Yearly Archives: 2013

Dawngate Updated Look

By Remko Molenaar (Proxzor)

Dawngate 1

Some naysayers claimed the MOBA genre was just a passing fad that couldn’t support more than a few games at a time. Yet now in 2013 we’re knee deep in new MOBAs, each offering a different take or tweak on the tried and true formulas of past titles. Not only is it fun to play with your buddies, you can test your skill and gain ranking against the rest of your game’s population. I couldn’t be happier as nothing brightens my day as much as being asked to cover a MOBA for my latest assignment. And so that assignment has come in the form of Dawngate, a new MOBA trying to make a name for itself as development continues through various short beta phases. I managed to snag a key off their Reddit page and test out the latest phase.

Dawngate 3

The company behind this game is Waystone Games, a studio most of you are probably hearing about for the first time. Dawngate is actually their first title to enter testing. If you’re a sucker for close communications with the development team, Waystone won’t disappoint. With the community still as small as it is, and the game features still in such heavy flux, now is the ideal time to chat it up with them and see if you can influence the development of Dawngate towards your vision of what a MOBA should be. Beyond forum communications, it’s not uncommon to see a known developer in-game testing various factors. I get the feeling from my brief interaction with them that Waystone is a company consisting of gamers, seeking to make a MOBA for gamers rather than for profit.

Now onto the actual game! What is the standard MOBA and what is Dawngate doing to tweak the rules? Well for the newcomers of this genre, a MOBA or Multiplayer Online Battle Arena is a type of strategy game you play as a team. Usually the map is symmetric and you have a team of 5 players on each side. And usually there are three lanes for players to play on along with zig zagging routes between the lanes filled with monsters you can kill for bonus experience. The first initiative Dawngate makes to change the rules is the set-up of the map itself. In Dawngate you only have two lanes, and a bigger jungle that actually has a meaning besides a way to grab some quick cash and the occasional buffs. You see in addition to the standard monster spawns, there are also four camps, 2 per team, that automatically farm money for you. But these camps can also be taken over, so a jungler’s role evolves beyond farmer and ganker to also include gate keeper as they’ll have to keep constant vigil that their team’s camps aren’t overrun. The jungle is too large for one player to manage themselves so the entire team will need map awareness to recognize when someone is missing so that camp conquest can be prevented. Once a camp is captured, you gain control of its gold flow and gain a temporary lock so your rivals can’t just capture it straight back right after. As a result, team fights happen more often and less predictably compared to other MOBAs I’ve experienced.

Dawngate 4

These map changes are interesting and shake up the gameplay, but I have my doubts about the system. It’s challenging to implement something that is completely different than what the usual MOBA player is comfortable with; MOBA players typically get struck in a rut where they’ve worked so hard to master their systems that they react with anger when the game doesn’t fit their desired mold. Sure if the new system’s fun factor overrides that initial hate, it can work. But I don’t think Dawngate has found the right balance as of yet.

The major flaw with their map comes when one team is badly losing the laning phase. If your opponents get an early lead and play smart, they can keep your team constantly pushed back against their towers, meaning there is no way you can jump from your lane to defend your jungle camps. This results in the already dominant team gaining four sources of passive income to steamroll to an easy win. It’s like kicking someone that is already down on the ground begging for forgiveness.

Dawngate 5

Terms of Heroes or Champions might sound familiar to you, but in Dawngate these heroes are called Shapers. Currently the game is limited to an unusually small pool of shapers, with only around 10 available to play. And even though Waystone has put an admirable amount of effort into making the Shapers look and sound unique, their kits feel directly inspired from characters seen in other MOBAs. Without a doubt, new games will take something from old and successful games, but some of these Shapers are in my eyes a little too much inspired by some of them.

Thankfully this kit stealing is alleviated slightly by the role choosing system. Each shaper is able to choose a role prior to the start of each match. This means you can actually play a single Shaper in various lanes and still be viable. Do you feel like playing the carry role in the lanes?  You simply choose one of the four available ‘roles’ and boom you get the extra required stats that will grant you the needed bonuses for the lane. The four roles you can pick from are the Gladiator that is meant for the carries, the Tactician that is meant for the support role, the Hunter that is made for jungling and the Predator for the Shapers wanting to roam the map. I imagine this system is incredibly difficult to balance and give Waystone props for introducing it since it kills two birds with one stone. It keeps the game fresh for a longer period of time while allowing players a better chance of choosing the Shaper of their choice since you won’t be locked out on playing them just because someone called their standard lane on your team.

Dawngate 2

Current State: Good

I hopped into Dawngate after reading Hhean’s article a few months back expecting to see a much more polished title. It’s clear though that Dawngate is still in a phase of heavy development, but you can see they are picking the pieces and shaping this into a truly promising MOBA. Despite my various issues, overall I left the game knowing I had an enjoyable experience, and their twists on the standard MOBA, while not perfect, still left a good impression when imagining what they could offer when polished for launch. As far as the gameplay and graphics, I do not want to go into full detail yet since the game can change a lot, but the gameplay itself was smooth, and the graphics are certainly on par with the competition. All in all it looks like S.S. Dawngate is sailing on the right course, and barring any icebergs, should arrive as one pretty vessel come launch day.

