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City of Steam: Arkadia launching December 4th
The death and subsequent rebirth of City of Steam has been an odd thing to watch, but you'll soon be able to actively participate instead of just watching. City of Steam: Arkadia is launching on December 4th, just a little more than a week from today, enough time that you might not even get to feel any sorrow at the original version's untimely and unexpected demise. Of course, you may not have mourned the original version. Rest assured that the relaunch is not meant to simply be the same game with a new subtitle. According to the official announcement, the new version contains a variety of new systems as well as a revamp of both dungeons and game mechanics. Mechanist Games states that the developers have paid attention to player feedback from the Chinese version and will be releasing a game that should have a much wider appeal. You'll be able to gauge that for yourself very shortly one way or the other.
Producer's letter details DCUO 'remastered'
DC Universe Online's Update 31 is on its way, and with it come some of the biggest changes ever implemented to the game's core design and appearance. Executive producer Larry Liberty today outlined the key points in a letter to the community, explaining to players what they can expect from Update 31 and beyond. According to Liberty, the bulk of Update 31 focuses on preparing DCUO for its impending PS4 launch. Changes include graphics upgrades like higher resolution textures and area redesigns, along with a "remastering" of the core leveling experience. Leveling from 1-30 has seen special attention; Liberty noted that new players should see a smoother progression of content with less chance of being stuck without a mission. Update 31 is tentatively scheduled for a November launch on PC and PS3. The game's PS4 release is still on track to match up with the console's release window.
The first month of RuneScape 3 by the numbers
It's been a bit more than a month since RuneScape updated to RuneScape 3 -- an overhaul of the graphics and mechanics that still retains the core of the same game. But how well has it done in that month? The team at Jagex has crunched some numbers and they look pretty favorable. Over the past 30 days, 100,000 players have reactivated old accounts, and 300,000 players have started completely new accounts to play the game. About 600,000 hours of play have been logged per day on all new, existing, and reactivated accounts, which is pretty staggering. Since the game's launch event players have killed 60 million enemy soldiers and collected 1 billion Divine Tears (remnants of a now-dead god whose death kicked off the current state of the game). While one month is too early to call success or failure, it's a sign that even the older games on the market can still have quite a lot of life in them. Jagex also posted a video about the new Nightmare Zone, which is content now available for Old-School RuneScape but won't be coming to RuneScape 3 proper. We've embedded that behind the break. [Source: Jagex press release]
Director's letter for Age of Conan talks loot, merges, and dungeons
If you've not been happy with loot rewards in Age of Conan, you can take some succor in the fact that the designers aren't happy with them either. The latest director's letter discusses the problem of rewards in the first Dragon's Spine dungeon and explains that the team is trying to create interesting loot without creating a huge power imbalance between new and veteran characters at the cap. While the next few dungeons will fill out the loot sets that have been established, the team is actively working on long-term solutions. Beyond that, the game remains on-track for server merges in the summer, with older unplayed characters moving into "archival" status to make database merges less onerous. The tradeskill revamp and further dungeons are also in the works; Coils of Ubah Khan is nearing launch as the next dungeon. For more details on the updates and discussion of achievements, take a look at the full letter.
Darkfall Unholy Wars finally launches
The next iteration of Darkfall is underway! Aventurine today announced that Darkfalls Unholy Wars has finally released after several delays and a lengthy beta. The sandbox MMO is a complete revamp of the original Darkfall with several new features, and it requires the purchase of a client and a subscription fee to play. Aventurine General Manager Tasos Flambouras seems relieved to have reached this stage: "After five months of beta we are happy to launch Darkfall Unholy Wars. We are grateful to our playtesters for their contribution to the game and we're happy to have them with us as players today. Darkfall Unholy Wars is the best combat MMORPG experience and our pledge is that it will continue evolving and pushing the PvP envelope."
