This Week In MMO 107: Firefall, RIFT, Planetside 2, And More!

Written by: Gary Gannon (Twitter @garygannon - Google+) | August 11, 2012 3:26 pm

This Week In MMO 107: Firefall, RIFT, Planetside 2, And More!

87 Comments

This Week In MMO with Gary Gannon, Mike B, and friends airs live every Friday at 3PDT right here on GAMEBREAKER.

This weeks topics include:

Firefall Gets Massive Patch
RIFT’s Storm Legion Dev Diary
Planetside 2 Hitting Steam
Final Fantasy XIV Drops Another Trailer
Tera Layoffs

1:23:44

World of Warcraft

Legendary Ep127:
Patch 5.3: The Gamebreaker

Patch 5.3 Landed This Week, with a host of new features... and they all broke! The Legendary crew break it down for you.Read more »

6 comments
1:02:56

Star Wars The Old Republic

The Republic Ep138:
Herding Cats

This week on the Republic, SWTOR patch 2.1 has landed and that means... CAT PEOPLE!Read more »

7 comments
53:04

MMO News

This Week in MMO Ep 145:
Elder Scrolls Online, Guild Wars 2, Neverwinter

This week on TWIMMO, we take a look at Elder Scrolls Online Gathering and Exploration.Read more »

15 comments

http://www.facebook.com/people/Miguel-Crespo/501398647 Miguel Crespo

Next week they going to show Gameplay for FFXIV 2.0, cant wait!
- Jay
  
  I’m looking forward to it… I really enjoyed FFXI on my PS2, so I’d like to have XIV on PS3, if not for nostalgia alone.
http://twitter.com/dryiggles Dr. Yiggles

You guys are quick! Got the show up before the end of GW2 Stress Test.

I’m glad I get to watch it again as I missed half of the show to play the test! Really exciting news on the Firefall Spectator Mode!

I sense another show coming maybe some shoutcasting on GBTV for Firefall.
http://twitter.com/WadeDMcGinnis Wade D McGinnis

Really think with the team focus, this will make FireFall optimal for eSports.
http://profile.yahoo.com/Z36GPOU3Q2QIQYBIDVNQAVGNGE Raul

New Firefall Beta stage one feels good,
but the AI still has major issues..

But this game just seems funner thanthe same old MMO grind.
Although the Map/Player count is still small,
this is because they want to polish the major issues out at a controllable pace.

The map will be huge by release,
and the Melding tornadoes are
just the tip of it.
Jay

I can see ArenaNet adding that dual screen functionality to GW2… It seems they really want to do spectator mode right the first time. Having different cameras for each node, main choke points, and such is a must.

If they pull that off, GW2 will be really entertaining to watch, since you can see the meta game as it’s happening. Let’s hope someone from ANet watches TWIMMO :3
- http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
  
  Whoa, whoa, whoa, let Arenanet get the game out. Wouldn’t mind seeing a league play app, listing the league players and teams. It could show team compositions and builds. With a rundown on their standings.
  - Jay
    
    That would be kool. It could even have a skill rundown bar, like they do in fighting game training modes. That way we can see exactly what skills they use, in what order, for that precise coverage.
catchall account

I forget how the ranks went, but I left rift right when corporal fire elementalists could 2 shot my colonel cleric, about the same time taugrim left. I wonder if that changed, I left because of the pvp.
- http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
  
  Having nightmares about all the CC in Rift pvp.
  - MMO_Doubter
    
    So, it was the same as WH Online, then?
    
    When the hell are devs going to learn that CC sucks in PvP? People want to control their characters, not watch them die.
Randall Burt

Storm Legion has me interested in Rift. Might do the free to 20 and finally give it a proper spin. Regardless of how this expansion affects sub numbers, the folks at Trion certainly look to have something to be proud of.
http://twitter.com/fillann Michał Małkus

TBC is now bundled with Vanilla WoW but yeah still, 4 boxes with MoP is a lot, so Trion is offering a great deal by bundling vanilla Rift with the expansion.
- http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
  
  I know, but it’s really not that bad. Its only one install for everything and the battlechest is is going for $5. So a friend can level from 1-70 and decide if WoW is for them. Would not be surprised if by the time they hit 70, if LK and Cata are $5 each. So for $15 they get 85 levels of content.
  
