Earlier today, Electronic Arts had its stuffy quarterly report. The number, fact, and strategy filled report was of little interest to most MMO gamers until the mention of Star Wars: The Old Republic. Following the recent trend of LoreHound coverage, the mention wasn’t good. According to the publisher, TOR lost 24% of its subscribers, shedding 400,000 paying customers from the peak of 1.7 million a quarter earlier (during the included free month).
That places the second Star Wars-based MMORPG over the million subscriber mark, at 1.3 million, but still showing a decline as troubling as the current, yet declining, kind of World of Warcraft. This is roughly on target with the estimate made by an analyst group in mid April.
This has left many players scratching their heads. TOR was easily one of, if not the most, anticipated MMOG releases of 2011. Sure, there’s the just released action-oriented TERA, or a flood of F2P games available and coming, but is there one core aspect that has drained TOR’s base?
Conspiracy theories will abound as analysts and players attempt to isolate the trend. Hit the jump for our perspective reasons.
I’ve had a love-hate relationship with Champions Online. The second attempt at a superhero MMORPG by Cryptic Studios drew me in with numerous features, advanced customization to the point of full uniqueness, a fast-paced combat style and quirky comic-inspired quests and missions. I considered it a popcorn MMORPG, a guilty pleasure that would be a great compliment to other, more fleshed out experiences I was playing.
Yet it was a full cost title that lacked content, identity and overall direction. For every aspect I enjoyed of the title, I found two that annoyed me. I ragged on the offering so hardly because I wanted to like it. I left shortly before my six month purchase ran its course. It’s F2P return perked my interest, only to send me fleeing due to losing my main character to the freemium cutoff.
After Atari abandoned Cryptic Studios, allowing Perfect World Entertainment to grab the developer at an assumed bargain price, hope returned. PWE had been looking to break into the western market the appropriate way, ie not porting Eastern titles alone, and this was a great first step. A massive development effort would be needed, but we’re seeing the fruits of that labor with On Alert.
The latest content patch adds a few new systems to the game in addition to the expected content and bug fixes. A reputation system lets gamers accumulate prestige over time, opening up new travel power options and gear. The Modification and Fusion System returns customization to the hands of players, even allowing more damage dealing stats.
Mind you, the changes put the game back on my radar. Not my plate. It’s just a step in the right direction. I need a few of these, or a giant leap.
Hit the jump for a batch of stills from the patch. Continue Reading
iTZKooPA is back with another interview from PAX East 2012, this time with Jared Gerritzen of Zombie Studios who discusses the recently launched multiplayer online FPS, Blacklight: Retribution.
The guys talk about some of the new maps, weapons and hero characters that are coming to the game in the next few months, as well as the new game-mode, Net Warfare. Mr. Gerritzen also reveals that new two more game-modes are on their way and that the company will be introducing new PvE game-modes later on this year. They discuss a bit about eSports and the future of Blacklight: Retribution. A future that looks very bright.
Check out the full Blacklight: Retribution interview below.
Today we have a preview of SMITE, Hi-Rez Studio’s upcoming MOBA, as iTZKooPA interviews Todd Harris, the game’s COO, at PAX East 2012.
They discuss the locked third-person camera, jungling and, of course, the different mythological creatures and heroes players can select from and will battle in-game. We also learn that SMITE has a new “auto-build” feature that allows players to select from pre-made character builds for those of you who aren’t interested in constantly tweeking your builds.
Just a few weeks ahead of its release, LoreHound sits down with Lead Designer Jared Gerritzen to discuss the title’s entrenched competition, unique partnership with Perfect World Entertainment and on-going player support.
LoreHound: Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer our and the community’s questions. We’ll start you off with a softball. Who are you and what’s your role?
Jared Gerritzen: I’m Jared Gerritzen, Creative Studio Head and Lead Designer on Blacklight: Retribution.
LH: There’s a good portion of gamers that may not realize Blacklight: Retribution is actually a sequel. Care to discuss the title’s origins and what Zombie Studios plans to do on the follow-up?
JZ: We have been working in the Blacklight world a couple [of] years now, with the first game being Blacklight Tango Down. It originally started as a F2P game, but in the end we had to move it to a retail digital download title. We learned a great deal with that title and had a number of things we had to cut and tons of stuff we just didn’t have the time or resources to do. We got the opportunity to move forward with Blacklight: Retribution as a built-from-the-ground-up F2P shooter and have been able to make the shooter we originally set out to make with Tango Down.
LH: Congratulations on the Open Beta milestone! Are we closer to a concrete release date? How about launch feature sets, such a number of game modes, shop options (cash, in-game and earned) and number of maps?
JZ: Thanks! We just recently set the launch date for April 3rd, 2012! We are burning the midnight oil getting all the final touches into the game. As for new features and maps, we are still nailing down all the final details on those.
LH: BLR has had the PC platform in its iron sights since the beginning. How has this affected development, aside from it being graphically stunning? What about the decision to develop with the F2P business model from the start?
JZ: We love the PC platform. Being a small studio making games for the PC allows us to have a certain level of flexibility and quickness that we wouldn’t have if we were on a console. Since the beginning of Tango Down, we wanted to make the best FPS F2P on the market as we think F2P or Games As Service is the future and we wanted to be the leader. Making games for the PC we can’t forget to mention graphics though. Being on the PC also lets us show our talents by pushing the platform. We are using Unreal Engine 3 for BLR and are thrilled to be the first DirectX 11 UE3 Game released, so we are using the latest technology available and the game looks amazing.
