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Neverwinter was 'almost ready to ship' before F2P MMO retooling
Last month, we reported that Cryptic Studios and Perfect World Entertainment were changing gears to render the upcoming D&D Neverwinter game more of an MMO than originally planned, complete with action combat and a cash shop to dispense vanity items and perks. Today, MMORPG.com published an interview with Neverwinter Lead Producer Andy Velasquez, in which he notes that the original title was "almost ready to ship," but the revision is nevertheless for the best: The change from CORPG to a full action RPG F2P MMO is a change that just made sense for us. Perfect World wanted to go big. Expand everything. Do more. Do better. Take your time. Really blow it out. Pushing into 2012 allows us to make these changes. Transitioning into a full-featured action RPG, free-to-play MMO allows us to reach a whole new audience of people. Never underestimate barriers to entry. With a free client, anyone can play. Try it. Where's the harm? It's better for the game, better for us, better for D&D and infinitely better for fans and gamers. With Neverwinter, we're going to prove that F2P does not describe a type of gameplay -- it only describes the fundamentals of a business model. Velasquez also discusses user-generated content and the challenges of working with a famous IP. "A ton of effort is also being made to make sure that we produce an authentic D&D experience," he says. Head over to MMORPG.com for the full interview.
Metzen talks user-created content at GDC panel
Blizzard's Chris Metzen was on hand at GDC Online to discuss user-created content for World of Warcraft and how the system just wouldn't fly in WoW's architecture. The logistics of player-created content in a game with millions upon millions of players would, most likely, be too overwhelming for a system and game that thrives on polish and quality control. Don't expect to see user-generated content in WoW any time soon. While I am a fan of this type of content, I don't believe it really has a place in WoW. Azeroth is a much more story-driven, linear experience than most people want to discuss, and Blizzard likes to hold our hands through it all to make sure we're doing things according to plan. I don't think that's a bad thing, just one approach to an MMO's leveling and group content. In games like City of Heroes, the player-created content that was available made sense in terms of logistics and volume. For WoW, I can't even fathom how hard it would be to separate the wheat from the chaff.
VidRhythm adds user-uploaded tracks, has Harmonix eyeing iOS for the future
"Initial reception has been great," Harmonix creative director Josh Randall told me in an email exchange earlier today. He was speaking to Harmonix' latest music creation, VidRhythm, and the success it's seen both critically and commercially on the iOS App Store. "We're at 5-out-of-5 stars on the App store ... in just a few weeks we've seen over 1,000 videos uploaded to YouTube, and we presume over that number to Facebook." And today, Harmonix launched its first major update to the bizarrely delightful application, albeit not one you'll find waiting in your phone as an update. The VidRhythm user-generated content creator is available now from the official site, allowing folks with the technical chops to cut apart their favorite tracks and add them to VidRhythm. "We can't wait to see what people do with it," Randall added. But Harmonix isn't done with the application, nor is it done with the iOS platform. While declining my request for specific sales numbers, Randall said, "Suffice it to say it's doing well enough to keep supporting VidRhythm, and to think about what other experiences we can bring to iOS next." More specifically, he told me the VR team is working on adding "even more songs and video styles to play with" in the "next few months." Get your pets at the ready!
Infamous 2 gets vehicular DLC for user-generated content
You've designed the perfect Infamous 2 mission, but it's lacking one small detail: a truck. Good news -- you can totally download a truck now, along with an assortment of other vehicles, as the game's first user-generated content DLC pack. The free DLC includes five vehicles from the single-player game for use in the creation of UGC. And for those of you who prefer to consume user-generated content, Sony also announced a new search feature, accessible by pausing the game. You can find content by multiple search vectors, including PSN usernames. As of now, it's unclear whether you can sort by presence or absence of trucks.
