Everyone has a fighting chance
When a new MMO launches, sometimes it seems like the "new player experience" wasn’t very high on the priority list for some developers. Which, in the grand scheme of things, makes sense to a certain degree. While every player starts at the bottom and has to go through the new player experience at least once, the reality is that the vast majority of gameplay takes place once a character has reached max-level, otherwise known as the "end game."
Tales from the Neighborhood brings you highlights from the MMO and RPG blogosphere, and this week we’re taking a general survey of what has people writing and talking. Hot topics include Star Citizen fans’ denials that their game is pay-to-win, an insider’s view on what it’s like to win the EVE Online CSM election, and speculation on how long ArenaNet has been preparing for Heart of Thorns.
The Fortnite site has been updated with a look at the big changes in store for the game after the application of the latest patch to the game. To pave the way for the new content, all profile data has been wiped due to significant changes made to the game. The team is hoping that players will be ready to try out a new class or build as a result.
Heroes of the Storm has a big new update today with several features sure to be of interest to beta testers. Sylvanas Windrunner is the latest hero to be added to the game and she packs a whale of a punch judging by her abilities. In addition, the Tomb of the Spider Queen battleground has been added and players can now take part in Team League competitive play.
The Socket System idea was born on a cool evening in late 2010, in a game mechanics discussion over root beer on a patio with a KingsIsle Designer you may know as Decius Duelmaster, from Pirate101. What’s cooler than being able to customize your Wizard even more? The more and more we talked about it, I knew a feature like this would be a huge hit. I was super excited and started talking it up to folks around KI.
I took another trip up to Austin last week to spend some time with Richard Garriott and Starr Long, two developers I’ve come to enjoy speaking with a great deal. I think we may touch one of my reasons for finding these visits particularly interesting in this article, actually. It really starts with what Starr calls "tech-debt."
Starship Empire is embarking on its KickStarter journey to raise $10,000 to complete development on what is described as an "intense PvP MMO" where players control every aspect of their ships and each crew member inside. Starship Empire is being developed by a one-man team and has eighteen days left in the campaign to bring the PvP game to life.
Funcom has announced that Golden Week has kicked off in The Secret World. During the week, several interesting items and bonuses are available in the Item Shop. Most notably, however, is that players will earn double ability points and will have a chance to hunt down the Guardian of Gaia, a randomly spawning golem that can award players with some awesome in-game items.
The latest Skyforge class is now a matter of public record with the latest trailer release. The Lightbinder is a support class that is essential in any battle. Lightbinders have the ability to buff compatriots and can weaken enemies with debuffs. The key to Lightbinder success is avoiding direct contact with the enemy. Check out the trailer for more and let us know what you think in the comments.
Jagex has sent word that it has reached a milestone by adding the 200th quest to Runescape. The quest sends players back to an alternate Gielinor, a dimension of disaster, where they have never existed. While there, characters are reset to level one as they journey through the quest line. Not to worry, though: All experience and equipment still exists in the ‘real’ Gielinor.