dev blog

Torchlight Frontiers is being built by an ‘all-star team’ of former Torchlight and Diablo II devs

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“So now I am very, very pleased to announce to everybody that we are taking the next step with Torchlight and making an MMO.”

By pulling back in some of the Diablo II and original Torchlight developers into the new Echtra Games, Max Schaefer has “gotten the band back together” to craft the upcoming MMOARPG Torchlight Frontiers. “To do justice to the Torchlight franchise and to take it to the next level, we really had to assemble an all-star team that’s capable of doing it,” explained Schaefer.

In the game’s first dev video, Shaefer walked fans through the genesis of this project and promised that this wasn’t a “generic MMO” but a true Torchlight game through and through. He talks up the persistent mechanics of an MMO and the “living, breathing world” that will grow over time.

Give the dev diary a watch after the break!

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Chronicles of Elyria on character family influences and playable instruments

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The latest production update from Chronicles of Elyria is going to make those of you who are super into detailed and meaningful character creation perk right on up. Elyria is a bit unusual in that characters can be linked to other characters through biological families, and those families influence where you’re “born” as well as what characteristics, appearances, and even religions you “grow up” with.

“Even if [you’re] wearing a disguise, the Child Contract records who you really are because your true genetics are used (your physical body is involved in baby-making). While the child created with the contract would only be aware of the identities their parents were using when they made the contract, their genetics will be based off of the True Identity. If you want to create secret children, you totally can, but they’ll still resemble you and not your disguise.”

There’s more to the dev blog, including a chunk on interaction with the world (like using tools to craft the elements of survival). That might someday include playable instruments too, though Soulbound says they “may not be playable at launch.”

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Elder Scrolls Legends’ new studio is ‘rebuilding Legends from the ground up’

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Back in May, Bethsoft surprised Elder Scrolls Legends players with a big announcement: It was ending its partnership with Dire Wolf Digital, which was the original dev studio behind the Elder Scrolls flavored online card game. In its place, Bethsoft would be bringing in a studio dubbed Sparkypants to handle the “future development and ongoing support for the game.” At the time, Bethsoft was promising new features and “competitive scene support,” and then, just a few weeks later ar E3, the company announced a graphics overhaul and port to Xbox One, PS4, and the Switch.

According to a new dev blog out today, Sparkypants’ rework is far more extensive; the companies say they’re “rebuilding Legends from the ground up with brand-new code,” though existing accounts will retain all their progress and achievements. The studio is also focused on a new story expansion and a “new thematic set of standalone cards that will add some interesting new wrinkles to the game’s meta and get players trying new deck compositions” with a focus “on designing ‘big’ cards that will see a lot of play.”

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Dauntless previous expansion weaponry, plans to roll out expansion chunks as they’re ready

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If you like the way Blizzard rolls out WoW expansions – in chunks – then you’re going to appreciate Dauntless for much the same reason. Phoenix Labs says in its most recent dev blog that it’s planning on meting out “pieces of The Coming Storm as they become ready” to give the studio “the flexibility to work with your feedback.”

The Coming Storm was announced a few weeks ago with a target date of August 9th, which we presume now will actually be the first leg; its chief claim to fame is a massive rework of Ramsgate, the game’s central hub, thanks to the invasion of an Ostian Dreadnaught, an event that heralds new gear themes and weapons too. Those weapons – and the new Behemoth himself – are the subject of the rest of the blog piece.

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Destiny 2 previews expansion gear, plans PvP changes, investigates streaky RNG

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Still got your eye on Destiny 2’s Forsaken expansion coming out at the tail end of summer? Prepare your trigger finger too, as yesterday Bungie previewed some of the new “tools of the trade” that’ll launch with the expansion. Sighted bows, molten armor, ghostly pistols, flamethrowers, it’s genuinely good stuff (that I can’t wait to see ported into moddable single-player games I play, *cough*).

Bungie’s latest dev diary has a few more bits worth noting, including intentional adjustments to “time to kill” in PvP, a preview of the 4v4 Lockdown PvP mode, unlucky RNG rolls, Engram acquisition, and several fan videos worth a peek.

Finally, pencil the Solstice of Heroes event into your calendars; starting on Tuesday, Bungie will kick off that event with new challenges that’ll net you some armor upgrades.

