Monthly Archives: May 2012

Spirit Tales Launch Interview

Spirit Tales Launch Interview

By Bryan King (Bryan), OnRPG Journalist

Answers by Elliott, KoramGame Community Manager

 

 

Spirit Tales, developed by X-Legend and published by KoramGame, prides itself on being “the cutest fantasy game ever”. I recently got a chance to sit down and speak to Elliott, Community Manager of KoramGame about this upcoming title, and how it will use its “cute” niche to take the MMO market by storm.

 

 

Hello Elliott, please introduce yourself to our readers.


Hello Readers! I’m Elliott, Community Manager for Spirit Tales. I’m pretty much the one running the events, posting on our forums, Facebook, Twitter, and just about everywhere else. Some readers might recognize me from some other games I’ve worked on in the past, but I’m guessing most haven’t! I’m really proud to be a part of Spirit Tales, and I hope to see everyone come online on May 10th.

 

 

Can you go into depth about Spirit Tales’ storyline?


The basic story behind Spirit Tales is that a vast continent was formed sometime in the past and life eventually blossomed forth and flourished there. Over time, certain tribes of people came to inhabit the land and lived in peace and harmony for countless millennia until one day, spurred on by greed and ambition, the tribes of the North attacked. The Southern tribes, finding themselves caught within the shadow of the Northern onslaught, were forced to retreat to the southernmost reaches of the continent – to the rich and fertile, Autumnal Grove. There, within that final haven, the last hope of their people lies in the hands of the Glorious Shield, a resistance force made up of valiant and fearless individuals from each of the Southern tribes.

 

We feel like we hit a nice balance between story, quest line, and exciting gameplay elements; something our users can easily see just by playing our game.

 

 

Spirit Tales was developed originally in Taiwan, and was recently brought to North American shores in 2012, what did your team do in order to best fit this game to its new audience?


We have taken the game in a direction that tailors more to the American and European audiences by incorporating the market needs into the overall picture. So a lot of the content will be separate from other versions of the games already released in different regions of the world. For example, we’ve added more depth into the story line, provided more information to help guide users, and hosted community events exclusive to the Spirit Tales name. And that’s only the beginning. We have many new features in the pipeline that will really differentiate our game from any other.

 

 

Can you go into detail about the “pet capture” system in Spirit Tales?


Of course I can. Basically, nearly every in-game monster you come across in the world of Spirit Tales can be captured, trained, and evolved. Because you can have multiple pets in the game, the interaction between players and pets then becomes two-fold; one pet can be used in a way that boosts your character’s stats, while another may be summoned to fight right alongside you. Outside of these two interactions, players can train their pets, evolve them (which is actually something different than leveling them up), and refine them into an even stronger version. Also, the pet system is not only limited to world monsters, but also dungeon bosses and rare event monsters.

 

 

What other features separate Spirit Tales from other F2P games?


We have been very open and transparent with everything in the game, including making the game as easily accessible as possible. We made it easier for players to find what they are looking for and what it takes to move forward in the game. We also included a full drop list for every monster in the game where players can just click one button to see everything a mob will drop. We also don’t hide things like enhancement rates; we have the percent chance of success right on the interface.

 

Our goal is to get people playing our game, not wasting their time with fillers and time sinks. Even though these tweaks sound small and unimportant, we know a lot of gamers out there who will care about the nitty gritty details of a game.

 

 

What classes does Spirit Tales offer? What differentiates them all?


To begin with, Spirit Tales places a huge emphasis on the individual, apart from their specific class. As of right now, players will have six main classes to choose from though and over 40 million different character customization and costume options that coincide with this. The six main classes are Fighter, Shaman, Warrior, Archer, Assassin, and Sorcerer.

 

What differentiates the classes from one another has to do primarily with party role as well as damage and weapon type, along with the tribe they belong to which dictates their overall appearance.

 

Typical player reacting to news of launch delay

 

How has your community responded to the Open Beta delay so far?


