Thursday, June 30, 2011

Age of Conan F2P starts today

Funcom is inviting both new and old players to check out a good portion of its Hyborian content on the house, and the company will also be unveiling its cash shop (complete with a new "temptress" pet that helps the title live up to its mature rating).

Unchained also marks the release of new content in the form of the Forgotten City and The Breach solo instances. As we told you last month, these new dungeons scale to your level and offer an experience designed to relieve the monotony of the well-traveled Noble District villas. Stick with Massively all weekend as we bring you the latest AoC: Unchained news and impressions, and don't forget to check out the Unchained launch trailer after the break.

[Update]: Funcom has also posted its traditional monthly dev update, which focuses on all of the new content coming soon to AoC (and there is a lot of it). In addition to the two dungeons debuting today with Unchained, players can look forward to the long-awaited House of Crom dungeon (no, really!), new tier four raids, the Savage Coast of Turan stuff, and of course, Blood and Glory.

[Update 2]: AoC 2.6, and F2P, is in fact going live today -- June 30th -- and the game launcher is currently down for patching. Funcom's Glen "Famine" Swan confirms as much on the official forums, and we'll link the patch notes as soon as they're available.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Firelands 4.2 is Live!

 General
  • Recruit-A-Friend now awards bonus experience and free level grants to level 80, up from level 60.

New Daily Quests: The Regrowth and Molten Front
  • A large assortment of all-new daily quests and rewards are now available in Hyjal, where players can help the Guardians of Hyjal push back the allies of Ragnaros and establish a forward operating base in the Firelands! In order to partake in the Regrowth and Molten Front daily quests, players must have at least completed Mount Hyjal up to and including the quest Aessina's Miracle. Once this quest has been completed, players should speak with Matoclaw in the Sanctuary of Malorne to take part in the Regrowth efforts.

New Quest Chain: Elemental Bonds
  • A New quest line is now available to level-85 Horde and Alliance characters, bringing brave adventurers to Thrall's aid. The Call of the World-Shaman, the quest which will point players toward Thrall and The Nordrassil Summit, can be obtained at the Earthshrines in Stormwind or Orgrimmar.

New Raid: The Firelands
  • Located within the Elemental Plane, the Firelands is an all-new 10- and 25-player raid featuring normal and Heroic difficulties! Battle-hardened veterans of the Horde and Alliance now have an opportunity to strike at Ragnaros the Firelord and his loyal servants by venturing into their domain via Sulfuron Spire in Mount Hyjal.

New Legendary Item: Dragonwrath, Tarecgosa's Rest
  • Steadfast raiders have an opportunity to embark on a series of quests to create an all-new legendary caster staff. In order to begin the process of assembling the staff, players must first kill a Molten Lord in the Firelands, or have completed any of the achievements Bastion of Twilight, Blackwing Descent, or Throne of the Four Winds. Once any of these achievements have been unlocked, players can accept the quest A Legendary Engagement from Ziradormi in Grommash Hold in Orgrimmar, or Coridormi atop the Wizard's Sanctum in Stormwind (players who have already completed any of these achievements are immediately eligible for this quest). Players who become eligible for the quest series by killing a Molten Lord in the Firelands will automatically receive the quest Your Time Has Come, leading them to the start of the questline. The legendary item questline is only available to druids, mages, priests, shaman, and warlocks.

New User Interface Feature: Dungeon Journal
  • A host of dungeon information is now built into the user interface via the all-new Dungeon Journal. This feature can be accessed via a new button in the Navigation tray from anywhere in the world. Boss background story, encounter details, abilities, and loot can be viewed with the Dungeon Journal for all bosses which have been integrated into the new system (this includes bosses for all Cataclysm dungeons and raids). Additional dungeons are planned to be incorporated in future updates.

Achievements
  • Bear-ly Made It (new achievement): Save all four prisoners before they are sacrificed in Zul'Aman on Heroic difficulty.

Classes: General
  • All healing critical strikes now heal for 2 times a normal heal (+100%), up from 1.5 times a normal heal (+50%).
  • Players are once again free to dance in combat (without causing graphic errors). Other animations, such as attacks, will take precedence over dancing. The dance animation will be suppressed until the higher priority animation is complete. Fun has been unnerfed.

Buffs
  • All class abilities which place a buff on friendly targets no longer generate any threat. This goes for raid-wide buffs like Mark of the Wild and Power Word: Fortitude, as well as triggered effects such as Blessed Resilience or Fingers of Frost, and single-target buffs like Dark Intent and Hysteria. The exception is buffs which directly cause healing or damage, such as Thorns or Renew. Abilities such as these still generate normal threat.

Crowd Control
  • Many crowd control abilities no longer cause creatures to attack players when they are cast. The creature will not attack the player when the crowd control wears off, and nearby creatures will not become hostile to the player either. However, if a visible player gets too close to the target creature, the creature will remember and attack the player when the crowd control effect wears off. The intent is to make it easier for dungeon groups to manage crowd control assignments and pulling packs of hostile NPCs. The abilities affected by this change are: Hibernate, Entangling Roots, Wyvern Sting (will still cause hostility when it begins to deal damage), Freezing Trap, Polymorph, Repentance, Shackle Undead, Blind, Hex, Bind Elemental, Banish, Seduction.

Pets
  • The Aggressive pet stance has been removed and replaced with the Assist stance. This stance will cause the player's pet to attack the player's target. The pet will not change targets unless the master attacks a new target for a few seconds.
  • The Defensive pet stance will now only cause the player's pet to attack enemies which attack the pet or the master.

Spell Interrupts
  • When interrupted while casting a single-school spell such as Mind Flay or Frostbolt, players will now be able to cast dual-school spells such as Mind Spike (Frost and Shadow schools) or Frostfire Bolt (Frost and Fire schools). However, being interrupted while casting a dual-school spell will still interrupt all respective schools as intended.

Stats
  • Death knights, paladins, and warriors no longer receive any bonus to their chance to dodge from Agility. Their base chance to dodge is now a fixed 5%.
  • Death knights, paladins, and warriors now receive 27% of their Strength bonuses as parry rating, up from 25%. This conversion still only applies to Strength above and beyond their base Strength.

