It’s been an interesting few months here at MMO Fallout, but for everyone tuning in today, have a happy holiday.
No matter what your holiday may be.
If you’ll be spending it with your family,
Your Guild,
or that guy who won’t stop contacting you through Google Talk.
I’m taking a day off. See you on the 26th!
And you thought Steam was the only digital download service that had Christmas specials. Once again, these prices are in USD.
Continue reading “Direct2Drive and Impulse: Good Stuff Cheaper”
Vanguard is a tale of high expectations and the giant corporate belly. In fact, it only took four months after Vanguard’s release for Sony to gobble up the developers, Sigil. When Vanguard released in 2007, it was awarded the “Biggest Disappointment of the Year” award by Gamespy, noting the title’s lack of content, buggy performance, and the fact that the title was shoved out the door before completion.
It’s been a rocky two years for the title that was once touted as the Everquest 2 Killer. On the plus side, if anything just to get the good news out first, there will be more frequent (yet smaller) updates this year. Vanguard is looking at 2010 as a year to fix bugs, crush bugs, and fumigate the house. The developers are also looking at focusing on the story elements of the game, starting and ending chunks of storyline.
But the bad news, and there always is some, is that some planned updates have been shelved indefinitely:
Continue reading “Vanguard: Merry Christmas! We're Not Doing Well…”
Vanguard is a tale of high expectations and the giant corporate belly. In fact, it only took four months after Vanguard’s release for Sony to gobble up the developers, Sigil. When Vanguard released in 2007, it was awarded the “Biggest Disappointment of the Year” award by Gamespy, noting the title’s lack of content, buggy performance, and the fact that the title was shoved out the door before completion.
It’s been a rocky two years for the title that was once touted as the Everquest 2 Killer. On the plus side, if anything just to get the good news out first, there will be more frequent (yet smaller) updates this year. Vanguard is looking at 2010 as a year to fix bugs, crush bugs, and fumigate the house. The developers are also looking at focusing on the story elements of the game, starting and ending chunks of storyline.
But the bad news, and there always is some, is that some planned updates have been shelved indefinitely:
Continue reading “Vanguard: Merry Christmas! We’re Not Doing Well…”
Gateworld, a Stargate fansite, recently published an interview with Shane Hensley from Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, about Stargate Resistance, CME’s upcoming shooter based on the Stargate universe. In it, Shane confirms essentially what we have all known now for about a month: That CME has moved most of their resources to Stargate Resistance, and Stargate Worlds has been shelved for the time being. He also confirmed something we’ve all known, but haven’t managed to get official word on:
We did not have the financial or human resources to successfully complete Stargate Worlds, so it was indeterminable when it would be completed.
-Shane Hensley, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, on Stargate Worlds
So Stargate Worlds hasn’t been delayed, because Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment never had the resources to complete it. Although Stargate Resistance has been confirmed to be a release to gain funds for CME, the following quote is a little harder on the nerves:
Continue reading “Stargate Worlds Not Delayed: Was Never Finishable…”
“one of the trading sites associated with Guild Wars may have experienced a security breach and its account database (including user names and passwords) may be in the hands of hackers.”
This message by ArenaNet earlier this year is the message that players never want to hear, and as history tends to repeat itself, this message came alongside a tidal wave of lost accounts. For the past couple of months, ArenaNet has been working tirelessly to boost the security of the system, and the first changes are finally making their way in-game.
Those of you who log into Guild Wars will notice that there is a new option to fill in. Aside from your username and password, you will have to correctly name one of the characters on your account. ArenaNet is continuing to formulate methods of keeping accounts secure, so this new field is not the only change to come.
Although the new field will help with brute force exploits, it won’t do anything to help one of the leading causes of lost accounts: key loggers. Blizzard had a good idea by introducing the security dongle that changes your password every couple of seconds. As long as you don’t lose the dongle, your account is essentially theft-proof.
More on people with poor account security (using the same password for a game and its much more hack-prone fansite) as it appears.
Metaplace is the 2d, isometric little version of Second Life. It is a world built on lua functionality, allowing players to add actions to any object in the world (pets, animals, stuff, etc) to bring life to their creations, set up their own games within the game, and build their own world. Metaplace was made by Metaplace Inc. You can display RSS feeds in your house, have your own in-game advertising, and create your own effects.
Metaplace is also the second title that will be shutting down on the first day of the new year. On January 2010, Metaplace will join Dungeon Runners in the first titles of 2010 to be shut down. Much of the Metaplace crew has been laid off, although the company claims it will still be in business postmortem.
2009 was the year of the collapsed economy, one that hasn’t just ripped apart small companies, but the previously untouchable behemoths. Although, as already mentioned Metaplace Inc will stay up to work on a new project, Metaplace has become unsustainable from a financial stand.
More on the 2010 MMO Shutdown as it appears.
Recently, several titles have thrown in the proverbial towel and have installed endless trial periods: Champions Online opened up the tutorial area (and first 15 levels) for free, forever. Warhammer Online opened up the Tier 1 (up to level 10) for free forever. Age of Conan is running a special to play the original game, sans trade and chat, for free forever. So, needless to say, more titles are jumping on the “unique trial system” method.
Alganon, noted World of Warcraft clone that launched December 1st, has a special offer for players. You can play the game, for free, for 30 days. Level up as much as possible. There are restrictions on chat and trade, as well as skill level caps (3) among other restrictions, and your character is deleted after 30 days unless you buy the game. A full free month? Usually you have to buy the game first to get that kind of deal!
Alganon is worth looking at if you are on the edge of buying the title, or if you just want something free to play for 30 days. Either way, check it out. Just remember it’s barely a month out the door: Don’t expect a 100% finished product.
[Update] The Steam Sale is over as of January 3rd. Better luck next time!
It’s time again for the Steam Holiday sale, and that can only mean one thing: MMO Sales to be found all around! Here is a list of the games you can find on sale at Steam this week, all of which should be on sale until January 3rd. You have a week and a half, so don’t put it off too long!
Please remember that all of these price are in USD.
[Update] The Steam Sale is over as of January 3rd. Better luck next time!
More sales after the break!
Players of the MMO Champions Online should be familiar with the game’s tutorial: Saving the city from the alien invasion. Starting today, players have an unlimited amount of time in that section of the game before they have to buy it. Level yourself up to the demo limit of 15 and see how you enjoy the scenery. You are limited to two character slots, and it appears you’ll need Steam for the demo. Check it out here.
I’d like to point out that Cryptic isn’t using a tactic like Mythic and Funcom did in Warhammer Online and Age of Conan respectively, in regards to the limitless trials. In those two games, they took the (according to players) most fun part of the game, and made them free. At least with Champions Online, you’re not seeing the best the game has to offer, suckering you into buying the title, followed by immediate disappointment when you realize that you just bought a house based on the mailbox and the garage door, to find the rest of the building had been burned down in a fire.
Champions Online is a fun game that truly deserves at least a try. Now that the limitless demo is here, there’s no reason not to download it.
MMO Fallout 