Trion Worlds

Good evening Archeage!

This will both be posted to Archeage forums and reddit/ to ensure visibility and community contributions. Moderation of this topic to eliminate discussion will only look like a poor attempt to silence dissent. I however ensure you that dissent is not intended and I only have the best intentions.

First I feel a little introduction is warranted given the gravity of the topic

I've been a longtime mmo and sandbox gamer with 9 years invested in world of warcraft, 7 years invested in eve online, i've max leveled characters in aion and age of conan as well in the past and I've had the pleasure of meeting many friends along the way including the founder of wowhead who i've been a justin.tv/twitch channel moderator for exceeding 5 years.

Dozens of gaming enthusiasts have become close friends as a result of the great communities gaming brings together and having been a longstanding member of the twitch.tv community since before twitch.tv existed. I've also previously been nominated to apply for the Twitch.tv admin program by a senior twitch admin and wonderful chap i'll leave nameless.

RIP Justin.tv

I play online games to enjoy my free time with avenues to communicate with people that physical disabilities disallow me from participating in. I'm not a quad or paraplegic and wasn't in a car accident and while those events in a person's life are often very disruptive I was born with an undetected degenerative spinal affliction known as Spondylolisthesis.

My health issues limit my mobility and 15 years ago forced me to refocus any career prospects towards seated desk occupations with limited physical activities. I've been working in IT systems engineering now for many years with a long pedigree of supported clients including the Canadian Federal Government and also have many years contributed to the Gentoo Linux Project (one of the major linux distributions in the past 10 years) around 5 to 10 years ago.

I also have family with a long career history in law enforcement both in attorneys and Canadian Federal Police. As such law awareness has always been instilled as a passive interest. I am not however a lawyer however the amount of free time and my profession also dictated I become adjusted to RTFM (read the fucking manual) and that often doesn't stop with IT systems.

• Why would i share this personal information and how is this relevant to the topic?

Know what the hell your talking about and do your research before opening that can of worms. I've been doing IT systems for 20+ years and while i'm not a Bill Gates or Linus Torvalds at it i've got the resume and experience to back up what i'm referencing as fact.

I've recently been invited by some friends to try archeage just like many of you also may have. I've been aware of archeage from twitch.tv when the closed beta was being streamed everywhere and didn't see myself wanting to get involved in founder access for $150.00 however so far i've enjoyed what little time invested in the game having leveled a sorcerer to level 6 on one of the live EU servers.

I play with my “corp mates” from eve online and eve online only has one server for everyone so EU archeage was the choice destination chosen by the group considering the global nature that is my eve online comrades.

This enjoyment was met with high level of concern when I discovered that archeage silently enforced the installation and use of "anti-cheat" software known as Hack Shield.

Given my devotion to the gaming community, open source software ventures, my chosen profession as well and the large amount of free time I have as a result of my physical disabilities I felt both an investigation into hack shield was in order as well as raising awareness with the Archeage community about my likely shared concerns.

I really do think that archeage is an outstanding creative work that Trion's development staff that has gone to great lengths to create, popularize and ensure would be successful. I also look forward to investing further time in the game in the future.

I also think that Archeage could stand on it's own merits without resorting to potentially violating several computer securities laws centered around the distribution and installation of unwanted rootkits and malware.

In both Canada and the USA this has proven to be illegal in the past. Sony XCE Rootkit lawsuits in 2005 are one primary example.

The way that hack shield functions and that hack shield installs hidden system level drivers that ARE NOT removed from your windows pc when uninstalling archeage or glyph launcher is my main concern.

I've also tested that Hack Shield DOES NOT fully uninstall when you remove either Archeage or the Glyph launcher.

I am primarily concerned because as a result of the method that Hack Shield functions, the distribution of Hack Shield with Archeage is most likely illegal in North America. computer securities laws are likely being violated.

In 2009 NCSoft was faced with a similar dilemma when they were considering distributing GameGuard when they released Aion and after much public protest as well as community submissions to NCSoft regarding north american awareness of computer securities laws NCSoft chose to not ship Aion with Gameguard.

