Remember when it emerged that the folks behind DC Universe Online were working on a Marvel MMORPG back in November? You know, the one that was being led by Jack Emmert, co-founder of Cryptic Studios and designer of City Of Heroes? Well, hope you weren’t too excited because it’s been cancelled by parent company Enad Global 7.
]]>An MMORPG set in the magical world of Marvel's wizards is apparently in development at the studio behind DC Universe Online. That news comes from a new financial presentation from Enad Global 7, the parent company of folks include DCUO devs Dimensional Ink Games and DCUO publishers Daybreak. What actually is the Marvel MMO? A secret, for now. But I wouldn't feel wrong making some assumptions.
]]>Daybreak Game Company, the H1Z1 and PlanetSide 2 mob formerly known as Sony Online Entertainment, have laid off an unconfirmed number of staff. It's the second wave of layoffs at Daybreak this year, and a real tough time to be laid off. It's the usual "optimising our structure" sort of reason. Daybreak say they'll continue to run their current and are working on new games too.
]]>In this era of a hundred comic book movies a year plus spin-off shows, it's getting harder and harder to remember that not so long ago trying to take a superhero off the printed page and onto some kind of screen was basically a recipe for failure, mockery, and a way of flying a promising creative career into a great big rock. Hell, even now most superheroes without the word 'Bat' in their name are still waiting for someone to even attempt a game, never mind make a good one. For every Batman on NES or Arkham Asylum, there's an Aquaman or Superman on Nintendo 64.
On PC, it's always been particularly weird. Especially when you look at which companies have tried and failed over the years to bring us the ultimate superhero RPG. Is there anything out there that comes close? Ignoring Freedom Force, since that's not an RPG? Well, some! Enough not to have to hold out for a hero, at least.
]]>Hello there. This week, I'm writing not just as an RPG columnist, but as president of the newly formed League Of Folks Who Don't Really Play MOBAs But Are Bizarrely Hooked On All The Trappings. As far as I can tell, our membership is roughly a billion people and counting. That's what happens when the likes of Blizzard and Riot spend literally tens of dollars creating gorgeous videos to promote their worlds, yes, but it goes somewhat deeper than that. Have you ever watched a new character reveal for a game you know you're never going to play? Then the sickness might have spread.
]]>Two pieces of news here. Firstly, the DC MMO is receiving a new update, Sons Of Trigon, that adds a Gotham City mission featuring either Wonder Woman or Circe, in an effort to defeat Trigon. And secondly, the word "Eighth" looks really weird when you type it out.
]]>Are you playing DC Universe Online? The F2P MMO is trundling along, just adding its new DLC pack Hand Of Fate, but you don't hear too much about it. I always feel a bit sorry for DC. Marvel has, well, all the cool superheros, and DC have that utter dick Batman, and Mr Boring Cape, Superman. (That's an uncontroversial statement on which there's unanimity, right?) This is the fifth DLC for the free-if-you-want-it-to-be world, only a year and a half into its lifetime. You can see the somewhat uninformative trailer below.
]]>We live in a terrifying world of constant change. You might, for instance, neatly tuck each of your games into bed a night and gingerly kiss them on the cheek, safe in the knowledge that - when you awake - they'll be there waiting, same as always. But honestly, who knows? They could just suddenly update and transform into strange, multi-tendriled monstrosities. You could awake from your dreams right into a living nightmare. Or, you know, you could just get some Earth-bound levels in Mass Effect and - oh gosh - Aquaman in DC Universe Online. OK, yeah, I'm sticking with the nightmare thing.
]]>The third major expansion for DC Universe Online is due to launch on March 13th, adding Earth-based powers as a ninth set of abilities. With powers such as construct creation and quaking of the earth, this lot are most suitable for players in damage and tank roles. The expansion goes by the name The Battle For Earth and a new raid takes the spandex society to Themyscira, home of the Amazons, so expect plenty of Wonder Woman's chums and rogues to crop up. Overarching plot elements will move along as well, with preparations for the battle against Brainiac underway and a new quest-line that involves scrapping with Proto-Avatars.
]]>This is big news for all SOE games, actually, including EverQuest II, DC Universe Online, Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures, and Free Realms. PCG points out that SOE are signing a European publishing deal with Germany company ProSiebenStat. According to SOE's proposals this could mean that SOE customers will no longer be able to play on both American and EU servers, and in fact existing European players are going to be asked to create an account with the new company to transfer characters and continue playing. Of course, people aren't too happy about that, what with them having relationships with real people outside international boundaries and so forth. The inevitable internet shouting resulted in this response from SOE, indicating that they are "listening". The upshot of the current proposal would be that Europeans would not be (easily) able to play Planetside 2 with American chums. The RPS Planetside 2 outfit would be divided! Those are tears running down my cheeks.
