STO – F2P

MMORPG.com announcement

In a move that surprised … just about nobody, it was recently confirmed that Star Trek Online will soon be moving to a Free-to-Play subscription model. Details on the transition are scarce at the time of filming this episode, but according to a statement from Perfect World CEO Kevlin Lau, the transition is scheduled to take place before the end of 2011.

There are a few simple reasons that this came as no real surprise to anyone that’s been following Cryptic Studios and their recent acquisition by Perfect World:

• Firstly is that this game, and their superhero game – Champions Online – both have possessed in-game cash shops since their launch.
• While to some this came across as a “cake: have-eat” scenario, I always saw it more as testing the waters of a F2P model, without taking the full risk associated with such a move out-of-the-gate.
• I also suspect that there was a lot of pressure from their former publisher, Atari, to recoup the cost of development of both of these MMOs, by charging both an up-front box cost and an ongoing subscription fee.
• The move to a fully cash-shop-supported financial model is going to be just as seamless and simple for STO as it was for CO when they transitioned to F2P almost a year ago.
• And secondly, if STO had remained a subscription-based game, it would have been the ONLY such subscription model on Perfect World’s books. That would be highly unlikely.
• That being said, a subscription OPTION still exists in CO, and is likely to exist in STO as well, after this transition goes thru. In fact, in the same conference call where this F2P transition was first revealed, it was also mentioned that Perfect World is using Cryptic Studios to get more of a foothold in the subscription-based MMO market. Meaning that it’s also possible that more of Perfect World’s future products will offer a subscription option, in addition to their usual cash-shop offerings.

As for my opinions on the subject? I can pretty much summarize by saying that I consider this a very, very good thing for the future of Star Trek Online. I’ve been in touch with potential players of this game, and fans of Trek in general, and a primary sticking point to new players trying out the title has always been the subscription fee. By eliminating that barrier for entry, Cryptic and Perfect World will be opening the doors to a whole new type of audience, that can then “vote with their wallets” to determine whether or not Star Trek Online is worth investing in.

The presence of a strong set of UGC tools, and a strong community surrounding those tools, continues to be a unique selling point for Star Trek Online. I believe that if Cryptic really wishes to distinguish themselves in the F2P market, they need to leverage that set of tools as a primary selling point.

Early indications are that Free players will be unable to build their own missions, but will still have access to PLAY missions created by other players. Meaning that they can see the toolset in action, and if they are impressed by what they see, they may be enticed to subscribe or buy access through the in-game cash shop, in order to become a part of the UGC community of STO.

In order for that to happen, Freepers need to be shown the best of the best missions in-game. And so, additional support for mission creators needs to be brought to the fore of Cryptic’s community-based efforts. Reinforce those players that are making your game look the best, and you will reap the benefits tenfold.

As most of you are probably aware, Jupiter Broadcasting also produces a video podcast dedicated to Star Trek Online, so if you’re curious to hear a more in-depth editorial on the subject, I’d recommend following the next few episodes of STOked, as the story continues to develop. We hope to have someone from Cryptic join us on that show in the near future to discuss the Free-to-Play transition, and all of its implications.

NEVERWINTER

In other Perfect World-slash-Cryptic news, I thought I’d mention that back in August we received notification that the launch of Neverwinter has been officially delayed from a launch window of “Late 2011” to “Late 2012.” The initial quote from Perfect World indicates that this launch delay was being undertaken in order to “invest in a more immersive experience.”

Well, pardon me, but HELL YES. It’s about damn time that more game publishers start to realize that launching a product prematurely – especially an MMO – does way more harm to the long-term goals of that label and the associated development studio, than any monetary influx that the sale of boxes could bring. We’ve already seen this happen with the aforementioned Star Trek Online, which has been universally acknowledged by both its staunchest fans, and developers of that title, to have launched WAY too early to be considered a fleshed-out product. And the result of that premature launch has been a lack of consumer confidence in Cryptic Studios by the general gaming public, and, likely a lack of long-term success that COULD have been found if the studio had been allowed to spend another year or two in development.

So, lesson learned. Neither Cryptic or Perfect World want that to happen again. So Neverwinter will be out “when it’s ready.” And I, for one, am thankful to be kept waiting.

TORCHLIGHT MMO and TORCHLIGHT II

Torchlight MMO gets a launch window

Another bit of news that “leaked” out of that same conference call, was a confirmation that Runic Games is indeed moving forward at a steady clip on their plans to roll out a Torchlight MMO. According to the statements made by Perfect World, the title could be ready to launch as early as late 2012.

I actually had the pleasure of sitting down to speak with Runic’s CEO, Max Schaefer, during PAX 2011. When asked about eventual plans for their rumored MMO, he said it had always been Runic’s intent to create an MMO game, and that cutting their teeth on Torchlight and Torchlight II has been a necessary part of that process, as the lessons they’ve learned while developing those two titles has left them wiser and more well-prepared to tackle their big dream project.

But nowhere in that conversation did he indicate that they were already moving forward on the project to the point that a release could be more or less one year away from now. In fact, in my frank conversation with him, he actually indicated that Runic may even take a break from the Torchlight franchise after the launch of their impending sequel, and that no solid plans for their upcoming pipeline have been nailed down.

It’s possible that there’s been some crossed wires here between Perfect World and Runic. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out that this initial estimate of the launch of the Torchlight MMO ends up being off by as much as a few years. Though there’s no doubt in my mind that it is, indeed, going to happen. It just seems to me that the success or failure of Torchlight II will determine the timing of that MMO’s development process, which doesn’t seem to have begun yet.

As for Torchlight II, I had the brief opportunity to get my hands in some co-op gameplay on the PAX floor, and was very happy with the experience. As many of you probably already know, Blizzard has recently announced that Diablo III will include some rather restrictive mechanics when it launches, including the lack of offline play, no modding, and an auction house for trading items for real world currency. All of these announcements have turned off many potential players of the upcoming title, but Runic has embraced those announcements as an opportunity to stand apart from the title it was once rumored to have been cloned from.

Torchlight II will include both an offline solo mode, and LAN play that will not be filtered through a central verification server. During my conversation with Max Schaefer, I asked if they were afraid of piracy that may result from this lack of restrictions, and his simple answer was no. That piracy will happen regardless of what restrictions you put in place, and that it can also potentially drive additional sales of your product. For example, if you visit a friend and end up playing a LAN session of Torchlight II using a hacked copy of the game, Runic feels you are very likely to enjoy that experience to such a degree that you end up purchasing the game at a later point in time. And with a box price of only $20, I can see that being a reality.