I was also involved in that successful crusade to have gameguard removed from Aion in 2009 and would reference my submissions however the AionSource forums were closed within the last year or so.

Aion succeeded based on it's own merits without anti-cheat software as I believe Archeage could.

Additionally within the first five minutes I played Archeage it was immediately obvious that Hack Guard is a completely ineffective ruse that has done nothing to benefit Archeage.

On to the Concerns everyone including Trion should especially be concerned with.

1. When you install Archeage Hack Shield is silently installed alongside the game without notifying the end user of the software that they are also installing a rootkit. I have uninstalled and reinstalled both Glyph launcher and Archeage twice to verify this.

2. HackShield does not provide an uninstall entry in Uninstall and Change a program menu within windows to remove the software.

3. HackShield installs a system level driver creatively named EagleX64.sys in windows that is also NOT removed when you remove either Archeage or the Glyph launcher.

Google Searches for EagleX64.sys reveal that this driver is indeed installed with Hack Shield.

This is the only hidden file I could find that hack shield installed and that in itself given my level of IT experience is extremely alarming. If this got installed on a federal government computer people could potentially loose their jobs as a result. All we wanted was to enjoy a innocent online game right?

4) all of the text log files hack guard creates in the Archeage game files directory are encrypted so they cannot be reviewed. HackShield code and services are not open source and no verification of safe functionality can be easily reviewed. The additional encrypted HackShield log files are additionally unsettling.

5) HackShield installs unauthorized services for the primary purpose of monitoring your computer habits

6 ) HackShield cannot be easily removed by uninstalling the game.

7) HackShield does not allow any modifications for removal utilizing add or remove programs control panel menu due to add/ remove programs entries not being created

8) AhnLab Inc is the developer and distributor of Hack Shield. This companies corporate headquarters is located in Korea and likely has no obligation to obey North American computer securities laws.

Anhlab's Wikipedia page looks very “authentic” however the way that Hack Shield is being installed by archeage by not prominently warning game users they have also installed a rootkit is less than authentic. This is most likely as a result leaving Trion with full liability for violating computer securities laws should someone sue them.

9) In my preliminary searches for removal tools for HackShield neither Trion or ahnlab provide prominently displayed and easily accessible removal utilities for HackShield . I have emailed Ahnlab requesting a removal cleaning tool for HackShield and while I don't expect a reply from them I'll be pleasantly surprised of they do provide anything.

I have read the Archeage EULA and it does not advise that you will be accepting terms to install rootkit malware. Even if the Eula did state this it would not indemnify Trion from being sued in court for distributing a rootkit with they're software.

It didn't work for Sony and it wouldn't work for Trion.

This is a huge concern and Trion should likely seen legal council from both Canada and the United States as well as reconsider distributing Hack Shield. Playing a videogame for an hour and discovering a unremovable rootkit on your pc that only an IT professional could remove with a lot of effort is VERY unsettling.

I only have the best interests of the community and Trion in mind and really just want to enjoy the game without having to do a deep analysis of my computer to find out what this rootkit is doing without my knowledge or consent.

Trion you have a great opportunity here and it given the concerns with legality of malware distribution your taking some pretty big chances at the poker table.

Please reconsider HackShield as a solution as it has proven to be both ineffective with meeting it's expectations as well as potentially being completely illegal to forceably distribute in North America.

Best Regards,

Xartin

Hi, reddit! I’m the exec producer on Rift, and we’re in the middle of making our first expansion, Storm Legion! In the past, I’ve worked on EverQuest, EQ2, and a bunch of other online games.

I'm here for the next few hours to answer whatever I can and whatever you're curious about - RIFT, Trion, current or past games, MMO industry, life on the inside of the games business, anything you can think of!

edit for proof:

edit: 3:45pm Gotta run for now. Thanks for all the questions, everyone! I'll stop back after work to pick up some more. Thanks again!

edit: 6:30pm Back to snag a few more... Truly sorry for the ones that are unreplied so far - I'm going top to bottom as (I think?) the sort order is hopefully giving me the smartest way to go about it in terms of upvotes...

edit: 7:30pm Oops, sorry - RL called. Need to deal, will pick up anything big that got missed as I can. Thanks yet again. :)

Watch it here:

Hello! I'm currently in the midst of for my website, PCGamesN.

