Terry “Fairan” Michaels, Senior Producer for Landmark and EverQuest Next at Daybreak Game Company (formerly Sony Online Entertainment), has posted a Producer’s Letter with an update on the latest developments regarding the in-development world-building sandbox and MMORPG combo.

The letter is pasted in full further down the page, or you can read the official posting at the Landmark website. But first let me give you the tl;dr version with the main points.

First, Daybreak is shifting its primary development focus from Landmark, which is still in closed beta, to EverQuest Next. Hotfixes and updates to Landmark will continue, just not at the same frequency.

Second, as promised when the MMO pair was first announced, creations by the Landmark player community are being used to bring the world of EverQuest Next to life, as evidenced by the newly released screenshot at the top of the page showing a scene from EQN built from player-created content.

Third and last, even though EverQuest Next is now Daybreak’s top priority, you shouldn’t suddenly get your hopes up for it to launch this year. That doesn’t mean a 2015 release is officially off the table, however Michaels’ statements clearly aim to set the expectation that it’s unlikely for EverQuest Next to be ready this year. Now if by some chance the game actually does come out this year, you can be pleasantly surprised, as opposed to disappointed if Daybreak were to go ahead and claim a 2015 launch only to have to delay the game later.

Greetings!

I wanted to take a few minutes (and words!) to recap what’s happened over the past few weeks and give everyone an update on what to expect moving forward!

So, what’s been going on with team? The month of May was pretty much all about the big character and claim wipe, and then fixing issues that were introduced or discovered immediately afterward. Things have mostly settled down and the team is hot on the heels of the remaining high priority bugs. As soon as we get them fixed, we’ll get them out as soon as we can.

As the team has wrapped up the various pieces related to the wipe and the bugs associated with it, we have been shifting our focus and resources over to work on the highest priority tasks and systems that will be used in EverQuest Next. While we do this, we’re working in areas with high amounts of creative risk. This means that while we know what we want to do, we know it will take an unknown amount of iteration, tweaking and sometimes drastic direction changes to get these in game and working the way they need to. Because of this, we simply cannot commit to any dates, because until we get much closer, even our best estimates are educated (but still fairly wild) guesses.

This also does mean that any features that are Landmark-only are lower in priority and will have to wait until we have time to come back to them. So, as we shift our focus and development to EQN, it just doesn’t make sense to continue with the Blueprint, since the goal of that has always been to provide short term, concrete plans of what you could expect and when, and that isn’t something we can reliably estimate at this point. When we have a better idea of timing on the various pieces, we will make sure to let everyone know.

This does *not* mean that the team isn’t hard at work on things that will eventually make it into your hands. We *absolutely* are! Essentially, as we develop tasks and systems that are in a state fit for Landmark, we will get them into the game with an update. We still want and need your feedback on what we’re making in order to make sure both Landmark and EverQuest Next are as amazing as we all want them to be. You can fully expect updates and hotfixes to Landmark as we continue with this development process; they are simply going to be on a less regular schedule than you guys have been accustomed to over the past year or so.

Landmark and the player community are very important to us and will continue to be essential in the development of EverQuest Next, exactly as we’ve promised from the very beginning. In fact, here’s a quick peek at how we’re using some of the amazing creations you all have made as we build EverQuest Next.

This is only the first small glimpse of what’s to come and I look forward to seeing how everything comes together as EverQuest Next continues to take shape over the rest of the year and beyond. Also, before anyone asks, I want to clarify that although we are shifting our primary focus to EverQuest Next, this does not mean the game will be coming out this year.

We WILL be continuing with the Workshops, so keep an eye out for those! And when we have a bigger update, we’ll also schedule a Landmark Live to get together and chat like we have in the past! More fun times are definitely ahead!

Whenever we have information to share, we’ll continue to keep everyone up to date on the forums, twitter, reddit, Facebook and any of the other usual means of communication. Make sure to check in regularly to find out what’s going on with the games and with the entire team (both the employees AND the community)!

Terry “Fairan” Michaels
Senior Producer – Landmark and EverQuest Next

Source: Producer’s Letter: June 2015 [Landmark]

Heavensward, the first expansion pack for MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, is all settled in for a June 23rd launch on PC, PS3, PS4, and, for the first time, Mac OS. That means it’s time for collector’s editions and pre-order campaigns to begin. Yay!

