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Everquest Landmark Drops 32-bit OS Support

Gamers looking forward to seeing Everquest Next Landmark on 32-bit operating systems can officially put their dreams to rest. Dave Georgeson posted on Twitter today to announce that there will be no 32-bit version of the game.

Another News Flash: Landmark is going to have to be a 64-bit OS game *only*. We are going to be unable to support 32-bit OS as we had hoped.

Unfortunate indeed, but unavoidable due to unforeseen technical issues. For those who already purchased Landmark, SOE is offering refunds with no questions asked.

(Source: Twitter)

Akaneiro's Team Down To Two People

Akaneiro has fallen on troubled times. In a post on the Kickstarter page, American McGee commented that the game’s two hundred grand pledge goal was set on the grounds that revenue from the game would be enough to sustain further development. It wasn’t. A number of unexpected costs coupled with feedback that the game simply wasn’t fun led to a massive financial hole for Spicy Horse.

In total, around 360 man-months have gone towards development, bringing our investment in dollars to nearly $2 million USD. In that same period, we’ve generated roughly 300kUSD in revenue – this includes funds collected via the Kickstarter campaign, F2P purchases in-game, and one-time purchases via Steam. In simple math: We’ve spent $2 million, we’ve made $300k, we’re “in the hole” $1.7 million.

So what does this mean? The development team for Akaneiro has been reduced to two people, slowing progress for the foreseeable future. Depending on the performance of The Gate, Spicy Horse may divert more resources to Akaneiro in the future. For now, the future doesn’t seem so bright.

(Source: Kickstarter)

Is Sony's New MMO A Zombie Game?

John Smedley is a man after my own heart, because what would be better for the company heavily invested in everything that SOE is doing other than to announce yet another MMO? We know from Smedley’s Twitter that there is definitely an MMO in the works, one that is dedicated to Star Wars Galaxies fans, presumably those who have been disgruntled with the developer ever since the New Game Enhancements way back when. Since then, Smedley posted two pictures on Twitter of in-game houses that were confirmed to be related to this upcoming MMO. So what is it?

Super sleuth Ste2000 over at the MMORPG.com forums found that Sony Online Entertainment filed a trademark last month for H1Z1, which sounds suspiciously like an MMO:

Computer game software and video game software; downloadable multiplayer, role playing, real time computer and video game software via an online website for entertainment purposes

H1Z1 is the name of a hoax zombie virus that spread around the internet claiming to be a strain of the H1N1. This isn’t a guarantee that Sony will do anything with the trademark, as developers are often known to file trademarks for products that die in concept/development.

(Source: MMORPG.com)

Blade & Soul Expanding Again…To Japan

Prepare your expletive buttons, as they are about to get a workout. The good news is, Blade & Soul is once again expanding. Following the game’s massive success in China, NCSoft is following up on its 2011 announcement to bring the game overseas…to Japan. Sorry, westerners, but if you look to your right you will find several expired issues of Highlights magazine* with which to pass the time waiting. There is currently no ETA on when the Japanese servers will launch.

*magazine delivery not currently planned for North America, South America, Europe, and Oceanic regions.

(Source: MMO Culture)

January In Review: Landmark Edition

January was a pretty eventful month, all things considered. With February ahead of us, let’s take a look at a few highlights of the month.

1. Sony Online Entertainment

It’s been a big month for Sony Online Entertainment, hasn’t it? January started off with Sony announcing, and then very quickly ending, changes to All Access that would remove the 500 station cash stipend given to players each month in return for one purchase of up to 2,000 station cash. In the end players will still receive their cash, although they have to log in to claim it. In addition, SOE announced that all of their games would be unified under a single $15 all access pass. If you are subscribed to one game, you are subscribed to all of them. Unless of course, you play Vanguard.

The month wasn’t all bad for SOE, however. John Smedley hinted at an MMO that Star Wars Galaxies fans could come home to, Planetside 2 continued its updates, and the alpha for Everquest Next Landmark launched in technically January, the best kind of January.

2. Licensing

Star Wars Galaxies taught us that hell has no wrath like a license holder. With a multitude of games disappearing from store shelves thanks to the expiration of licenses, we learned that Marvel Heroes has Marvel’s blessing for at least the next ten years. Turbine later announced that Lord of the Rings Online is safe until 2017 at the earliest. We already know that EA Games has the Star Wars license for the next ten years.

3. Smattering of Shutdowns

Archlord shut down its global server at the beginning of the month, followed by an announcement that servers in Korea would subsequently be shut down in February. According to our friends at MMO Culture, the sequel Archlord II hasn’t seen much of a response from players, with servers merging already in open beta. Next of course we have the announcement that Sony Online Entertainment is shutting down four games from its library, citing lack of profitability and, in the case of Vanguard, terminal technical issues.

January also saw the sunsetting of other MMOs, including Dynasty Warriors Online and the Playstation 3 shooter Massive Action Game. MAG, for those interested, can still be purchased used at Gamestop for $.99, just be aware that you are buying a coaster.

4. LFG 10-Man Funcom Raid

Do I need to reference this? It’s still on page one. Funcom’s offices were raided by the economic crimes unit whose name I won’t try to pronounce here. The developer is being charged with negligent bookkeeping and breaching disclosure requirements in regards to the launch of The Secret World. Funcom later commented to Massively to state that while the investigation goes on, the company is running as usual.

Funcom has been delisted from the stock exchange for the time being.

