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Chaos Theory: The Secret World's single-server tech
Something went missing during this month's launch of The Secret World. Do you know what it was? No, snarkonauts, it wasn't "fun." The game is certainly an acquired taste, but it's nonetheless doing pretty well for itself in terms of word-of-mouth and happy early adopters. No, what was missing was a parade of lengthy launch-week queues (and QQs for that matter). I've been present for every AAA MMO kickoff since Star Wars Galaxies in 2003, and The Secret World marks the first time I've been able to log in when (and where) I wanted to log in on day one. RIFT, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Aion, Lord of the Rings Online -- all of these were "polished" launches by most accounts, and yet all of them featured horrendous launch queues that often stretched from minutes to hours. Why was The Secret World so different?
Sound guru brings The Secret World's ur draug monster to life
If you've ever wondered how MMO sound designers do their thing, a new developer video by Creating Sound will probably be music to your ears. Sound designer and "audio generalist" Alexandre Saba takes us through the creation of The Secret World's ur draug sound suite. What the heck is an ur draug? It's a "creature from the deepest, darkest oceans, a Lovecraftian, god-like creature," according to TSW creative director Ragnar Tornquist. Since Funcom couldn't just go out and mic the nearest ur draug, it turned to Saba, who performs a number of foley tricks to bring the creature's bellow, skin, and wing sounds to life. Look, listen, and learn after the cut.
The Secret World's first content update is coming July 31st
Back in the day, avid mystery fans relied on getting monthly doses of case-solving goodness from magazines such as Ellery Queen. Today, the same can be found in The Secret World. Delivering on its recent promise of monthly updates, Funcom has released the details for July's free content update in true mystery magazine style with Issue #1: Unleashed. On July 31st, TSW players will find a number of new missions featuring a best-selling author, a daredevil, and even a crazy cat lady. Another mission will explore a character who may be more than she pretends to be. Two current dungeons are also getting a new nightmare mode; if you thought Ankh and Hell Fallen were challenging before, just wait until you test yourself in this mode. Another upcoming feature is a cross-dimensional marketplace. Not only can players group and play together cross-dimensionally, but soon they will be able to buy, sell, and ship items across dimensions as well. Unleashed is just the first of many updates. Issue #2 for August's update is already in the works and will be revealed soon, so stay tuned! And keep an eye on the ongoing construction in London, Seoul, and New York as new tenants prepare to move in. [Source: Funcom press release]
The Secret World's July content patch teased, world-altering changes discussed
Don't look now, but it's another article about The Secret World. Shock! Awe! Raaaaage! OK, seriously. Rock, Paper Shotgun has been looking at Funcom's private parts, specifically the parts coming in the newly released game's first major update. Earlier this week Funcom posted its plans for monthly content patches, and the first such will apparently feature some new missions. Most of the new content will focus on investigation missions, with some additional ARG elements added in for good measure. Funcom also has a notion to morph The Secret World's er... world with each monthly update. MMOs are notoriously static enterprises; the only thing that really changes in any of these games is our character stats. TSW is taking a different road, though, and concerns about latecomers missing out on content are apparently not as important as creating a living world with an actual history. RPS cites a hypothetical involving the killing off of a major story mission NPC, and the site goes on to suggest that The Secret World will evolve "not through procedural wizardry or player action but rather through the guiding hand of a team of writers."
The Secret World devs to host exclusive livestream on Friday the 13th
Forget superstition: This Friday the 13th is a lucky day for The Secret World fans who want to delve deeper into the world of conspiracies. Tomorrow at 11 a.m. EDT, Creative Director and Senior Producer Ragnar Tørnquist and Lead Content Designer Joel Bylos will host a livestream of themselves playing select parts of the game while offering commentary and discussing the development process. To watch, join TSW's official Twitch.TV channel, TheSecretWorld. Don't want to wait until tomorrow to see some The Secret World action? Then watch Massively TV tonight at 8:00 p.m. EDT for a two-hour special stream showing off investigation missions. You can still catch the special developer livestream tomorrow! [Source: Funcom press release]
Funcom working on The Secret World's chat issues
If you've been playing The Secret World lately, you've probably run across a fairly annoying chat bug. Sometimes the game's group, guild, and local channels simply don't work, which makes it hard to coordinate if you're not using an external voice program. Funcom is working on a solution according to a post that showed up on the game's forums late last night. In a nutshell, the game's single-server tech necessitates a distributed load across multiple pieces of chat-focused hardware, and some of the boxes "stop talking to the other servers for periods of time." Funcom says that this issue was impossible to detect until hordes of players started stressing the systems, and even now it's difficult to reproduce and debug. That said, the company is currently working on "several fixes and some backup plans."
The Daily Grind: How do you like your MMO PvP?
So The Secret World's Fusang Projects PvP zone is a rollicking good time. And this is coming from someone who generally thinks of MMO PvP as ill-considered (at best). Why is it fun? I can't really put my finger on that. It's an absolutely huge zone, and beautifully rendered. It also supports hundreds of simultaneous players, and for the first week of the game at least, it's lived up to its constantly populated billing. It's pretty much a zerg, though, unless you happen to be in Ventrilo with a well-coordinated group. And therein lies today's breakfast topic. Assuming you partake of MMO PvP, do you do it in a small group or are you part of the hive mind? 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!