General Class Bug Fixes
  • Players should no longer incorrectly receive a message stating they interrupted a spell cast when they did not.
  • Action bars will no longer briefly disappear when characters that have a stance bar enter a vehicle.

Death Knight (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
  • Obliterate base damage has been reduced to 150% weapon damage, down from 160%.

Frost
  • Hungering Cold now has a 1.5-second cast time.
  • Might of the Frozen Wastes now increases two-handed weapon damage by 3/7/10%, down from 4/8/12%.

Unholy
  • Unholy Might now increases Strength by 20%, up from 5%.

Glyphs
  • Glyph of Dark Succor has been redesigned. Rather than placing a 15% maximum health floor on Death Strike healing while in Frost or Unholy Presence, it causes the next Death Strike within 15 seconds after killing a foe that yields experience or Honor Points to heal for at least 20% of the death knight's maximum health (still requires Frost or Unholy Presence).

Death Knight Bug Fixes
  • The talent Killing Machine can now properly be triggered from off-hand attacks as well as main-hand attacks.

Druid (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
  • Druids now gain 1 attack power per point of Strength, down from 2. They continue to gain 2 attack power per point of Agility while in Cat Form or Bear Form. In addition, Cat Form's scaling rate from gear upgrades was slower than other classes, which was causing them to fall behind in damage with higher item levels. To counter the Strength change and improve scaling, the following changes have been made. All numbers cited are for level-85 druids.
  • Ferocious Bite damage has been increased by 15%. In addition, its base cost has been reduced to 25 energy and it can use up to 25 energy, for up to a 100% damage increase.
  • Mangle (Cat) damage at level 80 and above has been increased to 540% weapon damage, up from 460%, and bonus damage has been lowered to 302.
  • Rake initial damage on hit now deals the same damage as each periodic tick (and is treated the same for all combat calculations). Periodic damage now gains 14.7% of attack power per tick, up from 12.6%, and base damage per tick has been lowered from 557 to 56. There is a known issue with Rake's tooltip being incorrect from this change will be corrected in a future patch.
  • Ravage damage at level 80 and above has been increased to 950% weapon damage, up from 850%, and bonus damage has been lowered to 532.
  • Savage Roar now grants 80% increased damage to melee auto attacks, up from 50%. The Glyph of Savage Roar remains an unchanged bonus of 5% to that total.
  • Shred damage at level 80 and above has been increased to 540% weapon damage, up from 450%, and bonus damage has been lowered to 302.
  • Entangling Roots and the equivalent spell triggered by Nature's Grasp no longer deal damage.
  • Innervate now grants an ally target 5% of his or her maximum mana over 10 seconds, but still grants 20% of the druid's maximum mana over 10 seconds when self-cast.
  • Omen of Clarity clearcasting buff from now lasts 15 seconds, up from 8 seconds.
  • Starfire damage has been increased by approximately 23%.
  • Swipe (Cat) now deals 600% weapon damage at level 80 or higher, down from 670%.
  • Wrath damage has been increased by approximately 23%.

Balance
  • Earth and Moon's duration has been increased to 15 seconds, up from 12.
  • Fungal Growth spell visual effect has been updated to be less visually intrusive and more aesthetic.
  • Lunar Shower has been redesigned. When casting Moonfire, the druid gains Lunar Shower. Lunar Shower increases the direct damage done by Moonfire by 15/30/45%, and reduces the mana cost by 10/20/30%. This effect stacks up to 3 times and lasts 3 seconds. While under the effects of Lunar Shower, Moonfire generates 8 Solar Energy, and Sunfire generates 8 Lunar Energy. The amount of Lunar/Solar Energy gained does not change based on the number of points spent in the talent, or stacks of Lunar Shower. Those druids who wish to delay transition in or out of an Eclipse state should now cast the one of their two basic attacks which will not move the Eclipse bar (either Starfire or Wrath).
  • Solar Beam has a new spell effect.
  • Wild Mushroom: Detonate can now also trigger Earth and Moon, in addition to Starfire and Wrath.

Feral
  • Bear damage abilities were scaling too fast with higher gear levels compared to other tanks, so the following balance changes have been made. All the numbers cited are for level 85 characters; numbers will be lower for lower-level characters.
  • Faerie Fire (Feral) base damage has been raised to 2950, up from 679. Attack power scaling has been decreased to 10.8%, down from 15%.
  • Maul base damage has been raised to 35, up from 8. Attack power scaling has been decreased to 19%, down from 26.4%.
  • Pulverize weapon damage percent has been decreased to 60%, down from 80%. Damage per Lacerate application has been increased to 1623, up from 361.
  • Mangle (Bear) weapon damage percent has been decreased to 190%, down from 260%. Bonus damage has been increased to 3306, down from 754.
  • Swipe base damage has been increased to 929, up from 215. Attack power scaling has been decreased to 12.3%, down from 17.1%.
  • Thrash initial base damage has been increased to 1042, up from 339. Initial damage attack power scaling has been decreased to 9.82%, down from 19.2%. Periodic base damage has been increased to 581, up from 189. Periodic damage attack power scaling has been decreased to 1.67%, down from 3.26%. In addition, a bug was corrected where armor decreased the periodic damage done by this ability.
  • Lacerate initial base damage has been increased to 3608, up from 2089. Initial damage attack power scaling has been decreased to 5.52%, down from 7.66%. Periodic base damage has been increased to 69, up from 16. Periodic damage attack power scaling has been decreased to 0.369%, down from 0.512%.
  • Natural Reaction damage reduction has been increased to 9/18%, up from 6/12%.

Restoration
  • Symbiosis (Mastery) has been removed and replaced with Harmony. Harmony increases direct healing by an additional 10%, and casting direct healing spells grants an additional 10% bonus to periodic healing for 10 seconds. Each point of mastery increases each bonus by an additional 1.25%. Healing Touch, Nourish, Swiftmend, and the initial heal from Regrowth are considered direct healing spells for the purposes of this Mastery. All other healing from druid spells is considered periodic.

Glyphs
  • Glyph of Berserk duration increase is now 10 seconds, up from 5.
  • Glyph of Ferocious Bite has been redesigned. It now causes Ferocious Bite to heal the caster for 1% of maximum health for each 10 energy used.
  • Glyph of Innervate now causes the druid to gain 10% of his or her maximum mana over 10 seconds when Innervate is used on a friendly target, in addition to Innervate's base effect.