  So, while your friend is leveling from 1-70, you can level a Monk along with them.
  - Kagitaar
    
    I know that in a few places like Best Buy you can buy up to Cata for $20 and with MoP being cheaper for once at $40, it’s not that bad.
http://www.facebook.com/people/John-Sardella/1422784105 John Sardella

I never got into RIFT, but if it weren’t for me playing the GW2 beta’s, I would give it a try just based on the trailer. It’s too bad for Firefall too, because of Planetside 2. GW2 and PS2 are just too great of games for me to be thinking of anything close because I know deep down I will really just want those two titles.
- MMO_Doubter
  
  When was the last time SOE put out a solid MMO? PS2 will be crap.
  - Kagitaar
    
    You obviously have never played PS, it’s a fun game to this day and I don’t see why the sequel would not be the same if not better.
http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr

I was fond of Rift, but can’t stand the idea of leveling another toon there. The single starting area killed the game for me, leads to serious burnout.
- MMO_Doubter
  
  Yep. Rift was well-polished with good character customization, but the shortage of start zones really made rolling alts BORING.
  
  They keep adding end game content (and that IS needed), but the start experience needs expansion, too.
http://twitter.com/crocodilius ryan phillips

Dear RIFT, pretty sure League of Legends was the best MMO of 2011.
As for 2012>>>Guild Wars2.
Sorry guys, you’re just second best.
- Fluffenstuffen
  
  Dear Ryan Philips, pretty sure LoL is not an MMO. That’s like sayin Halo is an MMO.
  - Ryley Fairfield
    
    Dear Fluffenstuffen, LoL is an MMO, it just isn’t an MMORPG.
    - http://www.facebook.com/people/Filip-Buhov/1379207683 Filip Buhov
      
      soo it’s just a kid-moba mmog . Pls , don’t put inferiour games on the RPG master race section
    - Gronba
      
      By your definition, basicly any shooter with an online feature is an MMO and “before” zhe internetz all games with a multiplayer were MMLan? The definition should definately only apply if you can have ”massive multiplayer” on a single map – which you can’t in LoL (10 is not massive)
    - Gronba
      
      By that definition, basicly any shooter with an online feature is an MMO and “before” zhe internetz all games with a multiplayer were MMLan? The definition should definately only apply if you can have “massive multiplayer” on a single map – which you can’t in LoL (10 is not massive, its just MO)
    - http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
      
      Nope, it’s not a MMO. I’ve never seen a massive number of players in one persistent area.
    - Old Ben
      
      No, it’s a MOBA. “MMO” isn’t a generic term for online games, it refers specifically to games where a very large number of players can be in a shared area. Even TF2 allows more players per map than LoL, and no one calls it an MMO.
      
      LoL is a MOBA, according to its own creators.
- http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
  
  LoL is clearly a sucessful game, but it’s not an MMO.
  - namefame
    
    MMO = Masive multiplayer online
    - http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
      
      Know what MMO stand for and LoL is not a MMO.
    - Old Ben
      
      Actually, “Massively Multiplayer Online”. And the “Massively Multiplayer” part tends to refer to a lot of players on the _same_ map or world. LoL (like TF2, CSS, etc.) has only a handful of players per map, so while it’s a very popular online game, it doesn’t really fulfill the “Massively Multiplayer” bit.
      
      That’s why even its own makers call it a MOBA, not an MMO.
    - Key Foster
      
      yeah but its not really doing the MM part for the MMO to be really relevant.
- Krzysztof Kotarba
  
  moba – multiplayer online battle arena
- http://twitter.com/Master10K Master10K
  
  Didn’t know a 5v5 lobby-based game now counts as an MMO these days. (-_-)
- http://www.facebook.com/andymintz Andy Mintz
  
  League of Legends is not an mmo in any sense of the term. Its a lobby based battle arena game. The only thing massive about it is the number of players playing and yeah they are online. But, calling it an mmo would mean we should consider games like Call of Duty an mmo…
Bluecewe

As Mike said, Firefall and Planetside are two very different titles. Planetside provides immersion into a large-scale war with persistence. Firefall, on the other hand, offers players a tight-knit infantry-only experience with PvE on the side for more laid-back players.

