Posts Tagged ‘developers’

Blizzard Ditches Team Deathmatch for PvP, Looks to Add Dueling to Diablo in Patch 1.0.7

28 December 2012 | No Comments » | pixiestixy

Blizzard will scrap its in-development PvP feature “Team Deathmatch,” but instead will release a dueling feature “soon” in the new year, Game Director Jay Wilson announced yesterday on the Diablo 3 blog. The PvP mode had been long in development and was showcased at previous BlizzCon events, but will not be released for a number of cited reasons.

“For us it comes to a few issues, one of which is depth.  Simply fighting each other with no other objectives or choices to make gets old relatively quickly…

Another is class balance. Like Diablo II, Diablo III was designed to be a PvE-first kind of game, where we never compromised on player abilities in the name of future PvP balance.  We want to be able to carry over as many of the crazy runes, items, and skills as possible, with their crazy effects, and alter them as little as possible. In a casual PvP mode, something equivalent to a WoW Battleground, this would be fine, but Team Deathmatch felt very hardcore, and it put a laser focus on class balance in a way that we didn’t think would be good for the game as a whole.

… It’s not up to the quality that Blizzard gamers expect or that we feel you deserve, and it doesn’t really fit with our goals for the rest of the game.” — Jay Wilson

Wilson said that the development team had the opportunity to fine-tune controls and combat model tuning throughout the development of Team Deathmatch, but that the team would be “exploring other options” for PvP instead. “We’re going to first be looking at new modes that play up to the strengths of the character classes, focus on objectives beyond just defeating other players, and possibly even integrate PvE elements and rewards,” Wilson said.

As for dueling, that feature is slated to be released in patch 1.0.7 in the new year. Further details on the patch have not yet been released but will be “very soon,” according to the dev blog.

 

Currencies, Tokens, Commendations…Enough

26 January 2012 | No Comments » | LHStaff

In the real world we all use a single currency system, ok, maybe two for some of the EU countries that still accept their old currency, but for most of us there’s only one. If you travel to another country you’ll have to exchange your money for whatever currency that country uses, but you remain in a one currency system.

When MMORPGs first started showing up in the gaming world, they followed basically the same logic, one basic currency that players can use to buy and sell their items to other players or vendors. However over the last decade, this system has ballooned into a complicated multi-currency system where it seems everything you do provides you with another type of currency. Call it what you like, tokens, commendations, points, it’s all basically the same.

Today MMORPGs are more about collecting tokens than they are about role-playing or even just playing. They have become a sort of achievement list for players to brag that they played 1000 PvP matches and now have enough tokens to get that awesome weapon everyone wants. To me that’s not a reason to play a MMO.

An overload in currency systems was the reason I quit LotRO some years ago and I have no doubt they’ve crammed even more collecting systems into the game since. However it’s not just a few games that are at fault, nearly every game today follows the same multi-currency system, including RIFT and SWTOR.

The issue has become so bad today that the simple removal of a token makes entire portions of a game pointless and irrelevant. Developers use these token systems to etice players to participate in activities they normally wouldn’t want to. For instance if you want more people playing mini-game X, simply create some epic gear and a token system specifically for that activity.  Boom, you’ll have people flocking to that mini-game in order to obtain those items, but the questions is, should they?

As a developer wouldn’t you want players to participate in certain activities because they’re fun and not because they get rewarded every time they do? If players are avoiding some areas of the game maybe those activities should be removed or reworked until players will actually want to participate.

I personally believe all MMORPGs should stick to a single currency system and allow mini-games or game features to fail if they’re not fun. If mini-game X is boring and I can get the same rewards elsewhere, I will.  That should give developers incentive to make mini-game X better, but instead they take the forceful route and create high rated gear and hide it behind a secondary currency.

Global Agenda: If (Recursive Colony = True) Then Introduce It; Else Impatient++

23 September 2011 | No Comments » | Beararms


On September 21st, Hi-Rez Studios released the much-anticipated free expansion Recursive Colony onto the live servers for its popular MMO shooter, Global Agenda. Recursive Colony is Global Agenda’s largest content update to date and its first major expansion since the game went free-to-play.

Recursive Colony is centered around the idea that the  humans of Dome City are being attacked by a hive-minded army of robot-building robots bent on the destruction of humans, and yes, I am very close to making a reference to the Terminator series. The new hive mind doesn’t just add a few new instanced missions and some flairs. That wouldn’t do for the cluster’s grandiose plans. Instead, an entire new zone, PvP maps, and daily repeatable missions will keep players coming back for more.

