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World of Darkness development shown at EVE Fanfest 2013
When the World of Darkness MMO was first announced in November 2006, it was just an idea and we knew that it wouldn't be released any time soon. The chance to play a sandbox game set in the Vampire: The Masquerade universe nevertheless made fans of the series go nuts, but now over six years later we haven't seen much progress on the game. At EVE Fanfest 2013 today, CCP laid the current state of development bare for all to see and showed some plans for the coming year. There are now 70 people on the WoD team, and they've spent the past week working on everything from art tools and server infrastructure to vampire powers and social options. "You're a powerful, immortal lord of the night. You don't want to stitch a shirt." Development plans for 2013 include working on out-of-game web-based social tools, clothing systems, and PvE game environments. There are also plans to work on item creation, but direct crafting is probably not on the cards. As the presenter put it, "You're a powerful, immortal lord of the night. You don't want to stitch a shirt." Though the game is still in the pre-production stage, CCP was keen to show off the tools it's made to speed up the development process. "Some of these videos are a bit dry and technical," joked the presenter, but it came across as more real and honest than another trailer or musings on theoretical gameplay.
CCP employees 'losing themselves' in World of Darkness playtests
CCP's MMOification of the beloved World of Darkness IP is still a thing, apparently. CEO Hilmar Petursson tells Eurogamer that a "tiny" glimpse of the horror-themed sandbox will show its pasty white face at this April's EVE Online Fanfest. "We're playing it internally at CCP. It's actually a problem that some of our employees are losing themselves already in the World of Darkness as we go through the playtests," Petursson said. "And we'll be showing a tiny piece of that also at Fanfest. So that is all I have to say about that at this time."
CCP and White Wolf celebrating Vampire's 20th anniversary with new rulebook, fan gala
Vampire: The Masquerade is gearing up to celebrate its 20th birthday (20 years!?), and while two decades may be a drop in the proverbial bucket to your average vampire, it's quite a chunk of time for mere mortals. White Wolf (which MMO aficionados probably know as a subsidiary of CCP) is celebrating the milestone with a limited-run anniversary edition of the RPG's core rulebook. The tome is available via pre-order and will set you back a hefty $99.99. The book's release will coincide with The Grand Masquerade 2011, a fan event scheduled for September 15th to 18th in New Orleans that will feature, among other things, "the next look at the future of the World of Darkness MMO."
Level 3 to offer streaming of EVE Online Fanfest
Are you bummed that your budget won't allow for a trip to Reykjavik for the EVE Online Fanfest this year? Perhaps you're still new to New Eden and aren't sure what kind of stuff goes on at the party on top of the world? Well, in either case, CCP and Level 3 have you covered. According to a press release from earlier this morning, Level 3 -- already known for offering live-streaming of the EVE Online Alliance tournaments -- will be offering its services to allow fans at home to check out some of the myriad Fanfest events. The press release was followed by a blog post on the official EVE Online site that offers up even more details on the event streams. For those who have one spare PLEX lying around (or the equivalent cash), a high-definition stream of the events will be available for purchase. As if the HD-streaming deal weren't sweet enough, all players who opt to purchase the higher-end stream will be granted a special Quafe t-shirt similar to the ones that attendees of Fanfest will receive, only this particular version will be for their characters' in-game use when Incarna rolls out. However, if spending money on the Fanfest stream isn't for you, you can still check out the weekend's panels and events via the lower-definition EVE TV stream that will be available on the main Fanfest site starting on March 25th and running until the evening of March 26th. Check out the EVE Online streaming blog post for all the details!
Make your travel plans for EVE Online's fanfest
With the holidays coming up, there's a plethora of things a capsuleer could ask for: that shiny new T3 ship you've been eyeballing, a pile of PLEX, or perhaps a bargain at the EVE Online store sale. But the savvy holiday shopper knows to save his cash for the upcoming Fanfest that is slated to be held in 2011. With Incursion coming up, Incarna to follow, DUST 514 underway, and World of Darkness recently announced, this year's party at the top of the world looks like it's going to be full of all manner of cool stuff to check out. Thanks to a bit of internet digging, it appears that IcelandAir has already released its travel packages for those looking to get the jump on the event and book in at the lowest rates. The travel site indicates that the dates for the upcoming Fanfest are March 24-26, leaving lots of time to get those vacation requests in early. Additionally, IcelandAir lists a CCP dev-attended city tour and a party after the event that offer some idea of the festivities to come, although they're not included with the travel package itself. We've contacted CCP for additional information and will be certain to let you know when we hear more. For now, make sure your passports are in order and get over to the IcelandAir site to get your package booked!