The question is whether you want pure shooting, or something more team-based and immersive.
TheHolgar

Now the only thing beside free to play Rift need to do is downscale lvls with the zones, just like GW2 – So the “old” continents dont die. And i whould love to see them do something with the rifts too, make’em bigger make’em more different to eatchother, so much they can do.
Trion just seems to do everything right, i might even go back.
- http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
  
  Do players still play the rifts in Rift? When I left, players had started running past the spawned rifts.
  - http://www.facebook.com/andymintz Andy Mintz
    
    Rift is extremely active at least on my server (Deepwood). At any given time of the day or night you can go to a zone and find at least a hand full of ppl doing rifts, quest, farming, fishing, LF Raids, guilds, and pretty much anything else you could want.
    - http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
      
      Good, I was very fond of Rift. Really disappointed when I burned out on it so quickly.
- http://www.facebook.com/andymintz Andy Mintz
  
  Trion just added a mentor system where you can down lvl to your friend or whatever lvl you wish for that matter. Also rifts in Rift, are fairly diverse. You have zone events, raid rifts, expert rifts, crafting rifts, and just your basic everyday rift.
- Kagitaar
  
  I don’t know about the F2P bit, I would probably still be hopping in and out every few months if my friends decided to stick around. It’s worth the ~$11 I was paying a month, but it just didn’t stick for me.
Noxdus

Rift is the best trinity-based MMO on the market, but I just don’t see it going head to head against GW2 which doesn’t have sub fees. If they want to be succesful, they need to give some kind of free to play option. 3 options: free to play with micro transactions, “buy the box” with a well rounded amount of content unlocked (no sub), and then give actual subscribers full access.
- http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
  
  Hmm Rift free to play. Wonder if Trion could make enough money just charging for shard transfers, mounts and cosmetic items.
- http://www.facebook.com/andymintz Andy Mintz
  
  I really hope ppl come to the reality that GW2 will not keep up with sub based mmos. It will have a limited life span for the vast majority of its users. Either that or flood your wallets with expansion and such. The only audience i can see really stick with GW2 would be maybe the pvp players. Raiders will continue to play Rift or WoW and not think twice about GW2
  - Diequex
    
    But I disagree. The majority of the people who play MMOs are not ‘raiders’. Most people who play WoW/Rift/TOR/any other MMO just experience…leveling content. I’m not going to make any predictions on the matter, but I do feel that a majority of the casual that play MMOs might stick with Gw2 due to the PVE being dynamic and…well, free. So why would the game have a limited life span if it will appeal to who account for the majority of MMO players? Raiders, however, will definitely stick with what they know, totally agree there.
    
    Like I said though, not trying to make any predictions; no idea what will actually happen as the game ages.
    - http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
      
      Hard to say. Like I’ve said before, several players who left Guild Wars said they did it because it’s difficult getting players to repeat any difficult content. Once you invade Orr and kill the dragon, the dragon stays dead. There will be a segment of the player base that will be done with the game. If Orr is a large scale player event, getting players to repeat the content may be asking more than players are willing to give.
      
      Starting to think I will hit the wall hard early, unlock my weapons – check, unlock my action bar – check, unlock my talents – check. If I find the higher level zones void of players, I may lose interest in GW2 PVE.
      - http://www.youtube.com/user/cpjontek cpjontek
        
        With the guesting feature I can totally see players making forum threads to organize groups on a specific server if they were trying to tackle a tough “end game” meta event.
        
        Like you said though… some players will be done after they finish some major event. I would be one of them as I don’t care to farm bosses over and over unless I’m getting something worth while for it. Luckily I love the PvP and that should hold my attention between expansions. If not I always have other games to play.
      - http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
        
        Yes, the GW2 meta game will be very interesting.
        
        How much replay is in Orr?
        Will you run into higher level zones without anyone else around for Dynamic Events?
        How many times can you rerun the starting zones?
        Wonder how complex is the development of Dynamic Events?
        How easy is it for Arenanet to create new content and how will players find the content?
    - Arthur Banks
      
      I have been playing MMO’s since Meridian 59 and I’ve only done one raid. After the first one, I never wanted to try it again.
      
