Dan Bull wants a new Elder Scrolls game, and here at MMO Fallout we share his desire, although we aren’t necessarily willing to sing about it. Of course, we can always keep up hope that the next Elder Scrolls is the MMO that Zenimax Studios is allegedly working on.
Oh well. We’re behind you, Dan Bull! We’ll just let you do the rapping, for all of our sake.
Back in February, I talked about a fledgling MMO from Perfect World Entertainment called Kung Foo! This martial arts MMO was running through the final days of the closed beta when Perfect World made a remarkable announcement: They were shutting down the game. But unlike the likes of All Points Bulletin, this premature shuttering was not permanent, but rather an elongated downtime to assess the game and its direction, with PWE pleased with its community response, yet displeased with the game’s content. Perfect World promised that the game would see launch sometime in 2010.
As the months dragged on, I will be honest in saying that I forgot all about Kung Foo! and its quirky style, and imagine my amazement when I get an email from PWE announcing that the game is coming back! Those of us like myself who closed beta tested the original Kung Foo! have been invited to test the closed beta for Legends of Martial Arts. LoMA, as it is called, begins closed beta on the 24th of November.
It’s always good to see a thought-dead title gain new life. More on Legends of Martial Arts as it appears.
Over here at MMO Fallout, we follow the mantra of publishing and forwarding ego-driven banter, and generally for the sole purpose of its comedic value. Much like how most humorous situations begin with a simple “hey, look what I can do,” the MMO world is no exception to events that begin with high self esteem and end with someone face planting into a stop sign.
When tasked with finding an analogy to describe Battlestar Galactica to Star Wars, the only thing I could come up with was to look at each franchise’s latest foray into media. Caprica, a prequel series to Battlestar Galactica, was cancelled at season one due to low ratings, before the season had even finished. On the other hand, Star Wars: Clone Wars grossed almost $70 million worldwide in theaters, and another $20 million in DVD sales, despite low scores from critics.
So when Bigpoint, the developer behind Battlestar Galactica Online, comes out at the London Games Conference and says that The Old Republic will never be profitable, I can only assume he means to imply that Battlestar Galactica will either perform better, or at the very least become profitable. Given that Battlestar Galactica is being developed on the UNITY engine (Cartoon Network’s Fusionfall as another example) as a browser based MMO, I like to think it can be said that it won’t take much to cover the development costs of this venture into the MMOG realm.
With Turbine taking Lord of the Rings and Dungeons and Dragons Online free to play and doing greatly by it, there is an air of elitism coming from the less popular of the free to play ilk toward the companies that maintain subscriptions, like the Grover Dill to the Scut Farkus, the loud annoying toadies who hide behind the guy who can actually put up a fight. What companies like Bigpoint don’t realize when they preach Turbine is that Turbine has infiltrated the free to play cash shop from within and has set the stage into motion that will utterly demolish the existing standard, all the while the very people they are trashing are holding them up like dopes.
What Lord of the Rings has done is they have taken the best of the free to play cash shop idea, namely no up front fees and no in-your-face costs until you’ve leveled up a bit, with a cash shop that sells things people will actually want to buy. But Turbine introduced what can be formally called a price ceiling to the model, where once a player goes over $15 a month, they can choose the flat rate subscription, and get the same content another cash shop grinder might cost up to and over a hundred dollars a month for, for the same flat rate. Not only will they get the same flat rate, but Turbine gives free cash shop points for extras each month.
Bigpoint invoking Turbine is like Justin Beiber invoking Keith Urban. Yes, you are using a popular example to bring up the rest of the genre, almost none of which who can attest to the same success that Turbine has had with Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online. That would be like me invoking Blizzard by saying that none of the free to play ventures hold a candle to twelve million paying players (regardless of whether or not they pay a subscription or hourly rate, they are paying).
But people will tell me not to publish this, as it gives Bigpoint exactly what they want: Publicity, and I say give them more publicity, because publicity exponentially emphasizes the response, and when Battlestar Galactica eventually does take its leap off of the development branch, Bigpoint is either going to make a grand entrance or fall flat on its face.
