Author: Admin
RuneScape Founders Return For Quest
Fifteen years after they created RuneScape, the original trio of brothers – Andrew, Paul, and Ian Gower – have returned to the world of Gielinor with a new quest as part of the game’s year-long anniversary celebrations. Dubbed, somewhat inevitably, ‘Gower Quest’, the new mission sees players uncover the mystery of the disappearing cabbages for three familiar looking cabbage mages. Packed with nods and winks to vintage RuneScape memes and jokes, Gower Quest is a fond love letter from the game’s creators.
A free-to-play quest that enables the broadest range of players to experience the adventure and celebrate the game’s past and future successes, Gower Quest will take players through cabbage fields and beyond as they experience a tale that will warm the very cockles of their hearts. Featuring new rewards, including a brand new god sword forged in the name of the cabbage god, Brassica Prime, Gower Quest is like no other RuneScape quest!
“Bringing back the three brothers to help design a celebratory quest was simply fantastic, and we’re already seeing players contact us saying how nostalgic and wonderful Gower Quest is for them,” said David Osborne, lead designer, RuneScape. “We’re grateful to Andrew, Paul, and Ian for returning to RuneScape for one more occasion and being guest designers on the quest. Fifteen years is a phenomenal milestone to reach, so few MMORPGs have ever reached it, and fewer still while experiencing a resurgence in player numbers!”
“Without the Gowers, we would not have RuneScape and there would be no Jagex, so we were thrilled when they agreed to return to Jagex as guest quest designers for this celebratory adventure,” said Mark Ogilvie, design director, RuneScape. “I’ve been working on RuneScape for 14 years now, and I have many, many fond memories of working at the near-dawn of Gielinor and its lore. This quest harks back and pays homage to some key events and characters from across the history of RuneScape, and is the perfect way to celebrate its milestone anniversary.”
Conan Exiles Delayed to January 2017
Conan Exiles is begin delayed, and for good reason. In an announcement posted on the Steam Early Access page today, Joel Bylos has revealed that additional funding has allowed the studio more flexibility in getting the game up to snuff before putting it on the store.
We have come to realize that we would like to spend a little more time creating our vision of Hyboria before we release it into Early Access. Having very recently secured additional funding for our studio which has made our financial situation much more flexible than even just a few weeks back, we want to take advantage of that and move Early Access to January 2017. With the extra time in development, we believe we can make a better game for you, the fans.
(Source: Steam)
Check Out Overwatch’s Golden Guns
In his previous talk, Jeff Kaplan announced that competitive mode would bring golden gun skins as a reward for players, with the most skilled among the player base getting their hands on the (presumably) beautiful weapons much sooner than the rest. According to screenshots revealed on the Korean public test server, those guns may be coming sooner than thought.
These guns have not been confirmed by Blizzard, so they may just be high quality fakes. The odds of that seem unlikely.
(Source: Forum)
Down The Line, Where Does H1Z1 Stand?
Earlier this year, Daybreak Game Company announced that they would be splitting off H1Z1 into two separate games: King of the Kill and Just Survive. Since February, the games have been operating as two separate products leading myself and some others to ask: How have they fared?
Looking at the statistics, it’s safe to say that King of the Kill is easily what players bought into H1Z1 in order to play. The game peaked out in its launch month with an overall peak of more than twenty thousand players. Since then, traffic has dropped off about 25% to fifteen thousand, a respectable rate of retention, and has even grown slightly over the course of June.
The survival portion of H1Z1, meanwhile, has proven more stable while less popular. You can see in the chart that, upon split, Just Survive immediately loses nearly twenty thousand players from its peak numbers and sticks at about eight thousand. Since the split, however, the game has lost a distinctly smaller portion of its base. Peak numbers in February dropped from 8.7 thousand down to 7.0 thousand, so it looks like a substantially larger portion who stuck around during the split have stayed since then.
So while King of the Kill is more popular, Just Survive seems more stable. Both titles are no doubt doing well for Daybreak.
Elite Lord of Alliance Releases Latest Update
WEBZEN, a global developer and publisher of free-to-play games, today announced the release of “EPIC 2: Outlaw’s Emperor“, the latest content update for its triple-action hack ‘n’ slash MMORPG ELOA: Elite Lord of Alliance.
ELOA: Elite Lord of Alliance is an anime-inspired triple-action hack ‘n’ slash MMORPG, with classic action RPG elements and unique dynamic 3-combat-stance gameplay.
