Bioware Isn’t Afraid To Re-Restrict You Freeloaders


Good news, free players! In a recent forum post by Lead Designer Damion Schubert, based on feedback via the public test realm (where free to play is currently undergoing trial), Bioware has decided to ease up on some of the restrictions on free players. You will now be able to enjoy a second quick bar, as well as five warzones instead of three per week. Additionally, Cartel Coin item locks will be reduced to three days for free players and two for subscribers. But don’t think that these changes are permanent. If Bioware gets even the slightest hint that you are cheapening the experience for their subscribers, all cards are on the cutting board:

That being said, one of our golden rules is that the Free-to-Play experience should not cheapen the experience for paying subscribers. If it turns out that the Free-to-Play conversion results in a degraded Warzone experience once we go live for subscribers, you can rest assured that we will quickly make adjustments to the system to ensure that subscribers have an optimal experience.

With the competition of so many free to play MMOs, The Old Republic still lands somewhere on the more restrictive side towards free players, like limiting the player to two hotbars. The Old Republic will feature a “preferred” player status for previous subscribers and those who purchase something from the cash shop, that removes more of the limitations.

(Source: The Old Republic)

Bioware Isn't Afraid To Re-Restrict You Freeloaders


Good news, free players! In a recent forum post by Lead Designer Damion Schubert, based on feedback via the public test realm (where free to play is currently undergoing trial), Bioware has decided to ease up on some of the restrictions on free players. You will now be able to enjoy a second quick bar, as well as five warzones instead of three per week. Additionally, Cartel Coin item locks will be reduced to three days for free players and two for subscribers. But don’t think that these changes are permanent. If Bioware gets even the slightest hint that you are cheapening the experience for their subscribers, all cards are on the cutting board:

That being said, one of our golden rules is that the Free-to-Play experience should not cheapen the experience for paying subscribers. If it turns out that the Free-to-Play conversion results in a degraded Warzone experience once we go live for subscribers, you can rest assured that we will quickly make adjustments to the system to ensure that subscribers have an optimal experience.

With the competition of so many free to play MMOs, The Old Republic still lands somewhere on the more restrictive side towards free players, like limiting the player to two hotbars. The Old Republic will feature a “preferred” player status for previous subscribers and those who purchase something from the cash shop, that removes more of the limitations.

(Source: The Old Republic)

RuneScape’s Infrastructure Needs Work, Jagex Admits


Consider this a serendipitous moment. Jagex’s latest bonus experience weekend has come and gone, and it was certainly an eye opening event for the developer. While previous weekends ran as members only events with the experience bonus degrading over time, this weekend the event was open to everyone, at a flat rate all weekend. In fact, as Jagex points out in the weekend wrap-up, over 4.4 million hours were played collectively. Unfortunately for the players, the weekend of fighting, looting, farming, fishing, and cooking was held back by an uninvited guest. Players experienced great difficulty logging in over the weekend, and those who were able to log in were hindered by severe lag which lasted the entire weekend.

This level of activity was unprecedented, and at peak times some worlds experienced notable lag. The log-in servers also felt the strain, meaning that some users had difficulty logging in or switching worlds. While we kept everything running over the course of the 48 hours, we’re aware that this was frustrating to those of you who were affected.

Luckily, Jagex is treating this as a learning experience. As a result, the team is working hard to upgrade the game’s infrastructure and optimize the engine. And hopefully the next event will not face the same issues.

(Source: RuneScape website)

RuneScape's Infrastructure Needs Work, Jagex Admits


Consider this a serendipitous moment. Jagex’s latest bonus experience weekend has come and gone, and it was certainly an eye opening event for the developer. While previous weekends ran as members only events with the experience bonus degrading over time, this weekend the event was open to everyone, at a flat rate all weekend. In fact, as Jagex points out in the weekend wrap-up, over 4.4 million hours were played collectively. Unfortunately for the players, the weekend of fighting, looting, farming, fishing, and cooking was held back by an uninvited guest. Players experienced great difficulty logging in over the weekend, and those who were able to log in were hindered by severe lag which lasted the entire weekend.

This level of activity was unprecedented, and at peak times some worlds experienced notable lag. The log-in servers also felt the strain, meaning that some users had difficulty logging in or switching worlds. While we kept everything running over the course of the 48 hours, we’re aware that this was frustrating to those of you who were affected.

Luckily, Jagex is treating this as a learning experience. As a result, the team is working hard to upgrade the game’s infrastructure and optimize the engine. And hopefully the next event will not face the same issues.

(Source: RuneScape website)

Age of Wushu Will Sell Abilities, At Least In China


I had a chance to see Age of Wushu at New York Comic Con, which intrepid sleuths should take to mean “there was a line about two hours long to play it.” The people I did manage to watch play while staring over their shoulders, however, seemed to be having a fun time. Regardless, news broke this week from Age of Wushu in China that the developers have installed two cash shop exclusive skills. While it is unlikely that this system will be anything but popular in China, Snail Game is walking on eggshells if they expect the same system to work in the western hemisphere once Age of Wushu hits North America and Europe.