Bigpoint may think itself cool trash talking a company that could literally drown them in a sea of development money, but as George Carlin once said:
“You ain’t cool, you’re chilly. And chilly ain’t never been cool.”
MMOs are a bit like children in that eventually we have to ask when the babying has to stop and the real growth must begin. At what point do we start saying “no, don’t pull the cat’s tail, what the hell is wrong with you?” instead of “he doesn’t know any better.” No doubt this is what players have been asking themselves with Final Fantasy XIV, launched back in late September, now approaching the two month mark, and there is no doubt that a lot of players are not happy with the state of Final Fantasy XIV, which Square Enix’s Yoichi Wada summed up nicely:
“Currently, the service isn’t satisfactory,”
Just last month, we noted that Square Enix has given out another free month of game time to anyone who ordered Final Fantasy XIV before October 25th. In that post, I noted my observation that Square Enix sounded somewhat ashamed in their announcement, but that the move was a sign of good faith that the company was asking for another month to clean up the title, and was willing to extend the player’s free time in order to make up for it. Like getting a free milk shake because your chicken fingers are taking longer than expected…there I go with food analogies again.
This also comes after Square Enix lowered their forecast sales and net income for this quarter which, given that the figures are for the month ending in September, was not caused by Final Fantasy XIV, but rather will drive Square to work harder to sell more copies of Final Fantasy XIV, as well as retaining subscribers past the free period. Of course, while speaking to investors, Wada was dutifully optimistic in his “if we build it, they will come,” approach.
“The players who left will return if we satisfy them,”
Final Fantasy XIV has sold 630,000 copies worldwide, a formidable number although one that won’t exactly stand up to Warhammer or Age of Conan’s preorder numbers (granted, it also won’t hold a candle to either title’s free-fall exodus post launch). If Square Enix can dust themselves off and get back to the core of what made Final Fantasy so popular, then more power to them.
I don’t need to test my stress, because I already know it is far above the healthy rate for someone my age, or really any human being who is not half-robot. Back in the days when Perpetual Entertainment was not bankrupt and still making MMOs, their two staple titles were Star Trek Online and Gods and Heroes. When the developer went belly up, Cryptic picked up Star Trek Online, leaving Gods and Heroes to die in the Colosseum. Heatwave Interactive, a company likely none of you have heard of before, picked up the game in February looking to get it going sometime late 2010, early 2011.
Heatwave has reached the point where they are stress testing servers, and they need a few good testers to sign up on the main page. Currently the only scheduled test will take place this Saturday from 2-4pm Central time US.
Gods and Heroes looks to be a fun game, assuming it ever makes it to a live release, especially since there aren’t many MMOs set in Ancient Rome (alright so they don’t call it Ancient Rome). More on Gods and Heroes as it appears, especially now that it has its own category here on MMO Fallout (ooh, exclusive).
When Cryptic Studios announced that Champions Online would be going free to play, you couldn’t find a single conversation that did not turn to “will Star Trek Online follow?” Well that is what the community has been asking Jack Emmert, who came back with a simple proposition: If you eat your dinner, you will get dessert. Cryptic is taking a chance with Champions Online going free to play, and if that venture does well then the company will consider taking Star Trek Online in the same direction.
“We’re not sold one way or the other with Star Trek yet. If people want Star Trek to go free-to-play then get in and play Champions and help make it a great success, because that would send a strong message.”
This and more can be found in a Eurogamer interview with Jack Emmert, who wanted to be clear that the decision is not solely up to him.
“There are more people than just I on that decision and I can’t begin to say it would be an automatic ‘Yes, we’d do it.'”
Emmert goes on to talk about a few other projects, like user generated content that the team hopes to start in Star Trek Online and then move to Champions Online. Neverwinter, and a few other unnamed projects that Cryptic has in the works that will no doubt lend their features retroactively to Champions and Star Trek Online.
