MMO News |
- 2015 MMO Predictions – The Rise of Buy to Play Sandboxes
- Medieval Engineers Announcement Video
- Infinite Crisis Behind the Voice: Hawkgirl
- W3D Product Video
- Sandboxr & Hi-Rez Studios Partner to Bring 3D Printing & NFC to SMITE
- Warhammer 40,000: Carnage Updates With Fireteams, Space Marines & More
- H1Z1: The Easy Life (Early Access Trailer)
- WWE Immortals Now Available for iOS and Android Devices
- Collect-them-all RPG ‘Deity Quest’ Comes to Steam January 20th
- Wizardry Online – The Quest for Revival
| 2015 MMO Predictions – The Rise of Buy to Play Sandboxes Posted: 15 Jan 2015 05:33 PM PST By Jordan Hall (ApocaRUFF)
Another year has come to pass and we’ve made it into 2015. Last year was a mixed bag, starting off with a heaping helping of disappointment, developing into failed hope, and then ending on a note of greatness with games like Life is Feudal, The Repopulation, and Elite: Dangerous becoming available. None of them being Free-to-Play, too. In my 2014 predictions article, I talked about how I felt Elder Scrolls Online would fail, prayed to the Internet gods for the F2P Themepark market to crash and end a dark era in our history, and stated my high hopes for ArcheAge. And while I would like to say that I was right, I have to admit I was wrong on some things.
Elder Scrolls Online – Going Buy-To-Play? Let's start off on the main topic of last year's article: Elder Scrolls Online (ESO). Last year I predicted it would fail. While I don’t think it’s exactly successful, it’s still there and still a pay-to-play. On the other hand, though, I can’t say I know anyone who is playing ESO and there is rarely any more than a hundred people viewing the game on Twitch (if that’s any indication on how well it is liked). So, while it may not have "failed" completely, I do feel it’s getting to a point where the publisher is probably strongly considering a change in payment model.
So my prediction for ESO this year is a change in payment model. I’m not exactly excited about this – a change in the model could result in the game going F2P with a stupid cash shop. Personally, I feel it would do much better as a buy-to-play with a cosmetic (and convenience) cash shop. Similar to Guild Wars 2. I’m hoping this change comes in 2015 so that I can come back and enjoy the Elder Scrolls setting once again. Or some major expansions with lots of new and changed features. As it is, I can’t bring myself to pay $15 a month to play the game. There are some clues that a payment model change may be on the horizon, so I’m not just making a blind guess. With the removal of the 6-month subscription option for ESO, many are speculating that there will be some sort of massive change on the horizon. Others, however, claim this is just a change to make more income as the 6-month option offered a hefty discount over the other subscription plans. Only time (or a press release) will tell what this change means for ESO.
ArcheAge Server Mergers Next up to bat is ArcheAge. In 2014, this was my star game. I put all my hope into this basket – got my friends together and encouraged them to buy the $150 Founders Pack right along with me, put together my old guild to take part in the game, and spent months planning for its release. And to be honest, I do feel that I got my $150 worth out of the game – about half a year and hundreds of hours of gameplay. However, just after four months of launch and the game already feels dead. I honestly don’t see much hope for the future when it comes to ArcheAge.
A combination of screw ups by Trion and XL Games has resulted in a lot of angry players,
Hopefully this will come soon enough to satisfy the ArcheAge community and provide a lively and fun experience before the populations shrinks to devastating numbers. On the other hand, a server merge means a lot of butt-hurt from the player-base due to the housing situation. So it almost seems like a lose-lose situation for Trion no matter what they do. Personally, while I’m not able to see how they’ll pull it off, I’m rooting for Trion to turn things around. I plan to keep a close eye on ArcheAge in 2015.
