Smite | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Tue, 12 Feb 2019 10:09:21 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png Smite | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Hi-Rez wants Sony to step up its cross-platform play efforts to include more games https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/damien-cox/hi-rez-wants-sony-to-step-up-its-cross-platform-play-efforts-to-include-more-games/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/damien-cox/hi-rez-wants-sony-to-step-up-its-cross-platform-play-efforts-to-include-more-games/#respond Tue, 12 Feb 2019 10:09:21 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=403880 After significant pressure from the gaming community, Sony finally embraced cross-platform play by allowing Fortnite: Battle Royale and Rocket League to adopt the feature. Not everyone is happy with the lack of progress on this front, with Hi-Rez CEO Stew Chisam believing that the company has been playing favourites. A few months before Sony jumped …

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After significant pressure from the gaming community, Sony finally embraced cross-platform play by allowing Fortnite: Battle Royale and Rocket League to adopt the feature. Not everyone is happy with the lack of progress on this front, with Hi-Rez CEO Stew Chisam believing that the company has been playing favourites.

A few months before Sony jumped on the bandwagon, Microsoft and Nintendo teamed up to allow Xbox One and Switch players to enjoy complete cross-platform play across both consoles. Given that there are many more games that have already embraced the feature on both devices, Chisam asks Sony to “stop playing favourites” by choosing the biggest games out there when all games could benefit from cross-platform play.

Chisam notes that Hi-Rez games such as Paladins saw a 30% decrease in matchmaking wait times, and the quality of these matches were significantly improved thanks to the level spread also being 40% down. Overall, by the company’s own definition, Hi-Rez saw an 80% reduction in “bad” matches.

Just like their predecessors, Smite, Paladins and battle royale game Realm Royale are all “ready to go” for the feature to be enabled on PlayStation 4. Hi-Rez is simply waiting for the thumbs up from Sony. It’s unlikely that Hi-Rez is the only company suffering from the stagnation as Sony continues to test its cross-platform beta with Rocket League.

KitGuru Says: I’d be interested to hear what Sony has to say in response, even though it’s unlikely we will hear from the company without more developers coming forward. Still, at least the company is finally doing something with cross-platform play, even if it is one game at a time. Are there any games you would like to see get the feature?

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Hi-Rez caps SMITE World Championships prize pool at $1 million https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/hi-rez-caps-smite-world-championships-prize-pool-at-1-million/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/hi-rez-caps-smite-world-championships-prize-pool-at-1-million/#comments Tue, 07 Jul 2015 07:46:57 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=257718 In a world where DotA 2's International tournament can crest $15 million thanks to crowd funding, many people have been wondering whether it will raise the bar for other tournament holders around the world and in other games. Hi-Rez, the makers of SMITE, believe it should be handled a bit differently, so it's capped its …

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In a world where DotA 2's International tournament can crest $15 million thanks to crowd funding, many people have been wondering whether it will raise the bar for other tournament holders around the world and in other games. Hi-Rez, the makers of SMITE, believe it should be handled a bit differently, so it's capped its yearly Championship tournament, to just $1 million.

It's reasoning for this, is because it wants to see its funds stretched across many other tournament and go much deeper into the placements with viable monetary rewards, making it possible for lots of teams to afford to compete. In comparison, Valve's tournament will make millionaires over night of the winning team, whilst those in lesser places walk away with comparatively much less.

“In order to grow our sport over the long haul, we think it is important that we allow as many people as possible to make a living pursuing SMITE eSports,” Hi-Rez’ executive manager Stewart Chisam said in the official subreddit (via PCG). “This means having as many players as we can be able to make a decent and predictable wage by playing SMITE.”

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In comparison, last year with $2.6 million raised from crowd funding and other initiatives for the World Championship, Cognitive Prime (now Cloud 9) took home the gold and a $1.3 million prize between them. This was followed up by the majority of the rest of the money going to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th placements. This year things will be different, with many more teams receiving a fair chunk of the money for their efforts.

With smaller prizes to the winning teams and a restriction on the tournament's prize pool, players will have more chances to earn more money throughout the year, spreading the wealth around. While some may argue this gives less of an incentive for the best players in the world to compete in SMITE instead of some other game, it should make it possible for more people to put 100 per cent of their time into it, knowing that they have a good chance of being financially stable.

That should raise the average level of the game throughout the tournament ranks.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: This lower payouts at big tournament system is something that League of Legends maker Riot Games is doing too. In comparison, Valve's DotA 2 International has an enormous prize pool for its main contest. Which do you think works best?

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SMITE accounts compromised, Hi-Rez staying quiet https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/smite-accounts-compromised-hi-rez-staying-quiet/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/smite-accounts-compromised-hi-rez-staying-quiet/#comments Wed, 27 May 2015 08:09:35 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=251321 If you have a SMITE account, changing your password as a precaution may not be a bad plan, as we've had a few reports from readers that their accounts have been hijacked, and they're far from the only ones. According to a number of gamers, their emails and user logins no longer work and they …

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If you have a SMITE account, changing your password as a precaution may not be a bad plan, as we've had a few reports from readers that their accounts have been hijacked, and they're far from the only ones. According to a number of gamers, their emails and user logins no longer work and they didn't even get an email update about any changing information.

