Tag: Champions Online

Cryptic Studios Discontinued, Being Sold Off


But wait, Omali, you say. Wasn’t Cryptic Studios recording a one thousand percent increase in revenue from Champions Online? Why would Atari be writing the company off? Cryptic may be better of than they were in 2009 ($17.9 million loss) at a $7.5 million loss for 2010, but a loss is a loss, and it looks like Atari is jumping ship. Actually, according to the financial report, the company has been “discontinued” since March 31st. Atari plans on continuing support for Champions Online and Star Trek Online, until a buyer can be found.

“In line with the previously stated strategy of fewer but more profitable releases and further expansion into casual online and mobile games, the Company has determined that external development creates more flexibility in the changing marketplace,”

The development of Neverwinter is apparently not altered by this news, at least for the time being.

So the question remains: Who is the buyer? I have a feeling Atari already has a buyer, and rumors are floating around that Jack Emmert (Cryptic Studios co-founder) is looking to rebuy his company. On the other hand, GamersFirst could always buy up the studio and turn both games into cash shops with games attached, filled to the brim with cheaters and gold farmers.

Source: Gamasutra

Vivox Voice Chat Coming To Cryptic Studios Titles


Cryptic Studios

Vivox is a company you may be familiar with, even if you don’t fully recognize the name. The company provides voice chat to a wide range of MMOs and services, from Sony Online Entertainment (Everquest/Star Wars Galaxies), Fallen Earth, Eve Online, and even All Points…moving on. Vivox also hosts for titles like IMVU, D&D Insider, NCsoft, and more.

The company has taken the MMO industry by storm, and if your MMO has voice chat (Combat Arms, Global Agenda, RoM, I could go on), the chat is likely provided via partnership with Vivox. So, unsurprisingly, in addition to Vivox’s continued Skynet-esque approach to inserting itself into every MMO on the market, Cryptic announced on the Champions Online and Star Trek Online websites that the two will be receiving voice chat.

Vivox, Inc., the number one integrated voice platform for the Social Web, and Cryptic Studios, a leading developer of massively-multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPG) and a subsidiary of Atari, Inc., today announced a platform agreement that will integrate Vivox Voice services into all Cryptic titles.

The announcement does note that the chat function is coming to “all Cryptic titles,” and given the reliance on teamwork in Neverwinter Online, it is safe to assume that Vivox will also be providing support for that game as well.

Champions Online: 1,000% More Money


Atari, and by extension Cryptic

By now this type of news shouldn’t be too surprising, and I doubt anyone expected to see a headline: “Cryptic announces major loss in revenue after move to free to play.” As Turbine, Sony, and more have proven before us, the seeming majority who bash everything with a free option and a cash shop ultimately turn up as a very vocal, very tiny minority. There are, of course, those who will claim that Champions Online will have died without making the switch, and they are probably correct in that assessment.

However, if Cryptic Studios is going anywhere now, they’re going to the bank. According to Cryptic, the number of unique logins, concurrent players, and revenue have spiked over 1,000% since the game went free last month. To celebrate, Cryptic is placing a one-hour xp boost in the Cryptic Store for free, limited one per account. If you’re jonesing for some quick cash, the item is apparently tradeable, so save it and see if someone will buy it for a good amount of in-game money.

Having Champions Online free to play will be an interesting move in the months/year to come, as this means more competition for City of Heroes and DC Universe. Will the competition have to adapt to survive? Will Iron Man have to face his one true fear in order to defeat his nemesis? Find out all this and more! On the next issue of Amazing Issues of Amazing Amazements!

Since it had to be asked: Does Bill Roper regret leaving Cryptic now? Someone just missed a fat bonus check.

What The Hell Happened This Week? Catching Up Edition


My coke, my new keyboard.

In case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve been out in North Carolina for the past week or so (hence the lack of updates) in a period of what I can only refer to as not having the internet, at all. But, now that I’m back, it’s time for a quick wrapup of what I should have written about at the time, but didn’t, so now the news is coming a few days too late. Just like getting a newspaper, right?

1. Enjoying the Rift Beta

I tweeted two RIFT VIP keys before I left, and hopefully those two people are enjoying the current beta event, which was extended to Saturday morning. I hope to have more of these giveaways in the future, so subscribe to my twitter in the right hand side, or follow @mmofallout so you can take part, and so that my internet ego my grow to epic proportions.

