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Embers of Caerus dev blog talks sieging, Kickstarter

Jef Reahard — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Dev Diaries, Sandbox

Embers of Caerus has been flying under the radar of late (even for an indie sandbox title). Happily, the dev team has broken the silence with a new 20-minute video featuring Forsaken Studios technical director and co-founder Dave Belcher.

Belcher has a lot to say, the main gist of which is that work on EoC is going quite well. That said, funding is an issue as it is for most indie projects, so Belcher and his team have decided to try their hand at Kickstarter. "We're not a greedy bunch, the main thing is making the game and everything else is secondary," Belcher explains. To that end, look for an EoC Kickstarter page over the next few weeks.

In terms of gameplay and systems, Belcher spends a spot of time discussing siege warfare. He does offer a disclaimer in terms of the early nature of a high-level design, but he also describes sieging as "one of our key, killer features," so chances are good that you'll see it in EoC's eventual prototype. Head past the break for the full video.

[Thanks to Sam for the tip!]

Continue reading Embers of Caerus dev blog talks sieging, Kickstarter

Embers of Caerus dev blog talks sieging, Kickstarter originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 21 Apr 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wings Over Atreia: Ode to 3.0, second verse

MJ Guthrie — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Expansions, Patches, PvP, Opinion, Wings Over Atreia

Encore!

You are my expansion,
My favorite expansion,
You'll make me happy
With a house and more.
You have to know, dear,
How much I want you!
Please hurry the expansion to my door!

Just when I thought I was getting a handle on waiting for Aion's sorta-soon-to-be-released 3.0 patch, NCsoft went and announced a slightly less nebulous launch date of "this spring." Our patch-to-be even has the auspicious privilege of having a name: Ascension. And you know a name means extra special! WOOO! I, of course, started a requisite wing-flapping celebratory dance, but my tune soon changed: As exciting as this news was, I quickly realized that the more concrete the knowledge, the more I wanted it to release already. GAH -- this wait is truly taxing my patience! There is just so much to look forward to.

Last week I regaled you with a stirring, soulful rendition of anticipation for 3.0. Together we explored just a few of the goodies in store for patient and -- luckily for me -- not-so-patient Daevas alike. This week the recital continues, and as promised, Wings Over Atreia takes another peek at more of the features coming our way and highlights some of the more tantalizing additions and changes, including new fortresses with their own unique siege system, XP changes, mounts, and more.

Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: Ode to 3.0, second verse

Wings Over Atreia: Ode to 3.0, second verse originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Darkfall siege mechanics detailed

Jef Reahard — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Darkfall, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items

Aventurine has spilled the beans on Darkfall's new siege mechanics in a lengthy blog entry posted over the weekend. Producer Tasos Flambouras writes that the "new system brings substantial changes to how sieges work, and will not only eliminate issues like self-sieging, but will also make sieges a lot more strategic, profitable and interesting."

How so?

Well, for starters there's the fact that clan size now affects your ability to initiate a siege, and actions against a rival clan city will require more members than actions against a hamlet (and trial accounts won't count towards your clan size). All attacking clans will also need to pay a wager, the amount of which is affected by several variables. First up is the target city's power level, which is derived from how many buildings are in evidence. Your clan's wager will also change according to how many clans are already sieging by the time you join.

These tweaks are the tip of the proverbial iceberg, and there's much more reading material at the official Darkfall Epic Blog.

New Darkfall siege mechanics detailed originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 25 Jul 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Upcoming Darkfall relaunch is 'a new game'

Jef Reahard — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Darkfall, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items

How does a fresh start in the world of Agon grab you? The devs at Aventurine have been making noises about relaunching Darkfall for a while now, but in a new dev blog released earlier today, producer Tasos Flambouras gives us a hint at just how significant the changes are going to be.

"This relaunch is not an expansion. It's a new game we've been developing in parallel with the current version of Darkfall. The scope is massive, and it has been difficult to stay on schedule after several unexpected issues," Flambouras writes.

So, yeah. Whoa. In our best Keanu Reeves voice.

The blog features some further discussion about a new siege system and a political map for the current version of Darkfall, but frankly we're still recovering from the previous paragraph and unsure as to how it all fits together. Is this Darkfall II? Is the current version going away when the relaunch hits? Inquiring minds want to know, and we'll bring you the latest on this story as we learn more.

Upcoming Darkfall relaunch is 'a new game' originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 01 Jul 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GamersFirst revamps Knight Online's capital city

Jef Reahard — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lore, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play

GamersFirst is getting a lot of press lately due to its resurrection project on APB: Reloaded, but it bears mentioning that San Paro isn't the only city receiving some love from the free-to-play company.

Knight Online's capital city of Moradon "has risen from the ashes to be completely redesigned," according to a new GamersFirst press blurb. Moradon's architecture has been permanently redone, and the questing hub boasts a graphical revamp that reflects the city's rebuilding efforts following the destructive machinations of the god Pathos in Knight Online's chapter eight update.

