Featured – Page 9 – MMO Fallout

Awards and Success Are Not Interchangeable

There is some discussion going around the internet about how ArcheAge has performed and whether or not the game has “failed,” which is most assuredly has by one person’s standards or another. While I don’t know for sure how Archeage is performing following the game’s launch in Japan and Russia, I can tell you that last September we learned that XLGames was laying off staff. We also know that the layoffs and transition to free to play was due to the game’s poor performance as a subscription title and subsequent quickly declining revenue.

A few people are under the impression, and I am paraphrasing here, that ArcheAge can’t possibly be doing poorly. After all, according to their logic, a game that has won so many awards has to be raking in the money. The fact that ArcheAge won a number of awards at last year’s Korea Game Awards means nothing in terms of how many people are playing and, furthermore, investing money. Warhammer Online won nearly twenty awards in 2008, including several “best of 2008,” none of which mattered much when both the servers and staff were gutted shortly thereafter.

The best way to gauge an MMO’s success is to follow its ability to retain players.

Zenimax Admits False Positives In Mass Bans

Zenimax Studios has announced that an investigation following a recent mass ban resulted in a number of false positives discovered and reversed. While the forum post in question did not mention just how many accounts were caught by accident, it did report that players identified should have had their bans lifted as of last night.

As part of our continuing effort to combat gold spammers, botters and exploiters, we recently banned a number of accounts. After several players appealed, we were able to investigate the matter further and discovered some legitimate accounts got caught up in the sweep. We unbanned accounts last night, and have email responses going out for those affected from our support group. It is never our intention for legitimate players to be harmed as we work to keep your game free of cheaters, and we sincerely apologize for the mistake.

This week has not been kind to Elder Scrolls Online, with Zenimax shutting down the game’s guild bank temporarily following the discovery of an item duplication exploit, as well as reports that players were being banned after their characters fell through the game world. The world of Tamriel is still being slowly taken over by a massive army of bots and gold farmers, and the company is still working on a fix for players missing banked items, deposited gold, skill points, etc.

(Source: Elder Scrolls Online)

Elder Scrolls Online: Fall Through World And Get Banned?

Be careful when traveling through the lands of Tamriel. According to a growing number of reports on the official Elder Scrolls forums as well as third party websites, players are experiencing situations where their character is either falling through geometry or being catapulted off of the world and into the abyss below. I personally experienced the bug on the fourth when I jumped into the queen and was thrown completely off of the map (pictured below). It looks as though Zenimax has implemented some sort of anti-cheat measures since then to prevent exploitation, because players are reporting that falling through the world will now result in a disconnection from the server and automatic suspension of one’s account.

If you are caught by this system, the only thing you can do is to contact support and appeal the ban.

Broadsword Aims For Steam

Broadsword Online is continuing its work to revitalize Ultima Online and Dark Age of Camelot, with the announcement that it is seeking to have both titles released on Steam. Players can put their vote in at the links below. There will be no cost to buy a base game for either title, however both still carry a monthly subscription fee.

Check out either title at their respective links.

(Source: Ultima, Dark Age of Camelot)

Guild Wars 2 Rolls Out Megaserver Tech

Arenanet has rolled out the first areas for the new megaserver technology. As reported a couple of weeks ago, today’s patch saw the launch of new megaserver technology in Guild Wars 2, allowing players to fight alongside each other in certain zones regardless of their home world. No more dead zones and no more overflow.

The update is still in the process of being rolled out. The following zones have been activated at the time of this publishing. Check out the forum post here for more details.

The Grove
Heart of the Mist
Black Citadel
Timberline Falls
Southsun Cove
Rata Sum
Straits of Devastation
Fields of Ruin
Brisban Wildlands
Hoelbrak
Iron Marches
Blazeridge Steppes
Dredgehaunt Cliffs
Lion’s Arch
Lornar’s Pass
Kessex Hills
Diessa Plateau
Metrica Province

Darkfall Lays Out Vision and Direction

Aventurine has announced today that the developer has realigned itself to get back on track with their original vision for a sandbox PvP MMO where risk dictates reward and massive battles carry more meaning. As part of its realignment sessions, Darkfall will undergo a series of updates over the coming weeks. Top priority is the release of custom roles, allowing players to mix and match their skills, armor, boosters, etc, without being penalized. Armor will affect abilities in various manners, but it will no longer block abilities.

Next up, Aventurine is working on rebalancing the economy, going over every monster and resource node to see where improvements can be made. New higher tier tools will be launched alongside special resource nodes, with the whole shebang expected to launch over several updates. Third on the list are proper siege engines. Towers, catapults, and more to assist players in taking and holding territory. And finally, last on the list revealed is a robust quest system, a method to introduce players to the game’s lore and help new players learn the ropes.

The first update, introducing custom roles, is set for “very soon,” with the rest to follow.

(Source: Darkfall Press Release)

Face of Mankind Open Beta Starts April 18th

Following its successful Kickstarter campaign and closed beta testing period, Face of Mankind will be entering open beta on April 18th according to the latest announcement by Nexeon. Players eager to get in can register their account and start downloading the client now.

On April 16th, we will be wiping the Closed Beta and giving our dedicated testers and backers early access to the game. As there will be no wipe during Open Beta, we felt it was important to make sure this promised reward was delivered prior to Open Beta to ensure the largest impact.

Check out Face of Mankind at the link below.

(Source: Face of Mankind)

Development Ceases On Pantheon

Visionary Realms has announced that development on Pantheon has slowed to a halt, noting that the initial funding has been depleted and the studio can no longer guarantee paychecks to its employees. The post on the official website states that development has “slowed down,” while a tweet from KTAM Radio that was retweeted by Brad McQuaid states that development has ceased.

You heard it on #KTAMRadio first: @PantheonRotF to cease development due to lack of funds. Will resume when funding increases/resumes.

Visionary Realms is currently seeking investors for Pantheon. Any donations made until such funding is received will go towards keeping the website up.

(Source: Pantheon)

RuneScape Legacy Mode Detailed

Back in February, Jagex revealed details on the upcoming Legacy Mode for RuneScape, aiming to bring back players who weren’t happy with the Evolution of Combat update. Legacy Mode allows players to enjoy the modern RuneScape with much of the old systems still in place, including bringing back the old combat system and special attacks.

Legacy Mode isn’t a complete return to 2011, but it does remove the combat bar and abilities and return the old interface and special attacks. XP rates and damage output won’t be exactly the same as you get in the live game. Servers will be formatted to work with both styles, with worlds specifically for legacy mode players.

Jagex hopes to implement Legacy Mode in several phases leading through the summer.

(Source: RuneScape)

Zenimax Bans Thousands Of Cheaters

Beware all cheaters who enter through this gate, for your dastardly deeds have sealed your fate. Zenimax Studios has announced that “thousands” of cheaters have been exiled from Tamriel as a result of a sweeping ban that targeted bots, spammers, and speed hackers. The announcement notes that many of these bans are thanks to reports from viewers like you, and encourages the community to continue sending in reports as the miscreants show up.

The exact number banned was not revealed in the announcement.

(Source: Elder Scrolls Online)

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