“It is definitely not fantasy-based. I can say that. It is something that’s pretty exciting. It’s under wraps and hopefully we can talk about it soon.”
Wouldn’t it be funny if Cryptic were picking up the Stargate MMO? Just saying…
Last month Mythic Entertainment’s own Carrie Gouskos made it quite clear that Warhammer Online is not going free to play…for now. In the interview with Ten Ton Hammer, she talked about the danger of monetizing power in a title that focuses so heavily on player vs player. There was that part at the end of the interview, now what was it…
We do have some vanity stuff that we’ve looked at and said if players want to buy it, that might be something we’ll make available. But power is really, really scary. And that’s the only thing that would be worth anything.
That’s it! Vanity items. When in doubt, don’t give it stats. Mythic announced today via the Herald that a few new items have hit the EA Store. They are as follows:
Server Transfer – $19.99 USD, this will grant you a code that can be redeemed for one server transfer for a single character.
Starter Mount Pack – $8.99 USD, all characters on an account will receive a deed to obtain a mount usable at level 2 giving players a 25% speed boost and have a 100% chance to dismount upon damage.
Trusty Mount Pack – $9.99 USD, all characters on an account will receive a deed to obtain your choice of a new mount usable at level 20 giving players mounts of up to 60% speed boost and have a 55% chance to dismount upon damage
Trinkets of the World Pack – $4.99 USD, all characters on an account will receive two tokens to spend at the new Trophy Vendor in the capital cities. Each token can be used to purchase one of 14 different trophies.
Specialized Training Pack – $9.99 USD, all characters on an account will recieve one War Tract that will allow them to immediately advance one full level when used
Herald Pet Pack – $9.99 USD, all characters on an account will be granted adoption papers to the Snotling Herald vanity pet. This pet will follow you around and give you a boost!
Initially I was posting that the Training Pack would allow someone with enough cash to fully level all of their characters, but the Herald was later updated to note that the items are one time deals (you can’t buy two training packs and get two levels).
If Mythic is considering moving toward a free to play model, this is certainly the way to do it. Remove the subscription and sell vanity items/mounts. A well-trained eye will note that Champions Online was setting itself up for just a similar model through the carefully named Adventure Packs that Cryptic released, and the RvR packs that Mythic are currently releasing may be gearing up for a similar switch, where the company doesn’t go full Turbine, but rather a halfway approach where classes/races/features are locked off and for sale either on a VIP basis or through individual cash shop purchases.
Scott: I dislike you. Todd: Tell it to the cleaning lady on Monday. Scott: What Todd: Because… because you’ll be dust on Monday. Scott: Huh? Todd: Because I’ll be pulverizing you sometime over the weekend. Scott: I’m sorry… what? Todd: And the cleaning lady… cleans up… dust. She dusts. And she has weekends off, so… Monday. Right? Envy: What in the hell are you talking about, Todd?
The above quote is from Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, and is a wonderful example of trash talking gone horribly wrong. Granted, Todd beats the crap out of Scott until he has his powers removed for violating the ways of the vegan (note: neither gelato nor chicken parmesan are vegan.), but irregardless he loses in the end.
I don’t get the same glee or satisfaction that others do when a developer does bad or has to shut their game down because of a mistake in development or post release that drives their customers away. I didn’t throw Realtime Worlds into the dirt like a lot of other MMO news websites did, but at the same time I didn’t baby them. I called out the mistakes and called out the positives, voiced my opinions on the future (which were not very positive) and called it as I saw it.
So I hope Undead Labs is wearing a sturdy faceplate when the door slams open on them. Rich Foge of Undead Labs, currently working on a zombie themed console MMO, made a statement that will no doubt spark console vs pc flaming, as well as some ire from the PC MMO community:
“MMOs get breaks because of their social nature, but if you really look at them closely they’re barely even games. Mario 64 (nearly 15-years-old at this point) feels better than any MMO I’ve ever played. MMOs aren’t even close to keeping up with cutting edge videogames from a gameplay or presentation perspective.”