World of Tanks 8.5 adds new stuff, offers premium features to free players
Not surprisingly, updates in World of Tanks usually feature a tank or two to bolster the already impressive roster of available war machines. With new Soviet and German vehicles, update 8.5 is no different. The unexpected, however, comes in the form of changes to premium services: As of 8.5, non-paying players will be able to access some of the premium features previously only available to those who paid. In addition to three new Soviet light tanks (the small-sized T-60, T-70 and the T-80), a new line of German medium tanks (headed by Tier X Leopard 1), and a fast-firing American SPG joining the battlefield, free players will be able to create three-member platoons and companies as well as purchase all premium consumables with silver credits. On top of these changes, players will also see revamped visuals for the Siegfried Line, South Coast and Malinovka maps as well as a brand new map called Pear River. [Source: Wargaming.net press release]
Vanguard revamps its Lomshir region
Vanguard's post-F2P development continues to truck along. SOE recently released an update that revamped one of its starting zones, Lomshir. Lomshir is a level 10 to 20 region that any player can zip to via the riftway. So what's included in the Lomshir revamp? It's basically a pass to tighten up the flow, bring the area up to date, and provide new quests and bosses for players to tackle. The Lomshir changes are part of the Vanguard team's commitment to fleshing out the world with more content and providing additional leveling paths to new and veteran players. [Thanks to Zjeven for the tip!]
Firefall revamps progression system... again
Red 5 Studios has not been shy about making sweeping changes to its in-beta massively multiplayer shooter Firefall. Entire game systems have been retooled, revamped, and sometimes removed entirely as part of the developers' efforts to improve the game. The latest Firefall devblog has revealed that the game's progression system is back on the operating table for the second time, and it's going to get some more nips and tucks in the March 22nd milestone patch. Senior Game Designer Cameron Winston states that when the studio first overhauled the game's progression system (replacing the game's more traditional leveling system with battleframe-specific tech trees), the result was certainly for the best, but the change "came with some problems of its own," such as being "hard to understand... [with] arbitrary limitations that prevented players from exploring how they could customize their frames." To fix these issues, the studio will ensure that players will now have "far more flat access to the frames," meaning that there will still be different battleframe classes such as Assault and Recon, "but each battleframe will now have its own unique progression tree," which the developers hope will give more flexibility and customization options to players. Of course, the specifics of an entire system overhaul can't be adequately described in 300 words or less, so if you want all the fine details, head on over to Firefall's official site.
Final Fantasy XIV's Yoshida on PvP, chocobos, and mobile apps
The recent Final Fantasy XIV press event in San Francisco didn't just mean a chance to sit down and play the game amidst a lushly decorated room, although that was certainly on the agenda. It also meant a chance to ask director and producer Naoki Yoshida some questions about the game going forward and the plans for development down the line, diving beyond what we see and into more fine details about the game's mechanics. While players will have access to a sizable chunk of the revamped game when the beta goes live on February 25th, there's still a lot that's hidden behind a veil of secrecy. Yoshida's answers help illuminate more details about what's going on in Final Fantasy XIV that might not be playable right now but will be in the near future. And even beyond the foundation that's visible from the beta, the promise of more expansion only adds to the game's overall quality.
Touring Telon: Six years of Vanguard
Few MMO gamers can forget the legendary bad launch of Vanguard and the drama that surrounded its development. Even fewer MMO gamers can remember what the game was like, as the population started small and stayed small. For a half-decade, the title wallowed in relative obscurity compared to the rest of SOE's lineup, and in fact, many predicted that it would be canned. As we know now, SOE decided to go a different way. The studio threw its faith behind Vanguard last year by relaunching it as a free-to-play MMO and giving it an actual development team once more. While Vanguard isn't in the league of major sluggers in the industry, the title is now thriving and seeing a renaissance that players new and old are enjoying. To celebrate Vanguard's 6th anniversary, we got on the phone with Producer Harvey Burgess and Game Designer Corey LeFever to take a brief tour around the latest content in the game and to talk about the road from F2P to the future.
