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WildStar unveils world information page
The world of WildStar is one of adventure, intrigue, and of course, treasure. But many players are curious as to what kind of environs they'll be visiting, what grand sights they'll be seeing, and what unfortunate natives they'll be mercilessly slaughtering. Well, the folks at Carbine Studios are looking to relieve some of that curiosity with the freshly launched World page. The first planet up for review is one of the game's main hubs, Nexus. Originally the planet of the mysterious and technologically advanced Eldan, Nexus has since been claimed by the galactic empire known as The Dominion. As The Dominion declares war upon the planet's new settlers (known as the Exiles), treasure-hunters, pirates, and intergalactic corporations alike have come to Nexus in an attempt to find valuable and powerful Eldan artifacts and to uncover the secret of the Eldan's mysterious disappearance. For the full details, head on over to the WildStar official site.
Shifting Perspectives: The new face of balance druid PVP
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Shifting Perspectives for cat , bear , restoration and balance druids. Balance news comes at you every Friday -- learn how to master the forces of nature, and know what it means to be a giant laser turkey! Send questions, comments, or something you'd like to see to tyler@wowinsider.com. It is fairly common knowledge that I am not an avid PVPer. It isn't so much that the balance spec is weak in PVP (even if it is); nor is it a matter that I find the system frustrating. It more has to deal with my having to be exceptional at what I do, or I won't do at all. Sure, I may not be an instant superstar at everything, but normally I feel I can learn, improve. The PVP learning curve is steep, further complicated by playing a very difficult spec in that environment -- so for me, I avoid it. That being said, I do throughly enjoy watching PVP, theorizing on the balance of PVP, and keeping up with the scene in general. This week, I want to bring my newest PVP observations to you in hopes that I can help those out there who want to give balance PVP the shot it deserves. We aren't as terrible as people would lead you to think!
Wysteria ho! Wizard101 launches August update
According to Wizard101's history, Wysteria was an insignificant town until one day a magical accident caused a vine to go haywire and overgrow the place. Since then it's become a hotbed of mystery, and with the game's August update, players are invited to explore this new land to see what it holds. Wysteria is a mid-level zone that consists of a city, another magical school (Pigswick Academy), and two adventure zones. During their adventures, players can enter into a magical tournament, fight new creatures, and brave a level-60 gauntlet known as the Tower of the Helephant. Players can either subscribe to the game or purchase the zones individually to see the glories of Wysteria. Also included in the update are house teleporters (which allow you to quickly zip between your estates) and a number of minor gameplay tweaks. Recently KingsIsle announced that Wizard101 would be heading to China in 2012.
The Daily Grind: What's your favorite game world?
Today we're going to ask you to strip away your normal preconceptions of what makes an engaging MMO, whether it be the combat, the features, the customization, or the IP -- and look at the game world itself without any of those distractions. I guess this goes hand-in-hand with Environment Week that's going on right now in our One Shots column. Out of all of the MMOs I've played, only a small handful have bothered to construct worlds that teemed with personality, history, and unique flavor. When I'm really honest about it, most of these settings are about as generic as can be, hardly indistinguishable from the others. Yet while many games may tack on interesting elements to the flannel board of a boring world, occasionally developers put just as much time and effort creating a place that dares you to explore and get to know it intimately. So today I'd like to know what your favorite game world is -- and why. What makes or made it so special? What about it do you wish other MMOs would emulate? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Race to World First documentary releasing soon
Looking for Group Productions has been hard at work on its documentary Race to World First for a good long while now, capturing many top-tier World of Warcraft guilds' attempts at claiming coveted world firsts in the raiding game as well as following Blood Legion's race to a top spot. Set to release in a few weeks, Race to World First looks like it's going to be an introspective look at the time and energy that many of these guilds put into the raiding game, as well as an examination of the multicultural nature of the game and the general excitement that goes along with MMO accomplishments. Each week, Race to World First looks at clips from players in guilds that have been fighting for or actually achieved world firsts. Looking back a bit, this clip with Narilka of Ensidia chronicles her time spent with the guild downing Kil'jaeden at the end of The Burning Crusade when she was still just 16 years old. We loved having the Race to World First production team at the WoW Insider reader meetup at BlizzCon in 2010 -- they were some of the nicest guys and had a blast talking to real players and real fans. I am excited to see this documentary. Check out the trailer -- you might even see some familiar faces!