GDCO 2010: CCP talks EVE, Dust, and World of Darkness
Gamebreaker.tv recently sat down with CCP's Nathan Richardsson at GDCO for a lengthy video interview about EVE Online, Dust 514, and World of Darkness. Unsurprisingly, the majority of the EVE discussion focuses on the new character generator, recently made live on the Singularity test server and representing the first step towards 2011's long-awaited Incarna expansion. Richardsson doesn't have a lot to say regarding Dust 514, even though he talks about it for several minutes. The gist of the conversation is that CCP will release it when it's ready, and they're not even close to being prepared to talk about it. He does reiterate the game's console focus, stating that "our goal is delivering the EVE experience on different platforms, console being one of them of course. We'll be looking at more platforms, we already are." Moving on to the recently announced World of Darkness, Richardsson again declines to answer most of the pressing questions, though he does drop an interesting nugget relating to control of the game's intellectual property. Turns out that CCP's plans for a WoD virtual world required a certain level of control over the IP that wasn't possible with it residing in the hands of another company, hence the acquisition of WoD parent company White Wolf. Check out the full 30-minute interview after the cut and on Gamebreaker.
New EVE character creation videos prove CCP can make pretty humans too
While some may not care for the sandbox play and politics of EVE Online, we often hear from people about how graphically gorgeous they think the game is. Well, with the new character creator that's been released to the Singularity test server, CCP is showing that it's ready to rock a whole new way -- Incarna! These two videos preview the shiny new creator in testing, showing off a Caldari Achura female and a Minmatar Brutor male character. We'd also note that CCP has made it clear that the character creator is a work in progress and as such is missing some options currently. Of course, we'd be lying if we didn't point out that this character creator preview video also makes us squee for CCP's other title under development: World of Darkness. The character creator for that game will have to be able to balance the ethereal beauty of the Toreador clan with the twistedly horrific looks of the Nosferatu clan all in one -- and we'd say this one shows the promise of having that kind of power. Check out the full videos after the break! [Thanks, CrazyKinux!]
Permadeath considered for World of Darkness MMO
CCP unveiled the World of Darkness MMO at The Grand Masquerade earlier this week where Justin Achilli hosted a well-attended panel for World of Darkness fans. The goal was to hear from those looking forward to the MMO and get a feel for what they want to see. Attendees talked about some of the standard elements such as immersion and casual vs. hardcore, but there was a surprising suggestion thrown out as well: permadeath. Justin's notes from the panel read "Permadeath. Server type preference?" Permadeath is an interesting concept -- even more so in a game centered around immortal beings -- and Ardwulf took a long look at it in his newest post on Ardwulf's Lair. Want to weigh in on permadeath in WoD or see the rest of what was discussed? Check out the full list of panel notes on Justin's site.
World of Darkness confirmed, based on Vampire: The Masquerade
reddit_url = "http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/09/24/world-of-darkness-confirmed-based-on-vampire-the-masquerade/"; Tweet "Some secrets are best taken to the grave..." While it wasn't that closely guarded, we were waiting on the edge of our seats to hear the official word of CCP's World of Darkness this weekend. At The Grand Masquerade convention in New Orleans, the developers not only confirmed the project, but revealed that it is set in White Wolf's Vampire: The Masquerade setting. Vampire: The Masquerade was indeed the old World of Darkness RPG, so this MMO should send fans into paroxysms of joy. Ardwulf's Lair reports that the MMO will come out in 2012 at the earliest, and that it "will have a focus on player politics and social interaction." The two-minute video reveal sets a gothic tone as a woman narrates the secret world of the vampires: "They're all around us, they control everything, they've always been here, waging their secret wars, devouring everything that gets in their way... It all begins after you die." We'll bring you more details as they pour in, but in the meanwhile, check out the video reveal (NSFW, this is World of Darkness after all) after the break.