Foge wants an action console MMO, one where your abilities are directed by your skills with a bat, and your ability to dodge with the buttons, not by mathematics, random number generators, and skill balancing. A game with physics, and intelligent AI, and a living breathing world where objectives are done not for gear but for the betterment of the world and those that inhabit it. A game where you and a bunch of buddies can drive your armored car up to a gas station, and while one guy fills up the car and another guy protects him, two more burst into the building through the windows and start stocking up on Kraft Mac and Cheese while gunning down zombies (okay the mac and cheese was my addition). And you know what? Undead Labs are gamers and they’ll be damned if they just sit back while this game is not being developed!
If this pre-release hype doesn’t have you foaming at the mouth, you are likely a long-time MMO player and have heard this drivel a thousand times over. I have a theory that the bigger the company’s mouth is prior to release, the more disappointing the game is. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that the games are bad: What I am getting at is that the hype is so much over the feasible game’s quality, that the end product is nowhere near what was promised after cutbacks and delays, and that is where the disappointment comes from.
Undead Labs wants to do a combat based shooter MMO? Alright. Will it be instanced? If so, you can take your pipe dream for a subscription and throw it into the garbage now. If not, hopefully you have a system to combat inherent lag, similar to Planetside.
Even so, I’d like to think that more people each year become attuned to the pre-release hype as the meaningless drivel that it is. For people like myself, who have to turn around and write about the hype, the talking points get old fast. In fact, I lose another thirty minutes off of my estimated lifespan whenever a company uses the term “innovative” in its advertising which, thankfully, Foge did not use even once.
So being the seemingly contradictory hopeless optimist that I am, I’m going to stay over here with the pessimists, who keep me grounded and to earth with regards to my expectations.
And if any of you think that Undead Labs’ MMO will ever make it to the Xbox 360, you are out of your mind. That is all I will say on the matter. The Xbox Live community has a better chance of Microsoft making the service free.
Mortal Online is a tricky little bugger. On one hand, if I write anything good about the company I am a paid shill. On the other hand, if I write anything unfortunate or bad about the game or even mildly associated with it, I stand to draw a lynch mob from the Mortal Online forums. So either way, I stand to wake up with the severed head of my Bioshock mini-figure in my bed with me tomorrow.
Today’s video is a humorous one, and comes from a player named Griefa (yes, I get it), who recorded Mortal Online post-patch, taking issue with a small problem, most notably that one of the game’s cities had been picked up and removed causing players to fall through the empty void.
The town has since been replaced, to my knowledge, and all is hunky-dory in the hood that is Mortal Online. Well, at least as far as the city being missing is concerned. The fix took a few days because the developers were off for the weekend.
If you woke up with a strange urge to gorge yourself on meat stuffed with other meats, it must be November…or just another Monday morning. With November coming, and the holiday season right around the corner, we take a look back on what October brought us: Halloween events, particularly in the hat trading simulator formerly known as…I believe it was called Team Forts. Yes, while we were busy killing all the demons (only to find out we were the demons), it was business as usual in the land of MMOs and the developers who create them.
Naturally the Better Business Bureau makes number one on our list. Now, most of the companies remained unchanged with their scores since July, except for Cryptic Studios who apparently took my advice and started replying to complaints. Their score now sits at an A- from its original C. The “Checking In With The BBB” will be back in January.
DC Universe Online was delayed. Sorry, Joker! Those who preorder before November 15th get guaranteed access to the beta, however. Those who didn’t preorder get jack squat. Although there is no set date, DC Universe Online is set to go live sometime in early 2011.
Square Enix announced an embargo…I mean a voluntary request that reviewers hold off for thirty days, a threat I would like to see enforced through practically every gaming website/magazine in existence losing their free swag, because the grand majority completely ignored this request. You can still send us swag, Square, we love you for your need to smother your customers, not in spite of it.