New Modnation Racers DLC rolls out
More ModNation Racers DLC was promised, and here it is: a Water World parts pack and a new fire-engine themed kart plus racer are now available in the game for your microtransaction purchase. "Backburn" is a fire fighter racer, and he's got a miniature fire engine to drive, available for $1 each or a 25 percent off if you buy them together. The Water World parts pack allows players to insert rafts, slides and even an inflatable shark into their ModNation Racers courses. That pack is $6.99, and joins the Big City Career Extension Pack and Arctic Career Extension Pack (both $9.99) in the PS3 and PSP versions of the game. Finally, the PlayStation blog is also awarding the "Moddies" this month, celebrating the best user-created content from the game. You can see the results over here -- some of those tracks and mods are very, very well done, and all of them are up for download right now. Congrats to all the honorees!
Call of Duty: Black Ops mod tools launching in May
Tired of all that silly "paying" for new Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer maps? We know, we know -- money is so 2010. Good thing for you, then, that Treyarch announced plans this week (via Twitter) to officially release the promised mod tools for Black Ops sometime this May. The tools will, of course, only end up on the PC version of Blops, though considering that they never ended up in any version of Modern Warfare 2, we're looking at this as a pretty major improvement. Also, now we can finally live out that dream of recreating Super Mario Bros. stage 1-1 in Call of Duty. Wait ... what?!
Super Meat World now orbiting Steam
If you own the Steam version of Super Meat Boy, you're about to be in a user-generated world of pain. According to die-hard developer Team Meat, the free "Super Meat World" level portal is open and serving eight custom-made chapters (comprising about 140 levels) from various players and developers. The entrance will be to the left of Chapter 1 on the menu and will open once you've collected at least 20 bandages. The next step -- due "in a few days" -- will be a wide release of the Super Meat Boy level editor, initially in the form of a public beta. "The editor will allow people to basically create anything they have seen in game and upload it to Super Meat World with the click of a button," said Edmund McMillen via email. "Users will also eventually gain the ability to create full chapters that can be uploaded and rated by other users." Here's the best part: Once the editor is deemed "stable," Team Meat will enable "The Unknown," a free feature that automatically stitches user-created levels into an unpredictable, sadistic gauntlet of meat-mincing grinders. Do try to curb that public display of excitement (your Stockholm syndrome is showing).
Star Trek Online pushes its player-generated mission Foundry to live servers
Player-generated content may be the wave of the future. Jeremy Gaffney of Carbine Studios said at PAX East that in 10 years we will see more user-generated content. It seems Cryptic agrees. Executive Producer Dan Stahl proudly announced that Star Trek Online's player-generated content has been pushed to the live server today. The Foundry, as the system is called, will allow players to create missions, test them, and then share those missions with other players. As in similar tools in other games, missions will be tried by players then rated. However, unlike missions in other systems, a Foundry mission will not show up in the player-created mission tab until it has been given its first review. There is a review content button for those who wish to review newly created missions. Stahl does tell us in his post on the official STO forums, "Be warned, with many new players getting their hands on the editor, there may be a lot of 'hello world' missions at first." Cryptic is still going to monitor this feature much like a beta since this is the first time it will be sent out to the general public. The developers will be addressing any issues as soon as possible. However, this is live, so log on to STO and try it out now. Stay tuned to Massively this Thursday as Brandon Felczer gives us an in-depth look at the Foundry in the Captain's Log.
LEGO Universe builds community via community building
The fun of playing with LEGO sets is only half in the assembly -- a lot of the enjoyment comes with showing off what you've created to others, no matter your age. It's an element that LEGO Universe has taken to heart, as a recent release talks about the community events the game has run thus far and the plans for more events in the future. Each month of the game's operation has been based around a core theme for community events and challenges, giving players unified goals to work toward. March is the Battle Month, with the final event taking place this weekend in the Battle for Nimbus Station. Players who successfully face off against 29 waves of enemies will be in the running to win a variety of in-game prizes as well as some real-world LEGO sets. The Creation Lab has also been a major area of development, allowing user-generated content to come front and center in the community. Even if you're not currently playing LEGO Universe, you can take part in some of the contests and get your own buildings in the game -- sharing what you've built with everyone even if it's not made out of plastic bricks.
