While advances in world story are promising in the arena of PvP, the other aspects of MMOs have suffered neglect. If "the pen is mightier than the sword" then why are players only able to use swords? The answer is that the devs won't let go of the pen.
MMO worlds are stagnant. They have cardboard cutout monsters and NPCs that stand in their assigned space. Players knock the monsters down like a fantastical shooting range, but after a few minutes, the pulleys whir, the monsters stand up, and the world reverts to its static state. On a micro level where thousands of players are sharing the same game space, this is to be expected. The problem is that it also exists at a macro level and constantly echoes in the background, "This world is not real... this world is not real..."
Turbine has announced that they are opening a west coast studio in Redwood City, California. There is an official announcement which provides the names of the new studio leads. Check it out after the jump.
In this week's RoleCraft, Jim Moreno looks at the options RPers have when dealing with the old MMORPG standby - the expansion pack.
Turbine let us know that they'll be taking the Asheron's Call servers offline to do a quick update to the game next week:
The Asheron's Call Game Servers will be brought down on Tuesday, September 30th from 7:00 AM - 2:00 PM Eastern (-4 GMT) for an update to the game. Thanks for your patience, and we'll see you back in the game soon!
Ok, 7 hours isn't a 'quick' update, but maybe somethings will get fixed that are bugging a few players!
In this week's "RoleCraft," Jim Moreno looks at the difficulties of scheduling RP events with an established group, and some of the solutions involved.
Turbine's published the release notes for this month's free update to Asheron's Call (the 101st, for those who are counting). The update includes some miscellaneous changes, including this one:
Casinos have received some long needed attention. Some of the new attractions include Carenzi races and monster fights that players can wager on.
Click below to read the entire list. The event goes live tomorrow, September 23.
Turbine let us know about some upcoming downtime:
The Turbine Game Servers and http://myaccount.turbine.com will be offline for maintenance on Monday, September 22nd from 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM Eastern (-4 GMT). The forums will remain up, but players may not be able to log in until 10:00 AM Eastern (-4 GMT). Thanks for your patience, and we'll see you back in the game soon!
Note that LOTRO has some differing times.
Turbine sent over a teaser image for the September event, titled "Risks and Rewards". Check it out by clicking below.
Turbine let us know about some scheduled downtime for Asheron's Call coming up:
The Asheron's Call Game Servers will be offline for maintenance on Thursday, September 18 from 7:00 AM to 11:00 AM Eastern (-4 GMT). Thanks for your patience, and we'll see you back in the game soon!
Turbine let us know they've scheduled a chat with the folks over at AC Vault:
On Monday, September 22nd at 7pm Eastern, Turbine and AC Vault are teaming up once again for a Developer's chat. To submit a question, just go to the AC Vault main page and click on the "Submit Question" link under the "Dev Chat" header on the left.
We are all looking forward to see everyone there!
You can find more details here.
There are times when you feel the need to mention a game, but there isn't really any other place in which to do it. These are the anomalies, the head-scratchers, or anything else that simply just defies categorization.
Maggie the Jackcat let us know:
I'm saddened to let you know that my vassal, Ned Cleversun, passed away on Tuesday (Sep 2). He was the finest vassal on Dereth. A good companion and dear, dear friend. I will miss him terribly.
We will all miss him. A thread has been started on the official forums to offer condolences.
In this week's "RoleCraft," Jim Moreno looks at different ways to roleplay with weather effects in-game.
When Asheron's Call launched in November of 1999, the development team at Turbine had an ambitious plan in mind: every month, they would update the game, not just to add content but to further the game's story. With the game's ninth anniversary right around the corner, the AC team has hit another huge milestone: August's update is the game's 100th.
I sat down with Producer Dave Javier and Community Manager Andy Cataldo to chat about the evolving world of Dereth and both their favorite memories from the path as well as what they were looking forward to in the future of Asheron's Call.
Asheron's Call and Turbine have hit the record books with the one hundredth update. This is a particularly impressive feat given the short-term viability of most games. Celebrate with them by reading the official release...
