Given that it is December 7th, you’re probably wondering why the trumpets of fanfare haven’t been going off at the headquarters of Sony Online Entertainment. Unless many of us were in a hallucinogenic daze earlier this year, I do believe that The Agency, Sony’s instanced espionage MMO, was slated for release this month. Granted, we haven’t heard anything about the game since E3, so fill in the gaps as you will: It’s not coming out this month.
So what happened? Simple answer: Sony looked at The Agency and said “we’re not happy with it.” In an interview with Kotaku, John Smedley of Sony Online Entertainment said:
“There was a moment in time in our company where we looked at our own stuff with a clear eye and saw we have to do better,”
You can read the whole article here, but The Agency will not be making it to a retailer near you before the second half of 2011, possibly putting the title in direct competition with The Old Republic, DC Universe, and others.
Quick joke: What is the difference between Jumpgate Evolution and Stargate Worlds? The developers behind Stargate Worlds are no longer attempting to convince people that the game is launching. Apparently Codemasters has hacked MMO Fallout, because someone said “you’re right, we’re tired of Jumpgate Evolution not being released,” as Codemasters announced this week that they are taking NetDevil to court.
Codemasters has filed a Complaint with the federal court in San Francisco against Gazillion and NetDevil. This is a public document readily available to the press. The allegations in the Complaint are clear and self-explanatory and address issues related to the development of Jumpgate Evolution. During the course of the litigation other documents will become part of the court’s public records further detailing the respective positions of the parties. On the advice of Codemasters’ US attorneys, Codemasters has no further comment at this time.
According to the complain, Codemasters paid $1.4 million to help NetDevil make the game, including footing server costs and customer support, for a title that was supposed to launch in February 2009. Codemasters is also seeking compensation for website, community support, and other services that were set up, at Codemaster’s expense.
Quick joke: What is the difference between Jumpgate Evolution and Stargate Worlds? The developers behind Stargate Worlds are no longer attempting to convince people that the game is launching. Apparently Codemasters has hacked MMO Fallout, because someone said “you’re right, we’re tired of Jumpgate Evolution not being released,” as Codemasters announced this week that they are taking NetDevil to court.
Codemasters has filed a Complaint with the federal court in San Francisco against Gazillion and NetDevil. This is a public document readily available to the press. The allegations in the Complaint are clear and self-explanatory and address issues related to the development of Jumpgate Evolution. During the course of the litigation other documents will become part of the court’s public records further detailing the respective positions of the parties. On the advice of Codemasters’ US attorneys, Codemasters has no further comment at this time.
According to the complain, Codemasters paid $1.4 million to help NetDevil make the game, including footing server costs and customer support, for a title that was supposed to launch in February 2009. Codemasters is also seeking compensation for website, community support, and other services that were set up, at Codemaster’s expense.
Nothing kills interest in a game like having your account stolen and spending the next few days or weeks getting it back. Here at MMO Fallout, I like to do little PSAs when either myself or the company are putting out reminders. There’s no harm in a little protective gaming every now and then.
Battle.net has a lot of account thieves, and this month is likely to be a big one for theft. Cataclysm launches this month upping WoW account thefts. In addition, Blizzard performed a mass ban on Starcraft 2 accounts for cheating, which may result in a surge of account thefts by cheaters looking for free accounts.
As always, keep your password safe. Change it often, use different passwords on related fan sites.
When I’m not fielding calls from the president of MMO Land asking me how to save the world from the evils of free to play scams, I’m generally fielding calls from frantic fanboys foaming at the mouth over the latest MMO to come out based on their favorite IP, and how it will revolutionize the genre (in the sliver of time that remains, I’m fielding calls from my pharmacist over my many medications). Warhammer 40k may not be coming out for somewhere around three years, but the developers want you to know that this won’t be your mama’s MMO.
In an interview with PC Gamer, Creative Director Mike Maza wants to remove your fears that you’ll be spending much of your time hunting down adorably savage wolves for still-standing NPCs who need their pelts, or something along those lines. You’re a fighter, damnit, and you should be crushing the heads of those who dare lower your status by giving you such a petty quest. On that note, Warhammer 40k Online should without a doubt have a beginner quest where you crush the head of an NPC for offering you such a quest. If anyone from Vigil is listening, you might want to write that down.
“We just couldn’t wrap our heads around a Space Marine killing ten wolves for their pelts. It’s just not 40K. We don’t want to give those kinds of quests to the players, we think it takes you out of the fiction. The objectives of our quests are far more epic than that.”
In the interview, Maza also notes that, although they could have made the game like World of Warcraft, they decided being chainsawed to death by angry fans was not worth any income such a decision might have brought in.