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Dauntless previews the flaming exotics arriving with The Coming Storm expansion

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Dauntless turned heads earlier this week by announcing two things: It’s racked up 2M players in free-to-play open beta, and it’s got a big patch coming up in August, complete with a hub makeover, new content, and new gear. Among that gear are two new flaming exotics, which Phoenix Labs has previewed in a new dev blog. One is a fiery morningstar that turns the floor into lava, and the other…

“The first of our two new Charrogg exotics is the Skullforge. With a heavy metal structure and dynamic flame effects, this piece will add flare to any Slayer’s setup. Battle is where this helm really shines, though. When you land your first hit, you’ll see flames start to flicker from the helm’s metal crown. Land a few heavy blows in a row, and you’ll light up hotter than an aether-fueled bonfire.”

Look, if somebody comes at me with a hat that is literally on fire, I am backing away slowly and then very, very quickly.

The game’s most recent version fixes Godhand bugs, duplicate gear, and sword and pike issues.

Source: Official site

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Elder Scrolls Online’s Wolfhunter boasts a hunting grounds dungeon that’s fantastically creepy

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The Elder Scrolls Online is really upping its creepy factor in Wolfhunter, if its latest preview of Hircine’s Hunting Grounds is any indication. (Seriously, the new pics of the monstrously huge and ghostly Hircine are nightmarish. In a good way.) ZeniMax has deep-dived one of the DLC’s “dungeons,” March of Sacrifices, in a new dev blog today, and “dungeon” is in quotes specifically because this is no typical underground delve. Instead, March of Sacrifices is basically an overland realm dedicated to Hircine. Players will be competing with other teams in the zone to topple both the creatures there as well as each other to win the daedra’s favor and collect the requisite loot. Five bosses are also on the agenda for a takedown.

“As Hircine is the Daedric Prince of hunters and stalkers in the wild, the biggest element players will want to get used to in this dungeon is using stealth and taking on the role of a hunter,” ESO Dungeon Lead Mike Finnigan explains. “Some fights will require the use of mechanics not necessarily seen before. In particular, Tarcyr is quite different than anything we have done, and I suspect it will challenge players quite a bit.”

Wolfhunter was announced at E3 back in June and entered playtesting a little over a week ago.

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Reign of Guilds shows off environments, castles, and magic in latest dev blog

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The latest dev blog for Russian indie dev Atlant Games’s upcoming Reign of Guilds has a veritable smorgasbord of detailed information about various facets of the game, ranging from the technical tools being used to create the open world to the game’s magic system and more. A great deal of the blog post is devoted to discussing the design and creation of the game’s open world, detailing the tools the devs are using in order to generate the world’s mountains, forests, streams, and other natural splendors. It also takes a look at the first of the game’s counties, called Daerkunn, which the blog post says is about 50% complete.

The dev blog also delves into the construction of the castles that will play key roles in the game’s guild-vs-guild warfare. From simple wooden outposts to grand stone citadels, the team is aiming to provide a diverse array of locations for players to kill each other over. In addition, the post highlights some of the elemental magic players will be able to wield as well as detailing the game’s inventory and trading systems. If you’re interested in checking out this behind-the-scenes look at Reign of Guilds’s development, you can check out the full post over on the game’s official site.

Source: Reign of Guilds devblog #4

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The MOP Up: Star Trek Online’s DS9 expansion gets a console release date (July 14, 2018)

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The MMO industry moves along at the speed of information, and sometimes we’re deluged with so much news here at Massively Overpowered that some of it gets backlogged. That’s why there’s The MOP Up: a weekly compilation of smaller MMO stories and videos that you won’t want to miss. Seen any good MMO news? Hit us up through our tips line!

Maybe you’ll discover a new game in this space — or be reminded of an old favorite! This week we have stories and videos from Elsword, EVE Online, Soulworker Online, League of Legends, Realm Royale, Survived By, EverQuest II, Prosperous Universe, Black Desert Mobile, and Star Trek Online, all waiting for you after the break!

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Blade & Soul’s False Idols update includes two endgame raids

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Among the highlights of Blade & Soul’s upcoming False Idols update are two raid dungeons for endgamers to explore. NCsoft’s lightly previewed both in its most recent dev blog on the game.