Turbine released a boatload of images related to their 100th update of Asheron's Call, including this one:
Turbine let us know about some upcoming downtime:
All Turbine Services, Games, Forums and http://myaccount.turbine.com will be offline for maintenance on Monday, August 25th from 7:00AM to 11:00AM Eastern (-4 GMT). Thanks for your patience, and we'll see you back in the game soon!
Turbine released another sneak peek at their 100th update for Asheron's Call:
Frelorn also let slip these little tidbits:
The Society system is still going in. The new tier of loot is still going in. The level 8 spells are still going in. New armors and armor sets are still going in. Oh and did I mention Faction based PvP town control, in two new areas? That little bit may have slipped my mind... and a new Island? Did I forget that one too?
The update is tentatively scheduled to go live August 26th.
In this week's "RoleCraft," Jim Moreno continues his look at character alignment in MMORPGs - this time focusing on how in-game factions make characters "evil" (or not).
In this week's examination of Clausewitz "On Gaming," Jonathan Steinhauer looks at what victory and defeat mean ... to NPC monsters.
Turbine gave us a sneak peak at something related to the upcoming 100th update to Asheron's Call today. Take a gander!
If you can't make the Indianapolis gathering, Turbine's hosting another gathering in Seattle:
Turbine is hosting a party for Turbine players! Join us at Gameworks Seattle from 7:00PM - 9:00PM on Friday, August 29th 2008. Asheron's Call Producer Crowley, LOTRO Executive Producer Nigellian, LOTRO: Mines of Moria Producer Eldrad, the enigmatic Marketroid, Community Team members Patience and Frelorn, and more will be on hand from Turbine! Food, games, fun, and swag - what more could you ask for?
You can visit any of the threads at the official sites to RSVP (here's just one).
Hot on the heels of the latest nostalgia blog, Turbine's published a letter from the Producer of Asheron's Call:
You might have noticed that the last few content updates have been lighter than you're used to. We made the decision to split a couple of developers off from the monthly Live updates to work, long-term, on the deep and ambitious plans we had for the 100th Update.
You can read the entire letter after the jump!
Turbine's posted the 2nd in their series of Nostalgia blogs regarding Asheron's Call today:
In the second installment of our trip down memory lane with former developers of Asheron's Call we catch up with Matt Elliott, former Art Lead and fan of AC. Matt shares a brief look back at how he came to be a part of the AC family.
Click below to read the update!
In this week's RoleCraft, Jim Moreno looks at the standard D&D concept of alignment, how it works in roleplaying, and how it's applied to MMORPGs.
Turbine let us know that their games will be offline for part of Monday:
All Turbine Services, Games, Forums, the LOTRO Lorebook, and http://myaccount.turbine.com will be offline for maintenance on Monday, August 4th from 7:00AM to 11:00AM Eastern (-4 GMT). Thanks for your patience, and we'll see you back in the game soon!
Turbine's posted the first in a series of nostalgia blogs, by developers past and present. The first entry comes from Allan "Orion" Maki:
Where to start...they say that you never forget your first love - I am not certain who they are and how they know this is true, I have never been certain - they are right. Asheron's Call was my first and it is still an important part of the designer that I am now.
Read on to read the entire entry!
Jonathan Steinhauer continues his application of the writings of Carl Clausewitz to MMOGs, this time focusing on defeat and "life after death" in online worlds.
Turbine posted this tidbit of news today:
Turbine is hosting a party for Turbine players! Join us at Jillians in Indianapolis from 8-10PM Friday, August 15th. Eldorudo, Tolero, Patience, Kate Paiz, and more will be on hand from Turbine! Food, games, fun, and swag - what more could you ask for?
Please click here to RSVP if you plan to attend so we can get an approximate headcount. We can't wait to see everyone there!
Could be a fun time!
Turbine's published the release notes (and the teaser fiction) for this month's event, titled "Shattered Lines". The event is scheduled to go live tomorrow, July 23. One change of note:
The drudges have finally stopped constantly raiding Cragstone, much to the relief of the townsfolk. Brave adventurers who still want to complete the associated quest may do so by hunting the Drudges around their fort.
You can read the full update below!