inFamous 2 user-generated content beta signups now open
As promised during GDC 2011, Sucker Punch has delivered the specifics on its beta test of user-generated content creation for InFamous 2. Beginning now and running through March 21, those interested in taking part can sign up at infamousthegame.com to get the chance -- the developer will choose an unspecified number of applicants at random, who will begin receiving beta vouchers in "early April." Since this is technically a sweepstakes, there are a couple of hoops to jump through at the site -- such as re-registering if you're already signed up there and, er, opting into the contest -- but once that's handled you need only sit back and hope that the Sucker Punchers smile upon you. The best user-created missions from the beta will be featured as "Sucker Punch Selections" when the game launches on June 7. Check out our UGC preview for more on what to expect in the beta.
ModNation Racers reaches 2 million user-created items; more DLC to come
The race to two million user creations in ModNation Racers took considerably longer to finish than the first-miilion milestone (which was achieved in less than three months). Just over nine month's since Modnation's release, the collective community has finally passed the two-million mark in creations -- a wealth of content for players, old and new alike, to share. PlayStation Blog also confirms that more "official" DLC is on the way, with new karts, characters and prop packs planned. A free "Parts Pack" is already available on the PlayStation Store, and upcoming track packs (used to create new tracks) will include western and pirate themes. Additionally, (official) developer United Front Games is working on new career DLC. [Image source: Flickr; credit: StargamerX]
InFamous 2 preview: User-generated chaos
Before presenting the latest milestone in the development of InFamous 2 at GDC today, Sucker Punch Productions development director Chris Zimmerman told his captive audience, "What we saw as the biggest problem with InFamous was that, at some point, it ended." That won't be an issue in this sequel, thanks to user-generated content. Zimmerman says that the developer has planned to integrate user-created missions from the outset, keeping the feature secret for two years. "That's hard to do," he said with laugh. Players will have access to "All of the good guys, all of the bad guys, all of the props that we built for the game -- vehicles, weapons and other stuff -- and then a whole bunch of special stuff we built just for making user-generated content," he confirmed. " We figured we'd throw that all out there and let people create, because we think there are lots of people out there that dream of being a game designer, and this is our opportunity to give them the opportunity to share what they can do. To take all of this content we've built over the past two years and putting it together to make something we never thought possible."%Gallery-118056%
Infamous 2 lets you play, create, share your own missions; public beta coming soon
And just like that, inFamous 2 joins Sony's "Play, Create, Share" suite of games by allowing players to make their own missions. Developer Sucker Punch unveiled the surprising new feature at GDC. Using the new creation tool, you'll be able to create "any" kind of mission. Creators have "access to the same set of characters, creatures and props" that the designers have. A "limited" public beta will be available in April. Details on how to get in will be announced on the game's official website in two weeks, on March 14th. Update: A video, after the break!%Gallery-118056%
StarCraft 2 user-created map takes the fight into space
While most of us would consider StarCraft 2 to be a space-themed strategy title, very little of the game actually takes place in the outer parts of space -- you know, the parts where no one can hear you scream. A custom map by the name of Star Battle fixes that oversight, pitting two teams of six players against one another in a massive, DotA-esque encounter. Only, instead of controlling fantasy archetypes, you control gigantic spaceships, which we think we can all agree is way cooler. The map has proven to be the most popular custom gametype on the European Battle.net servers, and is now available on the U.S. servers as well. Check out the tutorial video posted after the jump to learn the rules the game before jumping into it -- a smart move, considering player death in Star Battle is permanent. (BUH BUH BUUHHHHH)
LEGO Universe content keeps building toward the future