For their defense, the two skills are mostly for cosmetic reasons, versions of other skills that simply have better animations. RuneScape does this in a similar fashion by selling premium animations for actions like chopping wood and cooking food. According to players in the Chinese game, the skills aren’t very useful barring perhaps one or two, and players are buying them for little reason other than to feel special. While Snail Games has not dived into the realm of selling advantages, gamers should certainly keep an eye on the game’s Chinese servers.

Age of Wushu is a level-less, skill based game.

(Source: MMO Culture)

Gamigo’s New Owner Should Focus On Advertising


Pop quiz: Why would a newspaper publisher have interest in an MMO developer? That is rhetorical, I can’t give an honest answer either. Regardless, back in 2008, for some reason newspaper publisher Axelrod Springer AG purchased the majority stake in Gamigo. Since then Gamigo has published some very high quality games, from Jagged Alliance Online to Black Prophecy, and a number of other games. Unfortunately as the communities of many of Gamigo’s games will tell you, few of the titles in their library have had an opportunity to shine, and some have even been shut down, due to a simple lack of exposure to the marketplace. Ask around and odds are not a whole lot of people will know that there exists a Jagged Alliance MMO, or Dungeon Empires, or that Black Prophecy was one of the best looking free to play MMOs on the market.

So I can only hope that someone from Samarion, who recently took over Gamigo, reads this and understands a simple fact: You have to make people aware that your games and company exist. Throw some money into advertising, get your name out there, and show everyone what you’ve got.

(Source: Gamasutra)

Gamigo's New Owner Should Focus On Advertising


Pop quiz: Why would a newspaper publisher have interest in an MMO developer? That is rhetorical, I can’t give an honest answer either. Regardless, back in 2008, for some reason newspaper publisher Axelrod Springer AG purchased the majority stake in Gamigo. Since then Gamigo has published some very high quality games, from Jagged Alliance Online to Black Prophecy, and a number of other games. Unfortunately as the communities of many of Gamigo’s games will tell you, few of the titles in their library have had an opportunity to shine, and some have even been shut down, due to a simple lack of exposure to the marketplace. Ask around and odds are not a whole lot of people will know that there exists a Jagged Alliance MMO, or Dungeon Empires, or that Black Prophecy was one of the best looking free to play MMOs on the market.

So I can only hope that someone from Samarion, who recently took over Gamigo, reads this and understands a simple fact: You have to make people aware that your games and company exist. Throw some money into advertising, get your name out there, and show everyone what you’ve got.

(Source: Gamasutra)

Aventurine Hints At Promotions For Current/Past Subscribers


Darkfall is currently in transition. The current iteration, Darkfall 1.0, has been made available for free to anyone who had purchased the game, and will remain online until November 15th. After, the servers will shut down and Aventurine will transition the service to Darkfall: Unholy Wars on November 20th. In preparation, Aventurine has posted an update on the Epic Blog, detailing that players should get their accounts in order for the transition. As the announcement details, Aventurine is looking into offering price promotions, and various other options for current subscribers.

As we count down towards Darkfall Unholy Wars, we would like to suggest that you get your accounts in order and to ask you to please update your account information. If you are experiencing issues like: forgotten username, passwords, email address, accounts not active  etc., please submit a ticket to customer support with the Title “Preparing for Darkfall Unholy Wars”. We need your information for matters which relate to offering our existing customers a price promotion, but also in order to select some of you for various other privileges and requests.

You can find the blog post linked below, as well as yet another gameplay video of Unholy Wars.

(Source: Epic Blog)

Jagex: Just Kidding, Double Experience Is Fine With Us


Back in July, Jagex announced that they were through with double experience weekends. According to Mod Mark, the bonus experience weekends carried a negative effect on the game’s overall economy by encouraging players to hoard large quantities of raw materials, and the subsequent dump of finished goods on the market that followed. Since then, Jagex has supplemented double experience with items from Squeal of Fortune and quest rewards that grant double experience. Still, holding Jagex’s long term corporate policy to the post of a staff member may not be the most trustworthy source, since Jagex has a long habit of moving in the opposite direction of their statements.

Beginning the 27th until the 29th, members in RuneScape will enjoy a double experience weekend, with some heavy alterations to the formula. Unlike previous weekends, where the multiplier began at 2.7x and would slowly tick down over ten hours to 1.1x, the bonus experience starts at 2x and does not tick down over time. Additionally, non-members will also be able to get into the action, but will only receive a 20% bonus to their experience gain.

Additional double experience weekends are likely to come in the future.

(Source: XP FAQ)

Turbine Lays Off Unspecified Number Of People


As it is, layoffs in the MMO industry are common. Jobs are often based on contracts and temporary in nature, and developers tend to over-hire when developing the game itself or a large piece of content, and then follow the launch with a round of layoffs. In that regard, I’ve always said here at MMO Fallout that more information is needed than a simple “X developer is laying off staff,” before we are all free to run around screaming about the end of the world. In today’s case, developer Turbine Entertainment has laid off a number of staff as part of restructuring at Warner Bros. In an email, Spokeswoman Remi Sklar stated:

“As part of the continual review of our business operations and fluctuating market conditions, we have had to make reductions in our Turbine workforce,”

Our thoughts go out to the unknown number of Turbine ex-employees, and we hope you all find jobs quickly.

(Source: Boston Globe)