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Firefall's open beta trailer highlights dynamic events
If you happen to be in Cologne, Germany next month, you can stop by Firefall's booth at Gamescom to check out the inbound improvements and new content because Red 5 Studios announced that it is returning to the convention this year. James Macauley, Vice President of Development, invited players to drop in: "There are plenty more upcoming additions and features to talk about at Gamescom, so come and visit us on the show floor!" The studio will discuss the dynamic events, three new melding pockets, the upcoming Gamescom milestone, and more. Firefall fans, however, don't have to wait until Gamescom to see some of the new content coming to the PvP game. A newly released official open beta trailer, shown after the break, showcases these dynamic events, combat rewards, unlocking the world, and more. To join open beta, sign up on the site. [Source: Red 5 Studios press release]
Coming soon to a console near you: MMOs
Remember E3 2013? That huge video games conference thing from earlier in the summer? Weeks have passed since Microsoft and Sony squared off in the Los Angeles convention center (while Nintendo posted up at Best Buy and Ouya sulked in the parking lot), but the news made there continues to reverberate through the games industry. One curious trend seems to have been missed amid the clashing of proverbial titans: There sure are a lot of MMOs and online-focused games due on consoles this generation. And since MMOs are the business of Massively, we thought it might be fun to compile a quick list of all the ones we can find that are either already available on our current consoles or set for launch on the next batch. The list, as it turns out, is pretty extensive.
Former Defiance executive producer no longer with Trion [Updated]
Nathan Richardsson no longer works for Trion Worlds, according to an entry on his LinkedIn profile. The MMO industry veteran served as Defiance's VP of Development and its Executive Producer beginning in October, 2012. Prior to that, Richardsson was a CCP board member and held various producer jobs on EVE Online from 2002 through 2012. The LinkedIn entry lists Richardsson's Trion tenure under the "past" subheading, and it also mentions an ending date of July, 2013. Massively confirmed Richardsson's departure with Trion earlier this afternoon, but the company declined to comment further. [Update]: New Defiance executive producer Chris Lena has penned an introductory blog post. [Thanks to our tipsters!]
Massively Exclusive: Red 5 talks pay-to-win and Firefall's open beta
If you haven't yet noticed, Red 5's open-world, MMOFPS, action-adventure, jet-boot-featuring Firefall is now in open beta. The sci-fi shooter saw an extended closed beta period marked by major overhauls to core systems and a slow-but-steady trickle of new content, and last week's open beta launch is the next big step in pushing Firefall toward its eventual release. We posed a few questions to Red 5 about the nature of beta testing, the complications brought on by monetizing a game in progress, and the future of Firefall.
Trion offering 72-hour all access Defiance trial for PC users
So that ultra-cheap Steam sale still wasn't enough to get you to spring for Defiance, eh? Well, fear not because Trion is now offering a free trial of its MMO shooter for PC users. The trial includes access to the full game but it is time-limited to 72 hours. Don't delay once you've created your account, either, as the clock starts ticking "as soon as users sign up," according to Trion's press release. There's also an EGO rating cap (200). Finally, you'll be able to carry over all your progress, rewards, and store purchases to the full game if you decide to pony up for the client once the trial period ends. [Source: Trion press release]
Firefall hosts beta e-sports tournament
Yes, Firefall was serious about that e-sports thing. Like, super-serious, guys. Showing that it's in it whole-hog, Red 5 Studios announced that it will host the first open beta tournament series this summer. The tournament is called Go4Firefall and begins Sunday, August 4th. It will be run in cooperation with the Electronic Sports League and take place across North America and Europe. The best teams will take home some of the $10,000 and €10,000 prize pools over a series of weekly matches. Go4Firefall will utilize Firefall's Jetball mode. In Jetball, five-man teams have to fly or shoot a ball into their opponent's goal. The catch is that the ball carrier can't use weapons, making him or her a prime target for foes.
Defiance is currently 66% off on Steam
If you still haven't picked up Defiance and you're at all interested in Trion's Syfy shooter MMO, Steam has a summer sale you'll want to check out. Technically it's called the Summer Getaway Sale, and in addition to a bunch of cheap single-player titles that will keep you inside and out of the humid, sweat-soaked nastiness that is the middle months on your calendar, Defiance can be had for a whopping 66 percent discount. That works out to $13.59 if you're wondering. More info on the game itself can of course be had via its official website.
Choose My Adventure: Saying goodbye to Firefall's New Eden
For the last five weeks, I've plasma-rifled, jet-booted, and resource-thumped my way through the exotic world of Firefall's New Eden. I've killed many bugs. I've fallen from many waterfalls. I've drowned in many deeper-than-expected bodies of water. And most of all, I've had many funs (I assure you that is the proper way of saying it). Sadly, all good things must end. And while this edition of Choose My Adventure comes to a close this week, our own Shawn Schuster will be leaping into the fray next week to ask for your input on which game we should play next. Time has a way of rolling on, after all, and there are so many games worth playing! But that's next week. Today, let's talk final thoughts.
