I wish I could blame my choice of profession for the apathy that fills me whenever an MMO is announced, but the truth is the genre has ground my hope under heel so many times I can barely muster a sigh of resignation these days. So when the first WildStar mail landed in my inbox, I surrendered a few cursory glances and decided it was nothing special.

Fortunately the sense of humour reeled me back in. I learned of giant floating islands where you build your home, a home which can be customised in a myriad of ways to offer daily quests and more. Bandits can even raid your little oasis, and if your friends help fend them off – or water your garden while you’re away - they’ll share the bonuses. Begrudgingly, this piqued my interest.

Upon further investigation I discovered PvP battle bases – player-built death castles brimming with weaponry hosting 40-on-40 battles. You’re even able to capture raid bosses to protect your land, or pillage it from others. At this point I felt a smile creep across my face, but shook it off as a fleeting moment of insanity.

After watching all these videos I couldn’t help but notice the art style (being a sucker for both anime and Firefly), but I managed to force down the briefest glimmer of excitement and sternly continue my quest. Finally, yesterday I saw the “Paths” video. Go on… click the little video, I’ll wait here and try to subdue my grin.

So, it’s a game that lets me create a character specifically catered to my MMO preferences. Multiple hours of jumping puzzles in Guild Wars 2 might make me well suited for scouting with the Explorer path, or the stacks of lore collected in Everquest means I can start digging into what makes the world tick as a Scientist. To be fair there’s also a high likelihood I’ll embrace my psychotic urges and slaughter stuff as the Soldier! Building things probably isn’t for me, but I know a few who’ll want to tame the wildlands as a settler.

Now, you’ve got your normal content too, with around 25% of your levelling coming from your chosen path. What’s unusual is the ability to interact with other’s path quests, opening up a wealth of new content in a group scenario.

So, what do I think? Well… let’s just say I’m looking forward to destroying some Exile scum, but I’m holding back from fully embracing the game just yet. Both the scientist and explorer will require the world to be fleshed out and interesting to get any benefit, but it’s definitely a novel idea – I recommend checking out the full array of videos on Wildstar’s official YouTube channel. I’ll sit here and try to look disinterested, but this grin just won’t go away.

It’s been a few months since last I wandered through Boston’s sinister back alleys in my heels and snappy trouser suit, guided by elaborate clues and supernatural hocus pocus. It’s no secret that we didn’t get along too well last time around, but it’s a complicated relationship. Like a disapproving parent, I was more disappointed by Cognition’s unrealised potential than angered by its tentative missteps. Deep down I still cared, but my stern façade was for its own good. “So can the third instalment turn things around?” you ask, peering out from under your detective hat. Firstly, that’s a nice hat. Secondly, yes it can.

We pick up the trail at the ever-so-fancy Enthon Towers, where our previous bad man has taken an involuntary swan dive off a 32nd floor balcony. The crime scene is conspicuously spotless, and there’s a snooty man in an expensive suit who’s a little too eager to get rid of us. There’s something fishy going on in there, and we’re going to get to the bottom of it.

Dammit! This car had one day left ’til retirement

Unlike its predecessors the action is confined to a single location, allowing much finer control over pacing and narrative. Spaces are revisited from different perspectives throughout, and clearly benefit from the extra attention. Likewise Erica’s arsenal is slimmed down and called upon logically, playing to the strengths of the concept rather than overwhelming the player with disposable gimmicks. I’m also pleased to see the back of the horrendous loading times which made ‘The Wise Monkey’ so frustrating, allowing the story to frolic through summer meadows at its intended speed.

The series has been a bit of a voice-over roller-coaster; with our protagonist occupying the peaks of this dubious metaphor, while perhaps the most menacingly named character of all time – Skorobeus – languishes in a trough at the centre of the Earth. His voice work is so catastrophically awful it may have been better to cast a Sat Nav.

Fortunately, Cordelia and her late brother Max deliver more natural performances via this episode’s new party trick – the ability to connect with similarly gifted individuals across the mists of time. This bond enables Erica to explore past events vicariously, shedding light on puzzles in the present and raising brilliantly unnerving questions about your colleagues. You’ll suspect everyone at some point, and that constant shifting makes it hard to trust anyone. You’re on your own.

This time the gorgeous backdrops are part of the puzzle

Similarly, puzzles have been hit or miss up to this point, but benefit immeasurably from the tighter focus. Defeating the safe combination puzzle made me feel like a real clever clogs, and padded my review notes with several pages of working in the process. The volume of illegible scribbling before me is a tried and tested gauge of greatness, and that pay-off is the reason adventure games are so rewarding.

Striking that balance between challenging and obtuse is an astonishingly difficult skill worth celebrating, and a testament to the extra layer of polish Phoenix Online have mustered for ‘The Oracle’. Hand painted backdrops and story sequences remain a feather in the studio’s cap, accompanied by an hauntingly atmospheric score. Even the 3D work (while still not perfect) is much improved, with characters less prone to walking through solid objects or flailing around like tangled puppets.

