Funcom tops Oslo stock exchange, invests heavily in The Secret World Fantasy, Horror, Age of Conan, Business models, Economy, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, The Secret World 18 Funcom's future is looking pretty bright according to a report at Views and News from Norway. The site says the development firm behind Anarchy Online, Age of Conan, and The Secret World topped the Oslo stock exchange last year and saw its share price rise by 227%. AoC has "sold well and still generates income for Funcom," says the report, but the real cause for optimism is the positive buzz surrounding The Secret World. Funcom head honcho Trond Arne Aas says that the firm has received "very good feedback" from both testers and journalists, and it's a good thing since the company absorbed a third quarter loss despite its share price increase. "We're investing heavily in The Secret World now, therefore the loss," Aas explained. "But we're hoping for major income after the launch in April." Source: Views and News from Norway More coverage: Official site and What Weapon? Column created on 12/15/11 One of the most interesting features coming in The Secret World is the nearly limitless combination of weapons that players will have at their collective disposal. In our latest column devoted to TSW, we take a look at the exciting... yeah I noticed there wasn't any thing on this game up here. so ... any way the concept seems interesting especially how the factions operate differently from each other.
GC 11: Factions and PvP Interview Aug 31, 2011 Find out how the three factions fit together amongst all of the ancient mysteries of Earth in this interview from GamesCom 2011 with Creative Director Ragnar Tornquist! File Size: 64.61mb
Funcom kicks off The Secret World's Illuminati week (5 hours ago) Fantasy, Horror, Game mechanics, Lore, MMO industry, New titles, News items, The Secret World 10 Still having a hard time settling on a secret society when it comes to The Secret World? Fear not, as Funcom is bringing you another theme week detailing one of the game's three factions. This time around, it's the Illuminati in the spotlight, and over the next few days we'll be on the lookout for new artwork, screens, videos, a developer Q&A, and more. Funcom's version of the (in)famous Illuminati group casts its members as "invisible puppet-masters and corporate manipulators" who seek "power and wealth by any means necessary." Head to the official Secret World website to check out the latest Illuminati-themed art, and don't forget to take the initiation test to see which faction is right for you. [Source: Funcom press release] More coverage: Official site Illuminati page enjoy and discussions in session.
The Secret World's engine takes center stage (4 hours ago) Horror, Real life, Game mechanics, Interviews, News items, The Secret World, Miscellaneous 5 Unified engines for MMOs have long been a rarity, simply due to the time needed to develop a game and the number of different companies developing separate products. The Secret World manages to buck this trend, using the same core Dreamworld Engine as Funcom's Age of Conan. A recent interview with lead programmer Øystein Eftevaag discusses the way that the engine interacts with the newer game, how the unified engine helps both games, and what special features the game is using in a technical sense. Eftevaag explains that the Dreamworld Engine benefits chiefly from cross-pollination; improvements made in terms of optimization for Age of Conan can be imported to the engine on The Secret World with minimal extra legwork. The engine also uses a series of dynamic equations to determine what player characters should be able to see, subsequently leaving obscured areas blank to save on processor cycles. It's an interesting look under the hood at the technical side of Funcom's upcoming conspiracy and horror title, even if this particular dream world is tilted toward a nightmare. Source: Dreamworld Engine interview More coverage: Official Site discussions in session
The Secret World's Illuminati week reveals backstory, ranking mission (1 hour ago) Fantasy, Horror, Lore, MMO industry, New titles, News items, The Secret World 1 Don't tell the Illuminati, but someone's been whispering its secrets in a very public place. Funcom has revealed a bit of backstory on the secretive faction, which is only natural since it's Illuminati week at The Secret World website. Funcom says that prospective Illuminati players will need to find the group's secret headquarters in New York City, as well as undergo "rigorous psychological tests." The group then molds its raw recruits into "focused and efficient Illuminati machinery," and the end goals are victory in the eternal war for influence, knowledge, and power. The article also hints at an Illuminati ranking mission that involves a young United States senator not yet under the group's thumb. Read all about that and more at MMORPG.com. Source: MMORPG.com More coverage: Official site enjoy and discussions in session.
The Secret World Exclusive Illuminati Teaser - Take a closer look at the Illuminati, one of the three secret societies players can join in The Secret World.