      I currently have a lifetime to DCUO and I refuse to go on raids. My league things I’m wierd.
    - http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
      
      Yes, intrigued by the leveling game in GW2. The first time though the Dynamic Event leveling content should be fun.
  - Odeezee
    
    but of course, there is only ONE way to play an MMO at “end-game” and raiders in other games will not like the different “end-game” content in GW2. who cares if the game mechanics and designs are completely different (like down-scaling, lack of trinity, dynamic world events, etc) and may actually make generally considered fodder content that is just a mundane task in other games actually fun in GW2?
    
    speak for yourself and not on behalf of other players, you do not know what they will like once the game launches, you do not know if the systems in place will or will not foster a different desire from an MMO than they are used to. don’t speak in absolutes as if you are all knowing, because frankly you are the one who needs to come to the reality that GW2 is a popular game, not from marketing hype, but from fans of the game who have actually played and experienced it themselves.
    
    there is no need for you to feel threatened by GW2 if you love Rift and want it to improve. if fact you should be grateful that GW2 is so popular as it is forcing Trion to make their game better. just look st the systems they are trying to implement which were inspired by GW2.
http://twitter.com/Bubba_Big Make It So

Leonardo Dicaprio is making a great game, it seems.
http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr

Just don’t think there is a staffing model that would allow game design employees to jump from gig to gig, while working for a staffing company. Could staffing companies really maintain contacts with competing publishing houses? Could that staffing company main a contract with En Masse and when the contract expires send the employee to Trion Worlds, avoiding the bad press of layoffs.
- MMO_Doubter
  
  If the MMO I happen to be playing has staff cuts, I WANT to know about it.
  - http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
    
    Oh you will know, if your MMO screws up and has to layoff the core staff.
http://profile.yahoo.com/WFG667RAZSMYCSRJGIDXUNY56E Jack

No mention of the PS2 Nvdiea key give away?? They screwed up and gave out permanent access keys to Planetside 2 for everyone who got one xD
JariKiv

I guess MMOs development is very similar as construction.

What construction companies do is; they’ll get a contract to.. say build a new 20 storey hotel. The company will hire just enough workers for the project. When the project is over and the company doesn’t have another contract, they’ll lay off everyone. The people who get laid off go find another company.
http://www.facebook.com/joseph.scrogham Joseph Scrogham

The layoffs remind me of some friends I have that are in construction, they work their ass off and make some good money then they finish their job then are out of a job until the next one starts. They like it because they get a little vacation
- http://profile.yahoo.com/Z36GPOU3Q2QIQYBIDVNQAVGNGE Raul
  
  Special FX industry for big studios is the same…Movie to Movie.
http://www.facebook.com/andymintz Andy Mintz

I would love to see a podcast devoted to Rift. Its an amazing game with a fair amount of hype atm. The player base is growing, and has been constant for over a year at this point. You guys do a SWTOR show, and we all know how amazing and popular that game is.
- http://twitter.com/flyingmonkeyboy Flying Monkey Boy
  
  they used to do a Rift show .. it got cancelled
  - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000400811847 Kevin Mccarthy
    
    they canceled it because the hosts were going to swtor. Think Gary was doing to much and Ed’s whole guild was playing and mat I think was guild hoping. but the show was solid watched every week
- http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
  
  GamebreakerTV was really into Rift, about the same level of enthusiasm they have for Guild Wars 2 right now. The show consisted Gary, Jasmine, Josh and Matt. After awhile Jasmine and Josh left after they stopped playing Rift (seem to be burnout, guild members jumping shards and Rift players returning to WoW.) Matt seem to have a little secret, I suspect it was his former number 1 Rift raiding guild fell apart.
  
  Gary tried to keep the show going with Ed and Matt, but the PvP talk didn’t seem to have the “gold” (except for Ed keybinding talk) that they have now with the new BuildCast show.
  - Kagitaar
    
    Yeah, that enthusiasm got me and a bunch of friends to play Rift for the first six months.
    