With the announcement of the delay of open beta, many players were upset, which was understandable. However, we are certain players will realize that Spirit Tales is worth the wait and that we made the right decision, even though it was difficult to do. We are really appreciative of the patience of our community with regards to this, and plan on rewarding them accordingly.

 

 

What PvP features does Spirit Tales have that is sure to enthrall your audience?


Spirit Tales has PvE Arenas where players can take on waves of monsters in a coliseum-like setting, 5v5 PvP Arenas for individual players along with teams, and PvP Tournaments that span multiple level brackets where players can earn special prizes. Last, but definitely not least, we have the soon-to-be-famous 1v5 PvP Arena where a player can transform into a dungeon boss to take on up to 5 players in a brilliant display of Spirit Tales uniqueness.

 

 

Cash shops in free to play games have been quite the topic lately, with many MMOs switching to a F2P format, and the MMO community is split in terms of how to better improve this economy to keep paying players and non-paying players in mind. What has your team done in terms of keeping the entire cash shop system balanced?


Well for one, we have made 100% of the game content available to all users, regardless of whether or not they pay. We will never withhold any sort of game content from users behind a “paywall.” Furthermore, we have made certain that all the items available in the Item Mall are fully tradable, making every item available to users in this way. In addition, X-Legend, the developer of the game, has been closely monitoring the economic impact and has exclusively designed Spirit Tales to be extremely balanced in terms of gold sinks and gold income.

 

 

What is your target audience for “Spirit Tales”? Many players may be taken aback by the “cutesy” setting. What do you have to say for many users who may feel that way?


Our target audience is basically any MMORPG fan that likes a fun, vibrant, and fast-paced game complete with community involvement and loads of content. Although Spirit Tales is a game that’s chalk full of adorable creatures and captivating colors, there’s much more than meets the eye. The gameplay is fast, in-depth, requires complex strategies, team work, and character control to be most effective. There’s plenty of content in both the PvP and PvE side of things that’ll satisfy any type of gamer.

 

 

The game’s “Guild Islands” feature seems quite enticing; can you go into detail about this to our readers?


As we all know, guilds have had a long standing tradition in most MMORPGs; providing players with the ability to socialize with both old and new friends alike. With that in mind, Spirit Tales has taken the whole guild tradition in an exciting new direction with Guild Islands. Members can build a guild that’s entirely one-of-a-kind by working together and constructing special add-ons. Players can also forgo upgrades entirely to make the Guild Island a simple getaway from the hustle and bustle of everyday MMO life.

 

 

Can you tell us a bit about the newly announced sweetheart system?


A huge and often necessary part of the MMORPG experience is building relationships with other players. This unique social system allows players to take their in-game relationships in a non-traditional direction by giving them the opportunity to partner up and even find “love” with a character of the opposite or the same sex. Providing both depth and an increasingly fun atmosphere to the game, players that choose to become a part of the Sweetheart System will unlock exclusive features and upgrades. In essence, the Sweetheart System allows players to take new or existing relationships to a fun new level, or just reaffirm those special ones that some players may already have.

 

 

What new changes have been added as of the official launch on May 10th?

What players can expect is that the level cap will be raised to 45 on the day of launch, and will be increased shortly after. There will also be 1 new zone, 2 new daily dungeons, and a Sigil Stone System that allows players to upgrade their equipment by providing bonuses to specific skills or stats. There will also be pet refining and evolution, along with new legendary (purple) equipment from world bosses and dungeon bosses made available during open beta.

 

 

Are there any major updates coming up for Spirit Tales?


As it stands right now, we are planning to have a very aggressive and rapid content release schedule, but we can’t give away too much detail about this right now. However, our first update will be less than one month after our open beta launch. That’s all I can say!

 

 

In one sentence, tell our readers why they should visit st.koramgame.com right now.


Every visit to our website will earn you bacon and a lolcat!  (Not really, but come visit anyways!)

 

 

Is there anything else you’d like to tell our readers?


