MMO Fallout

Details On Allods Online Subscription Server

While there is no date currently set for Allods Online’s subscription server, gPotato has come out with a list of new details regarding what will and will not be available to players. As we already know, the cash shop will not be available in subscription Allods at all: This means that items like runes, elixers, strongbox bonuses, and cursed items will be completely removed from the game. Players will enjoy a 30% boost in leveling speed, twice as many stat points per level, and the ability to customize their characters with gold. Bags, mounts, and pets are now rewards from quests and can be purchased with gold, and megaphones will be distributed in small amounts on a weekly basis.

With the removal of Runes, you will be happy to know that mob difficulty on the subscription server will be adjusted. The announcement, including the list of which cash shop items are leaving entirely, can be found at the link below.

(Source: Allods Online)

Funcom Q2 2013 Finances

Funcom has released their 2nd quarter finances for 2013, and the results are certainly figures. So for the sake of brevity, let’s go over some figures, shall we? Revenues in Q2 more than doubled those from the same time last year, however Funcom has yet to return to a positive cash flow. Revenues reached 5.4 million, however earnings before interest in tax -253 thousand, a massive improvement over the -47 million from same time last year. Funcom began a restructuring process earlier this year which concluded in May and has left the company close to cash flow neutral, burning just forty two thousand compared to the four million from last quarter. More cash flow improvements are expected to be seen in the latter half of the year.

On the game side, Age of Conan and The Secret World continue to be Funcom’s major sources of revenue, with The Secret World noted specifically for positively affecting the developer’s cash flow. Last quarter, Funcom consolidated its studios into a single location in Durham, North Carolina, focusing on running the existing portfolio as well as working on additional titles.

Funcom’s continuing projects include structuring the Dreamworld engine so that it can be used in mobile and tablet systems. Work continues (allegedly) on the engine updates for Anarchy Online. Funcom’s upcoming games include LEGO Minifigures Online as well as a slate of mobile titles and work-for-hire operations that encompass lower development periods and faster sources of revenue.

(Source: Funcom Release)

MMOrning Shots: Fishing Buddies

In Final Fantasy XIV, fishing isn’t just a skill, it is a way of life. Well maybe not, but it is rather addictive. Not to throw fuel on the fire but like many of the other components, fishing in FFXIV 1.0 wasn’t just boring, it was needlessly complicated, and it wasn’t nearly as useful as it is now. These days, fishing does everything from curing hunger, athlete’s foot, finds tax loopholes, and in special occasions can even be used in Finnish dance. And if you look hard enough, you can even find some fish.

Once you hit level 10 in your first chosen class, you are able to travel to Limsa Lominsa (I suggest waiting until 15 when you unlock the airship, it is a long walk otherwise) assuming you didn’t start there, and join the Fishing Guild. Once you start, the goal is to complete your fishing log, complete the occasional quest, and work on your records. The fishing log is a handy tool which fills in with information as you catch fish, detailing prime locations and some information. Quests are available every five levels, and your records are updated whenever you catch a larger fish in a specific category.

38 Studios Lawsuit Will Continue

Curt Schilling’s 38 Studios may go down in history as one of the worst managed video game companies, but history hasn’t yet finished with the developer or its executives. The last we heard, the state of Rhode Island was still intent upon bringing a lawsuit against the former Red Sox pitcher and news commentator as well as the executives of the failed game developer. The Associated Press is now reporting that a judge has ruled in favor of the state, allowing them to go ahead with most of a planned lawsuit.

The lawsuit in question accuses Schilling and his executives of fraud, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, among other acts, misleading the state into approving a $75 million loan. Last year, 38 Studios went bankrupt to the tune of more than $100 million, leaving the bill to be paid by the taxpayers of Rhode Island. The judge declared that the state could seek financial damages for fees and salaries collected by the defendants, damage to reputation and credit, but could not seek damages on the bonds issued until the money had been spent.

Schilling has maintained that the lawsuit is purely political and that the developer had no intention of wrongdoing when it sought the loan and that Rhode Island was well aware of the risks of investing in the game developer.

(Source: Associated Press)

Sony Online Entertainment Layoffs

Sony Online Entertainment has confirmed that the developer has laid off an unknown number of staff from an unknown variety of divisions. SOE’s Linda Carlson posted on several of the official game boards that the reduction aims to reduce costs and focus efforts on the current slate of games.

