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Guns of Icarus Online overhauls progression and matching
The latest patch for Guns of Icarus Online is going to make it a great deal easier for characters to get better. The game's progression system has been completely overhauled, with level now tied to experience earned via matches rather than to achievements. This is accompanied by a reorganization of stats and traits and a bump in the level cap to 45, which will also bump existing characters and give them more levels to play around with. Said patch also improves the game's matchmaking system, which helps get players into the action more quickly while also providing a more balanced system for everyone. A new tutorial to introduce new players to the game and a spectator system that makes it easier to watch games unfold have also been added, giving players new and old alike plenty to enjoy. Check out the full patch notes or just steal a glance at the video showing off these new features past the break.
Star Conflict adds Invasion and Observer modes
Gaijin Entertainment's Star Conflict was updated recently with a new Invasion and Observer mode, as well as several UI and bug fixes as the game continues its beta testing (but is technically launched on Steam) this month. The space-based MMO's Invasion mode is described as a PvE and PvP game feature that allows players to join up against alien invaders. This includes quests, resource gathering, and crafting to work toward certain goals. Be sure to check out the video embedded after the cut below as well as the official patch notes for more information. [Thanks to Simon for the tip!]
EVE Evolved: The battle of Z9PP-H caught on camera
If you're the kind of person who loves reading about the political shenanigans that go on inside EVE Online, you should be aware that a colossal war has erupted in the wake of the Odyssey expansion. The expansion redistributed the value of nullsec moons and gave the two largest alliances in the game, the Reddit-based TEST Alliance and Something Awful-spawned GoonSwarm Federation, a good excuse to go to full-scale war. Allies have piled in on either side, and nullsec has erupted into full-scale region takedowns, spy-jacking, and more of the lovely political tomfoolery we love to hear about. EVE News 24 has been doing a good job of keeping players up to date on what's happening in nullsec, and its reporters are not the only ones keeping tabs on the war. Streamer Mad Ani has been setting up cameras in strategically important locations throughout the contested regions and providing live coverage of huge battles whenever they happen. A few days ago, the war came to a head in what could have been the deciding battle of the entire Fountain invasion. Over 4,000 people watched the stream as TEST's entire capital fleet of over 100 carriers was taking a pounding in Z9PP-H, when suddenly the server crashed and disconnected everyone in the fight. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at what happened in the battle of Z9PP-H, how CCP crashed its biggest piece of PR in months, and how player livestreams are changing the face of EVE Online for the better.
EVE Evolved: Is EVE becoming a spectator sport?
This week saw another landmark event in EVE Online grab the gaming community's attention as over 3,000 players from dozens of alliances battled it out in the lowsec system of Asakai on the Caldari border. The battle reached 2,800 concurrent players at peak, falling just short of 2011's record-breaking siege of LXQ2-T which hit 3,110 simultaneous combatants at its peak. There were livestreams, tons of after-action reports, and the story of this immense battle started by one man clicking the wrong button really captured our imaginations. EVE is one of those rare cases in which a lot of people find the media that surrounds the game more fun than the game itself. News of big in-game events like scams, heists, and huge battles spreads across the internet like wildfire, even among people who hate the game or have never tried it. When news of the Asakai battle emerged, someone on Reddit suggested that people should play EVE for only a few months to get some background and then quit and just read the stories. I've seen a lot of similar comments over the years saying that EVE is more fun to watch and read about than play, and it makes me wonder if the game is becoming a bit of a spectator sport. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at why stories like the Battle of Asakai are so pervasive and explain why I think EVE should embrace its role as a spectator sport.
Guild Wars 2 paves the way for e-sports
What you'll see in Guild Wars 2's competitive player-vs.-player combat at launch is only the tip of the iceberg, says ArenaNet Systems Designer Jonathan Sharp. The PvP team has e-sports on the mind, according to Sharp, and the system's only going to grow from here. "We looked at sports when we were designing Guild Wars 2 from day one," Sharp said. "If you walk through the office on a given day, there are people watching streaming. We're watching and we have plans to do some of that stuff." The game will release with free tournaments but will soon have paid versions with gem rewards as well. "It's more of a case of putting money on the line and somebody's going to get some really cool stuff," Sharp said. The e-sports aspect of the game will be expanded into daily, monthly, and yearly tournaments as well as customizable ones. And yes, spectator mode is still forthcoming, although it's not quite ready for prime time. Even with the system expanding, ArenaNet wants to keep it simple and easy to understand for all. The team is striving to keep the rules of PvP consistent, giving players ways to express their personality during matches. The devs are hopeful that visual cues in combat will help players understand what's happening on the battlefield.
