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Enter at Your Own Rift: A six-month retrospective
About a year ago I was on a little show called The Rift Podcast with Arithion, Desi, and Trion Community Manager Cindy Bowens. It's hard to believe, but at the time, there was just a trickle of buzz surrounding RIFT and only a few details were available about the game. We're now six months into release, and it's worth taking a look back at some of the memorable moments for RIFT from beta and beyond. There have been many changes in-game, and while the ride wasn't always smooth, it's surprising how much has been added in game in such a short time. In this week's Enter at your own Rift, we'll journey back to beta and look at some of the peaks and valleys as it reached its six-month milestone.
Enter at Your Own Rift: Are rifts in danger of collapsing?
Like many of you, I've been exploring RIFT's Waves of Madness event over the past couple of weeks -- and enjoying it, too. You can really see how Trion Worlds has taken some of the lessons learned from River of Souls and improved its second world event. There just seems like more to do, much more in terms of atmosphere (I love the dripping ceilings in Sanctum), I'm not feeling as rushed, and the event story is coming through loud and clear. One of the interesting things I've noticed is that the event's daily quests have subtly shifted our focus from single-player activities to group ones. In phase one, it was all about boring solo quests: find hidden invaders, collect eggs, defeat a few underwater baddies. But just when we started to get used to (and bored from) the routine, the successive phases have moved us toward the game's dynamic content. Namely, rifts, rifts and more rifts. I think this is brilliant, because we're now given a solid reason why we should participate in rifts above the mere rewards. I've been worried that Trion's letting its focus on dynamic content slip as it's been rushing to get other game features and endgame raids out the door, and RIFT without people playing rifts would be sadly ironic. Today we're going to look at just how much RIFT depends on its titular feature, and what Trion should be doing to ensure that it doesn't become another nice yet abandoned idea.
Enter at Your Own Rift: Creature comforts
I've got a problem that nine interventions and three bouts of electroshock therapy have yet to cure: I'm hopelessly addicted to collecting non-combat pets (aka vanity pets) in MMOs. I don't know why that is, exactly, although I've always had a fondness for "fluffy" elements on online games. In my opinion, a lot of what we work for in MMOs is cosmetic anyway -- a really good-looking set of armor, a top-of-the-line mount -- with some piddly stats occasionally making a cameo. (Comment bait? Oh yes, I'm evil that way!) While adding nothing to my combat power nor helping me advance in the game, pets still hold purpose. They are fun to display, particularly if you have rare critters that others haven't seen, and they can give you a feeling of virtual companionship during your journeys. Unlike many collection items, pets have a use -- you can actually do something with them instead of tucking them away where they'll sit collecting pixelated dust. I was pretty pleased to discover that RIFT wasn't going to leave us high and dry when it came to non-combat pets, although it's interesting that they're somewhat harder to come by than in, say, World of Warcraft. If you're like I am, you're scouring the game looking to expand your menagerie, so it might be frustrating to be well on your way to 50 with only a paltry pair of pets to your name. Where is everyone getting all of these? How can I snag a few more? Join me after the jump as we examine six ways to collect crazy critters!
Enter at Your Own Rift: Talking 1.3 with Hal Hanlin
Today we're on the verge of RIFT's third major update's going live. It's a doozy of a patch, too, with a little something for everyone: a raid for endgame players, guild banks for... well, guilds, character transfers for the antsy, and RIFT's second world event for one and all. With Patch 1.3, Trion Worlds puts its money where its mouth is by continuing with its streak of sizable, regular updates. It's a critical patch for some, as it seeks to answer the growing call for more endgame content while an increasing number of players hit 50. Fans of RIFT will most likely welcome the spread of the patch, but detractors will undoubtedly criticize why X was done instead of Y (and don't even get into Z; that letter is nothing but trouble). And above the noise, Trion sails on with apparent confidence and dedication. Even though we got to speak with Trion at E3, I got the opportunity for another pre-1.3 interview with Design Producer Hal Hanlin (which, by the way, is a superhero fake identity if I ever heard one). In this no-holds-barred discussion, we covered the selling points of 1.3, the accusation that RIFT is "dying," and the philosophy behind Trion's rapid stream of content.