LH: Any trepidations of going against major competitors like Electonic Arts’ Battlefield and Medal of Honor franchises and Activision’s 600-pound elephant/gorilla/hippopotamus [Ed. Note that'd be a small elephant or hippo] commonly known as Call of Duty? Not only in striving for the same customers, but attacking their base via a different model.
JZ: We love and play those games as well. I’m a huge fan of Battlefield, but we think we are bringing something new to the table with BLR. I think when people play BLR, they will see the value that they are getting as we are giving them a AAA game for free.
LoreHound: First of all, thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions for us! We’re new to the game so we’ll start with the basics. Care to start by telling us about you? Who are you and what do you do? And of course, what’s your favorite monster?
JunhyungKim: Hi, my name is Junhyung Kim and I’m the Game Producer for RaiderZ.
I love all of the Epic Monsters in RaiderZ since each monster has very different and complex attack patterns. If I had to choose one favorite, though, I would choose the “Goblin Golem”. The Goblin Golem can be found in Rengot Village. He is an incredibly challenging foe since he can smash, pounce, kick, grab and throw players! If you’re not careful, you might lose a lot of HP!
LH: One of the things that caught my eye is the focus on community. There is obviously a great deal of focus on grouping in this game – RaiderZ‘s tagline itself is a command to band together. I think this is a great thing, but is there anything for the solo player? Can I still progress if I’m on my own?
JK: Players will be able to progress through most of the game on their own. However, epic monsters will pose a challenge to those who choose to solo. It is advised that players form groups in order to defeat these Epic Monsters.
LH: Is RaiderZ driven more by character or player skill? Could completely new players join up with an experienced group immediately if they’re good enough, or should they spend time leveling skills and acquiring gear first?
JK: RaiderZ is a challenging game and success relies heavily on players’ skills. However, having good equipment will make progressing through the game much easier. As players naturally progress through each different map, they will be able to acquire materials to craft stronger weapons and armor relative to their levels. While upgrading to new gear is beneficial, it is not necessary.
LH: “Build a custom character” is like music to my ears. How will this affect group dynamics? Could a group of players all with primary tank specs take out an epic monster, or will a more balanced party be needed?
JK: Slaying Epic Monsters in RaiderZ is no easy feat! Each monster has its own random attack pattern, which includes dangerous grapples and devastating AoE attacks. Having a balanced team will be very beneficial since each player will be able to fill a certain role in these Epic Monster fights.
Hit the jump for the rest of the interview with Junhyung Kim.
We’re glad to inform you that Perfect World Entertainment will be releasing Zombie Studio’s free-to-play FPS Blacklight: Retribution on April 3, 2012.
Shwing!
The title is currently in Open Beta, so you might as well jump in an begin leveling your permanent character now. If the “headstart” isn’t a good enough incentive for you.
How about this tidbit: The game is currently undergoing a Bonus XP Weekend. Actually, that’s weekend++, as the event will end on Tuesday!
We’re not worthy!
“After five successive months of closed and open beta testing, Blacklight Retribution has recruited a strong community of dedicated players that have provided valuable feedback for our development team to create a tight and polished free-to-play game with innovative and exciting features,” said Andrew Brown, Executive Producer for Perfect World Entertainment. “Our team has been working really hard to prepare the game for its release, including additional content like new game modes, supporting maps, and a variety of new weapons and related gameplay enhancers.”
Above you’ll find the latest trailer for Blacklight: Retribution. To be fair, it’s geared more towards getting your adrenaline pumping than showcasing in-game experiences. This blogger has never faced enemies that stupid, or that willing to spill their blood, which doesn’t exist in BLR.
NCSoft today announced that the free-to-play version of Aion will be launching on April 11th. Aion will be truely F2P, with no content restrictions or account tiers. The highly anticipated update 3.0, called Aion: Ascension will bring with it two new systems, C.U.B.E and the Atreian Atlas.
C.U.B.E, which stands for Customizable User Bundling Experience, is just a fancy way of saying you’ll be able to make your own item-store bundles to purchase from the Aion Store. How it works is that players purchase the Cube from the Black Cloud Marketplace, then can place as many store-items into it as they can fit. There will be different size Cubes, at different price-points, depending how many items you want to buy. Pretty clever idea by not allowing players to buy just one item, instead only allowing bundles; which obviously costs a lot more.
The second major feature is the Atreian Atlas; which acts as a guide for players throughout the game. The system will provide players with quest details on past completed quests, upcoming ones including: quest difficulty, minimal suggested level, related quests, maps, videos, guides, boss info, etc. Pretty much everything you need to know in order to complete any quest, aside from the Atlas actually completing it for you.
Along with those two new features, update 3.0 will also raise the level cap to 60 (from 55), introduce two new zones, 6 new instances, and add more housing and mount choices.
NCSoft today announced that the free-to-play version of Aion will be launching on April 11th. Aion will be truely F2P, with no content restrictions or account tiers. The highly anticipated update 3.0, called Aion: Ascension will bring with it two new systems, C.U.B.E and the Atreian Atlas.
