Some additional Anthem information, mostly to clear up what you saw on the stream.

FIRST: no compensation will be given to those of you that bought the game full price, and no, there is nothing I can do about it.

Very odd that so many people actually think that I have anything to do with EA or BioWare. I basically take what I hear (mostly from low level employees) and write it down in this blog. Sometimes I try to do some hacking if I hear a game did something really dumb (like placing too much trust client side). Nothing else.

I have no ability to fix bugs or get you compensation for anything, and to think any differently is a little absurd.
As you can see, I didn't even put the Got fails? - mmogfails@gmail.com line at the end of my last post because of how many e-mails I was getting.

So if I do not respond to you, please don't write me an e-mail a few hours later threatening me... And then again a few hours hours later apologizing... Only to threaten me again a few hours later. This was an actual example from someone. Four e-mails in a span of ten hours, with some severe bipolar tones to it.
When things like this happen, it really just makes me want to stop leaking, and makes me feel even worse for what the BioWare community folks have to deal with.

With that rant out of the way I can actually tell you that the topic of making things right with their early adopters was already brought up and quickly put down (by leadership). This will change if the game goes F2P and some compensation will be given to those that own the base game.

Here are some more answers to common questions that I saw in my inbox:

- Yes, the Cataclysm is a time gated, timed, and score based PQ-like event.
   - A new map has been specifically designed for the event. The map will open up as the six week Cataclysm progresses. The map will then be "re-purposed" once the Cataclysm is over.
   - Higher score = more currency rewards.
   - You have to use currency earned to buy chests that contain loot. This is in addition to loot that will still be dropped. New leveled items will only be available in the chests for now. This may change during the Cataclysm.
   - When the event is over, the new item levels will carry over to the base game.
   - PTS is in fact coming to consoles. At least eventually. A lot of work went into getting it set up for the console already (on the PlayStation), and I doubt they will just discard it.
   - The PTS will be a social experiment of sorts, and BioWare will in fact take the recommendations made by these players to heart. So be civil and play nice. You actually have a chance to improve the game.

- With luck removed, MOST players will now have a much higher chance of getting Masterwork and Legendary items. Yes, this equates to better overall loot drops. Internal testing has shown this change almost doubled the speed in Legendary item acquisition and almost tripled the Masterwork item acquisition for the AVERAGE player.
Those that were running luck builds before, will still be impacted by this change because all GM difficulties across the board had a slight increase to purple drops (and above). Factoring in the luck change, more purples = more Masterwork and Legendary items FOR ALL.

- The communication embargo has been lessened. BioWare and EA want to hype up the Cataclysm (trust me, this is a good thing, keep an eye on SM). As long as players aren't hostile to them, I don't see a reason as to why they would not keep communicating.
I said this multiple times already, but please have some decency towards these people.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask them. Otherwise more leaks as I get them. Oh and cut it out with the demands and threats please. It's getting really old now.


Got fails? - mmogfails@gmail.com

Relax, Anthem will get a plethora of content in the upcoming months.

A lot of you are e-mailing me pleading for information. Since BioWare is giving you nothing with their stupid communications embargo, I will provide.

As I previously said, EA and BioWare are not giving up on Anthem. Not yet at least. These guys brought SWTOR back from the brink of extinction, and they may do it for Anthem as well. EA is very confident in BioWare's ability to fix the game.

Other than some utterly stupid leadership decisions on BioWare's end, things are progressing.

Right now (no, really literally right now, simultaneously in crunch mode) they are working on the following:

- Bug fixes
- QoL improvements
(A patch with both bug fixes and QoL improvements is ready but is being held back to allow for at least some new content).
- Multiple new strongholds
- A stat screen
- Cataclysm
- Mastery System replacement (I am told it may or not be called the Mastery System)
- Guilds
- Leaderboards
- New story
- New lore
- New Freeplay content
- New missions
- New challenges
- New enemies
- New loot system
- Balance changes
- Yes, new Javelin ideas are being tossed around. The team is NOT yet working on new Javelins.
- A pilot level increase is being discussed

Probably more that I am forgetting.

