Filed under: Sci-fi

CCP's Ryan Dancey on keeping EVE Online compelling

by James Egan Nov 6th 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Business models, Economy, Interviews, MMO industry

CCP Games Chief Marketing Officer Ryan S. Dancey recently spoke with Gamasutra's Christian Nutt about the state of EVE Online and what makes the sci-fi title unique. EVE has traits that many MMOs don't, such as player governance, a dynamic virtual economy, and slow but continual subscription growth. CCP does face problems in tandem with that growth however, namely from RMT operations. There is also the issue of balancing developer control over aspects of the game's economy (mission rewards, salvage and loot drops, ISK sinks) with the ideal of allowing EVE's economy to be as player-driven as possible, explains Dancey.

Among other things discussed in the interview, Gamasutra asks how White Wolf has changed following the merger with CCP Games nearly three years ago. Dancey tells Gamasutra: "It's just an imprint... White Wolf used to have a fairly large staff. It doesn't anymore. It's focusing primarily on the World of Darkness RPG products. It's not doing some of the things it used to do; board games and other card games and things. The focus of the company [CCP] is on making MMOs and our legacy table top business is a legacy business."

Fallen Earth brings a bit of the apocalypse to the iPhone

by Krystalle Voecks Nov 6th 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, New titles, Crafting, PvE

Today Fallen Earth has announced a new iPhone app in the works that might well make all but the most hardcore earth-loving Vista reconsider their wary stance on technology. This new Fallen Earth app will offer players the ability to access their stored and equipped items, check out their character's stats and maps of the different sectors. What's most interesting to us is the addition of real-time chat, email, auctions and crafting to the mix. The ability to interact with the auction house and crafting queue is going to be huge to many crafters and travelers, thereby making sure that one never gets stuck with dead time when a project could be rolling.

While currently underway for the iPhone, the eventual plans are to branch it out to other smartphone platforms from there as we're given to understand. The Fallen Earth app is slated to release sometime in the first of next year, and no price has currently been mentioned that we're aware of. There's no doubt it will be wildly popular with many in the wastes. Stuck at work? You'll be able to let your clan know you'll be a bit late for that PvP scavenging trip. Or you could in-game mail some Red Rooster Chicken Beer off to one of those crazy Post Apoc Radio DJs. We hear they like drunken parties.

Asheron's Call lead designer talks 10-Year anniversary, the MMO market, more

by Tracey John Nov 6th 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Asheron's Call, Interviews, MMO industry, The Matrix Online, Casual

Not many MMOs last a decade, and this week marks 10 years since the launch of Asheron's Call, the fantasy MMORPG by Turbine Entertainment. Releasing several months after EverQuest, the game held its own and found its way to becoming one of the top MMOs of its time, providing fond memories for many players.

"I'm very proud of Asheron's Call, even today," said former AC lead designer Toby Ragaini in an e-mail to Massively. "It really broke a lot of new ground and I still have people come up to me saying what a great time they had playing. That's a pretty wonderful compliment after 10 years."

Ragaini, who has since worked on Sony Online Entertainment's The Matrix Online and is now working on a casual web-based MMO called Faunasphere, reminisced about working on Asheron's Call and spoke about what it's like working in the MMO market after 14 years of being in the biz.

Reakktor Media financial woes resolved, full speed ahead for Black Prophecy

by James Egan Nov 6th 2009 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, Legal, Black Prophecy

Those following the news surrounding development of sci-fi MMO Black Prophecy from Reakktor Media know there's been a significant hurdle to this title seeing the light of day -- the issue of insolvency. When parent company 10Tacle filed for insolvency, this adversely impacted subsidiary Reakktor Media and threatened continued development of Black Prophecy, which Reakktor addressed in an interview with Massively in April.

It was announced today that their restructuring plan has been successful, and that their insolvency plan saved the jobs of all 36 employees at the company. Even better, Black Prophecy is on track for a release next year, according to the press statement released by the HERMANN law firm which oversaw the insolvency proceedings.

Star Wars: The Old Republic reveals Imperial Agent its newest class

by Rubi Bayer Nov 6th 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Classes, New titles, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic

We've got Trooper, Smuggler, Jedi Knight, Bounty Hunter, Sith Warrior, and now Imperial Agent. BioWare revealed the sixth class for Star Wars: The Old Republic today on their forums. This news comes as absolutely no surprise to those who attended the EA Press Tour earlier this week -- they enjoyed advance information from producer Blaine Christine.

Imperial Agents are a rogue class of sorts, doing their work for the Empire with high-tech tools to help them infiltrate the republic and assassinate enemies of the Sith Empire. The announcement from Sean Dahlberg says that Imperial Agents are "heavily inspired by several classic Star Wars characters such as Zam Wessel and Grand Moff Tarkin. [...] Players who choose to be Imperial Agents in The Old Republic (TOR) will see the underbelly of the Empire in a whole new light."