With nothing stopping players save for what their imagination can come up with, the worlds of LEGO Universe have been exploding with content since launch. As a matter of fact, in the last month the moderation team has approved over 86,000 different player-created spaces that offer tons of unique and interesting LEGO Universe content so it can be shared with other players in the game. Add to that Netdevil's push for new content including the Frostfell holiday area, as well as special LEGO World Builder League zones, and there's quite a bit of new content in the game since launch. According to information from the LEGO Group and Netdevil, the plans for 2011 are even more ambitious. Future content updates will offer LEGO Unvierse players the chance to interact with the LEGO factional leaders and further help push the maelstrom forces back -- unlocking new worlds and storylines in the process. The other interesting thing of note is the plan to add an all-new LEGO IP into LEGO Universe in 2011. In the meantime, check out the new screenshots and video offering a look at some of the myriad creations players are already enjoying in-game. %Gallery-49493%
Star Trek Online Season 3 starts Dec. 9, adds mission creation beta
As we all know, the third season of The Next Generation was a real doozy. We mean, "Sins of the Father?" "The Bonding?" Oh, man -- they're classics. We've got understandably high hopes for the third "season" of free downloadable content for Star Trek Online, an update which will go live December 9, adding a mission replay option, unlockable Borg technology and a beta for "The Foundry," which allows players to craft their own episodes. This, of course, means that someone needs to go through and recreate all the episodes from season three of TNG. Heck, how about all the episodes from TNG? We're not sure those wacky Holodeck episodes would be possible, but we're sure players can kludge something together.
Behind the Mask: The Endgame
One of the common criticisms of Champions Online is that it has an incredibly shallow endgame. If true, this will be a very significant problem when the game goes F2P. When a large number of people with lots of time on their hands and only two character slots dive into a game without a deep endgame, the results will most likely be less than ideal. This week on Behind the Mask, we'll look at what CO has and where it can possibly improve. There are some silver linings as always, but this week we're going to be pretty critical of the Champions endgame.
Star Trek Online to incorporate player-made missions
Cryptic Studios already enabled City of Heroes players to create their own missions from scratch successfully -- now it's planning on adding the feature to the rest of its MMO catalog. Star Trek Online players can now apply to beta test the "Foundry" toolset, which allows them to create entire Episodes, customizing mission objectives, characters and scenery, which other Captains will then be able to play through. There's no telling how powerful the Foundry will be until we get a chance to check them out, but we've got our fingers crossed that our Captain Riker/Tribbles slash-fic masterpiece will be able to be realized using these new tools.
Star Trek Online preps player-generated content tools
Cryptic Studios is boldly going where only a handful of MMORPGs have gone before: namely, the user-generated content quadrant. The official Star Trek Online forums now sport an additional section dedicated to hosting discussions about The Foundry, a set of mission authoring tools that will be made available to players in short order. The Foundry looks to add a ton of additional content options to a title that has occasionally been criticized for a lack of things to do, and Cryptic hints that more functionality will be forthcoming. "Players can customize pre-made planet surfaces and star systems with their own encounters, objects, and story. They can also create their own star systems from scratch. More map features are planned for future updates," reads the FAQ on the o-boards. The system will also feature peer review, with the aim of ensuring that only the highest quality missions make it into the new community authored content tab. STO players looking to test the new tools should keep an eye on their emails for invites to the upcoming closed beta. [Thanks to Stormwaltz for the tip!]
Captain's Log: Anticipating STO's future in user-generated content
Hey there, folks! Welcome back to another edition of Captain's Log, Massively's rarely-coherent-but-always-fun look at Star Trek Online. I have had just the busiest darn week, you betcha. I spent all weekend at New York Comic Con, where I saw more than a few folks dressed to the nines in Star Trek gear, and then I started a shiny new day job on Monday. Phew! I've been thinking a lot about user-generated content lately. In a recent interview, STO Executive Producer Daniel Stahl offers a few details on the subject, in which we learn a bit about the forthcoming system's abilities and limitations. What do we know about STO's UGC tools? What do we still not know -- mainly, when can we get in there and start crafting our own missions? Why, follow me past the jump to find out.
