Pick-up groups, or PUGs, are the bane of many an MMO player’s existence. Rather than grouping with your guild or folks you know, you group up with random strangers who often turn out to be complete and utter tools and probably think the same thing about you. PUGs are generally avoided whenever possible, but World of Warcraft’s new dungeon and raid system, due out in an upcoming patch, actually rewards players for grouping with random strangers. In fact, the more random additions to your group, the faster you gain rewards, including a Perky Pug non-combat pet.

In order to make PUGs even more attractive, the new system features smarter group matching, which means you should never end up with five shadow priests, which would completely break any instance you entered, along with cross-server instancing, which can pull players from any server in your Battlegroup to go dungeon hopping with you.

Another cool new feature that will seriously cut down on waiting for your PUG members to show up is Instance Teleporting. Much like the PVP battlegrounds in the game, when you join a dungeon using the new system, you will be automatically teleported to the dungeon entrance, where you can then sit AFK for 20 minutes while you get a sandwich.

The new tool will also allow players to select multiple dungeons to take on, or they can take their chances with a random dungeon, with NPC’s giving out quests and rewards to those that complete daily random dungeons, which will be taking the place of the current daily heroic dungeon system.

All of this, plus vote kicking, a looking-for-raid tool, group disenchanting and a need-before-greed update are coming our way in the upcoming WoW content patch. It should go great lengths towards making an already easy game that much easier. Huzzah!

New Dungeon System [World of Warcraft - thanks Joshua!]

Since Microsoft expressly said we’re not forbidden from discussing this, why not? U.S. Xbox Live users in the closed preview will see a “News and More” tab in the “Inside Xbox” channel, and it will deliver “a regularly-updated stream of content from MSNBC.com, MSN Autos, The New Yorker and Dilbert.

For rhythm and music gamers, the update will also set up dedicated music stores for Lips, Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

But wait, there’s more! “Surprise! – Keep an eye out in the weeks after the preview launches…you never know what might pop up,” says the email.

It’s the triumphant return of the Xbox Live Preview Program, and everybody is invited! Invited to apply that is, but Major Nelson says they are searching for multiple thousands of participants to test out the latest Xbox Live features, and you’re just a brief application away from being considered. You can visit the Xbox Live Update Preview page right now to apply, but make sure you’ve got your Xbox 360 serial number handy, because they’re gonna ask for it. I told you to keep it on a card in your wallet, but did you listen?

Xbox LIVE Preview Program: Zune, Facebook and Twitter [Major Nelson]

Thursday, June 23rd is when the WipEout HD Fury pack races onto the PlayStation Network, trailing along tons of new game play in its wake. Eliminator, Zone Battle, and Detonator game modes bring new ways to do battle in the PSN version of the futuristic racing series, while an all-new campaign, new trophies, and new online ranks will keep players driving, and striving, and hugging the turns.

Two days before the pack hits there will be a free update to the game, which will add a new statistics system while tweaking the menu system and adding some enhanced community features.

Basically, the face of WipEout HD changes next week, either a little for free, or a whole lot for $US9.99. Your choice!

WipEout Fury Developer Diary – New Game Modes (+date & price) [PlayStation Blog]

Aside from a new 5th Column Task Force / Strike Force series of missions, the bulk of the Issue 15 update for NCsoft’s superhero MMO is dedicated to making characters look their best and making it easier to use the mission architect player-created content tool introduced in Issue 14: Architect.

On the cosmetic side of things, players now have more than 20 new faces to choose from in character creation along with two new costume sets – vines and ulterior – making an already ridiculously versatile system even more so. They’ve also added new costume change emotes, allowing players to back flip, salute, or maniacally laugh their way out of their clothes.

NCsoft also updates their mission architect system, adding new testing tools to help iron out the kinks and enhanced search capability to help players separate the wheat from the chaff.

Considering the major changes that came about with the last update, Issue 15 seems rather tame, but with the massive Going Rogue update next in line for release, we can forgive the odd lighter than normal offering.

Now that they’ve gotten the full sequel out the door, Capcom and developer Grin have been hard at work tweaking and fixing the Bionic Commando remake, slipping in support for PlayStation 3 trophies in the process. The update, which is due sometime soon, tweaks the easy and normal modes for both the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network versions of the game, while leaving hard and super hard alone for those of you with madder skills.