Register for a free Spirit Tales account at our official website. And be sure to like us on Facebook for exclusive giveaways, event information and so much more! I hope to see everyone on May 10!

 

 

Thank you so much for your time!

The Joker Returns in DC Universe Online

The Joker Returns to Wreak Havoc in DC Universe Online

 

DC Universe Online

 

The battle between heroes and villains in DC Universe™ Online (DCUO) continues as Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) today announced that The Last Laugh, the fourth downloadable content (DLC) pack for DCUO, will be available in June for download on the PC and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. The Last Laugh will pit players against each other in high-intensity multiplayer brawls, feature an all-new weapon, and introduce new Light-Powered Legends PvP characters.

 

 

“We created this DLC purely for the players that like to take the fight to each other in DCUO’s amazing PvP combat,” said Jens Andersen, creative director on DC Universe Online. “Our community has continuously asked for more multiplayer action in DCUO, and we wanted to deliver content that fully meets their expectations and pushes PvP to another level. The Last Laugh is the first DLC that we’ve created that focuses almost entirely on player versus player battles, and it adds an exciting new element as some of DC’s greatest heroes and villains join to fight alongside you. Players will have even more opportunities to prove to the world whether heroes or villains will be triumphant.”

 

DC Universe Online

 

The Last Laugh will include an all-new weapon, hours of multiplayer gameplay in the Safe Houses and Headquarters, and new Legends PvP characters:

 

The Shield – Players can unleash this vicious new weapon to bash their opponents, or hurl it to take them down from a distance.

Safe House Battles – No one is safe now that heroes and villains can invade each other’s Safe Houses in these four on four battles.

Graviton Technology Recovery – Players will be tasked with unscrambling teleporter codes that The Joker has mixed into fragments. Located at the Watchtower or Hall of Doom, players must retrieve eight code fragments to successfully rebuild useable teleporter codes.

The Rescue – Heroes must rescue hostages, while Villains will be freeing arrested criminals from opposing Safe Houses.

Bomb Disposal – Thanks to The Joker, the encryption on the Email terminals has changed and can only be bypassed by the robot he provided. Players must gain control of the robot and either upload the data to their HQ or add new encryption to keep their enemies and The Joker away from it.

 

Headquarter Battles – In this two-part crusade, 16 players – eight heroes and eight villains – will face off for the ultimate player reward. At the request of Superman, heroes must take over the Hall of Doom, while villains, egged on by The Joker, will breach the Watchtower in order to create chaos.

Legends Characters – Combat illuminates with the introduction of the first light-powered Legends for multiplayer combat. Players will soon have access to Kilowog, a Green Lantern, and Amon Sur, a member of the Sinestro Corps.

 

 

DCUO’s The Last Laugh DLC pack will be accessible for free for the game’s Legendary members and available for purchase for Free and Premium players via the PlayStation®Network in-game Marketplace, and on the PC via the DCUniverseOnline.com website.

TERA: For the Federation 2 – Idle Hands

TERA: For the Federation 2 – Idle Hands

By Darren Henderson (DizzyPW), OnRPG Editor-in-Chief

 

 

 

 

My eyes began to grow heavy as my Pegasus continued soaring over the endless blue ocean and cloudy skies. I had found sleeping nigh impossible within the confining walls of Velika. The forests I had known for so many years were suddenly replaced by concrete walls that stretched taller than trees and blocked out just as much sunlight. Rather than rabbits and squirrels scurrying about the ground, far more pestilent merchants rushed to my side at every corner attempting to sell me a new set of earrings or perhaps a new gauntlet. All useless rubbish of course. Some discarded adventurer’s loot being marked up to unheard of prices so they could pawn if off on unsuspecting foreigners like myself. Who knows how the humans and Federation Elites put up with that miserable city. As I ran over the countless ways in which Pora Elinu would make a superior capital of the Federation, my eyelids finally gave way, and I fell into a deep sleep.



