MMO News |
- Stratus: Battle for the Sky
- 2017 Gaming Predictions: The Future of VR and Social Media
- SMITE Season 4 Dev Talk Series
- SMITE Clash Map Reveal Hirez Expo 2017
- Escape from Tarkov News – Extended Alpha Launched
- Conquer Online News – Windwalker Class Coming Jan 12
- Final Fantasy Brave Exvius Ariana Grande Announcement
- SMITE Expo 2017 Pre-Game Press Reveal Event Recap
- SMITE Tactics Closed Beta and Founders Packs Announcement Trailer
- SMITE Rivals Hirez Expo 2017 Announcement Trailer
| Posted: 05 Jan 2017 05:47 PM PST Stratus: Battle for the Sky is a buy-to-play fantasy RTS game developed by Storm Isle Productions for PC, Mac, and Linux and is available for purchase on Steam Early Access. In Stratus the world of Sonus is ruled by the gods of Thunder, Rain, Sun, and Wind and has been torn apart by powerful, eternal storms. Now the native inhabitants have retreated to the majestic islands floating in the sky high above the chaos below. Over time inhabitants are once again called down to the land below as the Tempests drag their islands back down during the “Times of Descent”. Once there each faction must battle to prove their worthiness to the Tempests in hopes of ascending high up into the sky to safety once more, that is before the next “Times of Descent”. In Stratus: Battle for the Sky players must summon units to aid them in taking out their opponents’ units. Different kinds of resource generators will be available like power generators and rain collecting golems that will make it so players can summon units, but resources will need to be managed carefully to succeed. Players will take control of a high priest of Sonus and align to one of the Tempests by constructing a temple in their honor. The faction chosen will determine unique units and defensive mechanisms that are at your disposal. A priest will act as an avatar for a player and enable them to support their units with a variety of different spells. The priest also acts as the main objective of each match where players must capture the enemy priest to submit them as an offering to their chose Tempest. Will you lead your Tempest, and your people to victory or will your islands be sacrificed in the chaotic land below?
The post Stratus: Battle for the Sky appeared first on MMOHuts. |
| 2017 Gaming Predictions: The Future of VR and Social Media Posted: 05 Jan 2017 02:47 PM PST Before we knew it, the year 2016 flew past us. When you think about it, one year may seem like a long time but once you get into it, it's nothing. With work, school, and games keeping us busy, time just flies by. Overall, I was not very happy with the MMO scene in 2016. For the past couple of years, the genre has slowly been dying as we keep seeing carbon copies popping up every so often. While there were some great games throughout the year such as Tree of Savior, none could keep my interest for very long. The MOBA and FPS scene continues to grow with more gamers being sucked into MOBA games such as Dota 2 and League of Legends. It may just be that my interests are changing over time, but I am really hoping for more MMOs which completely suck me into their worlds. Enough reminiscing about the past, let's look at what is to come. For years, we have seen gaming weave itself into our normal lives. An increasing number of people can now be considered gamers, maybe not to the extent of some more hardcore gamers, but gamers nonetheless. Most of the time spent online by these individuals, outside of work, is on their mobile devices and other social media platforms. The divide between social media and games is closing; more games are incorporating features allowing you to share your moments with your friends and some even reward you for doing so.  H1Z1 King of the Hill features integration with TwitchTV. Can you blame the developers? By encouraging sharing, more people will come to know about their games and in turn lead to increased sales. Constant messages nagging us to connect to our social media accounts can get annoying for gamers, but who can resist free loot? Even services such as Battle.net have added support for live streaming through Facebook. As 2017 progresses, I predict that more games will feature integration with social media. If we're comfortable with posting pictures about what we're about to mow down, why can't we do the same with our gaming adventures and achievements? Gaming is no longer, and has not been for some years, something that is limited to the 'nerdy' audience. Everyday 'normal' people are playing games – it's not unusual that games are creeping into our social lives as the divide between the virtual and real world fades.  