Torchlight II will also support modding. To such a degree that the actual development tools that were used to create the game will ship as a part of the retail program. And while there’s a steep learning curve associated with their use, the inclusion of these tools will allow the modding community to literally create anything they can imagine in Torchlight. From new campaigns and maps, to fundamentally altering the mechanics of the gameworld itself. One of the most common examples of this that’s been mentioned repeatedly, is the removal of the player cap on multiplayer sessions, which at the time of release will be set at between 4 and 8 players. But via modding, this restriction could potentially be completely removed.

As for the auction house concept, Max simply told me it’s beyond the scope of Torchlight II. There isn’t even a direct trading interface between players. The only way to trade items, is drop them on the ground where the other player can pick them up. If players wish to work out Paypal arrangements for such transactions, they’re welcome to, but Runic has no intent to cash in on the gameplay enjoyment of their customers.

In essence, Torchlight II is shaping up to be more Diablo-ey, than even the sequel that will bear the name. And Runic claims they are on target to release their title on the PC by the end of the year.

BLACKLIGHT RETRIBUTION

Let’s switch gears entirely now, and talk about an upcoming title from Zombie Studios and being published by Perfect World. This game caught my eye at PAX because I thought I was watching a game of what was essentially a Counterstrike clone, when suddenly one of the staff running the 4vs4 PvP demo told the players participating, to activate their “wall hacks!”

Welcome to Blacklight Retribution – an Unreal Engine dx11 competitive FPS set in a near-future of cyber-warfare. I’m not sure what the backstory of this world is, or if there even is one, but I’m also not sure that it matters for this type of gameplay.

I’m not going to spend a lot of time talking about this title, as it’s most definitely NOT an MMO. Even though it contains a huge online presence, the lack of any form of persistence really rules out the MMO moniker from coming into play. Despite that, this F2P game is still being published by an MMO company, and I think that’s enough to warrant a little bit of attention.

The primary selling point of Blacklight, is Instant Action. Beyond just being able to load into a match using traditional matchmaking services, once in the match the use of your “Hyper-Reality View” (or HRV), will allow you to see your friends and foes thru the walls around you, allowing you to almost instantly track down the nearest target or defense point, and get into the action with minimal delay. The presence of this built-in “wall hack” mechanic actually adds a new layer of strategy to the game, as every player comes equipped with it. So even though you can see him thru those walls, he can potentially see you, too. And so knowing when your opponent is looking your direction is almost as important as knowing where he is, and whether there’s a wall between the two of you. Because of the addition of this one simple mechanic, I found the entire FPS deathmatch experience to have taken on a slightly more cerebral layer of consideration, and became more strategic than your average shoot-em-up match.

As a somewhat unique feature in this world of PvP deathmatch shooters, Blacklight also features a very robust customization interface. Players will have the option to change the look and feel of most of the weapons in the game, including adding laser sights to pistols, changing ammo types, or just adding decals to your weapons and armor. It’s really a very small matter, but it’s very fun, and really no stranger than adding a unique hat to your TF2 avatar.

In fact, fans of games like TF2 and Counterstrike will definitely want to check out Blacklight Retribution when it lands. At the price of FREE, you really have nothing to lose. I would caution you however, that the minimum specs are on the high-end, as the makers at Zombie Studios specifically want to ensure that their game is a cut above the level of most console shooter titles. However, that also means that this game is very much rooted in the PC market, and the UI and keybinds will not suffer from being “dumbed down” for players used to using controllers to frag their enemies.

Blacklight Retribution is undergoing extensive private beta testing right now, with the goal of being released before the end of 2011. However, the statement I received from one of the Zombie Studio reps at PAX, was that the title would only be released once they were sure they could deliver a bug-free and balanced experience out of the gate. When I asked the same question of an on-site Perfect World rep, they confirmed this by stating that the launch date would be at the discretion of Zombie, and hadn’t been finalized.

CLOSER

That’s it for this episode of The MMOrgue. As we look back on the stories of today’s episode, we notice that 3 separate development studios, all working under Perfect World, all producing vastly different products still all have a few simple design philosophies shining through:

1) Deliver PC-focused game experiences, regardless of whether the title is an MMO, shooter, or action RPG.
2) Eliminate or reduce the financial barrier for entry to enjoy these titles, and allow the consumer to ‘vote with their wallets’ to support the product or not.
3) Don’t launch the title until it’s ready for public consumption.

I have to say, as a gamer and industry enthusiast, I absolutely agree with those 3 principles, and can foresee myself becoming a long-term supporter of Perfect World if they can stick to their guns. The only hiccup remains the potential for cash shops to encourage that whole “pay to win” atmosphere that I’ve spoken out against in the past, and so far Perfect World has been sitting on both sides of that fence, depending on which of their games you look at. It’s in their best interest to steer as clear of it as they can, as they continue to gain more of a foothold here in the Western MMO market.

That brings us to the end of this week’s MMOrgue. Over the coming few weeks, I intend to produce episodes about League of Legends and Firefall, but the precise dates of each of those haven’t been pinned down as I’m trying to wrangle up an interview for each. So next week’s episode is a total mystery! I hope you can join me back here nonetheless, as I continue to plumb the depths of the online gaming market.

The post Perfect World | MMOrgue 15 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

https://original.jupiterbroadcasting.net/11343/best-of-mmo-music-mmorgue-13/ Fri, 19 Aug 2011 23:01:02 +0000 https://original.jupiterbroadcasting.net/?p=11343 Today’s episode is dedicated entirely to the men and woman that create the rich tapestry of music that makes up the soundtracks to the games we love.

The post Best of MMO Music | MMOrgue 13 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

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Today’s episode is dedicated entirely to the men and woman that tirelessly fill the earholes of us gamers with the rich tapestry of music that makes up the soundtracks to the titles we love to experience.

Later on, I’ll share my top picks for the best MMO soundtracks, as well as dedicating some time to talking about a few noteworthy composers working in the realm of video game and MMO music. Before that, however, we’ll also go over some music-related innovations from the MMO market!