CCP to take the mask off of World of Darkness at The Grand Masquerade
We've been biting our nails waiting for CCP to fully unwrap its promised World of Darkness MMO, but so far the company is playing its dark cards close to the chest. However, if you happen to be in New Orleans later this month, you may be among the first to pry substantial information from the slavering jaws of the developers. Last month, CCP community developer Shane DeFreest strongly hinted that the upcoming White Wolf convention, The Grand Masquerade, would be the company's first big step to show the game to the anxious public. The convention website has since posted a list of event panels for the weekend, which includes a session entitled "Tell the World of Darkness Development team what you want to see in the MMO" as well as several other MMO-specific panels. The Grand Masquerade will run from September 23-26, 2010, at the Roosevelt Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New Orleans. As the future of the World of Darkness is revealed, Massively will be sure to bring you the news. Just... not until we make our own dark pacts first. [Thanks Cliff!]
[Rumor] World of Darkness MMO may emerge from the shadows soon
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Rumor_World_of_Darkness_MMO_may_be_revealed_this_year'; What's that just out of sight... that darkness that flits maddeningly at the very edge of vision? Well, if you're a fan of the long-running World of Darkness series, that unsettling presence that makes your blood run cold could be a vampire, werewolf, or perhaps the rarest monster of all -- CCP's World of Darkness MMO. While we know the game has been under development for some time, trying to find out anything more about it from CCP employees is about as pointless as attempting to convince Marilyn Manson that khakis are the new black. Well, according to some, a recent interview with Shane DeFreest, Community Developer on World of Darkness, offers a nugget of hope that many MMO fiends have been looking for. According to the post on Flames Rising, DeFreest notes that the upcoming White Wolf convention in September will play host to something important: "The big news that I can't really give to (sic) many details on is that we've got something really big we want to show our fans first. Friday at sundown is where we give everyone the first look at the future of the World of Darkness. If you have been a fan of our games for two months or two decades you won't want to miss what we have to say." Now as to whether this reveal will be the long awaited World of Darkness MMO, or if people are seeing monsters where there is only smoke and mirrors, we can't say. In the meantime, we'll have to content ourselves with rolling dice and dreaming of a murderously delicious future. [Thanks, Option!]
The Daily Grind: What is this mystery project at CCP Games?
We know that CCP Games, creators of EVE Online, is going to announce a new project at GDC Europe in August. As CCP acquired White Wolf, creators of pen-and-paper RPG titles like Vampire, Mage, and Werewolf (the World of Darkness setting), we've known for some time that a World of Darkness MMO is in the works. Unfortunately, beyond the fact that the project exists at some stage of development, we know very little. But this mystery project announcement might not be about WoD at all. We're also aware that CCP Games has plans to release a first person shooter based on the EVE Online IP, which they hinted at during EVE Fanfest 2008. The latest info we've found about a new project at CCP Games (via @crazykinux) is a job listing at CCP for a Senior Game Engineer. The successful applicant "will join a seasoned team based in Shanghai, China where they will work on original IP for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3." The listing also mentions development on the Unreal Engine. Regardless of whether they're planning to unveil World of Darkness Online or an EVE Online first person shooter, you don't need to be an EVE player to appreciate how cool either of these releases could be. What game do you think CCP is going to announce at GDC Europe?
EVE Online's Senior Producer on expansion plans
Some new directions for EVE Online were announced at Fanfest 2008 earlier this month. Torfi Frans Olafsson is the Senior Producer for EVE Online, who presented many of these new features. Eurogamer's Oli Welsh recently spoke with Torfi Frans about the Fanfest announcements and how they'll impact the game as it moves forward. The interview focuses heavily on the Walking in Stations expansion, which -- despite no small amount of negative sentiment from some of the playerbase -- has the potential to expand the limits of gameplay in New Eden. "The expansion is about growing EVE Online as the general-purpose science fiction simulator out there... the whole idea is just to deepen the experience," Torfi Frans tells Welsh.