Set Bonuses
  • The 4-piece Balance druid tier 11 PvE set bonus, Astral Alignment, now provides a total of 15% critical strike chance with 3 charges, decreasing by 5% per charge, instead of 99% decreasing by 33% per charge. This change was made because the set bonus proved so valuable it was not possible to upgrade out of the set into tier 12. To compensate, changes have been made to Starfire and Wrath (listed at the top of the druid class section).
  • The 2-piece Restoration druid tier 11 PvE set bonus has been redesigned to work with the new Restoration druid mastery. Druids with this bonus now receive the bonus to Spirit while the Harmony mastery bonus to periodic healing is active.

Druid Bug Fixes
  • It is no longer possible in some encounters to use Feral Charge when closer than its minimum range.

Hunter (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
  • Multi-shot damage has been reduced. It now deals 120% weapon damage at level 80 or higher, down from 137%.
  • Traps now scale with hunter stats such as hit, expertise, spell penetration and attack power as intended.

Marksmanship
  • Careful Aim now grants additional critical strike chance against targets over 90% health, up from 80% health.

Survival
  • Black Arrow damage done has been increased by roughly 40%.

Pets
  • 10 new rare tamable beasts have been added, each of which provides a unique taming challenge. Will you be the first hunter to tame Deth'tilac, the rarest and most powerful of them all? Players will need to progress through the Hyjal Regrowth and Molten Front daily questing areas in order to unlock access to the full gamut of taming challenges.
  • Intervene (Pet Tenacity) has been redesigned. The pet runs at high speed toward a group member, reducing the damage done by the next melee or ranged attack made against them equal to 50% of the pet's total health.

Mage (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
  • Arcane Blast damage done has been reduced by 5%.
  • Pyroblast cast when Hot Streak is not active was doing slightly less damage than the Hot Streak version. Its damage has been increased so that both versions of Pyroblast now do the same amount of damage.
  • Spellsteal mana cost has been increased by 100%.

Fire
  • When Impact spreads Living Bomb, it will only be spread to two additional targets. The net effect is that if the mage's most recent Living Bomb target is the same as their Impact target, that target will no longer lose the Living Bomb effect. If Living Bomb is active on multiple targets when the Impact effect is cast, Living Bomb will remain active on the most recent Living Bomb target, and will be added to two other nearby targets.

Frost
  • Deep Freeze and Ring of Frost will cause diminishing returns on each other, in addition to the spells they normally share diminishing returns with.

Paladin (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
  • Divine Light mana cost has been increased to 35% of base mana, up from 30%.
  • Flash of Light mana cost has been increased to 31% of base mana, up from 27%.
  • Guardian of Ancient Kings uses the new Assist pet stance functionality.
  • Holy Light mana cost has been increased to 12% of base mana, up from 10%.
  • Rebuke, Divine Shield and Divine Protection have new icons.
  • Seal of Righteousness now can be activated by any melee ability, not just single target melee abilities. This adds Hammer of the Righteous (the physical component) and Divine Storm to the list of abilities that can activate this seal. In addition, Seal of Righteousness procs can now be critical effects.

Holy
  • Beacon of Light can no longer be dispelled. In addition, it now transfers 100% of the heal from Holy Light, but still 50% of the heal from other spells.
  • Denounce has been redesigned. It still reduces the mana cost of Exorcism. However, it no longer has a chance on Holy Shock of making Exorcism free and instant. Instead, it has a 50/100% chance to prevent the Exorcism target from causing critical effects for the next 6 seconds. This effect can be dispelled.
  • Holy Shock mana cost has been decreased to 7% of base mana, down from 8%.
  • Illuminated Healing (Mastery) has been adjusted slightly so that if a paladin refreshes an existing copy of his or her own Illuminated Healing on a target, the new absorption amount will be added into the old absorption amount and the duration will be reset. The total absorption created can never exceed 1/3 of the casting paladin's health.
  • Infusion of Light can now lower the cast time of Flash of Light by 0.75/1.5 seconds, in addition to Holy Light and Divine Light. In addition, the old Denounce spell overlay effect has been transferred to Infusion of Light since Denounce is no longer a proc.
  • Speed of Light now increases movement speed when Holy Radiance or Divine Protection are cast. In addition, this talent now reduces the cooldown of Holy Radiance by 13/26/40 seconds, up from 10/20/30.
  • Walk in the Light now improves Word of Glory healing by 30%, in addition to its current effects.

Protection
  • Ardent Defender has a new spell effect.
  • Guarded By The Light no longer interacts with Holy Shield in any way.
  • Hammer of the Righteous mana cost has been lowered to 10%, down from 12% to match Crusader Strike.
  • Holy Shield has been redesigned. This talent is now an activated ability off the global cooldown. It grants 20% increased block amount to a paladin's shield blocks for 10 seconds, with a 30-second cooldown.
  • Judgements of the Wise now procs on attempt rather than on strike, which means judgements that miss can still grant mana. This is to help ensure Protection paladins are not starved for mana if they aren't capped on hit rating.

Retribution
  • Inquiry of Faith now increases Inquisition duration by 66/133/200%, up from 50/100/150%.
  • The Seals of Command talent now makes Seal of Righteousness hit an unlimited number of melee targets, instead of only 2 additional targets.
  • Selfless Healer can no longer be dispelled and cannot be stolen via Spellsteal; and, in addition to its current effects, it lowers the cooldown of Word of Glory by 5/10 seconds.

Glyphs
  • Glyph of Seal of Truth expertise bonus now also works when Seal of Righteousness is active.

Priest (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
  • Devouring Plague damage done has been decreased by 12%.
  • Mind Blast damage done has been increased by 12%.
  • Shadowfiend uses the new Assist pet stance functionality.
  • Shadow Word: Death damage done has been increased by 12%.
  • Shadow Word: Pain damage done has been decreased by 12%.

Shadow
  • Mind Flay damage done has been increased by 12%.
  • Psychic Horror no longer has a forward facing requirement, making it consistent with other non-projectile-based crowd control spells.
  • Sin and Punishment's Vampiric Touch backlash fear effect no longer has diminishing returns.
  • Vampiric Touch damage done has been decreased by 12%.