Mark Zuckerberg with his Facebook VR army. The emergence of virtual reality technology assists in bridging the gap between what is real and what is not. I was on the edge about purchasing an HTC Vive for myself but decided against it as we are bound to see revisions in the future – as is expected from bleeding edge technology. More than that, the games we currently see are more technical demos than full games. Sure, we do have some amazing VR games but they are not at the level of the traditional AAA or even polished Indie game titles, yet. As VR technology continues to improve, it is bound to become more accessible. Years ago, the first iPhone cost $800+ to purchase but now you can purchase a phone of similar, or even better specs, for less than a $100. It may still be a couple of years until high quality VR is available for cheap, but I feel that 2017 will begin to introduce more fully fledged games using VR technology. We are still far from having MMOs like Sword Art Online, but I would not be surprised to see more online games relying on VR technology to set them apart from the rest. Shoot down some zombies, VR style. At this point, the market for VR is still small as it is limited to those with the money for the hardware. Only smaller companies trying to enter the market or those who are not afraid to fail will be seen experimenting with online VR games. I really hope to try some VR MMORPGs in 2017. However, thinking about it, I'm not sure how long these will keep me occupied. I still see myself falling back to traditional MMOs and even straying away from those trying action based combat. Even then, it's not fair to judge before trying VR MMOs for myself.  Battle.net allows livestreaming through Facebook Conclusion: For better or for worse? 2017 will see increasingly more integration between social media and our beloved games along with more games featuring virtual reality technology. The gap between the real and virtual world continues to close. There is no more 'online me' and 'real world me' – both are the same. For the developers and publishers, this integration with social media is great; gamers are encouraged to share their experiences with their friends resulting in free advertising for the game. On the other hand, seeing your social life creep into games can be annoying. I'm just trying to kick back and relax with some games, I don't need to share everything with my friends and family. So… will this trend of merging our social and gaming lives result in good or bad? Well, that's up to you. I personally do not delve much into social media except when it is needed for advertising. There is a massive audience out there for companies to reach and not tapping into this market may seem silly. If you're the type of person who loves to share everything with friends, this integration lets you continue this even when gaming. As far as VR is concerned, let there be more VR. I'm a huge fan of bleeding edge technologies and innovation. VR is the next step for gaming – traditional keyboard and mouse games will always have a place in my heart but it doesn't hurt to try something new. As more gamers are introduced to VR and as the hardware's price barrier continues to drop, there is bound to be a lot of good to come out of this technology. It will still be a few years before VR takes a large cut of the market but 2017 is likely to see a big increase in VR enabled games. In the end, we all just want to experience the best moments gaming has to offer. As we grow older, we can only think about the great experiences we had as kids and teenagers. With work and school taking up a lot more of our time, it is getting harder and harder to immerse ourselves into the world of games. Maybe this merging of both the social and gaming worlds into one, coupled with the introduction of VR, is what we need to bring us back to those days. The post 2017 Gaming Predictions: The Future of VR and Social Media appeared first on MMOHuts. |
| SMITE Season 4 Dev Talk Series Posted: 05 Jan 2017 02:28 PM PST SMITE offers a rundown of the key changes coming in Season 4 including ranked changes, the reworked Clash mode, the Celtic Pantheon, and more! The post SMITE Season 4 Dev Talk Series appeared first on MMOHuts. |
| SMITE Clash Map Reveal Hirez Expo 2017 Posted: 05 Jan 2017 02:15 PM PST SMITE unleashes a new Egyptian map as a rework to Clash mode, with no other than the Morrigan to introduce it. The post SMITE Clash Map Reveal Hirez Expo 2017 appeared first on MMOHuts. |
| Escape from Tarkov News – Extended Alpha Launched Posted: 05 Jan 2017 01:17 PM PST Battlestate Games announced that Escape from Tarkov, their MMOFPS, has entered extended alpha and will be accepting more players in the weeks to come. The chance of being selected for the extended Alpha is higher for those who pre-order the game early and is based on the pre-order package purchased; for example, purchasers of the Prepare for Escape package have a 75% chance of getting into the Alpha, while those who buy the Left Behind package have a 50% chance of getting in. The Extended Alpha introduces new features including:
Gamers interested in joining the alpha can pre-order the game here. The post Escape from Tarkov News – Extended Alpha Launched appeared first on MMOHuts. |