Story sections are beautifully painted again

Producer/designer Cesar Bittar said in a recent blog post:

“It’s the one episode that will make or break the game for anyone following the series.”

And that certainly was the case for me. Cognition: Episode 3 is not without its faults, but in the context of the series it’s a tremendous leap forward. Taking more time between instalments has given Phoenix Online the opportunity to smooth off those rough edges, and the result is an exponentially more enjoyable sleuthing experience. If the team can build on this momentum, we’re in for thoroughly exciting finale.

Cognition: Episode 3 – The Oracle is available today via Phoenix Online Studios for $9.99. If you’d like to see it on steam, vote on Greenlight.

Mars is pretty popular these days. The red planet gets all kinds of press – first visited by Wall-E, who it turns out is a Twitter fiend (Pixar missed that point entirely in their documentary), and now those crazy Dutch are looking to establish a settlement on the 4^th rock from the Sun. If the events of Mars: War Logs are in any way prophetic however, it may be best to give it a miss. I’m a Pluto man anyway, in case you were wondering – especially after it got unfairly demoted to a dwarf planet, I like to root for the underdog. I still love you Pluto.

Our foray into the world of Mars: War Logs (can we agree that title is atrocious and move on? Thanks) begins in a prison with that age-old RPG trope: an unfortunate young man fending off the amorous advances of a rotund bald man and his foul-mouthed prison cronies. Eager to be taken as serious and “mature” from the outset, the game extracted a weary sigh from this reviewer before the protagonist thankfully interrupted proceedings with some grimacing and a scowl.

Shower rape averted, the almost-victim regains his composure long enough to introduce himself as Innocence. I kid you not. You see, in this version of life in space everyone is given a virtue name, and so we’re greeted with countless monikers chosen from the big book of henna tattoos being passed around at that musical festival, in the heady days of youth. You can’t turn a corner on Mars without bumping into a Harmony, Patience or Tenacity – most of whom fall a long way short of such lofty ideals.

Innocence acts as the narrator for our tale and chronicles proceedings in his diary (hence the “War Logs”), pages of which we see between chapters as he recounts events thus far. As a storytelling device I have to admit I’m a fan. Even though we play the part of the gruff badass with a shady past, it’s interesting to hear insights from another perspective. The only other example of a third-person biographer that springs to mind is the rambling Varric in Dragon Age 2. Developer, Spiders, have also gone to the trouble of having everything read aloud into a microphone, so every interaction is voiced. More on that in a bit though.

Our hero, going through his difficult rebellious phase, has decided that virtue names are just plain silly and so has adopted a name of his own – Roy. I’m not sure I’d have gone with Roy given the infinite possibilities before me, but there’s no accounting for taste I suppose; and so Roy and Innocence (sigh) must work together to escape from the slammer. Despite the poor choice of naming convention, the writers have done a commendable job with the world as a whole. It’s a version of Mars rife with conflict as factions battle over the planet’s most valuable resource – water. Thrown into the mix are the cyberpunk Technomancers, who’ve augmented themselves to shoot lightning from their fingertips. They don’t play by anyone’s rules – opting instead for Sean and Mary, names previously reserved for those nice people who run the corner shop.

Thankfully much of this world-building background information is neatly tucked away in a menu (not unlike Mass Effect’s codex) rather than explicitly mentioned, so we’re not drowned in exposition. Unfortunately, whereas the codex was supplementary to your understanding of events, I found myself completely baffled as to who or what they were all getting riled up about.

The first time it happened I assumed something shiny had caught my attention and I’d tuned out for a moment, but after the fourth or fifth head-scratching moment I felt an overwhelming desire for a campfire scene where everyone sat down and talked about the politics of the region. Can’t say that’s happened before. It’s almost like the writers came up with a world and a story independently, but the two aren’t necessarily intertwined – the disconnect is jarring.

So, back to the voice acting. With the exception of Roy, who is solid throughout and suitably gruff, the delivery varies wildly from barely acceptable to utterly cringeworthy. After a few hours on the dialogue roller-coaster I found myself longing for the relative safety of text walls. Branching conversations only compound the issue, as the tone jumps between “I’ll cut off your nipples!” and “Hey friend, fancy a beer?” in the blink of an eye.

Now and then everyone stops talking nonsense long enough for me to beat something over the head with a copper pipe. Combat is eminently enjoyable, well paced and thoroughly unforgiving. In the first chapter alone I died an inordinate number of times to mutated mole-creatures, before jumping right back into the fray to try again. Battle prowess is augmented by distributing points in the perk tree, increasing your ability to shoot lightning, swing an old bone, or dodge roll like an over-excited toddler. A surprisingly effective survival technique when things get hectic. There’s also a tacked on stealth mode which is occasionally useful for removing one foe from the equation before his friends swarm with vengeful bloodlust. Companions can lend a hand, and you do have limited capability to direct their actions, but more often than not it was best to have them defend themselves and distract a few targets before inevitably falling over.