Knight Online is a PvP- and story-centric MMO that allows players to fight for lands and castles in the kingdom of Carnac. Four character classes are available, and you can learn more about the Warrior, Rogue, Priest, and Mage at the game's official web destination.

GamersFirst revamps Knight Online's capital city originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 07 Jun 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aventurine looking for feedback on Darkfall siege revamp

Jef Reahard — Fri, 20 May 2011 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Darkfall, Game mechanics, MMO industry, PvP, News items

Aventurine is in the process of revamping Darkfall's siege system, and the devs are in need of your assistance. A new entry at the Darkfall Epic Blog fills in the details, and perennial coolest dev name contest winner Tasos Flambouras has published a snippet of an internal design document in order to give players a better understanding of why some changes are necessary.

Flambouras lays out four key points of particular interest to Darkfall's devs, and interested players are invited to leave feedback via the blog's comment system. Topics up for discussion include minimum numbers of active clan players, win conditions, timer issues, and automatic vulnerability. Head to the official Darkfall blog to make your voice heard.

Aventurine looking for feedback on Darkfall siege revamp originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 May 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wings Over Atreia: Daevas of Our Lives -- The siege

MJ Guthrie — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Opinion, Wings Over Atreia

The battle was sore. The sound of wings beating the hot air of the Abyss filled the ears of all of us, soldier and commander alike. Singed feathers, both black and white, floated about, as fireballs flew between factions, pelting any who could not dodge fast enough. Shadowy forms dove, weaving between the raining arrows, looking for targets. Sounds of steel clashing rang out as spies tried to sneak past enemy lines in search of kisks. The battle was immense, a sea of red crashing against us, trying to claim what was rightfully ours! We knew we must give our all to repel the enemy onslaught.

In the heat of battle, immediate decisions had long-reaching consequences; the tide of battle could turn on a single kinah. All voices hushed as the Commander, MrAwesumPants, issued the order that would bring victory, that would bring us closer to eradicating this threat upon true Daeva. One force was dispatched to take the artifact and activate it. "Do it. Do it now. Do it. Do it. Do it now. Do it do it do it do it now do it do it do it now... now... now... now... get it. DO IT NOW... come ON! Are you paying attention? NOW NOW NOW!! DO IT DO IT DO IT! NOWNOWNOWNOWNOWNOWNOW!!! Do it. Don't do it. OMG you *expletive* I can't believe you just did that!"

Everyone could hear the spittle dripping from his mic, spraying against his monitor. The hush continued.

Have you ever sat in a faction Ventrilo server and heard the siege leader repeat an order like a rapid-fire machine gun for what seemed like five minutes straight, then right as it is being accomplished, immediately rescind the order, demand his followers stop, then totally berate whoever followed the order? No joke -- true story. If you thought drama was just for individuals or legions in Aion, think again! There is a seemingly endless supply of siege drama to keep Daevas entertained -- or disgusted.

Settle back and tune in past the cut for the latest episode of Daevas of Our Lives.

Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: Daevas of Our Lives -- The siege

Wings Over Atreia: Daevas of Our Lives -- The siege originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aion: Assault on Balaurea zone trailer -- Gelkmaros

MJ Guthrie — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Aion, Expansions, Interviews, Previews

Last week, NCsoft gave us a peek at one of the new zones in Aion's upcoming Assault on Balaurea expansion; today, we tour the Asmodian occupied land -- Gelkmaros. With fissures ripped in the very land itself and areas devastated by ancient battles (including the ancient city of Maravas), the Asmodians will find their stronghold treacherous, but not without surprising new allies.

Stranded in Balaurea since before the Cataclysm, the Reian tribe knew nothing of the war between the Asmodians and the Elyos until recently. These Daevas who stand watch over Subterranea, home of the evil Dragonbound, enter into a tentative alliance with their lost brothers and sisters from Asmodae.

As hostile as the land and creatures may be, the Asmodians must be ever vigilant to defend both the Vorgaltem Citadel and Crimson Temple against the assaults of the Balaur and Elyos forces, lest they lose the ability to travel with in their enemy's stronghold.

Once again, Massively asked Chris Hager, Producer of Aion, NCsoft West, a few questions about this new area.

Fly past the cut and through a video tour of Gelkmaros, then check out Chris' answers.

Continue reading Aion: Assault on Balaurea zone trailer -- Gelkmaros

Aion: Assault on Balaurea zone trailer -- Gelkmaros originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AoC's 2nd of July patch completes planned Necro changes

William Dobson — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:15:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Bugs, Classes, Patches, PvP

The first patch for Age of Conan under the new scheduling has hit the live servers. Along with a healthy portion of quest and NPC bug fixes, the second half of the discussed Necromancer changes have made it in, granting them more splash damage for a couple of their pets, some feat related changes, and the ironing out of a few bugs relating to their spells.