Buy-To-Plays Towards the end of 2014, I did come across a handful of games that I feel will be the hope of the sandbox genre in 2015. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?) none of them are Free-to-Play, all being Buy-To-Play. These are Life is Feudal, The Repopulation, and Elite: Dangerous. While the first is not yet an MMO, with that component of the game being 6-months to a year away, the second IS a full-fledged sandbox MMO, but is currently in alpha (soon to be beta) testing. And the last is a quasi-MMO. All three have huge amounts of potential, though, so they’ll be the games I’m banking on in 2015 and I feel they will be the reason this year will be great for MMOs and sandboxes alike. Life is Feudal is a medieval sandbox, similar to Wurm Online. In fact, I feel that Life is Feudal will be the first game to really compete with Wurm in the full-fledged sandbox market (which is incredibly sparse). I still consider Wurm to be the greatest sandbox of all-time, but after playing the non-MMO beta version of Life is Feudal: Your Own, I have to say I think it will give Wurm Online a run for its money. So I predict Life is Feudal becoming even more popular (there are already thousands upon thousands of people playing on private servers) and developing into the only real competition that Wurm Online will have in this very niche market. You may have heard of The Repopulation already, especially if you’re a Star Wars Galaxies (SWG) vet. For a while now, it’s been championed as the true new home of SWG fans, offering a lot of features and gameplay elements that made that game so great. At the end of 2015, I went ahead and bought into the testing of the game via Steam Early Access. I haven’t gotten far yet (I’ve had the game for less than two weeks), but it definitely shows promise and the resemblance to SWG in some ways are stunning. I predict this game will gain a lot more traction in 2015 thanks to its As for Elite: Dangerous… That’s a very odd subject for me. On the one hand, I love the game and have spent many hours enjoying it. On the other hand, I feel that it was released earlier than it should have been and is missing some important features that would make all the difference. I don’t know if a release in very-late 2014 was a good thing or not, and only time will tell. As it stands, it’s still quite hard to enjoy the game with friends and gameplay becomes repetitive after a while. I think that 2015 will show us a slew of new features fixing many of the issues that I (And others) have with the game. (catch our full launch review) Elite: Dangerous only has one real competitor, and that is Star Citizen. I fear that Star Citizen will become more and more playable in 2015, taking away droves of the Elite: Dangerous players if certain features (being able to easily and successfully play with friends would be great!) aren’t released soon enough. This may or may not be an issue, though, as Elite: Dangerous seems to be designed as a single player game first and a multiplayer game second, so it could very well be perfectly fine with minimum numbers of online players. Especially considering it has a full-fledged single-player option that takes place in the same galaxy as in online play. In the end, I’m hoping that what they say when it comes to the two games is true, "There is room for two amazing space sims."
Conclusion 2014 was, for me, the year of failed games and lost hope. Maybe 2015 will prove to be the year of great buy-to-play sandbox MMOs. My predictions are: ESO will continue to lose its player-base until it’s forced to reconsider its payment model and will hopefully switch to the Buy-to-Play model. ArcheAge will continue to have a shrinking player-base and Trion will be forced to merge the many (over twenty all-together) servers. There will be a rise of Buy-to-Play sandbox MMOs this year, taking a lot of the spotlight from F2P and P2P games. I’m sure that, like last year, we will see more and more clamoring for sandbox games from MMO players, many of whom are getting tired of the repetitive, money-sucking F2P Themepark model that most games on the market have. And I’m sure we’ll see great things coming from EverQuest Next/Landmark, too. Here’s to hoping that 2015 will be a year of massive flux (for the good) within the MMO market!
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| Medieval Engineers Announcement Video Posted: 15 Jan 2015 04:26 PM PST The makers of Space Engineers reveal their ambitious new project.
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| Infinite Crisis Behind the Voice: Hawkgirl Posted: 15 Jan 2015 03:50 PM PST María Canals Barrera talks about playing the role of Infinite Crisis‘ Hawkgirl.
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| Posted: 15 Jan 2015 03:39 PM PST Snail Games introduces its 3D gaming phone.
