Monthly Archives: June 2012

E3 2012 OnRPG/MMOHuts Day 2 Recap

E3 2012 OnRPG/MMOHuts Day 2 Recap

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

 

 

Day 2 was frantic from the get go. Michael “Spunkify” Dunaway and I started off hitting up the Infernum meeting room to check out two new modes for Brick-Force.

 

 

The first was a setting where two teams build fortresses with a time limit. Neither team is able to see what or where the other team is building until the time runs out. Then both maps are merged and players fight it out using their defensive fortifications to their advantage.

 

 

The second mode was a new tower defense style system in which endless bees and other baddies attempt to invade your defenses. You are forced to battle wave after wave with increasingly difficult enemies coming in each wave. As you kill bees you gain gold that can be used to purchase more ammo, upgrade your weapons, weaken your enemies, or temporarily increase your firing rate. With intense focus we managed to rival some of the other press teams by reaching wave 23 out of 30. Apparently no one at the show (as of Wednesday morning) had defeated the entire event. Definitely keep an eye out for a more polished version of this mode coming to Brick-Force soon!

 

 

Oh and before I forget, we tried squeezing some information out of Infernum on their upcoming secret project. But the new guy at the company had no idea what we were talking about while their PR rep just laughed and said it wasn’t ready for any press announcements yet. Definitely keep an eye out for Infernum later this year as their secret project will shake what we know about MMOs.

 

 

Following Infernum it was off to Wargaming where Michael interviewed them on the improvements to gameplay that have been made since PAX East. As you may have seen in our coverage earlier this week, Wargaming will soon be going through with the full merger of World of Tanks and World of Warplanes in time for launch of World of Warplanes. This means experience and currency earned in one will be valid in the other and even the GvG territory battles will be fought first in the air and then on land. Look forward to some of the first gameplay footage of World of Warplanes in our upcoming video interview.

 

 

After Wargaming it was off to the Webzen party to cover the C9 Global Championship and get hands on with Arctic Combat and C9’s Witchblade. Michael got hands on with Arctic Combat and will have his first impressions video coming soon. I played with the Witchblade and was blown away with how smooth and fluid her kit is. Witchblade will be available to play in Global C9 at the end of June with the official commercial launch coming in early July! Arctic Combat will be entering into closed beta in about a month as well and we have beta keys on the way!

 

 

After checking out the two games we enjoyed the C9 Global championship. Ivan and I even got to hold the giant check!

 

 

We also enjoyed live music courtesy of Niki Saletta who performed some of her own originals and well as fan favorites to get us pumped for the finals. I made sure to meet with her and grab an autograph before she gets too famous. We’ll definitely splice one of her songs into our C9 interview as this is a musical talent people should know about!

 

 

In the end Gears Executioner bested Pony Club to take home the giant check and the bragging rights of being C9 Globals’ best!

 

 

E3 2012 OnRPG/MMOHuts Day 1 Recap

E3 2012 Recap Day 1

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

 

 

Day one started off with the usual fair at E3 this year. Advertisements everywhere,  music everywhere, and of course bikini girls everywhere. Ah the life of a game reporter.

 

 

I paired up with our new cameraman Ivan and Michael “Spunkify” Dunaway of MMOHuts and hit up the Trion Worlds booth to get a fresh look at End of Nations. This game first blew me away with its concept back in 2010. However when I saw the early test builds of the game through 2011 I had lost some of my interest. Well thankfully the polish has been added and we might easily have one a new contender for team esports once this game launches.

 

 

The commander leveling system, the balanced cash shop, and the ability to pre-assign companies and switch them out on the fly as the situation changes were among just a few of the features that impressed me this convention. The graphics also seem to look sharper with more refined particles than ever before. They said CB testing will be starting in weeks, not months, so brace yourself for the next world war!

 

Perfect World took up most of our spare time on the first day. RaiderZ was looking stellar as always and we got to see some of the more fluff features this time around like setting up cooking tables, preparing meals, and other pieces and hints of the crafting system. Mark Hill was on the scene to give us a demo of it all so expect a video on that. Meanwhile Spunkify hit up the Neverwinter team for an interview. I wasn’t apart of it but Ivan assured me the sorcerer/wizard class was a blast to play and he wants to get his hands on the game asap.

 

 

We managed to snag an impromptu meeting with Sony Online Entertainment to check out Planetside 2. Spunkify joked around with the team and shot a long and detailed interview with gameplay that you won’t want to miss!