How much easier is it? Can you say unlimited lives? Capcom can. Now when you die you will respawn at the last piece of solid ground you stood on. You can also reel out your line if it’s too short, and swinging into a wall while hooked will no longer send you falling to your death. They’ve also fixed a bug with the Super Joe Machine Gun, giving it more damage when upgraded along with the bigger clip.

Needless to say, if you can’t finish the game once the upgrade hits, there is most likely something seriously wrong with you.

Trophies coming to Bionic Commando Rearmed plus 100% less broken controllers. [Capcom Unity]

Issue 15 is all about returning enemies and looking good enough to take them on. Both heroes and villains score a high-level mission arch featuring powerful foes returning from the past, with cosmetic additions that will ensure that players tackle their trouble with a fresh face. More than 20 new faces are being added to the character creator in fact, along with some new costumes and costume change emotes, granting characters the ability to change their outfit stylishly without having to get naked.

So new clothes, old foes, and several enhancements to the Architect system introduced in Issue 14, all for the low low price of completely free. When? No clue, but at least they’ve announced the Anniversary update in time for the anniversary.

Issue 15 Overview [City of Heroes - Thanks Kyle!]

As the Issue 14: Architect update for City of Heroes draws closer to release, NCsoft drops new information and screenshots explaining how players will go about adding their own original content to the game.

The Mission Architect for City of Heroes and City of Villains actually appears in game within buildings belonging to Architect Entertainment, a company that has developed a virtual training program for super-powered beings. Players will log in to a computer terminal in said buildings to gain access to the mission editor, where they can create anything from a quick mission that lasts a few minutes to a massive, five-chapter epic. Players write the dialogue, create the enemies, and map out the goals other players need to achieve to complete their mission. Once they’ve got it perfect, they can upload it to NCsoft’s Arc Server, which delivers their content to all of the game servers. Once it’s live, anyone can access the terminals in Architect Entertainment and run through the mission.

NCsoft actually sent along a helpful FAQ with all of these details and more, which we’ve posted below for your perusal, along with screenshots of Architect Entertainment and the editor in action. What happens next is up completely up to the players, but it could be the start of something pretty damn amazing.

For those of you interested in checking out what the players create once Issue 14: Architect goes live, look for the City of Heroes: Architect Edition, the game’s first dual PC and Mac release, on store shelves this April.

City of Heroes Issue 14: Architect

Frequently Asked Questions

1.What is Mission Architect?
a.Mission Architect is a new game system we have developed for the City of Heroes massively multiplayer game. It allows our players to create their own stories and share those stories with other players on our live servers. Creators can pick from hundreds of maps and thousands of characters. They can use existing characters or create their own custom enemies. They can get even more detailed and create full enemy groups, giving each enemy unique costumes and powers. We allow players to write all of the dialog for their story as well as decide on level of difficulty and enemy placement. We even give them the ability to trigger one mission goal off of another, creating a chain of events within a single mission. Each story can have up to five chapters or missions and each mission can hold up to a maximum of 25 achievable goals. For people who just want to play the user created content, we give them access to the mission browser that shows all the generated content. You can sort these stories by name, highest rated, length and recently added. You can also filter content to show only those with specific ratings, arcs you have or haven’t played as well as the alignment of the story. As people play content, they’ll be able to rate that content from one to five stars. Creators will actually get in game benefits for making content that gets highly rated. We even offer a Dev Choice and Hall of Fame standing for the best of the best.

2.How does it work?
a.Players create content in game through a computer terminal within one of the Architect Entertainment buildings. Architect Entertainment is the name of an in-game company that’s developed this type of ’simulated experience’ for heroes and villains of Paragon City and the Rogue Isles. You can think of this like a holo-deck or a simulated mission tool. Players go to these facilities that are spread through out most of our zones and interact with a computer that walks through the creation process. Here is where they pick all of their options for a mission as well as write all the dialog and build their custom characters. Once they’ve gotten their story together, they can test it out and see how it plays. Once they’ve gotten it perfect, they can publish the story up to our Arc Server. This server is cross shard and cross game. So, any content published will be seen by everyone on every server, regardless of where they play.

