Gamigo Using Negative ArcheAge Reviews To Tease Something New


Gamigo is doing something strange. If you head over to a teaser website that is inexplicably still using the Trion Worlds domain, you’ll find a countdown leading to roughly Monday 8/19 at about 7:40p.m. EST. Since I’m pretty sure that Gamigo isn’t celebrating the end of my court internship, I’m going to assume it’s something related to their games.

The teaser gets even weirder when you read the scrolling testimonials titled “people used to say.” The players are clearly talking about ArcheAge, but even stranger the feedback in a lot of the commentary isn’t positive. It’s actually pretty negative and has to do with the game’s perception as being pay to win or the struggle to find housing.

“The P2W is strong with this one… Really hard to recommend it with something like that weighting down the whole experience.”

“I played when the game first launched. I ended up quitting after a few months because I was unable to build a house.”

“I played this game for about 2 days but gotannoyed that every thing took labor points.”

So clearly this seems to be leading up to an overhaul of some sort with a focus on pleasing the people who quit because the game was too aggressive with its microtransactions and not user friendly in terms of player housing. MassivelyOP noted that earlier this year it was suggested that a monetization overhaul would be coming to the game at some point. Is this that update?

Only time will tell.

Wasting Time: The Designers Curse: Chapter One


Today I played The Designers Curse: Chapter One.

Continue reading “Wasting Time: The Designers Curse: Chapter One”

Bad Press: Witness One Angry Gamer Content Manager’s Racist Meltdown (Language Warning)


Photographed: Disgraced ex-attorney Jack Thompson and not William Usher.

Today’s Bad Press article is less of an article and more of an image gallery. It comes to us from One Angry Gamer, specifically content manager William Usher (BillyD) having an absolute emotional breakdown over people criticizing the game Star Citizen, of which Billy has personally invested a substantial amount of money for a video game. You can see his true colors come out in the comments below.

Comments were snapshotted by myself to authenticate, and the page has been archived (also by myself) to preserve it on the off-chance that they get deleted. This is one angry gamer, and these comments are certainly not for the faint of heart. It appears that at least one contributor to One Angry Gamer has already quit the website over Usher’s tirade.

Obviously his comments speak only for himself and not for the rest of the OAG staff or its readers.

 

[Not Massive] Another Week Of Interesting Steam Releases


It’s that time again. This past week saw roughly 250 new games listed to the Steam store, and odds are a large portion of them are absolute trash. Actually, I can confirm that most of them look like absolute trash considering that out of those that actually came out, I could only find maybe sixteen that appeared to be worth playing, and that’s kinda pushing the envelope of “worth playing.”

As with last week, MMO Fallout has not played the games that are on this list and cannot verify their value. They are simply a list of games that are not obvious shovelware trash, that being hentai puzzle sliders, unity asset flips, RPG maker games, and side scrolling flash titles.

#1: Night & Day

Night & Day is a cute looking puzzle game and a rather interesting concept. You have two characters that are both controlled by the player, each with their own unique abilities. Dark cannot be in Lights…light, otherwise it is destroyed. Dark is also the only one of the two that is strong enough to push boxes. Your goal as the player is to navigate the two sprites in order to get them to their exit doors and complete the level.

Night & Day is out for $8.99 and was developed by Genexsin

#2: Battles For Spain

Battles For Spain is in quite the unique scenario: A turn based strategy game set in the Spanish civil war. Battles For Spain centers around the battles of Guadalajara (1937), Teruel (1937), Mérida (1938), and Ebro (1938). According to the few reviews available, the game is pretty spot on with its history and is a very challenging game. At $26.99 and offering four scenarios with an estimated twelve hours of gameplay, it might be best to see how much replayability you’ll get before dropping some bones on this title.

It’s certainly a bold move for developer Headquarter S.L. considering the last time a video game released with its plot centered on the war, the public (in Spain) went absolutely bonkers. Back in 2007 a real time strategy game called Shadows of War: The Spanish Civil War released and generated huge controversy over allowing players to take the role of the fascists and even win the war. It was released exclusively in Spain and apparently wasn’t very good.

#3: MineRalph

I don’t like MineRalph, and by that I mean if he came to my house and asked if he could borrow my morning Wall Street Journal I’d probably say no. But MineRalph isn’t just about a ball with a really unsettling looking face, it’s about…a ball with a really creepy looking face.

