Made up of ex-Blizzard developers.
Tag: Company
Z1BR Shuts Off Trading To Stop Dupes
People are playing Z1 Battle Royale enough to find a dupe exploit.
Whatever Happened To: RedBedlam Ltd.
As I delve deep into the “whatever happened to those people” part of our ten year anniversary, one game caught my memory like a flash of lightning in a bowl of chocolate pudding. Whatever happened to that game The Missing Ink?
Actually that answer is obvious: It was shut down. The Missing Ink shut down its servers way back in January 2014 without much of a blurb from the press at the time. The closure was not meant to be permanent as developer Redbedlam announced that they would be retooling the game and keeping the two dimensional paper cutout characters while expanding on the three dimensional world and the things that it offered. That never happened, The Missing Ink never relaunched and for that matter it doesn’t look like Redbedlam ever acknowledged the game’s existence after January 2014.
So what the hell happened to RedBedlam? Thankfully for us, the company is a UK business and as such its records are on public display over at Companies House. A few months after this announcement, RedBedlam posted its fiscal results for the year ending May 31 showing net assets of £136,838. In October 2015, RedBedlam would release the game Bedlam, a first person shooter with a rather odd art style. The game would peak at 315 concurrent users on Steam but not until 2018.
By 2016 these total assets would plummet to £21,385, which appears to be where the company starts circling the drain. Bedlam receives its last patch on November 4, 2015. Fast forward another year and the assets drop to £3,072. By this point the company is running as a shell corporation, as the fiscal reports show that there is only one employee hired, down from five in 2016.
Companies House later filed to strike RedBedlam off of the official record. Apparently someone was around to contest this, as the proposal was removed with cause shortly thereafter. By the end of the 2018 fiscal year, RedBedlam was a dry husk; its fiscal earnings showing a net negative in assets and zero employees still on record.
Of RedBedlam’s eight officers, only one remains: Kerry John Fraser-Robinson, who is presumably keeping the company up and running in name only to pull in what few sales Bedlam is offering and to make phone calls in hopes of getting some investors on board. Otherwise it looks like this is the end for RedBedlam.
[Column] I Came Back To Call Daybreak A Dead Husk
Hey folks,
You may have heard comments down the grapevine that MMO Fallout is planning on a comeback of sorts, but right now I’d like to pick up the mantle to talk about how Daybreak Game Company is a dead company with a bare bones, barely functioning development team. They just don’t care anymore folks. How do I know they don’t care? Whoever wrote the patch notes couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to the spell check and left numerous obvious errors in the final publication.
So what brings me back briefly from my vacation early to talk about a game that I specifically said that I would never talk about again? The launch of Season 4, or the last season that I expect Daybreak will launch for H1Z1. Let’s talk about the elephant in the room to really get you excited for what Daybreak has to offer this season: The company has gone and slashed the price of the season pass by 50% over last season. That’s right, for around the cost of a two cheeseburger value meal (#9) at your local McDonald’s, you can feel disappointed and ripped off.
That’s a joke, folks, McDonald’s value meals are far less disappointing.
And what do you get for your money? Jack-freaking-squat. Season 3 annoyed me into quitting H1Z1 because the challenges were stupid and mostly broken, as was free for all, but ultimately I stuck around to complete the season pass because it didn’t take long and there were a hell of a lot of cosmetics to be unlocked. By comparison, Season 4 offers one outfit split up over the course of the season as well as accompanying AK-47, M17, and crossbow skins to match. Eleven items total. The rest of the pass are coins (2,600 total) and experience boosts. Enough coins to buy one and a half rare skins.
- Scrub M17 (Level 1)
- Scrub Jacket (Level 1)
- Scrub Skirt (Level 18)
- Scrub Pants (Level 40)
- Scrub Backpack (Level 55)
- Scrub Offroader (Level 60)
- Scrub Shoes (Level 65)
- Scrub Armor (Level 80)
- Scrub Crossbow (Level 90)
- Scrub AK-47 (Level 100)
- Scrub Watch (Level 100)
Eleven bleeding items total. Stamp missions have been completely removed from the game, as have daily login rewards. You do now have the privilege of occasionally finding locked chests that you can pay a discount in order to unlock (ala Team Fortress 2) and you’re in luck because there are now six rotating arcade modes.
Six rotating arcade modes for a game that can barely get people into its standard modes. I played a few rounds of arcade mode on launch day and found that Daybreak can just about break 40/100 players at peak hours on a week night. The arcade modes are all based around ideas that probably took a good half hour to program into the game, such as headshot damage only, faster run speed, ATVs only, and pistols/explosives only. And this update was delayed by a week! And the season only runs for 36 days this time around for reasons I can’t honestly comprehend.
As far as game updates go, H1Z1 Season 4 is the That 70’s Show Season 8 of video games. Topher Grace is gone and so is Ashton Kutcher. Instead we get Randy, a guy so hated by the audience that he doesn’t even show up on the cover of the season DVD set. At this point, I can only assume that Daybreak is in need of a big success like say DC Universe Online becoming a smash hit on the Switch, and by smash hit I of course mean the game releasing and making a lot of money as opposed to just getting a lot of people to download, notice that the game has major performance problems, and uninstalling before investing anything in the title.
Now it’s time to go back into my hole and read legal documents. Otherwise I have no opinion on the matter.
Daybreak’s Player Studio Program Isn’t Dead, Revival Coming
Daybreak’s Player Studio program allows modders to create and submit their custom models in Everquest, Everquest II, and Planetside 2. If Daybreak sells the item in the in-game cash shop, you’ll be able to take a portion of the revenue. The future of the Player Studio has been in doubt ever since Daybreak’s acquisition and mass layoffs, however Planetside 2 producer Nick Silva posted this week on the Daybreak official forums to announce that not only has he been put in charge, but that the Player Studio will be given renewed attention.