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| Sandboxr & Hi-Rez Studios Partner to Bring 3D Printing & NFC to SMITE Posted: 15 Jan 2015 03:23 PM PST Sandboxr, Inc., partnered with Hi-Rez Studios, Inc., brought the first 3D printed and NFC offering to their ever-increasing fan base for the 2015 SMITE World Championship Tournament. The event was held over a three day period in front of a maximum capacity audience at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, Georgia on January 9-11, 2015. With a $2,612,260 prize pool, the eSports event boasted the third largest prize pool in eSports history. Engaging with Hi-Rez Studios’ 3D Art Department, each 3D printed character was created using the actual in-game 3D file. Every detail was scrutinized to ensure the 3D printed version represented the exact details and color of the digital on-screen characters. Afterward, Sandboxr launched the first near field communication (NFC) proof of concept for a 3D printed offering to be bundled with the 3D printed characters. Each character was then sold with an NFC chip that, when scanned, unlocks SMITE in-game rewards, a Sandboxr gift card, and certifies the authenticity of the collectible. TJ Young, President and Co-founder of Sandboxr, comments “We are very pleased to be the first company to successfully incorporate NFC technology within a 3D printed Smart-Creation at this level. To be able to offer in-game rewards as a by-product when purchasing 3D printed merchandise is a great win for video-game and movie companies looking for new and technologically advanced ways to connect with their fans. This is leading edge merchandising of the future.” As a backdrop to an intense three days of competition, gamers were blown away by the limited edition 3D printed characters displayed for purchase and order by Sandboxr. The NFC chip, packed with in-game rewards, was an added value that fans truly appreciated. “Sandboxr delivered an unprecedented merchandising option to our fans, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. We’re pleased to be the first game ever to release a combined 3D print and NFC experience of this kind. In the end, the fans have the final say. And they have spoken loudly about their love of the offering – a high fidelity 3D character model combined with virtual items. Given the positive community feedback we look forward to next steps in bringing this technology worldwide with Sandboxr.” Todd Harris, Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder, Hi-Rez Studios. Want an epic print of your own? Check out our SWC giveaway which includes god statues from Sandboxr! |
| Warhammer 40,000: Carnage Updates With Fireteams, Space Marines & More Posted: 15 Jan 2015 03:07 PM PST Warhammer 40,000: Carnage, the popular Action-Shooter with RPG elements on iOS and Android, has launched its third major content update. This update features the new Salamanders Space Marine chapter, the new Flamer weapon, a multitude of new Friending features, as well as a improved Fireteam missions to conquer together with friends. SALAMANDERS: INTO THE FIRES OF BATTLE The new playable Salamander Space Marine character, the pure embodiment of the righteous flame, wields the new Flamer weapon-type, burning enemies in the holy fire of the Emperor's Vengeance. Once the Chapter Pack is unlocked, the Salamander comes fully equipped with the new Flamer and a Support Drone, setting out on his own campaign with exclusive missions. NEW FRIENDING FEATURES All Friending features have been completely revamped for the Salamanders Update. Players now have a Friends List where they can view their fellow Space Marines' progress, and even use a friend's Support Drone to earn Blood Ore currency. Leaderboards now display the top 3 players of each mission from the Friends List, and players can see their worldwide rank on the Global Leaderboards at the end of each mission. TAKE ON FIRETEAM MISSIONS Players select their most trusted Battle Brothers among their friends to take on the challenging Fireteam Missions – 60+ currently available. Together, they must lay waste to enough Ork scum to complete the mission. Only Players with enough skill to receive 3 Stars in a mission can access the Fireteam Mission. Roadhouse Interactive, the leading mobile developer and publisher behind Carnage, released the Salamanders update with a focus on flames, friends, and Fireteams, uniting Battle Brothers worldwide, INTO THE FIRES OF BATTLE! |
| H1Z1: The Easy Life (Early Access Trailer) Posted: 15 Jan 2015 02:54 PM PST Life used to be easy, until H1Z1 came along and started Early Access today.