MineRalph is a physics-based puzzle game built on the Unity engine that promises hardcore gameplay for hardcore gamers. If you want the kind of hardcore snobbery that would lead a developer to describe their game as an “homage to a time where video games were allowed to be difficult,” you have come to the right place. Move the ball with your mouse, speed-run, enter into the $1,000 contest. There is also a free demo if you don’t want to plunk down the $15 right off the bat.

#4: Trace of the Past

Trace of the Past probably shouldn’t be on the list, but considering the asking price is $4.24 and frankly the Steam list is desperate for anything, the potential entertainment value provided by a game trying to create a powerful narrative while also clearly being rather poorly translated from Russian to English might make it all worth it. Just read the game’s description to yourself in Yakov Smirnoff’s voice:

Trace of the Past — a first-person horror game, will show you a mystical story of Charles Worren’s life, a child of boarding school for orphans named ” Grief Hill” After some mysterious events in his Childhood, Charles ends up in psychiatric clinic and loses a half of his memories. In 19 years, he finds in his mailbox an envelope with an old photo inside, that shows Charles. The address is that boarding school for orphans ” Grief Hill” But who and what for sent him this photo? The boarding school has been closed for years. Charles decides to find it out and is off to his mysterious past.

What a country!

#5: Third Eye

I like the concept. Third Eye is a hack and slash game set in an area we really don’t see…ever. Indian lore. You take control of Raakh, given the responsibility of guarding the sacred trident. You find yourself up against Shukracharya, one of the Seven Sages, and his demonic armies of evil. Can you save Prithvilok from the forces of evil?

At $14.39, probably.

#6: Rashlander

Despite what its name may imply, Rashlander is not about successfully navigating the inflamed skin of a dermatology patient. Instead this title bills itself as a Lunar Lander Roguelike, Rashlander looks like Lunar Lander on meth. Fly around procedurally generated levels, avoid all sorts of hazards and land on things. Early Steam reviews have praised the game for tight controls, polished gameplay, and Twitch integration. If you enjoy arcade games, you will evidently enjoy Rashlander.

Currently on sale for $3.59 and developed by Ryan Davis.

#7: Age of Wonders: Planetfall

Oddly enough, it’s only been five years since the last Age of Wonders game. Age of Wonders has everything you could want from a sci-fi turn based strategy game: Dinosaur-riding Amazons, cyborg-zombies, and more. Choose from six factions and make your way to victory through conquest, diplomacy, or doomsday technologies. With single player and online multiplayer available, you’ll find plenty to enjoy.

Steam reviews currently show 79% approval among the 713 people who have reviewed it so far. Keep in mind this is a full priced game from the established studio Triumph Studios who had worked on prior Age of Wonders titles and does cost the standard $50.

#8: Metal Wolf Chaos XD

And speaking of established studios, why not bring in a From Software title? Metal Wolf Chaos XD is the re-release and not at all HD version of Metal Wolf Chaos, a very Japanese game that initially came out in 2004 in Japan on the Xbox and absolutely nowhere else. If you somehow missed this game the first time around, well now you can get your hands on it for the low cost of $24.99.

Considering the game only released in Japan the first time around, Metal Wolf Chaos centers around a wonderfully ridiculous and exaggerated (for the time) depiction of US politics:

“The country is in peril as President Michael Wilson defends the nation against a full-scale rebellion led by Vice-President Richard Hawk and the mechanized legions he commands. As the 47th President of the United States, it is your sworn duty to take your country back by any means necessary and end this unjust coup d’etat! Battle in your advanced mech – armed to the teeth – across iconic American landscapes including the Brooklyn Bridge, the Grand Canyon, and the front steps of the White House.”

84% of the 149 current reviews on Steam agree; Metal Wolf Chaos is an essential part of any patriot’s breakfast.

#9: Gunslugs: Rogue Tactics

Also called Gunslugs 3 depending on which part of the Steam store page you’re reading, Gunslugs: Rogue Tactics is a roguelike game released by Orangepixel, a company that really likes putting out Roguelike games. Seriously, they’ve been doing it for roughly four years now. Gunslugs promises more stealth-oriented gameplay than you may have seen from past roguelikes, but with the ability to go in guns-a-blazing if you prefer. Honestly, the choice is up to you.

