Tag: MMORPG

Would You Continue Playing If Your Characters Were Wiped?


I love perma-death in games. For instance, in Minecraft I always play on Hardcore Mode. I do so knowing that I could make a few weeks or even months of progress in the game, only to die because a spider killed me or I was poisoned or surprised and fell to my death. But I have more of an appreciation for the game’s atmosphere and cautious nature, as death is no longer simply a setback.

This article has nothing to do with perma-death. Rather, I want to talk about losing your character in a situation where you did not foresee losing it, but still have access to the game. I recently had to reformat my hard drive, and I had no opportunity to backup my saves for Mass Effect, Eschalon, and other games where my saves are not saved online. Since then I’ve found a gap in enthusiasm has left me unable to play Mass Effect to the point I was at before the crash.

I had this problem with games like ArchLord, Earth Eternal, and Hellgate, where even though I couldn’t wait for the new host to take over, once the game relaunched and I set up my account I found myself unable to force my way through the same progress I had made initially.

And those games were just available for a year or so. If RuneScape, for example, one day told me that my character of nine years would be wiped, the decision would be simple. While the grind wouldn’t be nearly as bad, the time invested in my character would be so enormous that anything short of the game’s death would not justify losing that time. And a lot of people would return simply out of brand loyalty, or to start “on even ground,” as they tell me. I cant count myself as part of the flock.

After eight years, Ryzom is shutting down two of its three servers, and instead of merging characters has decided to wipe all accounts. I always look at late-age wipes as a high stakes game of Phoenix. The baby that is birthed from the flames might go on to live a full life. On the other hand, as history has shown us with a certain MMO whose community would strangle me, it is often a last gasp before death.

Hopefully Ryzom will see its community loyal enough to not only return but grow in its new life.

More MMO Kickstarters To Watch Out For


Whenever I talk about Kickstarter projects, I always do so with a simple warning: Kickstarter is a crowd-funding tool for projects that may or may not see the light of day. You are acting as investor, and should be aware that the projects you fund may run into problems and never be completed. Whenever you invest, you should be aware that you are taking a risk. With that knowledge, let’s continue:

1. Island Forge

Island Forge features classic (old-school) RPG elements, with a unique (brand-new) game design. Explore player-created islands and stories, fight creatures, craft items, and level up with a unique health-based experience system. You can meet others in town and form party expeditions to explore and fight creatures. You can also go solo to follow stories at your own pace. Choose your level of peril when setting out on each expedition, or even choose no peril. Earn resources to craft weaponry, potions, spells, and other equipment for your character.

Kickstarter Page: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1391235405/island-forge-establishing-a-creative-player-commun

2. Forge

FORGE plays like a third person shooter, but with the abilities, strategy and pace of MMO PvP combat. It is built with a focus on fun and accessibility, but with the attention to detail and balance of a deep, competitive game. Whether you’re new to first person shooters and MMOs, or a veteran, FORGE will be easy to pick up yet offer much to learn as you play. FORGE places you into an epic fantasy setting, taking on the role of a warrior from a culture unlike any you’ve seen, fighting for your right to return home. FORGE is built to be enjoyable even if you have only a limited amount of game time available each night, keeping the low time requirements and ease of access of a traditional first-person-shooter (FPS). Skill is the only determining factor between victory and defeat, not whether you were able to grind out a set of armor or weapons better than your opponents.

Kickstarter Page: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/166522941/forge?ref=live

3. Sidequest

With SideQuest, we’ve decided to tear down those walls and treat game ideas like they came a la carte, rather than as part of a fixed menu. We’ve taken MMO PvP and endgame elements and married them to a robust single-player campaign; we’ve taken the aesthetic and feel of classic console RPGs and leavened it with modern PC design innovations; we’ve taken Japanese aesthetics and paired them with Western narrative techniques; and we’ve crafted a deep, rich setting and populated it with absurd characters. In short, we believe that it’s possible to have your cake and eat it too.

Kickstarter Page: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1460827633/sidequest?ref=live

4. Quest Fallen

Quest Fallen is an upcoming, multi-platform, massive multiplayer online role playing game for browser, Android and the upcoming Ouya console. It will feature classic top down rpg gameplay with mmo features like guilds/clans, chat/messaging and PvP arenas. There will be an extensive map to explore with multiple dungeons in the beginning. New content and quests will be continually added and updated to keep you coming back.

Kickstarter Page: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ariahstudios/quest-fallen-a-retro-style-mmorpg-web-android-ouya?ref=live

Return To Britannia In September


Fifteen is a big number for any video game to still receive regular support and updates, but Ultima Online has been trucking along since its launch in September 1997. Actually these days it seems like five is a high number for many MMOs to still receive regular updates. Still, the fact that Ultima Online is still alive and kicking says a lot about the development team behind it, and what better way to celebrate than to invite everyone back for a month?