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Show Notes:

T-SHIRT: “Die, noob!”
Available at ThinkGeek

Innovations:

APB – Import your own soundtrack!

• This one is pretty straight-forward, but is also a first for MMOs as far as I’m aware…
• While it’s always an option to simply turn off the in-game soundtrack, load up iTunes and jam to your own custom playlists, APB instead allows you to put your favorite tunes right into the game world itself.
• This means that, by using their import functions, you can suddenly be treated to your fellow gamers riding around in stolen vehicles with Monty Python’s “I’m A Lumberjack” blaring out their windows.
• Unfortunately, you’re still the only one that can hear it.

APB – Create your own theme!

• APB also features a somewhat unintuitive interface option that allows players to compose their own “themes” which play through their victim’s speakers when they successfully kill another player in combat.
• It’s a nice thought, but it’s pretty difficult to compose anything using the built-in interface without spending hours and hours at it.
• On the upside, if you get good at it, you can also SELL those creations to other players.

LOTRO’s music system

• This innovative and powerful mechanic is based around a scripting language that engages any time your in-game avatar equips a particular type of instrument.
• Once these are equipped, your keyboard BECOMES an instrument, and by mashing different keystrokes, you can treat yourself AND ANYONE NEAR YOUR CHARACTER, to whatever cacophonous musical diarrhea you can manage to fumble your way through.
• Not much of a musician? Fear not! For included with this mechanic is an easy-to-use macro language called “abc” which allows for anyone with the ability to type, the option of loading up pre-scripted recordings of any song they can manage to bash together in Notepad.
• Also an option is downloading pre-made ABC scripts, written by people far more talented than you.
• However, be forewarned that the general population of LOTRO is a bit … elitist when it comes to in-game musical performances, and using ABC scripting may net you more jeers and flames, than applause.

While neither of these games have attracted much widespread attention for these features alone, I think it’s worth lauding them for the efforts that they’ve made to allow their players to express themselves in artistic ways. And to potentially add to the enjoyment of their fellow players, through music.

Up next, let’s focus briefly on a few of the creative individuals that have contributed to the world of MMO music.

And they are BOTH Free-to-Play!

Download Lord of the Rings Online

Download APB Reloaded

Noteworthy Composers:

Up first is Tracy W Bush

• Bush was one of the composers for the original World of Warcraft soundtrack, having first honed his knowledge of this universe by contributing compositions to Warcraft II and Warcraft III.
• He later worked as audio director on Tabula Rasa, Auto Assault and DC Universe Online.
• Although Bush is an accomplished musician and composer, he is perhaps most famously known as the voice of murlocs in World of Warcraft.
• He’s also performed the voice of many of the characters in Starcraft, Warcraft III, and in DCUO (Ambush Bug, Booster Gold, Calculator and more)

Next I’d like to introduce you to Inon Zur

• Although known in the MMO world for his compositions on the Lineage II and RIFT soundtracks, he is perhaps more well-known for his iconic contributions to some of the most beloved single-player games of all time, including:
  • Baldur’s Gate 2
  • Icewind Dale 2
  • Crysis
  • Fallout 3
  • Fallout: New Vegas
  • Dragon Age Origins
  • Dragon Age 2
• His work on these titles and more have helped to shape the current image of video game music as something MORE than just the bloops and bleeps that we once tolerated. His compositions have been nominated for dozens of awards, and earned recognition and respect far beyond just us gamers.

The full soundtrack of his work on Lineage II used to be available for streaming from their official site, but has since vanished.

Here are a few examples:
Dion Castle / Aden Theme / Shepard’s Flute

The next artist really needs no introduction, so I apologize if I butcher his name… Nobuo Uematsu

• He is single-handedly responsible for the almost entire Final Fantasy series (including the MMOs, FFXI and FFXIV) – he did not write the music for XII or XIII
  • Opening Theme / Rolanberry Fields
• Uematsu’s distinctive sound has left a mark on the Final Fantasy franchise that cannot be mistaken.
• From his horn-heavy fanfares and percussive psuedo-tribal tributes to village life, to chant-like laments featuring full vocal choruses, almost every piece evokes memories of past adventures in the various worlds he helped create.
• His work on FFXI was lauded for its cinematic emotional depth, while FFXIV has frequently been accused of sounding derivative and lazy compared to his earlier work.
• Nonetheless, his contributions to video game music in general cannot be denied.

Best MMO Soundtracks:

Guild Wars

• Featuring the genius of Jeremy Soule (also ES:Oblivion, ES: Morrowind, NWN, and over SIXTY others)
• 2007 GameSpot interview // 2007 ArmChair Empire Interview
• He’s been described as the “John Williams of video game music.”
• He is one of the most acclaimed video game composers still working in the business, with more than half a dozen prestigious awards decorating his shelves, and several more nominations as well.
• Each of the expansion packs for GW have featured complete soundtracks, all of which Jeremy Soule has created. To date, this library spans hundreds of hours and includes rich and diverse compositions that vary from soaring orchestral epics, to simple 1- or 2- instrument compositions… some of which were even performed by Jeremy himself.
• And… as if all of that music wasn’t enough of an offering for Guild Wars fans, he is also selling musical “Expansion Packs” for GW via DirectSong.
  • Almost 10% of overall GW subscribers have purchased at least one expansion song.

Guild Wars – Eye of the North Overture
Guild Wars – Factions Overture
Guild Wars – Prophecies Overture

The songs of Guild Wars are too varied to review in a one- or two-sentence soundbite, and truly must be heard to be appreciated. I’ve included links to three of the major expansions’ overtures, as an example of some of the diverse introductions players of this title have been treated to over the years, and would highly encourage any music fans to click and enjoy.

Age of Conan

• Rich and completely evocative of the incredible worlds and cultures created in the original Conan novels and comics, this soundtrack was sadly buried by being attached to the substandard launch of one of the biggest disappointments in recent MMO history.
• Sadly, it can be a bit bleak overall, as there are very few happy/upbeat tunes included among the batch, which has turned some off from these compositions in the past.
• The entire soundtrack was composed by Knut Avenstroup Haugen, who won an IFMCA award in 2008 for this outstanding original score.
• It also features the alluring vocal talents of Helene Bøksle – a known actress/singer from Norway – and, in a strange twist, the CD version of the soundtrack also bears 3 bonus tracks performed by the Norwegian punk metal group, Turbonegro, including one they composed especially for Age of Conan.
• Listening to the soundtrack for this game was an absolutely joyous experience, having never actually played the game myself. Now that AoC has moved to a F2P subscription model, I intend to pick it up for another round in the near future, based SOLELY on listening to this jaw-dropping soundtrack. So look forward to a re-review of this game on a future episode of the MMOrgue, inspired entirely by music!

