Sony Online Entertainment – Page 4

SOE Releases Revised List

Ask and you shall receive. Owing the massive amount of feedback regarding SOE’s recently announced changes, John Smedley has posted a revised list of coming changes to Sony All Access. In short, the “pick an item” system won’t be coming, however players will be forced to claim the stipend monthly.

We’re lowering the price of All Access to $14.99
We’re going to make it so every subscriber to all our PC games an all access member. Basically there will be one SOE membership for our PC games. Please note there are some minor restrictions around our kids titles (simply put – if you’re a 12 year old who signed up for FR you won’t have access to the adult games so we’ll likely leave the lower priced kids offerings as separate subscriptions for under 12 for the same low prices).
We’re keeping the 500 SC included with the subscription instead of going to the “pick an item” system. We heard you. You didn’t like the change. The only change we are making is that we’re now going to make you claim it monthly. You can still hoard it though I realize this is a bit of a pain but honestly it’s the best compromise we could come up with that solves the problems I mentioned in the other thread.
we are going to be giving our members a 10% discount in our marketplaces.
European players – we have an idea on how to include you in this but we need to discuss with our partners.We have a pretty good idea on this though. give us a bit of time to suss this out.
Nothing is changing with Player Studio items – you’ll still be able to buy them with your 500SC.
Console titles – you’ll notice I only mentioned the PC titles. Our goal is to include the PS3 and PS4 games that we have, but I want to be up front and say that isn’t a done deal.

So you can still hoard station cash, but you will have to claim it manually rather than allow it to accumulate automatically. I have a feeling that something is coming to alleviate SOE of the station cash hoarded on accounts that haven’t been used in years. While a few things have been reversed and cleared up, the details surrounding Sony’s plans for all access are undoubtedly not over yet.

(Source: Reddit)

Station All Access Could Become Cheaper

So not everyone is happy about the recent announcement that Sony Online Entertainment would be replacing the free five hundred Station Cash included with subscriptions and All Access passes, but John Smedley would like to explain a few things. In a Reddit Ask Me Anything, Smedley has explained that the change was for a few reasons. First to allow for larger items to be obtained more quickly, second to deal with the problematic accrual of Station Cash on accounts, third because gamers on SOE’s growing list of console games cannot use Station Cash, and finally because of a new plan for All Access:

We are considering (and are likely going to move forward with) a plan that means if you subscribe to one of our games you are a subscriber to all our games (this applies to PC titles only btw).. all for the current $14.99 a month. That’s a benefit most companies simply can’t offer because they don’t have our portfolio of games.

All Access for SOE’s library currently costs $20. So why is this accumulation of points an issue? User Israellopez explains it best:

In accounting something you owe someone (sc cash) is a liability. Its a benefit that we are given but some of us don’t use, and that’s a problem for accountants. Because on the books the business is saddled with a debt that is just virtual. Its not like it owes a webhosting company a six month Bill, but in accounting they are both liabilities. Its similar to gift cards at a small store, the money paid into a gift card is not income, it’s a liability until it is used … and typically the spend is more then the gc amount. I expect that if the 500sc was more often than not spent in 2 months the accountants wouldn’t care. However I expect that it was accumulating, and increasing on the number of memberships.

In the case of player studio items, Smedley says in the thread that Sony may allow users to buy the items with free station cash and simply eat the cost themselves in terms of providing royalties to the creator. The AMA is still in progress, so head on down.

(Source: Reddit)

Sony Online All Access Changing In February

Sony Online Entertainment has announced upcoming changes to gold membership in Everquest, and not all players will be happy. Instead of the monthly stipend of 500 station cash, members will be able to purchase one item up to two thousand station cash, sans bundles, studio items, etc.

The week of February 3rd, 2014 we will be making a very important change to the Gold Membership level in EverQuest The current benefit of receiving 500 Station Cash (SC) monthly will be replaced with a new program that allows you to select one single item valued up to 2000 SC each month. Nearly all items within the games’ Marketplace will be available for this selection. Players Studio, bundles and additional exclusions may apply. This new benefit must be claimed each month that you are a member as it will not carry over to subsequent months.

