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Where do you want SOE Fan Faire to be?
Craig "Grimwell" Dalrymple passed along word that the voting has begun to determine where this year's Sony Online Entertainment Fan Faire event will be held. The Station.com forums are hosting the poll and discussion, which offers four options: June 19 - 22 : Orlando : $149 per night June 26 - 29 : San Diego : $125 per night September 4 - 7 : Las Vegas : $115 per night June 26 - 29 : Orlando : $149 per night The annual Fan Faire is an SOE-sponsored event that allows players to meet with each other face-to-face. It also allows for the developers, producers, and community managers to reach out to the playerbase, putting a voice and personality to the differently colored names on the forums. The company offers MMO-themed events and different panels, to allow the customers to more fully explore their favorite games. You can see details of previous Faires at the official event site, including highlights of last year's Las Vegas show.As you might expect from the price options, Vegas is currently winning this particular horse race. Just from my perspective, I really hope they don't end up choosing early September: Fall is already an awfully busy time for game conferences. San Diego is warm, and Orlando offers the opportunity for Disney-related hilarity! So, your choice is clear: not Vegas.
Behind the Curtain: What's in a name?
How much attention do you pay to the names behind the MMOs we're playing just now? Do you dig up as much information as you can on the developers, producer and designers involved in up and coming games? Do you even pay any attention at all?I'll be honest – I picked up Star Wars Galaxies based on the licence alone. While I've been a gamer since my Uncle gave me a ZX Spectrum as a child, I didn't know anything about the people behind Galaxies. I had heard about Everquest of course – I wasn't stupid after all – but Galaxies was my first MMO, and I was a noob in every sense of the word. I didn't know anything about the designers, the developers, and I didn't even think to check up on them.I was a little more aware when I came round to World of Warcraft. I was, and still am, a big Diablo 2, fan, so I knew who Blizzard were. I hadn't picked up Warcraft 3 when it came out, due to the PC I had t the time not being to run it, but I knew that it'd been a huge commercial and critical success for Blizzard, so I knew that it was a safe bet. Plus, it was taking the world by storm already, so it was a bit of a no-brainer. Maybe I'm just older and wiser now, or maybe the information is just easier to get a hold of, but I pay more attention to the people actually making the game that I'm interested in – I thought this week, we could have a look at some of the names you should be aware of.
The Star Wars Galaxies team plans for 2008
Just as they did after Chapter 7, the folks behind the scenes making Star Wars Galaxies have offered up a look at how they think the game is going. Lorin 'Deadmeat' Jameson, the game's producer, reflects on their successes with Chapter 8. The title's space content has been significantly expanded, and he implores ground-based gamers to look to the skies in the wake of the most recent update.He also looks forward, to the coming year of Galaxies updates. The team has wanted for some time to be more responsive to player interests. The long wait between Chapter publishes means that pressing issues fester on the forums before being addressed by new code. Jameson outlines their response to this problem: splitting the development cycle in two. Going forward, there will be two tracks on which updates will be pushed out. One, called simply 'Updates', will address game balance issues recognized by players and QA as needing some attention. He singles out the Smuggler and Spy classes as being the first to receive this track's attention.The other track is going to be called 'Content'. This is the track that 'new stuff' will appear in, and we should expect to see something out of this group roughly every eight weeks. The first of these content updates will be a heroic encounter with the deadly, legendary Sith known as Exar Kun. Further content work will focus on more collections, storyteller additions, quests, and new gameplay features.I continue to be impressed with the work the SWG team is putting out. Am I the only one? I know that some folks are still bitter about the whole NGE thing but c'mon: an instanced Star Destroyer mission? That's just cool.