EverQuest II

• Up until a recent expansion pack, this game’s entire body of award-winning work was solely credited to Laura Karpman. Since that time, Inon Zur has taken up the reigns (whom I spoke of earlier, as attached to Lineage and Dragon Age).
• For the purposes of this episode, I’d like to limit my opinions to the soundtrack that accompanied the original game that shipped at time of release.
• Karpman has a masterful understanding for different instruments and the emotions and atmospheres they can evoke in different combinations, and uses this skill and understanding to create some of the most diverse and interesting musical compositions that I’ve heard in an MMO setting.
• I feel as though nearly every piece of music from EverQuest 2 successfully transports players to the locales the music was crafted for… be it a shipwrecked beach beset by goblins, a forgotten city that has become a tomb for ghosts and worse, or a magical shrine of divine origins.

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King

• I ALMOST did not put this game on the list, for a couple reasons…
  • 1) It’s so obvious, and I was hoping that this episode would open folks’ eyes to games beyond their existing scope, and…
  • 2) More than 3 dozen different composers have worked on WoW over the years. That, in my opinion, lessens the impact that each overall soundtrack can have, when you consider that it’s a culmination of some of the best work that more than 30 different musicians have cobbled together. Meanwhile, games like Final Fantasy and Guild Wars feature soundtracks from a single creative mind. The comparative depth of talent there is astounding.
• NONETHELESS, I’ve got to give credit where it’s due.
• I was invited into the WotLK beta approximately 2 months prior to its release, and over those following 2 months absolutely fell in love with the diverse, cinematic and epic score that was attached to the continent of Northrend. By the time release came around, I went halfsies with a buddy to buy a CE of the game, giving him everything from the box except the soundtrack CD, which I still own to this day.
• The soundtrack features everything from solemn bagpipe hymns punctuated with flowing streams and birdsong, to epic discordant fanfares that would rally the undead into battle, to ethereal dream-songs heralding the mystical dragonflights. While also featuring a heavy dose of both the cathedral-esque choirs of the alliance, and tribal ferocity of the horde.
• This soundtrack has it all, and never fails to wholly embody the content it was created for.

Nostalgia:

Because several older titles were brought up as suggestions to be covered in this episode, I’ve included a “Nostalgia” section in our show notes that includes links to some of the songs from some of the great older titles of the early days of MMOs.

Meridian 59

EverQuest

Ultima Online

Earth & Beyond

The post Best of MMO Music | MMOrgue 13 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

]]> https://original.jupiterbroadcasting.net/9901/player-housing-mmorgue-8/ Sat, 02 Jul 2011 15:03:02 +0000 https://original.jupiterbroadcasting.net/?p=9901 We bring on correspondents to discuss the ins-and-outs of different versions of player housing, and how different MMOs have incorporated owning your own home

The post Player Housing | MMOrgue 8 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

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In a break from our usual format, we’ve invited a number of correspondents onto this episode to discuss the ins-and-outs of different versions of player housing, and how different MMOs have incorporated owning your own home into the worlds we participate in. Through these conversations, we’ll discuss Second Life, Everquest II, Star Wars: Galaxies, Star Trek Online and City of Heroes.

We’ll also talk about the announced shut-down of SWG, the upcoming changes made to World of Warcraft’s Trial Account, and a press release that should be THE BEST NEWS EVER … and why it has disappointed Jeremy so much.

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Show Notes:

Supreme Court upholds decision to strike down Violent Video Game law
Originally penned in California, the law included dubious wording that would result in heavy fines against retailers that sold “excessively violent” video games to minors.
There’s lots more, but let’s just say… it was bad news for gamers! And NOT just because we wanna get our frag on, and witness our buddies’ heads explode in fountains of gore.

What it came down to, was First Amendment rights in the US. Our freedom of speech, and whether or not video games qualified as a protected form of artistic expression.

According to the highest authority we honor, they do.

In fact, their decision on this matter went so far as to quote their similarly favorable judgement on FILM, from the 1950s.

This decision sets a precedent that cannot be denied or overruled – that Video Games now stand shoulder-to-shoulder with books and films, as a protected media under Free Speech. Furthermore, it places additional faith in the non-government agency, the ESRB, to continue doing their part in ensuring that the content we are now guaranteed the freedom to enjoy, is appropriately categorized for our consumption.

With the decision handed down by the Supreme Court, we should now also be free from hearing about lawsuits over the “offensive” nature of some games’ content, and story after story of litigators attempting to blame the gaming industry for the bad behavior of modern youth. Not that complaints about violent subject matter will ever really go away… but at least, with this ruling as a foundation, the cries may quiet down to something more reasonable.

Second Life // EverQuest II
Guest : Ruth

You worked as a GM on Second Life for several years…

I’m an outsider to that game, or simulation, however it’s generally categorized. But as I understand it, the concept of “Player Housing” as defined by the MMORPG market, is a bit of a misnomer for SL.

In fact, housing in SL more-or-less -IS- the entire game, isn’t it?

What issues arise from having an entire economy and community based on personal property and infinite customization? (A specific anecdote to explain a point would be good here, if possible)

I don’t foresee any other MMO in the near future offering similar functionality to what SL offered. But if a developer chose to attempt it, are there any primary pitfalls that you might point out to avoid when implementing a similar system?

Now… let’s move on to EverQuest 2…
Demo Video 1
Demo Video 2

EQ2 included options to:
– Place pre-made objects in almost any position in your home
– Own several different homes/apartments
– Visit other players’ homes
– Through the use of log files and macros, even allowed an external editing tool

How did EQ2’s system stack up against SL?

How well did EQ2’s housing system mesh with its adventuring and crafting components?

Any major drawbacks of the system?

I, personally, consider EQ2’s housing system to be superior to anything else I’ve seen on the market in terms of striking a balance between customization and ease of creating esthetically pleasing atmospheres. Your thoughts?