A number of options are available to cater to existing players and newcomers alike, including a $39.99 standard edition, an all-in-one bundle containing both A Realm Reborn and Heavensward for $59.99, a digital collector’s edition with bonus in-game items for $59.99, and the big daddy of them all, a $129.99 physical collector’s edition containing all this good stuff:

• “Dragonsong War” Exclusive Box featuring art by famed Final Fantasy artist Yoshitaka Amano

• Expertly-Crafted Dragon Mount Figure

• The Art of Eorzea – Heavensward – Artbook

• Additional Content Blu-ray Disc: Eorzea in Motion – A Realm Revisited

• In-game items including:

– Exclusive In-Game Flying Griffin Mount: Take to the skies and fly through the clouds on the back of the majestic griffin.

– Dark Knight Cecil-themed Baron Helm: Relive the magic of FINAL FANTASY IV with this specially designed headgear exclusive to the Collector’s Edition.

– Wind-up Kain: Summon a clockwork rendition of Kain Highwind, legendary dragoon from the mythical kingdom of Baron.

If you’re ready to throw your money at Square Enix, these are the pre-order incentives to look forward to:

– Early Access: Pre-order Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward and access the game servers ahead of the official launch. (Early access is currently scheduled to begin on June 19th. To participate, customers must already own A Realm Reborn and have completed the base game’s main campaign scenario.)

– Baron Circlet & Baron Earrings: Relive the days of old and don the gear worn by the ever-loyal Cecil Harvey in FINAL FANTASY IV.

– Chocobo Chick Courier: This cute Chocobo chick will follow you on your new adventures heavensward.

Visit store.na.square-enix.com/final-fantasy-xiv to go over the many available buying options.

Here’s some great news on two fronts if you’re into MMORPGs and The Elder Scrolls franchise.

The Elder Scrolls Online, rechristened with the new subtitle Tamriel Unlimited, will make its long-awaited debut on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One come the now confirmed global launch date of June 9th. Existing PC/Mac players will automatically be updated to the Tamriel Unlimited edition on March 17th.

So, the game’s finally coming to consoles, but what about those damn monthly subscription fees? Thankfully, Bethesda Softworks is dropping the mandatory subscription model across all platforms. However, that does not mean that The Elder Scrolls Online is shifting over to a full on free-to-play model. You will still need to buy the game up front, but now, after the initial purchase, you will be able to play as much as you like without having to pay an extra penny. Obviously, though, a PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold account will be required since this is an online multiplayer game.

But BethSoft isn’t ditching monthly subscriptions entirely either. The existing $14.99 per month subscription will simply transition over to an optional ESO Plus premium membership service, offering some helpful perks for players willing to pay for sub time. Having an ESO Plus membership will provide immediate access to all DLC packs (which will require standalone purchase for non-subscribers), a set allotment of a new form of in-game currency called Crowns (1500 Crowns for 30 days, 4500 for 90 days, or 9000 for 180 days) to spend on “cosmetic and convenience items” like costumes, mounts, vanity pets, and health potions at the in-game Crown Store, a 10% bonus to XP and gold gain, and buffs to crafting research and inspiration.

For non-ESO Plus members, Crowns will function as a microtransaction currency to be sold in Crown Packs for real money. None of the premium membership benefits appear to be things that will upset the game balance as far as forcing player into a pay to win scheme. Hopefully that will hold true in the final execution.

Finally, PC players interested in switching over to a console platform will be eligible to transfer their account and characters for a one-time fee of $20.

Learn more about The Elder Scrolls Online’s new Tamriel Unlimited play model and ESO Plus membership perks by reading the updated online FAQ.

Launched last month on PC/Mac, The Elder Scrolls Online had previously been scheduled to launch in June for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. However, due to “unique problems” with getting the game up and running on Microsoft and Sony’s online networks the MMORPG’s console launch has been delayed for “about six months,” according to this statement released today by Bethesda Softworks:

We’ve been grateful to our fans for the wonderful response to our recent launch of The Elder Scrolls Online for PC/Mac, but we know many of you are eagerly waiting to play the game on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

We continue to work on the console versions of ESO, and game development has been progressing steadily, but we are still working to solve a series of unique problems specific to those platforms. Integrating our systems with each console manufacturer’s networks — which are both different from the PC/Mac system as well as different from each other—has been a challenging process. It has become clear that our planned June release of the console versions isn’t going to be possible. Though we have made great progress, we have concluded that we’ll need about six months to ensure we deliver the experience our fans expect and deserve.