Gunslugs can be picked up for $13.49 by itself or as part of the Orangepixel collection.

#10: Silver Chains

Looking to get spooked? I know you are. Silver Chains has everything to make you feel uncomfortable; spooky children, ouija boards, people crawling on walls, an abandoned house that might not actually be abandoned (spoiler: It isn’t). Unravel the truth behind these spooky mysteries and do so in a game that is very good looking. It should be, it was developed on the Unreal engine.

Developed by Cracked Head Games and on sale for $21.24, Silver Chains will scare more than just your wallet.

#11: Bad Hombre

Bad Hombre has a certain amount of charm in its stupidity, and the art style looks like someone created a game with today’s politics on the ZX Spectrum or Commodore 64. You evidently play as a drug runner trying to bring drugs into America, and in order to do so you’ll need to bypass the wall, the Pence Fence, and avoid Trump’s tacos from Trump Tower (the best tacos).

It’s a concept that seems just ridiculous enough to fall into the realm of being about something political without actually taking a political stance on it. At $11.99, you may be playing the life story of the developer’s drug supplier.

#12: Legends of Aria

An actual MMO! Legends of Aria is a game that hopes to walk in the footsteps of Ultima Online. A sandbox MMO, Legends of Aria allows you to be what you want, as long as you want to be an adventurer, a crafter, or something else within the confines of the game’s skill system. You can even be a bard. With a skill system, you’ll build your character by using your skills and leveling them up over time. Stake your claim on the land and build a house, become a skilled craftsman and make the best horse chili in all the land (horse chili not actually available), or set forth and become a skilled murderer of other players.

Legends of Aria has a one-off price, currently at $19.79.

#13: Gibbous – A Cthulhu Adventure

Biggous – A Cthulhu Adventure looks like a Double Fine game, or a modern day Lucas RPG. Judging by the trailer, the voice acting is top notch, animations are smooth and very well done, and overall the title feels like a modern day Sam & Max or Monkey Island game, but set in a world with an HP Lovecraft demon. 83% of over one hundred Steam users agree, it’s looking pretty good.

“Crazy cultists. Cthulhu. A talking cat. Gibbous takes you on an expansive, traditionally animated, hand-painted adventure. Play as three protagonists and explore a lushly rendered Lovecraft-inspired world, unraveling ancient conspiracies. A comedy cosmic horror adventure made in Transylvania!”

Now on sale for $17.99.

#14: Cliff Empire

Cliff Empire is a really good looking game with a great aesthetic and an interesting concept. Nuclear war has made the surface of the Earth uninhabitable, and that can only mean one thing: Mole people? No, living on top of mountains. Cliff Empire promises that you’ll be able to set up multiple cities, manage trade between them, and even go down and walk around your cities on foot. Can you sustain life in the aftermath of a brutal nuclear war, or is humanity doomed to failure?

90% of the nearly one thousand reviews agree that this game is definitely worth it, and at $11.99 it won’t be a pain in your wallet. You may recognize developer Lion’s Shade from their Tempest pirate RPG.

#15: Apsulov: End of Gods

You have to hand it to this week’s Steam list, there is quite a diversity of genres. Apsulov is horrifying looking, it bills itself as a future viking horror as you the player wake up in a research facility built to exploit the world of Yggrdrasil. Apsulov piles together Norse mythology and futuristic sci-fi in a head on collision, and the result is pretty freaking terrifying.

A first person action game, Apsulov currently holds a 92% approval rating of 63 users on Steam, and runs for $20.

#16: Room 208

One good thing about the proliferation of certain engines is that even indie games have begun to look very good. In Room 208 you play as Victor Rockford, spiritual medium brought forth to investigate the paranormal activity surrounding Room 1408 Room 208 of a hotel in a small town. Use your wits to get through the game’s numerous puzzles, deal with dynamic spawning enemies, and cower in fear in full 4K support.

Room 208 spawns in at $8.44, so it won’t’ break the bank to check this game out.

Steam Cleaning: Valve Now Moderating Workshop Submissions


You may have visited Steam’s workshop in the past and thought to yourself “this Counter Strike section could do with a lot less scam submissions in the workshop.” For those unaware, distributors of unsavory material have been targeting the Steam workshop for years by submitting fake maps with alluring titles offering free skins or free knives, and then linking users to websites that would steal their information.

