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MMOFPS

GDC 2013: PlanetSide 2's new app and the future of Forgelight

Sci-Fi, Free-to-Play, MMOFPS, Interviews (Massively's), Hands-On (Massively's), Events (Massively's Coverage), PlanetSide 2

GDC 2013  Scrolling through PlanetSide 2's new app with Tramell Isaac
On Tuesday, SOE shared a trailer highlighting its Forgelight engine. The proprietary engine not only runs PlanetSide 2 but will also be the foundation for all the studio's future games, including EverQuest Next. The same press release also introduced the upcoming PS2 app. Although it won't be available to the public for a a bit, I had a chance to sit with senior art director Tramell Issac to see the app in action as well as discuss the Forgelight engine and what's coming up for PS2.

The app provides easy access to a ton of gameplay info, from personal stats to weapon information to real-time in-game map updates, and consequently there could be a marked decrease in workplace productivity in store for PS2 fans!

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The latest Warface trailer highlights its bloody warring factions

Betas, Trailers, Video, Game Mechanics, Previews, News Items, MMOFPS

Warface screenshot
Want to know more about the warring factions in Warface, the new FPS by Trion and Crytek? Good because today we've got the game's new trailer all primed and ready for you. In Warface, you'll be joining the elite soldiers of Warface and tasked to fight off the forces of the grimly named Blackwood, representatives of the ruling government. The game boasts intense first-person gameplay, multiplayer modes, and regular content updates. You'll be able to level up your solider while customizing and upgrading as well, which will hopefully keep your enemies guessing.

How much will of all this blown-up goodness cost you? According to the developers, absolutely nothing (except for the microtransactions, of course). Click past the cut and check out the new trailer!

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Ascots and crossbows: Hands-on with Renaissance Heroes

Historical, Video, Game Mechanics, Previews, PvP, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Hands-On, MMOFPS, Humor, Hands-On (Massively's), Livestream, Miscellaneous

Renaissance Heroes
A few months ago, when New Year's resolutions came around, I decided to take broad, sweeping strides outside of my comfort zone -- I decided to play more FPS games. Long have I lingered in the comforting bosom of tab targeting, cast bars, and kill-10-boars. So when Renaissance Heroes, a newly released free-to-play FPS, came to my attention, I thought I might have finally found an FPS game that's more my style, that style being "shoot people in the face with crossbows."

I was not disappointed.

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GDC 2013: DUST 514's Uprising update conquers your PS3 on May 6

Betas, Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Events (Real-World), Game Mechanics, Patches, PvP, Free-to-Play, MMOFPS, Events (Massively's Coverage), DUST 514

GDC 2013 DUST 514 Uprising update bringing planetary conquest and more May 6th
Although DUST 514 is still in open beta, a big update will soon deliver some significant changes to the game, changes that will bring it more in-line with the CCP's vision for this MMOFPS companion to EVE Online. During a presentation at GDC 2013, Thor Gunnarsson (VP of business development) and Halldor Fannar (CTO) shared more details about this update, dubbed Uprising after a merc revolt in the title's lore.

Fannar explained that Uprising focuses on two main themes. "The first theme we are calling 'making it matter.' It's about creating a more meaningful connection between DUST 514 and EVE." While the Caldari Prime event was the first step on that journey (20,000 battles took place on the ground), the planetary conquests system in this update will introduce features that will further intertwine the two games. "The other theme is basically visual improvements," Fannar explained, "making the graphics look better, making the graphics run faster, and also adding more graphics." Players will get to see for themselves exactly how these themes play out when the updates releases on May 6th. In the meantime, enjoy our impressions from GDC.

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SOE talks Forgelight engine, PlanetSide 2 Player App

Video, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, MMOFPS, PlanetSide 2

PlanetSide 2 - Terran Republic pistoleer
This is a noteworthy week for PlanetSide 2, as SOE is releasing Game Update 05 and with it a bundle of fixes and features that include Empire-specific rocket launchers and account-wide Station Cash unlocks. SOE is also turning on double XP and double Station Cash for Easter weekend.

Furthermore, firm has produced another episode of Behind the Battlelines, and this one boasts technical director Ryan Elam and senior art director Tramell Isaac extolling the virtues of SOE's in-house Forgelight game engine. SOE is also gearing up for the reveal of its PS2 Player App for Android and iOS devices. The app allows for continuous connectivity and strategizing and will be showcased at this week's GDC event in San Francisco.

Finally, SOE has published a few PS2 statistics for the month of February. You can view them, as well as the Forgelight video, after the cut.