 

 

A theme of this convention seems to be mobile MMOs and both WeMade Entertainment and Spacetime Studios have big plans for this new sector of the MMO market. Spacetime Studios was proud to show off their more chibi LOTRO styled PC/Mobile title Arcane Legends. This felt like Pocket Legends but built up with the improvements from each of their titles so far. I was especially fond of the Dark Legends styled control scheme.

 

 

WeMade on the other hand has around 20 titles slated for 2013 that will be strictly mobile MMOs. These ranged from Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon styled titles to side scrolling beat-em-ups to even an straight out 1 on 1 fighting game with RPG elements. If you don’t have a mobile device you best start saving up now because by 2013 some of the top titles might be mobile only!

 

 

I finished up day 1 with my long awaited visit to Snail Games USA to check out Age of Wushu in person for the first time. Turns out I’m not the only one incredibly excited for this title as even Jet Lee signed a 2 year contract endorsing the title. In an upcoming interview I question everything about the game from school/guild interaction to skills building to dungeons to town dynamics to professions… well you get the idea! Needless to say if you like titles like Scarlet Legacy and Perfect World but want a more dynamic combat system and more natural character progression (with no levels!) then Age of Wushu is one to keep an eye on.

 

 

Well I’m in the middle of day 2 now so I have to run to meet Wargaming about World of Warplanes. Looking forward to providing another update tomorrow.

 

En Masse Partners with Gaikai to offer Streaming TERA Trial

Gaikai Partners With En Masse Entertainment To Add Streaming To TERA

 

TERA

 

Gaikai Inc., the innovative cloud gaming service, today announced that En Masse Entertainment’s award-winning massively multiplayer online game, TERA, is now available to stream on tera.enmasse.com/demo and across Gaikai’s cloud streaming network. Using Gaikai, gamers can instantly experience the action combat MMO in a timed demo that requires no downloads or installations.

 

 

TERA, which launched in North America and Europe on May 1st, is a new breed of massively multiplayer online game, offering the addictive gratification of constant action in a vast, beautifully crafted, fantasy world. The game takes the fight to traditional MMOs with enhanced aiming, dodging, and tactical timing that results in intense and rewarding combat. An introductory demo of the entire, award-winning world of TERA will now be available to new fans free of charge through Gaikai’s cloud gaming service.

 

 

“What better way to build a world-class gaming service like Gaikai than to offer world-class games like TERA,” said David Perry, CEO of Gaikai. “The award-winning combat and the breathtaking graphics in TERA are just the type of unique gaming experiences that will grow the video game industry.”

 

 

TERA

 

 

“Gaikai’s powerful cloud streaming service gives players a chance to enter the action combat world of TERA almost instantly,” said Chris Lee, Vice President of Publishing at En Masse Entertainment. “Within seconds of accessing TERA through Gaikai, players will be immersed in the skill-based combat of a true action MMO where they will experience the depth of a traditional MMO alongside the visceral satisfaction of an action game.”

 

 

En Masse Entertainment is dedicated to building and publishing games that meet the highest industry standards; games made by gamers for gamers; games that reflect both passion and fun. With TERA, that dedication plays out as players battle their way through a beautiful yet dangerous fantasy world. Players actively aim, dodge, and block, as the game’s real-time combat system takes into account player skill and position as well as stats. The immediacy of Gaikai’s service will throw players instantly into the action, pitting them against ravaging armies who threaten to destroy the very gods who hold the world together.

 

 

Gaikai has spent over three years designing and building the fastest cloud-based streaming service in the world, instantly capable of delivering cutting-edge games without the need for any extra custom hardware or software. Coupled with relationships with the top video game and development partners around the world, Gaikai is capable of delivering a broad catalog of the world’s most exciting games straight to consumers across the web, including social networks like Facebook, or on any Internet-connected device, including televisions, set-top boxes and tablets.

JamesBl0nde, Hhean, and DizzyPW Livestream Smite

SMITE Livestream with JamesBl0nde, Hhean, and DizzyPW

 

Hey OnRPG viewers! OnRPG is now on Twitch.tv bringing you more up to the minute coverage of our upcoming reviews and video impressions as we’re making them! We started out this weekend with the SMITE CB so take a look for yourself!