EPIC 2: Outlaw’s Emperor today raised the level cap to 50. This increased level cap is accompanied by new content, including the Veren Arena, Ruins of Forgotten King, and Paliore’s Garden dungeons. In the new dungeons, characters at the new maximum level will have a chance to obtain level 50 rare weapons/armor/accessories in Normal mode, and Engraving Stones in Hero mode.
Spanning from today through to July 12th, 2016 (UTC), the ELOA team is organizing many in-game events to celebrate the latest content update. The Epic 2 Commemorative Coin Event allows players to collect “EPIC 2 Commemorative Coins” via the in-game attendance event, and exchange them through NPCs to get their rewards. Rewards will be allocated based on the number of coins, and include the Awakened Poron Egg, Nightmare’s Avatar Surprise Box, VIP Service (7 days), Low Reinforcement Safety Scroll, Elite Potential Scroll (500), Eva’s Knowledge and Eva’s Fortune.
Returning players who have level 40 unique weapons & armor (over +8 reinforcement) from Hero raids can take part in theReinforcement Preservation Event. They can acquire the “Elite Reinforcement Scroll (100%)” by disassembling the eligible items.
The Newcomer Event also welcomes new players. After finishing the tutorial, new players will arrive at the Baratan Fortress and get level 40 weapons for their classes.
The update also introduces many improvements to the game, such as a shop renewal, a revamped transcendence level system and the addition of more items that can be obtained using Honor Points.
Additionally, level 50 wings, a dolphin pet (Joey), swimsuit costumes, and a limited all-in-one package are now available for purchase in the shop.
Full details about the latest update can be found on the official ELOA website at: http://eloa.webzen.com/en/events/epic2 , and players can check out the trailer on the official ELOA YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/ttXKFt8G_Vs
Firefall’s Future On The PS4
Hello, Firefall fans,
We wanted to take some time to discuss Firefall and our plans for other platforms. Red 5 Studios cherishes the Firefall IP and we are continuing to make the game in the best way that we can. Additionally we are working to bring the IP to other platforms such as Playstation 4 and mobile.
The team deeply appreciates and embraces those that are enthusiastic about Firefall as an IP and welcome constructive ideas and feedback from all sources including former employees of the studio. Because of the enthusiasm shown we feel the value of the Firefall IP is not only recognized by gamers but the capital market as well.
While we have more plans for the Firefall IP, currently the team’s focus regarding Firefall is working to prepare the franchise for Playstation 4 and mobile. We will be sure to provide everyone with more updates as we have them. We’d like to thank all of those that have supported us and plan to continue to support the team as we continue to progress not only Firefall as a PC game but as an IP.
Best regards,
The Firefall Team
Firefall has had a bumpy ride on PC, and Red 5 Studios seems determined to save the game by starting fresh with new customers on new platforms. User count on PC has declined to incredibly low levels and only seems to be losing more people every day. Mobile and PS4 may be the only way to save the franchise and Red 5 from extinction.
(Source: Firefall)
PSA: Steam Sale Starts This Week
MMO Fallout would like to issue a public service announcement to remind our viewers that the Steam Summer Sale begins June 23rd and runs through July 4th. In preparation for the sale, we’ve listed some tips to help you spend wisely.
- Because of Steam refunds, daily sales are no longer a thing. Once a game is on sale it will stay at that price for the duration of the sale.
- Games purchased during Steam sales are still eligible for refunds. Same rules apply, two weeks and under two hours of gameplay.
- If you bought a game in the past week, played past the refund period, and it goes on sale, try emailing Steam customer service and ask for the sale price. It isn’t 100% guaranteed to work, but it has for some in the past.
- Buy Steam Wallet cards: Thanks to an incredible Steam sale back in 2013 where I inexplicably wound up spending about $200, I now buy Steam wallet cards and remove the credit card off of my account during Steam sales. We all like to think of ourselves as fully in control until those 75% markers start showing up.
- Build a wishlist: Pick the games you really want and throw them on a wishlist. There will be tens of thousands of Steam games on sale and not nearly enough time to wade through them.
- Steam Bundles: It used to be that Steam bundles were worthless if you owned one or more games in the collection. It is now possible for publishers to pro-rate their collections, so you’ll still get the sale price minus the cost of whatever games in the collection you already own.
- Pricing Errors: Guaranteed to happen once or twice over the course of the sale due to some publisher placing the decimal point in the wrong spot. This happens right when the sales change and are fixed within minutes, so grab them fast. A few lucky users managed to pick up Tropico 4 for less than a dollar a couple of years back.
- Trading cards can be obtained in your games and sold for cash money (Steam wallet cash money anyhow). In most games, you can simply idle and gather up their trading cards to sell on the open Steam market. Ten cents here, twenty cents there, it adds up over time and means your games can effectively fund other games.