Looting the fallen accumulates wealth in the form of components which can be used to upgrade and augment your equipment, altering the potency and appearance of your threads and pointy stick. You’ll always look like an extra from Mad Max though, that’s just how fashion is on Mars. You also have the option of finishing off human targets by extracting serum, the game’s currency and primary component in crafting health items. This will influence the obligatory RPG good/evil meter and, apparently, alter some NPCs opinion of you. I say “apparently” because although I avoided finishing off foes in this manner and was friendly as a bunny rabbit to everyone I came across, my status never moved from Neutral and only a handful of comments from companions as to my carebear attitude indicated it made any shred of difference. I wanted a halo.

Graphically everything looks perfectly acceptable – as lukewarm a sentiment as that is. The Silk engine which Spiders use is a little bit dated, but everything is animated nicely and aside from a few minor cases of invisible-wall-itis I didn’t come across any graphical faux pas. I do enjoy a splash of colour now and then, so the red planet doesn’t particularly lend itself to my tastes, but I can’t really object on a matter of preference. It must be hard to represent Mars without covering everything in a brown haze, but a little variation between the different hubs wouldn’t have gone amiss.

Overall I think Spiders have done well with Mars: War Logs. Taking on a third-person action RPG is usually the reserve of the big boys and incredibly ambitions for an indie studio, so it’s hard to fault them for effort or bravery. Many of it’s downfalls are quite clearly budgetary constraints rather than a lack of vision or care, it’s just a shame their reach exceeded their grasp. There’s a rich world here let down by poor implementation, and clever moments are often drowned out rather than built upon. Having said that, there is a charming B-Movie feel to it and given a sequel or further episodes to expand on the 10 or so hours set out here – perhaps in a Mars: Summer Holiday – I can certainly see some potential.

Mars: War Logs is available now for £14.99/€20 on Steam.

I’ve lost hundreds of hours in ten minute intervals, and countless seemingly-innocuous sums of money to Stronghold Kingdoms over the last year. Between work and a young family my gaming time is hopelessly erratic, so browser based games are ideal for dipping in and out at my leisure. Anno Online is Ubisoft’s bid for a piece of that MMO strategy pie, based on Anno 1404.

Hardcore fans of the Anno series will immediately notice the highly detailed visuals, a pretty amazing accomplishment for a browser based game. Throughout my experience I marveled at the technological prowess, forgetting I was playing in my browser. If I have one complaint though, it’s the choice of engine. While this is the perfect tablet game to play on the couch when “spending time with the wife”, Apple fans need not apply:

iPad says no

Like most free-to-play strategizers, you’ll begin life with a handful of resources, a few token buildings and a dream in your heart. A helpful, if somewhat in-your-face tutorial helps with the basics, there’s certainly a learning curve, but it’s on the gentler end of the scale. A visit to a fully functional capital city sets the bar of expectation nicely, a glimpse of what the future holds if you stick with it.

Impressive for a browser game

Unfortunately for those who crave the taste of blood, Anno Online exists in a conflict vacuum where everyone gets along and disputes are settled by binding arbitration, rather than pointy sticks. That’s right, there’s no PvP whatsoever. According to developer Blue Byte, the game is entirely focused on building and managing your virtual denizens. Social interaction comes in the form of banding together with your friends to build extravagant public works. While this peaceful respite from the likes of Stronghold Kingdoms is welcome to some – hardcore RTS’ers may find it difficult to maintain interest once the initial building phase is over. My bloodlust is boundless, so for me it was a significant factor in deciding whether to invest time in the game after release.

So, how much does it cost? Well, Anno Online implements a flavor-of-the month business model which I’m convinced is the fourth horsemen of the apocalypse, at least for my bank balance. In other words, it’s free to play and funded by in-game micro-transactions. As with most time-based building games, you can purchase in game accelerators, resources, and storage capacity with real money. This feature wasn’t enabled in the closed beta so it remains to be seen whether Ubisoft will strike the right balance or create a pay-to-win atmosphere. There will always be contention between players who want to operate in a meritocracy, and developers who want to feed their starving children, so I’m actually quite interested to see how this plays out in a game without fisticuffs.

Hrmm, I would like an island…

From a gameplay perspective, Anno doesn’t break any new ground, but it does everything you’d expect extremely well. If you enjoy that methodical empire building style and don’t need playground fights to sustain your delicate ego, Anno Online is one of the most impressively polished browser-based games I’ve encountered. As luck would have it, the game’s moving into open beta right this second, and you can sign up here.

I’ve clocked up more hours on the Heroes of Might and Magic games than I’ll ever admit to myself. Some of my fondest memories are hotseat games at my friend’s house, moving our little mounted heroes around the world for 30+ hour games, our Necromantic and Stronghold armies combining against as many enemies as we could cram in. A few years ago one man began a solitary labour of love, his goal – to combine the turn-based strategy games he loved into one impossibly complex behemoth. That man was Alexey Bokulev.

Heroes of Might and Magic, Civilisation, and Masters of Magic were all mixed into his alchemical cauldron, and out crawled Eador: Genesis. Surprise success in Russia saw the quick (and not quite perfect) localisation develop a cult following, but a lack of polish saw it fall short of critical acclaim.

