News – Page 450 – MMO Fallout

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)

Surprise: SOE's New MMO Is A Zombie Sandbox

Surprise! We’ve known this is coming since Sony Online Entertainment first registered a trademark for H1Z1, but the cat is finally out of the bag. SOE officially announced H1Z1, a zombie sandbox MMO set to release its first public-playable version within the next four to six weeks. The game will see players scavenging stores and building up a defense in a persistent world, fighting both zombies and humans.

It will be our own version of America. We’ll have urban cities and desolate wide open places. All connected seamlessly. Our focus is building a sandbox style of gameplay where players can build shelters out of resources in the world. They can even work together to make amazing fortresses complete with weaponry to help defend against both the Infected and other players.

Check out the long Reddit thread below for the full reveal.

(Source: Reddit)

Super Data Research: ARPU In Shooters

Superdata Research has once again come around with new insight into the industry. This time, the marketing group has come up with a list showcasing the average revenue per user of the top free to play shooters on the market. The list notes that games like League of Legends have nine players for every person playing Dota2, but that the latter brings in higher revenue per user because of its more core audience. World of Tanks and Team Fortress 2 lead the list by a wide margin.

You can check out more detail on the list and analysis on why it is important at the link below.

(Source: Superdata Research)

SOE Revealing New Game Today

John Smedley posted on Twitter earlier today to reveal that an unannounced game is set to be revealed later on this evening, with gameplay footage to show.

Watch http://t.co/OfEekcv325 tmw between 5-6pm PST if you are interested in the new game we haven’t announced. there is gameplay footage.

Smedley later tweeted that players will be able to get their hands on the full game soon™. More to come.

(source: Twitter)

Funcom Management Pulled Mankini

Those of you who follow The Secret World likely already know the story, but last week saw the addition and sudden removal of a mankini outfit from the in-game cash shop as part of the April Fool’s day patch. Not only was the item removed from the game without explanation, it was also removed and a refund applied to those who had already purchased the suit.

Joel Bylos posted on the official forums to explain that miscommunication caused the

To be clear: the Mankini outfit (and the wetsuit) was definitely an April Fool’s joke, and it was always my intention to have them be available for a limited time only in the store. However, it was never my intention to pull them from players who actually bought these items. Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication between my team and Funcom management on how this was to be handled. Funcom management feels strongly that the Mankini outfit goes against what The Secret World intellectual property (IP) is all about and they did not want this item to stay in the game permanently.

Bylos assured the community that Funcom is working to ensure that such a situation is not repeated in the future.

(Source: TSW Forums)

Darkfall Changing Territory Control

Aventurine has revealed details regarding some upcoming changes to the territory control system in Darkfall Unholy Wars, set to change the world as you know it. Set for implementation by the time you read this article, control points will now exert an area of influence, each of whom offer their own set of buffs in gathering, gaining prowess, and looting creatures within its sphere.

Clans that are able to conquer linking territory will be happy to see that these buffs stack when in their area of effect, encouraging clans to go out and take over neighboring keeps. Activity within the region will also generate resources for the clan in the form of an automatic tax.

Check out the patch notes at the official website.

(Source: Aventurine Press Release)

The Average RuneScaper

Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard posted an article on the RuneScape main website to discuss demographics and dispel a few myths about RuneScape this past weekend. According to the metrics, 84% of RuneScape’s population are male, and 90% of the overall population plays the game in English. The average RuneScape account was created in 2009 and has a total level of 1614, with only 1% of the population with an account worth at least one billion gold coins. Over half of the population plays out of North America.

The bot nuke in 2011 saw 95% of gold farming bots disappear overnight, although they managed to make their way back over the next couple of years. 2013’s round of anti-bot technology and the release of bonds (PLEX) have diminished to “almost rock bottom,” in the main game. Jagex is moving its sights over to Old School RuneScape to target bots. And speaking of old school, while the Evolution of Combat update saw an unreleased number of players part ways with the game, Jagex notes that a lot of those players returned to play on the Old School servers.

You can find the full article along with some handy charts at the list below.

(Source: RuneScape)

Molten Games Suffers Massive Layoffs

Molten Games, the San Diego-based developer founded by ex-Blizzard and Sony Online Entertainment employees, has lost its funding and laid off its staff. The studio was in development of Blunderbuss, a “core” MMORPG built on the Unreal Engine 4 and featuring action combat.

The layoffs were confirmed by the San Diego chapter of the International Game Developer’s Association on the group’s Facebook page.

We’re getting word from contacts at Molten Games that the studio has lost its funding and laid off its employees. They are currently seeking funding to continue development. Let’s be proactive and help our fellow developers land on their feet.

Molten Games was originally funded by NCSoft, who were not able to comment on the matter as an investor with no role in management.

(Source: Gamasutra)

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