The Holonet will be updated next week with the Imperial Agent, but the class already has its own forum on the official site and discussion is going strong.

Fallen Earth wants to know what your clone is thankful for

by Krystalle Voecks Nov 5th 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Contests

A cache of weak petroleum; cool Interceptors; sweet ammo drops; and having friends to face it all with. These are just some of the many things in Fallen Earth that clones might well be thankful for. Of course, if you think you can capture what you're thankful for in the wastes of the Grand Canyon, then the Fallen Earth team wants to hear from you. They're holding a screenshot contest in an attempt to find out what passes as an "authentic" Thanksgiving now that society has been mutated, fractured, and factionalized.

The idea is simple. You and up to four of your friends get together and hold your own Fallen Earth post-apocalyptic style Thanksgiving: killing, looting, maiming, working together, talking about the day's events over a nice warm Unicorn Whiz Beer -- whatever you think fits best. Then e-mail your entry off to fecontest [AT] fallenearth [DOT] com by Friday, November 13, and cross your fingers. Three winners will be picked for the contest. The first-prize image submitters get a sweet Fallen Earth t-shirt and a choice of some special in-game holiday noms for up to 5 people. More details and those pesky rule things can be found over on the Fallen Earth site for those interested. In the meantime, we're off to the wastes to figure out our own Thanksgiving entries!

CCP reaching out to potential EVE players with "Get a Clone"

by James Egan Nov 5th 2009 at 2:30PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Professions

EVE Online creators CCP Games are taking a different approach to promoting the game with a new website. All players in EVE's setting of New Eden are "capsuleers" -- starship pilots who have attained immortality through cloning technology. CCP's "Get a Clone" site invites you to "Clone yourself. Not the way you are, but the way you want to be." The site belongs to Duvolle Laboratories, one of EVE Online's NPC corporations, and provides an in-character introduction to some of the basic career paths a pilot can explore in the game.

But first, Duvolle Labs asks you five questions that pin down how morally flexible you are (as a game character). Would you rather build or tear down? Would you risk your life for money or glory? Is success is measured by profits or progress? Your responses to five questions Duvolle Laboratories asks places you in one of four broad career paths - military, exploration, business, or industry.

Massively's Star Trek Online community Q&A: Ship questions!

by Kyle Horner Nov 5th 2009 at 11:30AM

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, News items, Star Trek Online

Do you have burning questions for the Star Trek Online development team? We certainly hope so, because over the next several weeks we'll be issuing posts like this looking for your questions on a specific topic concerning the upcoming Trek MMO. This week? Ships! We want all your ship-related inquiries, whether they're about customization or weapon points; Federation of Klingon Empire.

We'll give you until 12pm Pacific time Friday, November 6th to submit your questions in the comments section below. Following that, we'll round up a cross-section of the most popular and most poignant questions and by next week we'll have your answers straight from the folks at Cryptic. We're also open to suggestions on next week's Q&A topic, so feel free to throw your hat into that ring while you're typing 'em up.

Update: We'll be extending the time limit on questions until the end of Friday, November 6th, so keep 'em coming guys!

Face of Mankind: Rebirth goes into closed beta phase four

by Seraphina Brennan Nov 5th 2009 at 11:00AM

Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Face of Mankind, New titles, PvP, News items, MMOFPS

Face of Mankind: Rebirth, the revitalization and recoding of Face of Mankind, has hit their last beta milestone as of last week -- closed beta phase 4.

Phase 4 is the final phase of their beta, the one where they let the flood gates wide open. If you have ever signed up for an FoM beta account, your account has been activated and you can log in to play the game. All you need to do is download the game client, which is available through links provided in your account activation e-mail.

EVE Online's CSM candidates debate live on today's Planet Risk radio show

by James Egan Nov 4th 2009 at 3:15PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Podcasts, EVE Online, Culture, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, Politics

A number of EVE Online fans who've needed their podcast fix have been tuning in to Planet Risk in recent months, a great mix of music and commentary from players who spend most of their EVE time exploring the uncharted expanses of wormhole space. Planet Risk is a live show that airs on Split Infinity Radio on Wednesdays; hosts Luminus Aardokay and Quivering Palm make Planet Risk available as a podcast afterwards and we recommend you check it out if you haven't already. Today's show should be interesting as they will host a debate between four candidates for EVE's next Council of Stellar Management, the player-elected body that represents the wishes of the subscribers when dealing with CCP and how EVE Online is evolving.

We mentioned last week that the 4th CSM candidates have been announced but not everyone in the running had their positions on issues fleshed out in time for the CCP announcement. Since that day, more info about the 49 candidates is becoming available (thanks for pointing this out Darth Sith). Today's debate on Planet Risk will have CSM candidates TeaDaze (known to many for his commentary during the Alliance Tournament), Song Li (from the Missions Collide podcast), Helen Highwater and Mike Azariah.

