Tag: Trion

Trion Removes Falling Damage


riftfae1x

When you have a game centered around exploration, taking a tumble off the side of a cliff can be, well, deadly. One criticism players have held with Rift is over the fact that their character’s bones are made out of crepe paper, as it is apparently rather easy to die from falling off of low heights. In response, Trion added this little note into hotfix #2 for patch 2.1 earlier this month:

Taking damage from falling should be slightly more survivable.

Oh patch notes, you are so silly. The “slightly” is a bit of an understatement, as it is impossible to die after leaping from off of a cliff (unless of course you fall into a pit of spikes or, say, a bag of vipers). Not everyone was entirely pleased with the response of removing fall damage, and Daglar from Rift posted on the forums to explain the update:

When we looked at falling damage, it wasn’t from the perspective of “Zomgz lets dumb down the game because people will fall and then quit” – it was “Will removing this make the game as a whole more enjoyable for the most amount of people, and does it fit into what RIFT is.”

Falling damage, much like the dodo, is gone for good in Rift.

(Source: Rift Forums)

Rift Hit Hard By Layoffs At Trion


riftfae1x

The Christmas season just gets worse for game developers. Trion Worlds has confirmed that a number of people have been laid off “in response to market conditions, product timelines and the natural evolution of our company,” although the developer has not offered an exact number. Trion does not offer figures such as concurrent subscriptions or expansion sales. Rift’s latest expansion, Storm Legion, launched last month. More recently, Trion took control of End of Nations from developer Petroglyph, who suffered layoffs of their own.

We wish the best for Trion’s ex-employees. Numbers by an ex-employee point the layoffs at around 40.

(Source: Gamasutra)

End of Nations Hasn't Been Cancelled, Trion Taking Over


Finally some good news. End of Nations has not had the greatest of times in recent months. Just a few days ago, we learned about major layoffs at the developer Petroglyph Games, coming just shortly after a prior announcement that the game’s open beta would be delayed until further notice to address some major issues facing the MMORTS. With delays and layoffs, it seemed like the persistent strategy game might never hit store shelves. The good news is that Trion is taking over End of Nations development from Petroglyph. In a post on the official forums, Myll Erik laid out the details:

As End of Nations was reaching the pre-launch phase in its lifecycle, we officially brought the game development in house to Trion Worlds and will complete the development internally. Our team has been hard at work implementing many changes based on your feedback from the beta events. Keep checking back for more updates as we are looking forward to showing off some of the cool new things the team has been working on.

Trion is hard at work addressing player concerns, from difficulty curve to a revamped user interface as well as optimizations across the board. Petroglyph is well known for their real time strategy games, including Star Wars: Empire At War.

(Source: Trion Forums)

End of Nations Hasn’t Been Cancelled, Trion Taking Over


Finally some good news. End of Nations has not had the greatest of times in recent months. Just a few days ago, we learned about major layoffs at the developer Petroglyph Games, coming just shortly after a prior announcement that the game’s open beta would be delayed until further notice to address some major issues facing the MMORTS. With delays and layoffs, it seemed like the persistent strategy game might never hit store shelves. The good news is that Trion is taking over End of Nations development from Petroglyph. In a post on the official forums, Myll Erik laid out the details:

As End of Nations was reaching the pre-launch phase in its lifecycle, we officially brought the game development in house to Trion Worlds and will complete the development internally. Our team has been hard at work implementing many changes based on your feedback from the beta events. Keep checking back for more updates as we are looking forward to showing off some of the cool new things the team has been working on.

Trion is hard at work addressing player concerns, from difficulty curve to a revamped user interface as well as optimizations across the board. Petroglyph is well known for their real time strategy games, including Star Wars: Empire At War.

(Source: Trion Forums)

End of Nations Lays Off Staffers


End of Nations just can’t catch a break. At the end of November, we found out that the End of Nations beta would not be going forward until “further notice.” The reason behind the move was stated to be due to important issues that needed to be addressed before the game would be ready for wider consumption. While Petroglyph has stood by the statement that the game is not being cancelled, the fact that the company began refunding purchases made by players would seem to imply that while the game may not be scheduled for termination, that Petroglyph is not entirely sure if the game will ever make open beta.