For fifteen years Britannia has been a world of arcane arts and cold steel, a world where the Apprentice can become Legendary, a world where Warriors become Champions. Throughout its rich past Britannia has been a place where histories have unfolded, where new friends have become family, and where each new adventure can lead to great fortune.

Through the month of September, old players are welcome to come back. Simply log into your account and start playing.

Important: The Return to Britannia event does not begin until September 5th. I’m not sure why this isn’t announced on the news page, but it was confirmed elsewhere.

(Source: UO Herald)

The War Z Announced, Zombie Survival MMO


The War Z describes itself as a survival horror MMO, pitting players in a world of zombies and humans in a fight for survival the likes of which we haven’t seen since, well, Day Z. Yes, The War Z takes a great deal of inspiration from the mod to Arma II, even down to the pricing of $30 for the game with no subscription fees. The War Z is currently being developed by Hammerpoint Interactive, a relatively new developer, and is on track for a release this fall. Yes, an MMO set to release within just a quarter or two of being revealed.

Players play on standard servers, of 200 – 400 square kilometers, and will be able to choose from normal and hardcore mode. There will be player vs player combat, and of course player vs zombie. Each server will support up to 250 players, and players will be able to purchase and manage their own War Z servers. As mentioned above, there is no subscription fee for The War Z. The game will be maintained with regular content updates for free, but we aren’t discounting the possibility of a cash shop.

More on The War Z as it appears.

Steam Summer Sales Assault The Wallet


It’s sale time, so get out your wallet and replace the next month’s meals with Ramen because this year is looking fantastic. Right now there aren’t many deals in the MMO realm to speak of, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get in the fun! Check out the current sales below. Remember, as always, prices are in USD and may vary by region. MMO Fallout does not guarantee that items are not region locked, so please read carefully before making your purchase.

TERA Launches With Strong 7-Day Trial


When you launch your game with both a client cost and a subscription, gathering new customers after the initial rush of early adopters can get pretty hard. In recent years, level-based trials with no time limit have replaced the one to two week trials of the past. Another hard wall that developers have faced in bringing in new customers, even with the free trials, is the growing size of game clients. Back when Dungeon Runners shut down, the developers noted that a large percentage of players would never even finish downloading the client, and Dungeon Runners was free!

TERA launches its seven day trial with some pretty generous offerings. Players are able to level up 8 characters to level 23 on one server (assuming you can do that in seven days), with some restrictions to certain chat channels, trade brokers, and player vs player combat. Trial accounts are also not allowed to vote in the elections, so put your vote-rigging plans to rest.

Additionally, if you don’t want to take on the 50 gigabyte installation that is TERA, you can try the limited Gaikai streaming trial. There is nothing to install for this trial, however it only lasts 30 minutes and you are restricted to the warrior, sorcerer, and lancer classes. Additionally, Gaikai services are only available in the United States and Europe.

Hit up the link below for details on both the 7-day trial and the Gaikai streaming demo.

(Source: Try TERA)

Gameglobe Trailer: Create Your Own Worlds


Gameglobe is an upcoming free to play MMO by Square Enix. Published by Bigpoint Entertainment, Gameglobe will be a free to play MMO that tasks players with creating fun and interactive levels for others to play through, or simply playing through the levels that others have created. The game is currently in closed beta, and the short teaser trailer below gives a few small glimpses of action.

More information to come.

The Old Republic May Merge To A Few Super Servers


Back when DC Universe Online lapsed in subscribers, Sony Online Entertainment merged all of the existing servers into four mega-servers. In a similar move, Bioware may just be gearing up for a similar response to dwindling server populations. In an interview with PC Gamer, Daniel Erickson had the following to say about the upcoming group-finder tool:

They will not be cross-server as we are coming up on a huge move to servers with massively higher population caps than we have today.

A win-win situation all around. There hopefully will be more information as Update 1.3 prepares to roll out.

(Source: PC Gamer)

Rift Introduces Three Faction PvP


Check your pulse, we all may be collectively hallucinating. In an almost unexpected move, Trion has announced the impending release of three faction, cross server PvP in the form of Conquest. Not only will players be pledging their allegiance to one of three factions, they will be battling it out for domination of control points in an open world battlefield.

Three faction PvP is an oft-requested feature for fans of player-vs-player conflict, and a very unconventional move for a game like Rift to take. We’ll find out at Rift hits the public test realm.

(Source: Rift Website)