Medusi : (

So Alexey turned to the fledgeling Snowbird Games, and set out with a proper team to polish the game up and make it a bit more accessible. And so we arrive at our destination, Eador: Masters of the Broken World.  But did it end up a philosopher’s stone, or just another pile of fool’s gold?

Now before I get into the nitty gritty, I’ll let you in on the conversation I had with my editor, it went something like:

Me: Snowbird Games sent me a copy of Eador, it looks right up my street!
Jim: The one that takes 300 hours to understand?
Me: I played it for a few hours and it seems pretty straightforward, just has lots of depth.

Thirty hours of gameplay later…

Me: I found a button I hadn’t noticed before – it’s advanced building mode.
Jim: What did that do?
Me: Showed me the entire building tree… I’ve unlocked about an 8th of it.
Jim: You can tell me I was right now.
Me: Don’t wanna…

So, hopefully that’ll give you some idea of the bowel-quivering depth on offer here – I’m about 50 hours in and I’ve still got a long way to go to grasp every nuance. So I’ll put my cards on the table and admit I haven’t finished it yet, but since I wanted to get the review out this year, and more importantly avoid Jim beating me, I decided to share what I know so far and let you make up your own mind.

Eador is a hex based strategy game, which you probably guessed from the screenshots. The castle in the centre is your base of operations, as you progress past each ring of hexes the difficulty increases, so normally the hardest areas are those halfway between you and your opponent. A feature which stops a quick rush to win unless you’re very sneaky.

Home Sweet Home

There’s four heroes to choose from, a warrior who hits things, a scout who, well, scouts, a wizard who casts things and finally the commander who can have the biggest bestest army. Each one finds its niche at some point, for example a warrior will give your campaign strong start and take down armies by himself once fully equipped, but fall easy prey to a wizard’s control spells.

The scout’s particularly handy since he’s better at exploring hexes or “provinces” – exploration has a chance to uncover various features ranging from resources, to demonic dens full of treasure. So even when you’re not quite strong enough to progress to the next ring, you can still explore the immediate area to bridge the gap.

There’s also a multitude of random events which you’ll have to act up, but choose wisely or you’ll be facing down your revolting peasantry as they take up arms against you. On the other hand, if you’ve placed guards in the province you can crush them beneath your empirical boot heel. The nerve of these people.

A statue? How dare they!

Guards are one of the things I can’t decide if I love or hate in Eador, while they’re great for adding a depth of strategy (as they all have upkeep costs), they can be absolutely devastating if someone finds a rare one and places it in a choke-point. To give you an example, during one game I found the Phoenix guards, a very high level unit way beyond what either I or my AI opponents could create. This meant I was able to pin down both opponents simultaneously, which while good for my success, made me realise that if the computer had got to them first, there was no way my army would have been able to defeat them.

The building tree I hinted at earlier is absolutely insane. Most choices lock out others, and a good chunk of structures are either good, evil or neutral. So think carefully when the peasants ask to raise an idol in the town square, opting to chop them into pieces and hang the tiny chunks in its place is going to reduce your Karma, and most likely upset the province as well.

Ohmagawd!

While Orc and Goblin provinces may embrace your brutality, the Elves and Fairies will be more likely to rebel. So if you decide you want a bunch of pointy eared hippies in your corner, you’d better start cuddling puppies and throwing gold at villagers. Evil units don’t like good ones and vice versa, so having a mixed army will impact morale – if it ever reaches zero, your brave warrior will run away screaming and be of no use. Watching his best friends being slaughtered around him won’t help either.

Apart from that, combat is pretty straightforward. Each unit has the usual array of statistics, and levelling up unlocks new but familiar abilities – my necromancer summoned infectious zombies, and my pikemen pierced armour. Between experience, abilities, and awards for feats of valour, veteran units become significantly more valuable than new recruits  So much so you’ll find yourself shedding a tear when they die – I’m still mourning my favourite zombie, Bert. Damn you exorcism spell!

At level 10 heroes can specialise with a second class; maximise your physical prowess as a Berserker by doubling up on warrior skills, or become a Dark Knight able to drain the life from slain foes by mixing in some wizardry. It’s another simple concept which unlocks surprising depth. When it comes to selecting them the interface isn’t as smooth as I’d like, it’s quite easy to accidentally order hero 1 to where you wanted hero 2, thankfully there’s time to sort out any screw-ups before completing the turn.

Unfortunately, the UI being a little bit clunky is far from the worst problem you’ll find in Eador, let me put Snowbird’s forum post up first and then I’ll go into more detail.

Eador. MotBW is the first big project for our small team and clearly we were not completely ready for the international release. Seeing how many problems are caused by the difference in PC configurations, we realize that we should have tried to go with the ‘Early Access’ option first. Unfortunately, we couldn’t foresee the current outcome back in January when the game was greenlit to be on Steam.

 

In the next few days we’ll fix the the siege and story progression bugs, add ‘hotseat’ mode and an option for private matches in the multiplayer. A more detailed list of the upcoming fixes will be posted on this board on Monday.

