Vanguard: Merry Christmas! We’re Not Doing Well…


Vanguard is a tale of high expectations and the giant corporate belly. In fact, it only took four months after Vanguard’s release for Sony to gobble up the developers, Sigil. When Vanguard released in 2007, it was awarded the “Biggest Disappointment of the Year” award by Gamespy, noting the title’s lack of content, buggy performance, and the fact that the title was shoved out the door before completion.

It’s been a rocky two years for the title that was once touted as the Everquest 2 Killer. On the plus side, if anything just to get the good news out first, there will be more frequent (yet smaller) updates this year. Vanguard is looking at 2010 as a year to fix bugs, crush bugs, and fumigate the house. The developers are also looking at focusing on the story elements of the game, starting and ending chunks of storyline.

But the bad news, and there always is some, is that some planned updates have been shelved indefinitely:

Continue reading “Vanguard: Merry Christmas! We’re Not Doing Well…”

Stargate Worlds Not Delayed: Was Never Finishable…


Gateworld, a Stargate fansite, recently published an interview with Shane Hensley from Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, about Stargate Resistance, CME’s upcoming shooter based on the Stargate universe. In it, Shane confirms essentially what we have all known now for about a month: That CME has moved most of their resources to Stargate Resistance, and Stargate Worlds has been shelved for the time being. He also confirmed something we’ve all known, but haven’t managed to get official word on:

We did not have the financial or human resources to successfully complete Stargate Worlds, so it was indeterminable when it would be completed.
-Shane Hensley, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, on Stargate Worlds

So Stargate Worlds hasn’t been delayed, because Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment never had the resources to complete it. Although Stargate Resistance has been confirmed to be a release to gain funds for CME, the following quote is a little harder on the nerves:

Continue reading “Stargate Worlds Not Delayed: Was Never Finishable…”

Metaplace to Shutdown: January 2010


Metaplace is the 2d, isometric little version of Second Life. It is a world built on lua functionality, allowing players to add actions to any object in the world (pets, animals, stuff, etc) to bring life to their creations, set up their own games within the game, and build their own world. Metaplace was made by Metaplace Inc. You can display RSS feeds in your house, have your own in-game advertising, and create your own effects.

Metaplace is also the second title that will be shutting down on the first day of the new year. On January 2010, Metaplace will join Dungeon Runners in the first titles of 2010 to be shut down. Much of the Metaplace crew has been laid off, although the company claims it will still be in business postmortem.

2009 was the year of the collapsed economy, one that hasn’t just ripped apart small companies, but the previously untouchable behemoths. Although, as already mentioned Metaplace Inc will stay up to work on a new project, Metaplace has become unsustainable from a financial stand.

More on the 2010 MMO Shutdown as it appears.

Play Alganon Now My Lord, Not Free Forever


Because apparently I've been using the gold icon too much.

Recently, several titles have thrown in the proverbial towel and have installed endless trial periods: Champions Online opened up the tutorial area (and first 15 levels) for free, forever. Warhammer Online opened up the Tier 1 (up to level 10) for free forever. Age of Conan is running a special to play the original game, sans trade and chat, for free forever. So, needless to say, more titles are jumping on the “unique trial system” method.

Alganon, noted World of Warcraft clone that launched December 1st, has a special offer for players. You can play the game, for free, for 30 days. Level up as much as possible. There are restrictions on chat and trade, as well as skill level caps (3) among other restrictions, and your character is deleted after 30 days unless you buy the game. A full free month? Usually you have to buy the game first to get that kind of deal!

Alganon is worth looking at if you are on the edge of buying the title, or if you just want something free to play for 30 days. Either way, check it out. Just remember it’s barely a month out the door: Don’t expect a 100% finished product.

Very Much Good Stuff Cheap: Steam

[Update] The Steam Sale is over as of January 3rd. Better luck next time!


If Funcom's money was gold-backed...

It’s time again for the Steam Holiday sale, and that can only mean one thing: MMO Sales to be found all around! Here is a list of the games you can find on sale at Steam this week, all of which should be on sale until January 3rd. You have a week and a half, so don’t put it off too long!

