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Trion Worlds reveals the Plane of Water
What are the rifts? It's one of those burning questions, maybe not quite on the level of what is the Matrix or who is John Galt, but it's up there nonetheless. In an attempt to answer it -- or if you prefer, get people talking -- Trion Worlds has just released a bit of information on the Plane of Water in its upcoming Rift: Planes of Telara MMORPG. Telara is a world being ripped asunder by various and sundry dimensional corridors called rifts, each of them bringing new challenges, trials, and tribulations to adventurers throughout the realm. "A water rift can take hold even in the driest desert. Salt water rushes from nowhere and spreads into a reeking lake, from which tentacles rise and quiver in frantic rhythm. Toothed tendrils writhe from a rent in the sky, living creatures drown on land, and monsters spill from the rift like rotten fish from a net," Trion says. Check out the full description as well as a video of a water rift in action after the jump.
Rift releases dynamic dimensions trailer
While you may not be among the chosen (yet) for Trion Worlds' much-anticipated Rift: Planes of Telara beta, you can still check out the latest video, released yesterday as an exclusive over at GameTrailers. The clip is pretty short but nevertheless packs a wallop in terms of cool factor, thanks to some nifty fly-through camera effects as well as quick cuts that show different areas of the game world as they change under the influence of various rifts. There's also an oh-so-brief glimpse of combat and horse animations. We know, we know, we're reaching here, but when it comes to Rift, it doesn't take much to get us hot and bothered. Whet your appetite after the cut, and don't forget to brush up on all the latest beta information.
Give me my Rift beta FAQ, beta FAQ, beta FAQ -- Trion's beta FAQ ribs!
There have been a lot of antsy players bouncing on their toes outside of Trion Worlds HQ as they await word of any new Rift: Planes of Telara beta news. While all is quiet on the beta front for the time being, Trion CM Abigale posted a pretty useful beta FAQ on the Rift forums to handle the bombardment of commonly asked questions. While some of the information covers the multiple tiers of potential beta testers that we reported a couple weeks ago, Abigale painstakingly covers all the angles. One of the interesting aspects of Rift's beta process is that it will take the form of self-contained "events," and not all beta applicants will be invited to all of the events. In fact, once a non-VIP tester takes part in a beta event, their name goes back in the pool of potential testers and may or may not be redrawn for the next round. Of course all of these queries are overshadowed by a single dominant question: When will beta begin? While alpha has been underway for quite some time, Abigale refuses to place any time frame on this question and simply states, "Beta dates have not been announced yet." You can read the full FAQ over on the Rift forums.
Glamour shots: Rift's visuals crew rock the IRC
Like it or not, a good first impression is often heavily influenced by looks. You could be the most intelligent, gentle, funny person in the world, but no date is going to give you a second chance if you show up to dinner wearing a [NAME OF POP CULTURE ICON YOU LIKE TO RAG ON] t-shirt. Likewise, the dev team at Rift: Planes of Telara is working hard not only to make the game as fun to play as possible, but to make it look fashionably awesome while doing so. Trion World's Scott White (technical art director) and Russ Cahalan (lead animator) fielded questions about Rift's visuals, animations and style in a recent IRC dev chat. The Q&A is chock-full of useful tidbits, such as info about the existence of a weather system, the wide range of emotes, weapon effects (think glowy and drippy!), particle effects, and stances. The duo also discussed the process of creating the animations and world visuals, including the enormous effort that went into making rifts some of the best eyecandy you'll see in an MMO. Cahalan cracked open the door to give players a peek into the range of weapon animations in Rift that will be present: "We don't have any animation sets that will have flexible weapons like chain swords, whips, or flails currently. The player animation sets are currently pushing close to 500 each, and those include 10 different sets per race/gender to cover the weapon categories we have in game. Those cover a pretty wide variety of weapons, and give a good amount of visual variety between players of different races. We do, however, have some weapons that contain motion. But those are generally VERY special weapons, and are highly desirable." You can read the full transcript at Telara Central.
Make your travel plans to visit Rift's majestic Meridian city!
