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RIFT podcast celebrates the end with Scott Hartsman
It's a sad day for The RIFT podcast, as its latest episode, 42, will also be its last. It's not due to a lack of interest in the game, however, but rather to real-life health concerns. One of the hosts, Arithion, is extremely ill and apparently can't look at moving pictures on a screen for more than 10 minutes, making gaming impossible. So the podcast creators decided to end the show on a high note, inviting Scott Hartsman and Cindy "Abigale" Bowens to join them for a candid interview about RIFT's future. Hartsman indicated that news about guild banks and character transfers is coming very soon, saying, "We have a slick little answer" for the latter. He also revealed that RIFT's Weather Cast summer ad campaign actually used real weatherpeople, and the fact that the company is continuing with television ads is a good indicator of how well the game is going. The LFG tool has had a huge impact on the game, as Hartsman's seen "multiples" of increments of players diving into dungeons since it went into place. The team is hard at work tweaking the system to make it work perfectly. While The RIFT Podcast is riding into the sunset, there's always hope. "Forty-two doesn't have to be the end," host Desikis said. "Who knows, there might be a comeback!"
Trion's dynamic duo talks dynamic content on the RIFT podcast
The river of RIFT news and discussion seems to be swelling to flood stage these days, especially surrounding the recent world event and the upcoming 1.2 update. If your appetite for all things RIFT wasn't satiated by our recent talk with Scott Hartsman, then you'll definitely want to tune in to the latest RIFT Podcast. During the podcast, the hosts talk with Trion World's Will Cook and Cindy Bowens about dynamic content, the world event, authenticators, the wardrobe, and -- of course -- RIFT's Update 1.2. They even touch upon the controversial continued lack of guild banks and the fact that daily quests are no longer stackable. Head on over to The RIFT to glean nuggets of pure interviewee gold out of this chat!
RIFT podcast 35 addresses hacking issues and possible server transfers
The RIFT podcast is back with episode 35, and there's plenty to discuss. The recent hacking issue and Trion's response to it are near the top of the list, but in-game spam and RIFT fansites has some time too. Last -- and of great interest to players who may have rolled on whatever server they could access in the first few days -- the podcast team discusses the potential for server transfers. As usual, the discussion includes members of the RIFT crew. Community Manager Cindy Bowens and Assistant Community Manager James Nichols sit in on the podcast to provide some insight. Check out what they have to say at the RIFT podcast site.
The Guild Counsel: Till death do us part?
Yes, sometimes being part of a guild feels like being in a marriage -- there's lots of commitment, lots of responsibility, and all too often, lots of arguing and fighting. But this week, we're actually going to look at the issue of online romance and online relationships in MMOs. As games and communities increase in number, more and more players are developing lasting relationships, and some of those have even led to marriage. Since the Valentine's Day roses are still fresh and there are still a few chocolates left in the heart-shaped box, this week's Guild Counsel will look at a few dos and don'ts of online romance. Joining me this week is Arithion, host of the Rift Podcast. She met her husband in game, and they've been married for four years. She'll share some valuable advice on what to do if you think you've found that special someone.
RIFT podcast features Trion dev roundtable and fansite questions
The RIFT podcast is back with its 31st episode, and the latest show features a panel of distinguished developer guests from Trion Worlds as well as a smattering of questions from various fan website representatives. The guests include producer Scott Hartsman, vice president of development Russ Brown, and design producer Hal Hanlin, and the trio chats about a wide range of topics including botting, pet classes, and balancing game design with player demands. Also on the docket are tidbits concerning a RIFT random dungeon finder, target autofacing, and Trion's ultimate goals for RIFT (as well as a few thoughts on exceeding them). Head over to The Rift for all the audio antics.
Enter At Your Own Rift: Dispelling the WoWhammer myth
If you've participated in RIFT's beta events at all, you're probably wishing you had a nickel for every time you heard a player claim that RIFT is just like World of Warcraft or Warhammer Online -- WAR because of the comparison of rifts to public quests, and WoW mainly because it's the gold standard of MMOs today. Last week, my colleague Justin gave a great argument as to why the familiar isn't necessarily a bad thing. But while RIFT does have several familiar features, it manages in several ways to set itself apart from the pack. This week, I'm going to tackle the argument that RIFT is just like WoW and Warhammer Online. Join me for a look at what makes this game stand out from the crowd, and see why it's time to dispel the WoWhammer myth.
Arithion from The Rift Podcast visits Trion, investigates the endgame
This week, Arithion from the RIFT Podcast temporarily traded in her microphone for a camera and traveled to Trion Worlds to get a firsthand look at RIFT. While we've heard a lot about features like the dynamic invasions and the soul system, Ari was determined to investigate one area of the game that we haven't heard much about -- the endgame. She writes: "A game needs to have Endgame content in order to appeal to me – and with so many recent games failing to deliver precisely that, I was resigned to the fact that RIFT would probably do the same and I'd end up with a game to pass the time for a couple of months before subjecting me to the boredom of nothing to play until the next thing comes out. I was wrong." Happily, she reports that RIFT has some exciting endgame content, including two raid instances and many raid rifts, which she describes as "magnificent, difficult, (and) damn impressive." Head to The RIFT to read more about her visit and details on RIFT's raid content.
RIFT Podcast features Gershowitz, Bowens, and beta talk
Episode 23 of the RIFT Podcast is up for your listening pleasure, and its hosts, Arithion and Desikis, have a lot to talk about this week. Joining them are Trion Worlds senior community manager Cindy "Abigale" Bowens and producer Adam Gershowitz. Gershowitz has plenty to say over the course of the podcast, including info on RIFT's soul system, global cooldowns, a brief recap of the first beta weekend (as well as objectives for the second), and tweaks to the title's invasion system. "We're kind of going back, not to the drawing board per se, but we're kind of going back and refining our numbers. Really what our goal is with the invasions is to look at various areas of the game and various areas of the zone [...] and send the appropriate amount of content to that area when we launch an invasion," Gershowitz explains. For more on the RIFT beta process as well as further details about the game, check out earlier episodes of the RIFT Podcast .
Beta access and more addressed on Rift podcast 17
Anyone who has been paying attention to the Rift: Planes of Telara forums in the last while has heard the cacophonous community outcry about the different types of beta keys. One will net you a weekend's worth of playtime at some point during the beta, whereas other VIP codes will net access to the entire upcoming beta. This week, Cindy "Abigale" Bowens, the Senior Community Manager for Rift: Planes of Telara, sat down with Ari from the Rift podcast and talked at some length about alpha and beta access, what Trion considers to be the differences between the two, a bit more on how testers have been selected, and her own experiences in terms of the game. If you've been wondering just how Rift: Planes of Telara is shaping up, or are particularly upset about the beta code situation, then you'll definitely want to give this latest edition of the podcast a listen for some very frank talk on the entire situation. If you're new to Rift, and would like to find out more, then the Rift podcast has you covered too -- you can always start with earlier episodes and catch up quickly!