Now credit where it’s due, the almost-weekly patches have made a massive difference but there are still a lot of issues. Heroes can randomly die from any event, and the strategy map sometimes freezes meaning the only way to finish is to let the computer auto-run the match for you, but it’s the Karma bug that wins the prize for most frustrating. Karma is supposed to be consistent between levels, affecting your choices in story areas – at the moment it’s not being saved meaning you’re permanently neutral, locking out a multitude of choices and preventing any RPG elements from shining through.

Now I expect all of these to be sorted soon, and to be fair I find it amusing when my hero gets randomly killed after a neighbouring province throws a party (never trust those mince pies), but most of the bugs are things that really should have been caught well before release. The many, many threads on the technical issues will stop a lot of people from giving the game the attention it deserves.

It’s to Snowbird’s credit that even with all its issues, I’ve found the game incredibly engaging with a depth of strategy I didn’t expect to find. I know this is blasphemous, but it’s probably my favourite example of turn-based strategy and that’s not a laudit I surrender easily. Who knows what I’d have thought if it wasn’t buggy as hell.

There is one more caveat though; currently the multiplayer lets you face off army vs army, but not share full games with both tactical and strategic maps. A hotseat mode will be a welcome addition for friend vs AI conquering, but for now it’s just straightforward battles or single player.

So yes, if you have the patience to struggle through the bugs, are not easily drowned in tactical depth, and are willing to shell out the bargain price of £14.99 for a what could easily be hundreds of hours, then Eador is great. But honestly don’t hurry, every week you leave it is another bug fixed.

Greenheart Games have received a surprising amount of attention recently, something you wouldn’t normally expect from a small indie start-up. Game Dev Tycoon is about creating games, developing engines and all sorts of development nitty gritty. Licensing code for the upcoming Vintendo will take a bite out of profits, and selling your soul to questionable journalists in pursuit of positive review scores is commonplace. We’ve never once taken a bribe, not for lack of trying.

Rather than load ‘Game Dev Tycoon’ with DRM or online activation they decided on a more unusual method of protection. Pirating their own game, and releasing it publicly on the most popular torrent sites to run free. One day later over 3000 people were playing the pirated version, compared to just 214 legitimate players – a heartbreaking statistic. It wasn’t all doom and gloom though, thanks to one key difference between the two versions - the leaked revision had malevolent pirates of its own, slyly pinching your game without paying and inevitably forcing your once proud studio into bankruptcy.

While most of us have dabbled in piracy in our youth, when the game comes with a free demo it’s a bit harsh to snatch meals from a poor indie’s table, but that wasn’t the end of the story. Something beautiful happened, the pirates went straight to the forum seeking a solution. This was my personal favourite, I actually fell off my chair in a fit of giggles,

I’m sure some will take this “adjustment” personally, consider it entrapment or whatever, but honestly it’s a very clever way of both making a point and generating some interesting press. I just hope they add “Release Pirate Version” to the media hype menu because it seems to be surprisingly effective. You can see the sheer volume news posts this has generated on the Greenheart blog, which is well worth a read.

Having tried the demo I have to say the game was funny, cute and fairly addictive for the twenty minutes or so it lasted. If you fancy giving it a go yourself head over to the official page.

With a little less than two days on Mark Jacobs’ “counter-revolutionary” Kickstarter campaign, I’d like take a minute to explain why I think it’s worthy of your support. I’ve already covered the man and the plan in some detail, so I’ll try not to retread too much ground, suffice it to say City State’s willingness to show their hand throughout has made a believer out of this jaded ol’ gamer.

Now I’m not going to dazzle you with questionable logic like a used car salesman and his trustworthy moustache. For a start my attempt at facial hair is laughable at best, which is incidentally the reason magnificent beards command my respect, but I digress. Realistically, there’s a few reasons why crowd-funding isn’t particularly well suited to an MMO. For starters so much of the design is in flux, so while it’s easy to pitch top-level principles, the implementation of those could easily manifest at either end of my enjoyment spectrum.

Secondly, at this point there isn’t an abundance of specific information on classes or abilities, the flow of combat, or even any first impressions from the gaming press. So much is yet to be designed, let alone built, and that makes rallying support significantly more challenging. As I said before I am sceptical of designing a subscription based MMO somewhat against the tide, but that really sums up Camelot Unchained, and Jacobs in general – he’s never afraid to try something different.

Aside from the sheer volume of uncertainties laid out before us, it’s the courage to stand up and cater to a small but dedicated audience rather than the lowest common denominator that really won me over – a philosophy we’re familiar with here at Funsponge.net, for better or worse.

In CU, you will have to earn your skills by deeds, and they will increase slowly over time. Magical items will not be found everywhere like road-kill on highways, so gamers won’t feel the pressure to “keep up with the Gandalfs.”

Perhaps this stuff has a greater impact on me due to the sheer amount of PR gumph I delete of a day. Incidentally, I’d like to thank the iPhone for providing such a robust firewall for PC gaming, without which the deluge of utter shite would surely drown us all. As such I genuinely appreciate the raw honesty on display here, give me the concepts and I can make up my own mind, a privilege most marketing departments seem unwilling to surrender.