Chaos Theory: Tornquist on The Secret World's launch, future
You know, this is probably obvious if you've read my coverage of The Secret World thus far, but I'll just go ahead and fess up: I dig the game, and watching Funcom knock the cover off the ball is gratifying in a strange sort of way. That's why I didn't get too upset when my opportunity to interview creative director Ragnar Tornquist was upstaged by the firm's huge news dump this afternoon. The company shocked gamers and industry watchers by promising monthly content updates and a whole bunch of other stuff, some of which I had asked about in a series of questions we sent Funcom earlier in the week. The resulting answers are still worth a read, though, particularly if you're pinching yourself over TSW's successful launch and its rosy future.
The Secret World to feature new content 'on a regular, monthly basis'
Ragnar Tornquist has taken to The Secret World forums to deliver the title's inaugural state-of-the-game post. It's an exciting read for fans of Funcom's horror/conspiracy MMO, as he hints at quite a few updates and surprises waiting in the wings. "We're going to be releasing fresh and tasty new content to our subscribers on a regular, monthly basis," Tornquist says, before going on to explain that Funcom's version of fresh and tasty includes monthly mission packs. New investigation, action, and sabotage missions are in the works, all of them featuring full voice, cutscenes, and media pop-ups. Improved character customization options are incoming, as is TSW's first raid (apparently set in New York City). Oh, did we mention new weapon types and a new PvP dungeon in a new geographical area? Yeah, that's coming too. So is a dungeon finder tool, seasonal events, and "two large, new and incredibly exciting adventure zones." Still not satisfied? OK, how about new pets and new social functionality designed to "allow roleplayers and would-be thespians to spread their wings?" We think that just about covers it, but in case we missed something, check out the full letter on TSW forums.
The Secret World adding server dimension to meet player demand
Things are looking pretty good for The Secret World a week after its launch. Funcom has just announced that it is adding an additional server dimension to "accommodate the increasing number of players." The game makes use of something called single-server technology, which allows players from different dimensions to chat, group, and join guilds. If you're thinking of taking the game for a spin and are looking to roll on the same server that your friends inhabit, don't fret, as you'll be able to play with them regardless. Funcom says the new shard will be flagged as a "roleplaying dimension." If you're looking for it in the dimension list, it's called Leviathan.
The Daily Grind: Are you a theory-crafter?
God bless MMO theory-crafters. They've saved me so much time and irritation over the years that I can't possibly overstate my gratitude. Did you know there are guys (and gals) out there who literally log into MMO test servers and spend precious hours poking at combos, abilities, builds, and strategies? Did you know that they typically chart their results, publish spreadsheets, and then write exhaustive guides about how to get the most from your game/class of choice? Prior to a couple of weeks ago, this mindset was utterly alien to me, and the work itself sounded quite like the statistics classes I slept through in school. With the release of The Secret World, though, I find myself actually doing these things. Funcom's skill- and ability-point systems are incredibly dense, and figuring out build synergies adds another layer of satisfaction onto the game. What about you, morning folk? Do you just look up builds and strategies in your MMO of choice, or are you a theory-crafter? 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!
Funcom unveils armory-like Chronicle for The Secret World
Imagine that -- keeping an upcoming feature of The Secret World a secret! Yet Funcom pulled it off, announcing today via a letter from creative director and senior producer Ragnar Tornquist the aptly named new player record that will actually chronicle a player's journey through TSW. Starting now, players active within the last four days can log into Chronicle and check out their stats on their profile page and compare themselves with players across the world using the PvP and PvE leaderboards. But that's only the beginning. Tornquist goes on to say, "We have a lot of great features planned, and we will be integrating the service more with the game and also, hopefully, with mobile devices and social networks in the future. We are going to add more stats, more features, more leaderboards, and more user control. We might also look at giving rewards tied to your status and standing on Chronicle." The beta is public so the team can gather as much community feedback as possible, so jump in, check it out, and give your feedback to help shape Chronicle's future. [Source: Funcom press release]
One Shots: Nyctohylophobia
Most MMOs aren't trying to actively spook their players (unless the sight of sparkle ponies creeps you out), but The Secret World is an exception to that rule. In honor of TSW's launch week, today's One Shots is all about Funcom's new adventure-slash-puzzler MMO. Massively reader Drinkfist has gotten into the spirit of the game with today's featured screenshot. He writes in, The Secret World just started, and the game looks amazing! This is a picture of the haunted forest in Blue Mountain. The Ghosts that inhabit it are especially rough as every 30 seconds they phase in and out of this world, changing their resistances. Brace yourself for this and a few more TSW pics after the cut!