| Conquer Online News – Windwalker Class Coming Jan 12 Posted: 05 Jan 2017 12:21 PM PST Conquer Online will be releasing its newest expansion, “Might of Shadow Fan,” on January 12, 2017. The new expansion introduces the Windwalker class, the 10th available class in Conquer Online since its launch 13 years ago. The Windwalker can switch between two roles in combat. As a Stomper, the Windwalker uses melee combat, channeled AOE skills, and buffs that boost attack speed and damage. As a Chaser, the Windwalker focuses on long-range AOE skills, counterattacks, and passive HP and stamina recovery. This new class is promising to make a big change on the battlefield, as the Windwalker is capable of filling either role freely. This will make the class more unpredictable and force players to consider both its power as a ranged attacker and its capability to act as a short and mid-range defense fighter. Conquer Online’s team has also been working on an updated game version with improved graphics and redesigned user interface, characters, maps, and more. The post Conquer Online News – Windwalker Class Coming Jan 12 appeared first on MMOHuts. |
| Final Fantasy Brave Exvius Ariana Grande Announcement Posted: 05 Jan 2017 09:09 AM PST Final Fantasy Brave Exvius officially announces that Ariana Grande will become part of the game and create a new music video. The post Final Fantasy Brave Exvius Ariana Grande Announcement appeared first on MMOHuts. |
| SMITE Expo 2017 Pre-Game Press Reveal Event Recap Posted: 05 Jan 2017 08:15 AM PST Okay guys! I’m fresh from the Hirez Cocktail paty, where I hobnobbed, drank entirely more than I should have, and played both Smite Tactics [which I already had access to] and Smite Rivals! That one’s new, and we couldn’t talk about it until just now. The name had sort of been spoiled on the Internet, because people are awful, but we got to be among the first to really play it outside the office, and that’s exciting. So, what’s Smite Rivals? It’s a mobile title [and PC as well I do believe], that will be fast-paced and absolutely a ton of fun. It’s a cute version of Smite, where you have a deck of charcters/totems/towers/abilities, and each God plays a bit differently. The goal is to summon characters/minions to run down the lanes to blow up the towers and the Titan, much like a regular game of Smite except with everyone rocking a chibi-Hades inspired skin. But his game, barring need for a sudden death, takes place over the course of about two or three minutes. You have a mana bar that constantly fills, and a button to activate faster mana regen [on a cooldown], and you place the creatures and spells where you want them. You can hover over them to see what they do, but you won’t really have time in a regular game. I highly recommend learning your stuff before going in as the pacing is hectic and unforgiving! I played the Hades, Thor, and Neith decks, and each felt considerably different. I haven’t had that much fun on a tablet/mobile game in quite some time. It’s reminiscence of a Smite version of Minion Masters, which is a game I thought was fun on its own. And Smite Tactics continues to grow and be fun. I don’t really need to say much about that yet, but I’m going to in a future editorial/write up. You can be sure of that. I did learn that I’m bad at any tactics style game while inebriated though. The other big reveal is the next God, the first Celtic God: The Morrigan! She’s so insanely good! Oh my God. I’m not going to do a big breakdown of her kit, because I’ll be doing a review of her before long. But she’s got a crazy fun stealth a’la LeBlanc, and lots and lots of damage and team synergy. But the best thing is her ultimate! She’s at heart sneaky and manipulative, and what better way to drive that point home, than by becoming another God on the team [friend or foe]! You get their full kit, their stats/items, but no consumables, you use your own relics, and your stolen abilities will be leveled at the equivalent level of your own 1-4 skills. If you activate their ult and its longer than her ult cooldown, it increases the cooldown of her ult. So you really have to plan ahead what you’re going to do with it: whether you want to trick their backline, or simply add another ludicrous ult to your teamfight… The Morrigan is going to be my next mage to play regularly. I guarantee it. Hirez is going hard this year, and definitely dropping a ton of amazing content all at once. Two new games in Tactics/Rivals, lots of fun updates to Smite, and Paladins being just amazing now – we’re not even at the start of the tournament! The post SMITE Expo 2017 Pre-Game Press Reveal Event Recap appeared first on MMOHuts. |
| SMITE Tactics Closed Beta and Founders Packs Announcement Trailer Posted: 05 Jan 2017 08:05 AM PST Hirez Studios has announced at Hirez Expo 2017 that their tactical CCG, SMITE Tactics, is ready to enter closed beta testing. Details on Founders Packs have also arrived. The post SMITE Tactics Closed Beta and Founders Packs Announcement Trailer appeared first on MMOHuts. |
| SMITE Rivals Hirez Expo 2017 Announcement Trailer Posted: 05 Jan 2017 08:04 AM PST Hirez Studios reveals their latest mobile venture at Hirez Expo 2017, SMITE Rivals! Following similar in style to Clash Royale, SMITE Rivals offers a head to head competitive three lane card battle system complimented by the famous characters of SMITE. The post SMITE Rivals Hirez Expo 2017 Announcement Trailer appeared first on MMOHuts. |
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