If you haven’t picked up The Secret World, now is your chance to get your hands on an amazing deal. Funcom has made the Massive Edition available on Steam, and until November 1st you can get the whole package at 50% off. The Secret World Massive Edition includes the base game and four DLC “issues” it comes with, as well as issues five, six, seven, and the plague doctor Halloween costume. After November 1st, this package will go back up to its regular price of $59.99.
(Source: Steam)
Today’s MMOrning Shot comes from Funcom, with Age of Conan’s 4.0 update and the release of the Dragon’s Spine. Dragon’s Spine is the first in a series of updates that will bring new content centered around the desert lands to the south and west of the city of Pteion. Check it out on Steam or from Age of Conan’s website.
Today’s MMOrning Shot comes from Funcom, with Age of Conan’s 4.0 update and the release of the Dragon’s Spine. Dragon’s Spine is the first in a series of updates that will bring new content centered around the desert lands to the south and west of the city of Pteion. Check it out on Steam or from Age of Conan’s website.
Funcom has released the latest Age of Conan monthly Game Director Letter, noting that the planned server merger has been delayed due to the team moving offices. Also on the plate for this month is the Great Hyborian Race, which it turns out is not a new race of playable characters. Instead, The Great Hyborian Race involves the creation of a new Blood and Glory server, challenging players to race each other to the top, with prizes awarded for the first to reach level 80 in each class, as well as rewards for players who meet a certain PvP threshold.
During the Great Hyborian Race, we will be asking players to roll a new, fresh character on a Blood and Glory ruleset server (completely new server) and race to the top in PvE and PvP. For the duration of the event, you will be unable to use Offline Levels and we will place restrictions on the use of XP potions and instances.
Players are encouraged to work together with their guild, boosting each other while simultaneously murdering your potential competition.
(Source: Age of Conan)
The Anarchy Online engine upgrade is on its way. Stop laughing, I’m serious, it’s coming, and sooner than you think. Funcom has released their monthly behind the scenes for Anarchy Online, revealing that closed beta isn’t just coming, it is practically here. Signps are expected to open soon for the closed beta, during which players will (understandably) be under a nondisclosure agreement. Following a period of testing, the update will go into open beta, after which it will launch to the general public. If you already know how the beta process works, ignore that previous paragraph.
Also in the news for Anarchy Online is an accompanying cash shop revamp and new player experience, the former of which is available now and the latter of which will accompany the new engine.
(Source: Anarchy Online)
Funcom has released their 2nd quarter finances for 2013, and the results are certainly figures. So for the sake of brevity, let’s go over some figures, shall we? Revenues in Q2 more than doubled those from the same time last year, however Funcom has yet to return to a positive cash flow. Revenues reached 5.4 million, however earnings before interest in tax -253 thousand, a massive improvement over the -47 million from same time last year. Funcom began a restructuring process earlier this year which concluded in May and has left the company close to cash flow neutral, burning just forty two thousand compared to the four million from last quarter. More cash flow improvements are expected to be seen in the latter half of the year.
On the game side, Age of Conan and The Secret World continue to be Funcom’s major sources of revenue, with The Secret World noted specifically for positively affecting the developer’s cash flow. Last quarter, Funcom consolidated its studios into a single location in Durham, North Carolina, focusing on running the existing portfolio as well as working on additional titles.
Funcom’s continuing projects include structuring the Dreamworld engine so that it can be used in mobile and tablet systems. Work continues (allegedly) on the engine updates for Anarchy Online. Funcom’s upcoming games include LEGO Minifigures Online as well as a slate of mobile titles and work-for-hire operations that encompass lower development periods and faster sources of revenue.
(Source: Funcom Release)
Boy, The Secret World, has it really been one year since you graced us with your launch? Despite some hardship along the way, our good friend Joel over at Funcom is proud of what the team has accomplished over the past year. July 3rd marks the beginning of the Guardians of Gaia event, for The Secret World’s first anniversary. The event will task players with defeating the Guardians, the second line of defense for the planet against the Filth. Why are players fighting the guardians of the planet? That depends on your faction, but it primarily has to do with the Guardians breaking the secrecy of The Secret World, that they consider human casualties as an acceptable collateral to stopping The Filth, and that they aren’t very good at their job.