2. That Superhero MMO Is A Bestseller

DC Universe became Sony Online Entertainment’s best selling MMO to date, also topping Steam’s sales charts over the past week. In fact, DCU is selling so well that the title is having a hard time staying in stock in many retailers, I imagine partially due to people like myself who put down a few bucks to reserve the game, but went ahead and bought it somewhere else instead.

3. All Points Bulletin says “Two Strikes, and You’re Out”

At least according to Jagex, not having a no tolerance policy on cheating works to keep paying customers who may have gone out of line once, but are indeed salvageable by the great legitimate-promoting gods. So K2 Networks announced on their blog that they will be instituting a two-strike policy when APB goes live. Cheat once and you are temporarily banned, cheat twice and you are permanently banned. Of course, one could glance at Valve, whose previous policy of banning for five years was rescinded because the accounts went right back to cheating, but I wouldn’t want to distill the hope well.

4. That Other Superhero MMO Is Now Free

Champions Online may not be Cryptic’s first MMO, but it is their first AAA title to go partially free to play. Launching on the 25th, Cryptic is reporting large increases in population (most of them free players). Free players will find themselves with access to all of the game’s content, with restricted arche-types, with access to purchase the premium packs from the Cryptic Store. The premium packs are made up of the expansions that were released over the past year or so.

5. No Loving For EA’s MMOs, Say Investors

At least according to Gamasutra. With Star Wars: The Old Republic on its way, investors are a bit scared to support the giant corporation, looking back at the poor performance of Warhammer Online and especially after the two month lifespan that was All Points Bulletin. Bioware may have had successes in the past, but this is the company’s first dive into the MMO genre, and if Richard Garriot has taught us anything, even having a successful past in the field does not guarantee that your current project won’t go directly into the trash bin.

The Old Republic is being backed by a powerful company and developed by one with a name in the gaming business, both of which mean absolutely nothing in terms of whether or not the game will succeed, especially against the odds of its budget.

6. Codemasters Reveals Anti-Hacking Service

Codemasters hates account thieves, and for players of Lord of the Rings Online (in Europe), they are now offering a service for those of you who have had your accounts stolen. Players must be eligible to raise a support ticket, report the incident within seven days of it occurring, and the service also requires GM verification. Meeting these three requirements will reimburse the player and allow them to get back to where they were pre-account cleaning. A word of warning, however, abuse of the system may lead to a permanent ban.

I feel like I’ve been gone for a good month. Oh well, back to the old grind stone!

Champions Online: The McRib, er Lifetime Subscriptions, Back.


 

A Lifetime of Champions...

 

When Champions Online went into preorder, Cryptic offered a lifetime subscription for two hundred dollars, giving players the perks of subscribing (foremost being able to play) as well as a few other bonuses, free swag, etc. The lifetime subscription went away when the game launched, after a few pre-launch issues, and after the usual early adopters finished saying “I paid a lifetime subscription for this?” the subject mostly went away.

Well, with the timely launch of Champions Online free to play this spring, and no doubt the recent return of the McRib, Cryptic Studios would like to announce that the Champions Online lifetime membership is back…for 33% higher cost than you will remember. Now three hundred dollars, the Champions Online lifetime subscription will grant unmitigated access to the subscriber perks, plus access to the hottest place in Millennium City: The VIP lounge (Warning: Escort service not included). At three hundred, the cost of membership roughly equates to twenty months of VIP time, so if you plan on subscribing longer than that, you’re probably better off just paying the money up front and not having to pay more later on.

Well someone will find love in the lifetime subscription, and if you don’t…well, that’s your perogative? People seem to be taking this news too seriously on other websites, and by people I mean the usual Cryptic trolls who follow every news article on Champions Online so they can call Cryptic “Craptic” and giggle like little girls that they’ve won the argument. It’s fine to show your unbridled, and some would say slightly stalker-ish, rage towards Cryptic if you’d purchased the game and were disappointed, but eventually you have to move on from posting in every news article about how Bill Roper/Jack Emmert is the devil and how you will never buy from them again.