We're currently sorting out an interview with Scott Hartsman CEO of Trion World's in regards to ArcheAge.

If any of you lot have any questions that want asking, I'll do my best to get the most burning ones in. Naturally, silly questions will be ignored, so make sure it's civil and concise.

Once the interview is complete, I'll follow this up with the finished article.

EDIT: I should've probably prefaced this that I will be already asking questions regarding queues and servers, so ask something else!

EDIT 2: Some great questions guys, thanks a lot. I'll post the finished interview when it's done. Should be held sometime during the week.

I hear a lot of people say Gamigo is very greedy but I haven’t really noticed a difference in Trove having come back for na couple years of break. I just see they’ve reworked a couple of classes that really needed one and it seems they will continue to rework the classes. This seems good to me.

[EDIT] If you're not eligible but should be, try sending a support ticket and provide as much info/proof as possible. People are reporting CS manually set them eligible.

Trion Worlds recently aquired Gazillion assets and is now offering generous gifts to ex Gazillion players. You can choose from Trion Worlds various MMO games, such as RIFT, ArcheAge, Trove, Defiance and Atlas Reactor. I personally prefer RIFT and the two packs you'll get if you choose it have a 70$ value on steam and will give you a nice headstart into the game! Check if you got mail from Trion or check this official news article for more info:

Have fun guys and (maybe) see you in Telara! <3

Hello all, first post here. I was very fond of Marvel Heroes with Colossus as my main. I was very sad to see it go but read some interesting news today. Trion Worlds, the publishers of Rift and Archeage, has acquired all of Gazillion's assets and licenses. There are several articles referring to it and I believe the CEO mentioned Marvel Heroes in one. Here is a link to one of the articles. I am sure that over the next few months we will hear more, hopefully something to do with Marvel Heroes but as of right now it looks like they are mainly looking at the technology rather than properties... Time will tell.

This article has their CEOmention Marvel Heroes specifically.

As for Marvel Heroes, Hartsman said, “As this deal just concluded, there’s still more investigation that needs to occur. What we do know is that the company’s live servers were gone prior to our discussions with them. We believe that the license agreement behind that game expired prior to our involvement as well. We’re open to having conversations with any former partners of theirs to discuss ways to bring great games to life. At this time, we are focused on using the acquired technology to enhance our ability to support our current and future development partners.”

Hi reddit!

My name’s Elizabeth and I’m the Director of Community at Trion Worlds (currently working on RIFT Storm Legion, End of Nations, Defiance, and Warface.) Before that, I spent six years at 2K Games, founding their community team and revamping customer service. I’ve gotten to do some crazy stuff during my tenure in gaming (hats off to Pete for letting me get away with so much of it) including BioShock 2’s and most recently, a . I also know that . You might also know me better by way of my dog, Pancake. .

Since we’re starting Closed Beta for End of Nations today, I figured it would be a good time to do an AMA. So, for the day, I'm yours... Here goes. AMA.

Oh yeah, proof! is my twitter.

Edit 1:

Edit 2: If you guys want to play End of Nations beta this weekend, this is a 100-use code to get in. Go and input this to make your account. Here's the code: WPQ7-2MTZ-DGNZ-69Q2-CDQP

Edit 3: I have to deliver some numbers - I will be back soon!

Edit 4: I am live streaming now at [ so I'll be slower.

Edit 5: Headed home! I will check back on this later - so if you have a straggler question, feel free to shoot it my way. And thanks. This was fun.

This is getting out of hand, people. Any large company would immediately tell us to remove payment information, change passwords, and offer refunds for charges made if their database was hacked. It's good business, and despite what you may think Trion isn't that naive, not to notify their customers.

