Monthly Archives: September 2015

SMITE Reveals Sol as Next Norse Goddess

Hirez Studios has revealed on their livestream patch notes new itemization changes, Halloween events, and even a new Norse Mage Goddess, Sol!
SMITE Sol Stream

Before getting to the hot foot of the hour, some key itemization changes have arrived to balance some unforeseen evils in recent play. Mail of Renewal has been toned down to keep Guan Cena at bay, reducing its health and mana regen from 20% of max to 15%. Shoes of Focus also get a nifty buff of 250 mana, meaning you’ll actually be able to spam abilities with that bonus cooldown now. Bluestone Pendent sees a very minor reduction in power, ticking twice for 13 damage over 2 seconds now instead of the total of 30 damage before.

This patch also introduces a new Halloween themed Arena map, where minions have been replaced with zombies including a special Jack O’Lantern siege minion. The battlefield will slowly become a graveyard over time as god deaths get marked with tombstones!

SMITE Reveals Sol as Next Norse Goddess

Finally we have Sol, the Norse Goddess of Fire! Let’s take a look at her kit.

 

Unstable Manifestation (Passive)

Sol gains Heat as she uses abilities and hits with basic attacks. She gains +1% Magical Power and +1% Attack Speed for every 3% Heat. At 100% Heat, Sol’s basic attacks gain +50% Damage. Heat decreases over time.

Radiance

Sol burns bright, gaining a large amount of Heat and healing her form slowly over time and igniting the ground around her. Enemies that walk onto the fire take damage every second.
Stellar Burst
Sol’s next basic attack explodes, creating a shockwave that travels out dealing damage. At full size the wave reacts, dealing damage again and slowing enemies.

Disapparate

Sol burns down her manifestation, gaining movement speed and ignoring all movement penalties, while leaving a trail of fire behind her that damages enemies.

After 3s Sol loses coporeal form for a short time and her trail explodes stunning enemies for 1.5s. Sol may leave her incorporeal form early.

Ultimate – Supernova
Sol unleashes all her flame and fury from the sky, striking 8 times along a moveable ground target location. Enemies hit are knocked back on the first strike, and take only 20% damage on successive hits.

Sol’s full reveal can be seen on the microsite here.

StarCitizen Development Update – Social Module

By Remko Molenaar (Proxzor)

 

Star Citizen Social Module

The drama surrounding Chris Roberts and Star Citizen seems to have as many twists and turns as Hollywood tabloids would hope for. With quite a bit of time in development, nearly a million people involved in backing, and still not a ton to be shown, it’s only natural that the chaos levels would rise. Still the dream of the ultimate space game continues to inspire backer donations despite the PR mess Star Citizen currently finds itself in, with $89 million and counting. So we figured it was time to look back at see just where the development of Star Citizen currently sits.

Backing a game is always a tricky thing. The vision of the game you want is rarely the exact same thing the designers are setting out to create. Further still, lack of funds or unforeseen setbacks can reduce the vision to not meet expectations in the end. Kickstarter has been front and center in the crowdfunded game development scene long enough to see some of the earlier backed projects come to fruition, many of which not being worth it in the end. Some still giving up before ever reaching a completed project, leaving its backers SOL. This has resulted in most indie companies without track records having a real struggle funding even 5 digit projects. Yet a few big names like Chris Roberts still brought the confidence to snag millions in funding. Time will soon tell if this high profile project brings faith back to crowdfunding, or delivers a devastating blow to consumer confidence.

Star Citizen Social Module

Last year we already got to play around with the Arena Commander. This module was specifically made to play around with the physics, show everyone the exact way that the game is going to be played, and demo dog fighting combat in space. Most fears were somewhat alleviated as this first taste of Chris Roberts design delivered on promises. Though the realization of how ambitious this project was made it clear we wouldn’t be touching a finalized version for possibly years to come. Arena Commander was first released over a year ago back in June, and still remains the primary experience for backers, with occasional patches and improvements being the only tangible updates. Granted its merely a glorified tech demo more so for the developers to experiment with gameplay ideas rather than for players to enjoy regularly. Thankfully a new module has arrived to shake things up.

 

Star Citizen Social Module

The Social Module Cometh

Let’s get into the biggest news in some time, the social module. No worries, it’s not just an improved chatbox tacked onto Arena Commander. It lets us go to planetside in a big city to explore the progress being made outside of ship combat and physics. Most speculate this is the bare bones demo of the planned Star Marine module (FPS shooter module), though no confirmation beyond vague hints of “soon” have been given. In the Social Module we get to experience what its like when we hop out of our space ship, and have to get our groceries and find specific agents or just have a chat with the community in a local hub. And it is one of the few stepping stones in development that had to be made. To gain access to ArcCorp all you have to do is go into your hangar, go into the elevator and press the access codes to launch yourself into this whole new world.