My dreams were serene at first, at least in comparison to my waking nightmare in which I constantly imagined my family dying to the blade of a blood thirsty demon. Again and again I dreamed of the Letter of Marque I had burned behind the queen’s back. I saw visions of her frantically sending out guards in search of me and then retiring to her quarters to meditate. I imagined battling great demons, cutting them down one after another with my superior skills. Finally I witnessed a parade in my honor as I returned a hero, with Wulynn and Surmun waving beside me. The queen stood far above the crowd on her palace perch, looking on proudly as her own Popori attendant had grown from a simple housekeeper to a hero of her people.

 

 

I awoke abruptly with a shock followed by a cold shiver down my spine. It was one of those strange dreams where you quickly forget the details upon waking, but know something important is left out of the details. Why did I feel so uneasy.. Samael. His eyes flashed through my mind, cold as ice and yet burning with some kind of unholy passion. I had only met him once during our expedition briefing, but his cold unfeeling tone left an unnerving impression that now had even infiltrated the subconscious of my dreams. I savored the thought of returning to Pora Elinu and not having to deal with career military types like him ever again.

 

Fadora the archer daydreams of Island of Dawn’s treasure

 

Much to my displeasure we were still a few minutes out from the island. I eavesdropped in on a pair of nearby expedition members hotly debating whether treasure hunting or adventure was the primary reason for volunteering on this trip. I scoffed at both motivations but had nothing better to do than join in. The Castanic was a female native of the capital Castanica named Fadora, and her family lineage went back many generations to the War of the Rose. The Popori, who refused to reveal his real name and simply insisted I call him Platy, was obviously a foreigner (I personally had seen to ensuring few natives embarked on this mission after all). He carried the markings of a raccoon, but his fur was tinged blacker than most, leading me to believe he had spent quite a deal of time in the deserts of Southern Shara. I figured it would be good to have some close allies at my side once we reached the cursed island, so I introduced myself and explained my situation.

 

Platy the mystic entertaining the troops

 

Our conversation was abruptly interrupted by the shout, “There it is! The Island of Dawn!” The announcement was made by my platoon’s first sergeant, who was literally on the edge of his seat and dangerously close to falling from his mount as he shielded his eyes from the glare of the sun, taking in the beauty of the scene before us. At first I could hardly bring myself to look, imagining all the horrors Wulynn and Surmun had surely suffered there. However riding a Pegasus blind is not advised and out of caution I finally forced myself to look ahead at this horrible cursed…. island paradise?



Before me floating amongst the clouds was the most beautiful tropical island I had ever laid my eyes upon, even within the royal library’s books. The obvious centerpiece, a massive tree, carried thousands of pink leafed branches stretching from one horizon to the other. The ground was covered in soft shades of green as smaller trees and grass swayed gently in the wind. Multiple piglings scurried about amongst the Norak beasts that peacefully grazed the endless fields. This didn’t seem real. This didn’t make sense. What was going on?!



Upon landing I immediately rushed to the central tree where the Federation had set up a basic base camp. I questioned Tribune Adria about the status of the island but was immediately dismissed as an over eager green recruit trying to make a good impression with my supervising officer. Despite my protests she passed me off to Adjutant Jorhop for assignment. Normally I would have pulled rank on her and demanded a status report, but this wasn’t an option. The queen’s message of my treason had undoubtedly reached Velika by now, and it was only a matter of time before head hunters would arrive to drag me back to Pora Elinu to face sentencing. I had to work fast and knew earning Adria’s trust was the fastest way to get to Elleon’s brother Leander, one of the few survivors of the Dawn Massacre crazy enough to have stayed behind to set up camp.

 

Leander pondering the situation at base camp

 

Turns out the Federation had other plans for me and my motley Popori and Castanic crew. Day 1 we were ordered to route a band of Ghilliedhus, trees brought to life by the magic of the rifts. These in particular held so little magical charge that they often would fall to pieces tripping over their own feet from a stiff stare of one of our soldiers.