LotRO details remaining Moria revamp
Way back in May, Turbine expended a fair bit of resources to revamp half of Moria, the large underground complex that was the centerpiece of Lord of the Rings Online's second expansion. With Update 9, the team is completing the task, paving the way for better transportation and a smoother questing experience. In a new dev diary, the team shares a few of the pertinent details of the remaining revamp. The bottom line? "Each zone now has many more quests, a simple questing path, fewer monsters, and hopefully no more frustration with excessive back-and-forth questing." Update 9's revamp covers the areas of Zelem-melek, The Redhorn Lodes, The Flaming Deeps, Nud-melek, The Dimrill Dale, and The Foundations of Stone. The team added 70 new quests, removed some deadwood, and added the remote quest bestowal system that is being used in Riders of Rohan.
Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror remastered for Android just in time
Revoultion Software's 1997 adventure game Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror is available now – in remastered form – on Google Play for Android devices, just in time for the greatest Mayan plot of all: the end of the world. That's in 10 days, at least according to the fabled, ancient Mayan prophecy. So, you know. Make plans now or something.The Smoking Mirror follows the original Broken Sword: The Director's Cut. Protagonists Nicole Collard and George Stobbart uncover a mysterious stone relic and become entangled in a Mayan conspiracy that ties right into the (fast-approaching) apocalypse."When the original game was released in 1997, December 21, 2012, seemed a long, long time away," says Revolution co-founder Charles Cecil, ahead of the game's Android release. "I'm delighted that Android owners are now able to play the game, but I would urge them to hurry."Revolution saw modern success with its Kickstarter for a new Broken Sword game, dubbed The Serpent's Curse, which raised $800,000 of a requested $400,000 in September.
Rdio for iOS gets a 2.0 makeover, revamped design
Ever-popular streaming music app Rdio has just received a pretty extensive makeover. As Engadget reports, Rdio's new 2.0 overhaul not only tweaks the app's aesthetic qualities, but also adds a few very welcome new features. Cashing in its old design for a much cleaner, brighter and Apple-esque approach, Rdio's new layout is easier to navigate than ever. On top of that, the app features a new navigation bar that minimizes the need to flip between screens to get where you need to go. Additionally, Version 2.0 introduces what Rdio calls a Unified Player to the iOS app, which syncs your current musical selection across all your Rdio-equipped devices. As always, the app is free to download, but an auto-renewing monthly subscription to Rdio's wide array of music will set you back US$14.99.
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn video tours revamped Gridania
What do tiny flying kittens with handbags and little round houses with thatched roofs have in common? They are both a part of the revamped City-State of Gridania in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. OK, so the flying kitten creatures are actually called delivery moogles, and thanks to Square Enix's newly released video tour of Gridania, players can get a look at them (along with all the other changes) for themselves. Clocking in at almost five minutes, the video shows off alpha footage of various parts of the serene city-state, including cobblestone paths, waterfalls, and plenty of lush greenery. Take a look at the city reborn after the break. [Thanks to Moises for the tip!]
The Summoner's Guidebook: League of Legends' revamped 3v3 mode
I really liked playing on the Twisted Treeline prior to the recent revamp. It felt like Summoner's Rift lite: a way to practice the key SR skills in a gametype that didn't require quite as much map awareness. Now, League of Legends' 3v3 mode has taken on a different face, and it doesn't feel much like SR -- or any other map, for that matter. I didn't want to comment right away on the new direction for TT. The game mode is new, and the metagame is in its infant stages. People are trying new strategies and builds, and while initially strong tactics have already been discovered, there's no telling whether those tactics will last into the start of Season 3. Any competitive game has points in time when different things are overpowered, and as people discover new counters, the true metagame will start to surface. This week in the Summoner's Guidebook, we'll look at my first experiences in TT and what I think of the new mode. It's starkly different from the old version, and the strategies are not obvious. Is it as broken as the detractors say, or is the meta still coming together?