Red 5 celebrates Firefall open beta with live-action trailer
It's official: Firefall, which has been in closed beta for what seems like forever, has taken one tiny step toward an actual release by entering open beta. Starting today, right now, you and your friends can leap into Red 5's MMOFPS and get to shooting, assuming, you know, that you haven't already been playing it. For over a year. Anyhow, Red 5 is marking the long-overdue launch of open beta with a live-action trailer that features a surly man drinking bourbon, a girl on a stretcher, and yes, thumping. They actually put thumping in the trailer. Check it out after the break.
Play your way to an appearance in Defiance's second season
Is your Defiance character so cool that he's practically canon? Take note of the new contest starting today, then, because it's a unique opportunity for your avatar to actually become part of Defiance's lore via an appearance on the Syfy television show's second season. First you'll need to register on the game's website. Then you'll need to finish in the top 10 of the ultimate Ark Hunter contest that starts today and runs through July 30th. The 10 semifinalists will have their backstories fleshed out by Defiance writers, and five finalists will then be chosen by fans via Facebook. The Defiance team will then select the winner from the final five. Neither Trion nor Syfy has specified the context in which the winning character will appear, but it's safe to say that this is one reward that you won't be sharing with millions of your fellow players. You can read the official rules on the contest page, and the requisite major arkfall events are happening now! [Source: Trion press release]
Rise and Shiny revisit: Global Agenda
Ah, I had some glorious times in Global Agenda, so long ago that Seraphina Brennan still worked here and we struggled to livestream the game to do a giveaway or two. The developers prepared some pre-made level 30 characters for us, complete with Massively logo holograms emblazoned across the chests. Sera moved on, livestreaming has become easier, and I haven't returned to the game nearly as much as I've wanted to. I'm not sure why. The game is free-to-play, and I have been enjoying online shooter titles more over the last several months. Then, when I told my boss that I wanted to check it out again, she told me that it was a good idea especially since Global Agenda 2 was announced late last year. What? This news must have passed underneath my very broad radar! Still, I was eager to revisit my old characters and see if the game is still as fun as I remember, so I spent the last week playing the game -- that is, when I wasn't fighting bugs in the game. And I mean technical bugs, not the good, scary space kind.
Choose My Adventure: Firefall's content bomb and a missed invasion
In last week's Choose My Adventure poll, I asked the Firefall community one simple question: What, exactly, is there to do in Firefall besides run around and hook up with random thumping squads? Firefall-ers responded with passion, of course, and sent me on my merry way to experience one of the intense invasions suffered by a couple of key New Eden cities. I return now a grizzled man. My time on the frontlines was as brutal as it was enjoyable. I'm not sure my loved ones will recognize the old me behind the thousand-yard stare that has taken over my face. In short, I've seen things. Unfortunately, none of those things was an invasion.
Trion adds new Volge Incursion content to Defiance
If you've ever reckoned that what Defiance really needs is an infusion of super tough mobs, well, maybe you work for Trion. Or maybe you watched the Defiance TV episode featuring the Volge and thought to yourself, hmm, those would be fun to kill. Or maybe you're just a Defiance player who is waiting for me to get to the point of this news post. The point is that Trion has indeed added the Volge to its sci-fi shooter MMO. You'll find all the details about the new content on the game's official website. [Thanks Gaius!]
Firefall's Kern: 'I look at WoW and think what have we done... We killed a genre'
Firefall head honcho and former World of Warcraft dev Mark Kern asks if MMOs have become too easy in a guest blog at MMORPG.com. It's basically a rhetorical question, since he goes on to outline "the creeping casualness" that defines the genre in 2013. He aims plenty of disparaging remarks at WoW's accessibility formula and its mandate to acquire casual players by streamlining or omitting traditional MMORPG systems. "And it worked. Players came in droves, millions of them," Kern writes. "But at what cost? Sometimes I look at WoW and think 'what have we done?' I think I know. I think we killed a genre." Kern goes on to lament the lack of difficulty inherent in post-WoW MMOs, and naturally he says that Firefall has found just the right balance between accessibility and challenge. He also says that the game's crafting system is "one of the deepest and most complex of any MMO, having more in common with the well-loved crafting system of the original Star Wars Galaxies than the simplified crafting systems of current MMOs."
