News – Page 428 – MMO Fallout

Old School RuneScape Polls Integrity Issues

How do you tackle issues of player integrity in a game where everything is voted on? You poll it, of course! The latest poll to hit Old School RuneScape deals with the issue of player activity and whether or not Jagex should deal with some less scrupulous, even if not exactly evil, behavior.

Players are asked to vote on dealing with AFK-training, players trading wealth between games, trust staking, and untradeable items being retrieved for free when lost to PvP. Options available are to do nothing, to implement a fix based on further polling, or to fix without a poll. Currently the majority opinion (based on 21,000 votes) is that none of the issues need to be dealt with at all.

As for the previous poll, the new continent was approved with a whopping 90% yes. 86% of players approved ten new achievement diaries, with 80% voting for elite diaries. The rest of the polls did not pass the 75% threshold, including repeatable tasks, another attempt to lower the voting threshold from 75% to 70%, an abstain option from voting, the option to change your vote, and changing the minimum requirements to vote (but just barely).

(Source: Old School RuneScape)

Elite: Dangerous Refunding More Orders

Elite: Dangerous backers angered at the recent announcement that offline mode is being cut may be able to get a refund after all. Initially Frontier Developments announced that they would offer a refund providing the customer had not played the game at all. Now, judging by a post by David Braben, the scope may be opening up.

We initially declined some people’s request for refund as our records showed they have already played Elite: Dangerous online. After listening to many of the comments I received after my AMA here, we have since re-opened these requests and informed those people that we will be contacting them so that we can fully understand their individual situation before making a more informed decision.

(Source: Elite: Dangerous)

Star Vault Q3 Report Shows Revenue Growth

Star Vault has released their Q3 2014 finances, and the results are slightly positive. The first quarter brought a dramatic shift in both sales and profit, and while operations have returned to normal the current quarter showed a small increase in profits over the previous. Net sales for the third quarter amounted to $72 thousand over $70 thousand last quarter, with net profit rising nearly $10 thousand to $143 thousand down.

The number of subscribers, according to the report, has remained stable.

(Full disclosure: Henrik Nystrom’s statement this quarter had to be slightly edited to polish the grammar, due to a particularly low quality translation. We didn’t alter much. Star Vault’s finances are published on the Aktie Torget stock exchange in Swedish, linked below, and translated using Google’s automatic tools. Figures shown above are based off of the SEK to USD conversion rates as of the day of their publishing.)

We a pleased to announce in September that Territory Control system is in place, giving players the opportunity to design and choose the laws of the cities. Players can now wage war on land and make peace with neighbors – an aspect that for a long time desired by users. As I have in previous communications have mentioned, we have worked to develop the Territory control for a long time and we look forward to following the development of the game now that the system is in place.

Territory Control will be developed with new features afterwards as there are needs. The system is a big part of our unique play area, where all types of players can participate. There are a lot of hidden and secret elements for players to explore, and this part will be exciting to follow and take note of feedback from players on.

We came in first as the most hyped game on the Gold Chipset and will attend DreamHack 2014 Saturday 29th November. There we will introduce the game to visitors and distribute Mortal Online steel boxes with the game code.

We await the new owners plan to launch the Oculus Rift for us to be able to handle further support for Mortal Online and Oculus Rift.

The technical implementation for network support for the new continent is completed and now we have full
focus on improving the AI (Artificial Intelligence / computer opponents) and very new content on the new continent. An improvement of our AI is an important part of our game that will achieve a higher standard when this part is over. This is to provide an exciting new challenge in the new continent. Myrland who was the first continent has no extremes of creatures or climate which now gets introduced with the next continent.

In memory of Ulf Nystrom, we have created a painting that is now available in the game Mortal Online.

Henrik Nystrom
CEO, Star Vault AB

(Source: Star Vault)

Funcom Q3 2014 Financials

Funcom has released their third quarter finances for 2014 and the results are decidedly negative. Revenues for the quarter decreased from $3.1 million last quarter to $2.6 million this quarter. Funcom’s main source of revenue last quarter derived from the cash-positive operations of Age of Conan and The Secret World, while revenue overall fell due to weak in-game sales from $3.1 million to $2.6 million.

This past quarter saw the release of two mission packs in The Secret World, as well as updated versions of high-end raids in Age of Conan. Issue #10 of The Secret World is expected to go live later this holiday season. Lego Minifigures Online left open beta on October 1st and has since failed to meet expectations of player numbers and revenue. The game will be released on Mac as well as iOS and Android operating systems in 2015.

And finally, the release notes that Funcom has the has the ability to fund its operations for the next twelve months, continuing to support its games and work on the development of a new title in 2015.