Scott Hartsman: 'Happy customers stick around longer'
"Here's the overall philosophy behind all this: Happy customers stick around longer," Scott Hartsman said in an interview with Gamefront. "That's what we think. That's the beginning and end of it." It may seem like common sense, but for Hartsman and the team at Trion Worlds, it's a lesson they feel is easy to forget. He cites this as the driving force behind one of the game's major upcoming changes: the ability to transfer characters between servers for free. Trion hopes that the character transfers will help friends connect without the obstacle of separate servers getting in their way. Hartsman said that the tech behind the transfer is impressive -- not to mention "instantaneous" from a customer standpoint. Hartsman says that the team places a premium on talking frankly and frequently with players. If Trion doesn't always come across as perfect, he hopes that the company makes up for it with communication and sincerity: "We don't want to hide behind a big wall, and we don't want everything to come through a formal mouthpiece. I'd rather have us all out conversing with people and occasionally making a mistake here or there on the assumption that because we are talking to people more means that overall, things are going to be better." The lengthy interview covers a wide range of pressing topics, from the "bumpy" River of Souls event to the LFG system and the free trial program.
Does RIFT want to be a sandbox?
RIFT's launch was the biggest launch of an MMO in years, and unlike flash-in-the-pan MMOs, RIFT continues to innovate the MMO space. Recently, Trion Worlds hosted a massive event, the River of Souls. Granted, there were issues with server queues and players missing the entire event, but that does not negate its creative intentions. In an interview with Game Reactor, Design Director Simon Ffinch said that the team has learned its lesson from the event. "We made some drastic improvements to the way the servers handle large loads of players during that as we reacted to various things," he says. But what is the next step for RIFT? Are the designers looking to add more sandbox elements to the themepark RPG? Ffinch says, "There are definitely some plans for [adding more sandbox elements]. That's actually a personal sort of favorite thing of mine, I'm the one who puts all the puzzles and stuff in and stuff for the explorers to find and stuff that is off the beaten path, that is absolutely my passion." In the same interview, he hints about other sandbox staples like housing. "We actually do talk about [player housing], that does come up quite a lot. Not only is there a lot of players that want that, but a lot of us here in design that want that as well." Catch the latest weather report from Telara after the break, and skip over to Game Reactor to see the whole Simon Ffinch interview.
RIFT 'Spoils of War' mini-event kicks off today
To help tide players over until RIFT's 1.2 patch is released, Trion Worlds has set into motion a mini-event from May 4th through the 9th. Titled "Spoils of War," the event serves as an epilogue for last month's River of Souls. After thwarting Alsbeth and her motley crew, players find that tainted treasure is literally raining from the skies in Telara and earth and fire rifts are appearing everywhere with disturbing frequency. Players will be asked to go on four daily quests -- available in their respective capital cities -- to investigate the "too good to be true" free loot. The quests task players to gather up golden coins in the capitals and special dragon eggshells around the world. RIFT players who participate can turn these coins and eggshells in for for containers that can hold a variety of goodies. These rewards include rare artifacts, achievements and a new "Gritty Kitty" companion pet. Currently, RIFT's 1.2 update is tentatively scheduled for May 10th.
An exclusive look at RIFT's Update 1.2 and beyond with Scott Hartsman [Updated]
With almost two months on the post-launch clock at Trion Worlds, RIFT appears to be holding its own in the wild and woolly field of MMORPGs. With a major update and the first world event under its belt, RIFT is sailing into the future with the wind at its back and a hull full of subscribers below. We got Trion's Scott Hartsman on the phone to discuss RIFT's second big patch, Update 1.2, as well as to see how the game's progressed thus far and where the team is trying to take it into the future. And of course we couldn't let this opportunity pass by without a candid dissection of the uneven world event and how Trion plans to learn from its mistakes. So hit the jump and witness Scott Hartsman giving us a Care Bear Stare full of info and exclusive tidbits about the inner workings of RIFT!