Day 2 was an exercise seemingly designed to test my patience, as we wasted military issued bombs blowing up test dummies and breaking useless mud piles apart with our pick axes to learn the ways of mining ore. How green were the troops they assigned to this mission?

 

I declare you my Island of Dawn rival. The first to find Wulynn wins silly rabbit!

 

Day 3 was the breaking point for me as I was ordered to tend a fire at base camp until ‘I felt well rested.’ Once I reluctantly admitted that I was in such a state I was asked to climb the tallest mountain on the island to pick a flower. The reasons behind this were unknown but Platy complained during dinner that he had been forced to climb the tallest mountain to plant some native root. The same plant I had pulled from the peak and nearly died carrying back down earlier in the day. In hushed tones I whispered to Fadora and Platy telling them to meet at my cot at 24:00 hours. Every day wasted lowered the chances of finding my family alive and I wasn’t about to spend another sun cycle playing boot camp with my inferior superior officers.



24:00 was downtime for our platoon, which was conveniently stationed at the southern side of the great tree. I and Platy were assigned to keep watch that night for fear of wild piglings interrupting Adria’s beauty sleep. We reported in as the last sergeant turned in for the night. We immediately met up with Fadora and set out towards the forbidden east side of the island. First stop? The wreckage of the Audacious along the eastern shoreline. As we clambered over the increasingly rough terrain it became clear there was a sharp contrast in the natural order of the plain. At one point, Platy the mystic was so overwhelmed by the pressure in the air that he froze in place… at least until Fadora pulled his tail to wake him from his delusions.



“If my greed for treasure gets me killed, I need to know I have a mystic at my back to keep me from going into the light,” she joked.



Neither of us chuckled at the concept and the mood of the party quickly worsened. We tread carefully from that point on as neither Norak nor Pigling called this part of the island home. Instead starving two headed cougars seemed to prowl in the shadows, eying us for a moment of weakness with their calculating yellow eye slits.

 

 

Despite our eerie journey we arrived at the ghost ship rather uneventfully. We split up to explore the ship as quickly as possible and get back to camp if no clues were found. I already hoped to return to my warm cot as the fear of demons imposed on me just as strongly as the fear of discovering the fate of Wulynn or Surmun. As I climbed through a porthole blown wide open by a backfired cannon, I heard rustling within the ship. I extended my lance and lifted my shield and peered around the corner only to find an unlit aisle with open doors on both sides, no doubt the former location of the sleeping quarters.



I tip toed down the hall as stealthily as one adorned in heavy armor could, then slowly moved my right eye to the peephole in the door. I was met with a clear blue eye staring back at me, and before I could raise my shield I found the solid normetal forged door slam into me face first. I fell to the ground in a thud along with the rusted door as the clang of metal on metal echoed throughout the ship. I was comforted to know that I just had to hold out until my allies arrived, assuming they weren’t already half way back to base camp running like cowards. I immediately attempted to crawl to my training lance but felt the sharp pinch of a staff placed on the back of my neck just before I could grasp the mechanical handle.



“Turn over and state your purpose,” boomed the clear articulate sounding Elven voice.



I rolled over to find myself face to face with none other than Leander, Elleon’s brother and head of the Island of Dawn research and archeology team. Not seeing a reason to lie, I went against my natural instinct as a Popori and spoke the truth.



“I’m here to find the truth about Elleon… and the fate of two of his soldiers,” I stammered.

 

 

“Then we haven’t much time. You’re a brave one for meddling with a conspiracy that could shake the very foundation of the Federation. On your feet Popori,” spoke Leander as he forcefully dragged me to my feet, thrusting my shield back into my open paw. I looked to the porthole to see a lightly tanned Castanic female warrior, eyes narrow and face emotionless, holding Platy and Fadora tightly by their shoulders. I knew then I was no hero. My silly attempt at independence was going to get us all killed!