Priest Bug Fixes
  • Players will no longer prematurely cancel a channeled spell when clicking on the Lightwell.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Star Wars Galaxies to Shut Down

 I received this email:

Dear Star Wars Galaxies™ Community Member,

We write to you today to inform you that on December 15, 2011, Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) and LucasArts will end all services (MMO and Trading Card Game) for Star Wars Galaxies (SWG). The shutdown of SWG is a very difficult decision, but SOE and LucasArts have mutually agreed that the end of 2011 is the appropriate time to end the game.

We are extremely grateful to all of the SWG fans. We have had the rare opportunity to host one of the most dedicated and passionate online gaming communities and we truly appreciate the support we’ve received from each and every one of you over the course of the past eight years.

In recognition of your incredible loyalty, we are extending special Fan Appreciation offers to the current SWG community. We also plan to go out with a bang with a galaxy-ending in-game event in December and hope to see you all there. The details relating to these offers and events as well as the timeline and specifics regarding the discontinuation of the service, are provided below.

Again, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks to our player community for making SWG one of the best online communities in gaming history.

Sincerely,

Sony Online Entertainment & LucasArts

It's a sad day for some.

Friday, June 24, 2011

The Secret World unveils the Kingsmouth Lighthouse

The All-Seeing Eye of the Illuminati.

The towering Kingsmouth lighthouse was built in the late 1700s by the Illuminati, not only to guide ships into safe harbour, but also to make a clear and powerful statement: This was Illuminati territory, their eye was all-seeing, their light shone brighter and stronger than any other. After being forced to flee a Europe increasingly under the iron rule of the Templars, the Illuminati had now claimed North America as their domain.

Illuminati symbology is still prominent both inside and outside the lighthouse, and it is said that the massive tower contains many secrets; from a hidden staircase spiraling down into the rock the lighthouse stands on, to bronze panels laid into the walls inscribed with Egyptian sigils meant to protect the lighthouse from any occult attacks; from forgotten Illuminati tomes, to a massive lightbulb constructed by Thomas Edison that has the power to destroy ships a hundred miles away.

The lighthouse was automated years ago, and since then it has been mostly deserted and falling into disrepair. Recently, however, it was rented out to the bestselling -- and famously eccentric -- author Sam Krieg for reasons known only to him. Rumours have it that Krieg is suffering from writer's block, and sought the silence and solitude of this remote ivory tower in order to finish his long-awaited novel.

After the fog arrived, Krieg was believed dead, but in recent days shots have been heard from the top of the lighthouse, and the narrow bridge across the rocks on the savage coast of Solomon Island appears to be well protected.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

EVE Online Incarna goes live

CRITICAL
Jump Bridges
  • It is now only possible for one jump bridge to be online in a system at any given time. If two jump bridges are online in the same system when the patch is deployed, one of them will be taken offline. If you try to anchor a jump bridge in a system that already has one jump bridge or more anchored, it will not anchor. No jump bridges will be unanchored by the patch. Players will be able to unanchor their jump bridges that are offlined by the patch.
  • Jump bridges will have their storage capacity increased from 10,000m3 to 30,000m3. This is to aid with logistics.
Character Creation
  • All players logging into Tranquility will now have to create an avatar. You will not be able to proceed into game without one.
FEATURES
Ships
  • The Maller, an Amarr cruiser, has had a dramatic makeover and looks fantastic. Go buy one tomorrow and be the envy of all your friends.
Captain's Quarters
  • A new 3D user interface has been built to support interaction with Captain's Quarters features.
  • The station hangar has been replaced with Captain's Quarters. Capsuleers can now, for the first time, step out of their pod and stretch their legs in their personal quarters. Please check out this dev blog by CCP Zulu for more information.
  • Captain's Quarters include the hangar balcony, where one can enjoy a gorgeous view of one's active ship in the hangar.
  • The main screen provides information about things happening in the EVE universe, including sovereignty changes, the Interstellar Correspondents News Feed, incursions and more - stay tuned.
  • The Captain's Quarters have tools that will make life for the capsuleer much easier, including the agent finder, corporation recruitment, planetary interaction, character re-customization and ship fitting.
  • A new camera system was built from the ground up to support avatar movement and various state transitions.
  • An extensive avatar movement scheme using Natural Motion's Morpheme has been developed to control your character. This includes an eight directional movement scheme accessible via keyboard controls, click-to-move and mouse movement.
  • Separate keyboard shortcuts for Captain's Quarters and flying-in–space, as well as a number of options for customizing the walking-in-station camera, have been added to the ESC menu.
Character Creation and New Player Experience
  • New characters now start out in the Captain´s Quarters rather than in space.
  • All players are required to customize their characters using the character customization tool. If you have not yet customized your character, you will be prompted to do so prior to entering the game.
  • Initial missions and tutorials have been re-designed significantly, both to encompass Incarna gameplay and to make the first few hours in the EVE universe more accessible and instructive.
  • Aura has returned! Tutorials include new Aura voice overs and images (in all supported languages) to help pilots get familiar with the basic of EVE gameplay and the EVE Online interface.
  • The main screen in one's Captain's Quarters provides relevant information for new and experienced players. You will be able to learn about on career agents, epic arcs, skill training and clones, all while sitting on your Internet space sofa.
  • Aura is now an agent, and will be in charge of the new player experience and early tutorials. The previous agents who gave players their first crash course missions have been...retired.
  • Various optimizations have been made to the categorization and presentation of tutorials, making it easier for you to find specific lessons.
  • Partially completed tutorials can be restarted by accessing the tutorials tab of the help menu (F12).
  • Many of the piercings now deform and stretch one's face more naturally.
  • The male body shape has been re-sculpted to look more natural. But not too natural...
  • Character recustomization is no longer accessible from the character selection screen. The pop-up message offering the option to resculpt a character will now only appear when you enter character customization from in-station.
New turrets
  • EVE's turret system has been completely redesigned. Turrets now have more intricate animations, and are animated in both the hangar and fitting window. You can now preview turrets with the "Show Info" window, even on turrets you don't have the skills to fit or operate.
  • The following turret types have been updated: energy weapons, hybrid weapons, projectile weapons, mining lasers (standard, strip, ice and deep core) and gas cloud harvesters.
  • Turrets can be previewed in 3-D by clicking on its icon.
  • Turret graphics represent the the onlined state of the turret.
Virtual store
  • Our new virtual store, the Noble Exchange is now accessible through the Station Services. Goods can be purchased from the Noble Exchange using the new currency called Aurum, and you can sell those goods again on the market for ISK. Please check out this dev blog from CCP Zulu for more information.
    • A fashionable collection of classic military clothing has been supplied to the marketplace for both male and female characters.

