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H1Z1 King of the Kill Leaves Early Access On September 20th

Posted on August 31, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

The competitive post apocalyptic survival title H1Z1: King of the Kill will be heading out of Steam’s Ealy Access program on September 20th developer Daybreak Games has announced via press-release.

A number of additional features will come with the launch of the game including an improved user interface, support for multiple competitive seasons, a new scoring system that takes the number of kills & other factors into consideration and Twitch.TV integration as well.

Here’s hoping that all of these improvements lead to a smoother overall experience. We preview H1Z1: King of the Kill – the Battle Royal style multiplayer mode that was once part of the entire H1Z1 package before being split off  into it’s own stand-alone game– back in early 2016 when the game launched. To be honest over the 20+ hours I’ve put into the title I’ve found King of the Kill to be a love / hate kind of game. There’s always a pile of tension as you’re in the top 20, wondering who or what might be around the next corner but getting to that tension means 20 – 40 minutes of wandering around a barren map looking for crafting items.

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Here is how Daybreak games described the ranking system they will be implementing:

  • Scoring System – Progression outside of matches is evolving to foster the natural competitive spirit of the H1Z1: King of the Kill community. A new and more dynamic scoring system after each match will award points to players based on their placement, their kill total and when in the match those kills took place, with higher points going to kills that take place later on. This new system will give players immediate feedback on their performance, as well as the opportunity to earn in-game rewards. It will apply only to solo matches at launch.

Updates to the world map will also be coming down the line. If you’ve spent dozens of hours like I have learning the trek from co-ordinates like H9 to A4, be prepared for a few curvle balls to be thrown your way with “The Arena”.

As the devs outlined:

The Arena, a Totally Revamped World Map – This larger map is designed to improve the pace and performance of matches overall, with additional points of interest for showdowns and surprises, better loot distribution for player spawns, and greatly improved graphics and lighting.

  • The Arena will be a focal point of action for those playing H1Z1: King of the Kill at PAX West this weekend at Booth #1909, and later when some of Twitch’s top streamers and players compete in the second annual H1Z1 Invitational on Oct. 2, 2016 at TwitchCon.

Perhaps all of these changes will lead to a more immersive survival experience. I’ll be at PAX West and will try and go hands on with the new Arena map if time allows. Worst case I’ll snap a few pictures of the booth!

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H1Z1 adds additional King of the Kill mode: Ignition

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

King of the Kill has been a site favorite for quite a while, Rae and I will often boot it up for an hour of two of relatively low-key fun. One of the most fun things we do is to find an ATV drive it around and look for some trouble. It seems that we are not the only people who enjoy that particular style of game play, as Daybreak has just announced that they will release a new mode essentially based around it.  Instead of parachuting in, you’re going to start on an ATV, with a bomb strapped to you.

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The mode is called ignition, and its central premise is that Ignition starts each challenger off with their very own ATV and a pack of explosives strapped to their body. If that sounds a bit well, crazy, its cause it is. Just like in other modes, players have a limited time to find weapons and other survival items, then a horn goes off a safe zone is marked, and its a free for all. In the case of Ignition mode, if you don’t make it to the safe house, you blow up. Ignition adds the twist of having more than one safezone for players to go to. Anyone who fails to reach sanctuary before the countdown expires will trigger their devices, eliminating them from the match. Players that leave the safe zone before the detonation timer resets for the next wave will meet a similar fate.

The mode sounds pretty fun to me! I haven’t been playing much King of Kill recently, but this may just be enough to get me to pop back in and have a look at this fun twist on survival games.

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EverQuest Next Officially Cancelled, “Just Wasn’t Fun”

Posted on March 12, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

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What do you do when a game just isn’t fun? Stop playing it? Well what happens when a game in development just isn’t fun? Daybreak Games have cancelled the long in development next generation MMORPG Everquest Next citing the fact that the game just wasn’t enjoyable as one of the factors the has lead to the project’s demise.

In development for many years EQ Next was rebooted as late as 2012 with a focus on the game being free to play. In 2013 Daybreak Games, then known as Sony Online Entertainment, received a full reveal at PAX East 2013. EQ Next would have been comprised of two different components – the EQ Next Client which would have provided the traditional MMO experience and Landmark which would allow player created worlds and assets to be imported into EQ Next’s MMO client.

Landmark had made it into closed beta before the project was scrapped earlier this week. Potential players were allowed to gain access to Landmark and at a later date EQ Next by purchasing a $99.99 USD founders pack.

We’ve got an excerpt from Russel Shanks’ statement about the cancellation of the project below. No word yet if players who paid in for the Founder’s Pack will receive a partial refund.

For those familiar with the internals of game development, you know that cancellations are a reality we must face from time to time. Inherent to the creative process are dreaming big, pushing hard and being brutally honest with where you land. In the case of EverQuest Next, we accomplished incredible feats that astonished industry insiders. Unfortunately, as we put together the pieces, we found that it wasn’t fun. We know you have high standards when it comes to Norrath and we do too. In final review, we had to face the fact that EverQuest Nextwould not meet the expectations we – and all of you – have for the worlds of Norrath.

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H1Z1 is being split in to two paid games

Posted on February 6, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

Later this month H1Z1 will be split into two separate games—the open-world survival mode being one, and the competitive Battle Royale mode being the other—and each will be sold separately. Truthfully the meteoric rise of this game leaves the studio Daybreak Games with little other choice. Open world zombie survival is no longer all the rage, but the Battle Royal mode that was meant to be a supplement to the game ended up eclipsing it.

So heres the skinny. One game will be called H1Z1: Just Survive this one is classic H1Z1, and will likely be the one most people leave behind.  The wildly popular Battle Royale plus some new planned competitive modes, will be the second game called: H1Z1: King of the Kill. Each game will be sold at retail for 19.99. The games will separate from each other beginning on February 17.

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If you already bought H1Z1 in early access you are in the clear, you get both games, no extra charge. If you have ever had any interest in H1Z1 now is the time to buy, as this with this announcement Daybreak are giving both games to anyone who buys in to early access right now until that February 17th date. If you have any, you’ll get to keep cosmetic items, keys, unopened crates, and event tickets you’ve acquired or purchased before the game splits in two. After the split, premium items collected in one game won’t be available to your character in the other, even if you own both games.

For release dates, King of The Kill will leave Early Access sometime this summer (at which time it will also appear on consoles) at a price of $19.99. The second half H1Z1: Just Survive, has no confirmed release date. Each game will it seems also be coming to a console near you when it finishes its current development cycle.

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Xbox One Isn’t Kryptonite To DayBreak Games’ DC Online, Cross Play Coming Jan 25th

Posted on January 11, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s DC Online coming to the Xbox One later this Spring thanks to developer Daybreak Games.

To celebrate the 5th anniversary of the licensed superhero MMO set in the DC Universe the folks at Daybreak made two major announcements: First that the game will make its way to Microsoft’s latest console sometime this spring, Presumably that means that the game will launch before June 21st of this year.  Their second major announcement was that cross-platform play will finally be available to players on both PlayStation 4 and PC starting in just two weeks on Jan 25th!

Lots of changes have come since the game launched in 2011. Just last year alone Daybreak updated Supergirl’s appearance to fall in line with the recent television series, two major power sets were released  and tie-in content was developed in conjunction with the  DC Comics Bombshells line. In the coming year not only will the game launch on Xbox One but new water based powers will become available for aspiring heroes.

Alongside the two major announcements Daybreak also released a 5-year infographic and a new set of screenshots which you can view after the jump.Read More

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