Requiem Scares Up Two Contests

Requiem Scares Up Two Contests

 

Requiem

 

Gravity Interactive, a publisher of exciting MMORPGs, today launch two simultaneous contests for the browser version of their popular dark-fantasy MMO title, Requiem, which players can now enjoy right in their web browsers courtesy of the Kalydo service. Players both new and old have the opportunity to win some of the sweetest prizes yet on the official website.

 

 

Whether beginning a new character or already an established player, Gravity has a treat in store for you. All users will be treated to a 40% EXP bonus when logged in using the web client or the full client. This bonus stacks will all premium items including pets and scrolls for the biggest boon found in Requiem yet! Use this time to build your character, preparing for the PVP sweepstakes. Win up to three entries into a drawing for a $100 Amazon.con gift certificate.

 

Requiem

 

One does not simply retire from Requiem. All inactive characters will be welcomed back with open arms, and their own competition. Go hunting for loot in Nightmare Crescent to gather the ingredients for crafting new Nightmare Accessory Sets. Collect from two to eight of these coveted components for a chance to win prizes including gaming gear, WP (WarpPoints), and other in-game items!

 

 

All players should keep their eyes peeled for GMs during the Hide and Seek event. Snap a screenshot beside any of the GMs, post it on the Requiem Facebook page, to win 500 WP and 5 Gift Boxes. Then join with three allies for the 4 vs. 4 Battlefield Tournament, open to all characters level 69 and above.

C9 $10,000 Tournament Accepting Final Registrations

C9 Opens Final Registration for its $10,000 Tournament

 

 

WEBZEN Inc. has announced the finale of the Tournament Registration Test for their Action RPG ‘C9 (Continent of the Ninth Seal)’ and has begun preparation for the first Global PVP Tournament.

 

 

On May 6th, the C9 Tournament Registration Test had come to an end after a month of non-stop action. Now is the chance to jump into the action as well as registrations will be accepted for the next test until May 9th.

 

 

The online tournament that starts on May 16th will determine the final top 2 qualifying teams that will head on to Los Angeles where the first official offline tournament finals will be held. Only one team will be victorious and win a grand prize of $10,000.

 

 

Currently among the registrations, there are many teams with diverse backgrounds. Some have experience in other competitive tournaments, while others are e-sports teams from ESL, or guilds from other well-known MMORPGs, masters of action games, and more. However, all have one thing in common; the goal to win the final grand prize.

 

 

Jihun Lee, Head of Global Publishing, said, “During the 2012 C9 Championship Final, the producer and developers of C9 will join us to add to the excitement.” Also he said, “We hope to see many participants for online tournament that will build the excitement for the finals in June.

 

 

Meanwhile, C9 will have its Final CBT during the online tournament and reveal the new class, Berserker. The Berserker is an advanced class from the elite fighter branch and brings to the table the highest dps output of any fighter class by wielding impressive two handed weapons.

OverPowered: The Middle and Continuity

OverPowered: The Middle and Continuity

By Jonathan Doyle (Ardua), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

 

Hello and welcome again to a special opinion editorial on OnRPG. I’d call it OverPowered, but that’d be silly.

 

 

Previously I hopped up on my soapbox to talk about The End. The end of Mass Effect 3 and endings generally in the lifetime of the games we play. This time around, I’d like to talk about the middle of the story. Yes it amuses me to be talking about the structure of a story in reverse, but hopefully at the end, if we end with the beginnings of stories, it will all make sense.

 

 

So, onto the meaty matter at hand. The middle of stories. The ever-present now in which we play.

 

 

For some people, this is going to be a complete non-issue. You play your mmos your way. Indeed there is no entirely wrong way to play an MMO, in terms of achievement. The goals you set yourself are the goals that keep you playing. Sometimes they are roleplay stories; sometimes they are getting to the end of a raiding treadmill and having the best gear in the game. Other times they are simply being the best pvper or perhaps even just wasting time in a mildly distracting online world.