CU isn’t trying to be contrary just for the sake of argument though, so while you shouldn’t expect health and safety notices on every surface, you’ll not be signing up for some primordial free-for-all. To give an example, death will sting in some yet undetermined way, but your vanquishers won’t be able to strip your corpse and leave you with nothing.

Performance Over Pretty

My single biggest criticism of Warhammer Online was the engine’s inability to support battles on the scales the game encouraged. While small groups were no problem, larger conflicts were often reduced to slideshows. As a game designed around castle sieges and entirely without PvE, that kind of performance is fundamentally unacceptable for Camelot Unchained. City State have acknowledged the importance of the issue by crafting a bespoke engine, capable of dealing with hundreds of characters at a playable framerate.

The tech demo below showcases 500 unique entities battling it out (with weapon effects), and rarely drops below 200 FPS on relatively low-end hardware. Considering how many games struggle to improve performance after a wobbly release, sacrificing some visual fidelity for a smooth experience is absolutely the right way to develop an enjoyable PvP experience.

Giving Control Back

In the absence of PvE loot, crafting will be at the very heart of Camelot Unchained. Everything entering the economy will be player created, from your armour and weaponry to your humble abode – and buildable plots should allow player-made towns to spring up, and burn to the ground at the hands of marauding vikings. The inclusion of a dedicated crafter class is particularly interesting, providing an entirely different playstyle for those who fancy it.

Putting players in control of the economy is extremely important for connecting them to the world, making it feel more alive and personal. Likewise the ability to raise a settlement from nothing gives defense a genuine sense of urgency and pride. In the grand scheme of things it seems like a fairly minor piece of the puzzle, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The key to a memorable experience is consequence, of course not everyone holds these principles so dearly, but given the choice I’d sooner have a small tight-knit community of subscribers than the faceless swathes you’ll encounter in other games. I’m eager to see if ‘realm pride’ can be resurrected from the ashes of the dungeon finders and cross-server matchmaking.

As for the system itself, it’s closer to Minecraft or Terraria than I expected, allowing the creation of detailed structures using a simple set of building blocks and materials. I’ve included some early footage below.

Camelot Unchained promises to be an RvR game from a bygone age, designed with all the benefits experience and current technology allow. The corners may be rounded, and the particles may be sparkly, but the design principles are tried and tested. It’s an opportunity to find out if a template which walked the earth before Warcraft was but a twinkle in Blizzard’s eye has a place in contemporary gaming, and I think it’d be a terrible shame to pass up. The way I see it, it’s worth the money just to see if City State can pull it off. There’s so many risks being taken here to upset modern MMO design that even if it sinks like a stone it’ll be worth the price of admission just to learn those lessons.

If I’ve managed to twist your arm, you can chip in via Camelot Unchained’s Kickstarter page. If you crave yet more information, Jacobs hosted an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit yesterday.

The League of Legends Championship Series Spring Season (or LCSSS, as I like to call it) came to an end over the past week, and the time’s come to see who gets canned and has to queue for welfare. Top competitors spread across Europe and North America had the chance to compete this past weekend for a guaranteed spot going forward, and a share of the $100,000 in prizes. A nice lump of pocket money. And that’s before the chance to represent their region in the World Championship, and walk away with a cool million. As a form of employment it’s a little bit ridiculous, but the high stakes and a surprise upset or two made for an exciting weekend of gaming. And as always I was there to watch it so you don’t have to. You should though, it’s entertaining stuff.

The story from Euro-land

The Spring Season began much as everyone had expected here in Europe, with the four big names Fnatic, EG, Gambit and SK Gaming all trading wins to perch in the upper half – where they’d stay for the remainder of the proceedings. As the weeks progressed it became clear consistency was the most valuable commodity, and teams with tried and tested playstyles had a much easier time of things. Fnatic and Gambit in particular led the pack, finishing in first and second place respectively – it’s something of a struggle to identify a weak link in either team. Gambit’s Alex Ich, Diamond and EDward were the team’s stand-out players (even securing spots in Europe’s All-Star team), while over on Fnatic it was all about xPeke week after week. SK Gaming look to be on form, so long as they can keep their cool – their worst enemy being their ability to completely throw a game. Despite only managing to take one game off either of the two top finishers; they rounded out the season in a respectable third.

EG on the other hand never quite found their feet, taking fourth place with a shaky 15-13 win-loss. The patient playstyle of Season 2 seems to have been figured out – yes, it was as boring as a car boot sale but there’s no arguing with results. Although the first couple of weeks yielded victories, newcomers began pinching victories from the former titans as they settled in. In particular the first super week saw them drop games to three of the bottom four finishers, hefty upsets given their previous tournament experience. A stronger showing in the final weeks kept them above the midway line, but if they can’t pull out a victory at the weekend it may all be for nought.