The Secret World ends Illuminati Week with new interview (36 minutes ago) Fantasy, Horror, Interviews, Previews, News items, The Secret World 0 The Secret World's Illuminati Week is drawing to a close, and to round out the excitement, the game's Lead Content Designer Joel Bylos sat down for an Illuminati-centric interview with IGN. Joel outlines what kind of players would find themselves most suited to a life with the Illuminati, what principles the society upholds, and even what sort of faction-specific abilities Illuminati players can look forward to. While he's not too forthcoming on that last point, he does reveal that "[Illuminati faction abilities] will reflect the Illuminati obsession with combing magic and technology to greatest effect." To get the full details and round out your Illuminati fix, just click on through to the interview below. Source: IGN More coverage: The Secret World official site
Knowledge Is Power For The Secret World's Illuminati News on Jan 14, 2012 at 11:51 AM 5,415 Views 24 A trailer for the game shows off what the organization does when it isn't manipulating governments, economies, and giant monsters. ... More
The Secret World answers community questions about the Illuminati (4 hours ago) Horror, Real life, Lore, Previews, News items, The Secret World, Community Q&A, Miscellaneous 5 Do you have questions about the Illuminati? Of course you do -- that's sort of their whole method of operation. But when it comes to The Secret World, some of those questions got answered via yesterday's community question-and-answer session on Facebook. While you'll have to Like the page in order to view all of the answers, you're rewarded for doing so with a breadth of facts about the secretive power-mongers and hoarders of secrets. Among the first questions was the simple one of how the Illuminati aren't in control of everything in the game world if their operatives have infiltrated the highest level of government; as it happens, with the world exploding and lighting up with the supernatural, the Illuminati are too concerned with working overtime to keep things under wraps to try to take total control. The answers also reinforce the idea that the Illuminati crave power and competence above all, up to the organization's willingness to discard lesser members for valuable information. You can take a peek at the full set of answer on Facebook, but keep in mind that you're going to need to Like the page first. Source: Facebook Q&A More coverage: Official Site
The Secret World's Blue Mountain revealed by Jef Reahard (9 hours ago) Fantasy, Horror, Lore, MMO industry, New titles, News items, The Secret World 21 Funcom has taken the wraps off another locale for The Secret World, and this time the focus is on an area called Blue Mountain (no, not those Blue Mountains, Tolkien fans). The location is just west of Kingsmouth, and it boasts a deep, dark history that includes some sort of "desperate battle fought [...] long ago." Presently, the mountain is home to the Wabanaki native American tribe, which has fallen on hard times due to the greed and machinations of the modern age. Funcom says that an ancient evil is sleeping beneath the rock, and draugs, wendigo, and golems are overrunning the surrounding areas as a result. There's also a substantial government/military presence in the area, and players will be tasked with helping various agencies as well as reliving the mountain's dark past through the powerful magic of the Wabanaki tribe. Source: MMORPG.com More coverage: Official site
The Secret World Blue Mountain Location Preview - Journey to a place with a haunting past where the darkness threatening to destroy our world will be waiting for you.
The Secret World's Øystein Eftevaag gets technical (2 hours ago) Fantasy, Horror, Interviews, News items, The Secret World 1 When it comes to gameplay, we've heard about The Secret World inside and out. We know all about the Dragons, the Illuminati, and the Templars and the ongoing war against the encroaching darkness. But what about what's under the hood? The folks over at The Hydra Initiative decided to have a chat with Funcom's lead programmer, Øystein Eftevaag, about the Dreamworld Engine, which is shared between Age of Conan and TSW. Eftevaag notes that the TSW team benefits from sharing the engine with Age of Conan, saying, "The main benefit of this to The Secret World, is that the features being collaborated on (like, say, memory usage improvements, loading time improvements and the upcoming single-server technology) get the full development and testing resources of two whole projects focused on them." So if you want to know all about The Secret World's engine and what makes the game tick, just click on over to The Hydra Initiative and have a look. If you're in search of more gameplay details, however, you're just going to have to sit back and wait. With the game's April launch fast approaching, we're sure Funcom has something planned. Via: Ten Ton Hammer Source: The Hydra Initiative More coverage: The Secret World official site Discussions in session.
Funcom debunks The Secret World launch date rumor (10 hours ago) Betas, Horror, Sci-fi, Launches, The Secret World 14 Could we finally have a specific launch date for The Secret World? Yes, but more accurately, no. While hopeful fans clung to possible news that Funcom had confirmed an April 24th launch date, the studio has issued a statement saying that this was "an internal production date" that was mentioned at a recent press event, and doesn't necessarily reflect the actual release date for the title: Funcom has become aware of postings in various media stating that commercial launch of the online game The Secret World has been set to 24 April 2012. This date was communicated at a press event in the Funcom offices in Oslo today -- as an internal production date. Funcom has previously announced the launch month for the game to be April 2012 and wants to stress that there is currently no change or update on the expected time for commercial launch of The Secret World. The company will announce the release date at a later stage through a stock notice and a formal press release when the date has been set.The studio recently wrapped up a week dedicated to the Illuminati faction and revealed one of the game's spooky settings, Blue Mountain. Source: NRK More coverage: The Secret World And in more news on this game The Secret World's Bruusgard talks skill decks, customization (6 hours ago) Fantasy, Horror, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, News items, The Secret World 12 The Secret World launch is fast approaching (though it may not be exactly when we some are reporting), and plenty of things of things about the game remain, well, secret. GamesRadar recently cornered lead designer Martin Bruusgaard and sussed out a few details regarding the game's skill deck mechanics. Bruusgaard says the system was designed to offer players a way to get their heads around the game's 500-plus abilities. While there are some recommended decks and combos for newer players, Bruusgaard says the intent behind the The Secret World's classless progression system lies is adaptability and plenty of customization options. "Some of the beauty of the system is allowing the players to come up with cool stuff themselves. We want to reward the players who dive into this and take their time to tinker with this, and there are lots of cool combinations we will save for these players," he explains. Source: GamesRadar More coverage: Official site Enjoy and discussions in session.