Behind the Curtain: Great Expectations
I'd like to talk about what MMOs you've gone into with expectations, and what disappointments, if any, you've had during your time there. Perhaps you paid just a little nit too much attention to the press releases, maybe you fell for the bullshot (yes, I know I've linked that comic before), it doesn't really matter. I'm going to share some of my disappointments, hopefully you'll feel moved to do the same in the Comments. Star Wars GalaxiesI love Star Wars, so when I started playing Galaxies, I had visions of TIE Fighters and Star Destroyers, running battles with Imperial Storm Troopers and making shady deals in the Mos Eisley Cantina. What I got instead was a game where all I ended up doing was taking random missions from computer terminals which invariably involved me running out into the wilderness to kill some 'malevolent' creatures on behalf of some farmers who never actually seemed to appear in-game, for a paltry reward. I spent a lot of time on Corellia – having read extensively in the Expanded Universe, I imagined a bustling, thriving metropolis with smugglers and scoundrels round every corner, and with opportunities for exciting adventures right under the nose of the Empire. What I got was a collection of buildings dumped unceremoniously in the middle of the nowhere, at times seemingly populated only by myself and the NPCs.
Star Wars Galaxies chapter 8 goes live
The developers of Star Wars Galaxies continue their good works. Just like clockwork and about two months after the release of Chapter 7, Chapter 8 is hitting live servers today. The full patch notes for the release can be found on the official site, but here are some highlights: The Nova Orion Station - A two-faction quest hub that will allow players to work through the dodgey politics of the Nova Orion company. Imperial Star Destroyer Heroic Encounter - The newest group high-level content for the game, the newest encounter pits groups of adventurers against some truly tough opponents. New ground-based collections, as well as a space-based collection system. Four new ships have been added: the Rebel Incom X4 Gunship, Imperial YE-4 Assault Gunship, Blacksun AEG-77 Vigo Gunship, and the Naboo N-1 Starfighter. There are, of course, numerous other tweaks to the game in this update; two big areas of correction include the User Interface and Waypoints. If you're curious about the process of creating the new ships for the update, make sure and check out System Designer Thomas Eidson's dev blog from just yesterday.And, of course, thanks to Grizz for reminding us this was happening today. For a taste of the Chapter 8 flavour, go check out his videos of the new ships in flight (with appropriate music to match).
A world full of Death Knights
This little informal survey by Ralloszek over on the WotLK forums raises a pretty good question: is anyone not planning on making a Death Knight when the next expansion hits? We're going to end up with a world full of pale people in black armor wielding gigantic frostblades-- maybe Blizzard should call it "World full of Lich Kings."It's pretty easy to see that not everyone will switch their main (I don't ever foresee leaving my main, although I do plan to level a Death Knight as an alt), but even if people just roll them to check it out, it reminds me a lot of the Star Wars Galaxies "new game enhancements" where they made Jedi a playable class. If you can roll a Jedi as a class, why would you roll anything else?Of course, we could give Blizzard the benefit of the doubt here-- they haven't revealed much at all about the game's first Hero Class, so maybe it'll be so hard to get one that they really will be very rare, or they'll only be allowed in certain areas (so you won't see a pack of Death Knights swarming around the mailbox in Stormwind). We already know that they'll start at a higher level, so the good news is that you won't see Elwynn Forest flooded with a bunch of level 1 Death Knights. But as for other ways to keep what is supposed to be a special class special, we'll have to see what Blizzard comes up with.
SWG's "Buddy Program" is a win-win-win-win situation
If ever there was an optimistic expression of the seductive power of the MMO, it's in the trial program. All game makers have to do is offer a way for existing subscribers to give a taste of their product to their friends, and these new players will fall head over heels into the pile of paying customers. It's a sound marketing strategy really; who knows better which kinds of people will be weak to the siren song of an MMO better than their friends, co-workers, and family members? In politics, they call this micro-targeting.According to Cameron Sorden over at Random Battle, the thing that sets SWG's Buddy Program apart from the competition is that instead of offering incentives in the form of free playtime (as with the popular Tabula Rasa Recruit a Rookie program), they offer in-game rewards to players. By Sorden's logic, most gamers already consider their subscription fees a sunk cost, so the greatest incentive is something that will enhance their in-game experience. He takes it a step forward and suggests that rewarding players for recruiting whole networks of new players, would provide the greatest return to all parties involved. It's an interesting perspective, though personally I would probably stop short of the whole pyramid scheme idea.
