Planetside 2 Cancels Pay to Win Implants

If criticism had a physical manifestation, John Smedley would be coming home with a broken nose and a black eye after today’s ordeal. Planetside 2 was gearing up for Game Update 13, which was set to implement a form of the implant system that original Planetside players should be familiar with. Implants are consumable items that last just a few hours and are single-use. They are powerful in nature and allow for protection against grenades, increases range, regenerate health, reduce damage, and makes the wearer undetectable. Sounds great, right up until the point where SOE took a hard left in their truck, slammed through the guard rail, and landed in an orphanage.

The problem? The implants, at least from what players knew, seemed somewhere between overpowered and unbalanced. Factor in that they would be purchased with certs/station cash and not infantry resources gained through playing the game, and you have a nice setup to turn Planetside 2 into a game where only those willing to pony up some cash have a snowball’s chance in hell of living long enough to accomplish anything. The community responded to the announced update with a resounding “absolutely not,” and John Smedley later announced via Twitter that implants would be removed from GU13 and sent back to the drawing board.

We look forward to seeing how Sony will reintegrate implants, assuming the update doesn’t die in the workshop.

(Source: Twitter)

Jagex Expanding Into Latin America

Good news, Latin American Scapers! Jagex has announced today that the UK developer has plans to expand RuneScape into Latin America by launching the upcoming RuneScape 3 in Spanish. By partnering with Axeso5, RuneScape 3 will be launched in Argentina, Peru, Mexico, Chile, Columbia, Venezuela, and a number of other countries with fully localized support and community events headed up by Axeso5. Chief Marketing Officer David Solari had the following to say about the announcement:

“The gaming market is an area of ongoing growth across Latin America and we are now in a position where we feel RuneScape 3 is the perfect offering for this market, due to its accessibility and rich game experience. RuneScape has captivated players around the world for the past 12 years and we look forward to welcoming Latin America players into our global family.”

RuneScape 3 launches on July 22nd.

(Source: Jagex Press Release)

Massive Action Game Shuts Down 1/28/14

In all honesty, the incoming demise of Massive Action Game has been written on the walls ever since it descended to the sub-bargain bin of Gamestop where the representative gives you the choice between a free copy of the game or being shot in the chest with a pistol. In fact, you can currently pick the game up used for less than the price of a dollar menu item. Oh, and there is the minor detail that players have been unable to purchase DLC for several months, with Global PSN customer support telling them that MAG is a discontinued product and no longer for sale via the PlayStation Store. So it comes as no surprise that Sony unceremoniously announced via Twitter that the MAG servers will be brought down forever this coming January.

Advisory: Online multiplayer services for MAG, SOCOM Confrontation, and SOCOM 4 will be ending on 01/28/14

Given its 100% reliance on multiplayer, MAG as a game will be completely unplayable come next year, assuming you hadn’t already relegated the disc to coaster status by this point.

(Source: Twitter)

RuneScape 3 Launching In Java Only, Initially

RuneScape 3 launches on July 22nd, bringing with it a brand new interface system, audio system and music, upgraded camera, seasonal highscores, and the Battle for Lumbridge update. The HTML5, however, will remain in beta for several more months to continue working out kinks and to get the system ready for a wider audience. It will still be possible to play the live game through the HTML client until that time, however it will be considered in beta and issues may lead to potential crashes and item loss if not careful

The HTML5 beta is best played in Google Chrome and you’ll need to play on a reasonably new, high-spec computer. If you’re experiencing low frame-rate and unreliable performance, update your graphics drivers. We can’t overstate the importance of this – HTML5 is at the cutting edge of web technology, and graphics card manufacturers have only recently begun optimising their drivers for it.

Jagex recommends that players stick with the Java version of the game for now, as well as testing the HTML5 client to offer feedback in improvements and bugs. Alternatively you can check out our gameplay video of the New Interface beta from earlier today (7/16).

