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 One thing Crimecraft has always been somewhat light on is plot, other than the basics of the government has been replaced by gangs and we’re in a post apocalyptic system after a war over limited resources, minus the zombies (for now).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.
Rumors suck, no question about it, especially when you’re in a system where verifiability is absolutely naught. IRC logs can be forged, pictures can be photoshopped, and ex-employees always have a bone to pick with their employers. For this reason, I decided a long time ago that I wouldn’t even humor unsubstantiated claims. If I did, you’d be seeing a lot more articles on how this company or that company is going bankrupt, and Warhammer would have shut down at least thirty times since last year.
There’s an odd sense of gratification that people, some of them journalists, get when a company does badly or (god forbid) goes under. Even when The Matrix Online shut down last year, after four years and countless updates and events, people still called the game a massive failure. There are people who not only believe that behemoths like Sony Online Entertainment or NCsoft will go bankrupt because of an update they didn’t like, they regularly reinforce that they hope it happens. From jaded Star Wars Galaxies fans, to people who were dissatisfied with Mortal Online, to World of Warcraft haters, and everyone in between. You name any MMO on the market, and odds are someone is expressing their volatile rage through claims that the game is shutting down, and the company is going bankrupt.
Of course, even a broken clock is right twice a day, and eventually one of these trolls will become a prophet. Warhammer Online is still online two years after launch, although when the game does one day shut down someone will be there to say “See? I told you it’d shut down but no one believed me,” and even more to stand there and talk about how Mythic deserved it for one reason or another. Forget the fact that the doomsayers have been calling death for years, yet always being wrong, the one time they happen to be right and suddenly their insider information is legit.
Over at the Mortal Online troll community (located on the Mortal Online section of the mmorpg.com forums), the tribesmen have been worshiping a supposedly leaked IRC log where a Star Vault employee claims that Mortal Online will shut down next month, likely leapfrogging the latest troll fodder that Star Vault is in the red, money-wise. If the rumor is true, however, it won’t spell the complete death of Mortal Online, as according to the text log the game will be rebuilt ala All Points Bulletin and rereleased, possibly under a new engine.
But this isn’t about whether Mortal Online will be with us in January, because even if Star Vault were to say tomorrow that they were shutting down, it wouldn’t make this report any more credible. Something leaks every other month on Mortal Online shutting down, and to give credit to this one because happened to hit the mark would just offer validation to those who should not be validated.
So those of you currently playing Mortal Online and enjoying it, keep doing what you do. To those of you looking to buy the game, wait a month if it makes you feel better. I don’t pretend to be an expert prophet on which MMOs are going to live or die, but as to the claims that Mortal Online will shut down next month: I’m going to say no.
Rumors suck, no question about it, especially when you’re in a system where verifiability is absolutely naught. IRC logs can be forged, pictures can be photoshopped, and ex-employees always have a bone to pick with their employers. For this reason, I decided a long time ago that I wouldn’t even humor unsubstantiated claims. If I did, you’d be seeing a lot more articles on how this company or that company is going bankrupt, and Warhammer would have shut down at least thirty times since last year.
There’s an odd sense of gratification that people, some of them journalists, get when a company does badly or (god forbid) goes under. Even when The Matrix Online shut down last year, after four years and countless updates and events, people still called the game a massive failure. There are people who not only believe that behemoths like Sony Online Entertainment or NCsoft will go bankrupt because of an update they didn’t like, they regularly reinforce that they hope it happens. From jaded Star Wars Galaxies fans, to people who were dissatisfied with Mortal Online, to World of Warcraft haters, and everyone in between. You name any MMO on the market, and odds are someone is expressing their volatile rage through claims that the game is shutting down, and the company is going bankrupt.
Of course, even a broken clock is right twice a day, and eventually one of these trolls will become a prophet. Warhammer Online is still online two years after launch, although when the game does one day shut down someone will be there to say “See? I told you it’d shut down but no one believed me,” and even more to stand there and talk about how Mythic deserved it for one reason or another. Forget the fact that the doomsayers have been calling death for years, yet always being wrong, the one time they happen to be right and suddenly their insider information is legit.