5. The Exclusive Scrolls

And lastly we have the reveal of the Elder Scrolls Online preorder package. Zenimax unveiling of the two editions has drawn controversy over the developer’s decision to offer the Imperial race as a collector’s edition exclusive. Additionally, players have also drawn criticism to the pack of bonuses included as a preorder exclusive, allowing players to create a character on any faction, regardless of their choice of race.

I feel that this controversy is equally about selling an “exclusive” race as it is about Zenimax going back on some previously strongly held beliefs about the Imperials not being playable as well as the faction pride that required race locks.

Everquest Landmark NDA Lifted

The Everquest Next Landmark alpha has been up for less than 24 hours, and John Smedley has taken to Twitter to announce that the nondisclosure agreement has officially been lifted. Players are allowed to talk about what they want, stream what they want, and post screenshots as they want.

The NDA is officially lifted for EQNL. Have fun. It will be Monday before we can yank it from the game

As far as people getting the wrong impression from the state of the alpha, “that’s life,” says Smedley.

(Source: Twitter)

Roblox Kicks Off Winter Games Competition

Grab your virtual snowboard and tobaggen and suit up for cold weather, because the ROBLOX Winter Games has officially begun. Beginning today and heading through February 10th, ROBLOX players will be able to compete in five different events, including snowboarding, snowball fights, racing, and even a tank battle. Each event has a leaderboard, badges, and a set of hats to earn for completing said badges. Furthermore, players will receive medals for placing in each event.

So what’s special about this? Every event featured in the Winter Games, including the ski lodge lobby, was developed by a select group of developers under 18 years old. It is incredible to see what people are capable of with ROBLOX.

(Source: ROBLOX press release)

SOE Promises Refunds For Unsatisfied Alpha Testers.

Sony Online Entertainment is set to launch the alpha for Everquest Next Landmark later today. Given the increasing reliance on early access purchases and your average gamer’s habit of buying an alpha stage game and then being stricken with buyer’s remorse because it isn’t a finished product, SOE is offering a full refund for anyone not satisfied with the alpha. As John Smedley stated on Twitter:

We will offer a full refund to anyone not satisfied with the Alpha. It’s not confidence. It’s being honest about the fact that Alpha’s aren’t for everyone. Plus we don’t know the kind of problems we expect to see. Things like running it out of North America now. I don’t want any EU players feeling like they got screwed if the streaming has hiccups at first. We just don’t know what we don’t know yet.

It’s actually nice to see a company respond to early buyers with something other than “you should have known what you’re getting into.” Hopefully this quality guarantee will be adopted by other companies, but that is unlikely.

(Source: Twitter)

Rolling Back Evolution of Combat: One Patch at a Time

Fundamentally changing an MMO’s combat system post-launch is a daunting and risky task. As much as there is the opportunity to bring in new customers and reinvigorate the old, a game also stands to alienate its existing user base. Like it or not, people are generally averse to change, especially when it comes in one lump sum and after the previous system had been in place for so long. RuneScape’s Evolution of Combat radically changed the way players engage in combat, and not everyone was happy about the increased demand for attention.

Since its launch, Jagex has been rolling back certain features and making accommodations to appease fans of the older system. The Momentum ability was introduced and automates much of the new combat system without requiring a whole lot more input from the player than the old system asked for. Old School servers brought back RuneScape as it was in 2007 and then subsequently updated in a different direction to the main game. Momentum is useful for most aspects aside from the powerful bosses, but continues to be tweaked over time.

In a recent news post, Jagex revealed that the weapon-specific specials would be reintroduced as abilities to bring back value to weapons that had lost value since the update. This week Jagex added a new poll asking players if they would like to see a legacy mode, bringing back the old combat system and interface. The legacy mode would not replace Evolution of Combat, the two would exist side by side.

Turning on Legacy Mode will change your gameplay to be like the old combat system, circa 2012. This includes things like special attacks, no action bar, no abilities and type-to-chat. It will have the old interface layout, with combat info and buttons around the mini map, with the old side-panels in the lower right, plus an option for the old fixed-window interface layout.

At the time that this article is published, the legacy poll leans heavily toward implementation. The goal is to have both versions working on the same servers with players able to fight each other between modes, but not everything is set in stone. Should legacy mode be voted in, which is all but confirmed based on the poll results so far, players will have the opportunity to beta test the feature and tweak it to their enjoyment.

Jagex, for their part, has said that legacy mode is a way for them to open up their game to a wider base, including those who quit due to Evolution of Combat. The company stands by its previous statement that Evolution of Combat is not up for vote and players will not be given the option to remove it entirely.

(Source: Legacy FAQ)

Final Fantasy XIV Now Selling Physical Time Cards

I’m not horsing around. Those of you who prefer to keep your precious credit card data out of the hands of those prone-to-theft businesses are likely the same group as those who refuse to buy a subscription MMO without the option to buy time cards. After all, why not? Turbine has had multiple billing issues, as has Mortal Online and Warhammer, among others. Sony was hacked, stores have had their databases compromised, it seems like cash is the only safe method of payment for anything these days.

The good news is that players will be able to buy 60 day access cards for Final Fantasy XIV. They cost $30 and are available in stores in North America as well as on Square Enix’s website, the latter of which makes the whole “don’t have to use your credit card” part moot. Check out Final Fantasy XIV at a store near you.

(Source: Square Enix press release)

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