    That keybinding segment, I think they need to make a permanent link just to that on the main page; it’s something everyone needs to see.
schbusd

interesting and good show. you’re getting a lot better
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=635690096 Thomas Dread

I would of used MAG instead of Battlefield.. Battlefield isn’t very big for large scale.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000400811847 Kevin Mccarthy

reposeted after log in just delete this post
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000400811847 Kevin Mccarthy

You may want to dust off the Sanctum an bring it out again! With SWTOR turning out to be epic fail, after all the time that went into development. Rift is the game to be in, they give you constant updates and the game play is superior. Rift dose offer a free to play mode it is rift lite. Play the full game from 1-20 by just downloading. Trion gives it all to it’s clients the expansion will be like a brand new game 3x the size fully revamped souls and a new one for each class. So like I said bring back it’s show because this game is not going away.
- http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
  
  I don’t think they have anyone that plays Rift anymore. Plus the way Trion World goes silent on Rift updates for months at a time, is not conducive for a weekly talk format.
samhainous

Good call about the burn victims going back to the firaga Gare. FFXIV hurt my feelings bro. It didn’t work and was dull. I played the beta and made excuses that it would be ready at launch and it wasn’t. Rename that re-launch to Mailbox.0!
http://twitter.com/AmythieI Kamil

Storm Legion sounds solid. I’ve only tried Rift in beta, but now that they release an expansion, and don’t make me pay twice to try it I might very well do that. I’ll try the free trial up to lv20 for sure.
http://twitter.com/BreakingPT Joe D

Lore I’m really glad to see you on TWIMMO again. I hope it happens more often. +1
- http://www.kaiketsu.enjin.com/ Corey “Crimzen”
  
  +2
- http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
  
  Good to see Josh on TWIMMO. He seems to want to expand his game coverage.
- http://profile.yahoo.com/Z36GPOU3Q2QIQYBIDVNQAVGNGE Raul
  
  +3
http://profile.yahoo.com/SMGRLFM4UASOO7QO26HTHBLIOI Shawn

Tera Layoffs! Say it isn’t So Sharuko!
http://www.facebook.com/davidallmighty David Cohen

Rift could be an amazing MMO if they improved on the raiding more. I left in T2, almost beat that big oct-fish-thing, but left for Swtor… If they continue to build and create more dynamic bosses, I would so go back to Rift. Their bosses were just too tank/spank for the more seasoned players. I loved their classes. Loved that they embraced classes that could heal and dps. So I am def looking more into this Xpac as a way to maybe get back into Rift. If I see that they are feeding the more serious raider. When I left they kept adding more causal content, so I am not sure they are or will, but the art and class direction is top notch.
http://www.kaiketsu.enjin.com/ Corey “Crimzen”

I Think Firefall and Planetside would be fine living side by side just because they offer two totally different experiences. I said this in chat during the show, but for Firefall you can get your PvE and structured PvP. Where as in Planet side you get more of your World V World experience. Yes they will be competing for some peoples time, however considering they are both F2P games I could see most people grabbing both of these since they both offer different experiences.
http://www.youtube.com/user/cpjontek cpjontek

@Lore: EvE online is NOT spreadsheets! You just need to play with people that PvP instead of trade/manufacture. But those people are necessary too. They make ships for me to blow up. =P
DoctorOverlord

Good review of the week guys. Fun seeing the breaking news on the Blizz servers.

Great to hear that Mike B’s Darnell show is going to be a regular feature.

BTW – Any way you can ask those Mozy advertisers to turn down the volume of their commercials? None the of other ads are that bad.
- http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
  
  It is kind of funny not seeing any kind of update on the Blizzard EU servers.
  - DoctorOverlord
    
    Really, there hasn’t been an update on the shutdowns by now? I don’t care so I never checked on the story but I would have thought there would be something from the company. If a cable company or any other online service went down for this long, there would have been communication. MMOs are such a weird business environment.
    - http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr
      
      Who knows. I was log into WoW and GW2 during TWIMMO, so I wasn’t experiencing lost of service.
      
      It was just funny that GamebreakerTV didn’t update the “breaking news” story that Blizzard servers were down.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=862175353 Gavin Morgan

Really looking forward to Firefall. Hopefully it will fill the gap that the dying/dead Global Agenda has left.
http://www.facebook.com/rasmus.nielsen.75491 Rasmus Nielsen

No interest in Rift or Storm Legion, just doesn’t float my boat at all

This Week In MMO 107: Firefall, RIFT, Planetside 2, And More!

Legendary Ep127:
Patch 5.3: The Gamebreaker

The Republic Ep138:
Herding Cats

This Week in MMO Ep 145:
Elder Scrolls Online, Guild Wars 2, Neverwinter

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