Funcom reveals The Secret World skill deck templates (8 hours ago) Fantasy, Horror, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, The Secret World, Dev Diaries 13 Funcom has penned a new dev diary at MMORPG.com, and the piece reveals three new skill decks from the firm's The Secret World title. What's a skill deck? It's The Secret World's answer to the how-do-you-make-a-level-free-MMORPG question, and it allows players to select from 500 abilities to create "exactly the type of character they want." Funcom thinks the system will seem daunting to players used to simpler class-based mechanics in competing MMOs, and as such the firm is adding a few deck templates to offer players a helping hand. Three of these are profiled in the new diary, including one from each of the game's factions. The Witch Hunter focuses on big damage spikes and represents the Templars, the Warlord is your basic swordfighter from the Dragon faction, and the Thaumaturgist is the Illuminati's answer to the gunmage archetype. [Thanks to fallwind for the tip!] Source: Skill deck reveal More coverage: MMORPG.com, Official site Enjoy and discussions in session.
New Secret World ARG puzzle hidden on Funcom website (11 hours ago) Fantasy, Horror, MMO industry, New titles, News items, The Secret World 32 Have you figured out Funcom's newest brain-teaser for The Secret World? We haven't, and we'd take kindly to whatever tips you have to offer. What's that, you say? You didn't know there was a new TSW puzzle? Well, head to the official Funcom website. Once you're there, single-click on something that isn't a link (the red title text that says The Secret World should work), and then type in the number 33. If you do it correctly, you should eventually see a bunch of glyphs, and we're assuming they're written in some sort of Runic script. That's about where our knowledge stops, though, so check out the forum thread and let us know what you find out! Source: TSW forums More coverage: Official site
HMM...I don't know. So far from what i've been reading it's not enough to pull me away from TOR...but we'll have to wait and see.
The Secret World launching June 19th (9 hours ago) Betas, Fantasy, Horror, Launches, MMO industry, New titles, News items, The Secret World 37 Funcom has decided to push back The Secret World's launch by a couple of months. The Norwegian development firm originally intended its horror-conspiracy MMO to ship in April, but a new press release has targeted June 19th instead. Creative director Ragnar Tørnquist says the new launch window will allow Funcom to make the title that much more compelling. "Allowing for even more time to polish the game really shows just how much faith Funcom as a company has in The Secret World, and how committed we are to making it the best it can be," he explains. Tørnquist also hints at further beta opportunities for both fans and curiosity seekers. "The additional time will also allow us to carry out even more quality beta testing, and soon we will also be announcing several public beta events where hundreds of thousands of gamers will get to test the game prior to launch," he says. The Secret World is a skill-based MMO set in the modern age. It mixes traditional MMO progression with a unique skill deck system and story-driven questing. [Source: Funcom press release] More coverage: Official site
A second look at The Secret World (13 hours ago) Sci-fi, Galleries, Screenshots, Events, real-world, MMO industry, New titles, Previews, Opinion, Hands-on, The Secret World, Massively Hands-on 36 Funcom recently held another special hands-on event for The Secret World at its Montreal, Canada offices, where we sent freelancer François Blondin to cover all the exciting details. Enjoy his latest preview of the game! Last weekend, I nabbed a second look at Funcom's upcoming MMO The Secret World, now scheduled for a June 19th release. I was going in with high expectations, having been blown away by my first playtest of this modern-world-based MMO, and I'll say that this second visit managed to convince me that this game is on the right track to impress gamers with fresh gameplay, vicious puzzles, an ability wheel full of synergies, and new elite abilities at the top tiers of weapon specializations. I spent wasted a lot of time during my first visit testing out different builds, but I missed out on some content while doing that, and I realized that abilities and builds are something you'll come to naturally as you progress through the game as you earn ability points, choose where you want to go, and decide how you want to specialize. This time around, I got to spend more time exploring the game world, trying out missions, and blowing things up.The Secret World Spoiler Continue Reading source: massively