“Everyone in the Earthen Realm knows of the vengeful Grand Celestial Emperor’s formidable clockwork guardians that lurk within Nightfall Sanctuary. As his last, dying command, the Grand Celestial Emperor ordered two of his living idols to exact his demands for fear and respect from his people, even after his body turned to ash. Years have passed and no one has paid tribute in some time. Activated by the Kuranos Cube, the Barrier Keeper and Templar will now be seeking restitution—in blood. Focus your chi and prepare to meet the challenge!”

Both raids are for 12-man level 55/Hongmoon 12 teams on a weekly Wednesday refresh timer, gated by the players’ having completed Emperor’s Tomb chapter 5. “Like the automatons that have come before them, The Barrier Keeper and The Templar resemble the Nightfall Sanctuary bosses, The Peacekeeper and The Shield Bearer, with each guardian residing in their own dungeon—the Hall of the Keeper and the Hall of the Templar,” says the studio. “Though these two raid bosses are not as formidable as their Nightfall Sanctuary counterparts, they are not to be taken lightly.” The updated launches on July 25th!

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Ship of Heroes’ teeny-weeny robot nanites ensure smooth sailing for the superhero starship

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Ship of Heroes has a fresh dev blog up today on stuff you can’t even see. I’m talking, of course, about nanites, ridiculously tiny robots that work in unison to make big stuff happen across the literal spaceship your superheroes are flying around on in the game. Of course, what the different nanites do depends how they’re programmed. Some of them are effectively magic clean-up crew, fixing busted infrastructure and scrubbing away graffiti. Others serve players in combat.

“Nanites are also useful for combat, though not as much as one might think. They are completely ineffective for offensive purposes, because everyone carries standardized counter-nanites for personal defense in their bodies. Counter-nanites have been around and standardized for more than a century, and the common models are rugged, reliable, and simple enough to be unhackable. The Justice requires immigrants to get counter-nanites as part of the citizenship process if they don’t already have them, and children get them from their parents. The ship itself also has counter-nanites in case of any attempt to attack its systems.”

Check out the whole piece on the official site (and the new screenies below!).

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Conan Exiles has set another Funcom record, announces Jewel of the West DLC and patch

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Funcom’s fortunes continue to rise thanks to Conan Exiles: The company announced today that it’s “both the best-selling and fastest-selling game” in its history, passing up 2008’s Age of Conan, which sold 1.4 million units in its first three years. Conan Exiles has busted past that record in under half that time since launching early access in 2017.

There’s good news to look forward to, too, as the devs are working on a freebie patch, and the game is picking up new DLC called Jewel of the West in “early August,” which you’ll note isn’t all that far away.

“The downloadable content introduces new Aquilonia-themed building pieces, weapons, armor, furniture, and more. In Conan lore, Aquilonia is the center of the civilized world and its clothing and architecture is inspired by that of the real-world Romans.”

The free content will include pets and taming, “allowing players to find and tame anything from camels to panthers and even spiders and then use them to guard their base, carry resources, and more.”

Enjoy the new trailer along with the satisfaction of knowing Conan is doing great!

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Crowfall introduces mega deeds and panels for tricking out your Eternal Kingdom castles

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Set aside your castles in the air: Crowfall’s castles are built on solid ground. ArtCraft’s most recent dev blog is all about them, or rather, about the battlements, walls, and gatehouses that will make your in-game castle an actual fortification instead of just a place to stash your prettiest loot.

“The deeper we dig into Eternal Kingdom construction and the quest for Castle customization, the more modular this feature becomes,” ArtCraft says. “We want to deliver the maximum amount of options with the minimum number of assets and deeds. This way, we save you inventory space and save ourselves some overhead (or more like over-headache amirite?)! With all that being said (brace yourselves): MEGA DEEDS are coming!”

So what the heck is a mega deed? It’s a deed grouping, essentially: “Let’s say you’re building with 1×1 stone wall pieces. With the correct deed, you can place a 1×1 stone wall OR a 1×1 sloped stone wall or even a 1×1 half-sloped wall! Multiple options but one deed to rule them all!” Moreover, players will be able to use panels to trick out an existing structure and “alter it for any aesthetic or practical purpose.” I’m gonna turn all mine into stockades for the trolls!

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