Tag: Game

[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

Mobile MMORPG Life After Launches Today


NetEase Inc today announced the North American and Australian launch of LifeAfter, a zombie survival MMORPG for iOS and Android. LifeAfter packs together an MMORPG with gun-toting, hunting and gathering, and crafting. The game launched in China last year to much acclaim and hopes to gain the same following here in the west.

Players are tasked with hunting and gathering to survive, establishing a home base, leveling up to unlock new adventures and game modes, and operating outposts to recruit other survivors.

Check out the trailer above or see more about the game at the official website.

Japan Criminalizes Editing Save Games, Punishable With Jail Time And Fines


Today’s news comes to us from Japan, and if you thought the recent Korean law criminalizing paid boosting was an overreach, just wait until you see this.

Japanese lawmakers passed an amendment to the Unfair Competition Prevention law that makes the modification of save game data illegal within the country. The law not only effects services that create tools to modify game saves but allegedly also includes individuals who make the modifications on their own games.

Guilty parties may be punished with forced payments to the game developer, as well as prison time of no more than five years and fines of no more than 5 million yen, possibly both.

Nintendo appears to be behind this new legislation.

Source: NintendoSoup

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.

Impressions: Torn on Android


I live in a detached house somewhere in the city. My clothes consist of a pair of trainers I found in the dump, some leather clothes I bought at the local clothing store, and a crowbar and Glock 17 that I carry around for personal safety. My job as a bag boy at the local grocery store helps pay for my modest accommodations, but I mostly get my income through gambling at the casino and finding various items at the dump and selling them at the pawn shop for cash. I found two personal computers thrown out by some guy, they work so I sold one and kept the other for when I’m smart enough to use it for its intended purpose: Writing viruses and selling them on the open market.

I may have also waited for a dude to get out of the hospital, only to mug him and put him back in the hospital. With my crowbar.

Such is life in Torn, a game that by its own admission is meant to be played for the long term. Torn has been running on PC for a long time, it has thousands of people online and living their lives in the city at any given time, with tens of thousands online over any 24 hour period. It is a completely text based game and it just launched an app for Android devices that I was invited to take a look at. Over a week later, I’m hooked.

Torn is something of a life simulator, not in the sense that you’ll need to click the button to eat your morning bowl of pizza before heading off to work at exactly 7:30am or you’ll be fired and screw you if you think you’re going to have a real life and play this game, but in the meaning that you’ll be doing life things like going to the gym, betting money on League of Legends games, beating up a random stranger and sending him to the hospital, and then losing the money you stole from him playing craps at the casino.

There is always something to do in Torn, some new feature popping up as you level up, some new goal that comes your way, some new activity to take part in. Upon hitting level three, I gained the ability to visit the bookie at the casino where I found out that players who I believe are employed by the casino (in the video game sense) are able to set up betting pools on actual events. I bet $100 that Fnatic would be Flash Wolves in an actual League of Legends match and came out with the winning bet. There are also bets on real life sports games, in fact I threw down a grand on the 6/4 odds that Manchester United will beat Chelsea in an FA Cup match later this week.

Otherwise I like the fact that everything in this game is going toward an overall goal. Having a job doesn’t just provide a daily income, it boosts your various skills and grants points that over time allow you to do things like steal out of the till and get some cash. Education not only unlocks new things but grants boosts to various stats like intelligence which in turn allows you to get promoted at work faster, upping your daily income even further. Running low level crimes like searching for cash or selling bootleg DVDs gives experience that can lead you to bigger crimes, but getting caught will reduce that experience.

I’m looking forward to continuing to play Torn and will continue to document my experiences as they come about. I apologize to anyone for whom the formatting of this page is absolutely borked because of the mobile screenshots.

Alpha Signups Open For Rend, Open World Survival Game


Starting today, players will be able to get their hands on the invite-only alpha test for Rend, an upcoming faction-based fantasy survival game from Frostkeep Studios. Frostkeep is a new independent studio made up of a number of industry veterans from World of Warcraft, Overwatch, League of Legends, and more.

Launching into early access later this year, Rend promises to challenge gaming tropes by introducing factional combat, RPG mechanics, win/loss conditions, and more into a world of survival.