SWG
Guest: Heather

Let’s start with SWG, since it is, at this point, mostly ancient history…

Player City and Tatooine House Interior (2:40 for house, 9:35 for Mall)

I’ll admit, I actually “employed” myself within this game, as an interior decorator. Briefly. I would go to peoples’ houses and rearrange their belongings in more pleasing ways, or provide them with specific projects (like aquariums, fireplaces, complex furniture, etc) for a small fee.

The fact that this game launched without a means to move items on the Z-axis felt like an absolute insult to gamers, considering how much they talked up the option of building your own home and decorating it however you liked. Eventually this was added, but workarounds like using a built-in staircase were common for many months.

They even added pitch/roll/yaw eventually. Jerks.

This game was known as a sandbox, leaving players to create their own fun from the ground up, and housing was no exception to this rule. Decorating a home required vast amounts of imagination, as there was very little pre-made decor. Sure, architects could make furniture and such, but after a very short time it all looked the same. Coming up with original-looking designs was more fun than actually adventuring, in my opinion.

As for the homes themselves, and the placing of them… hoo-boy… SWG was always plagued with issues regarding server stability and sync issues (at least up ‘til when I quit just before the NGE), so placing a home was sometimes a crap shoot. I knew people that’d lost entire homes and millions of credits worth of belongings, because their brand new spacious pad just up and vanished when the server randomly burped.

The pristine wilderness known to be so abundant in the Star Wars universe was dotted with harvesters, homes, factories, warehouses, shops, cantinas, shuttleports, and more… everywhere you looked. When cities were introduced, it only made the urban sprawl even worse. However, I would like to note that no other game has, to my knowledge, incorporated a series of local governing controls like SWG had for player cities. You had zoning controls, taxation, a voting system, and even a population census at the city hall. Very robust, even if utterly worthless in the long run.

STO / COH:
Guest: Sean

STO

Ship Interiors were never intended to be offered at time of launch. But a small, vocal minority of players within the community continued to LOUDLY pound the drum for this feature, continuing to insist that it was a necessary part of the Star Trek experience.

Eventually, Cryptic broke down and gave players Bridges. But with zero functionality. Eventually full interior layouts were added, but most players see them as worthless fluff. The sole function that cannot be accessed from elsewhere, has become a pain in the ass instead of a welcome diversion (Mission Replay).

Now, here we are more than a year after launch, and there remains very little functionality within ship interiors.

Sadly, this mimics how Cryptic treated Base Building in COX…

Before we move on from STO, I’d like to dig out some opinions from YOU on the matter of ship interiors, and player housing…

Q&A:

• Many episodes of Star Trek take place entirely within ship interiors… If you, as a player, had to give up customization of your interior, to play missions similar to those, would you be OK with that?
• Is the fact that this feature appears to have been rushed, a commentary on the developer in any way, and their ability to be swayed by a vocal community?
• What additional functionality do these ship interiors need?

OK, tell me more about how Cryptic treated Base Builders in COX…

City of Heroes was launched in April 2004. Super Group Bases added in the paid expansion, City of Villains in June 2006.

Options: Small, Medium, or Large. Big rooms separated by corridors.
At launch: ~12 walls/ceilings/floors, about a dozen functional items, and ~100 decor items.
5 years later: 8 or so functional items added, removed clipping of placed items.

Once a very active community (chat channels, contests, forum activity)
Cryptic ignored the base building issues until they sold to NCSoft in 2007.
NCSoft continued ignoring it, except to nerf the storage availability. (2500 items, down to 30)

Part of Issue 13 was slated to include lots of base stuff. (DATE?)
When Issue 13 was split into two separate updates, the base features mysteriously vanished from EITHER set of patch notes.
Attempts to get commentary on this were met with silence, or locked threads.

In 2008 a dev named Sunstorm took on the role of Base Building Developer
https://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=126267
He started a thread asking for some suggestions for additions and improvements to bases, made a few more posts, and then went silent. In October 2009, he posted that he’s still working on some stuff for bases. https://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?p=2355311
But in December 2009, someone noticed that his forum name was no longer red. That only happens on the forums when a staff member is no longer employed.

• So, what are the primary issues that Bases faced in CoH?
• What role were they supposed to fill, functionality-wise?
• The silence from developers is scary, disappointing, and a lingering dark blotch on their overall PR efforts. Is there anything they could say at this point to make up for these bad decisions?
• Cryptic Studios is now behind Champions Online, which will soon be implementing “Hideouts” as a form of Player Housing. Do you have any sage words of wisdom for them on the subject, to assist in avoiding the pitfalls of the past?

————————

Tease of the Week:

Darkcryo Entertainment has announced Firefly Universe Online!
– No funding.
– No licensing.
– No names on the credits.
– No public access to the company website.
Color me beyond skeptical. I’m almost insulted.

Also, as a quick update to last week’s F2P-dedicated episode, I thought I’d point out that none other than World of Warcraft, the juggernaut itself, has decided to take a step in that direction. They are upgrading their Trial accounts to remove the time limit, and instead impose a level limit of 20. But you can make as many characters as you like.

Yay? Let’s face it – WoW at level 20 is pretty darn lame, and Blizzard has spent so many resources making their end-game and raid content top notch that this lowbie junk is just as old and busted as it’s always been. Despite some sites running with a headline of “WoW goes F2P!” just to draw in clicks, this is nothing of the sort, and will probably result in less than a blip on the subscription radar.

NEXT WEEK:

• I will be digging deeper into the EVE controversies.
• Also, based on feedback I received re: Hellgate, I will be trying out the Open Beta which opens June 30th. And I’ll have some initial impressions to share.

Play smart everyone, and remember … sometimes an emote is just an emote.

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The post Player Housing | MMOrgue 8 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

]]> https://original.jupiterbroadcasting.net/9793/all-hail-f2p-mmorgue-7/ Tue, 28 Jun 2011 20:56:00 +0000 https://original.jupiterbroadcasting.net/?p=9793 In today’s episode we’ll look at a few of the most recent free to play MMOs, and discuss the ins-and-outs of their particular takes on the F2P concept.

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Since the beginning of the year, nearly a dozen different subscription-driven titles have announced their intention to switch to various versions of Free-to-Play subscription models, across the MMO landscape. In today’s episode we’ll look at a few of the most recent additions to this playing field, and discuss the ins-and-outs of their particular takes on the F2P concept. How are they moving from premium subscriptions without alienating existing consumers? How will they market themselves to new gamers? Find out on this week’s MMOrgue!