Behind the Curtain: Learn 2 Play
I should probably start this week's column by apologizing for missing last week. I won't, but I probably should. I'm sure your world kept turning despite a lack of my wittering on for 500-odd words, so let's crack on, shall we?Assuming some of you managed to stay safe from the murderous robotic Santa this year, you may well have received gifts of new MMO games, and are sitting at home (unlike me) with your feet safely ensconced in new slippers, wracked with indecision over what new vista of unexplored gaming potential you should be delving into. Fortunately, my friends and family understand that my tastes in gaming are (relatively) more esoteric than theirs, meaning that they usually plump for the always welcome gifts of booze or vouchers. What this means is that I will finally be able to pick up Bioshock and the Orange Box – seriously, if I have to dodge one more spoiler for Bioshock or Portal, I may have to stab someone in the mouth. But that's beside the point; let us get back on topic. With most of the big MMOs having been around for a good while now, the sheer amount of content available across these games is a daunting prospect – where do you start, how do you decide? Do you jump straight in and hope that you'll make it?
Official guide to new Star Wars Galaxies housing options
Last week's Friday Feature on the official Star Wars Galaxies site is all about the new player housing item placement options coming in Chapter 8. In addition to moving objects in their houses back and forth, up and down, players can now slant things side to side with new pitch/roll/yaw commands. There are also new options to 'copy' placement instructions, making it easy to place a large group of items at the same height or having the same orientation.What's especially interesting is that some of these new abilities have to be earned by completing collection quests. They don't outline details of which collections quests are involved, but a number of new space-based concepts are slated for introduction in the upcoming content update.
Holidays of the MMOG universes, past and present
Christmas. Everyone chooses to celebrate it in a different way. The majority of us will be spending the time with our immediate family, some of us will actually get the chance to play these MMOs we've been visiting all year, and one or two of you will be writing on a laptop older than Chuck Norris jokes, trying to avoid being force-fed eggnog.96.4% of MMOs commemorate the holidays in their own special way, too, so you might want to read the latest Warcry editorial that covers most of the major MMOG winter holidays, past and present -- even Anarchy Online is there. A bit of lore, some background, and Emperor Palpatine's boxer shorts (!!!).Don't forget to check out the Guild Wars event if you get a spare minute. Snowball for great justice!
MMOGology: The sappy, holiday special edition
The most defining characteristic of a massively multiplayer online game is the very fact that it's massively multiplayer. Until the advent of the MMOG (and yes, I'm including MUDs as MMOGs) playing video games was either a solitary experience or one you experienced with a few existing friends. MMOGs are wonderful in that they allow us to meet new people across the globe; breaking the physical boundaries of our real-world environment that would otherwise prevent our interaction. The relationships formed and fostered during our time gaming often end up transcending the game itself.Take my friend Rob, for example (Please! Ha!) Rob and I have been friends since middle school and went to college together in Florida. After college Rob got married and eventually moved to Atlanta, Georgia. MMOGs have been great for us because they've allowed us to stay in touch while enjoying a hobby we both love. When we started to play Dark Age of Camelot, Rob met a guy online named Josh who lives in California. Josh played a tank class and Rob played a healing class. Since both of these guys are arrogant goofballs with a similar sense of humor they hit it off right away. As they played together, learning their classes as they went, they became excellent players of their respective classes. Over the years they've stuck together through Star Wars Galaxies, City of Heroes, Everquest 2, Lord of the Rings Online and, of course, World of Warcraft. Although they do mix it up occasionally they almost always stick to the same roles of healer and tank. As a result of knowing their roles, and knowing each other so well, they typically dominate whatever game they play; whether it's in PvE or PvP. But more than just becoming great gamers, they've become great friends.