Stop bandwagoning and protect your accounts: get two-step Authentication (information in FAQ), use unique passwords for everything, and take responsibility for your account security generally sucking.

Thanks, to all of the level-headed people out there right now!

EDIT: For those of you guys who have already had your credentials compromised:

EDIT 2: Since many of you don't seem to get what I'm saying, I'll reiterate what I've posted below here - I'm not saying that there wasn't a breech of information. What I am saying is that the information, if it was indeed taken, was not your payment information. If that were the case, people with two-factor authentication would be affected as well, and we'd be seeing large purchases made outside of Trion, Founder's Packs, and Credits. If anything was indeed taken from Trion's databases, it was email and password information, which would explain why those with two-factor have not been affected.

Official livestream link:

Link to VOD:

Technical:

• Reason for server downtime is because of a database latency issue

• Optimizations done this morning

• Totaled 400% of the original capacity that is able to play the game and is at the moment playing the game

Trion Hug of Deaths is what they call the downtimes. A big thank you from the devs for all the support!

-- Free stuff on his way! (Because of server down times?)

• 3 Days of free patron FOR EVERYONE! See patron features or load up the ingame store under the 'patron' tab!

Current existing patron members will have the days counted up on their current days of patron!

• If you have spend any money on the game you will get another 3 days of patron ontop! Total of 6 days!

• 1 free class coin for EVERYONE!

• 3 Shadow keys (Get your dungeons ready!)

-- New mount!

• The Neon Dragon which you will be able to fly and shoot fireballs with!

(Also includes VFX)

-- Dragon Souls (updates)

• New rewards

• Uncommon is gonna drop a full soul out of the caches

• 2.5 times more common (100 souls needed to max out)

• Additional progress levels which includes:

  Dragonling, helm at lvl 5, neon fledling, arsenal of different weapons,

and

Bonus stacks (passives will stack): Extra jumps, 50 magic find, 5% energy regen!

• Coins will be used to buy older dragon souls (extra costs)

and

You will be able to work back to previous dragon souls

• Coins and dragon souls still drop at the same rate. No crafting anymore, will drop as full souls. (2.5 times as many souls as you used too. Essences no longer drop their value will be lost)

-- Class changer is gone --> new button 'J' (change class whenever you want) (Wardrobe will be lost, might be transformed in some sort of portal)

-- New skins! Makers will be getting 300 free codes of their designs and 25 codes for skin pack that you will be able to buy in the story very soon! Price of the skin bundle will be 20 bucks.

• for Fae Trickster (Made by: Zoe?)

• & for Candy Barbarian (Made by: Leon1234)

• for the Shadow Hunter (Made by: )

• for the Neon Ninja (Made by: DustyMustard)

• for the Neon Ninja (Made by TribalFlame)

• for the Dracolyte (Made by: Andres937?)

• for the Ice Sage (Made by: )

• for the Pirate Class (Made by: Stinger)

-- New adventure chest lootas! Changes every 3 weeks and the new rotation will start this tuesday 28th of July!

• Mount:

• Mount: (has a very weird but funny tail!)

-- Spoilers!

• New class (new weapon type, moon/lunar based) More will be revealed next week!

• NEW Dungeon: (Will be coming out in the next big Trove update and will be getting alot of community input!)

• The next next big update will be an underground update!

• Something something with ringforging!

-- Golden Chaoschests

• New deals (Rolls only on the rare table of chaos chests)

-- EXTRA INVENTORY SPACE! (New UI)

-- Lore bible on the way! #onlyifleaguehadlore

-- Auction house incoming! (Economy is important for the players)

-- Alright guys that was it for this weeks livestream. I might start doing this 'every' weeks livestream if you guys like these kind of things? If you have any ideas for me just let me know.

-- ^{Somethings might not be that clear but all of these words are all coming from the} ^livestream!

-- Take care!

We got wind of this change from the Arche Age forums, but got no official statement passed down to us for Atlas Reactor.

Here is the statement we found:

Good morning, all.

