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EVE Evolved: Has faction warfare been abandoned?
EVE Online's Faction Warfare system was released almost one year ago with the Empyrean Age expansion and was initially a complete success. It provided a stage on which thousands of players waged war. From fleets of over a hundred players to gangs as small as two or three pilots, everyone found their own place in the conflict. After the initial wave of success, questions began to arise on the lack of rewards to offset the cost of losing ships in PvP. In addition, while the point of faction warfare initially revolved around capturing systems, holding an enemy system provided no benefits beyond bragging rights. Almost a year on from its initial release, faction warfare has barely changed, prompting very real concerns from players that EVE's developers CCP have entirely abandoned it. These issues have even made it as far as the Council of Stellar Management.In this article, I take a retrospective look at how faction warfare has (or hasn't) progressed in this past year and ask the question "Has Faction Warfare been abandoned?".
CCP Games to revamp the lore of EVE Online
The sci-fi MMO EVE Online has a rich backstory that now spans 6 years. That backstory is coupled with the many contributions of (volunteer) in-game journalists who report both on the actions and machinations of EVE's players and alliances, and who also write news-style fiction that helps drive the game's storylines forward. EVE Online's Lead Writer CCP t0nyG (aka Tony Gonzales, author of Empyrean Age) has made some major announcements this week regarding changes to EVE's storyline and lore, in a dev blog titled "The Rediscovered Scrolls". The dev blog focuses on how CCP plans to address some of the issues players have noted in terms of the backstory and how it relates to them as 'capsuleers' in the setting of New Eden, given that official fiction and lore are now being released quite frequently. Gonzales says, "Unfortunately, we haven't been perfect in the execution of this effort. A balance had to be maintained between keeping the storyline fresh and dynamic while also holding fast to the core attributes of foundation material. That led to mistakes, contradictions, and general inconsistencies in the canon. We took that personally, and decided to do something about it."
Massively's hands-on with Final Fantasy XI's April version update
Prophecy, valor, campaign, and item augmentation, oh my! This latest version update was packed with goodies for the Final Fantasy XI player base, making sure that something for everyone was included in the game. I recently got the chance to sit down with the Final Fantasy XI team and play through some of the content, experiencing what their newest mini-expansion, A Crystalline Prophecy, had to add to the game.Past that, I also had the chance to see the new Fields of Valor areas in action, aid the Mithras in defending Windurst from the beastmen during the Crystal War, and experience some of the hard tasks in the campaign missions first hand.So does the April update get a thumbs up? Is Crystalline Prophecy worth the ten bucks? Those questions and more will be answered within.
Massively's hands-on with Final Fantasy XI's April version update pt. 2
The Crystal War Missions of Campaign The new missions in the Campaign area of the game offer some tough challenges and nice rewards for players looking to further the storyline of Wings of the Goddess. Of special note are the cutscenes, which were very emotional and also very beautiful. Compared to some of the original cutscenes that the game shipped with, these new scenes are very active and dramatic. Funny characters, camaderie, and full blown combat were abound in the seven minute cutscene I watched -- all which included my character fighting back to back with some of Windurst's most talented military heroes. The boss battle I got to participate in was tied directly into the events of the prior cutscene, as players need to use clues from the cutscenes to locate where to go and what to do. In our battle, one of the Mithras was injured as she fended off hordes of beastmen with a slew of grenades, forcing our party to find her and help defend her. Unfortunately, once we located her door, we were attacked by a group of beastmen that included a very powerful boss. Even with five well geared level 75 players, including me as the white mage with my brand new white mage abilities, the boss took a considerable amount of time (and a little cheating) to defeat. As to the fate of the injured Mithra... let me just say that I was a little heartbroken by the end of the cutscene, and I only knew the character for ten minutes. Our overall impressions of the version update and mini-expansion are... For a game that's close to seven years old to feature challenging, engaging content, well-written story, and beautiful graphics is in itself amazing. The version update even seems to be slowly upending the former hardcore playstyle of FFXI, creating a more welcoming game for newbies and veteran players alike. If you have Final Fantasy XI and have let your account lapse, my suggestion is to certainly come back and give the new version update a try -- especially regarding additions like the Fields of Valor. FFXI has evolved from a game of ruthless intentions into a challenging, but rewarding experience for those who are willing to stick with it. Additions like being able to add your own stats to items via item enhancement only make the game more approachable for today's World of Warcraft audiences. The version update brings much to the game and makes for a thumbs up. A Crystalline Prophecy, however, is a little shaky. While the content starts at level 30, it cannot be finished until the player is level 75. The storyline looks to be decent and the end reward seems to be worth 10 dollar price tag, but the level 75 requirement pushes this one into the territory of "buy it if you can finish it." This isn't an expansion I would recommend for players just starting with the game, but it certainly is a purchase for those who are already FFXI veterans. But, newbies, if you can afford the 10 dollar price tag and have a character at or over level 30, go ahead and grab it. It's a nice addition to the game, especially for a price of 10 bucks.