If your tastes run more to the technological terrors of Rift: Planes of Telera's Defiant, then prepare to get to know Meridian, the faction's capital, quite well. Spitting in the eye of the old gods, Meridian is a cutting-edge metropolis full of harnessed magics, steampunk wonders and rogue water elementals. Although it is on the front lines of the great world war, Meridian still prides itself on its beauty and elegance, as evidenced by soaring towers and technomagic constructs. The city will offer players a quick travel system via portals, which allows a character to instantly zip to any portal he or she has already discovered. There are secret places to uncover, colorful characters such as Sparky the potion-mixing automaton to meet, and plenty of places to drop your coin in exchange for goods and services. You can read a guided tour of the city and watch the quick one-minute flyby of Meridian after the jump.
Trion Worlds Senior Designer guests on newest Rift podcast
The newest edition of The Rift Podcast has a special guest. Trion Worlds' Senior Designer Simon Ffinch joined the hosts of the Rift: Planes of Telara podcast to give some details on the quest system and more. The quest system is something players have been very interested in, so all these new details were very welcome. Simon covered a lot of ground, providing information on the different types and difficulty levels of quests, starting areas, guild-specific quests and much more. On a lighter note, he also addressed the question of his username "Dead Simon." All in all it's a fun listen for Rift: Planes of Telara fans and a nice source of new information.
Trion Worlds explains Rift beta sitch
The beta for Rift: Planes of Telara is looming -- looming, people! -- and yet the masses are somewhat confused as to how to get into it. This was made more complicated this past weekend as Trion Worlds posted a Sign Up For Beta Now link on the front page of Rift without sending users to an actual beta sign up. Community manager Abigale posted a lengthy explanation on the forums as to why this happened and how Trion is planning to recruit for the beta. Essentially, Trion Worlds meant to send out an explanation email before the link went live. But now that it is live, Abigale laid out the three tiers of beta invites and access: Guaranteed beta invitees: These are the folks who got their hands on a VIP All Access pass at one of Rift's community events. This guarantees a beta spot in any and all betas. If you didn't get one yet, don't worry -- Trion will be handing out more of these codes in the future! First beta pool: Any fans of the game who have either entered in a code for a chance at beta access or have merely signed up for a Rift forum account previous to October 2nd is now part of a pool of potential beta players. Trion will pull more testers from this pool as the beta events roll out. Second beta pool: Anyone who signs up for a Rift account after the 2nd (which means that if you haven't already, this will be you) is placed into this pool. This gives you a shot at the beta, although not as great as if you were a part of the first pool. You can read the full explanation over on the Rift forums. [Updated: The link to the explanation should be working now. Sorry for the confusion!]
This week on the MMO Report -- Rift: Planes of Telara special
The MMO Report shakes up the formula this week as host Casey Schreiner devotes his entire show to a special look at Trion's upcoming Rift: Planes of Telara MMORPG. Featuring gameplay footage and interview snippets with producer Adam Gershowitz, the segment fills viewers in on Rift's unique backstory as well as various dynamic gameplay features including, of course, the titular planar rifts. Gershowitz also goes into detail regarding the game's classes, including the ability to "take a variety of different classes and mix them together [using] the ascended soul system." Check out all the Rift footage after the cut or at G4TV.com.
Rift's devs challenge fans to name an orphaned soul
When you think about it, it's pretty hard to come up with the massive list of made-up names necessary for a wholly fabricated fantasy world. Sure, it's initially easy to come up with your "Death-this" and "Swamp-of-that" and "blank-of-the-Damned," but after a while the creative well drains. Rift: Planes of Telara's developers claim this to be the case as they ask fans to help them think up a starstruck name for one of their orphaned souls. This is an excellent opportunity to become part of the game itself by injecting your brain juices directly into the code. Entering the contest is ridiculously easy: Just head over to the Rift forums (you must have a registered account) and submit your suggestion. In a few days, the devs will pick a number of intriguing monikers out of the hat and then throw them to the community and Trion Worlds team for a vote. Souls are Rift's unique version of classes, and this particular unnamed soul will be a type of mage. According to the devs, this soul will "focus these life energies into a devastating force, or recycle destructive magic to heal their allies." It boasts more survivability than mages are used to but lacks as much destructive power or strong healing as a result. What do you think it should be called? Head over to the Rift forums, and let's see a Massively reader win this thing!