In ArcCorp you aren’t able to do a lot besides meeting up to 24 players for a group chat with avatars. Right now that is not really needed though. Since the game is far from finished the social module does exactly what its made for. Rather than navigating menus, you get a sense of realism having to meet with other players planetside. It’s a nice change for plain forums to hang out in the local bar, or perhaps shop for new ships or parts, before snagging your next mission. A medical facility seems to hint at personal health as well.

Star Citizen Social Module

And while this is all expected basic elements of an MMO, its the scenery that sells the experience for me. ArcCorp provides some of the most impressive sight seeing with extreme attention to detail you’re likely to find in any MMO ever. Not bad for an alpha module! Even alleyways with their dust, garbage, and plastic bags are there to make the whole adventure so believable. Every shop and building seems to have its own unique architecture. I guess after so many years of reviewing MMOs, I’m not used to seeing a world built without cutting corners. With the addition of active NPCs, this world will become an unparalleled hub. If we can expect the same level of quality for the various hubs and storytelling locations in the final version, I can say some of the massive funding behind this game is being well spent.

As harsh a critic as I am on crowdfunding and the madness of the backers behind this game, I have a confession. I myself was one of the first hundred thousand to back this game. Despite all my skepticism, Chris Roberts sold me on a solid and inspired concept. Before this social module, I was regretting this decision. Now my glimmer of hope is burning bright once more. Sure the game has had a lot of delays, and tons of bad publicity, but if you believe in giving a game time to reach its goals for quality, then none of that matters. Being able to fly in ships, blow each other up, and then laugh about it with avatars in a planetside pub afterwards is more than a lot of past space flight simulators have offered. The upcoming addition of the FPS module is going to set this game apart from anything else on the market.

After waiting over a year between the Arena Commander and Social Module, I don’t have my hopes up that we’ll be seeing the next two modules anytime soon. Still we can dream that one day Squadron 42, the single player story module, and the Persistent Universe module will come to fruition. Video teasers look as promising as we hoped, and hope is all we can do at this point.

Star Citizen Social Module

History is being written here, and that history wouldn’t be possible with the typical unforgiving bottom line driven publishers that run the MMO industry. With crowdfunding behind them, the only hard heavy breathing down the backs of the developers necks is from Youtube comment ragers. Even if it takes another three years, so long as Cloud Imperium Games remains open and transparent about progress, I’m sure this will be the game I look to proudly for being among the first Kickstarter backers.

Arcana Heart 3: Love Max!!!!! now available on Steam

Arcana Heart 3: Love Max!!!!! now available on Steam news header

Arc System Works Co., Ltd. is pleased to announce, Arcana Heart 3: Love Max!!!!!, is now available on Steam (PC)!!!!!

Developed by Examu and Arc System Works, Arcana Heart 3: Love Max!!!!! is the latest iteration of the 2D fighting game featuring an all-female cast of 23 fighters, that includes rebalanced gameplay and several new game modes to choose from. Select between 23 adorable anime characters with new attacks, defense skills and newly rendered 3D environments. Mix and match each character with powerful Arcanas (celestial beings) to customize your play style while creating new deadly custom combos!

Gloria Victis: Massive Gameplay Update Applied

Gloria Victis: Massive Gameplay Update Applied news header

A massive update, greatly improving the combat experience and the meaning of PVP has been applied to Gloria Victis!

First of all, it introduces the fortifications building and upgrading – players can raise the walls, towers and gates in the towns and castles controlled by their nation from scratch. Players can also upgrade those objects, significantly increasing their defensive properties – a simple palisade around the holding will stop an enemy for a while, but a stone tower with double reinforced gates and pots of boiling oil will do its job much better.

Moreover, it’s up to the players how to develop the fortifications, as their components are being upgraded separately. In future this system will be expanded with an ability to build and develop the objects inside the fortifications, such as player-owned houses, additional spawn points and siege machines, as well as with the additional customization options!

On the other hand, the game has implemented two important combat-related features, requested by our players – breaking an enemy’s attack with a kick and feints! Therefore the combat dynamics have been greatly increased; those changes made the battles even more tactical and skill-based as well. Moreover, NPC enemies can kick to break the player’s block too, so PVE is much less predictable and repetitive now! In nearest future the development team will be continuously working on the further combat and AI improvements, so the player experience will be getting better and better.

At the moment the team is doing the very last polishes before releasing the another massive update – a total overhaul of the inventory and guilds systems. Within the next few days they will start the final tests of those systems; meanwhile they have started working on the survival aspects! When the basics are done, they’ll will be able to implement hunger, alchemy, toxicity and dynamic weather’s influence on the characters – it will greatly increase the immersion, which is crucial in Gloria Victis. This feature is expected to come within the next few weeks!

Read the full changelog here.