Category: Editorials

DC Universe Can’t Wait To Ditch The PS3


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The PlayStation 4 is coming out soon and no one could be happier than the DC Universe Online team at Sony Online Entertainment. Don’t get them wrong, the current generation of Sony’s console hardware is nice enough, but with what is effectively a 220mb system the team is dealing with rather tight constraints. The unfortunate situation is that most of the players on DC Universe are playing via the console, so they are stuck with the limitations for the time being. In an interview with Shacknews, Executive Producer Larry Liberty explained that they can see the PS3 version being retired once a large portion moves over to the new hardware.

“I do expect that eventually, PS4 to come out, and probably be more successful than PS3 was as a platform. It wouldn’t surprise me if we do get a pretty quick migration, but we’ll keep servicing PS3 for a while.”

It will happen at some point, the question is simply when.

(Source: Shacknews)

Allods Online Subscription Server Heading West


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Those of you who follow Allods Online still will know that the MMO released a subscription server in the game’s native Russian service. For the cost of a standard MMO subscription, players were able to access the entirety of the game with zero influence from the cash shop. With no cash shop presence, the items previously sold for real money have either been removed completely or added in as drops by monsters or rewards from quests. One other caveat is that while players are able to transfer their subscription server characters over to the free to play servers, they cannot be transferred in the other direction.

Well it appears that the experiment was a rousing success, as gPotato has announced that the same server type will be hitting the west once the next expansion is released. In a Letter from the Producer, Piopico notes that the first priority on the table is the release of the next expansion for Allods Online. Following that release, the team will look at adding in a subscription server. The addition will require a lot of back end work, ensuring that both server types can be accessed from the same client and that the infrastructure will be able to handle the new billing system.

Would you pay $15 a month for an opportunity to play Allods Online with no cash shop?

(Source: Allods Online)

Elder Scrolls Online Gameplay Commentary


Am I the only one who thinks that characters in the Elder Scrolls game always look like they’re wearing wigs and fake beards? Computer and Video Games’ own Andy Kelly and Dan Wheeler break down the visuals, environments, and more of The Elder Scrolls Online in this twenty three minute video. It is a little on the dry side, but the commentary is rather informative and you do get an opportunity to see some first person action and some still shots.

Everquest Next Is Voxel-Based And Dynamic


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The big reveal is here! Sony Online Entertainment has finally unveiled Everquest Next in all of its juicy glory. So what are the fine points that have been revealed so far? Let’s run it down:

  • Everquest Next will be voxel-based, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at the graphics. Everything in the world can be destroyed, although not necessarily by players.
  • Players choose a race and class, and as they progress they gain abilities from their own and other classes.
  • There are no levels.
  • Some skills and classes will only be available if you are chummy with certain factions.
  • Lower levels (which can be dug into) are procedurally generated.
  • Creatures can lie dormant in wait for players to spring them and begin new world-changing events.
  • Quests aren’t really quests in the traditional sense. More like tasks. For instance you may enter a battle between two sides and choose which to aid.
  • World-wide quests, called Rallying Calls, last several months, develop based on player action, and are permanent.
  • Storybricks is present in full force. NPCs and factions will remember your player character, either positively or negatively based on your actions.
  • NPCs are intelligent and will respond to their environments, going as far as moving their settlements to a safer place.
  • And much more to come.

Not So Massive: Netflix Removes Star Trek 3


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Those nerds, am I right folks? Those of you browsing Netflix for your fix of Search For Spock have likely noticed that the film has gone missing from the website’s instant streaming database. Netflix has confirmed that the film was removed, however not for the reason you might expect. It wasn’t due to contract expiration or any legal issues, but because of incorrectly translated subtitles. According to Netflix, the version that was available on the instant streaming service does not properly translate Klingon and Vulcan into English, and therefore must be taken down and fixed.

Instead of looking at one of the previous versions of Search for Spock, apparently Netflix will be hand-translating the subtitles themselves, proving the company’s passion for over-complicating everything. On the other hand, they believe that the project can be done in about a week, after which the movie will appear once again. Kudos to them for trying, even if they are out of their Vulcan minds.

