ZAM Gets Details on Rift's Half-Birthday Party
This article originally appeared on ZAM on Aug. 17, 2011.
Players will get all sorts of perks during Rift's Half-Birthday Celebration from August 25 to September 1. Editor-in-Chief Darryl Gangloff talked with Executive Producer Scott Hartsman to find out more!
Can you believe it's already been six months since the launch of Rift? To mark the occasion, Trion Worlds decided to host a Rift Half-Birthday Celebration from August 25 to September 1 that will give old and new players alike ample reason to log in and enjoy the festivities.
We had the opportunity to join other members of the press in a roundtable interview with Executive Producer Scott Hartsman to find out exactly what players will be getting during the birthday week. Keep reading after the jump for all the details!
The Rewards
Let's jump right into the gifts players are going to get starting next week. From August 25 to September 1, Trion is hosting a party for “everyone on the internet.” Subscribers will enjoy a week of substantial in-game bonuses, and new and returning players can play the full game for free with no leveling or zone restrictions. If you're new, you get an expanded trial. New players who subscribe during the event can even purchase Rift for only $4.99!
Hartsman summarized it all by making two points: If you’re new or returning, come check stuff out for free; if you’re a subscriber, you get bonuses.
Here are the perks subscribers will get during the celebration:
Why Host a Half-Birthday Party?
Hartsman said the celebration started as a grassroots movement among the developers. “The idea of throwing a half-birthday came to us in the middle of convention season,” he said. “What can we give back to players? What kind of party would we want to play?”
"We wanted to blow the doors out and say 'here's everything and then some,' ” he continued. “We're playing the same game you are, and this is the kind of stuff we think is fun. We're trying to entertain everybody.”
As for how often Trion plans to host such events, he said it's all about “what makes sense” and how well this party is received by the players. “We honestly don't know the scope of what will happen in the future,” he said. “More activity is good for everybody. There's really no downside.”
'Err on the Side of the Subscriber'
Hartsman was also excited to announce that the party will give Trion the opportunity to add some new permanent technology to Rift that will give subscribers priority for staying in the game when they go AFK. He explained that paid players already jump the queue more quickly than trial members, and this new feature is an extension of that concept.
“When it comes down to population contestedness on paying servers, we're adding new ways to err on the side of the subscriber,” Hartsman said.
The State of the Game
Hartsman said that the population of the game is “still growing for sure.” He said this was due to both the development and publishing teams being unafraid to try new things. “We still think of ourselves as a startup,” he said. “We get to do crazy things, like different sales and incentives.”
He said Trion tends to think of itself as an aggressive company and is constantly trying to think of ways to get more people into Rift. “We try not to be limited by how MMO companies did things 5-10 years ago,” he said.
As for the State of the Game address Hartsman made last month, he said all of those initiatives are still going strong. He said the post-50 planar attunement advancement is “shaping up very nicely,” as are the Instant Adventures. Trion currently has three or four Chronicles of Telara instances in development right now, and some of them are “pretty close to being ready to ship.”
Players will get all sorts of perks during Rift's Half-Birthday Celebration from August 25 to September 1. Editor-in-Chief Darryl Gangloff talked with Executive Producer Scott Hartsman to find out more!
Can you believe it's already been six months since the launch of Rift? To mark the occasion, Trion Worlds decided to host a Rift Half-Birthday Celebration from August 25 to September 1 that will give old and new players alike ample reason to log in and enjoy the festivities.
We had the opportunity to join other members of the press in a roundtable interview with Executive Producer Scott Hartsman to find out exactly what players will be getting during the birthday week. Keep reading after the jump for all the details!
The Rewards
Let's jump right into the gifts players are going to get starting next week. From August 25 to September 1, Trion is hosting a party for “everyone on the internet.” Subscribers will enjoy a week of substantial in-game bonuses, and new and returning players can play the full game for free with no leveling or zone restrictions. If you're new, you get an expanded trial. New players who subscribe during the event can even purchase Rift for only $4.99!
Hartsman summarized it all by making two points: If you’re new or returning, come check stuff out for free; if you’re a subscriber, you get bonuses.
Here are the perks subscribers will get during the celebration:
- Special Surprise Birthday Gift – Following the event, all active subscribers will receive a special in-game birthday surprise to commemorate the occasion. “There are two gifts,” Hartsman said. “The less exciting one is you get to take some of the celebration with you with bonus potions and relive the bonuses when you need them. The cooler one is a half-birthday cake you can spawn on ground and buff yourself and friends. You'll keep it forever and ever. The buff is stamina right now.”
- Bonus Experience – Your blood-lust is rewarded with bonus experience in both PvE and PvP.
- Guild Bonus Experience – Swiftly level-up your guild with bonus XP granted for completing guild quests.
- Big PvP Payouts – All warfronts and open-world PvP will grant extra Favor and Prestige.
- A Plethora of Planarite – Sealing Telara’s rifts and combating the invasions will reward you with extra planarite.
- Bonus Plaques & Marks – Increased chance for bonus Plaques of Achievement and Marks of Ascension in all dungeons and raids.
Why Host a Half-Birthday Party?
Hartsman said the celebration started as a grassroots movement among the developers. “The idea of throwing a half-birthday came to us in the middle of convention season,” he said. “What can we give back to players? What kind of party would we want to play?”
"We wanted to blow the doors out and say 'here's everything and then some,' ” he continued. “We're playing the same game you are, and this is the kind of stuff we think is fun. We're trying to entertain everybody.”
As for how often Trion plans to host such events, he said it's all about “what makes sense” and how well this party is received by the players. “We honestly don't know the scope of what will happen in the future,” he said. “More activity is good for everybody. There's really no downside.”
'Err on the Side of the Subscriber'
Hartsman was also excited to announce that the party will give Trion the opportunity to add some new permanent technology to Rift that will give subscribers priority for staying in the game when they go AFK. He explained that paid players already jump the queue more quickly than trial members, and this new feature is an extension of that concept.
“When it comes down to population contestedness on paying servers, we're adding new ways to err on the side of the subscriber,” Hartsman said.
The State of the Game
Hartsman said that the population of the game is “still growing for sure.” He said this was due to both the development and publishing teams being unafraid to try new things. “We still think of ourselves as a startup,” he said. “We get to do crazy things, like different sales and incentives.”
He said Trion tends to think of itself as an aggressive company and is constantly trying to think of ways to get more people into Rift. “We try not to be limited by how MMO companies did things 5-10 years ago,” he said.
As for the State of the Game address Hartsman made last month, he said all of those initiatives are still going strong. He said the post-50 planar attunement advancement is “shaping up very nicely,” as are the Instant Adventures. Trion currently has three or four Chronicles of Telara instances in development right now, and some of them are “pretty close to being ready to ship.”