Author: Admin

City Of Steam Coming To Steam Greenlight


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Name one thing City of Steam needs. If you said, I need City of Steam to be on Steam so I can play Steam while I’m on Steam, then may Cthulhu have mercy upon your soul. Announced today, City of Steam is making a bid to be on steam, with the goal of expanding its community, reaching a wider audience, and a general misunderstanding of what constitutes irony. As we’ve pointed out here on MMO Fallout, Steam Greenlight works pretty simply. A developer slips their game, along with a $100 bribe, under the doors at Valve Headquarters, and the game is listed for the community to vote on. Once the game becomes trending, Valve takes it into consideration as a possible release title.

Following the contemplation period, and a lengthy ritual involving the sacrifice of a Moogle to the great god Newell, a list of titles are announced as greenlit. To give players more reason to play through Steam, the folks at Mechanist Games are offering 7 extra pets, 3 new steambikes, 8 new dungeon types, many new hats, jetpacks, and extra customization options.

And just because:

(Source: City of Steam)

Funcom Follows Arenanet: The Secret World Is Buy To Play


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Good news, bears. As of…now, The Secret World is buy to play for all. Like Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2, this means that all you have to do is purchase the client and you have full access to the game for as long as you desire (or as long as the game is up and running anyhow). This means all content in the original game, plus that in the first four DLC packs.

“Buy the game before December the 31st and all the content in Issue #5, which will be released shortly, will also be included and you will receive the Initiate Pack, which includes strong starter weapons, a Blood Raven pet and extra social clothing.”

Being a subscriber now offers extra bonuses, from a bonus experience item to $10 worth of Bonus Points monthly for the cosmetic cash shop, an item-of-the-month gift, and a 10% discount to everything in the store. Lifetime subscribers will receive a bonus 10% discount to everything in the store.

Since this is a transition to a new payment model, that means new items being added to the cash shop. Players will now be able to buy bonus AP potions which double ability point gain, as well as a run speed upgrade which works the same as the item that can be bought through the secret society. The first paid DLC will release in January for $5, but anyone who has purchased The Secret World before December 31st will receive it for free.

(Source: The Secret World)

Rift Hit Hard By Layoffs At Trion


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The Christmas season just gets worse for game developers. Trion Worlds has confirmed that a number of people have been laid off “in response to market conditions, product timelines and the natural evolution of our company,” although the developer has not offered an exact number. Trion does not offer figures such as concurrent subscriptions or expansion sales. Rift’s latest expansion, Storm Legion, launched last month. More recently, Trion took control of End of Nations from developer Petroglyph, who suffered layoffs of their own.

We wish the best for Trion’s ex-employees. Numbers by an ex-employee point the layoffs at around 40.

(Source: Gamasutra)

Darkfall Reveals Launch Plans For Unholy Wars


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It is December 11th, and that can only mean one thing! No, not that. Gear up that sandbox, because tomorrow Darkfall: Unholy Wars is launching right into your…no, I’m getting word that Darkfall: Unholy Wars will not be launching December 12th. In a surprise, out of nowhere, could not be seen by anyone no matter how dedicated of a gamer they are to the company and I’m not fooling anyone, am I? Yes, the company well known for sudden, last minute delays has suddenly delayed at the last minute.

Instead, Darkfall: Unholy Wars will launch at some point in January…probably.

We have come to a decision, not without much internal debate, that instead of commercial release this Wednesday as planned we are going to launch the game for playtesting first. We also believe that we owe the community a thorough explanation for this last minute decisions, so the reasons behind it are the following:

The reasons come down to a desire to have the game tested by people who will actually be playing it, over people paid to test it. Additionally, some last minute bugs and a desire to fully integrate Steam in before launch were noted. Aventurine did not expect Steam to greenlight Darkfall as quickly as it did, and the approval was very short notice.

Playtesting will begin on January 17th for pre-orders, as well as current customers who sign up for a month’s subscription.

(Source: Darkfall Epic Blog)

Creating Games Using Someone Else's Intellectual Property


As someone who started writing by creating derivative works of existing properties, I have a special place in my heart for amateur studios who do the same. So whenever I have to deal with such a group of people, I never see them as content theives when I tell them they will probably be served a cease and desist, if not sued outright, for stealing intellectual property.

As is the case with My Little Pony Online, a testament to the internet’s demand that not even this website can refrain from mentioning the show. MLP: Online is an MMO based on the tv show dedicated to a base of adult men. Unsurprisngly, MLP: Online was the target of a cease and desist by Hasbro for all sorts of infringements. The project will continue, but without anything that would identify it as a My Little Pony game.

Still, the law sucks. It puts content owners in a rough spot since if they don’t protect their properties, they could lose them.

Perhaps the better question to ask is why Hasbro took so long to send the cease and desist, considering the game was on the radar of the mane-stream press for a good while now.

I am so sorry.

