MMORPGs

By Alex Connolly @ The Wargamer

Heliborne has officially hit Steam Early Access. With the latest patch, I felt it was time to drop the collective, putting skid to pad to see what’s going on with JetCat Games’ tilt for World of Flying Tanks.

Though enthralled by my time in the pre-alpha, the then-minuscule player population offered a sporadic glimpse at what Heliborne was selling. Freshly deployed and on active duty in Early Access, population boom across the three-strong servers – EU, US Central and SE Asia/Oceania, at the time of writing – makes the ten bone purchase argument far more convincing. A full-blown Heliborne match, with its unique sense of territory control, speaks for itself.

If you’re chasing a more detailed look at just what Heliborne is, do have a goosey at our pre-alpha coverage. In a nutshell, this is an excellent use of the modern “World of [insert romantic hardware]“, and perhaps one of the more nuanced of its ilk. Featuring a simucade feel, aiming to capture the revolutionary flexibility and fragility of the war whirlybird, Heliborne is as much a ground game as it is one of the air. It has an intimacy where others don’t. Each sortie an exercise in grazing ridgelines and hugging rivers; dancing between the snarl of AA tracers and coming in hot under rocketry to snatch bases with a bellyload of troops.

Read on…

Upgraded physics and improved sound making tank warfare even more visceral, taking the player experience up a notch

Wargaming is excited to announce today the release of update 9.14 for World of Tanks. This update introduces improved sound and physics, making tank warfare even more visceral, as well as 24 pristine HD models, and a new map for Rampage mode: Ravaged Capital.

Improved physics lets players immerse themselves further into dynamic battles, with vehicles handling more realistically than before. Commanders can master skillfully sharp turns, rapidly changing direction and controlling their tank’s turning radius during movement. In addition, vehicles are now more maneuverable, letting players take full advantage of agile tanks in their arsenal.

Update 9.14 also introduces significantly improved sound. In harnessing the new sound engine, Audiokinetic Wwise, commanders can hear every purr and roar of their steel beast as it roams the battlefield. With sound being processed on a separate core, there are between 10 and 30 distinct sound sources, recorded from authentic vehicles on real proving grounds. When adding enhanced sound effects to orientate players in battle into the mix, as well as original event sounds, and multiple sound presets, World of Tanks adds another layer of authenticity to the gameplay experience.

“The major improvements to sound and physics in update 9.14 have been highly-anticipated by our fans,” said Sergey Laptenok, Publishing Product Director, World of Tanks. “All this was made possible with feedback from players, and we have delivered an experience that brings them closer to the action than ever before.”

Commanders can also look forward to 24 HD models of some of their favorite vehicles. Those who have been battling in the intense Rampage mode can also learn to dominate the new map, Ravaged Capital, which drops players in the heart of Paris’s warzone during World War II.

For more information about World of Tanks, visit the games official website.

Battlestate Games, the creators of hardcore online shooter Escape from Tarkov, today revealed the second in its ongoing series of developer diaries, this one dedicated to the creation of 3D in-game assets and how they are bringing “hardcore realism” to life. The developers describe the process of creating a rich and devastating world – from architectural elements to weapons and characters.

Watch the second Escape from Tarkov developer diary here. (Unless you are an expert Russian speaker, be sure to turn “on closed captioning” and choose “English” in the settings for English subtitles.)

Wargaming today launched the first major update of the New Year for World of Warships: 0.5.3. Players can test their might in the thrilling new battle type Team Battles, learn new Commander Skills, try out consumables, and conquer a new map.

With the introduction of Team Battles, captains can now create a formidable fleet with other players to take on teams from 3:00 pm PST–11:00 pm PST, ensuring there is always a skirmish at the ready. Team Battles is unlocked at account level 12 and pits two teams of seven against each other to rank up their rating and progress through the leagues. This battle type is also available to solo players, which means that all those mercenary captains out there can drop in to battles on the fly.

Update 0.5.3 introduces several new Commander Skills to help players achieve a perfect balance of support and aggression. The new consumable—Torpedo Reload Booster—is great for Japanese destroyers and a must for all torpedo aficionados.

The new map Tears of the Desert is set to make waves among higher tier vessels. Modelled on the islands near the coast of North Africa, featuring arid desert and clusters of barren rocks, this map is perfect for cover and luring enemies into tough situations.

Watch the World of Warships – Update 0.5.3 video here. Check out the update notes here.

For more game information, please visit the official World of Warships website.

Wargaming today announced the new battle type “Team Battles” for World of Warships will set sail in Update 0.5.3. This new battle type, which unlocks at account level 12, lets captains create an elite squadron of players, work with them to sharpen their skills, and then set out to decimate their opponents and rule the waves.

Taking the prestige of World of Warship’s naval combat to a new level, Team Battles are the domain of certain tier vessels, consisting of 7-vs-7 skirmishes. Players can have up to 10 people in their team (with three in reserve). They can also be recruited for up to three teams simultaneously, so there is always a new Team Battles waiting on the horizon. Team Battles will only be available during “prime time,” a necessary restriction to ensure a competitive number of players are all in the queue.