We know that the news of an ESO console delay is as disappointing to many of you as it is to us. We want to do what we can to make it up to our fans who want to start playing now, so we have worked out the following arrangement with Sony and Microsoft:

Via a special offer, anyone who purchases and plays the PC/Mac version of The Elder Scrolls Online by the end of June will have the opportunity to transfer their character(s) to either console version when they are released. The offer will allow you to begin playing immediately on the PC/Mac, and then add the PS4 or Xbox One version and transfer the character(s) you have created and developed. And, you don’t have to pay full price for the game twice. For $20, eligible PC and Mac players will have the option to add a full, digital version of ESO on either the PS4 or the Xbox One with your character transfer(s), and another 30 days of included game time.

Whether you decide to take advantage of this offer or not, we promise to do everything we can to get the game released on both consoles as quickly as we can. We will keep everyone updated with additional details regarding character transfers, specific offer dates, when you can expect console beta to start, and of course, when ESO on consoles will launch.

Thank you for your patience and loyal support.

That’s a pretty nice offer on the PC-to-console transfer. My only question is, why would you want to switch from PC to console for a game like this? If you have the system to run it to begin with, the PC version is no doubt the better option. I suppose having more friends on consoles to play with might be reason enough, but that’s all I can think of.

Of course, this is all predicated on whether or not the game itself is worth playing on any platform. Stay tuned for our upcoming review of the PC version to find out the answer to that question!

Digging through my email backlog from last week, I stumbled upon another special edition announcement you’ll probably want to hear about. (If you haven’t already, which I’m sure you have by now, but here goes anyway!)

Bethesda Softworks has put together a classy Imperial Edition box set for the April 4th PC/Mac launch of The Elder Scrolls Online. (PS4 and Xbox One versions are coming in June, but whether or not console MMORPG-ers will get the Imperial treatment has not been confirmed.) You can pre-order it right now in two formats: there’s a digital version from The Elder Scrolls Online Store for $79.99 containing in-game content perks, and there’s a full physical version available at participating retailers for $99.99 offering those same digital items plus a number of other goodies, such as a statue, an illustrated guide book, and a printed world map.

The Elder Scrolls Online Physical Imperial Edition contains the following:

• Molag Bal Statue. A 12” statue featuring Molag Bal, Daedric Prince of domination and enslavement.

• The Improved Emperor’s Guide to Tamriel. A 224-page illustrated guide annotated by the Imperial scholar, Flaccus Terentius.

• Physical Map of Tamriel. A 21” x 26” printed map detailing Alliance-controlled zones and the ultimate conquest: Cyrodiil.

• Steelbook Packaging. A limited edition steel case decorated in the color of the Imperials.

• Exclusive Collection of Digital Content.
◦ Play as an Imperial: Become an Imperial and play in any Alliance. Gain unique bonuses, crafting styles, gear, and more.
◦ White Imperial Horse: Summon this Imperial mount and journey through Tamriel with speed.
◦ Mudcrab Vanity Pet: Explore Tamriel with a mudcrab pet scuttling along by your side.
◦ Rings of Mara: Complete the Ritual of Mara with a friend and receive an experience bonus when you play together.

Those four pieces of digital content at the end are what come included with the digital Imperial Edition, just to be clear. There’s also an additional Explorer’s Pack bonus for pre-ordering any version of the game. It will come with a Scuttler vanity pet, four bonus treasure maps, and the ability to play as any of the nine races in any Alliance.

But hey, if neither Imperial Edition floats your boat (they are a pricey upgrade on top of a game that’s going to require a $15/month subscription) there’s always the vanilla standard edition for $59.99. Or you can always just wait it out until the game inevitably goes free-to-play or adjusts its pricing model like every other MMORPG. You’ve got plenty of options.