You can find out more information on the Champions Online lifetime subscription by checking out this website: http://www.champions-online.com/lifetime

Looking Back, Moving Forward: October ’10


A BBB Month

If you woke up with a strange urge to gorge yourself on meat stuffed with other meats, it must be November…or just another Monday morning. With November coming, and the holiday season right around the corner, we take a look back on what October brought us: Halloween events, particularly in the hat trading simulator formerly known as…I believe it was called Team Forts. Yes, while we were busy killing all the demons (only to find out we were the demons), it was business as usual in the land of MMOs and the developers who create them.

Naturally the Better Business Bureau makes number one on our list. Now, most of the companies remained unchanged with their scores since July, except for Cryptic Studios who apparently took my advice and started replying to complaints. Their score now sits at an A- from its original C. The “Checking In With The BBB” will be back in January.

DC Universe Online was delayed. Sorry, Joker! Those who preorder before November 15th get guaranteed access to the beta, however. Those who didn’t preorder get jack squat. Although there is no set date, DC Universe Online is set to go live sometime in early 2011.

Square Enix announced an embargo…I mean a voluntary request that reviewers hold off for thirty days, a threat I would like to see enforced through practically every gaming website/magazine in existence losing their free swag, because the grand majority completely ignored this request. You can still send us swag, Square, we love you for your need to smother your customers, not in spite of it.

And speaking of Final Fantasy XIV, the game bombed on Amazon.jp. Final Fantasy XIV on Amazon’s Japanese website still carries a 1.5 star rating, with 137 one-star ratings to five one-star ratings. Square Enix would later reward early adopters with a free extra month of the game. My apologies to the owners of Gizzard Blendtertainment for any confusion that the article caused.

Lord of the Rings Online in Europe…what a saga. Through October, MMO Fallout brought you weekly updates on the situation regarding LOTRO’s release in Europe under Codemasters, as well as our own speculations (that turned out to be correct) on whether or not the issues were really technical. Codemasters announced that Lord of the Rings Online Europe will make the free to play transition on November 2nd.

Speaking of cash shops, Eve Online is getting one. Don’t worry, kids, it’s only vanity items. In the same interview, CCP’s own Tori Olafsson denied any claims that the developer was working on an Eve Online 2, or reboot of Eve, noting that such options had “no purpose.”

Oh don’t tell me you didn’t see this coming! With the launch of the new Everquest II Extended, Sony announced that Everquest II servers would be merging, shutting down a total of six servers.

All Points Bulletin joins the ranks of Earth Eternal in games that are dead, but not really dead because someone might be buying them, but they aren’t playable. Neither game is online, and though we know there is a buyer for Earth Eternal, and likely one for All Points Bulletin, we still don’t know who it is yet.

And finally, likely the biggest double-take of October, the announcement that Champions Online would be going free to play. Yes, Cryptic wants to take their thumb out of the pie and shove their entire fist into it as Champions Online goes partially Turbine this coming Q1 2011. More on the Champions Online transition…soon.

Looking Back, Moving Forward: October '10


A BBB Month

If you woke up with a strange urge to gorge yourself on meat stuffed with other meats, it must be November…or just another Monday morning. With November coming, and the holiday season right around the corner, we take a look back on what October brought us: Halloween events, particularly in the hat trading simulator formerly known as…I believe it was called Team Forts. Yes, while we were busy killing all the demons (only to find out we were the demons), it was business as usual in the land of MMOs and the developers who create them.

Naturally the Better Business Bureau makes number one on our list. Now, most of the companies remained unchanged with their scores since July, except for Cryptic Studios who apparently took my advice and started replying to complaints. Their score now sits at an A- from its original C. The “Checking In With The BBB” will be back in January.

DC Universe Online was delayed. Sorry, Joker! Those who preorder before November 15th get guaranteed access to the beta, however. Those who didn’t preorder get jack squat. Although there is no set date, DC Universe Online is set to go live sometime in early 2011.

Square Enix announced an embargo…I mean a voluntary request that reviewers hold off for thirty days, a threat I would like to see enforced through practically every gaming website/magazine in existence losing their free swag, because the grand majority completely ignored this request. You can still send us swag, Square, we love you for your need to smother your customers, not in spite of it.