Massive PvP also received some updates. Players attacking battlekeeps will now respawn at the front gate of the city, a bug that disabled siege weapons has been corrected, and most notably, a lot of dodgy keep walls that could be walked through have been fixed. This patch does not introduce the major PvP overhaul that everyone has been waiting for unfortunately, and under the new schedule, we'll need to wait another week for the next opportunity. Check out the forums to get a full list of this patch's updates.

AoC's 2nd of July patch completes planned Necro changes originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Age of Conan: The siege warfare is a buggy lagfest

Matt Warner — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Bugs, Events, in-game, Forums, Game mechanics, PvP

Age of Conan players should think twice about partaking in the lag-ridden siege action this weekend; they're better off waiting until this coming Monday's patch. The naysayers concerns from beta were certified two days ago, when Sinister took part in Age of Conan's first full on siege since the game went live. If you want the quick recap it was buggy and the performance was terrible; however, Funcom deserves kudos for responding as quickly as they did. Unfortunately, the only viable solution at this time is for players to crank down the graphics and wait it out.

It's hard to tell from the picture but it shows 0.3 fps and a 3389 ping, with many players reporting similar results on their superior gaming machines. Since Funcom's response a player reported better performance on the second siege averaging about 15 fps on dual 8800 GTs.We'll see if Monday's patch improves the performance or not for all players involved. If you'd like to see some rough footage from the second siege battle Sinister has posted it on their website. (NSFW)

Continue reading Age of Conan: The siege warfare is a buggy lagfest

Age of Conan: The siege warfare is a buggy lagfest originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Funcom responds to concerns following first instances of AoC's "Massive PvP"

William Dobson — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:15:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Bugs, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, Patches, PvP

Age of Conan players have started getting to the stage where they can partake in the game's much-hyped "Massive PvP" -- the first battlekeeps are up, and you can be sure that people are all too keen to go and knock them down. However, it seems that the first wave of these epic battles have not gone so smoothly, and not just for any guilds left with a pile of smoking rubble.

Funcom has posted on the official forums (with the actual message being penned by Gaute Godager) in the hopes of reassuring the community that the problems that have been experienced with these battles are being looked at. The main issues are identified as those of client performance, and those of content and collision. Client performance is apparently the biggest problem being reported, and even before people started to get into massive PvP, some fixes to do with this have been worked on behind the scenes.

Continue reading Funcom responds to concerns following first instances of AoC's "Massive PvP"

Funcom responds to concerns following first instances of AoC's "Massive PvP" originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video, interview paint detailed picture of AoC raids

Samuel Axon — Tue, 20 May 2008 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Age of Conan, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, Interviews, New titles, PvP, Endgame, News items, PvE

There's a two-pronged assault of Age of Conan raid content information at Ten Ton Hammer -- a 20 minute raid presentation video, and an interview with raid boss scripter Eirik Munthe. Both the presentation and the interview occurred at the AoC launch event in Oslo last week, and both were rich with information. It looks like the endgame content has some incremental innovations just like the lower-level stuff; that should make the hardcore crowd happy.

In the presentation, bits and pieces of one of AoC's level 80, 24-person raids were shown to an audience with live commentary by Game Director Gaute Godager. Multiple bosses were shown, such as a poison-leaking monstrosity and two demons -- one ice, one fire -- who gain power when standing near one another. Godager explained the philosophy behind raiding and epic gear, and using collision detection in battle strategies. He revealed that raid groups will be able to call it a night halfway through a raid and finish any time they want (so long as it's before the raid expiration date -- one week after its start date). There was also a brief series of clips of a massive PvP siege.

In the interview with Eirik Munthe we learned that Funcom put together strike teams consisting of designers, scripters, and writers. Each strike team focused its attentions completely on a 20-level span; for example, Munthe's team worked on content for player levels 60 - 80. Munthe described the challenges he faced when scripting encounters with some of AoC's unique features such as collision detection and CoE (cone of effect) healing in mind.

Video, interview paint detailed picture of AoC raids originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 May 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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All you need to know about WAR's keeps and sieges

William Dobson — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, New titles, PvP, Warhammer Online

There's a new FAQ at Ten Ton Hammer that looks at the keeps and sieges of Warhammer Online. It answers a nice chunk of questions that people might have about this aspect of the Realm versus Realm gameplay which was looked at in the February newsletter. The process involved in capturing a keep will be to first breach the exterior walls, then the interior walls, and finally to slay the Keep Lord.

Along the way you'll be able to use a variety of siege weapons, and both the attacking and defending sides will find these siege tools useful. When the Keep Lord is taken out, all remaining guards at the keep will despawn, and the Keep Lord will respawn as an ally to the sieging party, ready for when the other faction tries to re-capture the keep. It's a big, messy circle. Check out the rest of the FAQ for more on how you can attack or defend a keep in WAR.

All you need to know about WAR's keeps and sieges originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 22 Mar 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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