Creating Games Using Someone Else’s Intellectual Property


As someone who started writing by creating derivative works of existing properties, I have a special place in my heart for amateur studios who do the same. So whenever I have to deal with such a group of people, I never see them as content theives when I tell them they will probably be served a cease and desist, if not sued outright, for stealing intellectual property.

As is the case with My Little Pony Online, a testament to the internet’s demand that not even this website can refrain from mentioning the show. MLP: Online is an MMO based on the tv show dedicated to a base of adult men. Unsurprisngly, MLP: Online was the target of a cease and desist by Hasbro for all sorts of infringements. The project will continue, but without anything that would identify it as a My Little Pony game.

Still, the law sucks. It puts content owners in a rough spot since if they don’t protect their properties, they could lose them.

Perhaps the better question to ask is why Hasbro took so long to send the cease and desist, considering the game was on the radar of the mane-stream press for a good while now.

I am so sorry.

Players Petition To Revive Pirates Of The Caribbean Online


Pirates of the Caribbean Online is one of those titles that has so far eluded the MMO Fallout radar. Surprising, considering the game predates this website by quite a bit. POTCO, as it is called, was released in 2007 by Disney Interactive Media Group, and while the game hasn’t exactly skyrocketed to a massive audience, one look at the website will show a small but very engaged and loyal community. Amazingly, the game is still updated on a pretty regular basis to introduce new outfits, new emblems for ship masts, and new ships. That being said, the skies are not exactly smooth sailing either.

A petition filed by the POTCO community raises concerns over all aspects of the game. The petition requests that Disney work on reviving the game, including making improvements to server latency, improving customer service, and dealing with existing bugs and the problem of people using cheats. The petition also requests that content be added into the game at a more efficient pace.

We invite Disney Interactive Media Group to reevaluate the uniqueness and potentials of the Pirates of the Caribbean Online game. Improvements on the technical aspect of the game (i.e., higher performance setting, problem solving, variety of contents, etc.) along with proactive customer service will improve the game performance and gaming experience tremendously.

The petition currently holds almost two thousand signatures.

(Source: Revive POTCO)

Thanks For The Memories, Glitch


So 11pm Eastern has come and gone, and so has one of the best games to ever release and then quickly de-release and head back into beta. While Glitch may not have been a traditional game, it was still a load of fun to log into and check out the wild and wacky bits and pieces that the developers had added in. Unfortunately, as Tiny Speck had laid out in plain words, while the game was quirky and fun, it didn’t appear to be viable in the market. Still, the game has had a profound impact on its community, who I’m sure will miss it far more passionately than I ever could.

Check out this song by Theremina Lute. It is a fantastic song dedicated to the memory of the Glitchens and the gods.

Additionally, if you want to throw some money toward Tiny Speck, you can check out the Indiegogo campaign to turn Glitch’s art into a hardcover book. $65 gets you the hardcover edition, as well as your name displayed on a thank you page. Check it out at Indiegogo.com.

There are a hundred other pieces I could put up here, but I will close out with the original Alpha trailer to Glitch.

If you have any memories you’d like to share of Glitch, leave them in the comments section below.

Shadowrun Online Seeks Additional Funding


Shadowrun Online was funded way back in August, to the tune of over half a million dollars, but the funding has not stopped there. If you wanted to get in on the Kickstarter action but did not for one reason or another, do I have good news for you. The blokes at Cliffhanger Productions have opened up Paypal donations to the tune (and price) of the Kickstarter promotion. Beginning at $3 and moving all the way up to $10,000, you can select any tier of donation and reap the rewards that it brings. Most tiers offer beta access, bonus gear upon the game’s launch, and a digital copy of the Campaign Mode, which runs alongside the regular service but does not include any cash shop items.

You can check out the website below. Shadowrun Online is set for a 2013 launch.

(Source: Shadowrun)

End of Nations Hasn't Been Cancelled, Trion Taking Over


Finally some good news. End of Nations has not had the greatest of times in recent months. Just a few days ago, we learned about major layoffs at the developer Petroglyph Games, coming just shortly after a prior announcement that the game’s open beta would be delayed until further notice to address some major issues facing the MMORTS. With delays and layoffs, it seemed like the persistent strategy game might never hit store shelves. The good news is that Trion is taking over End of Nations development from Petroglyph. In a post on the official forums, Myll Erik laid out the details:

As End of Nations was reaching the pre-launch phase in its lifecycle, we officially brought the game development in house to Trion Worlds and will complete the development internally. Our team has been hard at work implementing many changes based on your feedback from the beta events. Keep checking back for more updates as we are looking forward to showing off some of the cool new things the team has been working on.

Trion is hard at work addressing player concerns, from difficulty curve to a revamped user interface as well as optimizations across the board. Petroglyph is well known for their real time strategy games, including Star Wars: Empire At War.

(Source: Trion Forums)