EVE Online dev blog discusses Bounty System revamp
It takes some impressive cojones for a game developer to come right out and say that one of its game's systems is broken, but that's exactly what CCP has done in the latest EVE Online dev blog. "The bounty system is broken!" reads the opening to the post, which -- surprise! -- focuses on all the ways the game's current bounty system is borked, and more importantly, how CCP plans to go about fixing it in the upcoming Retribution release. CCP's main goal with the bounty system revamp, according to the post, is to "give people faith that money they put into the bounty system has a fair chance of actually leading to their target crying tears of fear and frustration." Lovely! CCP also wants to "support bounty hunting as a career choice, preferably in a way that makes it possible for newer players as well as older players to get involved." To top it all off, the studio is expanding the bounty system to cover corporations and alliances as well, so if you've got a grudge against a corp and the money to put all its members six feet under, you're in luck. The full list of changes coming to the system is mind-numbingly extensive, but if you'd like all of the fine details, you should head on over and give the official post a read-through.
Allods Online overhauls female model and animations
Female Xadaganians in Allods Online are in for a treat come patch 3.05. The devs recognized that the characters didn't look up to snuff compared to the other races and genders and thus have devoted some time to giving them (yes) a makeover. Are we in an '80s romcom montage or what? The makeover for the women includes a more detailed character model, improved animations, an additional face, and more hairstyles. The team is also tweaking hair models so that locks of hair will now be seen falling from inside of whatever helm that character is wearing. To promote the Xadaganian makeover, gPotato released a video diary starring actress Nataliya Zemtsova. Zemtsova was used for the motion capture and voiceovers of the new models and is apparently amazed that you can assign a character a name. Check it out after the jump!
New Darkfall Unholy Wars screenshots released
With the new incarnation of Darkfall -- dubbed Darkfall Unholy Wars -- launching November 20th, fans have been interested in seeing what changes the game has undergone. Unfortunately, as of yet no real in-game footage has been released. However, to give players a visual taste in stills, Aventurine has released five landscape screenshots of the world of Agon. Check out the new images in the gallery below. Players interested in returning to the game or checking it out for the first time can do so at a discounted sub fee during Darkfall's Ultimate Promotion. The promotion, which also includes increased drop rates and skill gains, ends when Unholy Wars launches.%Gallery-139865% [Aventurine press release]
The Binding of Isaac in production for consoles, PC as a new game
A revamped version of The Binding of Isaac is crawling to consoles and PC via a mystery publisher and a new team, Edmund McMillen reveals on his Formspring account. This is more than an update to the existing Binding of Isaac available on Steam – it's a brand new game."The remake will be more than just an expansion, it will be a new game with all new graphics, music, etc. It will also feature an expansion-sized pack of all new content, bosses, characters enemies, items etc.," McMillen writes. "And yes, in about a year if/when it comes out, the Flash version of the game will appear obsolete for sure. But a year is a long time and I'll do what I can to make sure the guys who remake it make it substantial enough for you to play through all over again."The new Isaac will have local co-op and is aiming to launch on all platforms; McMillen even gives the 3DS a 50 percent chance. McMillen is "avoiding all the business BS," but the team has been talking to Microsoft for a while, and "they seem to also want Isaac a lot, but only time will tell if anything gets signed."McMillen says he'll ask the investors about selling the new game at a discount for current Binding of Isaac and Wrath of the Lamb owners, but since he's not the one fronting the money he doesn't call the shots.
Pandora Android app update: new UI, song history and song lyrics for impromptu cubicle concerts
If Pandora for Android is your go-to service for music streaming while you're out and about, you're in for a bit of a treat. The internet radio outfit has updated it's app for the Google OS with a number of enhancements that should make spinning those Music Genome Project selections even more satisfying. First, a redesigned UI and navigation takes some cues from the Android design standards in order to liven up the aesthetics. A retooled song history allows users to review, rate and bookmark their previously played tracks for future reference. When a particular artist is playing, album art can now be minimized to reveal bio information, song lyrics and Pandora's regular similar artist / track recommendations. If you're jonesin' to grab the new look for yourself, hit the source link below to update.