    • All goods purchased from the Noble Exchange will appear as an item in Items Hangar of your current station.
    • All purchased clothing items in your current hangar will appear in the Character Creator when you re-customize your character.
    • All clothing in the Noble Exchange can be previewed on a 3-D mannequin model via Show Info.
  • Players can now convert PLEX into Aurum via the Noble Exchange.
  • 1 PLEX can be converted into 3500 Aurum at a fixed rate through the Noble Exchange interface. (Multiple PLEX can be converted at the same time).
  • Aurum transactions are logged in the wallet journal.
  • We are temporarily prohibiting the transfer of Aurum between characters. This is done for the sake of a slower, more secure implementation of the feature while the initial economic impact is being analyzed.
  • All clothing in the Noble Exchange can be previewed on a 3-D mannequin model via Show Info.
PVE
  • Six new generic missions have been added to bolster the mission selection of non-Empire factions.


CHANGES
Technical and Engineering
  • Dogma, the process that handles attributes on items and how they are modified, was massively re-engineered. This change shouldn’t affect players or change gameplay in any way but is the groundwork for features in following releases.
  • Inventory windows will now re-apply the user's preferred sorting method after executing a "Stack All" command
Graphics
  • Strip miners have an updated beam effect. It is still based on the old effect, only a lot cooler.
  • The following ships have a new thruster glow inside the "cone": Scorpion, Maller and Punisher.
  • The camera angle when undocking has been changed slightly. This makes the undocking process more visually pleasing.
  • SSAO is disabled on all video cards except NVIDIA cards.
  • ILR is disabled on Windows XP machines that use ATI GPU’s.
  • Depth effects on Macs with ATI cards are disabled.
Turret Graphics
  • Tractor beams and salvagers now have their own turret models.
  • Turret icons now correctly represent the look of the turret. Factional variance is also represented.
API
  • MarketOrders - orderID is now a 64-bit integer instead of 32-bit, and typeID is now a 32-bit integer instead of 16-bit.
  • WalletTransactions - transactionID is now a 64-bit integer instead of 32-bit. This applies to both char/ and corp/ pages, .csv and .xml.
  • MarketOrders should now only return a list of active and non-expired orders.
  • If you or your corporation produced more than a certain number of transactions between cache refreshes, the WalletTransactions page will only give you the oldest of those. On the other hand, the API will give you the latest number of transactions and you can page back to get the rest of them.
  • Error Throttling – the API will start to throttle third-party applications that generate a high number of preventable errors in a short period of time. This means better quality of service for everyone using the API.
Scanning
  • It is no longer possible to set up a ship to be impervious to scanning while uncloaked.
  • All probes can now contribute to a scan result, as opposed to the previous limit of four.
Localization
  • Several changes have been made for the sake of consistency and style throughout the game.
Corporations and recruitment
  • The corporation recruitment has been redesigned, making searching for corporations easier and more fun.
  • Searches are now universal rather than by region.
  • Corporation searches are now universal rather than by region as before.
  • The corporation ad duration has been extended.
  • Existing ads must be edited to make use of the new options. Existing ads will not show up in searches until they have been edited.
User Interface
  • You are now able to conveniently report suspected bots by accessing the context menu on a character’s information window. A future dev blog will introduce this feature further.
PVE
  • The number of jamming NPCs in over 75 Caldari and Gurista sites has been re-balanced. Please warp into danger to find out more.
  • Over 100 deadspace and mission sites have been fixed so now they don't complete unless the required item has been successfully removed.
  • Scenery randomization triggers in 50 exploration sites have been fixed so they don't go off more than once in cases where multiple players enter the site.
  • Four mining missions were previously available to some pirate factions. They are now available to all factions of flexible morals. They are: “Oh, the Augumene!,” “Mercium Belt,” “I Don't Ask,” and “Like Drones to a Cloud.”
  • Classic DED complex messages have been updated.
Core Infrastructure
  • The full offline installer will now be presented in the form of three files. Two 2 GB payloads (7 zip archives), and the installer executable file. This is because the total client payload has exceeded 4 GB, which is the limit for self extracting archives for Windows installs.

Friday, June 17, 2011

The Post-Writing Polish Process

Writing is complete on Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. The last lines of dialogue are off for recording and translation; only pickups and polish remain. But at BioWare, a writer's job doesn't stop at the written word. I'm Ian Ryan, a Writer on The Old Republic, and I'm going to show you some of the many ways a BioWare writer continues to shape our game’s stories long after the writing is finished.

There are no less than seventeen planets in The Old Republic. Each one was conceptualized with a rich story, built by our talented world designers then lovingly brought to life by our art team. However as the game's final pieces fall into place, some areas don't perfectly reflect the stories that take place within them: a field is peaceful when it should be battle-scarred, or a residential district lacks the feel of a neighborhood.

As writers, we know the stories and the worlds they play out in. Armed with that knowledge, we set out to provide feedback on each planet’s art as it relates to story. While other teams continue working hard to finish The Old Republic, the writers log in to play the game. A tough life, but someone has to do it. We begin our art passes, giving notes and suggestions to highlight the mood, function and story content of particular areas. For instance, if a luxurious cantina was built in the middle of a devastated warzone (not that we’ve seen that so far...) the writers would ensure that got changed.

For a glitzy example of one of our art passes, let's go to Nar Shaddaa. Nowhere else in the galaxy is flash, glam and crime so prominently displayed - and often on the same street corner. The writing team had great fun in building stories for a world where the rich and privileged rub shoulders and strike deals with the galaxy's criminal underbelly. But when the writing was over, we returned to the lavishly seedy streets of Nar Shaddaa to complete our art passes.