Dangerous yes, and for those smart enough to not fall for said scam, an absolute annoyance as they were a constant nuisance and ever present. Unfortunately for those rascally scam artists, that era has come to an end.

Valve this week has updated the process with which workshop items are approved, and now new submissions must be approved manually by Valve staff before they are publicly visible. The same goes for any updates to existing workshop items. For its part, Valve is promising speedy approval with most submissions being approved within a day.

“Newly submitted and updated items will be placed into a moderation queue. You’ll be able view and edit the content during this process, but other players will not be able to view changes until they’re approved. For updates to existing items, subscribers will have access to the previously approved version if there is one. The approval process should be completed in less than a day. If you have any questions on the process, please contact Steam Support“

The news specifically mentions that this change is targeting scams and account theft through the workshop, so it is unlikely that Valve is policing any content other than weeding out the fake giveaways.

Source: Steam

IPE Update: Trion Worlds Lawsuit Coming To A Close As Parties Agree On Settlement


(Update 8/10/19: Included some background information on the case for those who might not be as familiar)

It’s finally over, folks. After nearly four years in court, the Trion Worlds lawsuit may finally be reaching its final days.

Earlier this month in the superior court of San Mateo, California, dockets have been submitted to the court offering notice that the parties involved in the lawsuit have agreed in principle to settle the case. According to court filings, the terms of the settlement have not yet been documented, but will be coming in the near future.

It is also worth noting that payment for the settlement will come from Navigators Insurance Company, the insurer for Trion Worlds, and Trion Worlds will be dismissed from liability for the claims.

Plaintiffs and Navigators Insurance Company, the insurer for the officers and directors of Defendant Trion Worlds, Inc., have reached an agreement in principle to settle this case on class wide basis. The proposed settlement will provide for notice to the class members of the proposed settlement, payments to members of the proposed settlement class who file claims, and will release Defendant Trion Worlds, Inc. from liability for the claims asserted in this action. The parties are working to document all of the terms of the settlement.

At some point there will be notification for members of the class who will be eligible for compensation.

Four years ago, Aaron Van Fleet and Paul Ovberg along with other plaintiffs filed suit against Trion Worlds regarding their publishing of the game ArcheAge. The lawsuit alleged false advertising regarding pre-release advertising offering a 10% discount on cash shop purchases for subscribers. That 10% discount was later retroactively scrubbed from press releases and ultimately was scrapped entirely, with Trion Worlds replacing the deal with a 10% bonus on all gem purchases that did not extend to a number of customers that would otherwise be covered by the discount on shop purchases. The lawsuit also claimed that Trion’s loot box system violated California penal code against illegal lottery.

Since then, Trion Worlds has virtually gone bust with the company transferring its assets to another Trion Worlds and then selling off those assets to Gamigo. Their defense of this lawsuit has been primarily funded from liability insurance.

As always, dockets cited will be available in the MMO Fallout Google Drive. This file is labeled “settlement.pdf”. MMO Fallout will keep a closer eye on the lawsuit and update as new information becomes available.

IPE Update: A List Of Companies Subpoena’d By Twitch


It’s time to talk about Twitch again, and that means the Twitch v. John Doe lawsuit.

When last we left our heroes, Twitch had filed suit in the Northern District of California against one hundred John Doe defendants for federal trademark infringement, breach of contract, trespass to chattels, and fraud. The lawsuit targeted the antics of users who gained some notoriety earlier in the year for filling the Artifact category of Twitch will all sorts of vile material, including hardcore pornography and videos of real life killings.

This week Judge Orrick granted Twitch’s application for leave in order to file subpoenas against third parties, with the ultimate goal being to uncover the identities of the defendants in the lawsuit. Those third parties include:

  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Microsoft/Hotmail
  • Discord
  • Verizon
  • Comcast Cable Communications LLC
  • Contina, Charter Communications Inc.
  • Optimum Online
  • Suddenlink Communications
  • OVH Hosting

Third party subpoena recipients will have 30 days with which to serve the defendants with a copy of the subpoena and a copy of the order, and then the defendants will have 30 days to file any orders contesting or squashing the subpoena, after which the third party recipients will have 10 days to produce information responsive to Twitch.

