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WildStar releases its server list
Head start for WildStar starts on Saturday, but where will you be creating your character? How can you know without a server list? You can't. So it's a good thing that the official server list has been released for both US and EU servers. A grand total of 22 servers will be available, with equal numbers for both regions and at least one PvE, RP-PvE, and PvP server for each. US PvE servers are Avatus, Caretaker, Mikros, Thunderfoot, Orias, and Stormtalon. PvP players in the US can choose between Widow, Pago, and Pergo, while roleplayers will be on Evinora. There's also an Oceanic PvE server available, Myrcalus. Meanwhile, English-speaking players in Europe will choose between Ascendancy and Eko for PvE, with Hazak for PvP and Lightspire for RP. German players get Ikthia and Kazor for PvE, Progentior for PvP, and Toria for RP. Last but not least, French players have three servers: Stormfather (PvE), Treespeaker (PvP), and Triton (RP-PvE). So you can start making your plans about where you want to go; the servers are all right here.
Updates on US Connected Realms
By now, several US realms have been successfully connected with Blizzard's new Connected Realms feature. In case you've been out of the loop, Blizzard released an update in regards to the new feature, which seamlessly connects two realms so that they'll behave as one. That means players on realms that are connected can join the same guilds, use one Auction House, and run raids and dungeons with each other -- a pretty big bonus for realms that have been suffering from lower populations. The list of successfully connected realms is as follows: Auchindoun and Laughing Skull Black Dragonflight and Skullcrusher Aegwynn and Gurubashi Balnazzar and Warsong Burning Blade and Onyxia Chromaggus and Garithos Dalvengyr and Dark Iron Dethecus and Detheroc Dunemaul, Maiev, Boulderfist and Bloodscalp Hakkar and Aegwynn Rivendare and Firetree It's a sizeable list -- but if your realm wasn't on the list, not to worry. Blizzard is revving up for more realm connections, and soon. Two new batches of realm connections are on the way, and the first batch of connections will be taking place on Monday, October 28.
Next wave of Connected Realms announced
Following Monday's successful connections, the next wave of realms to be added to the Connected Realms feature have just been announced. While Community Manager Nethaera had the names of the realms available for players, as of yet there still isn't a fixed date for the realm connections to take place. However, given the faster turnaround that we've been experiencing, players may see these connections happen sooner than one would think. Nethaera As a part of our ongoing Connected Realms implementation, we will be connecting additional realms as listed below. We don't have a specific date yet on when these connections will occur, but we'll provide another update once we do. Please be aware that as a part of the connection process realm times may change to match each other. Next Realm Connections: Dethecus and Detheroc Auchindoun and Laughing Skull Hakkar and Aegwynn Rivendare and Firetree Dunemaul and Bloodscalp/ Maiev/Boulderfist We're currently evaluating further realm connections and will provide updates as they're available. For more information on Connected Realms, please read the preview blog post here. source It looks like the Maiev/Bloodscalp/Boulderfist triad can expect another addition to their happy little family with Dunemaul. In addition, Hakkar will join Aegwynn, which was connected to Gurubashi last week. If you're a player on one of the realms slated for connection, you might want to keep an eye on the official thread for future updates.
Latest round of Connected Realms coming Monday
The latest sizable batch of realms slated for the Connected Realms feature will be going under maintenance on Monday, October 21 from 5:00 a.m. PDT until approximately 11:00 a.m. PDT, according to the official thread on the feature. Community Manager Bashiok also added that once these realms return from maintenance, the realm connections should be complete. The realms scheduled for this round of connection are as follows. Balnazzar and Warsong Gurubashi and Aegwynn Dalvengyr and Dark Iron Garithos and Chromaggus Onyxia and Burning Blade Maiev and Bloodscalp/Boulderfist If you happen to be calling any of these realms home, be prepared for a brief bout of maintenance come Monday. However, Tuesday's regular maintenance should simply be a set of rolling restarts for everyone, so realms that are in the process of being connected should be hit with double downtime. This seems to be a pretty quick turnaround -- will we be seeing more realm connection announcements next week? For more information and updates on the process, keep an eye on the official forum thread.