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Show Notes:

Fallen Earth
Being republished by GamersFirst, who also recently resurrected APB 

Corrections about GamersFirst — Ep. 2 of MMOrgue
Response from GamersFirst

• I incorrectly stated that they are an Asian company. This is just flat-out incorrect, and I’d like to apologize to the crew over there for getting my wires crossed during my research phase.
• To be frank, I got their acquisition and relaunch of APB mixed up with Hanbitsoft and the relaunch of Hellgate. Embarassing!
• GamersFirst is actually a California-based company, and entirely stationed here in the Western market. And while they have a world-wide presence, they don’t consider themselves to be marketing to an “eastern” market by any means.
• That being said, I believe my criticisms about their “Pay To Win” cash shop still stand, including the fact that this type of F2P model is more common, and more accepted, in the East.

Now… moving on to CURRENT news, GamersFirst announced about a week ago that they were partnering up with the makers of Fallen Earth. Shortly after that announcement, the info surfaced that Fallen Earth would soon be relaunched under a new F2P subscription model.

Since I have never gotten my hands on Fallen Earth, the best thing I can say about this move is that I will soon be able to do so. Without it costing me a cent.

• This, I think, is a very important statement to nail home, about the concept of F2P in general…
  • MMOs are seen as long-term investments, by the typical MMO gamers. We’re not generally looking for a game that will keep us entertained for a weekend, or a summer. We want longevity, community, commitment, and enough content to satisfy the cost of investing in a title.
  • This attitude was ingrained in us from the standard Premium Subscription model, where a box costs as much as a standalone game, but then you also have to pay monthly to continue to play.
    • Under a F2P model, the client is generally given away free, and a huge portion of the gameplay is available without spending one red cent.
    • By eliminating this barrier of entry, you can accomplish two separate financial goals:
      • 1) MMO gamers accustomed to monthly subscriptions are now more willing to “try out” your title without having to drink your kool-aid.
      • 2) Gamers that are unwilling to pay monthly subscription fees are introduced to a whole new style of gameplay.
      • Even if only a small % of either type of gamer stick around, it’s still an improvement.

The core Fallen Earth team of devs will be staying in their current location, and remain employed as a separate game studio under Reloaded Productions (GamersFirst’s dev wing).

According to their dev blog, they hope that an influx of new players, and possibly more funding, will allow them to follow up on features and content that they’ve had plans for, but no resources to follow up on.

Subscription Tiers:

• Free: Unlimited free trial. No reward points. Similar restrictions on trade & crafting to current “Trial” accounts.
• Low Premium: Costs less than current sub. No reward points.
• Mid Premium: Same as current sub ($15/mo). Monthly reward points. XP bonus.
• High Premium: More than current sub. Monthly reward points. Bigger XP bonus. “Premium Aura” which allows many bonuses to be shared with their teammates. This aura stacks.

All tiers enjoy unlimited content. FE devs want you to play in their world with your friends, regardless of how much money either of you decide to spend on the product.
I’ll also say this: I’m not a fan of many of the design choices made in APB, but there appear to be different minds behind Fallen Earth’s transition. If they can steer away from the money-grubbing attitude present in APB – which they SEEM to be doing, based no their dev blog and community posts – then I could definitely see this breathing new life back into this rather unique, but barely alive, title.

These changes are supposed to take place in Q4 of 2011. Vague!

LEGO Universe

My Review at Ten Ton Hammer

Raise your hand if you didn’t see this coming. *raise*

Press Release

Why didn’t I see it coming? I mean, it was already cheap, and only a moderate success in the online space. Gazillion Entertainment already sold it back to LEGO Corp a few months back. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, so why does it?

Because it’s aimed at KIDS.

Cash Shops are a necessity of F2P models – it’s how you make money. LEGO U would need to make its shop easily accessible, without putting Daddy’s credit card in the hands of a spendy 10 year old with a passion for fashion.

So what is LEGO doing? NO CASH SHOP! Problem solved… kinda…

This is not a truly free-to-play version of LEGO Universe, as the headlines indicate. This free TRIAL version of LEGO U will only include 2 adventuring zones and one personal property area, whereas the full game features almost a dozen of each.

This is insidious!

The adventuring side of LEGO is not its true selling point. If you want a good LEGO-themed adventure game, you’re far better-off playing one of their standalone console or PC titles, like LEGO Star Wars, etc. The mini-games, like racing and a shooting gallery, are the only bits that stand out.

So what does that leave you with? Building things! This is the core joy of LEGO to begin with, and they’re allowing you access to it in the Free Trial version… kinda…

With only one property to build on, the canvas for your bricky masterpieces is limited. Furthermore, with only 2 adventuring zones available where you can collect bricks, the amount of models you can effectively construct will be massively limited. Anyone hoping to build a truly epic construction of their own will likely be FORCED to subscribe to the full game, simply to gain access to the full range of Brick and Model vendors available in zones that will otherwise be beyond their reach as Trial Accounts.

In summary, I’d like to say “Shame On You” to LEGO Corp for their misleading Press Release and disingenuous use of the phrase “Free to Play.” And a secondary “check your info” to every MMO news site out there that ran with the headline before reading the fine print.

The FREE TRIAL of LEGO U will become available in August of this year.

City of Heroes

https://www.cityofheroes.com/news/news_archive/announcing_city_of_heroes_free_1.html

Download Link: https://www.cityofheroes.com/account/download_game_client/download_city_of_heroes.html

Renaming the project, City of Heroes Freedom.

No colon? No apostrophe? That’s terrible grammar! ARRGH.

I don’t have much to say about this, except that this swap was simultaneously, inevitable and a surprise to me.

• Inevitable: The superhero market is reaching saturation, between COH, CO, DCUO and the upcoming Marvel MMO. With CO being a primary player in that subcategory, and offering its content under a F2P subscription model.
• Surprise: NCSoft has never shown itself to be a proponent of this model. 4 out of their 5 big titles are currently subscription-driven, with the remaining title still charging a box fee.

Details of subscription model: https://www.cityofheroes.com/news/freedom/player_choices.html

Current subscriptions = VIP access. Full content + 400 Paragon Points per month
Prior subscription = Premium access. Free + Anything you previously purchased or earned with Reward Points (expansion packs, etc)
No subscription = Free. Limited content. Buy Paragon Points with cash.

