Well it’s been another week and here’s another round of news that you may, or may not, have missed. I hope you enjoy this week’s news roundup!
Final Fantasy XIV
Quite a few things have been announced this week, such as various class types within the “Disciplines”. Most of this news comes from Eastern magazines and has been translated thanks to the guys at ffxivcore.com. What’s more interesting is that the majority of the news about Square’s new MMORPG has come from Japanese media, rather than American or European outlets. Is there a reason for this, or is it coincidence? I guess we’ll find out soon enough, anyway here’s the news.
Armoury System
As you know, the “Armoury” system is what you use to change “Class”, which replaces the “Job” System from Final Fantasy XI. Now instead of going to see a cute moogle to change “Job” you just change your weapon and then “BOOM!” instant Class change. For example you’re a Marauder when you hold an axe and a Blacksmith when you hold a hammer. So baring that in mind, Square Enix announced some new classes this week.
Discipline of War (Physical Fighter)
Lancer
The Lancer was announced this week, these guys and gals use a two handed spear to attack from a distance. They have various types of attack, such as stabbing and cutting. They can also throw weapons like javelins. It would appear that this Class can attack from a distant to stay away from, although presumable not too far away from, the enemy. A great Class for those who enjoy giving backup to fellow team mates in need.
Archer
As you can imagine Archers use bow and arrows to hit from afar. It is believed that they will have to calculate the distance and direction from the enemy when attacking. They also have to decide on what types of arrows will be the most effective given the situation. These arrows are presumed to have elemental effects, such as ice and fire. It’ll be very interesting to see what this Class turns out like, as it seems to evolve a lot of strategy and thought process.
Discipline of Hand (crafters)
Blacksmith
These guys forge metals to create tools and weapons; they also repair items (as weapons and armour do get worn out over time in Final Fantasy XIV). Their main weapon is a hammer. I assume that they will have a very important impact on the economy and on general gameplay. Simply put, you’re going to be using these guys a lot.
Tanner
They produce leather based items such as belts, by sewing up tanned leathers. Their main tool is the head knife. Maybe these guys will focus much more on creating armour for lighter classes (who won’t require metal armour), such as Archers.
Culinarian
I know what you’re thinking, “Culinarian! That’s not a word!!”, and you’re right but always remember Square can make up their own words because they’re that awesome. Anyway these guys have a deep knowledge of food ingredients and how to cook them; their meals also have elemental properties such as water or fire. Their main tools are skillets.
Alchemists
Through the use of rocks materials and spirits, they create medicines which have various effects. Whether these effects are of the curing kind or the afflicting kind, I do not know. One would presume it’s both. Will you be able to sneak up behind your enemies and poison them? I can’t wait to find out.
Weaver
This Class use fabric to make clothes. I think the general thought about this class is that they will have the ability to change the colour of clothes and make them look more fashionable. Not a lot was really said about them.
Whew, so that’s it…I think you’ll agree with me when I say that was quite a lot of information. There was also a diary posted up which followed the daily life of a Culinarian, which shed some light on what to expect from the Class. Well, that’s it for Final Fantasy XIV; let’s hope Square can keep the news coming.
Fallen Earth
There was a “State of the Game” address from Fallen Earth from developer Colin Dwan. The address went through some of the concerns players have had and also discussed what gamers can expect from the latest patches, including more content for levels 32-35 and various things to boost social activities.
A topic that was also raised were character respecs and as Dwan adeptly put it, “[We] would like to help the people who spend a few points wrong and want to fix those mistakes, not folks who want to rebuild their whole character. The specifics are still up in the air, but it will be expensive, slow, and limited.”.
Transportation methods are also in the works.
Star Trek Online
Eurogamer recently held an interview with Craig Zinkievick which released some very interesting information. Probably one of the most exciting pieces of news is that gamers will be able to play as the Klingons. From what I can understand you will have to unlock them first, which will only take a few hours, and then you can level them up as you would normal character.
The game will be shipped with two factions; however the developers do intend to add more after launch. They also have rough ideas about what they content will be coming after the initial release. There will also be lots of “rewards” for the player throughout the game and during the endgame.
With regards to combat it sounds like the developer has got space combat nailed, however they are still working out some of the problems with the normal land combat.
There will be a closed beta very soon. As most of you should know they were taking beta applications at the beginning of September. The game is slated for an early 2010 release, which the developer seems focused on achieving. Star Trek is also penned for a release on consoles, although which ones and when has yet to be announced.
You can view more of the interview [link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/star-trek-online-interview_9]here[/link].
Star Wars: The Old Republic
A video was released, The Making of Coruscant, in which the developers discussed the challenges that popped up when making the huge Republic capital city. For those that can’t remember/don’t know, Coruscant is a planet which is, basically, just a giant city. The area is host to the Jedi Council among other things.
You can watch the whole video here: http://www.gametrailers.com/video/the-making-star-wars/57513.
Final Fantasy XI
Wow! Square Enix is really pilling on the news for their MMOs this week. Information included details about new Wings of the Goddess quests in the coming patch, a Shantotto Fan Art Contest and information about the Harvest Festival. It seems there’s an eventful winter for Final Fantasy XI players.
Runes of Magic
The “Aotulia Vulcano” patch was released on the 7th of October. “The newest patch delivers a new zone, the “Cave of the Water Dragon” and many new NPCs, Quests and enemies of course.”, and of course many fixes and improved features were added to the game, which you can view here. The update also included the new “Cross Server PVP Battlefield” and the Oktoberfest.
So there we have it, a brief roundup on MMORPG news. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for us next week. I leave you with some of this non MMO news…
Non MMORPG News
Kingdom Hearts 328/2 Days was released on the 9th October in Europe. If you have a Nintendo DS, make sure you pick this baby up.
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising was released on the 9th October in Europe and on the 6th in the US. The game has received good reviews, however the multiplayer on the PC is flawed somewhat and requires a patch (which is well on the way).
Reggie Fils-Aime (Nintendo America’s Head Honcho) commented on the PSP Go and asked, “What’s the benefit?”.
Modern Warfare 2’s Spec Ops mode was also shown off for the first time ever on this week’s Gametrailers TV, click here to view.
I hope this article helps you to get any news that you may have missed in this busy week. You can expect a news roundup the same time next week. I look forward to seeing you again.