Enter at Your Own Rift: Cry me a river
Yep. That was the sum of my experience with Phase 2 and 3 of RIFT's world event this past weekend. I was unable to log in early to stake my place for the fireworks (I was over in Lexington watching the Red Coats and the Minute Men putting on their own fireworks show). As I learned later from guildmates, it wouldn't have helped even if I were on early, since Trion Worlds took down the servers just before the event, causing a mess of sharpened elbows and broken keyboards as people frantically tried to log back in. It was a white hot mess, and no one will argue that fact. But there are a few interesting observations that can be made from this rather bleak moment. Read on for a look at what Alsbeth's finale can tell us.
RIFT world event fizzles, Trion reevaluates approach [Updated]
What could have gone out with a bang turned out to be a mild whimper. RIFT's first world event, River of Souls, moved into its final phases today but experienced several difficulties. Players in both Europe and North America reported lengthy queue times to access the game. These queues were possibly exacerbated by the additional trial players joining for the weekend, although Trion Worlds claimed that subscribers had priority access. On top of that, some servers saw the second and third phases pass by so quickly that many players simply were not there to see it, while other servers experienced unexpected intermittent outages. As you may expect, player discussion about RIFT's world event has heated up in the forums, blogosphere (NSFW), and elsewhere. In the middle of the event rollout, Scott Hartsman wrote a forum post in which he addressed some of these issues. Hartsman promises that those who missed out on the final portion of the event would be compensated: "Since we are very likely to end up in a situation where we have people queued who could not participate, and people who could not make the finale at all, we're already making sure we have a way to reward people appropriately after the fact." Trion assured players that it is using the lessons from this world event to shape upcoming ones. "We're already taking what we've learned over the last week and today into account as we work on the next set of world events, and will be designing them such that full-server-population flashmobs aren't quite as likely to occur -- both for fun factor and performance," Hartsman said. "Equally importantly for the future, we'll be ensuring there are more phases that each last longer, and a more clear progression, to maximize everyone's chance of participating." Let us know your own experience with this event in the comments below! [Update: Scott Hartsman posted a follow-up to the event as well as a list of compensation rewards for those unable to participate.]
RIFT dev diary talks River of Souls, raiding
Ever wondered about the design process behind a fantasy MMO raid instance? If so, you'll want to check out a new RIFT dev blog from senior game designer Berenger Fish. We profiled Alsbeth the Discordant a few weeks ago, and today Fish takes us through the iterative process that led to the sorceress' unveiling at the culmination of the River of Souls raid event. Trion's first RIFT raid, Greenscale's Blight, was expanded to include more bosses than originally planned, and the full plate left Alsbeth homeless prior to the decision to give the character her own raid. "The final result is something that we're very proud of," Fish explains. "Not because 'we did the best we could given the circumstances' but because the River of Souls stands on its own as being a kick-ass raid." Head to ZAM for the full dev blog.
Allies once again invited to saddle up for RIFT's world event
This weekend's shaping up to be an exciting one for the citizens of RIFT. First up is the long-awaited second phase of the River of Souls world event. As you may recall, the first phase was prolonged by an additional week while Trion Worlds worked out some technical issues. According to in-game notices, the second phase is scheduled to go live tomorrow. To celebrate the event -- and hopefully entice additional players to the game -- Trion is offering another Allies of the Ascended weekend trial to anyone who hasn't purchased the game. By going to the Allies page, new and returning trial players can snag a code for a weekend of free RIFT game time. The Allies of the Ascended weekend will go up at 1:00 p.m. EDT today and will continue until Monday, April 18th at 1:00 p.m EDT.
RIFT world event extended due to technical difficulties
It looks as though the end of the world will be postponed -- at least for a week. Due to issues on RIFT's European servers, Trion Worlds has announced that the current world event will postpone moving into its second phase until Saturday, April 16th. In a post on the forums, James Nichols said "With the opening of the final phases of the River of Souls World Event in Europe we have identified several issues that only came to light in a live server environment." Originally, the River of Souls event was scheduled to head into Phase Two on the 9th, but issues cropped up that prevented this from happening. All told, RIFT's first world event will go through three phases before it is through. Because of the delay, Trion said that it is both increasing the event currency players can earn and the amount of rewards available for purchase. These changes will be rolled out during the week.