There is a lot of concern this morning about our acquisition, but I want to make sure you know that the games will go on!

I would like to share the official statement from Trion:

"Greetings -- We can confirm that there has been a transaction involving Trion Worlds and its games.

While many of the names and faces you’ve come to know in our studios will remain on through this transition, others will not be making the journey. To those who are leaving us, we are forever grateful for your incredible work and contributions over the years.

We’d like to assure our communities that the games will continue on in capable hands moving forward, as everyone involved is aiming to make this transition as smooth as possible for you. We will have more information to reveal as soon as we possibly can.

From the bottom of all of our hearts, we thank you for your time and dedication to our games and hope that you've enjoyed the experience as much as we have. From spending time with you in game, to seeing you at conventions, to talking with you on livestreams and forums, it's been our pleasure to be a part of this exceptional community with you since our first launch more than seven years ago. Please know that you have our deepest gratitude. As for our games, we hope you continue to enjoy playing them far into the future!

The Trion Worlds Team"

I'll be here until end of day and will either answer or forward your questions to the team.

It has been a rare honor to share this world with you all!

Brasse

Source:

Update #1 (October 22th)

According to Gamasutra's inside source, there's been a lot of layoffs:

A source speaking to Gamasutra, however, has indicated that those layoffs may have affected the vast majority of the studio. According to that source, only 25 or so employees were given the opportunity to continue on with the studio. According to that information, the remaining developers at both the company’s Redwood City, California and Austin, Texas offices have affected by the layoffs. Prior to this, Trion World employed over 200 people.

Source:

Update #2 (October 22th)

No mention of Atlas Reactor in the acquisition disclosure:

Valletta, October 22, 2018: blockescence plc (WKN: MT0000580101; Symbol: BCK, "blockescence") has together with it's portfolio company gamigo AG acquired the major assets of Trion Worlds Inc. Trion Worlds is a leading US gaming company with offices in Redwood City (California) and Austin (Texas) and has as publisher and developer, well known online and console MMO-games, such as Rift, Defiance, Trove and ArcheAge in it's portfolio. The assets of the company have been acquired via an "Assignment for the Benefit of the Creditors" process, in which the buyer only buys those assets, with which he wishes to continue the business.

[...]

Source:

Source #2:

Update #3 (October 22th)

According to Brasse, all game will be carried on:

To be honest, I do not know who is staying and who is going. I am definitely out, and today is my last day. I'ma spend it on the forums and packing my stuff.

All Trion games will carry on.

[...]

Source:

Update #4 (October 24th)

from a Rift veteran was created so we get more information from Gamigo/Trion and what is the roadmap. I encourage you to sign it too even if it's not directly related to AR.

Update #5 (October 24th)

2 messages from Shyguy on the discord server mentioning they can't say anything at the moment but we will hear news soon.

Update #6 (October 26th)

Fasti from Trion replied back on the AR forums:

We're hoping to have more info to share on things as we move forward soon. My personal hope is for more details early next week, but there are a lot of things to manage, so we want to be sure to get accurate info out and not rush to share info that might change. Please bear with us while we get plans fleshed out.

Source:

Update #7 (November 9th)

Gamigo/Trion is breaking the silence on every game forum:

What will the future look like for the games?

[...] Generally speaking, we can tell you that the patch schedule is likely to shift somewhat, but we will make sure that all of you can enjoy new content on a regular basis. Also, the developers will continue providing you with updates through Producer letters, so all of you will have a little look behind the scenes as well.

More details the AR official forums:

Update #8 (November 12th)

Bonny answer our question on the forums:

I'll try to answer your questions as best as I can. The current status is following:

• the plan is to keep the development of the games remain in the US team

• there is no discussion to implement Gamertoken in Trion Games

• our marketing team is currently looking at the games and what we can do to promote them and bring new players into the games. What I can already tell you is that the coming French and German support will help getting players from Europe.

More details the AR official forums:

Update #9 (November 12th)

CM Mipha introduced herself on the forums: