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Elder Scrolls' fourth major update teased in new concept art
When Elder Scrolls Online's fourth major update lands in September, players will be able to "discover the ruins and delves of the last region of Craglorn," according to a teaser on the fantasy MMO's website. Upper Craglorn holds the key to the mystery of the fallen constellations, apparently, and it also boasts something called "the Serpent Trial" and "treacherous new delves." ZeniMax has posted a few concept art wallpapers to whet your appetite for the new content.
Leaderboard: How do you feel about loyalty rewards?
Elder Scrolls Online announced its vet reward program recently, and while it doesn't take effect until next month, it got me to thinking about similar incentives in other MMOs. They're pretty common, of course, and even F2P games offer them provided that they also offer an optional subscription tier. Personally vet rewards aren't much of an incentive. I mean, sometimes they offer a neat-looking vanity pet that I'll look at once and subsequently forget to ever summon again, but I can't recall ever anticipating a loyalty reward or remaining subscribed in order to get one. What about you, Massively readers? Are loyalty rewards nothing more than a nice bonus, or are there some that go above and beyond in terms of desirability? If so, which ones? Don't forget to vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
RIFT adds experimental support for the Oculus Rift
RIFT heard you liked rifts, so it's added some rift support to your RIFT. Specifically, it's added in support for the Oculus Rift development kits. Yes, that means that players who have headsets and want to really feel as if they're right there staring into the game world can play around with doing exactly that. What's not to love? The official posting notes that support at this time is highly experimental and may be discontinued at any time on the whims of the developers. UI support is also very primitive, which could lead to issues with the game experience beyond just looking at stuff. Despite that fact, the support is available for testing now on the public test server and is expected to go live this Wednesday, giving players a chance to play around with the support and see how they like it. Assuming they have Rifts, of course. [Thanks to Rick from Santa Cruz for the tip!]
Camelot Unchained unveils first newsletter, talks vets vs. newbs
City State has pushed the first issue of its Camelot Unchained Unveiled newsletter out to backers this week, and the company says that the new format should be "more fun, interesting, entertaining, and informative than our old Afternoon Updates." Content includes a state-of-the-build section with nods to performance and scalability of the client, server, and patcher as well as an engineering initiative dubbed Team Fireball. There's also an interesting design-related blurb focused on what happens when veteran players battle new players. "No matter what, the difference between a veteran and a new player won't be the same as it is in most, if not all, MMORPGs," explains Mark Jacobs. [Thanks Maric!]
Elder Scrolls Online introduces subscriber loyalty program
ZeniMax has just announced a subscriber loyalty program for Elder Scrolls Online that is slated to start in September. If you're eligible, you'll receive an email and subsequently a High Hrothgar Wraith vanity pet provided that you've been subscribed for three months. "The loyalty program will keep expanding over time," ZeniMax says, and you'll be able to collect pets and other upcoming rewards once you meet the requirements, so don't worry if you've canceled your sub already but plan to return.
The Elder Scrolls Online plans 4v4 arenas, veteran rewards
In a fresh entry on The Elder Scrolls Online's official site, Game Director Matt Firor has penned the latest Road Ahead update, in which he discusses the game's recent patch as well as what's in store for players next month. Of note, Firor says ZeniMax aims to make combat "more responsive," push out new Craglorn content, complete the last trial in the constellation storyline, and introduce a new 4v4 PvE arena. Work on the champion system, which revamps the MMO's character development and customization mechanics, continues; in fact, ZeniMax implores players to help test the inbound content on the public test server. The team plans to formally announce a loyalty program later this week; it's expected to dole out traditional MMO veteran rewards like minipets.
Tamriel Infinium: The sweet and sour of Elder Scrolls' new dye system
So, armor dyes! Elder Scrolls Online now has them. They're pretty slick, too, and they add quite a bit of personality and personalization options to my Tamrielian alter-ego. The dye process is straightforward. In fact, the hardest thing about it is finding a dye station, which isn't very hard at all. You'll need to travel to a town or a major city and look for the alchemy vendor on your map. The dye station, a workbench surrounded by barrels full of color, is typically located either inside the alchemy shop or very near it in the town proper.
Elder Scrolls' Update 4 coming next month, here's a trailer
Elder Scrolls Online's next major content drop is scheduled for September. That's only a couple of weeks away, crazily enough, so ZeniMax has released a new teaser vid designed to whet your appetite for Update 4. It focuses on Craglorn and includes a new adventure zone, a new trial, and the new Dragonstar Arena group challenge. See it all via the new vid embedded after the cut.
Elder Scrolls Online's 'Tales of the Dead' contest seeks storytellers
If you've spent even an hour in an Elder Scrolls RPG, you're certain to have stumbled into one of the iconic corpse-and-letter storytelling scenes created by the writers and world builders. This week, ZeniMax is giving Elder Scrolls Online players the chance to join in the fun via a contest titled Tales of the Dead, which asks gamers to put pen to paper in the service of describing this cheerful scene: To participate, take a good look at the image [above]. Then, create your own fictional entry of 500 words or less that tells us more about the scene. You can write a short story, a journal entry, or any other kind of fictional text that sheds more light on what happened to cause this grim tableau. Once you're happy with your creation, post it in the contest entry thread. We'll start accepting entries today, August 11th, and will close the contest this Friday, August 15th at 11:59PM EDT. If you're one of the three winners we announce on August 29th, you'll receive a $25 electronic gift certificate to the Bethesda Store and an ESO t-shirt of your choosing! The complete rules are available on the ESO forums. Good luck topping A Falling Wizard!
RIFT addresses player auction house concerns
RIFT brought some major changes to its live servers yesterday, but one change wasn't mentioned in the patch notes and produced more than a little player irritation. Along with all of the other auction house changes, helpfully compiled by RIFTJunkies, the transaction cost was changed from a flat fee to a 5% scaling tax. That's kind of a big change if you're used to only having a minor hit whether the auction sells or not. According to the development team, this change will not be reversed, but modifications will be made to help make the shift feel less punishing to players. The goal is to both recover some money from the economy and cut down on unnecessary auctions for trivial sums. Players can expect to see a hotfix next week to make the taxes both lower and dependent upon the length of the auction; read the full auction house breakdown for more details as well as an in-depth look at the other changes.
RIFT launches patch 2.8, Madness Wakes
It's not quite time for the next RIFT expansion, but it is time to prep for it. Patch 2.8: Madness Wakes adds a new series of quests to lead into the story of the next major version update, with players heading to Tempest Bay to confront some dark dreams. That pairs up with the addition of a new five-person level 60 dungeon, Nightmare Coast, with new items and quests to send players after a mysterious cult. Players also have access to a revamped auction house (which has caused some player consternation regarding its fees), major updates to the Pyromancer soul, and the ability to see the source of an item when inspecting another player. There are also various bugfixes, balance changes, and the like. Check out the full patch notes here, and if you're ready to start gearing up for the game's second expansion, log in and start getting crazy.
Elder Scrolls Online's third update has deployed
The Elder Scrolls Online's third major patch officially arrives today, bringing with it a vast new dye system, customizable guild ranks, guild heraldry, and bid contracts for public guild merchants. Patch notes have been published to coincide with the launch. Get caught up on our coverage of everything planned for this patch and the ongoing rollout of the endgame overhaul: Elder Scrolls' ginormous post-50 update plan Elder Scrolls Online plans massive revamp of veteran rank content Elder Scrolls 1.3.3 tweaks weapon-swapping and guild management Elder Scrolls Online publishes video of its QuakeCon panel reveals Let's all dye our armor black in The Elder Scrolls Online Elder Scrolls Online shows new zones, active world PvP at Quakecon Elder Scrolls' Sage explains new Champion alternate advancement Elder Scrolls Online offers new guild heraldry
Elder Scrolls 1.3.3 tweaks weapon-swapping, guild management, and more
If you're looking to play Elder Scrolls Online today, you might want to plan a few minutes ahead in order to download the substantial 1.3.3 patch. ZeniMax's notes describe it as "our third major content update," and the big bullet points include the armor dye system and guild management additions. The devs have also addressed instant weapon swapping. "The previous delay when swapping has been reduced significantly, so swapping to your second ability set will be seamless and fast, making combat feel more responsive," ZeniMax says.
RIFT's 2.8 update coming August 6
Trion is teasing RIFT's 2.8 update which is currently scheduled to release on August 6th. It's called Madness Wakes, and it's got something to do with "a dream-born invasion rippling through the Plane of Water." More info is coming next week, according to Trion's news blurb.
Camelot Unchained reveals BSC survey results
Camelot Unchained has put the wraps on its "BSC Week," which was a four-day infosplosion of the upcoming game's mechanics, lore, and ideas. Today City State Entertainment CEO Mark Jacobs went on Twitch to talk about the results from the 1,177 fan surveys from the week. Jacobs also fields several questions and answers from the community. Jacobs said that 74% of those polled were interested in the stat system as talked about and that 65% of those who watched the stat presentation were more inclined to back the game now. If you have an hour to spare and are keenly interested in the development of Camelot Unchained, we have the archived stream for you after the break!
EU Elder Scrolls megaserver migration scheduled for July 30
European Elder Scrolls Online fans, consider this your heads-up for the datacenter migration which will take the EU megaserver offline for much of July 30th. The migration is scheduled to run from 8:00 a.m. EDT to 5:00 p.m. EDT (1:00 p.m. BST to 10:00 p.m. BST). ZeniMax says that nothing will change with your characters, and there won't be a patch to download, either. The company explains that the migration is happening during Euro prime time because many of its engineers and support staff hail from both Europe and North America, and it's vital that "everyone we need for the process is awake, ready, and available."
Dark Age of Camelot adjusting New Frontiers again
Sometimes adjustments seem like a good idea right up until they're implemented. That's the case with Dark Age of Camelot's recent changes to New Frontiers. The game's most recent producer's letter states that they were made and quickly proved to not have the desired effects, which means that several elements need to be tweaked and re-balanced. This includes several rollbacks -- Relics will return to Relic Temples, docks will be returned to their original location, and players will no longer be able to port to shore-keeps. The updates to the game in the near future won't be limited to PvP, however, as the development team is also looking for ways to spruce up PvE content by modernizing mechanics and adding in new loot. In the longer term, there are also plans to revamp the game's LFG interface and provide a Champion Level increase. Check out the full producer's letter for all the details.
RIFT's Unicornalia returns through July 30
Did you miss out on RIFT's Unicornalia event last May? Well, it's back, according to a post on the fantasy MMO's website. Refugee unicorns from the Plane of Life require your assistance, and you'll need to "find the PRI representatives in your capital city to discover how you can help." Onyx Unicorn mounts are obtainable via rare drops from the Hooves and Horns event in Moonshade Highlands, as a reward for completing the Rainbow in the Dark achievement, or from the game's cash shop. Opal Unicorn mounts can be had from daily quests or the store. Unicornalia runs through July 30th.
Elder Scrolls Online publishes video of its QuakeCon panel reveals
If you missed the hoopla of last week's QuakeCon, you lost out on some startlingly cool Elder Scrolls Online announcements, including news about an "active world PvP" system for thievin' and murderin' that makes the game feel just a bit more like a true Elder Scrolls title. Fortunately for you, ZeniMax has today released a video of the entire Future of The Elder Scrolls Online panel, which runs almost two hours and covers everything from PvP to the veteran ranks overhaul. Enjoy!
Trion Worlds grows to over 12 million players
In an interview with Forbes, Trion Worlds CEO Scott Hartsman revealed that his studio's game portfolio and distribution has resulted in populations that number in the millions. "A year ago we were a company with two games," he said. "This year we are a company with three of our own MMOs, plus our first published MMO, plus 10 other distributed games [through the Glyph digital storefront]. So, we're seeing user numbers in the 12 to 13 million range." For most of the interview, however, Hartsman discussed the positioning of business models in a changing market. If you've ever wondered why MMOs keep launching with a subscription model in this F2P era, Hartsman has a notion: "There are two reasons why companies can't do it from the outset. Number one is that the larger the company, the more public, the more they have to aim for predictable revenue, and there's not a lot of information sharing on free-to-play on the PC and console markets. The other big challenge is the technology it takes to do sales effectively in a free-to-play game -– there's a lot more that goes on behind the scenes than a lot of people would think, where an initial purchase plus subscription model doesn't take nearly so complex a model to drive sales."