Good thing the resources are apparently infinite.

“North Sonora,” the new zone added to Global Agenda‘s map, holds the shooter’s major new content. By popular demand, the developer added in a series of chain quests and repeatable quests to give players something to focus on besides the grind of instanced PvE/PvP missions. These quests can either be done by solo agents or in teams. Depending on the mission, players may find themselves exploring the open world or sent with a band of your friends into a Skyne- I mean Recursive Colony -hive to take the fight to the machines. Continue Reading

E3 2011: Alganon Announces First X-Pac this Winter, Rolls Out Keeps Patch, Switches up Servers

8 June 2011 | No Comments » | pixiestixy

Lots of news has just come out on Quest Online’s F2P MMO Alganon, starting with the biggest announcement that the game will be expanding this winter. Alganon: Rise of the Ourobani, the game’s first expansion will include:

  • A new playable race, the Ourobani
  • A new leveling experience in the new continent of Aeon
  • A new combat companion class, the Warden, playable by all races
  • New flying mounts in Alganon
  • Player and Guild Housing in each of the major cities, and on the island-city of Matma’el
  • A new PvP Battleground system with battles that will reportedly affect the greater game world
  • Hundreds of new quests, including new types of quests

The expansion focuses in on Ouroban, a god believed lost to the void, who has returned and brought with him secret knowledge about the portal system that enables the people of Alganon to travel freely about their world. Check out the official website for a bit more on the lore behind the expansion.

Today, the game also is rolling out a new Keeps patch that promises to complete the last phase developing PvP features and world control.

In this phase we’ve erected 8 keep structures throughout the lands of Alganon, four each on Ardonya and Harraja. These keeps are located in each zone which currently contains a set of 3 towers. An attacking army must take and control each of the 3 towers in order to unlock the keep for attack.

By using various siege weapons an attacking army can break through the various gates within a keep, then attack and defeat the commander. Successfully accomplishing this goal before losing control of any one of the three towers will change the control of that zone over to the attackers.

Each of the Keeps must be taken in order, from the furthest away to the closest to each Capital city. Once a faction controls all 8 keeps on Alganon they may then press their attack on their enemy’s city. Killing Vaspar Truthseer or Bredon Furyslayer will net the victors the spoils of war! Epic PvP weapons, PvP accessories, Gold, Renown and Experience points. If either leader dies the world resets to its initial state, with each faction controlling 4 keeps.

And then a bit of a mixed-bag in terms of servers. The company will add a Western European server based in Amsterdam later this month, according to the game’s June newsletter. Existing European players will be able to transfer their account to the new server, named Aeon. But the two U.S. servers will be merged into one new server. Interesting.

New to Alganon? Get started by reading up Ronix’s very in-depth analysis of the game and an interview with Derek Smart, president of Quest Online.

More Deathwing: Bring on the Fire and Brimstone

25 May 2011 | 7 Comments » | pixiestixy

I got a fever, and the only prescription is more Deathwing!

You all may remember, and may even have shared similar sentiments, that before the release of Cataclysm, one of my absolutely most anticipated aspect of the expansion was the idea of a very present villain. Back in November, we got word from Zarhym that Deathwing would not only shatter the Azeroth that we loved, but also would patrol the skies freely, inflicting pain and death upon all who dared walk upon his kingdom.

And yes, he sure does that, randomly but also uncommonly and only in certain zones. But it’s something that happens so rarely that there’s never that constant feeling of looking behind your back or searching the skies to ensure you’re alone. And I’m not insinuating that this should be a very common occurence – after all, that would take away from its specialness, plus it could have the potential to become somewhat of an annoyance if it was a constant issue. But at the same time, the current level isn’t one that instills  any sort of sense of suspense that I was hoping the expansion would include. Continue Reading

Global Agenda Fiction – In Your Nearest Dome City

5 May 2011 | No Comments » | Ronix

EVE Online, probably the most visible sci-fi/futuristic MMO out there, has always benefited from the attention of gaming journalists and bloggers that are attracted to the various shenanigans going on in space. Needless to say, the actions of players are supported and granted additional meaning when you consider the cold, harsh universe that EVE has developed thanks to a successful combination of lore and game mechanics. This is further extended with the recent re-introduction of live events that rely on the same mix of lore and gameplay in order to engage players on a deeper level.