Rift: Planes of Telara introduces the Deepstrike Mines
There's a new zone up for viewing in Rift: Planes of Telara, and it follows the theme of all the previous ones: nice to look at and will probably try to kill you. The Deepstrike Mines are an old part of this world, created by the Eth sorcerer kings years ago. The kings were eventually overthrown by the titans they had enslaved to guard the mines, and the new inhabitants are even less pleasant. Walking dead, flesh-eating scarabs, and angry earth elementals are just a few of the creatures patrolling and working there these days. The sourcestone -- a powerful fuel source -- is valuable enough to make it worth reclaiming. Are you willing to brave the mines? Check out the new images and video below from Rift: Planes of Telara to see what you'll be up against.
Rift: Planes of Telara introduces the Plane of Life
"The newest area in Rift: Planes of Telara sounds a lot more peaceful than it is. The Plane of Life evokes images of a peaceful, pleasant place with plenty of growing things. There are, in fact, growing things, but they're probably not quite what you had in mind: "There is no ground in the Plane of Life, and there is no sky. Both are overgrown with plants as exotic as they are deadly. Roots clash like enemy armies, shoving and scrambling, while vines bulge together, sprouting thorns to stab each other." The Plane of Life is survival of the fittest at its purest. Check out the newest images and trailer below. %Gallery-99479%
Rift: Planes of Telara introduces graphic novel and beta keys
As development continues on Rift: Planes of Telara, Trion is moving beyond the confines of the computer screen and into comic retailers. Telara Chronicles is the game's graphic novel, and issue #1 introduces a four-part miniseries set in the world of Telara. Even better, that first issue comes with an exciting bonus. When you buy it at your local comic store, you can also get issue #0 and a Rift: Planes of Telara beta card. You can find more details on the miniseries story on the Planes of Telara Facebook page. There are a limited number of cards, and the graphic novels will arrive on retail shelves tomorrow, so check out your nearest comic shop!
Exclusive Rift reveal: The Kelari race!
As Rift: Planes of Telara marches closer and closer to that glorious day when demons will invade our world, we've been eagerly soaking up Trion Worlds' gradual reveal of the races, classes and features of this promising title. Today we're pleased to announce Rift's sixth race, the Kelari! If the thought of edgy rebel elves who channel magic into machines makes your ears perk up, then you're going to love the Kelari. They're not just the stereotypical "dark elves" that many fantasy games boast, but instead they carry with them the same genre-twist that Rift is becoming known for creating. Read on for Trion Worlds' official background description of the race, as well as a few new gorgeous screenshots in our gallery.
PAX 2010: Hands on with Rift: Planes of Telara
The dungeon portal loomed ahead as a developer pushed a headset into my hands. "You heal," he said to me then moved on to the other four players standing next to me. "You tank. You three DPS. Don't worry too much; you're all a little over-leveled for this dungeon. Let us know when you're ready." I hardly heard him as I frantically tried to memorize the full array of skills in front of me, rearranging my hotbar to put my heals up front and center. "Ohh, you're a druid," another Trion Worlds developer said over my shoulder. "They're fun -- they get a faerie pet that heals your team as well." I followed his pointing finger and clicked on the skill to summon what appeared to be a cross-breed between Tinkerbell and a Troll doll. Fun times. The developer who pulled me into the live demonstration at PAX Prime took up his microphone and directed everyone around the booth to look up at the big screen and watch a team of total strangers jump into a mid-level dungeon. Welcome to Rift, I thought nervously. There's nothing like diving in head-first with your potential humiliation on public display.
Rift gets new website, videos detail nightblade and shaman soul trees
Rift: Planes of Telara made its presence felt at Gamescom 2010, and the folks over at RiftNexus.com have captured a couple of the noteworthy reveals on video. Both the shaman and nightblade soul trees were detailed at the event, and, for those new to the world of Telara, souls represent the game's answer to traditional MMORPG classes, albeit with several unique twists. Trion showed off the shaman's skill tree, and the melee cleric is stocked with abilities including the requisite heals and attacks. The shaman soul also appears to have some debuffing capability, as evidenced by the Vengeance of the Frozen ability that reduces both the strength and the dexterity of a given target. RiftNexus also brings us a brief video of the nightblade's skill tree, and it's clear this particular soul owes much to the classic rogue archetype. You can view both videos after the cut or on RiftNexus.com The Rift: Planes of Telara team has also been busy outside of the convention circuit, as a revamped website made its debut this week. Check it out for more information on the classes, world lore, and more. [Thanks to Brennan for the website tip!]