- Check the competition: Just because a game is on sale on Steam doesn’t mean you’re getting the best price. Before you hit that buy button, check out https://isthereanydeal.com/ for competing prices. You may just get a better deal.
If you have any tips of your own for Steam shopping, leave a comment in the box below and let us know.
In Plain English: Epic Sues Paragon Cheat Maker
Epic Games has launched a lawsuit against German gamer Robin Kreibich under allegations that the defendant violated copyright by selling cheat software for their upcoming MOBA game, Paragon. The program, known as SystemCheats, claims to be the most powerful hack for Paragon and sells as a monthly subscription for approximately $10/month.
The hack promises to give players perfect aiming with “smooth aim” to make their movement seem more natural and presumably less likely for manual detection. According to the creator, the hack is “fully undetected” and can be used with no risk for being banned. Evidently that immunity hasn’t protected Kreibich from court, but the more intrepid viewers might be wondering why a German citizen is being sued in a US district court in California by a game developer based in Maryland. The answer involves some legal wrangling.
Epic Games issued a takedown of Kreibich’s Youtube videos demonstrating how the hack works. When a person files a counter-notice to a Digital Millennium Copyright Act takedown, by Youtube’s own terms of service they consent that any legal matters will be taken care of in Youtube’s judicial district.
It also helps Epic Games that the lawsuit be held in California’s northern district court. Back in 2013, Blizzard won its lawsuit against Ceiling Fan Software simply under the breach of contract charge. The courts agreed that the cheat software was sold with the knowledge that it would breach the contract between World of Warcraft and its users, and the court awarded $7 million in damages and an injunction against Ceiling Fan Software from selling, developing, licensing, or allowing others to use their bot software.
Epic Games is demanding a trial by jury, as well as unspecified damages including reimbursement of their own legal fees.
More coverage to come.
(Source: Scribd)
Crowdfunding Fraudsters: Legend of Zelda On Unreal
Fraudster:
2a: a person who is not what he or she pretends to be :impostor;
Gather around, students, for it is time for another Crowdfunding Fraudsters courtesy of MMO Fallout and a never ending legion of people whose motivations are, shall we say for the sake of legal liability, questionable? The reason we call this segment Crowdfunding Fraudsters, rather than say ‘Kickstarter Scam Artists,’ and put the definition right at the beginning is to forward the idea that this isn’t a witch hunt. Most of the projects covered under this segment are merely the ill-informed dreams of ignorant fans. They either lack the business knowledge, the legal understanding, or the programming experience to see their projects to completion. In short, they are impersonating someone who can run a competent crowdfunding campaign.
Today’s project is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time ported to the Unreal Engine 4 so PC gamers can play it. It sounds like an invitation for a cease & desist from Nintendo, but the campaign has been up and running for a while now so let’s give it the benefit of the doubt.
Let’s find out about the creator.
My name is Joseph I am the current lead developer and coming from Germany / Italy and i think im Well known for the Nintendo character creation in Unreal Engine 4 🙂
As a game developer, being well known as the guy who steals Nintendo assets and ports them to other engines probably isn’t something to be especially proud of, although that resume would have gotten you a job at Silicon Knights years back.
This game will never be allowed to be sold so for the project to ever be completed it must be crowd funded. You are the only ones who can help with the competition I hope to make this a three person team as you can see from the demos we have posted so far this game is coming along, and most of the main maps are complete.
Here’s the thing that people don’t seem to understand about copyright, and I won’t go into the whole idea of profit motive as a concept just yet. It is illegal to just 1:1 recreate a game on a different engine and sell it for money, I think we can all agree on that basic point. With that in mind, creators like Joseph tend to think that if they don’t charge up front for something that they can’t legally sell, but ask for donations or contributions that it’s suddenly alright in the eyes of the law.
Spoiler: It isn’t. It also doesn’t help that the campaign is going to directly sell the game, as it admits right afterward:
IT WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR ALL TO DOWNLOAD AFTER A SMALL CONTRIBUTION $1 MINIMUM
Joseph needs $2,500 to make Legend of Zelda on Unreal Engine 4 a reality, but the goal is flexible because why demand the whole pot when you can hope to lure in some hapless chap for $50? With about 20 hours left to go as of this publishing, not a single person has fallen into this campaign.
The good news is that you can be listed as a producer with nothing more than a mere $15 contribution. For $500, you can be listed as the sole executive producer.
My advice to the creator: You do more benefit to your image and portfolio by creating original works. Nintendo is not well known for its patience when it comes to unlicensed works, and asking for money is just adding gasoline to the inevitable fire.
MMO Fallout 