And speaking of Final Fantasy XIV, the game bombed on Amazon.jp. Final Fantasy XIV on Amazon’s Japanese website still carries a 1.5 star rating, with 137 one-star ratings to five one-star ratings. Square Enix would later reward early adopters with a free extra month of the game. My apologies to the owners of Gizzard Blendtertainment for any confusion that the article caused.

Lord of the Rings Online in Europe…what a saga. Through October, MMO Fallout brought you weekly updates on the situation regarding LOTRO’s release in Europe under Codemasters, as well as our own speculations (that turned out to be correct) on whether or not the issues were really technical. Codemasters announced that Lord of the Rings Online Europe will make the free to play transition on November 2nd.

Speaking of cash shops, Eve Online is getting one. Don’t worry, kids, it’s only vanity items. In the same interview, CCP’s own Tori Olafsson denied any claims that the developer was working on an Eve Online 2, or reboot of Eve, noting that such options had “no purpose.”

Oh don’t tell me you didn’t see this coming! With the launch of the new Everquest II Extended, Sony announced that Everquest II servers would be merging, shutting down a total of six servers.

All Points Bulletin joins the ranks of Earth Eternal in games that are dead, but not really dead because someone might be buying them, but they aren’t playable. Neither game is online, and though we know there is a buyer for Earth Eternal, and likely one for All Points Bulletin, we still don’t know who it is yet.

And finally, likely the biggest double-take of October, the announcement that Champions Online would be going free to play. Yes, Cryptic wants to take their thumb out of the pie and shove their entire fist into it as Champions Online goes partially Turbine this coming Q1 2011. More on the Champions Online transition…soon.

Champions Online Heading Free To Play


Gustav Rancero says: I haven't appeared in a while.

When Bill Roper left Cryptic Studios, I couldn’t help but feel that great change was to come to the world of Cryptic’s two MMOs: Champions Online and Star Trek Online. It isn’t that Roper is necessarily a bad person, just that he loved cash shops with the kind of passion that can only be found between a man and Scarlett Johansson. Since then we’ve received news that Cryptic is leaving the MMO scene on future titles, putting less of a focus on the cash shop in Star Trek Online, with more to come.

After a year of mandatory subscription, Cryptic announced that they are moving towards the free to play model, ala Turbine, the cash shop will start offering healing aids, buffs, reward multipliers, and more. The subscription will still be there, but players will have a free to play option with limitations.

  • Silver Members:
    • Have access to all zones.
    • Do not have access to custom archetypes.
    • Have 2 character slots (Gold = 8).
    • Have 1 inventory bag slot (Gold = 4).
    • Cannot utilize power tinting.
    • Can place 5 items at any time on the auction house (Gold = 10).
    • Cannot access veteran rewards.
    • Chat restricted for first 20 hours.
    • Forums restricted to posting in certain boards (can read all boards).
    • Self-help knowledge base (Gold access free live support)
    • Do not have priority login (Gold gain priority)
  • Purchasable for Silver:
    • Gold archetypes.
    • Adventure packs.
    • Gold costume parts (have access to 3,000+ parts initially).
    • Gold costumes.
    • Gold travel powers

Hopefully Cryptic Studios will enjoy the same success with this transition that Turbine and Sony have enjoyed with their respective free to play transitions. The model Cryptic presented sounds a lot less over-encroaching with the cash shop, and maybe MMO Fallout’s favorite Cryptic representative will stop by and give us a one on one? I’m already in the bathroom performing the ritual, just stand in front of the mirror and say: CapnLogan CapnLogan CapnLogan!

Of course, this transition brings up the age old question: Is Champions Online going free to play DDO-Style or LOTRO-style, meaning is it changing systems because a forced-subscription model is no longer viable and this is Cryptic’s Final Fantasy (Dungeons and Dragons Online) or because the previous model was fine but Cryptic sees this model doing even better (Lord of the Rings Online)? The answer, of course, can only be found in speculation, and hopefully my sentiments about Star Trek Online turn out to be true.

“I have my concerns about Champions Online passing the MMO Turing Test, but I have a lot more faith in Star Trek Online’s long term viability.”