And speaking of Final Fantasy XIV, the game bombed on Amazon.jp. Final Fantasy XIV on Amazon’s Japanese website still carries a 1.5 star rating, with 137 one-star ratings to five one-star ratings. Square Enix would later reward early adopters with a free extra month of the game. My apologies to the owners of Gizzard Blendtertainment for any confusion that the article caused.
Lord of the Rings Online in Europe…what a saga. Through October, MMO Fallout brought you weekly updates on the situation regarding LOTRO’s release in Europe under Codemasters, as well as our own speculations (that turned out to be correct) on whether or not the issues were really technical. Codemasters announced that Lord of the Rings Online Europe will make the free to play transition on November 2nd.
Speaking of cash shops, Eve Online is getting one. Don’t worry, kids, it’s only vanity items. In the same interview, CCP’s own Tori Olafsson denied any claims that the developer was working on an Eve Online 2, or reboot of Eve, noting that such options had “no purpose.”
Oh don’t tell me you didn’t see this coming! With the launch of the new Everquest II Extended, Sony announced that Everquest II servers would be merging, shutting down a total of six servers.
All Points Bulletin joins the ranks of Earth Eternal in games that are dead, but not really dead because someone might be buying them, but they aren’t playable. Neither game is online, and though we know there is a buyer for Earth Eternal, and likely one for All Points Bulletin, we still don’t know who it is yet.
And finally, likely the biggest double-take of October, the announcement that Champions Online would be going free to play. Yes, Cryptic wants to take their thumb out of the pie and shove their entire fist into it as Champions Online goes partially Turbine this coming Q1 2011. More on the Champions Online transition…soon.
Naturally the Better Business Bureau makes number one on our list. Now, most of the companies remained unchanged with their scores since July, except for Cryptic Studios who apparently took my advice and started replying to complaints. Their score now sits at an A- from its original C. The “Checking In With The BBB” will be back in January.
DC Universe Online was delayed. Sorry, Joker! Those who preorder before November 15th get guaranteed access to the beta, however. Those who didn’t preorder get jack squat. Although there is no set date, DC Universe Online is set to go live sometime in early 2011.
Square Enix announced an embargo…I mean a voluntary request that reviewers hold off for thirty days, a threat I would like to see enforced through practically every gaming website/magazine in existence losing their free swag, because the grand majority completely ignored this request. You can still send us swag, Square, we love you for your need to smother your customers, not in spite of it.
And speaking of Final Fantasy XIV, the game bombed on Amazon.jp. Final Fantasy XIV on Amazon’s Japanese website still carries a 1.5 star rating, with 137 one-star ratings to five one-star ratings. Square Enix would later reward early adopters with a free extra month of the game. My apologies to the owners of Gizzard Blendtertainment for any confusion that the article caused.
Lord of the Rings Online in Europe…what a saga. Through October, MMO Fallout brought you weekly updates on the situation regarding LOTRO’s release in Europe under Codemasters, as well as our own speculations (that turned out to be correct) on whether or not the issues were really technical. Codemasters announced that Lord of the Rings Online Europe will make the free to play transition on November 2nd.
Speaking of cash shops, Eve Online is getting one. Don’t worry, kids, it’s only vanity items. In the same interview, CCP’s own Tori Olafsson denied any claims that the developer was working on an Eve Online 2, or reboot of Eve, noting that such options had “no purpose.”
Oh don’t tell me you didn’t see this coming! With the launch of the new Everquest II Extended, Sony announced that Everquest II servers would be merging, shutting down a total of six servers.
All Points Bulletin joins the ranks of Earth Eternal in games that are dead, but not really dead because someone might be buying them, but they aren’t playable. Neither game is online, and though we know there is a buyer for Earth Eternal, and likely one for All Points Bulletin, we still don’t know who it is yet.
And finally, likely the biggest double-take of October, the announcement that Champions Online would be going free to play. Yes, Cryptic wants to take their thumb out of the pie and shove their entire fist into it as Champions Online goes partially Turbine this coming Q1 2011. More on the Champions Online transition…soon.
MMO Fallout 