Fantasy

So, who here remembers the Final Fantasy XIV launch? I certainly do; I was there and I've been here since, after all. And who here remembers how the game launched to critical acclaim and overwhelming popularity?

Yeah, okay. I liked the game at launch, but that was more because of the underlying philosophies and approaches, not because the whole thing was polished to a fine shine. It was almost two years ago now, and the game has had to go through a lot of growing pains in that time, fixing a lot of elements that didn't work and adjusting stuff that was almost there but not quite. It's been a long process of hammering out fixes and improvements, one that included a long stretch of no subscription fee as the game cleaned itself up.

We're nearly at the end of that process now, but Square-Enix is trying to show everyone that the company appreciates players who have been around during the game's teething troubles. That's the Legacy program in a nutshell -- a chance for players to signify having been around for an extended period of time. A badge of honor, a show of loyalty, and arguably another little bit of bait to get people to subscribe now instead of later.

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Fan outcry over the announcement of The Elder Scrolls Online was long and loud, not just for the presumed MMOification of a beloved single-player franchise, but for the toolset chosen by ZeniMax Online Studios to bring the world of Tamriel to its new audience.

Game Informer confirms that ZeniMax is using the HeroEngine -- which also powers Star Wars: The Old Republic, and which has come under fire from some in the MMO fan community. Game director Matt Firor says that the firm isn't using the engine like you may expect, though.

"Think of HeroEngine as a whiteboard for us –- a great tool to get some ideas in the game and start looking at them while the production engine was in development," he explains.

[Thanks to Austin for the tip!]

If you have wondered about what was going on in Spacetime Studios' Cinco Barnes' head while designing Dark Legends, wonder no more. I was asked to sit in on a Google + hangout, essentially a public video conference call, with Cinco, Carter Dotson from 148apps and Heidi Duran from GirlGamer. The event was moderated by Ashley Esqueda from G4TV. Cinco fielded some questions from us and fans of the game.

Want to see some cool concept art? Need to know if the energy mechanic in Dark Legends was created just to make fast cash? Have you heard about Spacetime's newly announced title Arcane Legends, but have no idea what might be involved with the game? Have you wondered about the images in the opening video, the appearance of top hats, and the possibility of obtaining all of those great costumes through in-game means? You can find out the answers to these and other important questions in the video, embedded just after the cut.

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So what's all this hullabaloo about The Secret World? Let's start with the basics.

The Secret World is a new MMORPG by Funcom, the studio that brought you Age of Conan, and way back when, Anarchy Online. It's also the brainchild of one Ragnar Tornquist, familiar to adventure gamers the world over thanks to Dreamfall and The Longest Journey. Like those seminal titles, The Secret World seeks to conjure an immersive, fantastical realm of myth, magic, and in some cases, horror. Unlike the adventures of April Ryan, though, The Secret World is your story, and it takes place in the video game equivalent of the real world (not to mention Hell, portions of a hollow Earth, and many other mythological settings).

There's an undeniable Lovecraftian influence, there are zombies and assault rifles, and there's a three-faction setup that asks players to join forces with noted secret societies like the Templars and the Illuminati (as well as the less-familiar Dragons). Did we mention battleground PvP, a Minecraft-inspired crafting system, and skill-based progression mechanics that depart from traditional MMORPG classes and levels in favor of player-made builds (drawn from a pool of nearly 600 distinct abilities)?

As you can see, Funcom is throwing everything at the wall, and luckily for you, Massively has been keeping tabs on the game's development for a number of years now. We've also managed to spend quite a bit of time in the beta of late. Click past the cut for a roundup of our best coverage, including guides, impressions, interviews, and basically everything you want to know about The Secret World.

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Looking for another lore fix when it comes to TERA? En Masse has just released the game's fourth e-book tie-in named Death at Forgeheart. It's written by Kristine Kathryn Rusch and it tells the story of two detectives who manage to trust one another despite their racial differences as they team up to solve a murder with federation-altering implications.

The official TERA website has an excerpt from the book, but the full text is available for purchase via Amazon, as are TERA's first three e-books: Fire and Ice, Killer, and The Amaranthine Heart.

Runes of Magic's Chapter V is on the way, and along with several new features, it's bringing a whole lot of dwarven flavor to the game's sprawling fantasy world.

The Shadowforge Dwarves are the game's latest race, and players who choose to roll one will begin their adventures in the new Yrvandis Hollows starting area. In addition to the usual newbie zone accoutrements, the area features an instance called the Outskirts of Taffrock that Frogster describes as "particularly challenging." Players will face off against a final boss known as Dark Gargoylem, along with his horde of aggressive spirits that have hunkered down in the lower levels of the ancient dwarven hall.

Runes of Magic is a free-to-play fantasy title developed by Runewaker and published by Frogster. The Fires of Shadowforge update releases June 12th.

[Source: Frogster press release]

The Dragons, Templars, and Illuminati will have to wait two more weeks to dive into their organizations: Originally slated for June 19th, The Secret World's release is delayed until July 3rd. Early access will open on June 29th.

Funcom also announced the final two beta weekends. The first, titled "Hell Raised,'" will run from June 15th until June 17th and will include the Illuminati and Dragon starter experiences as well as allow players to leave Kingsmouth for the Savage Coast. The final beta weekend will be from June 22nd to June 24th; during this event players will participate in the game's PvP in both the warzone gameplay and the Eldorado battlefield.

ArcheAge's CBT4 ended a couple months ago and XLGAMES has been busy putting the information gathered to use. To showcase changes and improvements made during the break between CBT4 and CBT5, a series of videos is planned. The first video in this series highlights the transformation of one starting area, Rainbow Fields; once described as empty and flat, this region is now populated with more buildings, has a more diverse landscape, and sports improved weather effects.

Although there is still no official word on ArcheAge being released to the western market, sandbox hopefuls can check out the latest improvements after the break.

[Thanks to Sandboxer for the tip!]

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The Secret World's Secret War social experience has run its course and come to a close after an exciting five weeks. More than 250,000 people participated in the war, rallying to the cause of their chosen secret society, filling forums with discussion and theories and welcoming each new War Challenge as it was rolled out. Along the way, players have been unlocking items for use in TSW, with a special few winning the opportunity to have their name in-game and an even more special few winning a trip to visit the dev team.

But that's the past, and now the glorious present awaits you. Three new videos have made their way onto The Secret War's page and each one holds a clue. The clues lead to different puzzles (one for each secret society) for players to solve. That's about all there is to know about these puzzles so far, but we're promised that they are "the start of a very exciting adventure" for participants -- so pull out your tinfoil hats and get crackin'!

[Source: Funcom press release]

Runes of Magic is counting down the days until its next major update, Chapter V: Fires of Shadowforge, and Frogster is throwing five exciting events to pep up its playerbase during the wait. The Big Five, as the company is calling it, is currently at the halfway mark as its third event that will take place over the holiday weekend.

From May 25th through May 29th, Runes of Magic players can visit the Helping Hands in one of several locations in the game to get an incredible buff. This two-hour buff will boost experience, talent point, and rare loot gain for all who accept it. Players can receive the buff once a day for the duration of the event.

The highlight of Chapter V is most definitely the addition of a pair of new classes: the Champion and the Warlock. Also coming with Chapter V are the playable Shadowforge Dwarves, a new starter zone, and additional high-level instances. The update will release on June 12th.