News Items

It's the final countdown for TUG, with less than a week to go and about $50,000 more needed as of this writing. The development team has penned a penultimate Kickstarter update for fans and would-be fans, compiling several updates and news posts for everyone to read. It covers the care and development of player characters, the use of companions, and the structure of the game servers... all questions to be asked by anyone looking to back the game.

There's also a video on the page, one you can watch after the cut to see how the game is being based around science, even more so than the other games that turn your computer into virtual three-dimensional worlds. You can also take a look at our recent interview with the staff behind TUG to learn a bit more about the game's structure. If it piques your interest, now's the time to hop over and give the game a bit more funding.

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One of the bonuses of having Pirate101 set in the same world as Wizard101 is that the former can benefit from some of the latter's layout. KingsIsle has launched a big expansion for the game that includes some old favorites for veteran players, starting by sending pirate captains to the familiar land of Marleybone. Players will be investigating a war zone they helped inadvertently create while working up through another 15 levels of experience.

The update also adds the new region of Aquila, a new Bazaar system for players to trade goods, and a new tutorial to help players get accustomed to the game. There are also new bosses and transport systems to give players more to do while they sail across the oceans. Last but not least, new companions are scattered through the added regions, and old companions are learning some new tricks. Pirate101 players can log in and start enjoying the update immediately.

This has been quite the week if you're interested in hearing about what's going on behind the curtain. Destiny offered everyone a new trailer, WildStar gave us plenty of information to chew on, The Elder Scrolls Online talked crafting, and Final Fantasy XIV announced a definite date for its relaunch with a new video. Tons of stuff behind the scenes.

Meanwhile, Eldevin quietly moved into its second phase of closed beta. Oh, and Neverwinter's economy completely collapsed, which is either bad for the beta or bad for the game's launch depending on how you see the game's current state.

How do we see it? Well, you can take a look at our testing list for an idea. In fact, you might want to take a look at the list anyway just to see what's out there. If you notice something erroneous on there, feel free to let us know so we can take a look ourselves.

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Dean Hall has officially made it to the top of the world. The DayZ creator watched the sun rise from the summit of Mt. Everest on May 21st, according to a tweet released earlier today.

Gamasutra recently asked Hall about his Arma zombie mod's phenomenal success, and he pointed to the design's ability to trigger psychological responses to both ownership and loss. "I think the big thing was that it was this finely-crafted mix of permadeath -- which gave you a sense of value, because you could lose something -- and ownership," Hall explained. "Because it's persistent, it means that it's going to be there tomorrow. I think those two things mixed together meant that you had these really valuable stories that came from it."

Star Wars: The Old Republic senior producer Bruce Maclean has posted a summer development roadmap on BioWare's official game forums. The update outlines the 2.2 and 2.3 patches, with the former tentatively scheduled for June 11th and the latter penciled in for August 6th.

The first patch will feature additional guild XP bonuses based on membership numbers (up to a maximum 10% boost), the ability for crafters to make underworld gear, and Nightmare Mode for Terror From Beyond (along with new gear drops).

The second patch will feature "significant graphical upgrades," a new daily area, a new recurring event, and new flashpoints.

Much ado has certainly been made lately about doing something "new and different" in games. Just take a look at all the options coming through Kickstarter lately; even more contenders have thrown their hats into the ring since our roundup last February. But in a large number of these cases, the new ideas are coming from developers within the gaming industry. So what would happen if a game were developed from outside the industry?

Enter TUG. Formally known as The Untitled Game, the game is the brainchild of Nerd Kingdom, a group hailing from the world of academia that happens to have intersected with gaming. Self-described as "a collaboration of video game developers, academic scientists, modders, and gamers," this group wants to move beyond just improving the way games are made "to show[ing] that such games can make us better as individuals and as a society."

I was able to catch up with one of the founders of Nerd Kingdom, Scientist and Researcher of Stuffs Peter Salinas, to talk about the game. We touched on everything from player design input to features (like player books and companions) to making an engine available for others to use. Oh, and of course, Soylent Green.

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While still technically beta, Neverwinter joined the rank and file of MMOverse three weeks ago with a soft launch. Since then, the game has experienced its share of issues, bugs, and exploits. To address those, as well as give players a heads-up on what's incoming, Lead Producer Andy Velasquez shared the fantasy game's first State of the Game address.

Velasquez jumped right into discussing the bugs and exploits that have affected the game since open beta started and outlined the fixes that were implemented to squash them. He went on to talk about the top issues that the team was working on currently and then reveal what players can expect to see in the next few weeks. A Public Test Shard is coming to Neverwinter (to hopefully catch bugs and exploits before going live), as is new endgame raid PvE/PvP content called Gauntlgrym. Other new content includes updates in the Foundry and new companions, zones, mounts, mechanics, Paragon Paths, and a new "ranged" class.

There's a problem in the Guild Wars 2 World vs. World matching system, and it's a subtle one that's almost invisible until you look closer. Because of the way ratings are calculated and how the matchups happen, the net result for each server is always being matched up against the same servers. No matter how well you perform, you wind up locked into a certain tier without any hope of changes. It's a problem that the development team is both aware of and is moving to address.

The short version of how things will work is that servers will be matched up semi-randomly, with ratings taken into account to assure that the spread between opponents isn't too severe. More math beneath the surface takes into account both the current rating of a given world and its overall deviation, producing a "real" rating that will facilitate fair matches. Take a look at the official blog for all the hard details.