“We’re designing a cinematic, action-oriented MMO, balanced in terms of player-on-player and player-versus-environment battles. There’s a lot of ranged combat, but also a healthy dose of melee. You’re not gonna have a bunch of static spawns, you’re not gonna have a bunch of random patrols.”
So Warhammer will rely a bit more on mouse movement, but your success will still be held somewhat to your gear. One piece Maza talked about, and I know this will entertain 40k fans, that the game is serious. This means no funny vanity hats for your tech priest.
You can read the whole interview at the above link. More on Warhammer 40k Online as it appears.
Small change in the LBMF structure. Now that November is done, companies are going to have to ramp up work if they’re going to get their game out and hit that 2010 release date. According to the MMORPG.com game list, there are more MMOs apparently slated for release this month than I can care to count.
My biggest disappointment with November was probably that there won’t be a 2011 MMO calendar. The 2010 MMO calendar on my wall, many of the months having various autographs, came out last year to benefit St. Jude Childre’s Research Center, and apparently is not coming back for 2011. I may just buy a Guild Wars 2 calendar, or perhaps just use my Nintendo 2011 calendar I received as part of the Nintendo Club.
The Good:
Star Trek Online Free To Play: Sure, Cryptic may be bribing us by saying “play Champions Online free to play and perhaps spend some cash, and maybe we’ll consider throwing you a bone in Star Trek Online,” but who cares? Star Trek Online may be going free to play! Although it will be limited, a free to play transition for Star Trek Online should be just what the game needs to get some big traffic, especially with the changes in response to player gripes, and the introduction of user generated content.
K2 Networks Picks Up APB: K2Networks, also known as GamersFirst, picked up the rights to All Points Bulletin and plans on reviving the game early next year, after an extensive patching to make the game suitable for its new free to play environment.
PvP In Alganon: Well, technically to have player vs player combat you need more than one player, but we can work on that at a later date. In the November patch, Quest Online added a system for flagging for PvP, as well as dueling. In future patches, Alganon players will see a keep/siege system similar to Warhammer Online, as well as a renown system that players will level up for gear.
Pirates of the Burning Sea now Free: Flying Lab Software released the free to play transition to Pirates of the Burning Sea this month.
The Bad:
No City? I’m On Break: A company royally breaking their game in a patch is not all too uncommon, in fact I can name at least one game (rhymes with ShroomTape) where such an event occurs every other week. When Mortal Online released a patch that inadvertently removed a city, killing its occupants and creating a gigantic void for players who came anywhere near it, much of the angry response came not because of the glitch itself, but because of the response. The players were told that the missing city could not be replaced for a few days, because the developers were off for the weekend.
Final Fantasy XIV: Not Satisfactory: It isn’t often a company comes right out and says “our game isn’t satisfactory,” but Square Enix did with Final Fantasy XIV, and after bad news on the financial grounds, they are committed to keeping their current subscribers (who haven’t paid a dime in subscription fees three months after release) and bringing in new players. To top off this need for players, I found that stores in the US, and possibly other countries, are pulling Final Fantasy XIV from shelves. Target and WalMart are now only selling the title online.
Star Gate: No More Resistance: Square Enix isn’t the only group getting a double whammy this month, as Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment announced that they had won the lawsuit against Fresh Start Studios, gaining their assets back for Stargate Worlds. Unfortunately, MGM terminated the agreement with Cheyenne over the Stargate license, meaning for right now the MMO is dead. Later on in November, Fresh Start announced that Stargate Resistance would be shutting down early next year.
Aion Million Man March: Later on in November, mmosite reported on a protest in Aion China against the rampant botting in the game. An estimated thirty thousand players appeared to congest cities in a number of servers in protest, shutting down four servers in the process.
The “What’s Happening in December?”:
Earth…Something or Other: Earth Eternal shut down back in August after the developers stopped paying the bills, and I think it’s safe to assume that Sparkplay Media’s CEO is now unemployed. We still don’t know who purchased the game, although all signs point to Time Warner, and there is no indication when the game will be brought back online. Guess we’re in for another month of waiting.
Anarchy In The Cash Shop: Anarchy Online last month launched the game’s brand new cash shop, offering everything from level packs, stims, and more for a nominal fee. I’ll be watching to see if there are any financial reports gloating on the success of the cash shop, or if its existence is merely pushed to the back as something of an embarrassment.
Cataclysm Shakes WoW: Oh look, a mention of World of Warcraft on MMO Fallout! Although the damage to the World of Warcraft has already been done, for the most part, in the Shattering event, Cataclysm launches in just a few days bringing new races, new areas, and generally a whole lot of new to the World of Warcraft.