Funcom extends grace period for pre-order customers
There's nothing quite like the real world for gumming up the operations of the fantastical one. Some players of The Secret World pre-ordered the game and haven't yet received their retail copy, which is important because the grace period for playing without entering a retail key isn't a very big window of time and players were beginning to get antsy. In response to those concerns, Funcom announced that the grace period for pre-order key entry has been extended by 24 hours, allowing more people to slide in under the deadline. It's not an unusual step to take because launch-time distribution is known to be totally sucky. In a similar vein, some of the pre-order benefits -- the Egyptian Cat in-game pet, an exclusive in-game t-shirt, and an in-game ring -- are also extended to customers who enter their retail or digital game keys up until the end of today, July 6th. While that may not thrill true pre-order customers who liked being special snowflakes, that cat is darn adorable and everyone should get one.
A roadmap to The Secret World's ability wheel
After months and months of warning us that dark days are coming, Funcom's new horror-sprinkled title, The Secret World, has finally arrived. The game brings a number of new twists to the tried-and-true MMORPG formula, but its character progression is its biggest departure from the MMO formula. While many modern titles rely on class-based systems or other linear progression paths, TSW takes a considerably more open-ended approach with the ability wheel. However, this freedom of progression comes with a price. With more variety, there's more choice, and with more choice, there's bound to be more indecision. But don't fret: I'm here to help pull back the curtain on the mystery of the skill wheel and its many offerings. Want to know which route to take to dish out damage, take the hits, or heal and support your allies? Then follow along with me as I delve into the many intricacies of The Secret World's ability wheel.
Funcom shares fall, Tornquist defends The Secret World's sub fee
It's not all roses for Funcom following the launch of The Secret World earlier this week. Gamespot is reporting that company shares on the Norwegian Stock Exchange fell by almost 40 percent in recent days. Earlier this week Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas stepped down, citing internal restructuring as the cause. The company has thus far not responded to media requests for comment on its financial fortunes. The Secret World opened to positive reviews in both the gaming press and MMO fan circles, despite having a subscription fee in an era when gamers are increasingly clamoring for free content. Creative director Ragnar Tornquist recently chatted about the game's business model with Rock, Paper Shotgun. "The subscription fee and our business model supports a big, ongoing team. We have content plans for a very long time. We have content that's going to be coming on a regular, ongoing basis," he explained.
The Perfect Ten: Amazing amateur MMO cosplay
I find the whole cosplay subculture at conventions to be both foreign and fascinating. On one hand, I deeply admire the dedication and time it takes to put together a complex outfit and then spend all day wearing this custom-made sweatsuit. On the other hand, it does tend to bring out some folks' narcissism and unnecessary cleavage. While many facets of geek and video game culture are adequately represented by those crazy cosplayers, I don't see as much when it comes to MMORPGs. Was it truly underrepresented, I wondered, or have I just never looked? Consider the following 10 costumes the result of an afternoon or two combing through so much amateur cosplay that it vastly exceeded the recommended amount as set by the American Medical Association. I'm glad to make the sacrifice for you, and besides, you just know those doctors are the ones in these outfits, anyway. (Please note that if you're looking for more skin than skill, this will not be the list for you!)
Tornquist: The Secret World's combat 'radically different' [Updated]
The Secret World creative director Ragnar Tornquist recently checked in with Rock, Paper Shotgun for a post-launch interview. The first half of the piece offers up some interesting commentary on the state of MMOs, non-combat gameplay, and inevitable comparisons to the genre standard. "Have we been traditional in some ways? Sure," Tornquist says. "But I think those who say that our combat is like WoW's combat, they really haven't gotten beyond the surface. At the beginning maybe it feels like that. But if you play for 12, 15, 20 hours, it's quite clear that it's radically different." Tornquist also muses on non-combat gameplay, of which TSW has a fair amount. In a nutshell, though, conflict is what drives games, and so combat will always be a primary focus. "I think solving puzzles all the time, it's not going to last hundreds of hours. I think people would get bored a lot quicker," he says. [Update]: RPS has finally posted the second portion of the interview which talks about quest design and TSW's business model.
The Secret World reveals its launch trailer
Some secrets are out. Funcom might have slipped the launch in a day early, but The Secret World's launch trailer kept to the initial schedule. For just under three minutes, players can now get a glimpse of some of the secrets hiding throughout the world in the form of various beasts and monsters while being serenaded by the bluesy voice of Dinah Washington crooning (the quite appropriate) This Bitter Earth. Watch the debut cinematic after the cut, and to catch up on all the latest about The Secret World, check out the launch-day roundup as well as Massively's new column dedicated to the world of secret organizations, Chaos Theory. [Thanks to Acidburn for the tip!]
The Daily Grind: Has an MMO launch ever lived up to your expectations?
Yes, it's another Secret World-powered opinion post. Some on the Massively staff have fallen for the game pretty hard, so you'll have to bear with us if you're not among the faithful. In any event, Funcom's horror-conspiracy title officially went live yesterday, and the occasion made me think about the last time an MMO launch actually met my expectations (in a positive way). Sure, there's several features I would like to see implemented in TSW going forward, but as it stands, it's one of the more enjoyable MMOs I've played in a while. How about you, dear readers? Has any MMO launch lived up to your expectations? 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!