To be fair, a lot of the items were already at least partially completed, but better late than never.

As you can see, this is stretching them fairly thin. To the point where multiple low level employees told me they wish they could focus on just one or two things.

The next few months will be pretty interesting for the game. Where it goes from there, is anyone's guess.

Side note: Yes, the BioWare and EA are aware there are things that won't be met on the current May road map (all of them), however management decided to keep this page as is instead of updating it.

BioWare leadership is out of touch with their customers, fans, and most importantly - their employees.

I had a chance to catch up with someone from BioWare. This is the same person that told me about Anthem finally looking promising after years of being stuck in indecision limbo.

This is more venting than anything else, but it does not paint a good picture of the still out of touch leadership. I will just list some bullet point takeaways without my usual commentary.

- SWTOR and Anthem are now handled by virtually one team and there is competition for resources.

- The SWTOR expansion is not in good shape at this time and management's expectations are too high.

- While Onslaught is a large expansion, it is still not (and will not be) on the same level as Rise of the Hutt Cartel.

- Onslaught and Anthem are both in the crunch phase as leadership wants to recapture the old BioWare Magic.

- SWTOR has a lot more active players than Anthem. The numbers are not even remotely comparable.

- BioWare leadership wants to rekindle interest in SWTOR.

- Anthem player base is at an all time low even though this month saw an influx of new players.

- Anthem has issues with player retention. This is something they are very interested and motivated in improving.

- BioWare leadership is unhappy with the Onion articles. They feel the game is being mocked unjustly.

- BioWare leadership thinks not talking about Anthem is working wonders, as negative comments about the game have decreased across all forms of social media.

- Leadership also thinks that everything the Kotaku article exposed can be fixed with team building excersises and events.

- The live team is very unhappy and disappointed about missing deadlines and breaking promises to their fans. They are also unhappy with how leadership is choosing to deal with it.

- A patch with QoL improvements and fixes is ready but is being held back by leadership because they want at least some content in it. New content will most likely be dropping with said patch, as well as in the next few weeks.

- Expect nothing on Anthem's May road map to be completed this month.


Got fails? - mmogfails@gmail.com

This blog follows MMOGs and their failures. Enough with the death threats please. Oh and no, Anthem will NOT be at E3.

So, I am not entirely sure why my Anthem post is getting so much hate. I simply write about what I hear in the gaming industry, with a bit of my own sarcasm thrown in for good measure.

The blog is not monetized and it never will be. I am doing this just to track all the issues with the industry as a whole, especially when it comes to MMO games.

I have been doing this for quite a while now but never received so many outright vicious e-mails.

Let me share one with you, as it is my favorite so far. Not quite a death threat, more like a death wish, and a funny one at that. Obviously written by a preteen fan of the game that also likes to watch YouTube videos and take them at their word.

To keep in line with the letter, I am going to use ALL CAPS SO IT LOOKS LIKE I AM YELLING. 

FIRST OF ALL, EA AS A WHOLE WILL NOT BE AT E3 (SOME GAMES WILL BE SHOWN, BUT NOT ANTHEM). I AM NOT SURE WHY SO MANY OF YOU ARE TELLING ME EA WILL BLOW US ALL AWAY AT E3 WITH LOTS OF ANTHEM NEWS. THIS IS 100% FALSE. 

INSTEAD, THEY WILL HAVE AN EA PLAY EVENT ON JUNE 8TH AND 9TH THAT WILL ALLOW PEOPLE TO TRY OUT THEIR NEWEST AND CURRENT GAMES.

THE MAIN FOCUS WILL BE EA'S OTHER OFFERINGS WITH ONLY MINOR UPDATES AND PROMISES FOR ANTHEM.

LOTS OF "CONTENT CREATORS" WILL BE SHOWCASING EA'S GAMES IN A "LIVE STREAM EXTRAVAGANZA".