DOTA 2 gets a spectator client
Today, every Steam user can install a free spectator app for DOTA 2. The spectator app lets you watch any recent or live matches, plus all of the upcoming matches going down as part of The International tournament.You'll be able to check out DOTA 2 matches from the perspective of players, or via a directed view of the match, complete with commentary. Eventually the spectator client will be rolled into the final game client ,once DOTA 2 officially launches. The spectator client is a standalone app for the time being.
OnLive's E3 blowout includes new games, easy in-browser access, MultiView and LG's Google TV
OnLive launched in the summer of 2010 streaming games to PCs or Macs, and now two years later it has returned to E3 feeling pretty good about the state of cloud gaming and its place in it. Among a series of announcements going out are news that it will be demonstrating gaming on smart TVs for the first time on LG's G2 Google TVs with support for up to four universal OnLive controllers at once. The Google TV viewer app has been out, although OnLive gaming has been closely tied to Vizio's upcoming Google TV models in the past while LG showed off Gaikai access at CES. It's not available on retail units yet, but is expected to be added in a software update, with an eye towards adding support for Cinema 3D gaming later on. At the same time it's rolling out an update to its in-browser gaming clients that lets publishers and retailers launch players into games without creating a login. Finally, we've got the new OnLive MultiView feature that lets players see the video stream of another player without exiting their own session. As suggested in the press release (all are included after the break), it can let you check in on a friend's game as it happens, or even see from a teammate's perspective during a co-op match. That feature is currently in closed beta and is set to launch later this year, read on for all the details about what OnLive is up to and a list of games coming soon that includes Darksiders II, Civilization V: Gods and Kings and more.
League of Legends announces full release of Spectator Mode
League of Legends players, go make some popcorn and grab a drink because the game's spectator mode is almost ready to go into full release. After the game's next patch, players will be able to spectate League of Legends games in a variety of ways, and they can enhance the experience using a number of nifty features. If you just wanna watch your friend's game and see how he does, no problem. All friends' games will be watchable just by right-clicking their names on your friends list. There's a three-minute delay on the playback, though, so don't try any tricky business. If you're jonesin' for some high-level play, the featured games menu will let you watch the games being played by top-ranked League players around the world. If you wanna analyze their matches, you can rewind, slow down, and fast forward previous footage, allowing you to scrutinize every gank in excruciating detail. Riot Games was nice enough to put together some footage of the new feature in action, as well, so you can check that out right here for the full details. [Source: Riot Games press release]
Arena PVP Won't Be a Spectator Sport
Over on the forums, Tseric has confirmed that while arena spectators would be a really great idea, Blue won't have it done in time for the expansion's release (whenever that will be). It's going to have to go on the list of "implemented at a future date."Which is too bad, because ever since the 2v2, 3v3, and 5v5 matches were announced, I've been excited to see the results live and in person. Sure, technically it's probably not super easy (especially in popular matches, considering the lag in Ironforge when people squeeze into a small space), but when Tom Chiton hinted at the idea of a Super Brawl, I at least figured it was a possibility. Watching big matches live would be much more awesome then having to watch them on FRAPS later.So how are we going to know what happens in these matches? Not that I can't trust the players (although some of them, I probably can't), but Blizzard must be able to somehow show us in game what matches are happening and their outcome. Maybe they can put an Arena Bar in the main cities, with NPCs reporting matches and scores as they finish. Or there can be an Arena Board to show the results of all matches in the past day or so. I guess they could just report the matches and their outcome on a seperate website, but ingame would be much more fun.And being able to check the results of matches ingame means the very next step is gambling on matches, right? I'd be much more interested in which teams are good or bad when I have the option to put my gold where my mouth is (and make others do the same)!
High definition sports fans: It's PGR3 tourney time
Even though the NHL and NBA playoff games are over for today, you can still get some high-def tourney action in if you have an Xbox 360 and a copy of Project Gotham Racing 3. The regional finals for the North American region will be going on at 10 pm EST, the winners of this round travel to Italy and compete at the Lamborghini factory in June. Gamers have been playing Gotham since the launch of the Xbox 360 but this is the first official online tournament.Check out our breakdown on why PGR3 makes a good HDTV spectator sport with its live action, camera angles and competitive races and log on to check out the tournament later tonight.