If Nar Shaddaa is the Hutt version of 1970s Las Vegas, the Promenade represents the grand extravagance of the Vegas Strip. The first incarnation of the Promenade was impressive but subtle, a far cry from the glitzy and exorbitant tastes of the Hutts. The risk of a spontaneous party breaking out was slim to none. Here’s an image of the ‘old’ Nar Shaddaa Promenade:

After reviewing this, the writing team asked the artists to kick up the Promenade's glitz and glam levels a few hundred notches. Lead Concept Artist Arnie Jorgensen responded to the challenge and the result speaks for itself:



 Now that's more like it! Lights pulse at every turn, expensive boutiques line the walls and yes - that's a golden statue of a Hutt taking center stage amidst the debauched revelry. Look closely and you may find even more gems. Now it looks like the kind of place you'd go to meet friends and plan your next adventure.

Thanks to the writer's notes and our talented art teams, you will be able to marvel at this new Promenade in all its brazen brilliance when you visit Nar Shaddaa. Transformations of this level bring the world to life and provide a worthy home for those who spend fortunes and do business in the shadow of that gilded Hutt.

For another example of a writer's art pass, we'll go to the polished streets of Coronet City: the Corellian metropolis that is as glorious as Nar Shaddaa is gaudy.

When Republic players first arrive on Corellia, they emerge into the Blastfield Shipyards. Corellia is home to the galaxy's largest ship builders, and this area was originally envisioned by the writing team to fully display the large-scale operation required to build a fleet of capital ships. Unfortunately because we never explicitly said ships were constructed here, the area was originally built to resemble a downtown block of office buildings.

Luckily the Blastfield Shipyards received a full renovation. Acting on the writer's art pass, Ryan Dening created a great piece of concept art that was then perfectly realized by the world art team. See the below images for a look at how the Blastfield Shipyards transform from a standard city block to a massive construction site where the Republic's glorious capital ships are born.





So, what do writers do when the writing is finished? We play and scour the game, polishing everything we can and then compiling these art passes to help the game world reflect the stories. That's on top of writing additional content, creating and dressing the thousands upon thousands of characters living in The Old Republic and looking, for the first time, to the future.

But at BioWare, every designer is a storyteller. Writers begin the process with words, only our jobs don't stop there. We know the universe, we know the stories and with that knowledge we help the rest of the team create a cohesive whole out of millions of different parts. In a galaxy as rich and massive as the one in Star Wars: The Old Republic, that task is as colossal as it is rewarding.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Cataclysm Patch 4.2 - Official Trailer

Fallen Earth free to play confirmed

Just how free-to-play will it be?

There will essentially be four tiers of this new business model: completely free, plus the Silver, Gold, and VIP subscription levels. The subscriptions will offer reward points, much as the game does now, but with even more items to purchase with those points. Keep in mind that these may not be the official names of the subscription tiers on release.

Free: This is to be considered an unlimited free trial, by which players will be allowed to play the game from end to end completely free if they'd like. They just won't earn any reward points.

Silver: This tier will cost less than the current sub price (which is currently $14.99 a month) and provide the same content. All subscriptions (Silver, Gold, and VIP) will also earn enhanced XP gain.

Gold: This will cost the same as the current sub fee but offer more reward points and bonuses each month, which can be spent in the item shop. So you'll be getting more for the same price.

VIP: With this top tier (which will most likely cost more than the current sub fee), players will have the ability to share their VIP bonuses with everyone in their party in the form of a VIP "aura." So if one person in your party is VIP but the rest are free players, everyone in the group will still reap the rewards of this aura. These rewards are also stackable, so if you have a full party of VIP members, you can expect some crazy boosts for everyone in the group.

Also, the game will be a free download from the GamersFirst site, but the company will not be removing either the current stock of boxed copies being sold in brick and mortar stores or the Steam digital download. If you do buy a boxed copy, you'll get some sort of subscription compensation to equal things out. Details on this haven't been finalized yet.

What will be offered in the item shop?

This is something that hasn't been set in stone yet, but some examples given were items that decrease crafting time and the possibility of more cosmetic content.

Many of the items in the item shop will be available to purchase for both GamersFirst credits (something used for all of its games) and Fallen Earth reward points. This allows you to pay through game means or just outright with cash.

When does this new business model start?

There's no definite date yet, but the developers say it should be within the next few months if all goes well.

Will the game's development change?

Marie says that the current development schedule is on target and will remain intact. Past Alpha County, the team hopes to introduce more player-driven content with long-term features. This is something it has discussed previously (especially with progress towns) and is still aiming to deliver. With the added resources from GamersFirst, the development goals should be easier to reach, but the design decisions themselves will not be dictated by GamersFirst.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Steam now offering F2P MMOs

June 14, 2011 - Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Counter-Strike, Half-Life, Left 4 Dead, Portal, and Team Fortress) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today introduced support for Free to Play (F2P) Games on Steam with the launch of five F2P games.

Available immediately, the launch titles are Spiral Knights, Forsaken Worlds, Champions Online: Free for All, Global Agenda: Free Agent, and Alliance of Valliant Arms (AVA).

Beginning tomorrow (Weds) with Spiral Knights and concluding Sunday with AVA, each of the five launch titles will offer exclusive in-game content to those who try the "F2P game of the day" on Steam. In game transactions in all of the titles will be supported by Steam's micro-transaction backend system that is available to Steamworks partners and currently used in Valve's Team Fortress 2.

"The introduction of Free to Play games is another example of the constant evolution of Steam," said Jason Holtman, director of business development at Valve. "Free to Play games offer new game genres and game experiences for customers, while offering developers and publishers new revenue opportunities and the ability to reach customers in areas of the world where the traditional packaged goods model is less popular than F2P."

Specific details on the F2P games of the day and their exclusive in-game content will be made available in the coming days.

Steam is a leading platform for PC & Mac games and digital entertainment serving over 1,500 games to over 30 million active accounts worldwide. For more information, please visit www.steamgames.com

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Black Prophecy enters into open beta

That future is now for North American fans of Black Prophecy, and today marks the beginning of open beta for the title that launched in Europe last March.

Thursday, June 09, 2011

GamersFirst talks Fallen Earth and F2P

Massively: So you're working with Fallen Earth -- what can you tell us about that?

