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SOE Expands On Bans For Abusive Players

SOE’s Linda Carlson spoke at this year’s GDC Europe about policing an online community and dealing with the small population of very vocal trolls. Carlson believes that community management should be tailored to each game with some standards set across the field. Carlson discusses how Sony Online Entertainment deals with the more vile members of the community, both in-game and out.

“It’s all a matter of perspective. The size of the problem changes depending on who you are, so you have to take all of these views seriously, even if you can’t change something [back].”

You can check out the sizable article at the link below.

(Source: GamesIndustry.biz)

Warhammer Online Shutting Down

Mythic Entertainment has announced that Warhammer Online will shut down this December. According to an update on the official website, it appears that Games Workshop has not renewed Mythic’s license, and as a result the game will no longer be able to operate.

We here at Mythic have built an amazing relationship working with Games Workshop creating and running Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning over the last 8 years. Unfortunately, as with all licensing deals they do eventually come to end and on December 18th, 2013 we will no longer be operating Warhammer Online.

Warhammer Online launched in 2008 and while the game shattered pre-purchase records, it very quickly lost a majority of its subscribers and almost all of its over one hundred servers. The next couple of years were filled with more layoffs and more server closures as development on the game dwindled down to maintenance mode with a bare bones team. Eventually Mythic revealed that there was no chance for Warhammer to become free to play, as EA believed the product to be incapable of making back the money it would cost to make the transition.

For many of Warhammer Online’s past and current players, this announcement has been a long time coming.

(Source: Warhammer Online)

World War II Online Greenlit On Steam

World War II Online: Battleground Europe has been greenlit by Valve. Battleground Europe joins the ranks of 25 games approved for release on September 18th, and while we won’t actually see the game show up on the Steam platform for a while, the gears are already in motion.

Thank you to all of our fans and believers, fellow steam supporters, for helping us pave the way to make this unique game come to the steam community. We’re sure you have a lot of questions and are curious to our release. We’ll keep you up to speed via announcements as this develops.

Congratulations to the Cornered Rat Software team and hopefully the release will give the game a much needed boost in population.

(Source: Steam)

The Frustration of Forced Grouping

When it comes to MMOs, I have no problem with dungeons requiring groups, sandbox MMOs where the game is best played with groups of people or with clans, or even when the best gear is only obtainable by running dungeons. I have a problem with Final Fantasy XIV’s use of forced grouping, however, in the main scenario quest series. There are several quests around level 15 which require you to use the duty finder to complete a dungeon in order to progress through the main story. After sitting in the duty finder for well over an hour, I checked the tool only to see that I was the only person waiting in line. Two hours later, still the only person in line.

In any other game this wouldn’t be as big of a problem. You might miss an achievement or a vanity pet or something of the like, but ultimately the quest can be glossed over. For Final Fantasy XIV, not being able to find a group for this duty means not being able to progress through the main quest, which means not being able to complete the quest to receive a retainer, which means not being able to sell anything on the market. It means not being able to pledge yourself to one of the three grand companies and to rank up to receive a chocobo license. No access to selling on the market, no access to mounts, and probably other content that I’m just not aware of yet. After more than two hours of waiting, I left the game.

But that’s just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Subject: Loser! Loser! Loser!

Since we’re on the subject of poor ideas in video games, I can’t help but think about the deceased MMO Fury and an email sent out to customers just a few months after the game launched. Through the power of Google Documents, the email has been preserved for all to enjoy until the end of the world.

Just in case any of you were confused, this email was meant to entice customers to come back, not insult them for leaving. Fury was shut down August 2008, just ten months after the October 2007 launch. Gamecock Media Group, the publisher, interrupted the Spike TV Video Game Awards in 2007 while Ken Levine was speaking, with employees dressed in capes and rooster heads. Just so you know where these people are coming from.