Over at the Mortal Online troll community (located on the Mortal Online section of the mmorpg.com forums), the tribesmen have been worshiping a supposedly leaked IRC log where a Star Vault employee claims that Mortal Online will shut down next month, likely leapfrogging the latest troll fodder that Star Vault is in the red, money-wise. If the rumor is true, however, it won’t spell the complete death of Mortal Online, as according to the text log the game will be rebuilt ala All Points Bulletin and rereleased, possibly under a new engine.
But this isn’t about whether Mortal Online will be with us in January, because even if Star Vault were to say tomorrow that they were shutting down, it wouldn’t make this report any more credible. Something leaks every other month on Mortal Online shutting down, and to give credit to this one because happened to hit the mark would just offer validation to those who should not be validated.
So those of you currently playing Mortal Online and enjoying it, keep doing what you do. To those of you looking to buy the game, wait a month if it makes you feel better. I don’t pretend to be an expert prophet on which MMOs are going to live or die, but as to the claims that Mortal Online will shut down next month: I’m going to say no.
Since launch, Global Agenda has seen a myriad of updates and content releases along with the transition to a free to play title with boosters in the cash shop. Those of you still on the edge for buying Hi-Rez’s game will be happy to hear that the game will be 50% off for the next four days, until November 29th.
Up to the 29th, you can find Global Agenda in the Global Agenda store for 50% off, so $14.99 USD. Meanwhile, those of you who already own the game will be happy to hear that boosters are on sale for 25% off. A ten day booster is now about six bucks, and so on.
With November coming to a close, the holiday deals are already beginning. For Steam, Eve Online and Final Fantasy XI: Ultimate Collection are now on sale, for the next 24 hours. As usual, all values are in USD. This sale lasts until Noon EST on November 26th.
Stargate Resistance isn’t the only game to lower their stores. As of today in Eve Online, NPCs will no longer sell orders for the Learning Group, now known as Learning Skills. Why? All learning skills are being deleted, that’s why. Coming on December 14th, all learning skills will be removed from the game, with varying forms of reimbursement. Skillpoints invested in learning skills will be returned, while skill books will be exchanged with the vendor’s price. All new and existing characters will receive an additional 12 base points in each attribute. In addition, the 100% bonus up to 1.6m SP will be removed. Injected learning books will not be reimbursed.
You can read all about it in the latest developer blog, and stay tuned to the blog to find out the second half of December’s Santa patch.
“I’m pretty happy this company won the bidding, as I think they have the resources and the pre-existing audience to help make EE a success.”
One of our last messages from Sparkplay CEO Matt Mihaly before the Earth Eternal servers and website shut down in what feels like a year ago. Speculation has been high since Earth Eternal shut its doors and announced that, although they did find a buyer at auction, the buyer could not be named and there was absolutely no inkling to when the game would be coming back.
The Earth Eternal fans have been diligent, admittedly more diligent than myself, in sleuthing and unearthing just who purchased Earth Eternal, and the answer is? Time Warner, which most of you figured out from the title. Of course, this isn’t a concrete announcement, but Earth Eternal’s silent Facebook page has a fourth administrator, Jac Ky. Jac Ky’s profile lists his likes as Cartoon Network India, Cartoon Network Australia, and his few wall posts include the Ben10 Omniverse game.
Again, this isn’t concrete, but it does coincide with the fact that Earth Eternal was recently moved to a new host, on the same servers as Cartoon Network’s website. Undoubtedly Time Warner has some deep pockets, and if the speculation is true may be putting some major upgrades into Earth Eternal to get it ready for relaunch.
Of course, we may see Duke Nukem Forever before we see Earth Eternal relaunch, so whoever purchased it is moot at this point. Big thanks to Rhinok over in the MMORPG.com forums for finding this information.
MMO Fallout 