Darek Connole: We're helping them by offloading some of the block-and-tackle, day-to-day operations so that their creative team can focus on getting things like Alpha County done.

We see the game and we see so much potential. It's such an awesome game, but there's just a niche that's playing it, so we're offering them cost-savings in their backend. We're also looking at putting a marketing machine behind it. They do great PR, but their marketing side is a little weak, and we're looking to bolster their advertising and get their name out there.

What we're getting out of that right now is we're looking at the way their microtransactions work, we're looking at the way their subscription model works, and we're looking at how we can get our take of that. Now, the relationship is still forming, so I would say for you and for your audience, keep your eyes peeled to see where it goes!

I have to ask about the business model. Is it going to go free-to-play?

Free-to-play is on the table. It's not something I can confirm; it's not something that I can deny. But we're talking about all kinds of options.

It's a consideration.

It's a huge consideration because the game does already lend itself. It has an in-game store, and it already has a subscription model that has more of a premium model than a typical subscription base, so it is something we're looking at. However, we also have to balance the current game and the current game systems.

The Fallen Earth fans are awesome. They're amazing. And they're technical people, even moreso than the All Points Bulletin fans. We did a screencast and 30 to 40 percent of the questions were about server sharding, lag time, where are they located, are we going to be making any changes to the packet software (because they didn't want to see drops in ping or anything like that). Hugely smart, hugely technically savvy -- that's a gamer who will be there, one who deserves to be taken care of.

The game deserves to be taken care of. It's a brilliant concept, the crafting system, kind of like APB's character creation system; it's fantastic. It takes some of the BS out of other crafting systems (like stopping everything you're doing to do it); they allow you to set stuff up and go. It's great. We want to be a part of that, and how that is going to go is still being determined.

As for other business models, we're looking at tiered sub models. We're looking at a lot of different things because the last thing we want to do is do something that doesn't fit the game. We care about our players. Our players and our player communities are the most important thing to us. Without them we have nothing since we don't have a box sale on that side.

And the team at Fallen Earth an amazing mentality. Marie Croall is amazing and passionate. When we first started to go down this road, there were certain things that she said were absolutely not going to happen, so we've come up with a company line on things like leased weapons and pay-to-win and things like that:

Frak that.

And you can quote me. We are not doing that. We're going to keep the game true to the game and to the people who like it. We're not there to impose our will on it; we're there to help because we see opportunity.

It's a brilliant game, and it's very deep, but nobody's playing it. And hopefully we can help that.

And it sounds like you're on board with keeping the current staff over there.

Well, we don't have any control over that. We're giving suggestions on things, but we don't have any direct control over development; it's all Marie and her team. She definitely tells us if we make a suggestion she doesn't like -- she's very vocal about it.

Tatooine Developer Walkthrough - E3 2011


Wednesday, June 08, 2011

ToR - Immersive Experience Interview E3 2011

The Accursed Woods

Shadows are gathering in the accursed woods of Solomon Island, where unguessed horrors sow death and darkness...

"We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far."
--H.P. Lovecraft

Beneath the dying moon, the angry sky and the dense canopy of the New England backwoods; in the shadows of towering trees and gnarly roots; below the soft soil and the pale grass, deep down in the haunted ground, in the nethermost caverns, they slept. From time to time, one of hideous things would stir, hungrily, and slowly make its way to the surface. It would hunt for some unholy nourishment before descending once more into its eldritch tomb.

These accursed woods have been theirs for a thousand years, but they have remained unclaimed and empty, visited only by those who were blind to the darkness. Dogs would howl, birds would fall deathly silent, and the beasts of the island would all shun the eerie ground. Not until the corpse-white fog rolled over Solomon Island did the things that slept finally wake -- all of them. Scrabbling for foothold, biting, scratching and clawing, they rose through the black soil into the sour air. Now their foul nests infect the monstrous trees, strange weeds strangling gnarled boughs, and the ancient forest reeks of death and pestilence.

Soon, very soon, these horrors beyond horrors will leave the woods, and quaint Kingsmouth will fall to their chittering chorus.

Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Innsmouth Academy

Innsmouth Academy holds many secrets that would be of great value to those who can get their hands on them.

As far as most people are concerned, Innsmouth Academy is a private coeducational boarding and day high-school (grades 9-12; ages 15 through 18) for privileged rich kids, situated on a tiny island off the coast of Maine.

In actuality, the Academy is an educational facility for secret worlders; more specifically, the children of secret worlders affiliated with the Illuminati, although the school sometimes admits exceptionally gifted students -- and faculty -- from other societies. It is considered one of the premier occult prep schools of the secret world, and a degree from Innsmouth Academy opens many doors for a budding magus and occultist.

Founded and constructed in 1798 (and rebuilt in the 1850s, 1904 and 1967, after, respectively, a devastating fire, an earthquake, and the opening of a dimensional portal in the elementalism lab) with investment from a group of mysterious benefactors -- ostensibly wealthy businessmen with local ties -- the Academy has endured, mostly thanks to a long row of dedicated headmasters and fiercely loyal faculty.

With a skeleton in every closet and deals with various devils inked into the very blueprints of the buildings, the Academy is an occult powderkeg primed to explode -- as it very nearly has during attacks in its past. Though the few survivors do what they can to bolster the wards, it requires a great, and unflinching, magical talent to plug all the leaks, and headmaster Hayden Montag has taken that responsibility seriously and single-mindedly.

Without outside assistance, however, Montag and his motley crew will not survive long. The fog -- and the things in it -- are gathering strength, and the Academy holds many secrets that would be of great value to those who can get their hands on them.

Monday, June 06, 2011

Star Wars: The Old Republic Cinematic Trailer E3


Simply amazing. Can't wait!

Atlantic Island Park Uncovered

Once a place filled with screams of joy, now those screams have a different sound.

In the early 1970s, ruthless industrial magnate Nathaniel Winter purchased the land around the old Henderson farm. With its picturesque location on Solomon Island, a spectacular view of the Atlantic Ocean, and easy access from Kingsmouth Town -- a burgeoning tourist destination -- it seemed like the perfect location for an amusement park.

Despite the promise of a major financial windfall for the county, however, the locals were almost unanimously opposed to the plans. The Henderson farm had a dark history, they said, and the grounds were tainted with cursed blood. The land should be left undisturbed.