Funcom launches official German and French websites for The Secret World (6 hours ago) Betas, Fantasy, Horror, MMO industry, New titles, News items, The Secret World 0 Word of mouth is everything in today's crowded MMO market, and when it comes to AAA titles like The Secret World, localized fan support systems and information dissemination channels are high on the list of priorities for an international release. As such, Funcom has just announced the creation of two new websites for its French- and German-speaking fan communities. Both portals will be managed by dedicated community teams, and the new sites can be accessed at the direct links above or via the language selector on the main Secret World website. Funcom's horror-conspiracy MMO is scheduled to launch on June 19th. [Source: Funcom press release] More coverage: Official site
Funcom stock price could 'double or triple' depending on success of The Secret World (9 hours ago) Betas, Fantasy, Horror, Business models, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Opinion, The Secret World 52 Funcom has a lot riding on The Secret World, and a new piece at MCV outlines stock prospects for the company as the horror-conspiracy MMORPG's June 19th launch date draws nearer. Funcom stock has risen dramatically on the Norwegian Stock Exchange since last summer, and analysts expect further growth leading up to The Secret World's release. After that, though, the predictions aren't as clear given the significant fluctuations in Funcom's stock price since its 2005 introduction. MCV notes that shares peaked with 2008's Age of Conan release, but prices dropped significantly soon after as the game "didn't make the expected sales impact." Nonetheless, analysts are enthusiastic about prospects for post-Secret World performance. "Funcom is one of the stocks that could double or triple in value. If Funcom's next game is a success, they will definitely end up as the stock of the year," Carnegie's Espen Torgersen says. Source: MCV More coverage: Official site
GDC 2012: The Secret World's crafting, combat (and cutscenes) revealed (7 hours ago) Betas, Fantasy, Horror, Economy, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, Previews, News items, Opinion, Hands-on, The Secret World, Massively Event Coverage, Dungeons, Crafting 28 Funcom's hush-hush demo at last week's Game Developer's Conference was quite a bit of fun, even if the opening few minutes treaded perilously close to wince-inducing. The Secret World creative director Ragnar Tornquist kicked things off with a brief introduction, which was followed by a look at the game's character creation as experienced by a female Dragon-faction avatar. Once that was complete, we got an eyeful of some opening cinematics, and I do mean an eyeful. If you've never watched a lesbian makeout scene alongside a half dozen sweaty male game journos (and a couple of pretty PR girls), well, let's just say that it's hilarious to think about now and fairly awkward to actually experience. Continue Reading source: massively.
The Secret World GDC 2012: Abilities and Dungeons Interview - The Secret World boasts an intricate microcosm of 3 secret factions that control the outcome of events during gameplay. Posted 1 hour ago Source: GT
The Secret World GDC 2012: NVIDIA Tech Interview - NVIDIA learns about the 3D vision and The Secret World's attempt to push the envelope of MMO graphics. Posted 6 hours ago source:GT
The Secret World offers up a video diary on freeform progression (1 day ago) Horror, Sci-fi, Video, Game mechanics, Previews, News items, The Secret World 20 The Secret World is going to feature a lot of different monsters to contend with, and that means a lot of different tricks to deal with all of them. We've known for a while that the game will feature a freeform skill system, but in a recent video diary the development staff shows off some of these freeform skills in action and in visual flow. As stated before, players can pick any different combination of skills and abilities from the skill wheel, with the big key simply being to look for synergy between your various abilities. Regardless of what your character has unlocked, you'll be limited to seven active abilities and seven passive abilities at any given time, thereby ensuring that more experienced characters will have more options rather than more raw power. The video also talks about templates to help guide new players and the game's equipment system, all of which emphasize the role of players in determining how they want to play. If this sounds right up your alley, take a look at the full video diary just past the break. Continue Reading Get some hands-on time with The Secret World at PAX East (11 hours ago) Betas, Fantasy, Horror, Events, real-world, MMO industry, New titles, News items, The Secret World 12 Tired of taking our word about The Secret World? Well, if you're going to next month's PAX East convention, you can get some hands-on time with Funcom's upcoming title yourself. The full Templar faction starter experience as well as the haunted town of Kingsmouth will be on display, and all the action happens at booth 260 on the show floor. Funcom is also giving away 10,000 Illuminati, Templar, and Dragon dog tags, each of which contains a key code that grants access to TSW's beta weekends. PAX East runs from April 6th through April 8th in Boston, Massachusetts. More info is available at the event's official website. [Source: Funcom press release] Via: Gamespot More coverage: Official Site Via: Gamespot More coverage: Official Site