In fancy terms, those who suspect or have a good idea that they may become a defendant in this lawsuit will have ample notice that they are in fact a defendant.

As always, MMO Fallout has provided the related docket at our expense in the Google Drive.

[Collab] Talion Guide To Enhancing Items


We’re doing something a little different here at MMO Fallout today, and publishing a guide for the mobile MMORPG Talion. Talion is a title that I myself have played a fair amount of, and in my discussion with the folks over at Talion we agreed that the game can be rather complicated for newer players. So with that in mind, please enjoy this guide on enhancing items in Talion.

Editor’s note: This is not a sponsored post nor am I receiving anything in return for publishing this guide. This is purely for the community.

Talion Enhance Guide

Talion gives players four ways to upgrade their characters and equipment within the Forge menu. The below is a brief explanation on each option in the Forge menu (Enhance, Limit Break, Upgrade, Inherit) to get you upgrading your character and expediting your path to power!

Enhance

In the Forge menu, the Enhance option is used to increase the Enhance Level of your equipment. To upgrade the Enhance Level, you’ll first need to collect and spend the appropriate Enhance Stones and amount of Gold.

There are three different types of Enhance Stones used to enhance your equipment each of which is simply named to indicate what type of equipment it affects.: Weapon Enhance Stone, Armor Enhance Stone & Accessory Enhance Stone. 

Enhance Stones are divided into three grades: Enhance Stone I, Enhance Stone II, and Enhance Stone III. Each Enhance Stones are used to enhance equipment of different level range. Higher grade Enhance Stones are required to enhance higher level gear that you collect along your journey.

Limit Break

Talions (your character) can limit break their equipment to expand the Max Enhance Level. The number of Limit Breaks is determined by the equipment’s grade. Limit Break can be used regardless of Enhance Level of the equipment. 

  • Magic: 1 Limit Break
  • Rare: 2 Limit Breaks
  • Legendary: 4 Limit Breaks
  • Mythical: 12 Limit Breaks

Talions can either use identical Equipment or special Limit Break Items in order to perform limit break. If you are using identical equipment, the success rate depends on the grade of material equipment. On the other hand, limit breaking with a Limit Break Item guarantees a successful Limit Break – use them wisely!

Upgrade

After you have upgraded a piece of equipment to Max Level through Enhance and Limit Break, it can then be Upgraded to the next grade by using Upgrade Stones and Gold. There are six grades of equipment in Talion: Normal, Advanced, Magic, Rare, Legendary, and Mythical. The max Enhance Level of each grade is as follows:

  • Normal: Lv. 5
  • Advanced: Lv. 15
  • Magic: Lv. 35
  • Rare: Lv. 65
  • Legendary: Lv. 110
  • Mythical: Lv. 320

Upgrading equipment to next grade not only greatly enhance the equipment’s Main Attributes, but also adds a new Attribute to the equipment. Gaining new Attributes on already powerful equipment is one of the best ways to get a leg up on your opponents in Talion.

Inherit

The Inherit feature allows Talions to transfer Enhance Levels from one piece of equipment to another. Only items of the same or higher grade can inherit an Enhance Level. This function is good for Talions who acquire equipment of a higher grade than the one they are currently using. Instead of enhancing the new gear from scratch, Inherit lets Talions transfer certain amounts of Enhance Level to the new equipment they prefer.

While inheriting does not normally transfer 100 percent of the Enhance Level from the original gear, using Inherit Stones let Talions transfer 100 percent of the Enhance Level to different equipment.

DC Universe Online Launches On Switch


Time to play the Switch.

DC Universe Online is now available on the Switch, for those of you keeping track of the countdown timer on this website. The game launches free to play with a dedicated Switch server (sorry, no cross-play) and is up to date with content on other platforms.

[Video] Legends of Aria Launch Trailer


Today’s video comes to us from Legends of Aria, an MMORPG in the same vein as Ultima Online that just so happens to be launching on Steam as we speak. Now available in Early Access, you can pick up the sandbox game with a 34% discount, at $19.79 USD. Check out the new bard skill line, the new equipment enchanting system, or even the new wilderness.

Or you can check out the trailer below.