Joel Bylos on building a better Secret World
If you were given the chance to build your very own world from scratch, how would you do it? What would you include? Would it be a world of beauty or dark dreamscapes? And would the inhabitants enjoy their stay or flee in terror? To the team at Funcom tasked with fashioning The Secret World's... world, this isn't a hypothetical question, but a practical one. In a new developer blog post, Lead Content Designer Joel Bylos returns to share a behind-the-scenes view of how a game world is made. Bylos says that there are four aspects to world-building: identifying purpose, research, building flow, and prototyping and production. Because The Secret World takes place on our planet in the here-and-now, the team has a reference point to begin, but layers a "secret history" on top of it. Bylos explains by saying, "This is the history of an area as only a member of The Secret World can experience it; the footprints of the secret societies and their past conflicts; the truth behind the local myths and legends; the echoes of ancient magic and forgotten rituals." Of course, it's one thing to design something what you think is interesting and fun -- it's another to see if it works out in practice. All of this planning on paper is just the first stage of getting it in the game, which Bylos promises will come in an upcoming post.
Visualized: Google searches around the globe
You've already seen Android activations mapped around the globe over time, now how about some Google search volumes? Using WebGL and different color crayons for each language, the coders at Mountain View have put together the above Search Globe, which presents a single day's worth of Google queries in a beautiful, skyscraper-infused visualization. Jacking yourself into the source link below (your browser can handle WebGL, right?) will let you twist and turn the model world for a closer exploration of global Google use. And if you get tired of that, there's an alternative map showing world populations over 1990s -- that's available at the second link.
Visualized: Android activations mapped geographically, chronologically, breathtakingly (video)
Do you ever wish for an easier way to show your uninitiated friends what you mean when you say Android is growing? Well, here's the video for you: a Google-produced map of the world that throbs with Android activations over time, highlighted by some truly eye-opening flourishes in the immediate aftermath of marquee handset launches. The Google guys have even given us handy countdown timers -- "Droid launch in 3, 2, 1..." -- and broken things down by continent for easier viewing. Only thing missing is a soundtrack, so just have your Tron: Legacy OST loaded up and ready before jumping past the break. [Thanks, Leo Z.]
Cryptozoic previews new goblin and worgen allies for WoW TCG Worldbreaker set
Cryptozoics' posterous blog has been nothing short of an amazing wealth of information about Worldbreaker, the newest expansion for the WoW Trading Card Game. Loads of new abilities, cards, allies, heroes and more are being shown off, and for TCG fans, all of this new stuff looks to be pretty dang fun. In addition, worgen and goblin allies have been introduced! Each new race has a cool new ability associated with it: worgen allies with the Aberration keyword cannot be dealt non-combat damage, and goblins allies with the Time is Money keyword can use exhaust abilities as soon as they enter play. These new allies, as well as all of the revealed information, are bringing some fascinating new play mechanics to the trading card game. Check out the new worgen ally Rolan Phoenix, along with a new version of Magni Bronzebeard, here. The new goblin ally Exxi the Windshaper, along with orc mage Ceraka and Cairne, Earthmother's Chosen, can be previewed here.
