Weekend of Betas
A friend got his invite to the Mists of Pandaria beta this weekend, so while I was trying out TERA, he was busy checking out the Pandaren starting area!
A Weekend of TERA
I’ve spent most of the weekend playing TERA, in the last stages of the mmo’s closed beta stage.
TERA has been touted as a new breed of MMO, with enhanced combat and tactics, relying on timing and position, as well as aiming. The game world is massive, with gorgeous graphics, and there are seven character races and eight classes to choose from.
TERA has been in the news for their races and clothing designs, though.. with the European version of the game having censored versions of some models. I’ll come back to that..
Games to Learn to Code With!
Two rather interesting games have come up this week.. else { Heart.break() }, which will allow players to access and alter the game code itself, and Code Hero, which teaches you how to code, using Javascript in Unity 3d, and gives you a gun to shoot bits of code which then execute on the target!
else { Heart.break() } is still in development, with potentially another year to go. When finished, this will be an adventure game within the world of computers and code, where you can change reality using the programming skills you learn from characters within the game.
The website says that players will be assumed to have no prior knowledge of programming.. however, I suspect those who will be attracted to the game will already be interested in coding to start with. I do wonder how far you can change the programming though, without just breaking the game.
Code Hero also starts out with no expectations of coding knowledge from players. The game gives you a code gun to copy and fire pieces of Javascript, which execute when they hit a target.. for instance, moving a platform down by shooting code to change its y- position. The idea is that by using different pieces of code, players will start to learn what that codes does.. but I suspect the same will apply as for else { Heart.break() }; the people it attracts will already be interested in programming.
The beta game was shown at Minecon in 2011, and is available to those preordering the game, as well as those pledging on the game’s Kickstarter. Sadly, it looks as though the Kickstarter won’t go through as there haven’t been enough pledges, and time is nearly up.
Firefall Beta Starts Now
Firefall is a team-based shooter / MMO hybrid under development for the PC by Red 5 Studios; a studio founded by Mark Kern, former team lead for World of Warcraft. The game will be free-to-play once launched. To take part in the beta, sign up for an account: beta invites will be issued in waves.
The latest Dev Diary details how player actions will affect the roll out of new content in the game:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQrQWRiXFss]
The game is set in a future Earth, where the promise of a new clean energy source leads to the arrival of a hostile energy storm called the Melding, that engulfs most of the world. A bloodthirsty race known as The Chosen has also emerged and threatens humanity’s survival..
Players can choose from three battleframes: assault, medic and recon, each of which can be customised with different weapons and loadouts. These are equipped by the player’s character, so you can switch between battleframes too.
Firefall has both PvP objectives and cooperative PvE missions. PvP consists of Team Deathmatch, and a Sabotage game mode, which has teams take turns being on offense or defense, with three different points to capture and hold. Confirmed PvE missions so far include a Thumper mission, where players defend a mining machine against waves of enemy creatures while it gathers resources, and Rescue missions, for which no information has yet been released.
Firefall has no set release date; as players join the beta and play, the team collect feedback and continue development of the game, with plans for the game to be rolled out ‘organically’, rather like Google’s Gmail service.
Beta Update for Skyrim
The 1.4 update for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is currently still in development, but you can apply the beta version now, through Steam.
As this is a beta version of the update, Bethesda note that you apply the update at your own risk, and back up your save games, or at least avoid overwriting them.
Full instructions for applying the beta, and removing it again, are available on the Bethesda Blog, along with the patch notes.
Castle Empire Online – Open Beta
Ubisoft and Blue Byte‘s browser-based strategy MMO Castle Empire Online (formerly known as The Settlers Online) is now in open beta in Europe, with registration available through either Facebook or Ubisoft’s UPlay system. The game has been available to players in the US, Germany, France and Russia for some time, but is now available in the UK.
In Castle Empire Online, players gather resources, build and expand their city and raise an army.. you can group up with allies and join guilds, and trade.. or simply conquer all who stand in your path!
Left 4 Dead 2 – Cold Stream
Cold Stream is a new campaign created by modder Matthew Lourdelet, who previously created the 2 Evil Eyes campaign.
Having received some well-deserved support from Valve, this became available for players to beta test last night.
I got round to playing it this morning. We first spawned in the stream itself.. I thought this was a very pretty location with the rushing water and trees..
We decided this first part of the map could maybe have done with a few more pointers on direction, as once you’ve headed into the trees it’s fairly easy to lose your sense of direction..
We also wandered in and out of a small building before realising we were supposed to jump out of the first floor window to carry on.. maybe if this window had been broken it would have given us a clue, but as it was it looked like a recipe for fall damage. Minor points, though.. and they didn’t hold us up for long 🙂
In the second map, we emerged in a tunnel full of rushing water. A minor complaint here was the lack of sound for the water.. noticeable in the tunnel where you’d expect to really hear it. I think it was around here that we started talking about how cool it would be if the water were to push you along, as it certainly looked fast-flowing..
I think the foggy lighting here would be great cover when playing as the Infected.. 🙂
Towards the end of this level we were nearly wiped out by a sneak-attacking tank, who incapacitated most of the team with a massive rock which came crashing down onto the group. We hadn’t even picked up the bots by the time he got to us, and after I threw the bile on him, he sent me flying past the still-incapped Ellis..
The bile brought enough zombies to kill him off, and we carried on through a building and back into a tunnel full of water.
This time, there was a push behind the water! Straight ahead there appeared to be a drop to the death, but we headed right and down a set of stairs with more water flowing down them. I was rather pleased with this bit 😉
On the third level we were surprised with an explosion, sending cars and trucks flying and leaving a large hole on the bridge we were crossing!
I liked how this changed the map right before us, but wonder how this feels in Versus mode.. whether the infected get trapped here, or whether it allows insta-kills over the edge. I need more friends who still want to play this game 😉
We had noticed a witch crying, and before the explosion I had been looking for her, hoping to beat The Undoer to the kill 😉
She turned out to be standing on a surface below the bridge, with no way up. I noticed that this bug has been mentioned on the Steam forum dedicated to Cold Stream, along with the bug we got at the beginning of the Finale level..
That’s me, spawned on the outside of the safe room.. oops.
Using the radio in the safe room starts a cutscene with what we assumed was a rescue helicopter that crashes down into the trees.. all which needs some kind of voice acting as it just feels a bit strange. After this, we were free to run out to look for the helicopter, or an alternative rescue..
A little further along, I thought the game had crashed when everything seemed to stick.. then we realised it was just a slow-motion effect. At the time this seemed rather impressive, but I’m now thinking it should maybe have been left out. In games like Homefront and Call of Duty, slow-motion is used to allow you to respond quickly to a threat.. here, it just seems to be used to add to the explosion, and after the second play-through I think this would be more of an annoying delay than something to be impressed by.
For the rescue, again, hindsight comes in..
Presumably attracted by the fire and smoke from the wreckage of the first helicopter, a second helicopter was waiting to rescue us. I think this should have been the other way round, with us having to wait and hold out against a horde.. this would have been more challenging. Instead, we almost discovered the ladder by chance, and with the common infected piling on Ellis and Rochelle, we were free to run up the ladder to safety.
Having run through this campaign though, I realised quite how much I miss playing the game.. the adrenaline rush, the need for really close co-operation.. the awesome feeling when you and your friends survive despite the AI director being harsh.. 🙁