More on Champions Online as it appears. There is currently no set date for the free to play transition, however the beta will begin

 

Community Concerns #2: Cryptic Leaving The MMO Scene


Possibly Neverwinter Wonders

“The big change is the development philosophy. There are some more changes coming in terms of the games, but we’ll cover that in the months to come. The big change is that we’re not making MMOs, we’re making online multiplayer games.”
-Jack Emmert, CEO, Cryptic Studios.

Things are really bustling over at Cryptic Studios. Bill Roper and Craig Zinkievich are gone, and the throne has been passed to Jack Emmert, who wow’ed us with the announcement that Star Trek Online would be putting less emphasis on cash shop items in the future. Both Champions Online and Star Trek Online boast healthy numbers, according to Emmert, which intrigues us (read: me) here at MMO Fallout all the more with Cryptic’s announcement that they are no longer developing MMOs.

I wanted to talk, today, about comments I’ve been seeing both in my own emails and on other forums, on Cryptic’s shift to these CORPG’s (Cooperative Online Role Playing Game), and why this is causing fear in a few players. Culminating in CEO Jack Emmert’s statement above that Cryptic is moving away from MMOs and onto online cooperative games with Neverwinter Wonders, the question inevitably comes up as to what this means for longevity in Star Trek Online and Champions Online. Cryptic’s two MMOs have come under fire in recent months with concerns that the games may not have much in terms of long term viability, and statements like the one I presented above just add fuel to the fire.

Jack Emmert refers to the status of Champions Online and Star Trek Online as “healthy” and “significant,” respectively, and really all we can do is take his word on it. Champions Online recently reached its first birthday, and is still receiving updates and booster packs (with Demonflame on its way). Star Trek Online has somewhat turned into Cryptic’s main product, and is still receiving regular content updates in the form of weekly episodes and occasional larger updates. Cryptic is set on getting in touch with their community with regular question and answer sessions, as well as monthly “state of the game” addresses.

So when I say that the concerns are understandable, and even justified, I want it to be clear that they are overreactions. Cryptic’s change in pace to non-MMO titles may actually be a good thing, as keeping Champions Online and Star Trek Online as their only two MMOs ensures that the titles won’t have to fight one another to the death in order to obtain attention from Emmert and crew. Remember, Sony and NCsoft may have major libraries of MMOs, but most of their games are being worked on by completely different developers. Cryptic has separate teams, but they are still one company. If Paragon Studios went under, for example, the Aion team would be unaffected.

I have my concerns about Champions Online passing the MMO Turing Test, but I have a lot more faith in Star Trek Online’s long term viability.

Remember, if I see any concern that something is going terribly wrong with any MMO, this website is the first place you will find it. I expressed my concerns greatly on All Points Bulletin, and on the flip side I said over a year ago that Star Wars Galaxies wasn’t going anywhere, and it is still trudging along with regular support. This wasn’t the greatest choice of words for Emmert, and he needs to address this quickly on the forums/website for both games.

More on Cryptic Studios as they appear.

Cryptic Studios Repents(?) With Circular Logic


They don't want Klingon content!

In most of my articles about Cryptic Studios, I talk about how despite the fact that the company is always rushing up yelling to players to give them more feedback, they usually end up only fixing the issues that should have been blatantly obvious in the first place. Other than the do-or-die fixes, most other feedback is pushed into oblivion, if not completely ignored altogether. In my staple case, I referenced that not only did  someone think putting a two hour cooldown timer on the Blood Moon portals was a good thing, but made the exact same mistake going into the winter event. Yes, I’m riding on that example.

In the latest State of the Game, Cryptic wants to make amends…again. Foremost, Cryptic wants to address growing complaints over the game’s cash shop. dStahl has promised us that “coveted items” available in the cash shop will be available in-game as well. When the subject came to the Klingon faction, Stahl promised that the faction would become a full PvP faction with more faction-specific PvE missions and rewards, as well as veteran rewards suited for Klingon players. As for why the Klingon faction will never be up to par with the Federation, well Cryptic just doesn’t have the manpower, and not enough people play the Klingon faction.

There’s circular logic for you. Not enough people play the Klingon faction to warrant spending resources beefing it up to the Federation level, but the reason not enough people play is because the Klingon faction launched with barely any content.

It’s good to see that Star Trek Online is reportedly healthy, with a growing number of lifetime subscribers and normal subscribers, but slightly disappointing to see Cryptic still using their patented circular logic.