Tag: Trion

Waiting Official Announcement: Rift Server Mergers


The moment many dedicated trolls have been waiting for since Rift launched last year has finally arrived. According to Rift Junkies, players are being greeted in-game with a new Message of the Day detailing upcoming server mergers. According to the MotD, the last day to move yourself to a new server will be January 18th, when those servers will be marked “trial servers” and character creation will be locked. Otherwise, the Rift server transfer is still in effect, and players can choose to move to whatever server they please.

Last year I pointed out that Rift was performing a soft shut down of servers by calling them trial servers and suggesting that players move off of them. There has been no announcement by Trion on the forums or website, outside of the in-game MotD. The servers will be merged as follows, according to information gathered by Rift Junkies:

Transferring Shard: –> Receiving Shard:
PVE
Belmont –> Millrush
Galena –> Millrush
Atrophinius –> Greenscale
Crucia –> Greenscale
Alsbeth –> Shatterbone
PVE – RP
Estrael –> Faeblight
Shadefallen –> Faeblight
PVP
Sunrest(PVP-RP) –> Deepstrike
Freeholme –> Deepstrike
Dayblind –> Deepstrike
Faemist –> Briarcliff

Video of the Year: Ascend A Friend, Rift


Sure, it may be a blatant parody of the Old Spice guy, but does the Old Spice guy fight invading aliens with a Corgi? I didn’t think so.

Runner Up: Your Mom’s Video Blog, Age of Empires Online

I’ve had a corn sandwich.

Trion Hacked: Details Still Sparse


Is anyone else getting tired of hearing every month of new developers being hacked? Trion announced today that their servers have been breached, and a database including usernames, encrypted passwords, birth dates, email addresses, billing addresses, and the first and last four numbers of associated credit cards was accessed.

There is no evidence, and we have no reason to believe, that full credit card information was accessed or compromised in any way. We have already taken further action to strengthen our systems, even as we, with external security experts, continue to research the extent of the unauthorized access.

Head over to Trion’s website to read the whole announcement and for more information. Users are required to change their passwords, reset their security locks, and choose new security questions. Those who follow these steps will receive three free days added to their account, regardless of whether or not they are currently subscribed.

(Source: Announcement)

Rift F2P? Over Scott Hartsman’s Dead Body


Will Rift eventually become free to play? No one can say for sure. As long as Scott Hartsman has a say, however, anyone who wants to play the MMO will have to pay up. In an interview with Eurogamer, Scott Hartsman of Trion stated that Rift is still growing, and that there are absolutely no plans to change face and make the game free. After all, the game is so pupillary, why would they reduce to 85% of the community (ala the 85/10/5 rule) paying nothing?

“One of the assumptions people make is you can just take a game and throw a switch and change the model. For starters, you’d have to decide that that would be a good thing, and I do not think it would be – that would be a fairly large net negative for Rift and Rift community.”

Sorry, folks! If you want to get into Rift, why not take advantage of Trion’s rather aggressive sales strategy? The game is on sale very cheap, very often.

Rift F2P? Over Scott Hartsman's Dead Body


Will Rift eventually become free to play? No one can say for sure. As long as Scott Hartsman has a say, however, anyone who wants to play the MMO will have to pay up. In an interview with Eurogamer, Scott Hartsman of Trion stated that Rift is still growing, and that there are absolutely no plans to change face and make the game free. After all, the game is so pupillary, why would they reduce to 85% of the community (ala the 85/10/5 rule) paying nothing?

“One of the assumptions people make is you can just take a game and throw a switch and change the model. For starters, you’d have to decide that that would be a good thing, and I do not think it would be – that would be a fairly large net negative for Rift and Rift community.”

Sorry, folks! If you want to get into Rift, why not take advantage of Trion’s rather aggressive sales strategy? The game is on sale very cheap, very often.

