The end of the year is upon us, and what better time to look back at events that have transpired? Over at Perfect World Entertainment, Lead Producer Andy Velasquez took some time to talk about Neverwinter’s first year, or half year to be more specific. The note thanks players for providing extensive feedback regarding Shadowmantle, and notes the team charged with creating the game’s multiple events.
Shadowmantle has been our largest update thus far, and I am extremely proud of my team for being able to get it done so quickly while maintaining a high quality product. As always, there are things that we learned from this expansion that we will look to improve upon in our development process.
Velasquez also notes the release of a separate Russian shard, and how there are (naturally) more updates on the way. Neverwinter was, of course, not without mishaps its first year, including astral diamond dupes, auction house exploits, and the release of the banhammer on foundry exploits.
Executive Producer Jeff Hickman has posted a State of the Game on the Old Republic official website, outlining how Bioware plans on implementing some much-requested features in the coming few months. Spring 2013 sees the launch of The Old Republic’s first expansion, Rise of the Hutt Cartel, and the community is still seeing a rise in population from the recent conversion to free to play. So to start off the year, Hickman posted four main points of interest for the coming year.
Over the coming year, Bioware plans on introducing more content at the end-game section (level 50). For fans of the game’s player vs player combat, Hickman notes that changes are coming to Ilum, describing the update as “a departure from what was there before.” Unfortunately those of you hoping for a re-implementation of the game’s open world PvP are out of luck. Hickman notes that while Bioware will be experimenting with a new approach to open world PvP, do not look for massive open world PvP this year (2013), as Bioware is focused on PvP seasons and warzones.
We’ve got new Operations, new Flashpoints, new difficulty modes, new PvP areas, and of course, the entire Digital Expansion: Rise of the Hutt Cartel (which is targeted at our high level players). We have a plan mapped out for the upcoming year that will keep the elder game fresh and interesting for players of all types.
Hickman takes on the subject of same sex relationships, a topic that has come up in the past and proven controversial for the developer. Same sex relationships are coming to The Old Republic, starting with NPCs on Makeb (the planet coming with the Rise of the Hutt Cartel expansion), and were originally delayed due to work being focused on the game’s free to play transition.
As we have said in the past, allowing same gender romance is something we are very supportive of.
Finally, players will be relieved to see that they will (eventually) be able to transfer characters over to the public test realm.
Cryptic wants to change. They want to stop being the company known for poor communication with its players, and they want to stop this cycle of rushing patches untested. The employees are mad as hell, and they’re not going to take it anymore!
Bill Roper and the team had a lot to say in the State of the Game today, and made a lot of promises of rehabilitation. First, Cryptic is taking the first step: Acknowledgement. In the SOTG, they talk about the recent bugs appearing due to a recent change in the game’s coding in the kitchen sink patch. Furthermore, Cryptic is readily admitting that there was not enough playtesting done in both internal QA and through the test server, in order to rush the patch out. Taking the blame is great, but what is Cryptic really doing to improve conditions?
Foremost, Cryptic is looking towards improving communications between developers and players. The communication begins with bi-weekly question and answer sessions, followed by an ongoing blog by the Game Masters, detailing plans for the game. Monthly developer chats will take place in Cryptic’s IRC channel, and the State of the Game will now be released bi-weekly. An overhaul of the Champions Online website will bring in more fan screenshots, fan art, and ways to stalk your favorite developer.
Boy do I have egg on my face, and that egg is not part of Denny’s free Grand Slam. I’ve often said that although Cryptic has communication issues on the little things (timer resets, feedback, etc), they generally get the picture when an issue becomes big enough. When Daeke announced that the next expansion, Vibora Bay, would be a paid mission pack, the community went, in all fairness, completely ape-poop.
Well Cryptic fans may rejoice, and Cryptic trolls may move on to their next talking point, because Cryptic has an announcement to make. After wading his way through the legion of hate mail, “I quit” emails, and piled on (actually constructive) feedback, Bill Roper and the team have decided to make Vibora Bay, now known as Champions online: Revelation, free to all players.
Revelation is expected mid-March, with more information on the way. All we know currently is that the expansion is a “full fledged expansion pack,” and will feature a storyline full of heroes, villains, new areas, powers, and gameplay mechanics, and maybe even a love interest for your hero (Just kidding).
If Cryptic can stick to this twelve step program, there are good things in Champions Online’s future.
Cryptic wants to change. They want to stop being the company known for poor communication with its players, and they want to stop this cycle of rushing patches untested. The employees are mad as hell, and they’re not going to take it anymore!
Bill Roper and the team had a lot to say in the State of the Game today, and made a lot of promises of rehabilitation. First, Cryptic is taking the first step: Acknowledgement. In the SOTG, they talk about the recent bugs appearing due to a recent change in the game’s coding in the kitchen sink patch. Furthermore, Cryptic is readily admitting that there was not enough playtesting done in both internal QA and through the test server, in order to rush the patch out. Taking the blame is great, but what is Cryptic really doing to improve conditions?
Foremost, Cryptic is looking towards improving communications between developers and players. The communication begins with bi-weekly question and answer sessions, followed by an ongoing blog by the Game Masters, detailing plans for the game. Monthly developer chats will take place in Cryptic’s IRC channel, and the State of the Game will now be released bi-weekly. An overhaul of the Champions Online website will bring in more fan screenshots, fan art, and ways to stalk your favorite developer.
Boy do I have egg on my face, and that egg is not part of Denny’s free Grand Slam. I’ve often said that although Cryptic has communication issues on the little things (timer resets, feedback, etc), they generally get the picture when an issue becomes big enough. When Daeke announced that the next expansion, Vibora Bay, would be a paid mission pack, the community went, in all fairness, completely ape-poop.
Well Cryptic fans may rejoice, and Cryptic trolls may move on to their next talking point, because Cryptic has an announcement to make. After wading his way through the legion of hate mail, “I quit” emails, and piled on (actually constructive) feedback, Bill Roper and the team have decided to make Vibora Bay, now known as Champions online: Revelation, free to all players.
Revelation is expected mid-March, with more information on the way. All we know currently is that the expansion is a “full fledged expansion pack,” and will feature a storyline full of heroes, villains, new areas, powers, and gameplay mechanics, and maybe even a love interest for your hero (Just kidding).
If Cryptic can stick to this twelve step program, there are good things in Champions Online’s future.
MMO Fallout 