exactly why. For a long time, I thought I was finally just getting to the point where I no longer had interest in the game, and I contemplated quitting. This made me sad, because I have a lot of good friends in WoW, and I didn't want to want to quit, if you know what I mean. Nonetheless, I figured that was where I was headed. So when I realized that it was poor performance making me unhappy playing the game, and not the game itself, it came as somewhat as a relief. I ordered some necessary new parts that should speed up my machine, and I expect them to arrive this week. For the first time in a long time, I am once again eagerly looking forward to playing WoW for the sake of the game itself. Have you ever had a moment like this, readers of WoW Insider? A time when you thought you were unhappy in WoW for one reason, but it turned out to be something else entirely? Was this a good realization? What did it take to breathe life into your playing experience again?
Asheron's Call 2 prepares quality-of-life update
Asheron's Call 2, its community, and its small dev team continue to endure after the title's resurrection last winter. And Turbine's been preparing a quality-of-life update for the game that is aimed at smoothing out some of the rough spots of the title. In a recent post, producer Severlin said that the team is looking at a late June release for the patch, although he said there's a chance it might slip into early July. The update will improve quest flow, bump up quest XP rewards, adjust mob placement, and make it easier for solo players to forge their way in AC2. "Exploration will be no less rewarding after these adjustments," developer NoWorries assured players. "We want to make sure that players don't hit walls where they have no idea what they can go do next, especially at the early stages when they are still getting used to the game." [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
Look forward to MechWarrior Online updates through April
If you thought that April would bring an overhaul of MechWarrior Online that turned the game into a robust farming simulator... well, no. Why would you even think that? But it will bring a whole lot of other updates to the game as outlined in a new letter from the game's creative director, starting with improved team functionality and UI improvements. That goes along nicely with the addition of air strike and artillery consumables, allowing players (especially scouts) to bring down a little extra firepower in a match. The development team is also introducing a new class of special 'Mech, the Champions, which are custom configurations that sport a permanent 5% experience boost. That's in addition to improvements to the game's overall performance and more community events for MechWarrior Online players the world over. So that's a no on farming, but a yes on several improvements that should make your days of stomping around in an enormous walking tank more enjoyable.
The Daily Grind: What simple things endear a game to you?
In the grand scheme of things, Guild Wars 2's guesting isn't a feature that will add new content or new ways to play the game. But it will allow you to play more easily with friends on other realms, and that's been welcomed by some players. Star Wars: The Old Republic's upcoming reputation system might just be adding titles, but more titles mean a lot to some players. Final Fantasy XIV allows you to jump, and if you played the game for a year beforehand, you'll be looking forward to that addition. Sometimes, what matters isn't the big things that get you addicted to a game but the little elements that improve your overall experience. Cosmetic flourishes, nice-looking equipment, convenience and quality-of-life upgrades -- none of them makes the game good or bad, but sometimes they bring a bigger grin than actual content or systems. So what simple things have endeared a game to you, now or in the past? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
EVE Online readies Retribution deployment
You EVE Online pilots better have a yummy bag lunch prepared by your moms because you're going to need all the nutrition to carry you through the launch of the game's newest expansion next week. The folks at CCP announced that the game will go down at 4:00 a.m. EST on December 4th and hopefully will come back up around 6:20 a.m. on the same morning. While most of the major features have received the all-star dev diary treatment, the studio doesn't want to overlook the smaller but still important line items. A new "little things" dev diary highlights all of the lesser-known changes that are coming with the expansion, including the ability to drag icons into text fields, an easier way to find yourself in a fleet, a streamlined repair list, and many other quality-of-life improvements.
New developer diary explores Minstrel improvements for Lord of the Rings Online
You might think that bringing a lute to a swordfight sounds ridiculous, but any Lord of the Rings Online player knows better than to downplay the importance of a Minstrel. Unlike some of the other classes whose changes have been previewed for the upcoming Riders of Rohan expansion, Minstrels aren't receiving any sweeping changes, but they still are getting an update pass. The latest development diary on the official site covers these improvements, all of which should help Minstrels be more effective and fun to play. Small changes rule the day here, with improvements to buffs and a new area attack mimicking a single-target debuff. A few mechanical shifts, such as ensuring that Minstrel attacks which apply buffs to allies will always apply those buffs even if the attack itself is unsuccessful, should also help the class. Players looking for all the details on how their instrument-playing life is going to get just a little bit easier should look at the full diary for the fine details.
The Anvil of Crom: Three features Age of Conan needs right now
Well, I'm still dodging buckets of boiling oil and flaming arrows on account of my last column. Before I embark on another bit of shoddy journalism, irresponsible cronyism, and revisionist history -- known colloquially around these parts as an opinion piece -- I'd better take a few moments to clear the Occupy Massively folks off my front lawn. OK, all set. They're crusading against the man in another comment section, so won't you join me after the cut for a look at some missing (and essential) Age of Conan features?
TERA patch opens up GvG on PvE servers and improves daily quests
TERA has been out on American shores for just about a month now, and that means the game is due for a patch. While the latest update isn't a huge patch, it certainly does bring some big changes, starting with the addition of the guild vs. guild system to PvE servers. Guild masters will be able to toggle their guilds as pacifistic or battle-ready, and new players joining a guild will be informed if the guild is embroiled in war. Not up for the PvP road? That's all right -- there are a lot of other little additions in this patch. Daily quests for Hands of Velika have undergone some revisions, with slightly higher numbers required to clear but a greater individual reward. High-end BAMs now also drop Tier 13 crafting materials, with named monsters having a higher chance at drops. The patch also adds the ability to type custom emotes and several bug fixes, both of which should improve the quality of play in TERA.