New wave of Connected Realms announced
After the connection of the Skullcrusher and Black Dragonflight realms earlier this week, Blizzard has announced the next set of realms to be connected -- and this time, there's quite a list of them. Twelve realms total are slated to be connected, although a specific date for the connection has yet to be announced. However, Community Manager Bashiok provided the full list, noting that these are all US realms -- no EU realms have been slated for connection at this time. Bashiok As a part of our ongoing Connected Realms implementation, we will be connecting additional pairs of realms as listed below. We don't have a specific date yet on when these connections will occur, but we'll provide another update once we do. Please be aware that as a part of the connection process realm times may change to match each other. Next Realm Connection Pairs: Balnazzar and Warsong Gurubashi and Aegwynn Dalvengyr and Dark Iron Garithos and Chromaggus Onyxia and Burning Blade Maiev and Bloodscalp/Boulderfist We're currently evaluating further realm connections and will provide updates as they're available. For more information on Connected Realms, please read the preview blog post here. source Note that the Maiev realm will be connected with the Bloodscalp/Boulderfist connection that was the first to be made in this process. Although an exact date for the connection has not been set, given the connection that took place during this week's maintenance, we can hope that these connections will also take place during regularly scheduled downtime. Players on these realms should continue to check back with the official thread on the forums for more updates as they become available.
Black Dragonflight, Skullcrusher realms to be connected tomorrow
Black Dragonflight and Skullcrusher, the two latest realms to be announced as slated for the Connected Realms feature will be connected tomorrow, October 15, during standard maintenance. The two realms were next in line after the success of the Bloodscalp and Boulderfist realm connection. Given that the realm connection will take place during regular server maintenance, one would hope that this means that the wrinkles have been ironed out of implementation -- but just in case, Blizzard will be providing updates on any potential delays. The rollout for Connected Realms has been considerably slower than most players were expecting. However, it's nice to see that Blizzard is taking its time with this one, making sure that everything is functioning correctly and all potential issues have been addressed. Of course the question on everyone's minds now is which realms will be slated for connection next, and when will it occur? Are you hoping for the connected realm feature on your server?
Black Dragonflight, Skullcrusher realms to be connected
After the successful integration of the Bloodscalp and Boulderfist realms, Blizzard is continuing with the slow rollout of connected realms. Although no date has been finalized, CM Nethaera has announced that Black Dragonflight and Skullcrusher will be the next two realms to be connected. Nethaera As a part of our ongoing Connected Realms implementation, we will be working toward connecting our next pair of realms, Black Dragonflight and Skullcrusher – we'll provide another update once we've finalized the date. We will also update this thread with any additional information that becomes available. Please be aware that as a part of the process, realm times may change to align better with each other. We are currently evaluating additional realm connections and plan to provide a more complete schedule at a future point in time. For more information on Connected Realms, please read the preview blog post here. source CM Bashiok stepped in later in the thread to clarify some details on the connected realms process. While many are eager to see this new feature give a boost to realms with lower than optimal populations, the process is far more complicated than you'd think. Blizzard is taking its time with each connection in order to evaluate possible issues with the process -- and the choice of realms was specifically to help identify potential issues. In other words, at this point in the process it's not so much a matter of how much a realm would benefit from a connection, as it is how much that connection will help clarify any potential issues with the process itself. Check out the full forum thread for more information and updates on the process as it continues.
Nethaera fills in the blanks on Connected Realms
With patch 5.4 up and running, many players have been wondering about the status of the new Connected Realms feature. Questions have run the gamut from wanting to know the exact criteria of putting two realms together, to wanting a list of the realms that are scheduled to be connected. Most importantly, players have been wondering if the Connected Realms feature has actually been enabled, or if we have yet to see if the process has taken place. Community Manager Nethaera filled in some of those blanks in a series of updates posted on the official forums. The first two realms that have been scheduled for connection are Boulderfist and Bloodscalp. The system will be rolled out over time, much like what we saw with the Cross-Realm Zones feature -- players won't suddenly see all realms introduced to the Connected Realms feature all at once. Blizzard intends to keep realm types together as much as it possibly can -- for those on RP realms, this means if your realm is connected to another, it will likely be another RP realm. Nethaera went on to note that faction balance, something that has caused many players to struggle on incredibly lopsided realms, may not be the ultimate reason for a connection. But perhaps most importantly -- as of Friday, no realms have been connected. Any server restarts or messages about Connected Realm restarts in game are absolutely not an indicator that your realm has been connected to another -- it's simply some of the work that needs to be done in order to enable the connecting process, should it need to be utilized. For now, it seems that players are still isolated on their own realms -- but there should be further updates to the thread if that changes. For more information on the implementation of this new feature, check out the thread on the official forums.