Video interview tells us more about Global Agenda's storyline
When you think of Global Agenda, what do you think? Action-packed PvP, right? While that's a huge part of this upcoming game from Hi-Rez Studios, there is a story side that we don't hear much about. In the latest Game Trailers video from GDC, they interview Global Agenda's Executive Producer, Todd Harris, about more of the storyline and PvE aspects of the game. All the while, we get treated to some amazing in-game combat footage, showing off the updated look and animations in the game as it approaches its beta period.In this video we learn about the primary entity in the game, known as the Commonwealth. Your character begins as a fugitive from the Commonwealth who escapes to join player-run agencies, where the real action begins. From here, these agencies (or guilds, if you will) fight for control over the scarce land and resources left after World War 3 wiped the slate clean. Wanna find out more? Check out the entire video interview embedded after the cut below.
Fallen Earth dev diary focuses on introducing new players to PvP
Fallen Earth is one of three post-apocalyptic massively muliplayer online games currently in development that are a far cry from the fantasy titles which have proven most popular in the MMO world. IGN scored an exclusive two part developer diary from Fallen Earth writer and content developer Wes Platt who discusses creating the PvP starter town of Terance. Namely, he explains how and why the Fallen Earth team has been putting so much work into Terance and the challenges and pitfalls faced in differentiating the PvP-centric area from other more standard towns in the game. The first part is "Building the Town of Terance". It paints a picture of a post-apocalyptic aftermath setting where a psychotic artificial intelligence, long since sealed away underground by its corporate progenitors and forced into a century of dormancy, is woken with dire consequences. Now powered up, the AI -- TETRAX -- prepares once again to work towards the extermination all human beings in its vicinity. Human beings in Terance may find themselves on the run, hunted by AI-directed zombies called Diggers, as well as mutants and vermin.
The Old Republic to give players their own 'personal Star Wars saga'
The second installment in Bioware's series of video documentaries for its upcoming MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic, reveals how the developer is planning on viciously and irrevocably hooking subscribers. Instead of tapping into whatever mystical, stat-driven formula World of Warcraft has divined, Bioware is focusing on getting players to become invested in the overarching stories of their characters, hoping that players will create "their own personal Star Wars saga."The documentary gives a brief example of how this will work -- each class will apparently have their own hundreds-of-hours-long storyline to pursue, aided by cinematic pseudo-cutscenes and major, story-altering decisions the player will be forced to make. Check out the video after the break!
EVE Online Apocrypha expansion trailer kicks off storyline events
CCP Games just dropped the trailer for EVE Online's Apocrypha expansion, which sets the tone for the storyline players will soon experience. The trailer depicts a cataclysmic event which creates rifts in space-time throughout the New Eden galaxy, affecting all of the races. We see fleets of ships investigating the anomalies and take their first journeys through wormholes, emerging in unknown space. There, the explorers find bizarre structures whose design is unknown to New Eden's races. These space stations house the technology behind Tech III, advanced modular ship designs, but seizing technology potentially thousands of years beyond that of the capsuleers awakens long-dormant defenses: the drones of the ancient Sleeper race. We've got the YouTube embed of the Apocrypha trailer in HD for you below the cut.