So, it is quite sad to see that other games in the genre, such as Global Agenda and Perpetuum, haven’t had the opportunity to devote resources for proper storytelling just yet. The lore of these games is largely static and only serves as a backdrop for the actions of users. The situation is somewhat remedied when you consider the various fiction submitted by fans. Set in the same world that players know and inhabit, these stories help develop the universe of a beloved game further.

Today, I’d like to give you a teaser for a story I wrote back in the beta days of Global Agenda. It was a competition created by fans for fans, and most of us were eager to participate. My entry started off as a short story that followed the template given to us – the Commonwealth has designed a powerful mech, the construction of which could endanger the livelihood of nearby agencies. However, the narrative quickly went off in a direction I never planned for it. The end-result was quite different to what I originally expected. Continue Reading

Global Agenda: Dome 49 is Going Down

18 April 2011 | 1 Comment » | Ronix

As you may know, Global Agenda has recently received a content update and also became fully free-to-play. This sort of transition from one business model to another can be a challenging process for most games. However, the guys at HiRez already have shown that they are not afraid to take risks and modify their game to match a new direction they have chosen. Plus, the structure of Global Agenda itself, with its lobby-type system and instance-based gameplay has somewhat eased this process.

It was slightly disappointing to see that, despite the injection of fresh blood from new players rushing in to check out the free-to-play update, the queue waiting times still remained relatively long. You would think with more people queuing for matches, the system would allocate teams faster. But, sadly, that is not the case. This seems to be an issue from the developer’s side, and I hope they address this problem in the near future.

The update brought a couple of new maps, a new dome defense raid, as well as class tree changes. Going by the official patch notes and my own merc experiences, the developers’ aim was to balance out certain deadlock scenarios that occurred during matches and put a bump in the otherwise fairly stream-lined gameplay. An example of this would be the changes done to the Medic’s Paingun. Originally, with the -50% speed debuff from the weapon, a good assault and medic combo could pretty much tear up any target they laid their hungry eyes upon. With the new patch, the speed debuff is only 30%, but the target also receives -20% less healing. This gives your victim an actual chance to escape and, at the same time, grants the Paingun additional utility. Yes, I say that having a Medic as my main. Still, it is way too early to tell how the revised specializations will affect gameplay in the long-term, so let’s just wait and see how things pan out.

The new Dome Defense Raid, or DDR as some like to call it (not to be confused with Dance Dance Revolution), is probably the most exciting addition to the game. Not only does it give us cool targets to pew-pew at, but it also adds a layer of immersion to the setting of Global Agenda. With the introduction of the new raid, Dome City no longer seems to be just a glorified lobby. When you see it being invaded, you can’t help but feel that it is an actual place of habitat, set in the middle of a desert and surrounded by enemies.

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Then a video must be worth a few thousand at least, and that’s why I’m including a video of a Dome Defense Raid I did with a random group of fellow agents. Watch us badly screw-up, get blown to pieces, and my robo trying to get a better look at the action, instead of minding his nest.

Click through to watch.

Continue Reading

It’s April 1: Don’t Be a Fool

1 April 2011 | 2 Comments » | pixiestixy

WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

Every year, the number one rule starting… oh, right about NOW, is to stay away from the tricky, lying interwebz. It’s the one day of the year where, for some reason, all logic is thrown out the window and people get a free pass to tell you the most outlandish things with a straight face and get away with it. Yes, today is April 1, and the time to run away and hide is upon us once again.

Ok, maybe I’m being a TAD melodramatic. As long as we go into today with the full knowledge that we absolutely are going to have our legs pulled in multiple directions, then have fun with it. Just don’t be an April Fool.

If it sounds crazy, and the information about it is announced or “leaked” today, chances are it’s 100 percent fabricated nonsense.

Last year from Blizzard alone we had the ultimate Gear Score slap-in-the-face, and the transformation of our armory toons to all Tuskarr. Of course, they’re not the only ones who partake in the shenanigans, but they certainly are one of the biggest players.

So, what will it be this year? Magical girl transformations for our MMO heroes? Another rendition of World of DanceCraft? Plants vs. Zombies in an MMO (oh wait…)? Ninja pandas?!

Only time will tell. Watch yourself. You’ll see what I mean.

Click through for some more of our favorite April Fool’s jokes from years past. And keep watch right here for coverage of the best April Fool’s jokes from our favorite games.