DC Universe devs talk trinity, changes to the game world
Thirsting for more information on Sony Online Entertainment's DC Universe Online? Comic Book Resources has your long cool drink of water in the form of a lengthy studio visit recap. Last week, SOE invited a gaggle of game journalists to "DC University" for a tour of the game's development headquarters that included lectures from the likes of game director Chris Cao, creative director Jens Andersen, producer Wes Yanagi, and writer/resident DC legend Marv Wolfman. In between geekgasm-inducing peeks around the studio, the lucky invitees got some hands-on time with the upcoming title as well as the opportunity to ask the developers a few questions. When the discussion turned to combat, it became apparent that DCUO isn't going down the traditional MMO "holy trinity" path with its classes and builds. Cao states that while tank, healer, and DPS parties may be possible, they won't necessarily be the norm since "everybody's a damage dealer." Cao also talked about accessible and inaccessible portions of the game world and whether players would be able to unlock more locations as the title ages. "We've bottled the city, the idea is that somebody's going to have to unbottle it," he said, referring to the storyline angle in which Brainiac cuts off access to Metropolis' Daily Planet. While the devs were noncommittal in terms of specifics, Wes Yanagi commented that permanent changes to the world would likely occur via seasonal events and new players would be able to experience the pre-event world.
The Anvil of Crom: Squashing the negativity bug
MMORPGs tend to attract a rather ranty segment of the gaming population. Actually, let me back up. MMORPG forums tend to attract a rather ranty segment of the gaming population. Whether or not a given game's general population is as perennially dissatisfied as the vocal folks on the official boards is a matter of conjecture, but conventional wisdom holds (and I happen to agree) that most of the people are contentedly playing while a subset are engaging in all manner of forum drama. Writers aren't immune to this negativity bug either, as occasionally things will rub us the wrong way about our favorite genre (or a particular game), and we'll feel the need to speak out. I've been battling this particular demon lately myself, and whether it's a matter of burnout, stress, or simply observing that a lot of things really do suck, I feel it's important to occasionally step back and examine why exactly I'm playing a particular game as well as spending a part of my professional life covering this genre. It stands to reason that I wouldn't be here if everything were all bad all the time, so this is as fine a time as any to highlight some of the good.
The Road to Mordor: Horton hears a patch
Few things get me more excited than the promise of a big steak dinner and a big, beefy patch. Both get the mouth watering, the senses tingling, and the anticipation racing. However, the former comes and goes within minutes, while the latter is here to stay. I love devouring a good set of patch notes, chewing every morsel of information as my mind tries to picture it in action. Mental note -- I should not be writing columns when I'm hungry. I trust you were as pleased as I was when you woke up to the Lord of the Rings Online November update patch notes this past week (Standard Disclaimer: These are for the test server and are subject to change, void in Nevada). We knew that Turbine had a few substantial projects in the works for November, but this is far beyond what I'd speculated. It's one of those "There's something for everyone -- well, almost everyone" updates that has a little of everything, a buffet of sumptuous delights. Sure, it's not going to please folks looking for new dungeons, the promised LI and housing revamps, or the continuation of the epic storyline. That said, Turbine's first post-F2P patch is considerably bigger than anticipated, and if this is any indication of the course the company is setting with releases, I'm happy to be on board. Let's break down this LotRO update after the jump, and see just who this patch is for and what it has to offer, shall we?
Anti-Aliased: What happened to building worlds
I hope you guys have taken the time to check out our GDCO coverage, specifically our interview with Richard Bartle. If there's anything that has really been on my mind for these past weeks, it's been that. Dr. Bartle's approach to MMOs is very similar to my own personal approach to MMOs: these are games, but they are also worlds. And it's been that line of thinking that has lead me to today's column. What happened to creating worlds in our games? Now, I'm not saying that our games don't include vast settings for us to explore. All of our MMOs include some great settings, but they seem to fall flat anymore. Instead of focusing on how players can interact with the world and each other, many developers are focused on creating the coveted "theme park" environment. We have worlds filled with pre-planned obstacles and challenges that rarely change and evolve over time, instead of allowing players to interact with the world and vice-versa. So, with all of our new knowledge on how games work, what's stopping us from tackling the challenges we used to tackle regularly? How can we make world building and sandbox practices approachable? How can we re-ignite the creative fire?