 

 

Whatever your reason, for a decent number of you, the world itself does in some way matter. There are so many shared mechanics and tropes between the various online worlds available to us all that to be perfectly honest, there aren’t many major breaks from the genre as a whole. Don’t get me wrong, there are some stand out stand alone games out there that do some or all of its mechanics, setting and gameplay different to everyone else, but for the most part our online worlds are broadly similar.

 

 

That contributes to it being a genre after all. First Person Shooter games are broadly similar across the board but don’t let that sound like I’m saying every Call of Duty is the same as Battlefield.

 

 

What separates those two examples, and in fact the genre games as a whole is a mix of mechanics and story. The mechanics, well we would be here for hours upon hours if we were to tease apart the nuance of every game’s engine that is out there and how they are applied differently. That doesn’t even include upcoming systems like Storybricks. We’re here to talk about stories, and the middle of them.

 

 

A persistent world is exactly that. Persistent. You don’t load the opening chapters any more than you use level skips to bounce to the end and complete something quickly. The world is more or less the same as when you left it and always will be barring patches.

 

 

The Azeroth of today doesn’t look like the Azeroth of two years ago, but it does look like yesterdays. The changes made were given a proper story rationale, a proper story setting and allowed to play out. You yourself may have missed it, but it is a chapter of history now for World of Warcraft.

 

 

History is important after all, if there is no sense of continuity, no sense of belonging to a world you are playing in, why would you keep playing? Some of us mark that continuity through gear, others through friends. Some of us mark it through the events that unfold as the game continues to live. Story is a binding force, keeping us with the game as it unfolds to some climax. However, not everyone plays at the same speed or in the same fashion, so we in our persistent online worlds find ourselves suffering under another general trope, one familiar to comic book readers. The Status Quo is God.

 

 

The problem with everything, barring patches and expansions, always being the same …. is exactly that. Everything is the same. How often can you eat the same sandwich before you crave something, anything, different? It is in every game’s interest to keep us eating that same sandwich but to make sure that we never hunger for anything else. Patches and expansions are the spice that shakes that up. Changes the tempo and keeps us interested.

 

 

But what happens when the story becomes muddled?

 

 

No problem there in World of Warcraft generally speaking. Deathwing got mad, Azeroth got a makeover. No problem in RIFT; Ascended heroes killed Greenscale and Akylios with accompanying events to mark their passing. Sure if you personally have never gone on that raid you still can, but the canon, the official story is that they are dead and time has moved on. Continuity is maintained and the world is better for it.

 

 

However. There’s always a however. Cataclysm was a clean break. A RIFT update is a clear progression of time. Events like these in any game are well understood and accepted. However what happens when you don’t go for the clean break? What happens when for whatever reason, be they resources, money or time, you drag out the alteration of your game?

 

 

In this I have my sights set squarely on City of Heroes.

 

 

The ever present now of Paragon City is becoming snarled and complicated. Statesman is alive! Oh wait, now that you’re level 2, he’s dead. Skyway, Steel Canyon and Kings Row are all destroyed quite violently! Only they aren’t. No where is that more glaring an issue than in the Sutter Task Force where one zones from a wrecked and ruined Skyway into a pristine (relatively speaking) one. This pattern is continuing in the future. Issue 23 is coming, Praetoria is being evacuated! Except it’s also still there and business as usual. This isn’t simply an issue of quest chains painting different pictures of the time at hand, this is one of the game mechanics reflecting one reality while the story isn’t yet showing the same. The mechanics and updates to make City of Heroes sexy, vibrant and still popular after so many years are starting to disagree with the stories being written. If all you ever do is raid in a game, you probably think I am making a mountain out of a molehole. Perhaps I am. In this day and age where we demand more polish, more expertise and more… more from the games we are being given, is it all that bad to want a coherent picture of events as my character and I experience them?

 

 

There’s really only one hope if this gets worse.

 

 

After all we already accept that certain tropes are in force. There’s clearly only one saving grace for a continuity snarl, and to be honest a comic book super hero game is the best place to try it. It’s time to pull a Batman, pull a Superman, pull a Marvel Ultimates. It’s time for an infinite crisis on infinite instances. It’s time for a reboot.