John Smedley acknowledges that Everquest II players are not World of Warcraft players, as reflected in moves by Sony Online Entertainment to not jump on the bandwagon by introducing a $25 mount to…To be fair, I’m sure that the Everquest II Prowlers were being developed years before World of Warcraft did it, more likely around a time when Sony was allowing sandbox title Star Wars Galaxies remain unique rather than dramatically shifting gameplay, say, right after a major expansion, overly simplifying the gameplay in order to compete with WoW. That’s just crazy talk.
In an interview with Kotaku, Smedley admitted that it isn’t current Everquest players that Sony is afraid of losing to World of Warcraft, but rather the pool of new MMO players Sony is looking to grab away from Blizzard. Despite what one might think, Smedley apparently has deep respect for Blizzard and their behemoth of an MMO, noting:
“The reason I respect Blizzard so much is that they don’t make massive mistakes,” he said, talking about the risk of making massive changes to a massive game. “They have the goods and they know it. So why not take a risk like that?
Of course, Everquest II isn’t the only MMO looking at a Cataclysm. Maplestory is set to release the Big Bang patch, which is supposed to be a dramatic change to the game’s map and leveling curve. Crimecraft is set to launch Bleedout tomorrow, a PvE storyline system. Of course, more MMOs will follow with their own world shifting events.
I love Crimecraft. Not as much as I should, and certainly not as much as the folks over at Vogster have shown love to me (my last article was featured on Crimecraft’s Twitter) making me feel like a neglectful spouse. One thing Crimecraft has always been somewhat light on is plot, other than the basics of the government has been replaced by gangs and we’re in a post apocalyptic system after a war over limited resources, minus the zombies (for now).
Vogster announced Bleedout, in which they hope to expand upon the storyline. Coming tomorrow, Saturday the 4th at around 4pm Eastern, Vogster is launching episode 1 of an episodic series that will explain the storyline behind the game. Not unlike a television series, each episode releases once a week, free to VIP and premium players, and at a pretty low cost to free players (40 gold bars, or around two dollars). The first episode is free to all players.
There are a few restrictions, if what I understand is correct. First off, you can only complete one episode a week, so if you come in halfway through the season you’ll be on a lag from other players. Of course, Crimecraft is a cash shop system after all, and you’ll be able to buy a fast forward ticket allowing you to skip the seven day limit, although of course you won’t be able to play unreleased episodes (which should be a given, don’t ask me why it was deemed necessary to note).
Here is the trailer for Episode 1. Vogster has hired some major talent for this series, and has even opened a second server in anticipation for the rush of players, and Bleedout looks to be the start of a major investment in the game’s lore. The campaign missions are 100% PvE, as far as we know.
I love Crimecraft. Not as much as I should, and certainly not as much as the folks over at Vogster have shown love to me (my last article was featured on Crimecraft’s Twitter) making me feel like a neglectful spouse. One thing Crimecraft has always been somewhat light on is plot, other than the basics of the government has been replaced by gangs and we’re in a post apocalyptic system after a war over limited resources, minus the zombies (for now).
Vogster announced Bleedout, in which they hope to expand upon the storyline. Coming tomorrow, Saturday the 4th at around 4pm Eastern, Vogster is launching episode 1 of an episodic series that will explain the storyline behind the game. Not unlike a television series, each episode releases once a week, free to VIP and premium players, and at a pretty low cost to free players (40 gold bars, or around two dollars). The first episode is free to all players.
There are a few restrictions, if what I understand is correct. First off, you can only complete one episode a week, so if you come in halfway through the season you’ll be on a lag from other players. Of course, Crimecraft is a cash shop system after all, and you’ll be able to buy a fast forward ticket allowing you to skip the seven day limit, although of course you won’t be able to play unreleased episodes (which should be a given, don’t ask me why it was deemed necessary to note).
Here is the trailer for Episode 1. Vogster has hired some major talent for this series, and has even opened a second server in anticipation for the rush of players, and Bleedout looks to be the start of a major investment in the game’s lore. The campaign missions are 100% PvE, as far as we know.
Generally piracy gets you imprisoned by the RIAA...
Legally speaking, Flying Lab is required to give players 30 days notice before making changes to the subscription and payment system for Pirates of the Burning Sea, which they surpassed with flying colors thanks to the presence of some game busting bugs, not to mention the Thanksgiving weekend. After a long wait, players can finally play Pirates of the Burning Sea for free…partially.
As far as content goes, free players are restricted from premium missions, which can be purchased at the shop. Otherwise, the system is pretty traditional. Character slots, dockyard slots, ship storage slots, economy slots, ship insurance, and a few other things must be purchased from the item store. Premium accounts get a bump in the restrictions, and premium is automatically applied to those who subscribed in the past (with good account standing) and those who subscribe for even just a month. Captain’s Club members (the $15 a month crowd), gain full access to the game, with added bonuses of a 20% discount to everything in the cash shop, automatic access to the premium missions, and a 10% bonus to loot, experience, and faction standing.
MMO Fallout 