Nexon America To Begin Extraction Closed Beta

Extraction

 

Nexon America today announced that it will kick-off the closed beta period for Extraction, its all-new multiplayer online first-person shooter (MOFPS) on Oct. 1. This follows the game’s recent unveiling at this year’s Penny Arcade Expo (PAX Prime), where Extraction won several Game of Show awards. Registration begins today, and interested players can sign-up for closed beta testing at www.extractiongame.com.

 

The Extraction closed beta will have limited openings, so only a select number of players will be able to participate. Notifications will be sent to chosen players by Oct. 1, when the closed beta period begins. In addition to stability testing, the closed beta will serve as a channel for new players to help further shape Extraction into a fair and balanced playing field.  Extraction’s alpha community has made significant contributions to the game since December 2012.

 

Developed by Splash Damage, Extraction takes place in London after a mysterious radiological attack. The only people who dare enter the abandoned city are groups of elite mercenaries tasked with extracting valuable data. Players in the closed beta will get to test several maps and game modes, and can unlock additional Mercs to play as, each with different play styles and abilities.

 

Age of Wushu Teases Possessed Encounters

Age of Wushu Invitation

News arrives today from Snail Games US of a new feature in the works for Age of Wushu that will pit players against the dark embodiment of themselves, their friends, and even one of a variety of living manifestations of evil including Hatred, Greed, Obsession, Delusion, and Resentment. Players will also be able to invite up to 2 friends to join them in the challenge, though for each friend you invite, a mirror of them will fight against you to up the challenge.

Age of Wushu Embodiment Of Evil

The event is triggered randomly when players become involved with questionable acts that can be as simple as slaying enemies for quests or as complex as committing suicide from a tall cliff-side. When the event triggers, a red lantern will appear over your head confirming you’re ready for the challenge.

Age of Wushu Clone Wars

The difficulty of this event is scaled extremely high and the rewards are ample. But players will only be able to activate it a max of once per day so go in prepared. Full details on the event can be found on Age of Wushu’s official site. http://www.ageofwushu.com/news/view/232

Digital Download Sales Resume for FFXIV

Square Enix Inc., the publisher of SQUARE ENIX® interactive entertainment products in the Americas, announced today that digital download sales have now resumed for FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn on Windows PC, and PlayStation®3 digital download sales are set to resume today.

FFXIV Digital Sales

Due to unprecedented demand at launch, digital download sales of the game were suspended on August 28, 2013. The company has performed extensive maintenance on the game servers, increasing the number of servers available, as well as increasing the maximum limit of users that are able to play at the same time per World.

Square Enix would like to thank all the existing players and welcome those that have been waiting patiently to join the adventure.

Red 5 Studios Announces Reorganization Prior to Firefall Launch

Red 5 Studios

 

Red 5 Studios™ announced today that the studio is being reorganized prior to the launch of Firefall.

 

“As Firefall matures, we must transition our priorities and our development strategy to focus on streamlined operations and live product support,” said Mark Kern, CEO and founder of Red 5 Studios.

 

As part of the reorganization, Red 5 Studios confirms that it has released about 10 percent of its staff, the majority from Red 5’s video internet entertainment channel, Stage 5 TV. Development of Firefall is unaffected by the reorganization and Open Beta Stage 2 is well underway with a major patch scheduled for later this month.

Alteil Horizons

Alteil Horizons is the attempt of Apocoplay to revive a classic card game developed in 2003. In Alteil players summon powerful monsters to act as tactical game pieces to do battle with their opponent. The game is founded on offering even and hard fought battles from beginning to end with features in play to reduce the steamrolling that occurs from early domination in most card games. It also takes much of the luck of the draw out of the equation by granting players access to their full deck.

Features:

Legendary Artist Roster: Top names such as Katsuya Terada, Yuji Kaida, Shunya Yamashita, and Hitoshi Yoneda headline the roster of a masterful developer and artist team including talent from Wizardry Online, Secret of Mana, Final Fantasy X, Guilty Gear, and Code Geass. Over 1,000 animated cards will be available at launch.

Turn-Based Tactical Combat: Alteil Horizon intends to bring their game to life by turning boring cards into tactical combatants including formation tactics, a day/night power cycle, and movement in addition to unique abilities and strengths.

Recycled Resource System: Alteil Horizon attempts to block steamrolling through a system of restoring resource points upon the death of a card. If you have a backup plan, this will give you the power you need to take the fight back to your enemy as soon as you’re struck down.

Soul Cards: Players can balance their health and soul power, choosing to focus on a more offensive tactic with powerful spells at the expense of their HP, or go for high HP and outlast their foes with more defensive styled combat.

Android Compatible: A mobile android compatible fully featured version will be completed soon after launch. The game can also be played in most browsers.