(Source: Funcom)

Elite: Dangerous Limited Refunds For Offline Removal

Following the news that offline mode would be nixed from Elite: Dangerous, Frontier Developments has begun offering limited refunds to customers. In order to be eligible for a refund, however, you can not have participated in any of the alpha or beta phases.

Those who have already been playing the game online in the Alpha and/or Beta phases, regardless of whether they backed the project via Kickstarter or purchased access to Alpha and/or Beta through our online store, are not eligible for a refund.

When it launches, Elite: Dangerous will still feature an online mode, however it will need to be connected to the game’s main server. Offline mode is still a possibility, however Frontier Developments has stated that it will be a large undertaking.

(Source: Frontier Developments Newsletter)

World of Warcraft is Dead: Subscriptions Top 10 Million

World of Warcraft is dead, and it seems like the only people unaware of this are Blizzard and the ten million people currently subscribed. In their latest announcement, Blizzard revealed that Warlords of Draenor has pushed 3.3 million copies and that the game’s subscriber number has breached 10 million.

Blizzard Entertainment today announced that as of the first 24 hours of the expansion’s availability, more than 3.3 million copies had sold-through^† and the game’s global subscriber base had passed 10 million, with growth across all major regions.

Unnamed internet commentators expressed hope that Blizzard would eventually recognize the difference between an increase in subscriptions and having more subscribers.

(Source: Blizzard)

Pantheon Jumps On Patreon Wagon

When you think about it, it was only a matter of time before video games started popping up on Patreon. Having unsuccessfully attempted a Kickstarter campaign followed up with a bid for private funding which resulted in the development team laid off and replaced by volunteers, Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is now looking for funds through Patreon.

Visionary Realms is a small team of volunteers making an MMO with a heavy focus on character development, an immersive world, and player interdependence (grouping). We have been crowd-funded to-date, although at some point I believe we will be funded by an angel investor or publisher.

Each monthly video costs $1,000 in total funds. As of this publishing, the total amount pledged is $17 per video.

(Source: Patreon)

Elite: Dangerous Nixes Offline Mode

Frontier Developments has officially cancelled the promised offline mode for its MMO space shooter, Elite: Dangerous, just a month before launch. While the feature was originally promised in the game’s Kickstarter campaign, CEO David Braben commented in the latest newsletter that technical restraints would have resulted in an inferior experience for offline players:

A fully offline experience would be unacceptably limited and static compared to the dynamic, ever unfolding experience we are delivering.

While solo play is still possible, players will still need to phone home to synchronize with the online galaxy.

(Source: Polygon)

Marvel Heroes Adds In New Game Mode

Gazillion Entertainment has released the latest patch for Marvel Heroes, bringing with it the new Industry City Patrol game mode.

Madness has erupted in Industry City! Industry City Patrol is recruiting Heroes level 12 and higher to join the continually runningfight against evil. Located on the industrial waterfront section of Brooklyn, New York City, Industry City Patrol has some exciting features:

New bosses including the Mindless Titan, Batroc the Leaper, and Spider-Man clones!

Additional bosses including Mister Hyde, Kirigi, Kingpin, Lizard, Kraven, Grim Reaper, and more

Improved spawning technology to reduce lag

Brand new artifacts!

New medallions!

New uniques found nowhere else, including unique rings!

Additional powers for Rogue to steal and mobs for Emma Frost to mind control

Industry City Patrol also introduces the concept of multi-phase events, which have an effect on which mobs spawn and where. The news post warns that it is possible to fail events. Between now and Monday, complete phase patrols for a chance at even better loot.

(Source: Marvel Heroes)

Snail Games Legal Double Feature

Snail Games is the subject of legal action on two fronts, so for the sake of brevity let’s talk about both of them in one article, shall we?

The first, former executive of Snail Games David Runyan is seeking damages from his employer alleging unlawful dismissal and racial discrimination. Runyan’s lawsuit specifically targets Snail Games founder Mr. Shi Hai, alleging racial discrimination against non-Chinese employees of the company. Shi Hai, according to the lawsuit, preferred Chinese employees to non-Chinese and would make disparaging comments about American customs and culture. Runyan was terminated following a back injury, and is alleging that his termination is due to his race, nationality, and necessity for disability leave.

(Source: Gamesindustry.biz)

Second, Blizzard is hot off the heels of their recent successful lawsuit against a copycat Hearthstone game, and the behemoth has set its sights on Snail Games. The latter recently launched a mobile game Taichi Panda in China and the main character is a panda. Unhappy with the similarities in character design and naming, Blizzard’s Chinese publisher Netease sent a letter to Apple requesting that the app be removed from the app store. Snail Games has denied the claims, releasing a helpful comparison chart (even more helpful if you speak Chinese) explaining the origins of the panda’s character design.