EVE Online's first Epic Mission Arc to arrive with Apocrypha expansion
It's no secret to EVE Online players that running missions in high security space is pretty much a guaranteed path to wealth, even if only because of how predictable the scenarios are. Speak with an agent and accept a mission, look up the details by pointing your in-game browser to EVE-Survival: Mission Reports, gear up properly and watch the ISK fill your wallet as you down NPC pirate after pirate. Profitable, sure, but doing this for weeks on end will probably have you craving some more variety in your PvE gameplay. Hopefully EVE players will be getting that variety through more engaging storylines beginning next month, as developer CCP Molock explains in his latest dev blog. The Apocrypha expansion will introduce "Epic Missions", a departure from the standard rinse-and-repeat when accepting agent missions. These new missions will be linked together in an ongoing storyline, played out across a number of missions. Players will make choices that determine the outcomes of Epic Missions via the new branching system that will accompany these missions. The rewards will be on par with standard agent missions, but the completion of a chapter and especially an arc will provide some exceptional rewards, CCP Molock says.
The Daily Grind: Is phasing the new instancing?
Yesterday our very own Marc Nottke devoted his column, MMOGology, to the new technology of phasing and the effects it can have on gameplay.For those of you who are out of the loop, phasing is the new technology that World of Warcraft (and Lord of the Rings Online, to some extent) makes use of to change the world as the player completes quests and progresses in the storyline. For example, doing quests to retake a piece of the world map from the monsters might actually lead to a new base camp being set up by NPCs instead of just completing the quests and having no change occur in the world.But phasing has its own problems, as Marc has shown. Sometimes you may enter a phased state only to find that the event contained within it was started by another player, or you may find your epic storyline moment ruined by an inconsiderate person.So, with all of this in mind regarding phasing, here's the question: "Is phasing the new instancing?" Certainly it won't replace instancing completely, but should we put phasing into the category of "great leaps in game design" or should we stick it somewhere in "fads that will die in 2 years?"
Comics legend Marv Wolfman on his involvement with DC Universe Online
MTV Multiplayer's Stephen Totilo caught up with DC Universe Online writer Marv Wolfman last week, to discuss what he's bringing to the table on SOE's upcoming super-hero MMO. (Despite Totilo's good-natured ribbing, the comics-industry veteran is certain his writing on DCUO will be able to top his resurrection of Optimus Prime in the original Transformers animated series, which some of our readers may remember.)Details about the game's storyline are scarce, as Wolfman hasn't begun working with the developers yet. As of last week, he was delving into the storyline written by Geoff Johns in preparation for turning that story into the missions (and capers) that players will run in DCUO. Wolfman hopes to create a sense that each mission or battle isn't a stand-alone event, and rather has some integration into a much larger story. Another challenge Wolfman is tasked with is striking a balance between keeping fans of DC comics titles happy, while keeping the game accessible to those who aren't necessarily well-versed in DC comic book canon. Check out the MTV Multiplayer piece on Marv Wolfman and his role in fleshing out DC Universe Online. Did you enjoy this? We've donned our capes and tights to explore SOE's DC Universe Online in-depth. Come explore more of Metropolis and Gotham with your friends at Massively!
What does BioWare have planned for SWTOR?
In a recent interview with GameSpy, BioWare's co-founders (affectionately referred to as The Doctors) explain a bit more about the origins of the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO and what went into its creation process so far.This interview is full of useful info to any fan of BioWare or their Knights of the Old Republic games, yet one question grabbed our attention more than the others. Considering the fact that the game has been so heavily advertised as big on story, GameSpy asked about the decision to make the game 300 years after KotOR. "Setting the game three centuries after KotOR arose from sitting down and writing out a timeline of events that took place after the fall of Darth Malak, during and after the events of KotOR 2. We had always alluded to a great darkness in Deep Space which Revan had sought to confront after KotOR, and we decided that great darkness would be a massive Sith Empire in exile, biding its time and waiting to come back for vengeance against the Jedi and the Republic."Check out the full interview for more on the strong player-driven storyline, combat and what MMO BioWare considered making before SWTOR came along. BioWare has finally unveiled Star Wars: The Old Republic, their new MMO! Massively's got you covered on all the details. Check out our comprehensive guide on everything we know so far about the game, or just peruse our screenshot/concept art galleries. Join us in the Galaxy far, far away!