Speaking of the bottom four, these were at times the most entertaining to watch. Dragonborns began the season in flying form and their out-and-out aggression and unorthodox champion choices earned them a comfortable mid-table position. It wasn’t to last though, floundering as their inexperience began to show, ending with an unmatched losing streak and a disappointing 6-22 record. In their element during hectic combat, but paying a heavy price for indecision as the pace slowed – something which also reared its head when settling on a lineup. Ozone GIANTS had a strong showing in the qualification series for the LCS but never found their rhythm, becoming the most forgettable team of the season despite some strong players.

On the other hand you couldn’t help but notice Copenhagen Wolves. The combination of a substitute mid-laner and relative inexperience made for an excruciating start, failing to secure a single win in the opening fixtures for a 0-9 record. Fortunately the triumphant return of Bjergsen (after he turned 17 in February) completely transformed the team. His mid-lane dominance rallied the Wolves, making them the ones to watch in the bottom half. Eventually finishing in 5^th -just behind EG – they were the team nobody wanted to face going into the playoffs. Wrapping up the EU circuit, Against All Authority were another team with upset potential. Their AD Carry Nono is, simply put, a beast – carrying the team to a respectable 6^th place. Swapping Karalius for Dioud in the latter weeks of the tournament provided a welcome shakeup, transforming the team from somewhat mediocre to possible contenders going into the playoffs.

1. Fnatic
2. Gambit BenQ
3. SK Gaming
4. EG Raidcall
5. Copenhagen Wolves
6. Against All Authority
7. Ozone Giants
8. Dragonborns

Meanwhile, in America

On the other side of the Atlantic, Curse carried their dominance of the qualification playoffs over to the LCS proper, and looked untouchable for most of the season. Likewise, Dignitas opened the season strong and rarely strayed from winning ways. A last minute wobble saw both teams end the season with a 1-4 record – dropping Curse to second place and Dignitas to third and into the playoffs, a result which is sure to sting. The end of the Spring stretch also saw Curse drop longtime support player Elementz in favour of Rhux, which suggests that some in-house troubles have prompted their sudden streak of losses.

TSM, on the other hand, opened the season looking decidedly unlike the team that took Season 2 by storm. A few shaky weeks ultimately led to the dismissal of AD Carry Chaox and his replacement with WildTurtle, a somewhat inexperienced alternative. The lineup changes would prove to be the boost they needed however, as their rediscovered aggressive play style came to the fore in the final weeks, culminating in a 5-0 weekend and jumping them into first place. This would of course not have been possible if not for the poor showing of both Curse and Dignitas, but the top seed going into the summer tournaments may just be the confidence boost the team needs to maintain their winning ways. This is also the second time TSM have hit a slump, dropped a member and come back stronger than before, which could prove to be an interesting trend should they run into troubles further down the line.

Fourth place in the standings was taken by CLG, a team which has one strategy and sticks to it. On the one hand, I admire their ability to spot their strengths and stick to what they know. On the other, every other team is well aware of the strategy and seems to know exactly how to play against it. Whereas EG, formerly CLG.EU, have attempted to adapt to the Season 3 changes in an attempt to compete with the top standings of Europe, their former NA counterpart looked to be scraping through some games on experience alone – a strategy which looked more and more unstable as the season progressed. Of the top four teams, they’re certainly the most predictable and least interesting to watch, but results are results.

The bottom half of the table is made up by Vulcun (who qualified under the name Team FeaR), Good Game University, Team MRN and Complexity (formerly The Brunch Club) respectively. Of these, none particularly distinguished themselves as true competitors to the more established names over the course of the regular season. Vulcun certainly look like the best of the bunch with a number of good showings, including a 3-0 in week three and a 4-1 over the final weekend, but in the final standings only a single victory separated the field. The second half of the season also saw all four teams make roster changes, with BloodWater jumping ship from GGU to Vulcun, the latter filling their vacancy with Daydreamin, MRN picking up Nientonsoh as their new AD Carry and Complexity replacing their mid lane with Prolly. Each had an impact, but given the timing it seemed like too little too late. The skill gap, which was apparent earlier in the season, has noticeably shortened over the course of events and the midseason playoffs held over the past weekend proved any team can be beaten on the day.

1. TSM Snapdragon
2. Curse
3. Team Dignitas
4. Counter Logic Gaming
5. Vulcun
6. Good Game University
7. Team MRN
8. CompLexity

An Upsetting Playoff

Going into the playoffs, the top two finishers from each region received a first class ticket straight to the semi-finals (and the only guaranteed spots in the Summer season) while the next four in line fought for a place at the main event.

In Europe this resulted in SK taking on AAA to face Gambit, and EG versus Wolves to take on Fnatic. SK were the clear favourite going into their matchup but given Gambit’s unbeaten record over AAA, not to mention their significant loss to the former in the last few weeks, they must have been rooting for the French team. A surprise disqualification for AAA however, meant the game never even happened – an unfortunate family emergency for one of their players leaving them a man short and unable to make up the roster on short notice.