I SPOKE TO A FEW PEOPLE AT EA AND MORE THAN ONE VOICED ACTUAL CONCERNS OVER THE EXPECTATIONS PEOPLE HAVE FOR ANTHEM AT EA PLAY. 

IN FACT, SOMEONE FAMILIAR WITH WHAT IS BEING PLANNED RIGHT NOW FOR AT LEAST A FEW OF THE GAMES, ANTHEM INCLUDED (THIS CAN ALWAYS CHANGE) SAYS "NOTHING THAT WAS NOT ALREADY ON THE ROAD MAP WILL BE SHOWN". 

SO THERE YOU HAVE IT. 

SIDE NOTE. THE PEOPLE AT BIOWARE ARE STILL HARD AT WORK ON FIXING THINGS AND ARE GETTING A PATCH READY (MOSTLY FIXES), HOWEVER IT HAS NOT EVEN BEEN SUBMITTED YET, SO IT WILL NOT BE READY THIS WEEK. THERE IS ALSO TALK OF HOLDING IT BACK UNTIL SOME CONTENT CAN BE INTRODUCED WITH IT, AS THE LAST PATCH WAS "VERY POORLY RECEIVED".

Got fails? - mmogfails@gmail.com

Anthem is coming to EA Access and free to play is still on the table. The game sold almost 3.7 million copies!

Just a few small nuggets of information from a source within EA.

Anthem should be coming to EA Access around or slightly after the time the service will release for the PS4.

I was also told that the leadership at BioWare is actually blaming the players (their customers) and the "vitriol" they spew as the reason of why the game is not selling as well as it should.
They are also blaming EA for saying the game can be patched later because of the GaaS model. Neither EA nor BioWare expected the push back and hostility they received for delivering a product in such an unfinished state while selling it for full price.

In a bit of surprising news, Anthem sold pretty well, almost 3.7 million copies between digital and physical.

EA is still very committed to the game because "it fills a gaping hole in our offerings". So if patching and EA Access do not give it a much needed boost, F2P is still very much on the table.
For now, BioWare is "working like mad" to try and fix bugs, bring QoL improvements, as well as new content.

Bonus news: a stat screen is in the works! Eventually you will be able to see all of your javelin's statistics in one place.
Don't expect an update from BioWare this week, other than "there is no update", and quite possibly "we still support Anthem, here is what our leadership says".
Please take it easy on Jesse Anderson. What he will (not) share is 100% completely not up to him. Blame management. He has had his hands tied and pretty much told to "shut up".

Now for some good news: a loot re-design is also in the works, however we should not expect it "any time soon".


Got fails? - mmogfails@gmail.com

Want a job at BioWare Austin? Now is the perfect time to apply.

Seems EA is already cleaning house, with plenty of careers suddenly opening up at BioWare.

There are also quite a few positions being shifted around internally, and a switch to free to play "has been mentioned more than once".

The Anthem team lost multiple leads, including Jonathan Warner (who was one of the main reasons Anthem was stuck in development limbo), Mark Darrah and Michael Gamble. It is currently being lead by Ben Irving.
I am told that Darrah (and other members of the Anthem team) were moved to work on Dragon Age 4, which has a while ago been rebooted from a single player focused RPG to Anthem with Dragons.

I am also hearing mixed and conflicting information about what EA is planning on doing with Anthem. One source says that it may be joining EA Access, another that it will receive free cosmetics with the service. Nothing is currently 100%, so I don't want to say more than that

The following positions are now available at the Austin branch:

Art
Department Director – Art & Animation (155183)
VFX Artist Contract (154851)

Game Design
Systems Designer II (155357)
Systems Designer I (155358)

Game Product Management
Senior Systems & Monetization Designer (155360)
Senior Game Product Manager (155123)
Product Director (152420)

Software Development
Platform Engineer (153455)


Got fails? - mmogfails@gmail.com