Pre-Cataclysm world events live on the PTR
As we speak, fires rage in Orgrimmar, the Alliance leaders have called an emergency meeting, and new enemies have been revealed all across Azeroth. The cataclysm is on our very doorsteps! The pre-expansion events are now live on the public test realms. So far, here are some cool things we are hearing about: New bosses are in some 5-man dungeons, including quests for Grand Ambassador Flamelash in Blackrock Depths, Crown Prince Theradras in Maraudon, Prince Sarasun in the Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj, and Kai'ju Gahz'rilla in Zul'Farrak. These instances are much like the holiday bosses -- queueing for them takes you to a special version of the instance, where you fight alongside a faction leader. These instance bosses are dropping ilevel 251 necks and rings for brave adventurers. Horde and Alliance towns are being attacked by waves and waves of elemental adversaries. The Twilight Cultist quest lines are active. Orgrimmar is on fire. Like, all of it. Magni Bronzebeard has called for an emergency meeting of the Alliance leaders to discuss what he believes is a horrible event that's about to occur -- in his words, dwarves are "close to the ground" and can feel that something's going to happen. But what can they do? Maybe these tablets Brann found in Ulduar could help ... And much, much more! We will continue to update the site with more information as it becomes available. Also, check out our write-up of the Tablets of Fire quest line, and the Twilight Cultist event gallery below. Get excited, folks. The reckoning is almost upon us. %Gallery-102854%
Typhoon Struggle claims world first strict 10-man heroic Lich King kill
Big congratulations are in order for <Typhoon Struggle> of the Defias Brotherhood (EU) server, the first guild in the strict 10-man GuildOx rankings to kill the Lich King on heroic. GuildOx interviewed Sheeana, Typhoon Struggle's guild master, who shared some of the trials and tribulations of the kill, especially the brutal first phase of the encounter. What are the 10-man strict rankings, you ask? GuildOx ranks the progression of guilds all across the different realms. The strict 10-man rankings are, essentially, 10-man raid groups that never have access to the 25-man versions of the instance. This means that a strict 10-man raiding group will never have gear or drops obtained through 25-man raiding. To be considered and ranked on the GuildOx strict 10-man rankings, members of the 10-man raiding group can never earn an ICC-25 or ToGC-25 kill. Even though ICC-25 drops the same iLevel gear as ICC-10 heroic, GuildOx discourages the practice, as this allows strict 10-man raiding groups to gear up twice as fast. "Strict" means "strict." In addition, strict 10-man guilds usually only have a limited roster of between 10 to 12 people, since most others go on to the 25-man versions of the encounters. According to Sheeana, the toughest phase was the first, as the Lich King's minions on heroic scale in power exponentially. These are raiders using, at the most, iLevel 264 gear. For the full interview and announcement, including the criteria for the strict 10-man rankings, visit GuildOx. You can learn more about the criteria surrounding the strict 10-man rules here. Again, big congratulations to Typhoon Struggle!
Translated interviews offer more insight into Final Fantasy XIV's world and playstyle
We're just coming off of a holiday weekend here in the US, and Japan had their own recent stretch of holidays, so news on Final Fantasy XIV has been a little bit slower of late. But a recent group of interviews in the June 11th issue of Dengeki have been translated thanks to the team over at FFXIVCore, and they cover topics from materials of armor to the game's not-always-praised battle system. The first part of the interview talks testing and systems with Hiromichi Tanaka and Nobuai Komoto, while the second part discusses visuals and worldbuilding with planner Kenichi Iwao. Tanaka and Komoto confirm that the next phase of testing is set to begin soon, as well as dropping the news that the next test will likely feature an almost totally redesigned battle system. It's even hinted that players were never meant to experience the current system, that it was there almost as a placeholder. By contrast, Iwao discusses the lore and visual aspects of the game, talking about how items will be made from different materials, and how players who want to play a male Mito'qe shouldn't give up hope just yet. All Final Fantasy XIV fans are encouraged to read both interviews, since there's a lot of information available in both -- just the thing for the post-holiday doldrums.