MEAD: Communication

MEAD: Communication

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

 

Have you ever played a game where the dev team was held up on a pedestal, unreachable to all the little players and communication was something they knew nothing about? Well that isn’t RIFT. When something goes wrong they make sure everyone knows about it right away. When events are organized by the community team they’re actually there with us. Even when that means staying awake for 24 hours for charity. We are a community and that extends beyond what it normally means in the MMO world.

 

 

Sometimes things go wrong. Just yesterday we were told that two things the community had been looking forward to were going to have to be postponed. The raiding community had been looking forward to Laethys being unlocked. She was scheduled to be unlocked today. And while yes, some people had babysitters set up and others took the day off from work for it, things happen. Trion let us know it wasn’t going to happen. They even went so far as to say it wouldn’t be this weekend instead of saying it would be coming “Soon” and leaving people hanging. Another disappointing postponement announced yesterday was that the week long community campout event would have to be put off until another time. I was quite looking forward to the event personally and had intended to write about it for this week’s article. I’m still looking forward to it even if it has to be put off and I know the event will still be just as awesome when we do get it. When Trion wanted extra time with 1.8 to make sure it was perfect they extended one of the stages of the 1.7 event to give themselves more time. But most importantly they admitted that was what they were doing.

 

When the shards are being brought down there is always warning and plenty of it. Typically the day before there is an announcement made on the forums. Then a reminder the next day well in advance ending with a countdown. But the communication doesn’t stop there. An estimated time for the servers to come back up is always posted. And if they haven’t been brought up by then an announcement is made on the forums. Even if things have gone well they keep us updated. They let us know when the servers are coming back on and when they’re unlocked. To me this entire process is the best example of how well Trion communicates with the players. It is where we get most of our communication from since it is a fairly regular occurrence.

Things don’t need to be going wrong for us to hear from someone at Trion. The name of my column comes from a community event where several devs were in attendance. Walsingham, the assistant community manager made his love of mead quite well known throughout the 24+ hour long gaming marathon. The devs are also quite active on the forums. Not just answering questions but interacting, talking to people. That’s not even mentioning the fun little community events like the community trivia contests.

But you know, communication isn’t just about the devs, the support structure has a lot to do with it too. A couple of weeks ago I was riding around Iron Pine Peak and picked up some much lower level potions that were of no use to me. Now I was out in the middle of nowhere collecting artifacts and these things were taking up precious bag space. I could have kept them and sold them for the little bit they’re worth but that would have taken away from my artifact collecting. So I tossed them. Click, drag to emptiness, confirm destroying it, goodbye health potion.

 

Repeat, only this time instead of getting rid of that annoying mana potion I accidently got rid of my staff I got for defeating the creature in the level 50 Meridian ceremony where you become planar attuned! I was crushed! Quickly I started researching, could I earn it again? Websites didn’t say. I asked the 50 channel, I couldn’t get the quest again! Depression was setting in. Such an awesome staff and I lost it. I stood around for a solid hour feeling sorry for myself. Then I decided to contact a GM. I knew it was a longshot and I figured they would likely laugh in my face and tell me I was a moron. I waited around a few minutes to see if I would get a reply right away. When I didn’t I just logged off and had a good mope. Just when I had started to think it was final I got an email from Trion account services! My staff was restored! I wanted to reach through the computer and kiss GM Wedge. Of course I got a warning to be more careful, and a reminder that they can’t always restore items for me. But this was my first experience with needing a GM. And I’ve never heard anything but praise anytime anyone has had to have something taken care of.

 

Trion has done a lot of things right in the year that RIFT has been live. Communication and community being number two. (Awesome new content on an insane timescale is number one.) They’re easy to talk to, passionate and understanding when people do stupid things. They’re swift to take care of problems and make sure the players are always in the loop. Other studios could learn a lot from them. Thank you for being awesome Trion!