Have you ever wanted to battle for galactic glory on the moon? Now you can thanks to Champions Online's Forum Malvanum alert. The new content just went live, and Cryptic says that player heroes will need to "defeat some of the the most dangerous monsters and gladiators from around the universe" in order to become champions of the Lunar Games.

"The Lunar Games include ten rounds of enemies, with some variation in each run," according to Cryptic's announcement post. "Heroes who complete the first five rounds are guaranteed a prize as worthy competitors. More rewards will be granted by Tateklys for defeating the time-limited sixth through tenth rounds, including a climactic final fight with Firewing himself, reigning champion of the Games. Rewards include costume pieces, resources and more."

[Thanks Matixzun!]

BioWare has followed up on the recent Legacy system/crystal banning brouhaha that resulted in the temporary banning of some players from Star Wars: The Old Republic. Community manager Eric Musco says that less than 150 people were incorrectly flagged, and if you're one of those folks you should have already received a message from customer service.

"If you have not had your suspension reversed and you feel this was in error, please contact accountdisputes@swtor.com and they will be able to look into the issue further," Musco writes.

[Thanks Olorunsegun Adewumi!]

Looking forward to having some nostalgic adventures with Ultima Forever when it releases this summer? Then you might enjoy a trip behind the scenes of development with Ken Hartsook, a software engineer working on the title at Mythic. Hartsook is the subject of a new video detailing some of the programming challenges associated with bringing Ultima Forever to the iOS family of devices as well as his favorite parts of the game as it approaches launch.

According to Hartsook, one of the biggest challenges was finding a control scheme that worked for tablets and smartphones, which meant deviating substantially from classic control models. He also discusses the tilesets in the game and his experience playing a Fighter in the test version of the game. So if your iPad is ready and waiting for a chance to take the jump into Britannia, check out the full interview just past the break.

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Neowiz is probably best known to western MMO fans as the publisher behind BLESS, one of those gorgeous big-budget Korean imports that seems to land on our shores once or twice per year. The firm is working on another title called Black Sheep Online, though, and if the gameplay vids and screenshots on display at Steparu.com are any indication, the new title might be worth watching.

The game allows for different limb-focused hit boxes (so targeting arms and legs is a viable strategy), and it also features destructible environments including breakable dungeon walls. Steparu reports that Black Sheep boasts action-style combat and some sort of grappling system. You can check out a gameplay video after the cut, then head to Steparu.com for the full report.

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In spite of its recent layoffs (or maybe because of them), Trion Worlds is plunging ahead with its Defiance promotions. Not only will Syfy be showing a six-episode Defiance-the-show marathon and recap special on Monday (that's May 27th from 4 to 11 p.m.), but Defiance-the-game will be on sale on Steam and available freely from today through Sunday to brand-new players. Players will also nab a second crack at the game's early episodic content, which starred the series' lead characters. Quoth the press release,

Gamers who have yet to explore the open world shooter can try it on PC for free on Steam from May 23rd at 10:00 a.m. PDT [1:00 p.m. EDT] to May 26th at 1:00 p.m. PDT [4:00 p.m. EDT]. [See below for update on times.] Steam is also offering a weekend long sale on Defiance for those whose thirst for alien technology and open world action isn't satisfied by the trial. Both the Standard Edition and Digital Deluxe Edition will be 30% off. In addition, Steam will also be running a sale on "Bits," the in-game currency for Defiance, during which customers will get more "Bits" for their money.

The studio notes that other retailers will feature independent sales but did not specifically say which ones.

[Source: Trion press release]

[Update #1: Readers are reporting that the free weekend on Steam is still not active. The times quoted here are exactly what the press release said, and they have come and gone. We've contacted Trion for clarification and will keep you posted when we actually know more.]
[Update #2: Trion's PR says it's aware of the problem on Steam and is trying to get to the bottom of it now.]
[Update #3: Trion says the new go-live time is now 4 p.m. PDT (7 p.m. EDT) Thursday.]
[Update #4: Happy Friday, peeps. Trion has just posted an official page for the Steam promotion complete with details on how to get signed up as a freebie player for the weekend.]

Even as a mere mortal, Billy Batson stood up to injustice. And now, thanks to the powers granted him by the ancient wizard Shazam, Billy can turn into a mighty lightning-infused warrior to fight against injustice, evil... and whatever opponents happen to queue against him! Joining the pool of available champions in Turbine's upcoming MOBA Infinite Crisis, the superhero formerly known as Captain Marvel (name officially changed to Shazam in 2010) hails from the Prime Universe and brings the power of lightning front-and-center as a melee enforcer.

Want to catch of glimpse of Shazam's powers and abilities like Speed of Mercury, Power of Zeus, Lightning Field, and Mystic Power/Defense? Then watch the champion reveal video after the break.

[Source: Turbine press release]

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Square Enix has announced today that Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is set for release on August 27, 2013 on both PC and PS3.

According to previous reports, the third phase of the relaunched game's beta will begin some time next month. This phase will be the first time A Realm Reborn will be open to PS3 players during this beta.

Click past the jump for complete details on pre-order bonuses and the Collector's Edition box contents as well as the new video.

[Source: Square Enix press release]

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