GameX 2009: Our hands-on with Global Agenda

by Seraphina Brennan Nov 3rd 2009 at 2:30PM

Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Game mechanics, PvP, PvE, MMOFPS, Global Agenda, Massively Hands-on, Massively Event Coverage

It's an MMO, it's a shooter, and we stealthily gathered enemy intelligence on it at GameX 2009. It's Hi-Rez's Global Agenda, the "spy-fi" team based shooter that has lots of people talking in excited whispers.

We sat down at Hi-Rez's gaming rigs once again for a look at the game, and this time we went beyond the PvP matches. We got to have some personal time with Global Agenda's PvE mode, getting an inside look at how secret agents deal with insane governments that utilize robots to the Nth degree.

So what can you expect from Global Agenda, both PvP and PvE-wise? If our looks into the game were any indication, you can expect lots.

Masthead Studios delves into Earthrise crafting process

by James Egan Nov 2nd 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, New titles, Crafting, Earthrise

Earthrise creators Masthead Studios have already made clear that their forthcoming title will be a far future sandbox MMO, a post-apocalyptic setting where PvP will be a major aspect of gameplay. What hasn't been as clear is exactly how the extensive crafting process they've discussed in the past will actually work out in normal gameplay. Certainly we've heard a great deal about customization of crafted goods and the potential to become well-known for your own variations on items, but we never had a real overview of those game mechanics. That is, until now.

Masthead aims to dispel any confusion surrounding Earthrise's crafting system in a two-part series of blog posts that kicked off today as part of their Question of the Week offering to the community. "The Crafting Process", part one of two, poses the theoretical example of a player -- let's call him "Tim" -- who clearly hates Burzun mutants. Enough so that Tim wishes to craft an assault rifle specifically tailored for killing this particular type of mutant. Masthead Studios walks the reader through the skills required to create such a weapon, the components that must be gathered, and how Tim will be able to extract needed resources from those materials.

Demo impressions of Star Trek Online from Eurogamer Expo 2009

by James Egan Nov 2nd 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, New titles, Quests, PvE, Star Trek Online

We recently mentioned that Star Trek Online fans would get a chance to play through a demo of the game at Eurogamer Expo last week. One of the first reports we've read about the Star Trek Online demo comes from Oli Welsh at Eurogamer who was uniquely positioned to check out the game (it was their Expo after all.) Welsh begins by writing, "Trekkies can put one fear to rest right now: Star Trek Online feels just like Star Trek." Although this might assuage a bit of the apprehension some gamers have about trying yet another Star Trek game, Welsh is up front about the fact that the demo he played through was a contained single player experience. It's too soon to say what gameplay will feel like when hundreds of other players are thrown into the mix.

He writes about the demo's transitions between locations via warp jumps, keyboard navigation of star ships (standard WASD, with additional throttle control), and the pacing of ship combat. Welsh also walks the reader from the bridge of a Federation vessel down to the surface of a planet where Klingon opponents await. Fans of the game should read Eurogamer's hands on with Star Trek Online and may also be interested in the video footage of STO gameplay from Limited Edition, shot at this year's Eurogamer Expo (starting at 02:40. They've also captured gameplay of Global Agenda as well.) We've got a video embed of that for you after the jump.

EVE Evolved: Postcards from EVE: Reader Submissions

by Brendan Drain Nov 1st 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Galleries, Screenshots, EVE Online, Culture, Wallpapers, Hands-on, EVE Evolved

As a tribute to EON Magazine's "Postcards from the Edge" feature, last week I started this two-part series of postcards from all around EVE Online. In last week's first part I presented a gallery full of postcards from my own travels in EVE. I then asked readers to email in any of their own screenshots that they wanted to appear as postcards. This week, I finish the series with a mixture of reader submissions and my own remaining postcards. As with last week, they're all high-resolution shots suitable to be used as widescreen backgrounds. Feel free to save them out from your browser to get them at full resolution.

Thanks go to Massively readers "Mike", "Mark Pittam" and my corpmate "Retalus" for their submissions. Included are some shots of the new planets coming with the Dominion expansion in December and a lot of pictures from Sleeper space. Hope you enjoy!

Gallery: EVE Online Postcards, part 2

Black Prophecy newsletter updates fans on the game

by James Egan Oct 31st 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, Black Prophecy

The sci-fi MMO Black Prophecy from developer Reakktor Media still has a few significant hurdles to clear before release, but it's looking to be an interesting title from the gameplay footage we've seen thus far. As they continue to develop Black Prophecy and seek a publisher to help them expand their reach into multiple markets, Reakktor Media has been updating the community on the game's status.

They've just released their eighth Black Prophecy newsletter that hits on the media coverage they've received in the last month (along with the latest art assets), a look into the game's art direction, and the "Pimp My Ship!" that's happening on the official forums. Also, if you're curious about what will differentiate this game from other sci-fi MMOs currently on the market, be sure to have a look through Massively's Black Prophecy coverage.

Gallery: Black Prophecy Gallery