Eurogamer picked up on good word that 30 people have been laid off at Petroglyph, confirmed somewhat via a Twitter post from writer and game designer Adam Stevens:

 “Well, it appears this winter break will be extended indefinitely. Lay-offs at Petroglyph. Looking like I’ll be Leaving Las Vegas.”

Our thoughts go out to the affected employees, and we wish you all fast employment.

(Source: Eurogamer)

Raptr Giving Away 10,000 Copies of Rift


It’s Corgi time. Do you use Raptr? If you aren’t familiar with the program, Raptr runs on your desktop and tracks your game usage over the PC, PS3 and Xbox360. In essence, Ratpr is quite similar to Xfire, except it also tracks your Xbox/Playstation achievements/trophies. As you play your games more and achieve not just time played but achievements in-game as well, you have the opportunity to unlock rewards (generally in the form of virtual items and coupons for tech gear).

If you achieve “experienced” in any of the games below, you will be able to claim a free copy of Rift. Claim your copy of Rift and rank up on that in Raptr to also claim a free digital upgrade to the collector’s edition and a free pair of Dwarven Smithy goggles. Sorry, folks, the rewards system is in beta and is only available in the US, Canada, UK, France, and Germany.

EVE Online (PC)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PC)
Aion (PC)
EverQuest 2 (PC)
Diablo III (PC)
World of Tanks (PC)
Champions Online (PC)
World of Warcraft (PC)
The Witcher 2 (PC)
Diablo III Beta (PC)
League of Legends (PC)
Everquest (PC)
Star Wars: The Old Republic (PC)
The Lord Of The Rings Online (PC)

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)

Return To Telara For One Week


Good news, Telarans. Well, ex-Telarans. It’s been one year since Rift launched, and Trion wants to bring back all of its past subscribers, even those above level 20. Starting today, March 8th, and running until March 14th, anyone with a past subscription to Rift will find their accounts reactivated to join in the festivities. Take part in carnival games, enjoy the festivities, or just go back to your grind.

After the 14th, accounts without a subscription will revert back to Rift Lite, and any character that is above level 20 will be inaccessible without a subscription.

(Source: Rift)

Rift Raids Southeast Asia Via Asiasoft.


World of Warcraft has shown us that when it comes to dominating the marketplace, Asia is just as important as the West. In an article on Games Industry, Trion has announced a partnership with Asiasoft to bring Rift to multiple Southeast Asian countries.

“Asiasoft, with its deep reach into Southeast Asian countries, is an ideal partner to realise our goal of bringing original connected experiences like Rift to gamers everywhere.”

(Source: Gamesindustry.biz)

Rift: $100 Million In Revenue


For every decent article I write on this website, I’m inundated with people asking me to talk about “the great fall of Rift,” and how the game is apparently sliding down a population exodus to match or beat that of Warhammer Online all those years back. Still, when I have to make announcements like Rift placing more servers on Trial status and making sure everyone knows it is not the same as a merger, and assuring people that Rift’s consistent promotions to bring the client price down cheaper than a McDonald’s value meal is actually an aggressive marketing strategy by Trion rather than the desperate grab for players that some make it out to be, my job becomes rather difficult.

So my greatest asset is figures. Hard figures released by the developer, not half baked xfire statistics or polls on a thread where 80% of the people voting “I cancelled and hate this game” have never even purchased the game. According to Reuters, Trion has pulled in over $100 million in Rift during 2011, according to Trion CEO Lars Butler. And with impending releases in Asia, this figure only stands to increase over 2012. Trion has also received an injection of $85 million (this is not figured into the revenue) by investors.

$100 million in revenue feels more realistic when you account that at least $50 million of that came through initial box sales when Trion reported one million sales, before the major price reductions began. Figuring out the actual number of boxes sold (digital and retail combined) would be next to impossible with all the promotions Trion has done over the past six or seven months.

(Source: Games Industry)