Please remember that all of these price are in USD.

[Update] The Steam Sale is over as of January 3rd. Better luck next time!

Mega Packs:

More sales after the break!

Continue reading “Very Much Good Stuff Cheap: Steam”

Champions Online: Limitless Free Trial!


Players of the MMO Champions Online should be familiar with the game’s tutorial: Saving the city from the alien invasion. Starting today, players have an unlimited amount of time in that section of the game before they have to buy it. Level yourself up to the demo limit of 15 and see how you enjoy the scenery. You are limited to two character slots, and it appears you’ll need Steam for the demo. Check it out here.

I’d like to point out that Cryptic isn’t using a tactic like Mythic and Funcom did in Warhammer Online and Age of Conan respectively, in regards to the limitless trials. In those two games, they took the (according to players) most fun part of the game, and made them free. At least with Champions Online, you’re not seeing the best the game has to offer, suckering you into buying the title, followed by immediate disappointment when you realize that you just bought a house based on the mailbox and the garage door, to find the rest of the building had been burned down in a fire.

Champions Online is a fun game that truly deserves at least a try. Now that the limitless demo is here, there’s no reason not to download it.

Fusion Fall Falls Into Free To Play


Fusion Fall, the kid-oriented MMO based on the Cartoon Network universe, boasts seven million registered users. Since the game is going free to play in 2010, I think it’s safe to assume very few of those registered accounts still play, and even fewer are paying subscribers. When a company reports registered accounts rather than active accounts, it’s a sign the latter number is a fraction of the former.

On the heels of Funcom’s announcement of their own free to play MMO, Cartoon Network has announced that Fusion Fall, launched just a year ago, will be going 100% free to play in 2010. Up until then, players who opted to stay free were able to play the game up to level 4, and its accompanying nano-bots. I beta tested the game and, upon launch, got myself to level four after about an hour and a half. Fusion Fall isn’t a freemium (free with premium content) title as much as it is a demo with a full paid product.

The problem that Fusion Fall faces is that the kid’s demographic is not one that pays monthly subscriptions for games. First, the kids themselves rarely have cash on hand and don’t have the avenue to pay the subscription fees themselves (no bank cards, no credit cards). Second, the parents are generally very wary of signing their kids up for these games.

Any subscribers will be reimbursed in the form of some exclusive items.

Another Jagex Title?


Jagex is one of the companies I don’t get to talk about much on MMO Fallout, mainly because their main MMO Runescape doesn’t break much ground, and the upcoming Mechscape/Stellar Dawn title has been under heavy wraps, barring a few breaking news pieces.

Enter Jagex’s Twitter: @OfficialJagex, which revealed today a new title: War of Legends. The game is touted as a free multiplayer strategy game, although it is yet to be known if this will be an MMO or not. It is completely possible that this is a title for Jagex’s partially free game service, FunOrb, although not much else is known on the matter at this time.

More on Jagex as it appears. War of Legends releases early 2010.

Atari Vs Turbine: A Challenger Appears


Not on this lawsuit...

(Updated at bottom with response from Hasbro)
It’s been a while since I’ve updated you all on the ongoing Turbine Vs Atari lawsuit, so a recap is in the bill, Judge Judy style:

  • Plaintiff: Turbine is the developer of Dungeons and Dragons Online. They are suing Atari, the publisher, for not doing an efficient job of promoting the title. Turbine is also accusing Atari of purposely downplaying the game in order to, at a future date, cut the license with the intent of shutting down Dungeons and Dragons Online in favor of Atari’s own rumored upcoming MMO based on the same franchise.
  • Defendant: Atari is the license holder for Dungeons and Dragons and Advanced Dungeons and Dragons video games, and is also the publisher of Dungeons and Dragons Online. They are being sued for fraud.

The implications of a developer-publisher lawsuit are pretty clear. If Turbine wins, they get to keep the license until 2016, which will most likely be several years after DDO is six feet underground. If Turbine loses the lawsuit, you can certainly expect Atari to cut them off at the earliest opportunity, possibly shutting the game down along with them.

More after the break…

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