Enter at Your Own Rift: Evaluating events
If there's one color that sums up my RIFT experience lately, it's purple. Purple loot, purple dye for my armor, and of course, the purple glow of a death rift on the horizon. One month after launch, players are faced with the decision of whether to subscribe and continue the pursuit of purple or leave Telara's struggles to another Ascended. Of course, Trion was all-too-ready to help influence that decision. With a one-two punch, the devs unveiled two big events this past weekend: The River of Souls world event and The Allies of the Ascended weekend. The world event highlights RIFT's first major game update, and it unfolds in a series of phases over the next couple of weeks. Allies of the Ascended was essentially a "recruit-a-friend" trial weekend, and players were given codes to pass along to their friends and guildmates. It's probably not a coincidence that these two events were launched together at a time when MMOs normally start to face a dip in population. So did these events deliver? Read on for a closer look!
RIFT updates River of Souls world event
RIFT's worldwide River of Souls event, starring the charismatic Alsbeth the Discordant, has been trucking in game for a few days now, but Trion Worlds didn't want to rest on its laurels even so. After evaluating how the event was progressing, the team added a patch yesterday to make a number of improvements and adjustments. The biggest change is that the game is now spawning event-related rifts at a much-increased rate, to the relief of frustrated players looking for a good death rift and finding none. The update also encourages players to stay in level-appropriate zones by not counting closed rifts for the player if the player is far above that zone's level. Trion added several new items to the event merchant, including additional pets and death-themed accessories. It's now easier to purchase these items, as the game is handing out Otherworldly Sourcestone -- the currency for the event -- in increased amounts. The notes also indicate that players will have better chances at big rewards as the River of Souls event progresses, which gives us something to look forward to in the next few weeks! You can read the full patch notes over on the RIFT forums.
Massively Exclusive: Simon Ffinch on RIFT's game update
Just one month after launch, Trion is set to unveil its first major game update for RIFT. One of the biggest parts of the update is the launch of the new 20-man raid zone, The River of Souls, and there is a week-long in-game event that highlights the storyline and kicks things off. Also included in the update are several adjustments to the souls and even some changes to the way rift loot is awarded. To chat about these goodies and more, Massively sat down with Simon Ffinch, Design Director for RIFT. Read on to hear him discuss some details about the in-game event as well as the new raid zone, an update on security, and a hint at what's planned down the road.
Skinny-dipping in RIFT's River of Souls
"All will fall! All will serve!" With these chilling words, RIFT will launch its first major post-release event: the River of Souls. With cultists stomping all across Telara, bad things were bound to happen sooner or later. Alsbeth the Discordant, Queen of the Endless Court, is making a play for world domination. Starting March 30th and going for about a week, Alsbeth will launch massive Death invasions across every zone in RIFT. If players decide to push back, they may be rewarded with unique goodies such as a Spectral Horse mount and a disguise that turns you into an undead. The event also includes a new 20-man raid called (appropriately) the River of Souls. The soulstream is the final resting place of all of Telara's deceased -- however, Alsbeth and her cronies are plucking souls out of it and forcing them back into service. This raid becomes accessible if the players are victorious enough in their efforts to fight Alsbeth, and it's only here that she can be fought face-to-face. There are plenty of new details on this event today. The RIFT Podcast team sat down with RIFT team member Adam Hetenyi to talk about River of Souls. We have several new pictures of the event in the gallery below and a trailer with Alsbeth's pep talk after the jump, so check it out! %Gallery-119939%
RIFT's March 30th update bringing live events, exclusive items, new 20-man raid
RIFT is about to pass the one-month mark, and Trion's fantasy title is marking the occasion with an update that's bringing a good bit of new content to the war-torn world of Telara. Beginning on March 30th, Regulos the Destroyer is taking the gloves off, and Ascended heroes will have "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of a key moment in the game's history," according to a Trion press release. Alsbeth the Discordant will lead invasions across every Telaran zone, and players who brave the hordes will earn hundreds of new items (including exclusives like a spectral horse and transmogrifying disguises). Trion also tells us that once these rifts are sealed, the unique loot items will never again be available. The update is also bringing a new 20-man raid zone to RIFT, and the River of Souls encounter will test the mettle of Guardians and Defiants alike as they battle Alsbeth's undead minions and attempt to bring the fallen mage to justice.