(Source: Radio Times)

Marvel Heroes Patch 1.11 Rolled Back


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Patches suck. Everything can seem fine and dandy in the test environment and then once the update goes live everything tends to break down. But enough about my last week, let’s talk about video games. Gazillion Entertainment released patch 1.11 last night for Marvel Heroes, which introduced the Human Torch as a playable character as well as the new system to make it much easier to acquire heroes without having to resort to the cash shop. The update is massive, if you have some time you can head over to this link to read the patch notes. The update contains a heavy amount of balancing on the existing heroes as well.

Unfortunately, as tends to happen with big updates, patch 1.11 rendered the game unplayable. With a few hours of downtime, the team pushed another patch reverting the game back to its pre-1.11 state and has assured gamers that any purchases made will still be there. The servers are coming back up just as this article is published.

Dragon’s Prophet Coming September 18th


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Sony Online Entertainment has announced that the launch date for Dragon’s Prophet will be September 18th. The MMO developed by Runes of Magic developer Runewaker Entertainment and published by Sony Online Entertainment allows players to capture and train a wide variety of dragons, and then customize them to your style of play. Currently in Open Beta, Dragon’s Prophet sports an action-based combat system much like that found in TERA and RaiderZ.

When the game launches, we will deliver an additional zone as well as the long-awaited frontier system with its epic cross-server PvP battles. Gaming has never been this diverse and thrilling – and you’re experiencing it on the back of a mighty dragon!”

Players will also be able to attend massive cross-server PvP battles once the game goes live.

(Source: Sony Press Release)

Dragon's Prophet Coming September 18th


dragons-prophet-black-dragon

Sony Online Entertainment has announced that the launch date for Dragon’s Prophet will be September 18th. The MMO developed by Runes of Magic developer Runewaker Entertainment and published by Sony Online Entertainment allows players to capture and train a wide variety of dragons, and then customize them to your style of play. Currently in Open Beta, Dragon’s Prophet sports an action-based combat system much like that found in TERA and RaiderZ.

When the game launches, we will deliver an additional zone as well as the long-awaited frontier system with its epic cross-server PvP battles. Gaming has never been this diverse and thrilling – and you’re experiencing it on the back of a mighty dragon!”

Players will also be able to attend massive cross-server PvP battles once the game goes live.

(Source: Sony Press Release)

Slight Rollback


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Good morning everyone,

As you may have noticed over Twitter, we had a slight server issue when upgrading to WordPress 3.6 last night, leading to the website being down for about twenty minutes. Unfortunately we had to rollback to a version from July 25th in order to get everything up and running again. Thank you for your patience.

Dictated, not read,
Management

F.E.A.R Online Gameplay Video


F.E.A.R is one of my favorite games of the last decade, a story that sounds like someone took the horror elements of The Ring and forced it to have children with a satisfying shooter. While the story wasn’t particularly groundbreaking (scary dead girl seeks revenge), the game managed to pull together a tense atmosphere and an intelligent AI capable of forming its strategy on the fly and actually giving the player a run for their money. Like any western horror story, however, the F.E.A.R franchise shifted dramatically from scary and tense to ridiculous and over the top as the series progressed, almost becoming a parody of itself by F.E.A.R 3 or as it was so creatively named: F.3.A.R

One of F.E.A.R’s more enjoyable yet lesser known features has been the game’s multiplayer modes. Expanding upon the multiplayer, Korean studio Inplay Interactive has announced F.E.A.R Online, published in the United States through Aeria Games. Set for release in the future, F.E.A.R Online will feature ten maps and a number of multiplayer modes, including Soul King where players take the role of ghosts possessing bodies and killing each other for souls. The game will also feature a co-op mode where players take on the NPC hoards of monsters and Armacham soldiers.

Hopefully we will hear more about F.E.A.R Online soon. According to the company’s website, it was set for release in late 2012, however that might just be the Korean launch.