Getting down to earth with Stonefield in Rift: Planes of Telara
The team at Trion Worlds has been stepping up its game of late with Rift: Planes of Telara, showing off more and more of the gameplay and zones. The preview of the Fire Rift was appropriately dynamic, but with the most recent preview at Rift Nexus, the game shows off a more grounded region in Stonefield. An early zone for the Defiant faction, the area features battles against both titans and undead for low-level characters on their way through the leveling process. The ancient Eth were responsible for bringing the titans to the land, using them as guards for the precious mines of the area... until the titans raised an army and engaged in a brutal war against their would-be masters. Now the titans are imprisoned within the earth, but their influence still spreads throughout the zone. It's quite possible they're behind the undead that are slowly spreading from Granite Falls, something players will have to investigate for themselves. The description alone doesn't do the zone justice, however, so click past the break for an embedded flythrough of the region. Rift: Planes of Telara doesn't yet have a solid release date, but it's shaping up nicely, especially if it continues to build upon such a solid foundation.
Rift: Planes of Telara unveils the Fire Rift
The newest location revealed for Rift: Planes of Telara is the Fire Rift, and as you can guess, it's going to get pretty hot for Telaran heroes who venture in. The Fire Rift is a landscape of scorched mountains, seas of fire, and volcanoes thousands of feet tall. The inhabitants of the land have adapted nicely, both to the heat and the violent atmosphere. Players will find devils, goblins, fire elementals and even a fiery red dragon -- Maelforge the Flame Sire -- all ready and willing to do battle. Finally, those who take on the Fire Rift will find themselves up against The Wanton, a fanatical dragon cult. The entire area and its citizens should prove to be a dangerous but exciting challenge. Check out the gallery and trailer below for the latest view of Rift: Planes of Telara. %Gallery-99479%
A look at Gamescom 2010: Part two
As promised earlier this week, we present part two of our video series documenting Gamescom 2010 from the good people at Maverick Media. In this one, we have a look at Warhammer 40K: Dark Millennium Online, TERA, End of Nations, The Secret World's amazing booth and Ben before his morning coffee and makeup. If you enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek humor of the first video, you'll certainly love this second video found just after the jump. So check it out and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Rift character creation detailed, with HD videos
We here at Massively are becoming ever more excited for Rift: Planes of Telara. The more information that Trion Worlds reveals about the upcoming fantasy MMORPG, the more we crave. Ciovala, webmaster of Riftnexus.com, sends word of a new hands-on review of the title from the recent Gamescom 2010 in Cologne, Germany. The initial segment of the multi-part article touches on aspects of character creation and the title's user interface, with more to follow on the game world and gameplay in future installments. Much like we did with our own recent Rift hands-on, the reviewer came away impressed. The piece also features two high-definition video segments, both dealing with character customization and both viewable after the cut or on YouTube.
Massively's hands-on with End of Nations' PvE and PvP
You know that scene in Contact in which Jodie Foster is looking out at the cosmos, telling the folks at mission control that they should have sent a poet? All the while I was playing End of Nations at Trion World's Gamer's Day event, I kept thinking, "Massively should have sent a StarCraft guru!" I initially felt very much out of my element. MMOs and RPGs are my shtick; I only rarely dive into turn-based strategy games. And RTS games? Forget it. They don't agree with me. If it doesn't have a pause button, I probably don't have time for it. I'm too easily distractible, too impatient, and too exhausted after a work-day of multi-tasking to spend my playtime multi-tasking even more. There's just no time for cooking meals, browsing lolcats, and chatting with the spouse when you're neck-deep in an RTS. RTS games are serious business; they require my undivided attention and concentration, and I don't like doing things halfway. And yet maybe that makes me just the right person to try out an MMORTS hybrid like Trion's EoN. Most people who give it a spin when it hits the market will probably have a lot in common with me -- they'll be loyalists to one side or the other, not to both. Maybe an RTS novice is just the sort of person who can test out the game, present it to MMO gamers, and explain just what the heck this game thinks it's doing playing around in our end of the pool. Or maybe I'll end up sobbing amidst the charred remains of my tank minions. You'll never know if you don't hit the break! %Gallery-99563%