[Source: SOE press release]

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Firefall debuts its Chosen War trailer

Betas, Sci-Fi, Trailers, Video, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, MMOFPS, Firefall

Firefall
Firefall may still be in testing, but that doesn't mean it can't get groovy updates. The game's latest patch promises progression improvements, new world and instanced content, and a shiny trailer.

Patch 0.6 brings with it a truly stunning list of patch notes, which you can read in full on the official community forums. This is the largest patch yet for Firefall, and it advances the game's storyline as well as its mechanics.

Skip below the cut to check out the Chosen War trailer, which introduces the story changes that are coming in with the Chosen invasion of New Eden.

[Source: Red 5 Studios press release]

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PAX East 2013: Red 5 on Firefall's new gaming TV channel

Betas, Galleries, Screenshots, Events (Real-World), Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, Previews, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Hands-On, MMOFPS, Interviews (Massively's), Events (Massively's Coverage), Miscellaneous, Firefall

PAX East 2013  Red 5 talks Firefall, and reveals a new gaming TV channel
Red 5 Studios' MMOFPS Firefall is probably familiar to the Massively family, but it presentation Friday at PAX East was a chance to get a look behind the curtain at how far it's come and how far it has to go during testing.

CEO Mark Kern and Lead Game Designer Scott Youngblood presented a little history of the game's development so far, with a look to the future. But if that's not enough to get you to gear up and plant a Thumper, maybe their announcement about a brand-new video channel devoted to everything and anything involving gaming will catch your interest.

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PAX East 2013: Hi-Rez Studios' Todd Harris talks SMITE, Global Agenda 2

Fantasy, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, MMOFPS, Global Agenda, MOBA

Screenshot -- SMITE
SMITE just recently celebrated the release of its 32nd playable deity, Aphrodite, but she's far from the last thing in the wings for Hi-Rez Studios' borderline blasphemous MOBA. We got the chance to catch up with Hi-Rez COO Todd Harris at PAX East to find out what awaits in the studio's future. Obviously the studio's immediate focus is on its new golden child, SMITE, for which Hi-Rez (partnered with Twitch.tv) is holding a $10,000 tournament at PAX East over the weekend. Harris also mentioned that SMITE is looking to officially release once its roster reaches about 40 deities, which he says will likely be sometime this summer.

And for those of you with itchy trigger-fingers, Harris also mentioned that Global Agenda 2 is, in fact, still alive and kicking, though right now further details are scant. What we do know is that the team is focusing on the game's PvP for launch, which may be somewhat disappointing to fans of the original Global Agenda's co-op PvE, but Harris says that the studio wants to put forth the most polished PvP experience possible before looking into expanding the game into PvE territory. Unfortunately, that's about all we know right now, so we'll just have to content ourselves with knowing that it hasn't been relegated to the realm of development hell.

Massively's on the ground in Boston during the weekend of March 22nd to 24th, bringing you all the best news from PAX East 2013. Whether you're dying to know more about WildStar, DUST 514, or any MMO in between, we aim to have it covered!

Warframe soft-launches open beta, celebrates with Update 7

Betas, Sci-Fi, Patches, News Items, MMOFPS

Warframe hits open beta, celebrates with Update 7
Digital Extremes has soft-launched Warframe into open beta. This most historic occasion has been marked with the launch of Update 7, which brings with it a host of fixes, updates, and new features.

Two new warframes, the poisonous Saryn and sonic Banshee, have been added to the game along with a few new weapons and melee stealth attacks. A new training challenge and endless defense mission have been thrown in as well. The game's mod system has undergone pretty significant changes. Weapons have see tuning and balance updates, and a large list of fixes have been added. Check out the forums for a full list of changes in Update 7.

Thanks to intrepid internetter Ken for the tip.

DUST 514 to feature EVE-like CSM

Betas, Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Free-to-Play, MMOFPS, DUST 514, Sandbox

DUST 514 to feature EVE-like CSM
Whatever your feelings on EVE Online's player-run Council of Stellar Management, there's no denying that the group has been hugely influential in the development of the sci-fi sandbox over the years.

CCP is porting that same concept to its upcoming DUST 514 shooter, according to a post by DUST's CCP Dolan.
I have asked the DUST 514 development and community teams to submit to me a list of some of the most helpful, active, and knowledgeable community members. Representatives from the DUST 514 teams and I will be sitting down and interviewing these candidates to try and identify the best fits for what we will be tentatively calling the DUST 514 War Council (until we come up with a permanent name). We will then be looking at all of these interviews and selecting a council to make up the very first beta version of the War Council.

This appointed council will work closely with us in establishing a voting system, working with teams regarding upcoming features, and generally serving a similar role to the EVE Online CSM.