]]>Just in case there were any doubt left that the owners of Lego Universe were completely bonkers to just close down their subscription game without trying a free-to-play model, DC Universe is reporting a slight increase in revenue since they made the switch. The small matter of an extra 700% per day. Eurogamer spotted that the very enthusiastic Sony Online Entertainment president, John Smedley, tweeted his good news. News that will surely be yet another blow to the subs model.
]]>Tweeting like he's just snapped the first candid picture of Clark Kent's super-undies, Sony President John Smedley has been documenting the effect going free-to-play has had on MMORPG biffer DC Universe: Online. It's increased the concurrent playerbase by "1000%".
]]>As promised back in September, DC Universe Online is now free to play. While the combat isn't quite as smooth as Mr Wayne's moves in his Arkham adventures, it's a lot more punchy than what passes for fisticuffs in most massively multiplayer efforts. Playing for free only provides two character slots and there are limits on inventory size among other things, including an inability to trade. You can see all the difference between paid and free subscription at the site.
]]>According to IGN, DC Universe Online is dropping subscription charges next month. The article quotes SOE executive producer Lorin Jameson as saying, “this was our preferred business model from day one”. Well, it’s taken seven months to implement that day one plan but it’s finally here. It does make sense. While SOE are claiming that a drop in subscriptions is not behind this move, anyone who has visited Gotham City lately can tell you it’s a bit of a ghost town. Is this enough to entice anyone in, or back in? Full details below.
]]>This week, DC began rebuilding their entire fictional universe from the ground up. Every title in the range has rebooted to issue number one, severing the future from decades of convoluted and conflicting continuity. I give them twelve months before this ‘new’ universe has split into fifteen multiverses filled with amnesiac clones of every major character whose only differentiating feature will be inverted costume colours or a small beard. Meanwhile, nobody seems to have told SOE who are still expanding the old universe in DC Universe Online. The latest expansion, out for free on September 6th, adds the Green Lantern Corps to the game, along with the Light power set. Players can also join up with the Sinestro Corps if they are villainous sorts. Being evil means you’ll have a magical yellow chainsaw, as seen in the trailer below.
]]>Are all the MMORPGs in the world swapping to microtransactions and freemium payment models? The writing is on the wall, and the writing says "Give us your money! Give us your money in smaller increments, and with less constancy!" Which is a crazy thing to see written on any wall.
]]>Sony had some sort of little problem recently, I hear. Why, someone even claimed that, following a serious security compromise, all of their PlayStation online services had been offline for about six weeks, but they've got to have been jerking my chain. There's no way a major technology firm could allow that to happen, surely. I mean, that would simply be absurd. Absurd.
Things are on the mend now, anyway. Sony Online Entertainment's MMOs - including Everquest II, Free Realms, DC Universe Online and Star Wars: Galaxies (I wonder if SWTOR will be the final nail in that ever-troubled coffin?) - have 'only' been offline since May 3, but have today sputtered back to life alongside PSN.
]]>We asked Richard Cobbett Wot He Thought of DC Universe Online yesterday, and his conclusion was (spoiler!) that while he enjoyed himself he wouldn't be subscribing for a second month. I doubt the following will be enough to change his mind, but IGN has revealed the first boistrous mess of content coming to the game in February. There's one of those fancy pre-rendered trailers, too. Excitements!
]]>Over its 30 levels of BIFF! and POW! and KICK! and making things go SPLODE!, DC Universe Online gave me more awesome moments than any other MMORPG I've ever played. It also reinforced everything I hate about the genre. Let me explain, with words.
]]>Ever! That's according to the reliably twittery John Smedley. I am not sure what that actually says about the game, or SOE games generally, but it sounds positive. And... yes, we haven't really taken a decent look at it yet, but I've heard some positive reports. We should get one of these layabouts on the job, eh?
]]>To celebrate the launch of DC Universe in the UK, Titan Books - the UK distributors of DC Comics - are giving away a bunch of their books to a lucky/motivated RPS reader. Check below for details of what you can win, and how to enter. Sadly, you can only enter this competition if you are a resident of the United Kingdom. Sorry!
]]>I appreciate the enormous advert on our site says that DC Universe is out tomorrow, but that's in the UK. In America, it was released two days ago, and it won't be arriving in Australia for another week. Therefore I've checked our readership statistics and, using the globally accepted ratio that an American is worth 0.5 Europeans and an Australian is worth 1.15 Americans, determined that 5pm, Jan 13th is the mathematically perfect time for us to post that DC Universe Online is basically out. Look, there's a launch trailer and everything.
]]>There's a new trailer for DC Universe Online! It has a robotic super-egg in it! What is going on?
]]>Gotham City! It is Batman's house. The new trailer from Sony Online Entertainment for exciting MMORPG DC Universe Online shows you all around this legendary city, but there is not a Batman to be seen. Shh. Maybe he's sleeping. When he's sleeping, does Batman become Sleepman? Think about it.