The Daily Grind: Do you expect a roleplaying server to be policed?
I roleplay a lot. This probably does not come as much of a surprise. As a result, I've spent time on a lot of different roleplaying servers and have long since given up any hope that I'll ever see any enforcement of rules by the community service staff. It would be really nice if GMs politely kicked people who didn't come to roleplay, but the fact of the matter is that it's just not going to happen. But even though I don't expect it, I might be in the minority. What about you? Do you expect that on a server officially designated for roleplaying, the customer service staff will be monitoring the game and taking steps to improve the environment? Do you just expect that the staff will take complaints about inappropriate names just a bit more seriously? Or are you happy enough that there is a clear, reserved place to start building a roleplaying community without worrying about the police element? 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!
Hyperspace Beacon: What is this RP-PvP anyway?
At E3, Principal Lead Writer Daniel Erickson expressed that he wanted a roleplay player-vs.-player server for Star Wars: The Old Republic. Granted, BioWare's live team originally intended to not launch with any type of open-world PvP roleplay server. Community Coordinator David Bass confirmed this when he explained that the Guild HQ program will not support RP-PvP servers and that those guilds wishing to roll on those types of servers will have to do it the old fashioned way: in game. According to the Daedalus Project, a study on the habits of MMO players, only 7% of all players actually roll a character on an RP-PvP server. However, when you keep in mind that SWTOR has the largest preorder sales of any PC game as of right now (about 802,000, not including digital and European sales), 7% ends up being a significant number. At least, there are enough people interested in RP-PvP to fill a server. I understand that many people are turned off by the idea of mixing roleplay with PvP. I completely understand that. When the term RP hits people, images of Goldshire and naked Night Elves come to mind immediately. In truth, however, roleplay is really just telling a story through an interactive medium, in this case an MMO. For instance, if in the course of playing SWTOR you find yourself asking, "What would my character do in this situation?", then you have just brushed up against roleplay. In RP-PvP, players enjoy a very similar experience. Today, let's talk about mixing story and PvP. Players have found diverse ways to integrate the two. Beyond the break, I have examples of how you may find ways to do it yourself, even if hardcore roleplay isn't your thing.
Star Wars: The Old Republic releases server details
On top of the exciting news this morning that Star Wars: The Old Republic has launched into its third guild phase, CM David Bass posted a healthy wall of text on the forums listing the server types and details associated with each. It will probably not come as a shock that SWTOR is sticking with the four core server rulesets: PvE, PvP, RP-PvE, and RP-PvP. In PvE, players have to toggle an option to engage in PvP outside of specifically designated combat areas, while on PvP servers everyone is automatically flagged outside of safe areas, such as the starting zones. The RP variants are similar, except that BioWare encourages players to roleplay in character on those servers. There's no word as to whether or not GMs will be enforcing such actions. Because RP-PvP was a very recent addition to the server ruleset list, guilds participating in the pre-launch deployment program will not be able to choose those servers for launch. Instead, BioWare says that players interested in this ruleset will need to manually form a guild on their faction's homeworld after the game releases.
Massively interview: Thom Terrazas in his new role as EverQuest's producer
Thom Terrazas just recently replaced Clint Worley as the producer for EverQuest, and we were lucky enough to get the chance to speak to him about the move. Among other things, we found out what's in store for the current playerbase in the future, why EverQuest newbies should try the game, and learned that although the 51/50 server type won the latest poll, we should hold out hope for other new types too -- maybe even a "Classic" server. We snuck in a few questions about Vanguard and PlanetSide as well. To get Thom's take on these things and more, click through and read the full interview.
Star Trek Online FAQ describes PvP rules
Even more Star Trek Online information has beamed in. This time, it's in the FAQ page just published by Cryptic Studios. The FAQ is a good place to catch up on the highlights from the recent revelations, but there's new stuff too.The most substantial revelation is that there won't be PvP, PvE, or RP server types as in World of Warcraft and other games. There will only be one server type. There will be far-flung regions of space in which open PvP will be possible. In the nuetral zone (the border between factions), consensual PvP engagements will occur. It's implied that PvP will not be possible deep within Federation or Klingon space.Oh, and the FAQ includes some grim news for certain would-be players. It turns out that you'll actually need an internet connection to play Star Trek Online! Oh man! Say it ain't so! That's unacceptable, right? Maybe we should start a petition.