But Nathaniel Winter hadn't built his vast empire by yielding to anyone, let alone a bunch of superstitious farmers, and amidst whispers of bribes and threats, he acquired all the necessary permits. Construction of the Atlantic Island Park began in the spring of 1975.

As soon as the ground was broken, the freak accidents began. Several workers fell to their deaths; others committed suicide, seemingly without good reason. Rides would fall apart as soon as they were switched on, employees and visitors complained of recurring night terrors, and there were persistent rumors of strange whispers and ghostly sightings.

Nathaniel Winter persevered, however, refusing to cut his losses or yield to public opinion, and despite a skyrocketing budget and numerous delays, the Atlantic Island Park finally opened in the summer of 1978.

Unfortunately for Winter, and despite precautions, the freak accidents continued unabated, and when a crazed employee in a chipmunk costume stabbed two teenagers to death, the park was finally forced to shut down -- for good. Nathaniel Winter vanished along with his vast empire, and was never heard from again, leaving his estranged wife and an only son: Nicholas Winter.

Now the skeletons of the enormous roller-coaster and Ferris wheel cast long shadows over the abandoned paths and candy stands. For more than thirty years, the Atlantic Island Park has remained silent and asleep...

...until now.

Friday, June 03, 2011

Joel Bylos talks The Secret World's endgame

Massively: The recent dev blog mentions being able to see the real-world areas represented in the game's version of New York on something like Google Maps. Can you give us an idea about the size of explorable New York in TSW? Is it the whole city? A particular borough? A few blocks? What about London and other urban locations?

Joel Bylos: It's not the whole city; it's a part of it, a small neighborhood if you will. The idea is to capture the feel of the city, not to be identical to it, but we have taken a lot of inspiration from the real-world locations, hence the reference to Google Maps. Seoul is roughly the same size as New York, whereas London is the largest of the hubs.

The hubs are themed to the secret societies as well, the Illuminati are not in the habit of advertising their presence, the Dragon are, well... insane, and the Templars are by far the most public of the secret societies.

Video game cities often feel a bit soulless due to the inability of the player to explore all of the buildings. Conversely those that have tried to make every door accessible (like Matrix Online) have resorted to repetitive interior design. What is Funcom's take on this problem? Can you explore a lot of the buildings in TSW's cities or is the player mainly traveling through exteriors until you get to mission content?

The locations that are important can be accessed, else the doors are closed. And the accessible locations are unique, not recycled interiors, just the way it is in real life. You just can't go opening all the doors in the real world either! But players will be able to enter a lot of buildings from shops to pubs, and of course the secret society headquarters.

Previous interviews have indicated that the game world is open and relatively zone-free. Does that restrict the sizes of the cities and playfields that you can build?

The game world is open in the sense of there being no hard gameplay blockers between areas (like levels), but technically the game still uses zones. However, we are devising a way to handle transportation between areas that makes it feel less abrupt than in, for instance, Age of Conan, to make traveling from location to location feel more like a part of the experience.

We spend a lot of time hand-crafting our areas for atmosphere and we avoid doing things that run counter to that philosophy. Also, just the fact that locations are spread all over the real world would make it impossible to have the game truly seamless.

Age of Conan's Khitai areas were quite a bit larger and more open than the original game zones, but performance suffered for some users. Is the Secret World team taking any particular lessons away from AoC's Dreamworld implementation for use with the new game?

The fact that Age of Conan uses the Dreamworld engine is a massive bonus for The Secret World, of course. The engine is continually improved by our tech team but the value of getting direct feedback from a populated live game can not be overstated. Recently there have been improvements like the addition of Phys-x for server side collision, etc.

Our developers have made vast improvements to the engine, even since the release of Rise of the Godslayer. The Secret World is also continuously pushing the development of the engine forward. On the design side, we pay close attention to the lessons learned from all of the other projects.

The dev blog mentions the use of various objects in the course of doing mission content (vacuum cleaners, phone books, etc.). Can random game objects be wielded in combat or is it more along the lines of certain objects triggering certain encounters?

The answer is both yes and no. The Yellow Pages, for example, can be used whenever the player feels like it. But when on a mission that requires the player to look in the Yellow Pages, they might find some information highlighted that was not highlighted before.

Other things, like the vacuum cleaner, form a part of a specific mission and can not be wielded like a regular weapon outside of that mission. We have some very interesting non-mission related interaction mechanics which tie directly into the skill system.

The dev blog also contains some exciting references to endgame ("every minute of play is the endgame" and "there are no 'you need the blue key to continue' moments"). Can you give us an idea of TSW's endgame? Does it involve aspects of the traditional raid/gear ladder? Is it more story-focused? Is it PvP-focused (and/or focused on experimenting with skill builds)?

It depends on how you define endgame. From my perspective endgame is generally when you have gotten far enough to start being able to access the interesting content. In The Secret World there are all the things you would expect from a traditional MMO endgame: Gear, dungeons and so on. The difference is that shortly after character creation, you can jump right into whichever of them you want and still stand a chance of surviving because you made the right build for the style of gaming you want to play.

Hence, I say that there is no endgame and there are no hard content blockers. You can literally start at the end if you think you are good enough! Of course, there is still a strong feeling of progression throughout the entire game, but it's not about achieving a certain level so you can go battle a certain monster that requires you to be a certain level to stand a chance. It will definitely challenge you, it requires you to approach the game differently than you would in other MMOs.

Along the same lines, the "blue key" comment indicates that TSW will feature non-linear/sandbox gameplay. Do you consider the game a sandbox? Is there a definite progression and/or story path that you'd like for players to experience or is advancement and content consumption arbitrary and/or up to the player?

I wouldn't describe the game as a sandbox, but rather a theme park where you pick whichever rides you like whenever you like. Most missions (unless they are a part of a story arc or secret society ranking) are available the minute you finish the tutorial. All skills are available after a few hours of play. Through the story mission there is an encouraged progression path, but there is nothing forcing players to follow it before they can move on.

We really want The Secret World to be a world to our players. A place that draws them in whether their interests are PvP, story, crafting, exploration or social. Whatever they like, our philosophy is that they should be able to start enjoying it right away.