The event will bring in bonuses, gifts, and discounts to all players. Additionally, anyone who has ever played a Funcom game will be able to access The Secret World for a week. The event will kick off Issue #7: A Dream To Kill, where players will uncover a dark force that threatens the entire world.
Check out the whole letter at the link below.
(Source: TSW Director Letter)
Funcom has released Age of Conan’s Game Director Letter for June 2013, discussing the upcoming server mergers, achievements, and more. Foremost, the process to bring all of Age of Conan under one mega-server is still going according to plan, taken on in phases in order to reduce downtime as much as possible. The next phase of the operation is to merge the US and EU servers together, which should be completed by the end of the summer. As part of the merger, Funcom will be archiving characters that have been inactive for a very long time. Note that this is different from when Funcom simply deleted low level, inactive characters nearly three years ago. An archived character will be accessible, according to the post, it will simply take a bit longer to load them the first time as they are pulled from archive.
Also noted in the letter are upcoming stability fixes and dungeon revamps. In response to community feedback, Funcom is looking into adding achievements to Age of Conan and is soliciting suggestions on how they should be implemented.
(Source: Director Letter)
Funcom has released the latest Game Director letter for The Secret World, detailing the upcoming updates of Issue #7 and #8. Coming in the next few weeks, Issue #7 deals with a new threat facing our Secret World co-conspirators: The Filth. The event is set to take place over the course of several events, spawning from the Tokyo district and moving to other areas of the world. The event will begin after the release of Issue #7 and after the first anniversary event for The Secret World.
Over the coming months as we ramp up towards Tokyo, players will be fighting to contain, and drive back the filth which is tainting the world tree. With every patch, this event will move to a new phase until eventually, if players have done enough, they will gain access to Tokyo itself.
Issue #8 deals with players proving their worth by completing training situations with the Council of Venice in order to be certified to enter Tokyo. Only the bravest and most capable will be able to take on the threat that awaits and the Council must be sure you are able to stay alive long enough to make some headway. Scenarios are repeatable and pit the user in a variety of random situations to test their adaptability.
We’ve heard this word random thrown around before, so let me provide a concrete example: Imagine a Scenario in Kingsmouth Church, where the player has been tasked with helping a group of survivors get through the night (12hrs). Every hour or so (in game time 5 minutes), huge numbers of zombies spawn around the church and move to attack the survivors. The player has multiple options to defend against these waves, including traps and tricks they find lying around. Where the random element comes into play is the chance of something else occurring on the waves: Special bosses spawning, survivors panicking and fleeing the church, an infected survivor turning and attacking the others, a helicopter dropping additional supplies or lightning striking randomly in the spaces around the church.
Sounds fun. This comes alongside an augmentation system allowing players to customize their powers toward specific uses. You can read the entire letter at the link below.
(Source: The Secret World)
Funcom has released their Q1 2013 financial details and the news is…good? Revenues have almost tripled compared to the same time last year thanks to the launch of The Secret World last year, which along with Age of Conan now make up the bulk of Funcom’s revenue. As many of you know, Funcom consolidated its live teams to the hub in Durham, North Carolina. Moving forward, the focus is on the developer’s currently operational games as well as a small number of titles currently in development.
As per the above, the company expects the positive effect from the restructuring to materialize in full in the second half of the year. However, significant cost savings were realized in 1Q13 and the operating costs decreased by 1,197 TUSD compared to the previous quarter and by 2,232 TUSD compared to 1Q12.
The Secret World enjoyed its first full quarter under the new buy to play system, increasing player numbers and retention along with the launch of Issue #6: The Last Train To Cairo. Issue #7 releases this summer. Anarchy Online experienced a server merger which increased activity and players on the remaining servers. Funcom continues to work on the major engine upgrade to Anarchy Online. The Lego Minifigures MMO is on schedule for release and is currently in development for the PC in both client and browser form, as well as tablets.
One of Funcom’s lesser known titles, Fashion Week Live, was sold to 505 Games in Q1 2013. Funcom’s Montreal studio is currently working on bringing the Dreamworld technology to tablets, opening new opportunities for the developer. Funcom expects more cost reductions and lower revenues in the second quarter.
(Source: Funcom Finances)
MMO Fallout 