3.What rewards are we giving to the players and creators?
a.We’re granting full experience (XP) and influence rewards for defeating enemies in player made content. We’re also giving players tickets in place of random drops. They can take these tickets to an Architect ticket vendor and redeem them for various in game rewards, such as enhancements, recipes and salvage. We’re also allowing players to purchase unlockable content with their tickets. They’ll be able to get maps, costume pieces and different characters.

4.What special features does Mission Architect have?
a.At the high level we allow you to create your own stories and share them with others in the game.
b.You can build your own custom characters as well as full enemy groups, giving each one a unique costume, powers, name and background.
c.We allow players to link mission goals together, creating a chain of events in a single mission.
d.We offer rewards for the players who develop well received content (Hall of Fame and Dev Choice).
e.Every published story is visible to each and every one of our players.
5.Can you talk more about Dev Choice vs. Hall of Fame?
a.The Hall of Fame is where the best player rated content goes. To get to this rank you need to have over a 1000 votes with an average of 5 stars (we round up). Getting into the Hall of Fame changes your standing in the mission browser, moving it further up the cue.
b.Becoming a Dev Choice story happens when one of us (the developers) sees content that we feel best represents what Architect can be, good story and fun gameplay. Getting into Dev Choice actually elevates you beyond Hall of Fame and gives your mission the same sort of rewards and drops you would get outside of Architect. The only difference being that you get a ticket bonus at the end of a mission as opposed to an experience bonus.
c.We also have a third tier of stories which we will talk about at a later date.

6.How are you dealing with inappropriate content?
a.We’ve worked very closely with our customer service department to develop systems for this. In the end, we implemented a number of different systems. We have language filters that check for bad words and won’t let you publish them until you remove them. We’re also allowing players to flag content for inappropriateness. We also track all users and flags for any potential vote griefing.

7.What’s appealing to the players of user generated content?
a.We’re creating a system where the best content rises to the top of the list and everything else is filtered to the bottom. Players can sort by rank as well as what they have and haven’t played. When playing in someone else’s content you’ll continue to earn full XP and influence. We’ve replaced the random drop system with a ticketing system. Players collect tickets as they go through content. Once they’ve collected enough tickets they can go to a ticket vendor and purchase exactly what they want as far as rewards go.

8.How long does it take to make a decent five mission storyarc?
a.You can create a single mission rather quickly, in less then ten or fifteen minutes. However, to truly craft something unique and excellent, you’ll have to spend a decent amount of time in the tool. It could take someone a couple of days of to write, build and test something really good.

A post on the sporadically updated official Team Fortress 2 blog reveals that the gameplay update for the Scout class is only a few short patches away from hitting the servers.

Valve’s Robin Walker explains that the coding team has already moved on to the next class update, with only the final art needed to make the upcoming Scout update complete. Here’s how things should play out.

We’ve got an update that should be out tomorrow with a bunch of bug & exploit fixes. Later this week we hope to have another update out that changes the way we store your unlockable items. You shouldn’t notice much difference, other than if you play on multiple computers we’ll now propagate your item choices. You can think of that update as the one that moves your inventory into the Steam Cloud. Once that’s out of the way, we’ll be able to ship the Scout pack.

I am filled with glee! The Scout is definitely my best class, and by that I mean the class I die the less as. I can’t really measure my success on kills. I’m that bad.

That’s what I’m talking about! [Team Fortress 2 Blog - Thanks Cody!]

Coinciding with the early February release of the Burnout Party Pack, Criterion is readying a free content update that changes the way you race – and restart races – in Burnout Paradise.

In a free update that hits on February 6th, Criterion adds several new features to the ever-evolving Burnout Paradise. Some are merely tweaks, such as turning the performance on the starting cars, changing the way barrel roll ramps work, and a general rebalancing of events. Others are a bit more visual, such as the recolouring of billboards, smashes, and super jumps to make them easier to spot, or the introduction of a new in-game Burnout Store, that allows players to purchase DLC without leaving the game.

The most exciting change, however, is the ability to restart a race. It’s the simplest feature for a racing game, yet it never quite made it in – until now, of course. It’ll be like you’ve started all over again.

Check out the Criterion post for a complete rundown of the changes coming on February 5th.

Everything you need to know about our FREE 6th Feb update [Criterion]