VIPs will also have access to an exclusive server (no F2P allowed!)

Free players will not have access to Mission Architect.
Unsurprising, but kind of a let-down. UGC is a big draw for this game. But I suppose you have to convince new players to pay for SOMEthing.

———

These three up-and-comers join a cast of dozens, including prominent titles like:
Age of Conan
Global Agenda
Ragnarok Online
APB
Champions Online
and of course, DDO and LOTRO

On a completely different topic, I’d like to drop this week’s big speculation on you: Pottermore

By the time this episode airs, we may already know the answer as JK Rowling’s YouTube page says that a big announcement will be forthcoming on June 23rd. I won’t lie – I’m a Harry Potter fan, and firmly believe that an MMO in that universe could potentially be a BLAST to play. Or could fail so hard it would make the entire island of Great Britain sink into the ocean. Either way, I’m keeping an eye on this one.

Next Week:
Player Housing
Some of the best examples, and the worst, and perhaps even get to the bottom of why this particular feature has such a spotty implementation history throughout MMOs.

• Best current example, EQ2
• Worst, STO
• CO getting “Hideouts” soon
• Gods & Heroes will have “Estate System” (releasing today)

So until then… play smart, and target their healers first!

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The post All Hail F2P! | MMOrgue 7 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

]]> https://original.jupiterbroadcasting.net/9146/infected-perfected-stoked-85/ Tue, 07 Jun 2011 04:00:22 +0000 https://original.jupiterbroadcasting.net/?p=9146 Our guide to “The Infected” which includes tips and tricks for painlessly eliminating the Borg drones, and their leaders. Plus our Perfect World reactions!

The post Infected Perfected | STOked 85 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

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In the first of a 3-week long series of events, the STOked boys are taking you on an in-depth tour of the Borg Special Task Force missions. Up this week is a guide to “The Infected” which includes tips and tricks for painlessly eliminating the Borg drones, and their leaders.

Before we dig into that however, BIG NEWS landed this week regarding the impending purchase of Cryptic Studios by Perfect World International. Despite the community’s uproar over this news, we’re taking a more level-headed approach to the corporate nature of this acquisition, and intend to share our thoughts on why this could be one of the best business moves STO could potentially see.

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Show Notes:

PERFECT WORLD BUYING CRYPTIC
It was announced this morning that “Perfect World” has penned a deal to purchase Cryptic Studios for 35million Euro. 

Other links/Cryptic responses:
Compilation of pre-responses
Official announcement from PR Newswire

Thoughts:
J-RANT: Chinese Racism on Forums (for shame!)

F2P, Pay-to-Win
Star Trek IP in China?
“Angelica” 3D Engine — aging? Perhaps this acquisition is for the Cryptic engine?
PWE obtained Runic (makers of Torchlight) in 2009 and haven’t meddled at all.
R&D / Tech angle
“More importantly, Cryptic Studios’ highly reputable development team and its technology platform will further strengthen our well-established R&D capabilities.”
Jupiter Uniforms are here! C-Store: 280 pts
– Not a bad price for 5 new tops and pants.
– Pooooor Klingons…

TWEET LEAKS
– Earth Badge: https://twitpic.com/559m31
– Gatling Turrets: https://a.yfrog.com/img610/8388/62484048.jpg
– Qo’nos Courtyard: https://a.yfrog.com/img611/4751/dq60.jpg
– Exocomps to replace Drones: https://desmond.yfrog.com/Himg612/scaled.php?tn=0&server=612&filename=7xvjt.jpg&xsize=640&ysize=640
— REALLY, DAN? A picture of an EMAIL?! Now you’re just taunting us.

Enterprise-F Dev Diary (How The Winner Was Chosen)
– Includes a “clay model” with more angles to view (still a WIP)

Infected Tips

Watch the uncut full stream here & Part 2 here:

General Tips:
– If you’re new, get experienced players to lead you through. There’s plenty out there now.
– Voice chat is highly recommended. (Vivox coming soon!)
– Follow directions. Or if you’re leading, give clear directions that are easy to follow!
– Do not progress any dialog pop-ups until the Team Leader gives the OK, or does it him/herself.
– Do not go in unprepared! Make sure you have a solid spec that plays to the specific strengths of both your Space AND Ground abilities.

SPACE:
Zip around BEHIND the gate, and do not activate the two popups until the team is in position.
With high DPS, you may be able to destroy the gate in a single activation sequence.
If you destroy the gate without killing transmitters, you get better loot.
If you do not destroy the gate in a single activation, you will be faced with 3-4 waves of borg ships that get progressively more and more powerful with each wave.

Good Space Boff Abilities:
Hazard Emitters (practically a must-have)
Tactical Team
A lot of DPS/buffs/debuffs
Gravity Well — good for chain reactions on warp cores!

Tactical Cubes have a ~5km explosion radius. If you are trying to keep the Transmitters alive, and have a Tac Cube spawned, be sure to lure it away from them before destroying the cube.

Tweet Update:
Cryptic_Gozer Dan Griffis
Weekly STF Update… Infected space 85% complete. Battle to destroy the Transwarp Gateway is much more interesting now

GROUND:
Ground Weapons:
Tactical — Sniper(x2)
Engineer+Science — CRM200 + Melee

Ground Kits:
Engineer: Fabrication or Bunker Kit
Tactical: Fire Team or Squad Leader
Science: Medic (at least one on the team)… if you want to DPS, I recommend Geophysicist

Order of Ground Targets:
Interlink Node
Infected
Drone
Medical
(Protos? Can be cleaned up at any time after Medical. May despawn on their own.)
AFTER ONLY TACTICALS ARE LEFT, SWITCH TO MELEE WEAPON
Tactical
Heavy
Elite

FIRST BOSS: Ogen
Pull him OUT of his room, into the hallway.
He will stop and summon friends halfway through the fight. If you are in the hallway, they will not join the battle.

END BOSS: Manus
Get into the alcoves on the wall opposite from the entry doorway.
This blocks line of sight between group members (meaning, no heals!), which prevents her “chain lightning” attack from hitting more than one target at a time.