“The fans have been asking for more forms of team interaction since we started developing World of Warships,” said Danny Volkov, World of Warships Development Director, Wargaming. “With Team Battles, we’ve listened to their feedback and created an arena where they can meet teammates, forge their perfect squad and take on intense battles with top players in their region.”

On a team’s journey to become the dominating force of the seas, they will advance through a number of leagues, battling towards a common objective, to improve their ranking. Through Team Battles, captains get their fill of high-level skirmishes and truly take their skills to the next level.

To learn more about Team Battles, please watch the video.

Source: GamingBolt

Battlestate Games have just released a brand new developer diary for their upcoming story focused MMO, Escape from Tarkov. The new development diary takes us behind the scenes into the game’s development, as the developers discuss the motion capture techniques that they are using to achieve realistic animations.

Battlestate also discuss several other things- they talk about the weapons that will be in the game, and show us some military advisers multiple times. Curiously enough, these advisers all seem to be shrouded in darkness, so we can never actually see them or their faces.

Almost as interesting is the appearance of the Oculus Rift in this video- now, Oculus Rift support has not yet been confirmed for this game, and the developers don’t even bring attention to the headset themselves, but it may be a tease- could VR compatibility be in the works for this project?

Escape from Tarkov is an MMO shooter anticipated to launch later this year.

More game information is available at the Escape from Tarkov website.

Source: Steam News

Naval Action is Now Available on Steam Early Access!

Naval Action is an exciting, realistic, and beautifully detailed naval combat game immersing players into the experience of the most beautiful period of naval history – when sailing ships ruled the seas.

• Enormous open world – Large open world, recreated based on 18th Century maps, historical harbors, positions, and town names. We do not believe in the various modern hand-holding markers, thus player position is not shown on the map: you will have to navigate yourself using compass, sun or landmarks. PS. battles are instanced to allow extremely complex sailing and fighting calculations for 50 ship battles.
• Freedom – Build ships, trade, sink enemies of your nation. You can attack anyone almost everywhere. Remember that every action could have consequences. So don’t attack everyone – or you will become a pirate. Conquer almost every port in the Caribbean, but remember! other adventurous captains will try to ruin your plans.
• Beautiful ships – Accurate hull models, sail plans, guns, internal upgrades, historical speed, turning and heel performance. Ships from small cutters to large 100+ gun 1st rates will allow the player to experience every possible role of the Age of Sail period.
• Realistic sailing – Advanced wind and physics model provides for realistic portrayal of ship’s performance in the age of sail. Yard angles, ship angle to wind, fittings and ship condition affects speeds and turning rates. Correct tacking, boxhauling, clubhauling and other elements of the age of sail sailing are possible. Hidden ship characteristics will allow to gradually uncover potential of the vessel – every ship in game will be unique.

More game info is available on the official Naval Action website.

Players can join forces to unlock a special vessel and other in-game rewards

Wargaming today announced “Project R”, the brand-new community campaign for World of Warships, is now live. In “Project R”, players must reach various milestones to earn Pearls, which they use to rebuild the famed Japanese destroyer Kamikaze with unique camouflage, as well as unlock fantastic in-game rewards.

“‘Project R’ is a great opportunity for us to engage with the vibrant World of Warships community and provide great content in a fun way,” said Jacek Pudlik, Associate Publishing Producer, Wargaming Europe. “We’re all looking forward to seeing just what the fans of the game are capable of who the really standout players will be.”

To earn Pearls, captains must challenge special “Project R” in-game missions. By completing these missions and achieving various milestones, they can also earn credits, Premium Account, camouflage and other boosts which are based on an individual’s contribution. What’s more exciting: if the community reaches the milestone of 10 million, Kamikaze will be completed and 2,000 Japanese destroyers will be randomly given to participants who collected 150 Pearls or more.

“Project R” lasts for six weeks, giving the whole community a boatload of time to band together and scourge the oceans in search of awesome rewards. Action Stations!

To register to take part in “Project R” and for more information, please visit the official World of Warships website.

Alex takes a look at the alpha version of tactical helicopter shoot ‘em up, Heliborne

By Alex Connolly @ The Wargamer

Indie outfit JetCat Games are certainly playing my kind of Wagner in Heliborne. Based in Vilnius, Lithuania, they’re a six-strong studio comprised of Belorussian, Russian, Ukrainian and American developers, and bring with them an earnest love for the flexible nuances of the whirlybird. Heliborne is aiming squarely at the team-based military multiplayer market, currently dominated by World of Tanks, Armored Warfare, and War Thunder. I recently had the chance to throw the JetCat cofounders, Raman Ulasau and Diana Leer, and community manager Anthony Keeton some questions surrounding their debut project. The first question was, simply, why helicopters?

Read on…

Source: PCInvasion

Battlestate Games has been slowly teasing their action online survival FPS/RPG Escape from Tarkov for a few months and today they launched their pre-order deals.

Escape from Tarkov looks impressive enough but there’s not been a massive amount of detail released about the game and perhaps pre-orders are a little premature. Despite the lack of actual hands-on reports and a small amount of video footage, Battlestate Games obviously feel there’s enough interest to entice gamers with pre-orders.

The different options can be purchased on the official website’s pre-order page.