Star Wars: The Old Republic interview with Community Manager Sean Dahlberg
In a recent interview with Allakhazam, BioWare's Sean Dahlberg discusses their newest MMO project, Star Wars: The Old Republic. As Community Manager for the project, Dahlberg was able to give some great insight into the game's storyline and direction, or at least as much as he could say for now.One particularly interesting part of this interview is the discussion on PvP. As Allakhazam points out, the Republic and Sith Empire are not exactly friendly towards each other, so PvP would be an obvious game feature. Dahlberg explains that PvP is definitely part of the game, yet points out that TOR "is not looking to be the jack-of-all-trades game. Instead, we are going to focus on what we do best and make sure the game and all its elements are fun and entertaining." He goes on to explain away what may have sounded like a suggestion that the game will be PvP-heavy by saying, "TOR will offer fun and rewarding gameplay no matter what your play style is. If you're not a PvPer at heart, there are definitely other things within the game to do." Sounds very promising, and we're excited to hear more about the game, and relay it all to you, when more news becomes available.
MMO storyline writing: ArenaNet style
In a recent interview with Ten Ton Hammer, ArenaNet's Bobby Stein explains a great deal about the process of creating such an intriguing storyline as we have in Guild Wars. The company's Writing Team Lead speaks candidly about how they were able to concentrate the plot into the most efficient and interesting quest lines, walking that fine line between a boring wall of text and "nothing more than quest dispensers."Speaking briefly on the upcoming Guild Wars 2, Stein adds, "We were able to keep the coolest things from the world while letting the rest remain in the annals of history. Despite all that has changed, Tyria is very much in need of heroes. A lot can change in a few hundred years. New races have risen to prominence. New threats have surfaced. You'll see threads of current Guild Wars history, along with some new stories." Even as there's no new information on Guild Wars 2 here, it's still a compelling article for those interested in learning more about the storyline writing process from one of the best in the business.
New EVE Online video advances backstory
Fans of EVE Online's backstory will want to see CCP's latest video tied into the game's lore. The two previous videos CCP Games released were linked to the events that unfolded in The Empyrean Age novel, as broadcast by The Scope news agency: 'Alexander Noir's' suicide attack obliterating hopes for peace between the Gallente and Caldari races, and the unified showing of Minmatar strength that served as a threat to those who would hinder their race's pursuit of freedom. The latest video, from Amarr Certified News, shows the full might of the Amarr Imperial Domain Fleet, with a multitude of Avatar titans and Revelation dreadnaughts arrayed in elaborate formation, heralding the arrival of their newly coronated Empress, Jamyl Sarum. Having successfully navigated her way to the top while usurping her formidable adversaries, Empress Jamyl Sarum's rise to prominence establishes her as, quite possibly, the most powerful individual in New Eden. All of New Eden witnesses her broadcast, and hears her proclaim, "I am the harbinger of hope. I am the sword of the righteous. And to all who hear my words, I say this: What you give to this Empire, I shall give back unto you." While the theocratic Amarr will operate under some new guiding principles through her rule, it's clear that the Reclamation will proceed, and world after world will come under her control as she 'saves all those wayward children, from themselves.' You can view the video footage of Empress Jamyl Sarum's coronation speech after the cut, as she ushers in a new age for the Amarr race, and for New Eden itself.
