Everyone has a fighting chance
This past weekend, several members of BioWare Austin descended upon San Antonio for PAX South in the latest Star Wars: The Old Republic Cantina Tour stop. In it, guests were treated to the usual Q&A interspersed with prizes for correctly answering trivia questions. Unusually, the event was actually held on-site at PAX and required a badge although it wasn’t a part of official programming.
Conventions are all about trying new things, and I did just that at PAX South, sampling for the first time two of the hottest new pieces of tech – software and hardware – that gamers are drooling over: Elite: Dangerous and the Oculus Rift.
When someone invites you up to their hotel room, unless you’ve been sharing drinks at the bar and developed a certain subtle understanding, it’s typically a good idea to refuse. When the word "cabal" is uttered in the same proposition, a thrown glass for distraction and immediate sprint for the nearest exit would be the course of wisdom.
When your first game as a developer was an incredible hit like Mojang’s Minecraft, this means unavoidably a hard life for whatever comes next. While it’s almost impossible to live up to expectations, at least you have the benefit of the spotlight. However, you are really out of luck when at the same time one of the industry leaders decides to release a game in the same genre – which happened with Blizzard and Hearthstone. Scrolls was unlucky enough to get overshadowed not only once, but twice.
SilverHelm Games has sent word that Valiance Online has officially reached "Greenlight" status on the Steam games platform. Though already available via a stand alone alpha client, the team will be exploring ways to integrate Steam play in preparation for Early Access.
Aion developers have listened to their community and today’s update is the first step in implementing feature adjustments and game improvements based on that feedback. First off the bat are the new "abbeys" where players who have not logged in for 30+ days can catch up on gear upgrades through a series of daily and one-shot events. In addition, the manastone system has undergone a major upgrade.
With over twenty million battles, PoxNora has shown big success. To add to the growing popularity, Desert Owl Games has announced that a new expansion is incoming. "Ronin" is primarily a PvE expansion but new PvP action will be included as well alongside fifty new champions.
CCP Games has revealed the first details about the next EVE Online update. Called "Tiamat", the update is scheduled to hit live service on February 17th. Among other things, players can look forward to NPCs with new abilities that make them smarter and more dangerous. Projectile weapons have been rebalanced, UI improvements will be added and a new Tiamat soundtrack will be included as well.
Wargaming has revealed the first details about the Wargaming.net League 2015 Grand Finals. The event will be held in Warsaw, Poland on April 25th and 26th and will bring twelve of the world’s finest World of Tanks teams in to battle until only one remains. The League will be utilizing the overhauled tournament rules so the event will be a first of its kind.
I have to say I was a bit surprised at how far Gazillion is planning to take the overhaul of Team-Ups. Sure, Team-Ups have flaws that needed to be addressed, but from the looks of it, Gazillion is planning to expand on Team-Ups such that they’re almost full-blown characters on their own.