Hey humans, check out this video that shows the making of Defiance

Betas, Sci-Fi, Video, Culture, Lore, New Titles, News Items, Races, MMOFPS, Post-Apocalyptic, Defiance

Defiance video screenshot
Defiance has been slowly working its way up the hype ladder lately. We here at the Massively offices are wondering whether it will be a smash hit or just a head-scratcher, but either way, you can color us intrigued. In a recent developer video, we learn about the Votan races, a general term for the different aliens who now inhabit the war-torn Earth. Remember, these are the creatures we have to get along with, so it's good that many of them are described as the "supermodels of the Votan races." That certainly helps relations run more smoothly.

We also learn more about the Irathients, the sort of misfit toy race of the universe. Although they're described as violent and ferocious, they're also known to be very spiritual. That seems to us to be a prescription for trouble. We see the Indogenes as well, a smooth-faced batch of aliens who are obviously the brains behind the operation. There are even more races that we can mention here. Does that all make sense? No? Well, check out the video after the cut and maybe it will make more sense after.

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Firefall revamps progression system... again

Betas, Sci-Fi, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, MMOFPS, Dev Diaries, Firefall

Screenshot -- Firefall
Red 5 Studios has not been shy about making sweeping changes to its in-beta massively multiplayer shooter Firefall. Entire game systems have been retooled, revamped, and sometimes removed entirely as part of the developers' efforts to improve the game. The latest Firefall devblog has revealed that the game's progression system is back on the operating table for the second time, and it's going to get some more nips and tucks in the March 22nd milestone patch.

Senior Game Designer Cameron Winston states that when the studio first overhauled the game's progression system (replacing the game's more traditional leveling system with battleframe-specific tech trees), the result was certainly for the best, but the change "came with some problems of its own," such as being "hard to understand... [with] arbitrary limitations that prevented players from exploring how they could customize their frames."

To fix these issues, the studio will ensure that players will now have "far more flat access to the frames," meaning that there will still be different battleframe classes such as Assault and Recon, "but each battleframe will now have its own unique progression tree," which the developers hope will give more flexibility and customization options to players. Of course, the specifics of an entire system overhaul can't be adequately described in 300 words or less, so if you want all the fine details, head on over to Firefall's official site.

Take over DUST 514's planets one piece at a time

Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, Patches, Previews, News Items, Consoles, MMOFPS, DUST 514

If you're tired of EVE's figurative backstabbing, go planetside and get literal.
DUST 514 doesn't just interact with EVE Online by being set in the same universe. Taking control of territory and planetary surfaces has always been part of the design goals behind the shooter, reminiscent of the interstellar control offered by the older game, and the latest development blog examines how players will go about taking over a planet. It all starts by taking control of a district on a temperate planet, with each habitable world in the game universe harboring anywhere between five and 24 individual districts.

Controlling a district gives you access to military clones, the backbone of your economy and defense force. You can also use the clones to expand into new territory or sell excess stock. Of course, your facilities are vulnerable during clone production, offering rival corporations a chance to swoop in and take control... possibly with the aid of a tactical orbital strike courtesy of allies in starships. It's a multifaceted system that promises to give players plenty of reasons to conduct negotiations solely via sharp bits of metal.

Seeing what it takes to be a Defiance Ark Hunter

Betas, Sci-Fi, Video, Lore, MMOFPS, Humor, Defiance

Seeing what it takes to be a Defiance Ark Hunter
What does it take to be an Ark Hunter in Trion Worlds' upcoming Defiance? If the following lore video is any indication, you have to be really into puking, eating mutant lizards, and having needles shoved into the back of your neck. But then you get weapons, and these are really big weapons that you can shoot things in the face with.

So it's a trade-off.

Check out the latest episode of the Ark Hunter Chronicles after the jump. Then finish your lizard stew because you've got puking to do!

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PlanetSide 2 rocks: An interview with composer Jeff Broadbent

Sci-Fi, Interviews, Free-to-Play, MMOFPS, PlanetSide 2, Jukebox Heroes, Music

PlanetSide 2 rocks An interview with Composer Jeff Broadbent
In this post-Halo age, it's hard to imagine any sort of galactic ground battle happening without a stirring score at your back. So the challenge to the SOE audio team and Composer Jeff Broadbent was formidable: PlanetSide 2's soundtrack had to rock so hard that it would bring tears to the eyes of combat-hardened troops.

Whether or not the musicians and audio team succeeded is, of course, your personal opinion, but it's hard not to be impressed with the end result. Broadbent's worked on a variety of projects spanning video games, TV, and film, but PlanetSide 2 is his first crack at scoring an MMO.

We talked with Broadbent about his inspirations, experiences on the project, and his take on the end result. Read on and be enlightened!

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