Star Wars Galaxies announces 'galactic buddy' initiative
Ever wonder what it's like to walk around on a planet with two suns? Are you constantly wishing their was someone around to help you fight off angry rancors? Perhaps you've got an empty seat in your T-16 speeder? If any of these are you, Sony Online Entertainment has you covered. Their new Galactic Resettlement Initiative (also known as the buddy program) will ensure that you're standing under the unforgiving suns of Tatooine in no time flat. The program is intended to allow veteran Star Wars Galaxies players to show their friends what the game is like. For a limited time, they can try out a 14-day free trial of the title set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. And what do the vets get out of it? Well, if their new buddy flips to a subscription account before February 15th, they could get fabulous rewards! These include handsome movie posters for their in-game housing, and the possibility of a semi-stealthed speederbike. Nice looking kit, and all for getting someone new interested in a highly under-appreciated game.
SOE gives customer support a holiday break
The holidays aren't fun, games, and brightly colored trees for players alone. Even the grunts who ensure that the games run smoothly get to have a break too. Sony Online Entertainment has issued a friendly holiday warning this week, reminding players that because of the impending holiday, customer support is going to be severely limited. On Christmas Eve Day, support will be closed promptly at 5PM EST and will remain closed for the duration of Christmas Day. For the remainder of the week from the 26th to the 28th, support will be limited to chat and email during regular business hours. Tech support will also be limited to chat and email for New Years from December 31st to January 1st.So try not to break anything over the next couple weeks, because there might not be anybody there to feel (and attend to) your pain.
What are your Top Ten MMOs?
A few other MMOGblogs have pointed to a thread in the F13 forums in the last day or so, and for good reason - it's fascinating. Some of the core users asked a simple question: What are your Top Ten MMOs? The following discussion gives a lot of insight into the thinking of some of the most dedicated players out there, and the running tally at the top of the thread should make the developers on that list of ten mighty proud. Here's the gestalt top ten list as of Wednesday night:647 pts. - World of Warcraft408 pts. - City of Heroes/Villains357 pts. - Ultima Online349 pts. - EverQuest345 pts. - Eve Online337 pts. - Dark Age of Camelot278 pts. - Star Wars Galaxies253 pts. - EverQuest 2185 pts. - Planetside171 pts. - Lord of the Rings OnlineSome of the great comments that follow highlight other amazing titles that don't get nearly enough recognition, like Puzzle Pirates, A Tale in the Desert, and the still active community of Asheron's Call. It's a great conversation, and I wouldn't be surprised if you wanted to take part - just make sure to read the directions first.So, let's hear it Massively: What are your Top Ten MMOs?
SWG Chapter 8 patch notes up on Test Center
As of yesterday Star Wars Galaxies Chapter 8 (which was apparently really hard to work on) is now in testing on the TCPrime and TestCenter servers. We finally get a full sense of the next game update's scope from the full patch notes, available on the official SWG forums. Highlights include the new Space content, of course, including Nova Orion station, the Star Destroyer Heroic encounter, and the new Ord Mantell system. Additional content includes new ship types, updates to the UI, house decorating, and improved waypoint options. Four new ships have been added: the Rebel Incom X4 Gunship, Imperial YE-4 Assault Gunship, Blacksun AEG-77 Vigo Gunship, and the Naboo N-1 Starfighter. Eight new shipwright craftable components have been added (three capacitors, three armor plating, one gunship shield, and one reactor draft schematics). Ships no longer have a parking location, allowing ship view and launch from any planet or terminal. Gyroscopes have been added to all player controller turrets. No longer will pitching/yawing your ship cause your turret to pitch/yaw as well(turret rotation clamps still apply). This should make shooting much easier! The secondary engine appearance of the VT-49 Decimator fixed to use the correct engine glow.
Star Wars Galaxies Chapter 8 'one of [the] most difficult'
Alongside the Life Day celebration, the Star Wars Galaxies devs are hard at work on Chapter 8. It's already on Test Center, and should be seeing live production sometime this week. Producer Lorin 'DeadMeat' Jameson and Lead Developer Thomas Blair passed on a few thoughts to the folks at SWG Warcry about the work.DeadMeat offered up a letter describing the final days of the development process, while Blair cut to the heart of the matter: the JTL-era content has gotten a bit crusty over the years. The Jump to Lightspeed expansion, which introduced the space game, was released three years ago. Since that time, it's remained mostly untouched. Additionally, changes to the development team also posed problems. "No one here really worked on space," Blair said, "so we had to go talk to the pilots. The pilot community has been great, a big help." Of course, once the team learned what needed to be fixed and what the players would like to see, they then had to figure out how to make changes. Blair likened the update to working on a European car without any metric tools.