Subject: LOSER! LOSER! LOOOOSER!
Chances are you are a LOSER! Or will you prove us wrong?

http://www.unleashthefury.com

In the 3 months since release, tens of thousands of people have played FURY and every single one of them has lost at least one game! That’s right – not one unbeaten player exists in our database. And the stats show that once you have won 3 games, you are extremely likely to play dozens, if not hundreds more games.
So, we’d love you to come back and check out all the changes and improvements and discover that winning feeling.
For a start it is easier to stay alive now, and there are new game types specifically designed for new players. We have also added AI Bots (and they love losing), new gametypes, new maps, fixed the GUI lag and hundreds of bugs plus loads of other stuff. You can find out more about all the changes at http://www.unleashthefury.com/ageofthechosen
We have also introduced the Chosen which allows you to play FREE FOREVER. Why not show your friends you are not a loser as well by bringing them along, they can play for FREE! Just get them to follow the instructions found here http://www.unleashthefury.com/free2play

Cya in game (unless, of course, you want to remain a loser).

The FURY Team

Diablo III's Auction House Shutting Down

Ding dong, the witch is dead. Ever since the idea was first revealed by Blizzard, the auction house in Diablo III has been readily panned by players for undermining the core gameplay of killing a load of things to amass a load of stuff. In a surprise announcement, Blizzard has announced that the auction houses, both real money and the fake kind, will be shut down on March 18th, 2014.

When we initially designed and implemented the auction houses, the driving goal was to provide a convenient and secure system for trades. But as we’ve mentioned on different occasions, it became increasingly clear that despite the benefits of the AH system and the fact that many players around the world use it, it ultimately undermines Diablo’s core game play: kill monsters to get cool loot. With that in mind, we want to let everyone know that we’ve decided to remove the gold and real-money auction house system from Diablo III.

The update will go hand in hand with the Loot 2.0 system coming with the first Diablo III expansion.

(Source: Diablo III)

Diablo III’s Auction House Shutting Down

When we initially designed and implemented the auction houses, the driving goal was to provide a convenient and secure system for trades. But as we’ve mentioned on different occasions, it became increasingly clear that despite the benefits of the AH system and the fact that many players around the world use it, it ultimately undermines Diablo’s core game play: kill monsters to get cool loot. With that in mind, we want to let everyone know that we’ve decided to remove the gold and real-money auction house system from Diablo III.

The update will go hand in hand with the Loot 2.0 system coming with the first Diablo III expansion.

(Source: Diablo III)

FFXIV Back On (Digital) Store Shelves

Good news, everyone. A couple of weeks have passed since Final Fantasy XIV entered its head start phase, during which the servers became consistently flooded with players all looking to make their home in Eorzea. Due to the overwhelming response by players, Square Enix decided to temporarily halt digital sales of the game on their official website and via third parties. The good news is that the game appears to be back on digital shelves and is once again for sale, meaning if you didn’t manage to get your hands on it the first time around, your opportunity has come again.

Players who started out when the game went live should see their subscriptions begin renewing soon.

(Source: Square Store)

MMOrning Shots: First Line of Defense

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Today’s MMOrning Shot is a rather old screenshot from Line of Defense, the upcoming MMO shooter from 3000AD. Why is this significant? Next quarter, 3000AD is set to launch a companion app for Line of Defense in the form of a top down real time strategy squad shooter for iOS and Android. The crux of the game is that it features squad based combat set in the same world as Line of Defense, with the ability to outfit your troops and send them into battle. While the bulk of the game is in the single player strategy, the app will also serve as a companion for the full MMO, offering detailed information on the world’s inhabitants and their motives.

Line of Defense Tactics is set to go live next quarter.

Did Anyone Notice That FusionFall Shut Down?

That is a rhetorical question. Cartoon Network’s FusionFall originally launched in 2009 with an awesome premise: An MMO set in the Cartoon Network multiverse with well known characters, a rather simple combat and quest system, and the ability to summon nano versions of said cartoon characters. FusionFall originally launched with a subscription, but eventually converted into a free to play game the following April 2010.

In those three years, FusionFall has faded into relative obscurity outside of the Cartoon Network community. Earlier this year, Cartoon Network ceased all development on the title and moved on to FusionFall Heroes, a game set in the same story line but with players taking control of the characters rather than creating their own avatar. To put the icing on the cake, finally, FusionFall shut down on August 29th with all the attention that you would expect from a small flash game, ie: none at all.

And that’s the way the cookie crumbles.

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