The second game was the matchup everyone wanted to see and, with both teams finishing the Spring season in top form. Ultimately EG took the best-of-three in decisive fashion and secured their place alongside SK, Fnatic and Gambit – sending AAA and Copenhagen Wolves to join Dragonborns and Giants in the promotion series, and threatening relegation from the LCS entirely. The remainder of the competition would play out according to form, with Fnatic beating EG and Gambit taking down SK as expected. The last match of the day went the full five games, with Fnatic emerging victors and proud recipients of an oversized novelty cheque for €50,000. The battle for third place saw EG take down SK Gaming in two straight games, a result which is sure to be satisfying given their shaky start earlier in the year.

The North American playoffs proved to be much more exciting, providing the surprises and upsets viewers had been hoping for. CLG versus Vulcun had the makings of a thriller – CLG having trouble against the newcomers so far this year (ending the series 2-2, the playoff game would be the decider). Unable to find a solid footing, the long-standing veterans would ultimately crumble under the weight of AD Carry Zuna’s relentless assault and propel Vulcun to a semi-final spot with a guaranteed place in the Summer games. Continuing the David vs. Goliath billings, GGU came at Dignitas with all guns blazing. In a result I don’t think anyone expected the underdogs took victory in a hard-fought series and knocked Dignitas (formerly holders of first place in the NA league) into the scrap for promotion. GGU would continue punishing those betting against them into the semi-finals, where they were able to take down Curse. TSM would eventually put an end to their fairytale in the finals, but for GGU it was an encouraging weekend of games, taking second and third place scalps as a sixth place team. The argument could be made that both Curse and Dignitas failed to perform, but if they can’t compete on the day there’s little hope of victory when the World Championships roll around.

The top four teams from the mid-season playoffs advance to the Summer Season league, and the chance to represent their region against the best the world has to offer. The two losing teams join the bottom two from the Spring Season standings (Giants and Dragonborns in EU, MRN and Complexity in NA) in a promotion tournament. Here they must face off against the top amateur teams to win their spot back. Otherwise they’re out – losing their professional salary and likely any team sponsorships. So no more free stuff. There’s a lot on the line, and for a young gamer there are certainly worse ways to make a living, so the competition is sure to be fierce. It’s difficult to imagine, given their experience over the last ten weeks, that any of the professional teams will fail to win their place back. For both Dignitas and CLG however, this was a disastrous weekend of games and with everything on the line they were unable to deal with the young blood. Complexity, MRN and a host of upcoming amateur teams will all be eager to stop them, and if the NA playoffs have shown us anything it’s that one day of games can turn everything around.

Starting a Riot

Finally, credit must be given to Riot Games for how they’ve organised the LCS, despite the complex league system. Each match is broadcast live with excellent commentary, pre and post-game analysis as well as player interviews and videos. The commentators in particular have the tough job of breaking down each play as it happens without alienating the uninitiated and the two-man commentary team for each game does a remarkable job of keeping things entertaining without statistical overload. Their esports team as a whole has done a stellar job of making the Championship Series a reality, so hats off to them. Of the NA and EU setups I have to say I prefer the European production due to the simple addition of a live audience. The players have said again and again that the presence of a cheering crowd pushes them to take chances and play in a way which they probably wouldn’t in a closed environment, and this makes for games which are, on average, much more exciting to watch than their American counterparts. The NA studio does have a giant touch-screen television for play-by-play analysis though. It’s hard to argue with a giant TV.

Starbound is an upcoming 8-bit sandbox game in development by Chucklefish, a quick glance makes it look like Terraria in space, but after pressing my face against the escape pod windows and having a proper nose around it has some significant and quite exciting differences.

Firstly, it’s not just a procedurally generated world, the quick ones amongst you may have guessed this from the name, but it’s a full procedurally generated universe! A vast number of planets to choose from, each with its own ecosystem, difficulty, gravity, assorted races and a dozen other variables – there’s even random quests to help you get stuck in. Once a planet’s discovered, you can share the location with your friends so they can visit, or set off into the stars to find something shiny and new.

While I spent many, many hours building my dream castle in other games, in Starbound you’ll be able to terraform the entire planet, build a weather adjustment system to convert it to the tropical climate of your dreams, or even mould a hellish landscape straight from a nightmare. And then once that’s done I guess you could build something too, in fact why not click on the handy video and see how that works?

To add even more replayability there’s a multitude of races to choose from, each one having unique models and special abilities to tinker with. Weapons and armour can be crafted or found, and even come with modifications to add more variety – from glowing in the dark, to a built in defibrillator for those times when you need a little pick-me-up.

Chucklefish have recently opened up pre-orders to help fund development, and it’s shaping up to be an interesting spin on a tremendously popular genre. Who knows, you may notice the distant glimmer of Planet Funsponge in your night sky, and imagine the horrors that await you.

Based on feedback we’ve received thus far, today we’re trying out a new shorter format. ’15 Minutes of Game’ aims to condense our experience so far (often tens of hours), into an easily digestible fifteen minutes or less. Perfect for those of you who have trouble sitting still.

First up is Digital Extremes’ free-to-play space ninja extravaganza, Warframe. I’ll be the first to admit our voice-over work is a bit rough around the edges, it’s an extraordinarily difficult skill so I hope you’ll bear with us. Any suggestions for improvements, or games you’d like us to cover in future are welcome.