WildStar Wednesday discusses quality of life
Mobility is key when you're adventuring on an exciting frontier planet. Taking this to heart, WildStar developer Carbine Studios is building in some quality of life improvements to speed Settlers along their way. All players traveling on roads in WildStar will benefit from a speed boost, whether they're on a noble steed or going afoot. Executive Producer Jeremy Gaffney mentions that, more than just cutting down on travel time, this allows developers to plan on players running into each other as they travel through the world as well as aiding in the design of exploration-driven content and proper timing of encounters. If players are really gung-ho about speed and being (profitable) good Samaritans, they'll have opportunities to add new taxi points to remote areas, pitch a vendor stall to sell mounts to lowbies, and set up speed-boosting machines at outposts, among other player-driven additions. Hopefully, this means that the more folks are in an area, the more luxuries are available -- or you can be the pilgrim running out into the wilds to spur on the advance of civilization. Speaking of running out into the wilds, we know no one likes doing that only to get called in 15 minutes later to pick up a new quest. Players' communicators are a big part of the accessibility of the world in WildStar. Many quests can be picked up and turned in via comm call, freeing players from the drudgery of having to actually track people down. To sum up, Gaffney listed the goals of this design approach. "Focus on the fun parts of the game. Eliminate tedium. Keep the challenge in there for advanced gamers. Overall, let you play the way you want to play."
The Anvil of Crom: Quality-of-life improvements for 2012
This week's Anvil of Crom took a bit of thought because honestly, I haven't felt very motivated to play lately. It's one part burnout and two parts wandering eye, as there are a lot of MMOs out there that I keep hoping Age of Conan will emulate in the interests of becoming a more complete game. It's certainly not a bad game as is; I've been traveling Hyboria for four years now (and writing about it for two), and you don't do that with titles you have to force yourself to play. Like most things, though, AoC could be better.
Fallen Earth's newest patch aimed at improving a life of crafting
Crafting has always been one of the major elements of Fallen Earth, and with good cause, really: you're in a post-apocalyptic wasteland and you can't just buy all your supplies down at the S-Mart. But that doesn't mean crafting is all roses and happy thoughts; some items are far rarer than necessary and others present in useless abundance. It's ripe for some revisions, and that's exactly what the game's newest patch, set for release on October 4th, is meant to address. Several recipes have been streamlined, with unnecessary parts removed from the equation to make a crafter's life easier. At the same time, craftable items are being removed from merchant inventories, encouraging players to seek out other players or assemble the items themselves. If you're feeling a bit leery of the changes, though, fret not -- you still have a couple of days left to stock up on materials.
Final Fantasy XIV's patch 1.18a due for Monday
Final Fantasy XIV's last major update wasn't so long ago, but another patch is set to go live on Monday. 1.18a contains nothing as large as the mechanical revisions found it its predecessor, but there are still some pretty big improvements, starting with an improvement to skill point rewards for levequests across the board. The biggest improvements will come for the rank 20-30 leves, but all players leveling Disciplines of War and Magic should notice an improvement. The leves will also reward points for shield skill when players have a shield equipped, something that has thus far been lacking. In quality of life improvements, the visibility of several frames has been adjusted, a supplementary log window is being added for players to use, and the process of setting a crystal as the destination for Return has been changed. There's also a new emote being added to the system and the beginnings of the new tool-hiding functionality that will be finished in 1.19. 1.18a won't be the game-changer that 1.18 proved to be, but it looks to still be a solid update in its own right.
Final Fantasy XI improves quality of life with July version update
It's not all that often that a game launches a major patch without a major drop of content, but Final Fantasy XI has done that with the July version update that's just gone live. But that's not to imply that the version update doesn't include quite a bit -- just that it doesn't include any brand-new missions. Instead, the update contains a number of improvements to the game's quality, including the addition of new vendors, smoothed texture effects, and usability improvements to many of the game's existing systems. Several jobs have seen improvements with this update, including White Mage, Samurai, and Puppetmaster, with the latter getting a few new automaton pieces to complement the changes. A number of Grounds of Valor regimes have also seen their overall requirements tweaked to help players complete the objectives with fewer headaches. There are also new and improved textures and resolution option for users on the PC, a welcome option that's been requested for some time. Final Fantasy XI can look at the full list of patch notes for all of the changes -- it might not be a new battlefield, but it's still full of welcome improvements.
IGDA looking for feedback on L.A. Noire development conditions
The International Game Developers Association, a game industry non-profit organization, is responding to this past weekend's report of continuous "crunch" and dictatorial working conditions at LA Noire development studio Team Bondi by launching a full investigation. According to IGDA chair Brian Robbins, the organization will be soliciting reports, "positive or negative," from "any Team Bondi employee and/or family member." Robbins told Develop, "Reports of 12-hour a day, lengthy crunch time, if true, are absolutely unacceptable and harmful to the individuals involved, the final product, and the industry as a whole," echoing sentiments made in the past by a variety of game industry leaders. He also encouraged the aforementioned folks tied to Team Bondi to shoot an email to "qol@igda.org," before he added, "But no lolcats please ... okay, maybe a few."