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| WWE Immortals Now Available for iOS and Android Devices Posted: 15 Jan 2015 02:51 PM PST Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and WWE today announced WWE Immortals for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Android devices is now available worldwide on the App Store and Google Play™. Developed by NetherRealm Studios, the creators of the best-selling Mortal Kombat franchise and Injustice: Gods Among Us, in conjunction with Phosphor Game Studios, WWE Immortals is a free-to-play title that features Superstar battles in a fantastically re-imagined WWE world. WWE Immortals offers an action-packed mobile gameplay experience that takes WWE Superstars such as John Cena®, The Rock®, Brock Lesnar®, Triple H®, Roman Reigns®, The Bella Twins™, Big Show® and Sheamus®, out of the ring and into an alternate universe where they battle as out-of-this-world versions of their in-ring personas. Utilizing a touch-based combat system, opponents can wield over-the-top signature Superstar moves and devastating powers to conquer opponents in bone-crunching matches. As the game progresses, participants can supercharge their roster with gear and support cards, engage with players around the world, and participate in in-game challenges tied to WWE pay-per-view events. "WWE Immortals is a heart-pounding experience that brings the world-renowned WWE brand to fans and gamers in a whole new way," said Greg Ballard, Senior Vice President, Mobile, Social and Emerging Platforms, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. "The game will continue to evolve with our ongoing support of events and updates to the roster that will keep the game fresh for many months to come." "Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment and NetherRealm Studios have brought the larger-than-life personalities of WWE Superstars and Divas to fans in a new way," said Casey Collins, Executive Vice President, Consumer Products, WWE. "WWE Immortals is a great addition to our portfolio of free-to-play mobile games that lets fans and gamers around the world enjoy fast-paced and over-the-top action." WWE Immortals is available for download from the App Store and Google Play. |
| Collect-them-all RPG ‘Deity Quest’ Comes to Steam January 20th Posted: 15 Jan 2015 02:28 PM PST Fancy Fish Games, developers of the upcoming I Can’t Escape: Darkness™, is pleased to bring the exploration-based battler Deity Quest™ to PC, Mac, and Linux on Steam January 20th, 2015. As a young god in the world of Aberos, Deity Quest™ challenges you to collect 128 unique follower types, then use them in fast-paced 6-on-6 battles to conquer the world and become the Overgod. Develop your divine magic, explore vast locations, and compete with other deities in your quest to the top! An early version of Deity Quest™ became available in 2014; the Steam version features online follower trading, online battles and LAN play, as well as many updated features and Steam Trading Cards. Critics loved Deity Quest in 2014: “With its clever gameplay, intriguing storyline, and nostalgic visuals Deity Quest™ is one of those games that immediately commands your attention.” “So, if you do like the Pokemon RPGs then you’re probably going to like Deity Quest™ as well.” “We’re excited to introduce this beefed-up, latest and greatest version of Deity Quest™ to Steam players” says Fancy Fish Games Founder David Maletz. He adds, “While we wade through the deep, dark depths of wrapping up development on I Can’t Escape: Darkness™, it’s nice to have the light-hearted distraction of Deity Quest™ available on so many platforms for so many of our fans.” |
| Wizardry Online – The Quest for Revival Posted: 15 Jan 2015 12:50 PM PST By Cord DeBlois, Guest Writer
The MMO version of the classic Wizardry series by Sir-Tech, Wizardry Online. The game that was barely given a chance. The game that was ripped away before it’s time on July 31st, 2014 from the North American and European servers provided by Sony Online Entertainment, while flourishing in Japan. While it may have had its flaws during its brief, but infamous time it was available, it is certainly not a game to be swept under the rug. The community contradicted and answered common questions found on various MMO forums and reviews. Below are a few examples are such complaints coincided with veteran players' responses.
"Unfortunately, most of the time it’s a lumbering beast of a game with interesting ideas cloaked behind layers of frustration that only dedicated players will surpass." Wizardry the franchise, even during its days as a solo RPG experience, has always been a grindy game with much depth, so it stands to reason that the developers would carry this legacy into the online edition.
While this game may be tedious and grindy at times, the payoff is very rewarding and encourages a strong sense of community. Your first experience in Wizardry Online might seem daunting, but once you get further into the experience, you begin to understand the developer's innovation, making you work hard for achievements and rewarding you along the way, creating a thirst for what lies around the next corner.
Unfortunately said online edition came with the typical pitfalls most devs new to the territory suffer, namely a rough buggy launch. However, such issues did not define those games and should not have defined Wizardry Online either. Though its short lived lifespan in the west blocked us from ever seeing the shining polished version it could have become.
The game lived on in Gamepot's Japanese version, teasing us with what could have been, including some major features designed to address some of the primary frustrations players had. Two key examples were a "Story Mode" to make progression more engaging, as well as a PvE oriented server known as the "Liberal" server.