NEXT WEEK: “The Cure”
Keep your tips/guides coming! Jeremy is gonna try and post the best ones over at JupiterColony.com

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The post Infected Perfected | STOked 85 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

]]> https://original.jupiterbroadcasting.net/2578/xbox-360-controller-tutorial-stoked-46/ Tue, 10 Aug 2010 06:25:09 +0000 https://original.jupiterbroadcasting.net/?p=2578 Jeremy gets you MATHED on using an XBox 360 Controller as your primary user interface device in STO.

The post XBox 360 Controller Tutorial | STOked 46 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

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On this week’s STOked, we’ll talk a little more about Season 3’s “Secret Project” and expose some recent behind-the-scenes hints as to what it could be. Then Jeremy gets you MATHED on using an XBox 360 Controller as your primary user interface device in STO.

And lastly, we announce the winner of our “Best User Submitted Mission” contest, as well as go on a quick tangent about Free-to-Play subscriptions in preparation for next week’s viewer feedback request.

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This Week’s Show Notes:

200 Day Vet Rewards include a Snazzy Costume! (Pics)

1. If you’ve been playing since release, and haven’t gotten yours (like me), you can check your accolades to see how far along you are.  Look for “Redoubtable”.

 

“Secret Project” details are starting to slip:

1. It is the SOLE focus of Season 3 Nov.
2. DStahl teases us
3. More confirmations that it is NOT an additional faction
4. ZAM article hints at revamp of exploration as a high priority for DStahl

 

KDF gets the shaft again!

1. Several missions had rewards added days after S2 landed, which resulted in them missing out on these rewards.  
2. Some will be available in the future for emblems/marks, but most will not.  
3. The “” will be handed out by a special NPC that should acknowledge you if you’ve completed the appropriate mission(s).

 

Upcoming Content Release Dates

 

Cryptic hosts a poll regarding future costumes

 

ZAM Interview w/ Daniel Stahl

1. Includes the lyrics to “The Ultimate Klingon!”

 

MATH:

 

Take CONTROL!

 

On this segment of You Got Mathed, I’m going review the procedures to setting up a new way to play the game:  The XBOX 360 Controller.

 

I want to make this clear up front:  Use of an XBox controller is NOT officially supported by Cryptic, and the design of the UI and game mechanics are not intuitive to this type of control scheme.  There is a LARGE learning curve to making this work.

 

First, you must own an XBox 360 Controller.  If you have a wired controller, it’s easy enough to just plug the USB into your computer and you’re done.  If you have wireless controllers, you’ll need to own a receiver which is about the same cost as buying a wired controller, so….. choose, but choose wisely.  Or you can get a play & charge kit that converts a wireless controller into a wired controller, which is definitely the cheapest method if you already own the wireless.

 

TO PURCHASE ON AMAZON.com:

XBox 360 Wired Controller

XBox 360 Wireless Receiver

Play & Charge Kit for XBox 360 wireless controllers

 

The second step is the most difficult, but most important:

 

Keybinding!

 

There are two primary methods to this, which I will attempt to explain.  You might note that neither of these are easy as using the in-game interface.  This is because, as I mentioned above, use of a controller is not officially supported by STO, and so many of the buttons themselves are not natively available from the drop-down menus in the keybinding interface.  

 

1)  Third Party Software

My preferred software for this, after some light digging, is XPadder.  It’s not free ($9.99) but is extremely powerful.  In my opinion, it is definitely worth the price.  But if you simply must have FREE software, I’ve been told to recommend GlovePie, but after trying it myself I was incredibly unimpressed with the software’s features and ease of use (or lack thereof).  I can’t hate that name though.

 

NOTE:  If you’re using 3rd party software, be sure to turn off the XBox Controller from the in-game UI in STO.  Otherwise it will auto-map some commands (but not enough to actually PLAY) resulting in dual-mapped buttons.

 

2)  You can also go through the manual use of slash-commands from within the STO client.  These commands are not easy to use, or understand, nor are they intuitive at all.  I attempted to use this method first and had a moderate amount of success before STILL spending the $9.99 on XPadder instead.

 

If you wish to understand the strange and arcane language of keybind-scripting, check out the following forum post that should get you started (also a good place to ask questions about binds):  XBox 360 Controller Keybinds (special thanks to Kakurenbo)

 

After all of that, it’s time to get started in attempting to tackle the learning curve.  I’ve done probably a half-dozen missions of each space & ground now, using this controller, and I still perform terribly.  But, it’s not un-fun, and I could see this potentially taking my gaming experience to a new level, once I’ve mastered it.

 

But there ARE several very real downsides:

 

Obviously, with a controller in your hand, you can’t type.  Which means that you will either have to set down the controller to speak with your buddies, or rely solely on voice chat to communicate.  Or play in silence, but that kind of defeats the purpose of this game being a MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER game.

 

The other huge stumbling block, is that there are simply not enough buttons on an XBox controller, for you to be capable of mapping every command in the game to your fingertips.  I had to sacrifice a small handful of skills in order to fit the more important bindings onto my controller.  Also, attempting to use this as a healer in an Away Team would mean death for every body involved – guaranteed.  Targeting teammates is difficult enough with a mouse + keyboard, this only elevates that difficulty.

 

I can sum up my opinion on the whole matter as this:

1. Superior to Mouse/KB in space, but takes a lot of mastering and tinkering.
2. Inferior to Mouse/KB on ground, for a million reasons.  Just trust me.

 

I have a few suggestions for keymaps, and would love to hear your feedback as well, so email me or post your question at jupitercolony.com

 

MAIL:

 

And the winner is:  “Invasion of the Ship Snatchers” — E Beyer

Over the next week, we will attempt to turn this story into a quick walkthru/cinematic.  We may fail.  When UGC launches, we will pour our entire fleet’s resources into creating this mission.

 

Next week’s question:  Since we’ve been talking “F2P”, we wanna hear your input.  

 

Positives:

Reduce the barrier for entry, bring in more players

If they go with the DDO model, ‘free’ C-Store points for subscibers

 

Negatives:

Subscribers (especially lifetimers) get boned?

Community suffers from “freetard bloat”?

Is it just a money grab?

 

So you have one of a few options:

1)  Tell us your primary argument for, or against, F2P.  We’ll share the most insightful.

2)  Tell us your ideas for some worthwhile C-Store content that would support a F2P mechanic over the long-term.

1. Must not give paying customers an edge in PvP
2. Must give subscribed players a reason to spend points (assuming an allowance system will be in place)

 

See you next week!

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