EVE Online interview discusses players determining storyline
Split Infinity Radio, a gamer-run internet radio station (with a noticeable sci-fi MMO bent) recently interviewed Scott Holden, Lead Content Creator of EVE Online at Gen Con 2008. Holden has been integral in building up all the mission content that's about to drop in the upcoming Empyrean Age expansions over the next few months. Split Infinity asks Holden a question that's been on the minds of a number of EVE players: Can player actions really influence the storyline? Holden's answer is 'yes'... to a point. He discusses the initiative at CCP to create a system where events are announced in contested parts of space, prompting players to get involved. Their actions would be reported on through the in-game news, and in this way affects (or creates aspects of) the storyline. Participants in factional warfare, or anyone who reads the Interstellar Correspondents news pieces, know that this already exists to some extent in EVE, but Holden states that CCP would like to take the idea further as time goes on.
CCP Games video interview on player interaction with fiction
The backstory of EVE Online is something that CCP Games has put a great deal of time and effort into creating. As all MMOs are ongoing works, so too are EVE's backstory and the storyline that players experience. To that end, CCP has people like Lead Writer Tony Gonzales (author of The Empyrean Age novel) and Lead Content Creator Scott Holden to flesh out the setting's past, while ensuring that the future of EVE's story remains open enough to allow players to do as they choose. MMORPG.com caught up with Tony Gonzales and Scott Holden at Gen Con, and got them to speak about the story of EVE in a video interview. They discussed how factional warfare finally came to be in EVE, player response to the Empyrean Age expansion, and how CCP is working to better integrate the backstory with gameplay. Be sure to check out MMORPG.com's Empyrean Age interview if you'd like to hear CCP's views on player-driven versus story-driven action.
EVE Visual Guide: The Birth of New Eden
The backstory of EVE Online is one of the game's major strengths. Not all players immerse themselves in the setting, which is a shame as the backstory -- built up over years -- is rich. No epic science fiction tale is without a grand struggle, and the story of EVE is one of the corrupting interplay of high technology and the power it brings, generation upon generation. EVE's backstory is a departure from the established notions of 'good vs. evil'; even its villains can become heroes in the gritty setting of New Eden. As the empires created by EVE's pilots rise and fall with relentless alliance warfare in 0.0 space, as they lend their strength to causes in the factional warfare of the Empyrean Age, they take the concepts established in the backstory and run with them -- in some respects, making the game into what they want it to be. The Birth of New Eden is a visual tour of the backstory of EVE, from humanity's first steps beyond the EVE Gate into the unknown, to the sweeping conflict of The Empyrean Age. Witness the Birth of New Eden >> %Gallery-30763%
Exploring Middle-earth: Fashat Laug
The lore aspect of Lord of the Rings Online is extremely important, as the game is centered around one of the most popular and influential works of fantasy fiction of all time. This makes the game's own storyline and lore a challenge for the game developer's writers to not only stick to the script, so to speak, but also be able to flesh out the story into a playable environment that is accessible and explorable to hundreds of thousands of players 24/7.Case in point: the newest entry of Codemasters' Exploring Middle-earth focuses on Fashat Laug, the war-camp established by the Earth-kin, near the ruins of Ost Crithlanc. In this story, we get some background into how the camp was settled by the first Hunter of the Suuri-lehma tribe, and how it eventually evolved into the new tribe known as the Rauta-lehma. If you're interested in learning more about the development of the Earth-kin tribe, check out this piece of lore on the LotRO Europe website.
Breakfast Topic: Does the levity mess up the lore?
Warning: Wrath spoilers ahead! Blizzard's pretty good at Lore when they want to be, with the whole 2.4 storyline, the Battle of Ahn'Qiraj, and many epic storylines promising to come out of Northrend. At the same time, they also have their own offbeat brand of humor that is never far gone from their design philosophy, and it shows up in their stories too. Sometimes it serves them well and adds a bit of levity, but other time, it seems to take on a life of its own, a life that can strangle what could have otherwise been something compelling and interesting. Zul'Aman is perhaps the most pertinent example. What could have been the last attempt of the Farstriders to shut down the troll menace threatening their people, what could have been a revival of the Troll killing tradition of the Arathi, or an examination of the High Elves who stayed loyal to the Alliance but still hate the Amani, instead turned into a cheap redneck treasure hunt. It killed much of the allure of the zone and turned what could have been a epic struggle against a former hero of the Horde into a run of the mill bunny bashing session.