PlayStation 4 owners itching to get their fantasy MMORPG on won’t have to wait too much longer. Square Enix has confirmed this evening that the PS4 version of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn will launch on April 14th. Furthermore, the game’s beta testing is scheduled to begin on February 22nd.

PS4 pre-orders will open Monday, January 27, including the standard edition for $39.99 and a collector’s edition for $79.99. (A digital PSN collector’s edition will also be sold for $59.99.) In-game items the Mog Cap and Cait Sith Doll minion will be offered as pre-order bonuses for either version, in addition to early game access starting on April 11th. Current owners of a previously registered FFXIV collector’s edition will automatically receive the Fat Chocobo Mount and Wind-up Moogle minion, in-game items new to the PS4 collector’s edition.

The full retail PS4 collector’s edition will include:

– Special box featuring artwork by Yoshitaka Amano
– Art Book – The Art of Eorzea: A Realm Reimagined
– Special Soundtrack -The Sounds of Eorzea-
– Seventh Umbral Era Special Movie Content Disc – The Waning of the Sixth Sun
– Art Card Set
– Themed Security Token
– In-Game Items – Coeurl Mount, Behemoth Barding, Baby Behemoth minion, Helm of Light, Fat Chocobo Mount and Wind-up Moogle minion

Existing PS3 players will be able to upgrade and transfer their accounts over to the PS4 version for free, but once the migration is complete it will not be possible to switch back to the PS3 version. Anyone who wants to maintain the ability to continue playing on PS3 will need to buy a separate PS4 copy to play on both platforms. Square Enix will be announcing more information about the platform transfer process soon.

Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls MMORPG, The Elder Scrolls Online, is officially scheduled to launch worldwide on April 4, 2014 for PC and Mac. (4.4.14–isn’t that clever!) Console versions for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One will then follow sometime in June.

A new trailer, “War in Cyrodiil,” has also released today highlighting the game’s epic PvP battles. Turn your eyes a little further down the page to watch it.

I’m still not feeling the excitement for this one. Of course, that’s probably just because I burned out on MMORPGs a long time ago, and I haven’t particularly cared for an Elder Scrolls game since Morrowind. The Elder Scrolls Online is looking pretty good, but other than the brand name I don’t see anything that distinguishes the game from all the other online RPGs.

Final Fantasy XIV, meet Lightning Returns. Lightning Returns, meet Final Fantasy XIV. Are you BFFs now? Good, so why not throw a fashion swap party?

That’s just what Square Enix is doing for its two latest Final Fantasy games. This cross-title collaboration sees Final Fantasy XIII heroine Lightning descending upon Eorzea for a Full Active Time Event in Final Fantasy XIV. Once players complete the event, fighting alongside Lightning, they will receive outfits and weapons like those worn by the stars of Lightning Returns.

Similarly, when Lightning Returns launches in February, players will be able to search for clues to unlock a Miqo’te outfit for Lightning and complete side quests to unlock weapons and shields themed after the Limsa Lominsa, Ul’dah and Gridania city states of Final Fantasy XIV. This comes on top of that sweet Cloud Strife pre-order gear Lightning already has in her bonus costume wardrobe.

Final Fantasy XIV dressed like Lightning Returns looks like this:
[nggallery id=3055]

And Lightning Returns dressed like Final Fantasy XIV looks like this:
[nggallery id=3056]

Oh, and here’s video footage of Lightning’s FATE appearance in Final Fantasy XIV:

Before Final Fantasy XIV is officially reborn on August 27th, Square Enix has one more testing phase scheduled for the weekend of August 17th through the 19th. This fourth and final phase will be an open beta for all MMORPG adventurers on PC and PS3.

Once the open beta is complete, eager Eorzeans who have pre-ordered the game will get a headstart on everyone else with early access to the final game beginning August 24th. Loyal returning players from the game’s disastrous original 1.0 build will also be welcomed back with free gameplay until Monday, September 9.

A week after game launch, Square Enix plans to release Final Fantasy XIV: Libra Eorzea, a free companion app that will tether players to the game wherever they go via their iOS device of choice. A Veteran Rewards program will be in place as well, rewarding players with bonus content based on the length of their subscription, in tiers of 30, 60 and 90 days. Square Enix did not mention what exactly these bonuses will be in today’s news release.