]]>As newboy Quintin reported yesterday, with his plucky spirit and eager-to-impress enthusiasm (swearing), DC Universe has unheroically slipped into 2011 (the year in which robots take over the Earth). But that doesn't mean there can't be new trailers for it. Not that anyone was thinking it did. I mean, based on what logic would a couple of months of delay mean that it would stop being promoted? Who's even writing this post? An idiot, that's who. What? Carry on.
]]>Remember how you were planning your whole November around the release of DC Universe Online on November 2nd? Well, now you're FUCKED. The MMORPG has been delayed until "early 2011". On the plus side, anyone who pre-orders the game before November 15th in North America will still get beta access by November 30th.
What reason could there be for a delay? I've come up with a few theories.
]]>While we didn't blog the release of the Blur Studios intro cinematic to DC Universe for some reason, this interview between DC's Jim Lee and Blur Studios' Tim Miller is just a fascinating analysis of craft. They go through the full intro, beat by beat, talking and debating the choices - what works, what they wished worked better and the thinking behind it all. If you've any interest in this sort of thing at all, it's an enthralling ten minutes.
]]>The Gamescom 2010 trailers keep on coming. VG247 noticed the latest one for DC Universe, which sort of sets up the moral question at the heart of the game. As in, is vigilante justice ever really justified, or is it just proto-fascism? As in, whether you want to be naughty or nice. Pictured is the Joker, who generally leans a little naughty. He's punching Nightwing, who generally leans a little nice. Except isn't Nightwing Batman at the moment? Would now be an apposite moment to mention Eddie Argos of Art Brut & friend's new project, Spoiler Alert!, being songs about the Justice League. The Batman one which should enlighten you all about the current continuity. Anyway, out on November 2nd and here's the videosity...
Sign ups are open for DC Universe Online's beta-testing carnival of superheroic fun. Should you bother hauling your digi-carcass over there and signing up? Probably. Kieron's hands-on write up a while back was pretty positive. I have to admit I've not been following the game all that closely, but it's looking intriguingly action-oriented. I guess I should pay more attention. Bad psychic cobwebs from it being SOE, or something.
]]>What with my extra-RPS-ticular activities I should probably be careful with this one, yeah? Anyway - among the E3 assets there's a trailer for the forthcoming (November!) DC Universe Online, which is trying to sell its "You're a new hero and you get to choose whether to go good or evil and then fight alongside the legends" angle. And in its scripted manner, it actually does it pretty well. I also see the last set of assets released were a load of grabs of Power Girl, which seems to be some PR generously setting us up for a load of "Power Girl's Assets" gags. I'm going to resist, instead talking about where I left a copy of the - actually very lovely - recent run around the house Delightful Fiancée stopped, considered it, then informed me "Power Girl's breasts are ridiculous" before wandering off again. This is true. Er... trailer follows.
]]>DC Universe Online (I really want a crossover game where you can fight DC Universe Online characters against Marvel Universe Online characters) has released a new trailer/interview that goes into a few details about the game in general. There's an explanation of how you can pick between your own from-scratch hero, or a mimic of a favourite DC character, as well as all sorts of in-game footage, and some info on missions. This is all explained by Sony's global brand manager, Deby Sue Wolfcale, which totally sounds like the name of a superhero's alter-ego.
]]>I've been away, having adventures, only a few of which are of any relevance to you gentlefolk. This is one of them. At San Diego Comic Con, I managed to take myself to a DC Universe presentation and had a half-hour or so of all-in-combat in the game. And I was surprised. Not in a They-called-me-Mr-Glass-oh-that's-rubbish kind of way, but in a "Actually, this looks quite fun kind of way".
You see, I had somewhat low expectations. The reason why? The original trailer...
]]>[Thanks to extreme tiredness, I didn’t manage to write up all of my impressions from E3. Over the next couple of days I’ll clean house and post up my leftover thoughts.]
So if the Sony Online Entertainment game that you are looking forward to is DC Universe Online, well, E3 wasn’t for you. Because cleverly, SOE are going to reveal all of the details of the game at the San Diego Comic Con (which, in retrospect, I should have stayed for) in front of the slavering hordes of nerds that they want to impress the most, instead of wasting the details on the slavering (but smaller) hordes of nerds at E3. What did I learn from my brief chat with the developers? Well, that it’s going to be a heavily physics based MMO where characters be able to “use the environment as a weapon” - and they made a pretty big deal about how hard it is to put proper physics into an MMO.
]]>From the Sony conference:
My, how very earnest. And is that Peter 'Optimus Prime' Cullen doing the irony-free voiceover, or just my stupid imagination? Suitably comic-booky anyway, and apparently a very straight-laced take on the DC Universe, as opposed to the incomprehensible muddle it seems to be in over in the comics at the moment.
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