“Our goal at the start of this project was to continuously grow and improve Rend by gathering direct feedback from our players every step of the way,” said Jeremy Wood, co-founder and CEO, Frostkeep Studios. “As we lovingly craft this game with the help of our players, this project remains just as much theirs as it is ours, and this public alpha marks a significant milestone as we offer even more players around the world the opportunity to enter the world of Rend and join our community.”

More details can be found on the official Steam page. Alpha signups can be found on the official website.

(Source: Press Release)

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)

Failure of Direct: Fidget Spinner Simulator


Valve’s dream for Steam is to have any open platform where virtually anyone can get in and sell their wares, and if you’d like a glimpse of the future under this branding than look no further than Fidget Spinner Simulator, an asset flip developed and pushed onto Steam by a hack Russian developer known for pushing mediocre asset flips under the name bcInteractive. Now operating under the user berdyev, fidget spinner simulator is available for 79 cents.

It doesn’t have trading cards, because Valve smartly updated their systems to prevent parasites like Berdyev from profiting even further off of games that would hardly pass muster at itch.io. For more information on Berdyev, feel free to reference this video by SidAlpha:

But not content with merely being a terrible game, Berdyev dedicates two achievements to mocking autistic people because that’s what twelve year old internet edgelords do these days, and who doesn’t love a good maymay?

With Valve’s new system, the best that we can hope for is that Fidget Spinner Simulator will never be approved for trading cards, making the game utterly useless for the Russian trading card farming market, and that the Steam algorithm will ensure that Berdyev’s titles are buried with the rest of the trash, never to be seen by the average user unless specifically searched for.

NM Impressions: Crash Force


(Editor’s Note: Copy provided by publisher)

Crash Force is a great looking game with a lot of problems, which is fine since the game is in early access and that is exactly what it is good for. I’ve been playing the game for the better part of the last two weeks, and while the foundation is strong and the premise is fun, the game definitely needs more time in the oven before it can be considered fresh baked.

The premise of Crash Force is simple: It is an arena shooter where you play as hovering ships. As a modern shooter, Crash Force introduces MOBA elements in that each ship is in a way its own class, utilizing various weapons and perks to play the game in different ways. You have lighter, faster moving ships, ships with drones, ships with mines. Some can teleport, some can stun, others can even reverse time and regain health. Throw in a metric ton of decals to customize your ship with and you’ve got an arena shooter worthy of your $10.

Crash Force is your everyday arena shooter. You pick a bot, enter into a match, and shoot at your opponents until they are destroyed with the optimal goal of killing more of them and being killed the least. Your ships are tightly controlled and responsive to button inputs, and all of this takes place on an array of diverse maps with blooming colors, open fields, and tight corridors. You can play the game online, Crash Force automatically substitutes bots when there aren’t enough players who hold their own well enough.

While the game is rather fast paced, Crash Force hits some hitches with the number of stuns that can be played out at any given time. Instead of a simple indicator, the game spells out “stunned” and “confused” with a to-the-millisecond timer for how long the effect is in place. A one second stun seems like forever in a game where ships are whipping around and darting in and out of sight, while stuns and confusions can be useful in a strategic term, in the sense of gameplay they tend to be obnoxious and too common, jolting the gameplay to a halt while you watch your ship blow up.

And here is where Crash Force’s biggest problem lies: The fast paced nature of the game does not gel well with the kind of information that the game pumps into you. You have ammo/health/energy indicators in one corner, powerup cooldowns in another, the map in a third, and rankings in the fourth, with the center displaying your hits and relative combat information. There is far too much spread out too wide for this game, and it makes combat unnecessarily confusing and frustrating. Crash Force’s interface would have worked twelve years ago when most screens were still on 800×600, but you can see in the screenshots that it is far too spaced apart with too much screen space dedicated to large kill text/icons.

I’d like to see Crash Force’s UI get overhauled, and to further that point, I found a stock photo of a minimalist UI (source) to use as comparison. Rather than throwing them to the side of the screens, you could allow the player to keep their attention at the center of the screen by making the health/energy/ammo counts meld with the crosshair, with the cooldowns only on screen when activated and somewhere near the center crosshair. In this game nobody has time to count ammunition.

As a snazzy little arena shooter, Crash Force is turning out to be a solid indie title. It just needs a few simple tweaks to the interface and stun/confuse mechanics to balance it out. I’d like to take an extra look at it once it fully launches and some of the issues are ironed out. Interested parties can check the game out on Steam for $10.