Choose My Adventure: Next stop in Firefall, whirling death tornado
In last week's Choose My Adventure poll, I asked three simple questions of the Massively community: What should I do, how should I do it, and how pretty should I look whilst doing so? The response was definitive; voters steered me toward PvE content, which I would approach with a mercenary "what's in it for me" attitude while wearing fabulous copper armor. We also had a chance to leap into the game during CMA Live, with experienced Firefall-ers turning out in droves to take me on a whirlwind adventure through some of the game's most intense dynamic content. Overall, it's been a fun week of crushing Ares missions, repelling Chosen invasions, and of course, thumping the heck out of some resources. But there's plenty left to do.
Firefall's final beta milestone and live action trailer [Updated]
The last closed beta milestone for Firefall is live now will be live this Thursday, June 27th, and it's a big one. Closed beta testers can explore the new e-sports-styled PvP game Jetball while taking part in the game's first story-based episode, Blackwater Anomaly. And this is meant as a big thing, big enough that there's even a live-action trailer (starring Tybee Diskin, whom you might recognize from the Nuka Break Fallout fan film) past the cut to help get potential players psyched about just what might be going on. Designed for five-person squads, Blackwater Anomaly sends players out into the storm to examine the eponymous anomaly at Blackwater Marsh, leading to a closer examination of why the Chosen have arrived and what motivates the attack on humanity. If you're intrigued and want to get in on the action before the start of open beta on July 9th, the Founder's Packs will still be available through July 8th. Everyone already in the beta can start enjoying this new content immediately. [Update: Red 5 has contacted us to let us know it has moved the milestone date from today to Thursday.] [Source: Red 5 Studios press release]
Call your buddies: Defiance launches recruit-a-friend
Are you tired of bombing around the post-apocalyptic wastelands of the Bay Area, shooting hellbugs in the face and popping wheelies on your four-wheeler, with none of your friends around to watch/high-five? Trion Worlds feels your pain. The studio has just announced a recruit-a-friend system for its video game/television experiment, Defiance. If you have a copy of the game on any platform and a valid Trion Worlds account, you can hop over to the Defiance Ark Hunter recruitment site and shoot your besties some email invitations. Also available: a recruitment link for social media. As is customary, bringing friends to Defiance comes with special rewards. Your first friend lands you a Tier I lock box, your first five get you a unique title, and your first ten give you two additional inventory slots. If one of those friends actually buys the game, you'll get a new outfit. Five purchases gets you a flame-emblazoned truck, and every purchase after that results in a Tier III lock box.
Choose My Adventure: Earning my Firefall rocket boots
The votes are in. The people have spoken. Now, it's time to play. Last week's Choose My Adventure column, the first one centered on Firefall, presented a couple of choices related to the very basics of creating our character and giving him or her reason to fight. Voters enthusiastically chose a beaten-down man with one hope for redemption -- and unwittingly fulfilled my personal fantasy to create a game hero based on Nicolas Cage's character in Con Air. Voters also chose from among Firefall's five battleframes, with the jack-of-all-trades Assault frame beating out the smash-it-in-the-face Dreadnaught frame by just 26 votes. So, to recap: We have created a character who's an ex-con with no reason to live, handed him an assault rifle, and dropped him into a violent world where pretty much anything goes. This is getting good.
Choose My Adventure: Firefalling
Well folks, it was an epic battle. The communities of Firefall and Fallen Earth rolled out in force to support their favorite game in last week's Choose My Adventure poll, and the contest came right down to the wire with thousands of votes pouring in from both sides. Most impressively, despite the efforts of a few bad-apple commenters and forum trolls, it was a war fought with courtesy and genuine respect for the passions of the competing community. Well done. It's true that only one game can win a slot in Choose My Adventure, and this time around Firefall topped the charts. But let's take a moment to recognize the awesome turnout from both groups of fans. Your communities called you to action, and you responded with dedication and enthusiasm. Frankly, that's the type of stuff we love to see.
E3 2013: Previewing Defiance's new DLC
Defiance broke my heart around this time last year. E3 2012 was the first and last time we saw players from Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC all playing the same game together. I personally haven't played the game since then, but I've kept up with the game news, except for the show. No spoilers in the comments, people! Now that I've gotten my hands on the new DLC that's incoming for the game, I know I'll be catching up with the series. During my Defiance appointment at E3, I had a nice little chat, saw some cute features, tested a new weapon and new vehicle, and killed some new enemies... you know, the usual ark hunter stuff. But before covering the DLC, I had to ask what exactly happened last year with Microsoft and why PlayStation players can't play with their PC mates. I mean, just because one person wanted to duck out shouldn't mean everyone is punished, right? Well, apparently, Trion doesn't agree. Even though PC players can use a controller to play the game, having PS3 and PC on the same world might bring up the dreaded "keyboard vs. controller" argument. I know some of us still want to be friends with consolers, but I guess having one server for Microsoft and one server for everyone else does sound a bit odd.