The new plan benefits those who save up their station cash for large single purchases, while those who use their stipend to buy multiple cheap items may feel the value of their subscription lessen.

(Source: Eqwire)

MMOrning Shots: DC Universe

Today’s MMOrning Shot comes neither in the morning, nor is it funny second thing.

Lessons From 2013 #9: From Failure Comes Greatness

Storybricks has become my new grammar peeve for this year. When people refer to the cancelled story-building MMO, they are thinking of the Kingdom of Default project. Storybricks, unless I have read the whole ordeal wrong, refers to the platform through which the AI is given its behaviors. Who could have thought that after Storybricks had its rather disastrous Kickstarter campaign, that the next announcement would be partnering with a major game studio? Yes, Storybricks as a product on its own may not have drawn cash from Kickstarter, but it was certainly promising enough for Sony Online Entertainment to take notice.

Hopefully this will be a success story worth talking about when Everquest Next hits next year.

Lessons From 2013 #8: Giving Purpose To Planetside

As fun as it was, Planetside 2 launched without a whole lot of direction. The lack of a lattice system similar to the original Planetside meant that planetary combat was chaotic, with many players simply base jumping by seeking out areas most likely to be empty and therefore captured without resistance. With update 9, Sony Online Entertainment introduced a lattice system, requiring the forward bases be captured in order for more territory to be captured.

The lesson here is that if you’re going to make a sequel, pay attention to what made the original work and have it in at launch rather than months later.

Extra lesson: I need a new Planetside 2 stock photo. This one predates launch.

MMOrning Shots: DC Universe

Today’s MMOrning Shot comes from DC Universe Update 31. Set for release in November, Update 31 brings with it a number of upgrades to prepare the game for launch on the PlayStation 4, including graphical boosts, a new smoother leveling system, and plenty of under the hood updates. Check it out when it goes live and don’t forget that DC Universe on the PlayStation 4 will not require an active PS+ subscription to play online.

Planetside 2 Pledges 10% Of Sales To Veterans

Sony Online Entertainment has announced that a portion of all proceeds made this weekend in Planetside 2 will be donated to the Travis Manion Foundation to support veterans and their families. The Travis Manion Foundation honors the fallen by challenging the living and empowering veterans and survivors. You can read more about the Travis Manion Foundation at http://www.travismanion.org/

This Veteran’s Day weekend, N?ovember 9th – 1?1th, 10% of all in-game marketplace item sales in Planetside 2 will be donated to the Travis Manion foundation to support the nation’s veterans and families of Fallen Heroes.

(Source: Planetside 2 Email)

Planetside 2 Infographic

The Planetside 2 infographic is corny and probably inaccurate. I wouldn’t know, I’m too busy going through my formal attire.

DC Universe Remastered Is Coming

Sony Online Entertainment has posted the latest Producer Letter detailing the upcoming Update 31 and gearing up for launch on the PlayStation 4. What does Update 31 entail?

On a high level, that means a sweeping, game-wide graphical upgrade, a massive design effort to polish and remaster the core leveling game, and a host of technical work that prepares DCUO’s underlying technology not only for launch on a next generation gaming console, but for a long future on it as well. This is without a doubt the biggest technical update we have ever done.

Aside from a massive amount of under the hood fixes, tweaks, and optimizations, DC Universe will also undergo a graphical upgrade (not pictured above), a redesign of several major areas including Centennial Park and Robinson Park in Metropolis and Gotham respectively. The letter also notes that the 1-30 leveling process will be made much more fluid, alongside updates to textures and geometry to make the world feel more seamless, and updates to the way that NPCs act to make them more consistent in combat.

These updates will go live on all platforms, including PlayStation 3, and can be previewed on the test server this week. The update is expected to go live in November.

(Source: DC Universe)

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