"First, the interface is somewhat unintuitive, combining odd movement, tiny and indistinct inventory icons, and controls that do different things depending on if your weapon is drawn or not." Coments like this were in the forefront of player and press criticism coinciding Wizardry Online's launch. 'Outdated' in graphics and game controls, players uninstalled without second though. Those that stuck around recognized the developers' goal of capturing a classic feel of gameplay, rather than cinematic styles commonly seen today. It is part of the Wizardry series, and is a wonderful representative of the classic RPG players get nostalgic over today. Legacy Wizardry employed turn-based combat with linear actions. Many of today's players are used to controls that sometimes require extremely dexterous movements and combinations that defy logic. Wizardry Online developers stayed away from this trend and modernized the turn-based play that Wizardry was known for, resulting in gameplay that forced you to remain mentally sharp while emphasizing perfectly timed one button blocks and dodges rather than rapid MOBA level button mashing.
"Wizardry Online is not an open world game, which also sets it apart from its rivals in the PVP niche." The fact that it is not an open world game, but a dungeon crawler, makes no negative changes to the player vs player aspect. The close quarters make exciting and intense PvP experiences, with a one of a kind combat style that is different than what is seen in open world MMO's today. It is understood that dungeon crawlers are not for everyone, and that's alright! Each has their own style and preference in their personal gaming experience.
“It's nothing like the old Wizardry series.” It goes without saying, Wizardry Online had to make several changes going from a single player RPG to a multiplayer MMO. However, it did keep a lot of the original aspects. There were a total of five races and eight classes available in Wizardry Online (Lord, Ninja, Samurai and Bishop were released in late 2013), the same exact set of races and skills as Sir-Tech’s Wizardry 1-5. In Japan they also are planning to release the Bard and Alchemist classes. They also kept many similar story lines, such as from Wizardry Labyrinth Of Lost Souls, adding new, entertaining twists to keep you on the edge of your seat, while making it fit to a multiplayer/MMO style of gameplay.
"The lack of polish also stands out right at the start of the game." This could mean a variety of things, seeing how everyone has a different opinion on what they like in a game. However, once you put some time into the game, you really feel like you're delving into an ancient world of lore and magic. The simple, yet intricate graphics and detail add to the effect, making it feel like you are truly in a medieval, dark world where adventure and horrors are waiting to meet you around every corner. Sometimes even in town!
"Third, it is seriously overrun with gold spammers and other repugnant creatures." Yes, we will not deny that in the very beginning, there were several gold spammers, along with the majority of MMO's that have been released in the last decade. Luckily, with the PvP player looting system in Wizardry Online, gold spammers ceased to exist due to players killing them, and looting their things. Without the ability to make money, the gold bots quickly dissipated. Wizardry Online has all the capabilities of the community governing itself, and that is what it did.
"It’s an okay MMO, but the hardcore PvP and perma death isn’t there. " Ah yes, the old perma-death paranoia. We will admit it has been talked up, and was made into something it really wasn't. At death, a player will resurrect at a goddess shrine, and be presented with a scale. As a young player your scale is normally 100% resurrection rate, as you progress into the game, your scales lower. There was only the potential of losing your character. Wizardry's former publisher had over-exaggerated the aspect which leads potential players astray as a marketing gimmick gone wrong.
"With the 'Free to Play' title, it's most likely to be Pay to Win." In this age of the MMO market, the majority of games available fell into the "Pay to Play" category, or the relentless "Free to Play" but is "Pay to Win". The argument is the publisher has to raise money for server costs by adding an in-game cash shop filled with buffs, armor, avatar costumes, and more. Though there are few select things in the Wizardry Online cash shop that would give extremely minimal boost, such as health potions and forge guards, it was mostly avatar costumes and other personalization items. The creators of the game made it obvious you are on your own in your gameplay.
In essence, we all strongly believe if given the chance, Wizardry Online will make a strong and reliable gaming experience for the lost gamers, who are craving adventure, friendships, and a healthy challenge.
Best regards and hope to see you soon, The Wizardry Online Community |
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