wild-speculation
Latest
The Nexus Telegraph: Between the lines of WildStar's quiet weeks
Did you miss us? I know, it was probably weird not seeing an installment of the Nexus Telegraph last Monday, since I sort of have a reputation for turning in everything early and without fail. (Like the week when I had no power and still turned in my columns.) But there's no need to worry; we're still going live biweekly. Or were you mostly missing the weeks in which we were absolutely swamped by WildStar news? It certainly seems a lot more quiet lately. We've gone from big system reveals to a few tidbits here and there; the two big stories over the past two weeks have been confirmation that we're not getting another big wave of beta invites and that the game's default UI is being revamped. These are both worth talking about, but in this case I think the silence actually says quite a bit all by itself.
Chris Roberts addresses Star Citizen PS4 hullabaloo
If you were part of the throngs worrying over the weekend that Star Citizen was jumping ship from the PC to the PS4 because a devkit for the console was spotted on a dev's desk, you can breathe easier. Creator Chris Roberts addressed this wild speculation in a new dev post, stating: "Star Citizen IS a PC game. It will NEVER be dumbed down for a lesser platform. We will NOT limit the input options or supported peripherals to the lowest common denominator. We will NOT pass on features and technology just because they will only run on some hardware configurations." So lay those console fears to rest; the PC is the platform for Star Citizen. Is there some snippet of possibility that the game could also be available via a console at some point in the future? Roberts answered yes: He'd consider it if certain conditions were met. He'd require that his devs be able to update their code without any restrictions and the community be able to interact freely across platforms.
The Nexus Telegraph: A speculative look at WildStar crafting
Sometimes my plans coincide perfectly with real-world events. Last time I wrote this column, I planned to talk about crafting, and then on Friday WildStar gave us a look at some of what we can expect in the system. Admittedly, we don't yet know how the whole circuit board system plays into crafting or what "one of two systems" means, but we can speculate, can't we? Before anyone asks, let me say that no, I had no forewarning or advance preview. I'm just pleased that everything came together by coincidence. So right now we know that the circuit board interface is the basis of one of the crafting systems in the game, and we know how the circuit boards in general work. That's enough to make some reasonable guesses. Let's start by guessing at a system in which you sidestep the entire process of finding the best stats on the best items by just making it from scratch.
The Nexus Telegraph: More WildStar class speculation
WildStar got a website overhaul not too long ago, giving those of us watching the game a bit more information about the class setup. All four classes have their limitations on display along with the roles that those classes will play -- meaning we're now sitting at two healers, two tanks, and two more class placeholders that have yet to be revealed, which did nicely shoot my speculation about the class/role division in the throat, but I'm not exactly complaining. Of course, knowing who can be what means that we have a clearer picture of WildStar's structure, and that means we can speculate about how the rest of that structure will be filled in. So with full knowledge that I might turn out to be wrong before the week is out, I'm going to guess at what's coming around the bend in terms of the game's classes and how the classes will play in their respective roles.
The Mog Log: Chocobos run Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV do not take place in the same world. One is not a sequel or prequel to the other, neither game continues the same story themes, and indeed nothing connects them beyond the names and a set of thematic elements. So I enjoy looking at those thematic elements sometimes, for the same fundamental reason that when I was a little boy I occasionally liked to take apart toys just to see how they worked. You'll remember that I looked at moogles as they related to the Final Fantasy series as a whole a while back, with the ultimate conclusion that moogles exist to provide an in-universe explanation for mechanical conceits. Chocobos have got to be simpler, though. They're present in both Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV, and they're extremely straightforward in both: They're mounts. That's their purpose in the series, isn't it? You ride chocobos. Surely it can't be any more complicated than "fictional method of transportation". The answer is of course it can. But I think the first step is to look back at the series as a whole.
The Daily Grind: Blizzard's next MMO?
With Jeff Kaplan moving on to the new Blizzard MMORPG, and recent news coming out that Blizzard will indeed be hosting a BlizzCon again this year, it's time for a bit of fun. What fun would that be? Guessing what Blizzard may choose to do for their new MMO, of course! We've heard StarCraft (otherwise why put all that backstory into SC2?) re-imagining StarCraft: Ghost (they did put a bunch of money into it) and even ideas as far-flung as The Lost Vikings (world a bit small, maybe?). Of course, since we're just taking wild guesses, the sky is the limit! What do you think we'll see as the next MMO from Blizzard - and do you think we'll hear about it at BlizzCon this year?[Edited to correct name]
Predicting the MMO landscape in 2008
It's that time of year again-- before 2008 starts, everyone and their brother is going to throw out some predictions about what will happen with MMOs this year. So here's a Massively roundup, and a little meta-analysis of what might happen in this Year of the Potato. Let's start with our own Zenke-- he says Wrath won't make it out in 2008, The Agency and Warhammer will hit big, and Dark Age of Camelot and Vanguard are on their way out. He's also got Tabula Rasa sticking it out for the year, and claims that a major MMO (Age of Conan?) will be delayed past 2008. Ancient Gaming Noob is next: he also says Wrath is shipping late, but goes against popular notions to say that Star Trek Online will be released to cheers from fans on all sides. He also says the biggest story of the year will be Age of Conan's "titties," and that will throw a scare into the "adult" MMO market. He also says, tongue firmly planted in cheek, that Bioware is not actually making an MMO, and the announcement of that will "only spur greater excitement and speculation as to what kind of MMO BioWare is making." Funny. Keen of Keen and Graev expects Warhammer to go gangbusters, but also says Funcom will have trouble with the nudity in AoC, causing them to patch it out. He has Wrath "bombing," but at least he thinks it'll make it out. Lots more predictions for 2008 (including our own) after the jump.