(Source: RuneScape)

Kartuga Is Dead: InnoGames Shutting It Down

In the line of quality, the MMO Kartuga ranks on InnoGame’s list somewhere between “good enough to monetize” but below “good enough to finish development.” Sure, Kartuga was already asking for money, but that doesn’t mean that its publishers have any plans to see it through to completion. You should know this by now, stalwart MMO gamers. Kartuga joins the growing list of MMOs being shut down mid-beta due to a sudden realization that the game isn’t up to par, or due to changes in direction. In this case, InnoGames has decided to focus on cross-platform games and did not consider Kartuga worth the investment to continue developing.

The game offers stunning graphics and intriguing PvP with great potential, but we came to the conclusion that Kartuga does not live up to the high standards of quality we strive for. Moreover, the game does not fit into our strategy of cross-platform games. We believe that the time and work that would be needed in order to improve the game would have delayed our attempts to create truly great cross-platform-games, and whether or not all issues could be fixed in a timely manner is uncertain.

InnoGames will not be offering any form of compensation or refund for players who feel their money may have been wasted on this endeavor, however unspent gems can be exchanged for other InnoGames products until August 14th.

(Source: InnoGames)

See RuneScape’s NPC History

RuneScape has been up and running for well over a decade, long enough for the NPCs in the game to undergo several graphical upgrades and revisions to their looks as the game progressed from a project by one guy in his basement to one of the largest MMOs in the world. Some of you may remember the old days when many of the creatures in RuneScape were essentially palette swipes of each other, the same dragons and demons copied and pasted with new colors and different names. As the company has grown and more resources were allotted, creatures have become more diversified.

If you’re interested in seeing what the old days looked like, or perhaps you just want a trip down memory lane, the unofficial RuneScape Wiki has a massive page with the old and the new.

(Source: RuneScape Wiki)

See RuneScape's NPC History

If you’re interested in seeing what the old days looked like, or perhaps you just want a trip down memory lane, the unofficial RuneScape Wiki has a massive page with the old and the new.

(Source: RuneScape Wiki)

MMO Fallout Mentioned In LEGO Book

Some of you may remember back a billion years ago when I interviewed Stephen Calender about Lego Universe, back when MMO Fallout was an even tinier blip on the radar of the internet. Generally I assume that our old articles are lost to the deep recesses of history, not to mention the back pages of Google’s search ranking, only to be brought up when I feel like talking about them. Count me wrong, because not only did someone dig up the old interview, but they felt it pertinent enough to mention in a real life book. With pages!

Brick by Brick: How LEGO Rewrote the Rules of Innovation and Conquered the Global Toy Industry is about how LEGO brought itself up from the brink of irrelevance to become one of the most successful toy companies ever. It also has a small mention to our interview with Stephen Calender, about the flaws in Lego Universe and the difficulty in getting rid of all of the bugs in a game.

Check it out at the link below.

(Source: Amazon)

MMOrning Shots: Super Speed

Missing Worlds Media and their Plan Z falls somewhere on MMO Fallout’s list of games we really hope see success. I’m not sure where, it isn’t so much a list as a poorly coordinated jumble of titles and ideas. If you aren’t aware, the Plan Z is one of the larger of multiple community-built MMOs on their way to fill the hole left by City of Heroes. The above image was posted last week on Missing World Media’s Facebook page as a prototype for a particle trail left behind when running at super speed.

There is a Kickstarter going up in September I believe for Plan Z, which we will have covered here.

(Source: Facebook)

Free Stuff Plz Month #1 Reminder

Free Stuff Plz is off to a big start with the reveal of the first month’s contest: Sony Station Cash. Since Sony has such a large library of MMOs all tied to a single cash system, we figured why keep it to just one title? Between now and the end of July 2013, take a screenshot in any one of Sony Online Entertainment’s games and submit it to freestuff@mmofallout.com. There are no specific requirements as to the screenshot itself, so get crafty.

Capture and submit your best screenshot from Everquest, Everquest II, Free Realms, Clone Wars, Planetside, Planetside 2, DC Universe, Dragon’s Prophet, or Vanguard.

The contest will run from June 19th, 2013 through July 31st, 2013
It must be YOUR screenshot.
Only one attempt per email, please.
The prize is given as Station Cash. If your account does not use Station Cash (IE: Prosieben.Sat users), you will not be able to claim the prize.
You must be 13 or older to enter.

Grand Prize:

$45 Station Cash

Runner Up:

$15 Station Cash

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