Rift: We Are World of Warcraft's Top Competition


Does Rift have one million subscribers? I have no idea, only Trion knows that information and the furthest they will move into specific information is the claim that Rift is number two in the market, and still growing. Either way, Trion is not a stranger to trash talking, and in an interview with Industry Gamers, Lars Butler wants Blizzard to know that Rift and its band of Hulkamaniacs are about to put the smack down at this year’s SummerSlam.

“I think nobody can ever predict that there’s another WoW because WoW basically had, for seven years, no competition. There was nobody launching that created an experience that was even remotely comparable – never as deep, never as polished. Now that has changed, obviously. Rift is out there as the most serious competitor they ever had, and now with Rift updating and evolving in the most dramatic way, that is changing everyday. Essentially, with every new update, the landscape is changing. But our goal is not necessarily to create one giant product that everybody has to play, but to give people choice.”

With Rift launching earlier this year, Trion is looking to expand its presence in the MMO market with the launch of End of Nations early next year, an MMORTS with a free to play model, and Defiance further along the line. Defiance is set as an MMO shooter, coinciding with the Syfy television series.

Still, mincing fighting words with the behemoth known as Blizzard has historically not gone well for the little guy, as Funcom and Mythic could easily tell you. We’ll have to wait and see if Trion has written a check their ass can’t cash.

Rift: We Are World of Warcraft’s Top Competition


Does Rift have one million subscribers? I have no idea, only Trion knows that information and the furthest they will move into specific information is the claim that Rift is number two in the market, and still growing. Either way, Trion is not a stranger to trash talking, and in an interview with Industry Gamers, Lars Butler wants Blizzard to know that Rift and its band of Hulkamaniacs are about to put the smack down at this year’s SummerSlam.

“I think nobody can ever predict that there’s another WoW because WoW basically had, for seven years, no competition. There was nobody launching that created an experience that was even remotely comparable – never as deep, never as polished. Now that has changed, obviously. Rift is out there as the most serious competitor they ever had, and now with Rift updating and evolving in the most dramatic way, that is changing everyday. Essentially, with every new update, the landscape is changing. But our goal is not necessarily to create one giant product that everybody has to play, but to give people choice.”

With Rift launching earlier this year, Trion is looking to expand its presence in the MMO market with the launch of End of Nations early next year, an MMORTS with a free to play model, and Defiance further along the line. Defiance is set as an MMO shooter, coinciding with the Syfy television series.

Still, mincing fighting words with the behemoth known as Blizzard has historically not gone well for the little guy, as Funcom and Mythic could easily tell you. We’ll have to wait and see if Trion has written a check their ass can’t cash.

Video of the ____: This Rift Is Now Diamonds


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqqT-redSJ0

Hello ladies. Look at your video, now look back. This is what your video could look like if you parodied Old Spice. This advertisement for Rift may not be the most unique, but at least worth a chuckle or two.

Rift Has Over 1 Million Customers, Is #2 In West


Alright everyone, pitchforks and torches are in the barrels to your right, lighter fluid and booze to be handed out liberally and excessively. In an article on Gamasutra, Trion’s own David Reid made a few statements on premium MMOs and the subscription model. He mentions how companies need to adapt and evolve in order to survive an increasing demanding market with more and more cheap alternatives sprouting every day. Trion is currently running Rift, with upcoming free to play RTS End of Nations and upcoming shooter Defiance that will run hand-in-hand with the Syfy show of the same name.

“It’s a lot harder to make your money back in the premium games space than it used to be,”

More importantly, David Reid mentioned that Rift carries over one million customers, and is the second most subscribed game in the west. Once again, pitchforks and torches to your left, booze on the right. Help yourselves.

Rift Proposal


Thanks to Trion, there are now two very happily married nerds in the lands of Telara. If you think that’s impressive, just wait until my marriage hits The Old Republic with a bang, and what says I love you more than massacring Jar Jar Binks’ ancestors before the annoying little cretin is born?