Silva notes that the process will involve disabling new artist registrations temporarily, set to begin on March 25.
“In the meantime, we will be evaluating options for overhauling the Player Studio site with the intention of allowing broader categories of submissions and a more streamlined submission process. Provided that comes to fruition, we will be once again allowing new artists to join the new and improved program. Before that discussion takes place, we will be sure to process the backlog of Player Studio submissions already waiting in queue. Some of our artists have been waiting for a very long time for any sort of action to be taken on their projects, and for that I apologize.”
Source: Daybreak
Black Friday: Check Out All Of Daybreak Games’ Deals
Black Friday is upon us, and that means deals on everything! For Daybreak Game Company customers, there is a good week’s worth of deals on every game in Daybreak’s library.
Check the list below to see what’s on sale for your preferred title.
- DCUO (Nov. 23 – 26, 2018)
The DCUO Black Friday Sale is back for 2018 with major discounts. Be sure to visit the in-game Marketplace this weekend, and check back on Cyber Monday for some additional superhero-sized deals! - Dungeons & Dragons Online (Nov. 22 – 26, 2018)
Dungeons & Dragons Online offers Black Friday deals including double bonus points for point bundles, sales on all versions of the Raveloft Expansion and deep-discounts on the Deep Gnome Iconic Hero, Dragonblood Prophecy Adventure Pack and more! For a limited time, Otto’s Box is back with with a big character level booster, reincarnation reset timer, cosmetic pet and other bonus items. - EverQuest (Nov. 21 – 27, 2018)
Even though Fall Fun is still in full swing with 50% shorter instance lockout timers for ALL players, EverQuest is ringing in the season with holiday items available in the Marketplace. Members can also score a 25% off sale on the in-game Marketplace. - EverQuest 2 (Nov. 21 – 27, 2018)
EverQuest 2 is offering a 25% off sale for Members on the in-game Marketplace. Added bonuses for Members include double status and double guild XP. - H1Z1 (PlayStation Store: Nov. 21 – 27, 2018; In-game: Nov. 23 – 27, 2018)
Get great deals in-game in H1Z1 on PS4 with its Black Friday sale on crates and Battle Pass Season 2. North American players can also check out the PlayStation Store for even more deals on crowns and the Black Friday bundle starting today at 10 am PT. - Lord of the Rings Online (Nov. 22 – 26, 2018)
Lord of the Rings Online brings the Black Friday deals with double bonus points for point bundles, sales on the Mordor and Mines of Moria expansions, and discounts on Crafting XP Boosts and the High Elf Race. In addition, players will be able to grab the Keepsakes of the Grey Mountains Bundle, Bombur’s Bounty, Weapons of the Depths Cosmetics, and more! - PlanetSide 2 (Nov. 23 – 26, 2018)
Cheers to 6 years! In addition to the anniversary bundle, from Black Friday to Cyber Monday, PlanetSide 2 will have four days of different sales on the Marketplace. Don’t miss out on your chance to score 40% off on infantry weapons, vehicle weapons, infantry & vehicles cosmetics and all camo.
H1Z1 Hits PS4 Open Beta On May 22
H1Z1 is coming to Playstation 4, and you’ll get the opportunity to shoot some guns and fight to the last man standing starting next month. Daybreak Game Company announced this week that H1Z1 is being built from the ground up for the Playstation system with a simplified loot and inventory system to keep the game flowing. In addition to fluidity changes, other alterations are coming to the console version including the removal of crafting as well as changes to the gas system, among others.
“H1Z1 on PS4 is true battle royale mayhem. We have reimagined the game for PlayStation 4 and have designed it to accentuate the essentials of battle royale that make the genre so exciting to watch and play,” said H1Z1 Producer Terrence Yee. “We have added key gameplay differentiators to keep the game frantic and fun — an action shooter’s dream of fast-paced battle royale.”
Daybreak’s plan is to have the game running at 60fps on the Playstation 4 Pro. Open beta for H1Z1 starts May 22.
(Source: Press Release)
New Everquest Server Will Never Catch Up
Everquest pumps out progression servers on a pretty regular basis, but have you ever looked at them and wondered what life would be like if the community never voted to progress past Planes of Power, aka when the game stopped being good (your words, not mine). Well consider that thirst quenched, as Daybreak Game Company has announced that the next progression server will do just that.
When server Agnarr launches on May 24, it will unlock new expansions every 12 weeks, without interference or vote, until finally Planes of Power unlocks. After that, nothing more. The server is true box, meaning one client per computer. As always, All Access membership will be required.
More details can be found at the FAQ below.
(Source: Everquest)
Daybreak Game Company Branching Into Xbox One
(Update: Clarified that DC Universe is the first game to be released)
When Daybreak Game Company spun off of its Sony corporate overlords, most of us assumed and hoped that this would lead to their titles eventually being released on the Xbox. That speculation has come to fruition with the announcement that DC Universe Online will be hitting Xbox One later this spring. The console release will include the full game and all 20 currently released episodes. According to Game Informer, the release will also come with updates for all systems tying in the game with the Legends of Tomorrow television show.
A number of quality of life updates are coming as well, including account-wide unlocks for gear and styles, as well as cross-platform play between PC and Playstation with Xbox players on their own servers.
Hopefully this means more of Daybreak’s games coming to Xbox such as Planetside 2 and Everquest Next.
(Source: Game Informer)
MMO Fallout 