Over the weekend at its SOE Live fan gathering, Sony Online Entertainment lifted the veil on the next EverQuest entitled — get this — EverQuest Next!

In development for four years now, EverQuest Next will mark the beginning of “The Emergent Era” for MMORPGs, an era in which players will work together to help build the game alongside SOE’s developers. This cooperative effort will all be possible through the “collaborative building hub” known as EverQuest Next Landmark, a mix of social MMO interaction with the design tools being used to create the game. Landmark will be available this winter as a “Free To Play. Your Way.” product that will allow players to collaborate with each other to design structures and environments, all of which will be considered for inclusion in the full release of EverQuest Next.

SOE doesn’t have a launch date targeted yet for EverQuest Next proper, but like Landmark the game will be a free-to-play offering. I suppose release timing will all depend on how the community embraces Landmark and how quickly content comes together. That stuff will be sorted out in due time. For now, continue reading for more early game info and media SOE has provided for the next generation of EverQuest. Additional updates can be found at www.everquestnext.com.

EverQuest Next Features:

Multi-Classing – EQN will offer players the ability to explore and interact with the world according to their individual style of play. There are no levels in EQN, but there will be more than 40 distinct classes (or professions) at launch, with multi-tiered abilities and specialized weapon skills to collect and master. Players will even mix and match abilities from each class, creating truly custom characters that feel distinct and powerful.

Destructible Environments – No modern MMO has successfully implemented destructible environments that stretch across an entire seamless game world – this changes forever with EQN. Every piece of the world is fully destructible and players will have the ability to manipulate almost all of it. They will interact with and explore the world in amazing ways; venturing down into the deep bedrock beneath the surface and using powerful combat abilities to blow gaping holes into the ground. The EQN world will extend far into the heavens and deep into the procedurally-generated earth through 10,000 years of known lore and history.

Permanent Change – Players will also have the ability to cause the world to change around them, permanently, in dramatic ways. Through the concerted effort of the world’s inhabitants, including players, creatures, and non-player characters (NPCs), city walls will be built and destroyed, large-scale wars will be fought and won, and epic stories will unfold over months and years.

Emergent AI – In EQN, NPCs will have specific motivations and preferences that direct behavior in nuanced and unpredictable ways. Players will find themselves in a world where NPC decisions are based on core values, not dictated by static spawn points. For example, Orcs may attack opportunistically because they want an adventurer’s gold, not simply because a careless hero wanders into an attack radius.

A Life of Consequence – Finally, each character in EQN will have a unique story; they will not follow a predetermined path. Instead, they will seek out adventure, fame and fortune in a constantly changing sandbox world. The game will remember every choice and action that players make and will organically deliver increasing opportunities to do more of the things players like to do … from crafting armor and exploring the wilderness to purging goblins from the forests.

Introducing EverQuest Next Landmark

This winter, SOE will introduce EverQuest Next Landmark (Landmark). Essentially, Landmark will combine the powerful and intuitive building tools SOE is using to create the fully destructible world of EQN with all of the social functionality expected from a modern MMO.

The game will feature huge persistent worlds that each support thousands of other players and varied terrain inspired by the environments of EQN. Most importantly, Landmark will provide anyone who wants to participate with the opportunity to actually build structures, and eventually create other types of content, to be considered for inclusion in EQN. Landmark will enable players to:

Create Amazing Things

– Build highly detailed structures with powerful and intuitive tools.
– Quickly design complex projects or collaborate with friends to undertake massive shared builds.
– Lay claim to and control specific areas of huge persistent worlds.

Share Your Imagination with Friends

– Landmark’s persistent servers will enable players to interact with and experience the collective imagination of thousands of players in a unique shared world.
– Players will have compelling reasons to explore and interact with others. They will congregate at crafting hubs, build design templates to share and trade, and journey across the world to collect the resources required to build and craft.

Build EQN with SOE — Using the Same Tools

– Landmark players will gain increasing access to many of the same tools that SOE is using to construct the game world of EQN.
– Not only will Landmark give players access to these world building tools, SOE will provide specific guidance on what we want help building.
– Through this collaborative approach, EQN may eventually represent the largest overall collaborative development effort in the history of online games. For anyone who has ever thought about becoming a game developer, here is your chance. Together we will build extraordinary things!

[nggallery id=3003]