Massively looks at MMOG's most influential moments
The MMO genre has come a long way in a very short time, but it's still important to look back at the events which brought us to where we are today. Michael Zenke over at Massively responds to MMOCrunch's list of MMO's most memorable event by citing what he feels to be its most influential, from the high points (Toyota's World of Warcraft commercial), to the lowest (the spontaneous and unannounced addition of New Game Enhancements to Star Wars Galaxies).Were there any obvious milestones in MMO history overlooked in these articles? Were you there when Lord British was assassinated in Ultima Online? Were you or someone you love affected by the Corrupted Blood plague of 2005? Let us know in the comments.
'Tis the season to celebrate Life Day
It's time to deck the halls, fellow Galaxy players! SOE is getting set to roll out the annual Life Day celebration in Star Wars Galaxies. What's Life Day, you ask? Well, only the greatest thing to come out of the Star Wars Holiday Special! No, wait, that's the introduction of Boba Fett.I kid. Life Day is Star Wars' Christmas analog and the SWG devs have actually done a really good job with it. Despite the extremely fishy origins of the holiday, Life Day is something that most Galaxies players seem to appreciate. Every year they offer unique holiday-themed house items for the players, along with Christmas-y events.Here's some of the new content on offer this year: The Tree of Life is bigger and brighter than ever this year! Located in Theed and Kachirho, the mystical properties of the tree are not truly understood. Characters that are over ten days old can use the radial menu on the tree to choose Look for gifts .You will find two presents beneath the tree: one for yourself, and one to share with a friend! When you open the gift for yourself, you will find an Ancient Life Day painting and a Life Day Lamp inside. Use these two decorations in your home to add a festive spirit to your own Life Day parties.[Thanks, MrBreton!]
The most influential MMOG moments
The MMOCruch blog is has up an article offering some poignant moments in MMO history. These five events capture some of the potential and uniqueness of the Massive genre, and are sure to provoke some 'I remember when' thoughts from the older MMOG players. There's some further commentary from Wired's Game|Life blog, also well worth taking a look at.My personal favorite from the list, with Wired's commentary:The Assassination of Lord British (Ultima Online):Ultima Online is considered to be the father of modern MMOs. Richard "Lord British" Garriott, in turn, is considered the father of Ultima Online. When his avatar was murdered at a public appearance, it was the virtual equivalent of Nietzsche claiming "God is dead," then stabbing him in the face with a fictional dagger. As a result "Lord British" is seen as both Garriott's avatar and a metaphor for the tenacious resolve with which MMO gamers will strive to exploit these games with complete disregard for other players, or the game's creators themselves. Plus, it's simply hilarious.As a 'cranky old man' to this type of game, I have a few moments of my own to share after the break. You, there in the back? What is your favorite 'MMO Moment'?
Behind the Curtain: Making your own lore with Fan Fiction
Last week, I spoke about lore, story and ideas for evolving World of Warcraft. I can't quite remember how, but it got me thinking about how we could create our own content in any game we might play, not just WoW. I came up with two answers – Role Playing and Fan Fiction. There are better writers than I who know more about Role Playing, and I'll not embarrass myself by trying, so I'd like to speak about Fan Fiction today. Like many other people out there, some of the experiences I've had in MMOs have been just as exciting, frustrating and rewarding as some offline ones. Much of my time away from the computer is spent planning how best to maximise the time I'll be spending online, and how best to wring every last bit of content out of my experiences in-game. For a lot of players, not matter how immersive the game experience is, it's simply not enough, and the static nature of a game's story frustrates them to the point where they are driven to expand on it themselves. Or perhaps they simply don't want to be restricted to the game mechanics to tell their character's story.