Neal Stephenson to release serialized story via mobile devices
Here's an intriguing idea: author Neal Stephenson and a few friends (including Greg Bear and Nicole Galland) are going to be releasing a set of serialized stories as apps for the iPad and the iPhone. The project is called "The Mongoliad," and is based on a world designed by Stephenson (author of the great novels Snow Crash and The Diamond Age). The apps will present "an ongoing stream of nontextual, para-narrative, and extra-narrative stuff," and even ask readers to interact and create their own stories in the universe with some "pretty cool tech." Interesting. There's not a lot of information out right now about what the project is exactly, but there is a Facebook page with a few more details, and a skeleton page where you can sign up for more information. I guess they're taking the wraps off of the project in a few days on May 25th, so presumably then you'll be able to download the app (which will also be available on Android and the Kindle), and see what it's all about. I'm a big fan of Stephenson (as anyone interested in computers and how they work probably should be), so I'm definitely intrigued about what he and his colleagues will do with Apple's platform. Stay tuned. [via SuperPunch]
Breakfast Topic: Keep Azeroth clean
This article has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com. Is it just me, or is the air a bit dirtier than it used to be? Turbo-Charged Flying Machines, Mekgineer's Choppers, the new Refer-A-Friend X-53 Touring Rocket and not to mention all of the vehicles in Ulduar and Wintergrasp. Soon goblins will be driving their very own cars! Yes, it seems the once fresh, clean atmosphere of Azeroth is destined to become more polluted than trade chat. At first I thought the whole Ice Stone melting incident was a farce .. just a part of our natural, cyclical climate change. But what if all of this engineering exhaust is causing irreparable damage? Perhaps it's the pollution itself that causes "Cataclysm" and not the return of Deathwing, like we've been told. It seems we are amidst the industrial revolution of Azeroth, and the progression of technology cannot be stifled any longer. As an engineer myself, I have to wonder about the effects I have personally had on WoW's environment -- crafting machines, bombs and even extracting motes and eternals on a daily basis. For shame. Have you contributed to polluting Azeroth? If so what can we do to improve the air quality or prevent the situation from getting out of control? Have you ever wanted to write for WoW.com? Your chance may be right around the corner. Watch for our next call for submissions for articles via Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com. The next byline you see here may be yours!
The Digital Continuum: Lost in worlds divided
In the many MMOs I've played, the ratio between games that got world design right and those that got it wrong is surprisingly skewed towards the latter. Nothing kills the thrill of discovering a new online world faster than feeling like you're being kicked around seemingly unconnected environments without possessing any real understanding or control. This week's The Digital Continuum is aimed at discussing practical ways to address this problem. Obviously this is -- as per usual -- my personal opinion taken mostly from my brain and the experience gathering within it.
GDC: R.A. Salvatore wants you to die
Fantasy author R.A. Salvatore took the stage at GDC 2010 today and, while he made it clear that his talk about how to create believable fantasy worlds wasn't specifically about his work with 38 Studios' Copernicus project, he did talk a little bit about what he wants from an MMO game and gave the first mention of what the world of Curt Schilling's game is like. Salvatore talked for quite a while in his thick Massachusetts accent about his time in Everquest, which he said was "the best world in a game I've ever seen." He also lauded the idea of a death penalty in an MMO, and said that during his formative MMO experiences the threat of death (he once lost a hard-earned level when he was killed by an NPC that he accidentally clicked to attack) made living that much better. "If you take the pain out of the world," he said, "you lose the accomplishment of winning." And while he admitted that the Copernicus designers were fighting with him on whether or not to include a death penalty in the game, the company would at least make sure that a return from death was explained. His team has written over 10,000 years of history for the game's world (all compiled on "a wiki with over hundreds of pages in it"), and one of the major features of the setting's lore is a "device that's perfected" called the "Well of Souls." The Well, "when you die, will bring you back -- if you meet the conditions." He didn't elaborate about what those conditions were, but he asked the audience what a worldwide death-prevention device would do to institutions like kings and religions. "What happens when you take power away from powerful people?" he asked rhetorically. "How would it play out?" And, he suggested, if there were people who "turned the Well on," what if they threatened the rest of the world with turning it off? Vague, but intriguing. Copernicus still seems like it has a long way to go (Salvatore didn't show any slides or screenshots during his talk), but fans of the old EQ might find the game a return to the old ways if R.A. has his say.