As a company, our goal is to focus on our core expertise of MMO games and as part of these efforts, we had to make the difficult decision to eliminate positions to help reduce costs, streamline our employee base and strategically align resources towards our current portfolio of games and upcoming slate of MMOs, including EverQuest Next Landmark and EverQuest Next.

Although the developer refused to comment on the number of staff laid off, a representative told Gamasutra that the reduction has affected the San Diego and Austin offices. MMO Fallout hopes the best for those finding themselves unemployed as of today.

(Source: Gamasutra)

Mortal Online Greenlight On Steam

Star Vault has announced that Mortal Online has finally been approved by Valve for release via Steam’s Greenlight program. The sandbox MMO has sat near the top of Valve’s list for a good while now, seemingly passed over with every month’s release set. Well the good news is that players will soon be logging in and running around buck naked or clothed if you’re into that sort of thing.

Thank you to our awesome community for voting us up to the very top of 15,000 game titles and earning our place on Steam, the worlds largest online PC game distribution platform. More information concerning our plans for Steam will be announced shortly; we just wanted to shout out a big “thank you” to our incredible community. Mortal Online’s future is getting more exciting by the day!

Hopefully the influx of new Steam players will bring much needed profit to the Swedish developer.

(Source: Mortal Online)

MMOrning Shots: Your FATE Is Sealed

In Final Fantasy XIV, the FATE system is a series of short events that pop up all over the world. Sometimes you might be tasked with defeating an insane band of fungus creatures, sometimes you have to drive back an invasion of bandits, and sometimes you just have to beat the tar out of a new recruit. Life is interesting like that.

Square Enix Halts FFXIV Digital Sales Due To Traffic

Final Fantasy XIV is selling so well that Square Enix can’t keep up with the traffic. Early Access became three days of players being unable to log in due to emergency maintenance, server loads, high traffic, errors, worlds being full, server queues full, and worlds being locked to new characters. For the sake of limiting new customers until they can deal with the current crop, Square has announced that they will be halting digital sales of FFXIV for the time being.

Important Notice About FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn – Due to the overwhelmingly positive response to FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn, we are currently experiencing extremely long wait times for users to be able to log in and play. As a temporary measure, we will halt sales of FINAL FANTASY XIV: A REALM REBORN’s digital download products so we can accommodate all of those wishing to play. We are working to expand our server capacity in the coming days. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this causes.

(Source: FFXIV Blog)

Bethesda Wants Elder Scrolls Online Separated From Xbox Live Fees

Xbox Live Gold requires a monthly subscription in order to play your games online. When you figure that Elder Scrolls Online already has a cover charge of $14.99 a month, this means that Xbox users will be expected to pay 20% more than their PC brethren and possibly PS4 users (Sony has previously said that publishers will decide on the PS+ requirement). The good news is that Bethesda is working behind the scenes to convince Microsoft to give the company a pass. According to Paul Sage from Zenimax:

“we have been in talks with Microsoft about that very thing, and seeing whether or not there’s any room to change their minds about that, for folks who are only paying The Elder Scrolls Online and don’t want to pay for an Xbox Live Gold subscription, just to pay the Elder Scrolls Online.

Will it work? Probably not, if previous attempts are any indication. Microsoft isn’t exactly known for making exemptions.

(Source: OXM)

Naoki Yoshida Apologizes For FFXIV Launch Issues

If you’ve tried playing Final Fantasy XIV in Europe or North America, you are likely fully acquainted with the extended length of downtime and maintenance period on the related server clusters. A large number of players were completely unable to log in on Sunday, and the problems with heavy loads continue to plague FFXIV’s servers. FFXIV’s producer, Naoki Yoshida, has posted an apology on the official forums in response to the ongoing issues, noting that while many of the login bugs have been fixed, there is still problems related to heavy traffic that must be attended to. Unfortunately for eager players, it looks like the login restrictions will not be going right away.

Although we have successfully addressed a number of serious issues in the past several days, we have nevertheless decided to implement login restrictions for the time being due to the extremely heavy load being placed upon the servers. In this way, we can ensure that the maximum number of players can play the game without risking a server crash. I know no one wants to wait to log in, but I hope you all understand why we believe this precaution is necessary.

(Source: FFXIV Forums)

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