 

Current Stream:

 

 

6/2 JamesBl0nde’s first SMITE Match:



Watch live video from onrpg on TwitchTV

 

 

6/2 JamesBl0nde and Hhean Marathon:



Watch live video from onrpg on TwitchTV

 

MEAD: RIFT’s Storm Legion Expansion

MEAD: RIFT’s Storm Legion Expansion

 

Last week PCGamer received a box full of mystery from the lovely folks at Trion. Inside were a variety of items, all of which seemed to be hinting at something but everyone had their own interpretation of what these items meant. I’m sure my box is in the mail, I’ll get it right after I get back from my invitation to visit the Queen. You know, that’s how cool I am. Anyway! As with anything Trion didn’t keep us waiting long. And on Thursday, just a few short days after PCGamer wrote about these items the world found out what was going on. Storm Legion, Rift’s first expansion. I found out on twitter and dropped everything I was doing to find out more. And watch the trailer because Trion just makes awesome videos. Even the painful ones are awesome.

 

 

Need a moment after watching that? I certainly do! The infinity gate was easily the best looking part. And Crucia…her human form (we assume that’s who it is) is hot! In one of those evil seductress sort of ways. To me the plane of air has always been under used and their rifts are by far the most beautiful of them all. So finally seeing something big happening has me a bit excited. But an invasion force is just the beginning of what Storm Legion will bring.

 

 

The biggest physically is the addition of two new continents which will make the world three times the size it is now. My inner explorer squeed a bit when she heard that. I haven’t even finished exploring Ember Isle yet! In addition to two new continents (or possibly on one of these continents) there will be the new co-op city called Tempest Bay which they describe as an island city. Of course keeping to the theme this will also be massive!

 

 

The smallest, but possibly one of the most generally exciting features is capes! Now, I know. It sound funny, I was just talking about new continents and now I’m talking about bits of cloth. But these capes won’t be just any old thing. It is made using shroud technology. ??Now of course I have no idea what that is but according to the FAQ section of stormlegion.riftgame.com it means the cape will move and hang on the body like real cloth. In addition they will display some beautiful artwork in fully fluid motion.

 

 

There are also going to be new epic stories that are supposed to reveal the true power in Telara. Again, I have no idea what that means but oh man does it excite me. They’ve also said they will reveal the gateway to the planes. Which I have to say I have been wanting to go to since I started playing Rift. I can proudly say I called this early on when the expansion was touted as bringing big things.

 

 

What I think will be the biggest in terms of popularity will be the seven dungeons, three raids and chronicle that will be attached to Storm Legion. For me though, the chronicle is interesting, not so much the others. That’s not to say I wouldn’t love to experience them. I think I just suffer from a bit of social anxiety when it comes to working with groups of strangers who expect things of me. Its like a giant spotlight on me and well that’s no fun. Though I would love to get into the scene before Storm Legion is released so I’ll be able to play anything that is high level.

 

Unless of course that high level happens to mean level 60. Which brings me to the next announcement. The level cap is being raised from 50 to 60. I have a bit of hesitation when it comes to this. I’ve never been in a game when a level cap increase has taken place. Except in sort of artificial ways like Planar Attunement or Incarnates in City of Heroes. And what I’ve heard from people who have been in such situations tends to be complaints. But! This is Trion. And I have complete faith in them that they will do nothing but awesome. Mostly because I think the dev team was bred to be awesome. But that’s just a personal theory.

 

There is a bit more on the character development front which I just know is going to mess with me. But in a good way. Each calling is getting a new soul. There isn’t any information on what they are yet but I know every player out there is secretly (or not so secretly) making a wish list.

 

Also on a personal level there will be Grandmaster crafting. Possibly a bump in the cap on crafting level? I’m not sure yet. But that is what I would guess. Oh and something important. So important…to some. Slivers to own and customize. This is open for both guilds and on a player level. What does that mean? Houses. Inns. War rooms! I can’t wait to get sucked into the creation process. Whatever it may be.

 

In addition there will be the much smaller scaled items. The artifacts, mounts, pets..the things that make collectors but squee and weep at the same time.

 

There are so many fantastic things coming in Storm Legion and not nearly enough details yet. Some details that are missing are things like release dates and cost. Not that I think any fanboy or fangirl will care about either overly. Importantly we will be able to pre order both digital and physical copies. Though it seems the physical copies may only be available in North America and Europe. I will be sure to announce any details as I hear them.