While the issue is only coming to light now, it's actually been ongoing for some time. A quick look over the official forums will find days old threads complaining that players had lost accounts and couldn't seem to login anywhere. Despite this fact, the developer Hi-Rez seems to be keeping tight lipped about the problem, with only a few players reporting to have received any sort of response.

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Keep your fingers crossed when you reach this screen

The fact that the last weekend was around a holiday probably didn't help, but since the issue has been ongoing since at least last week, a little more diligence should be expected.

The concern from those that can no longer access their accounts, is that Hi-Rez's own servers have been compromised, since they received no warning from the system that their passwords, emails or users had been changed or deleted. If someone merely forced their way into individual accounts and changed details using legitimate channels, an email should have gone out. However in every case, players simply went to login one day and found that they couldn't.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: In the mean time, if you have a SMITE account that you can log in to, changing the password probably wouldn't be a bad idea. Being vigilant and getting in touch with Hi-Rez the moment you notice anything suspicious would probably be a good call too, even if the chance of it replying in a timely manner isn't that great.

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SMITE opens Xbox One beta sign-ups https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/smite-opens-xbox-one-beta-sign-ups/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/smite-opens-xbox-one-beta-sign-ups/#comments Wed, 07 Jan 2015 08:45:40 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=229304 Despite console gaming being given much more attention by the likes of Microsoft, its Xbox Platform, like Sony's and Nintendo's, has missed out on the majority of one of the world's biggest gaming phenomenons in recent years: the MOBA. However that may be set to change with the introduction of beta sign-ups for Hi-Rez Studios' SMITE on …

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Despite console gaming being given much more attention by the likes of Microsoft, its Xbox Platform, like Sony's and Nintendo's, has missed out on the majority of one of the world's biggest gaming phenomenons in recent years: the MOBA. However that may be set to change with the introduction of beta sign-ups for Hi-Rez Studios' SMITE on the Xbox One.

With the beta set to take place sometime in the next couple of months, there's now a new site where console fans of the game can register their interest. All you need is an email address and the ability to tick a box that says you're over 13. Because everyone knows that anyone under that age can't lie.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDOxxRf4muE']

On top of this, Hi-Rez has released a new trailer for the game to celebrate the upcoming World Championships, which thanks to crowd funding has a prize pool that even beats out League of Legends' yearly $2 million collective by a few hundred thousand. Of course this is nothing compared to DOTA 2's last year $10 millione+ prize pool, but for a game that's not even been out a year, it's shown a lot of support.

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Set to take place between 9th and 11th January, the Smite World Championships will see eight teams face off against one another to see who is crowned the ultimate champion. Two from each of the game's main regions will be represented, including two from North America, two from South America, two from Europe and two from China.

First prize will take home over $1.2 million, while the team that comes in last (8th) place, will walk away with just over $30,000. However as more people buy real and digital passes to the event, those totals could continue to increase.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: I haven't played a MOBA in quite some time, but even then it was only the traditional 5th person types. What do you guys think of SMITE and its very different take on the genre?

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SMITE Championship prize pool crests $2 million https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/smite-championship-prize-pool-crests-2-million/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/smite-championship-prize-pool-crests-2-million/#respond Mon, 22 Dec 2014 09:10:23 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=227617 Over the past few years, one of the big defining factors of an Esports organisation, has been its ability to generate enough money to make the game seem legitimate and worth playing for the professionals and fans around the world. DotA 2 famously had the world's biggest prize pool with over $10 million eventually dolled …

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Over the past few years, one of the big defining factors of an Esports organisation, has been its ability to generate enough money to make the game seem legitimate and worth playing for the professionals and fans around the world. DotA 2 famously had the world's biggest prize pool with over $10 million eventually dolled out to players, and League of Legends, still the most popular Esports title, regularly gives out over $2 million during its championships. But apparently there's a new kid on the scene, as SMITE, the third person MOBA, has now raised over $2 million for its first big world championships.

SMITE, co-published by Riot Games owner Tencent, is pretty new to the MOBA scene, having only been released in March 2014. This, plus its unique take on the genre means it has a much smaller player base than the big Esport powerhouses out there. However much like Valve was able to drum up a lot of money using crowd funding, Smite's Hi-Rez studios has done the same.

This isn't the first time SMITE has achieved this sort of funding, though admittedly not on this scale. For its launch party the developers were able to raise upwards of $100,000, which for an uproven game was quite an achievement. Through special skin sales as well, it was able to raise a further $75,000 for a charity event. Now though, it's raised over $2 million.

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Odyssey content included extra items, new skins and more

SMITE's first World Championship is set to take place on the 9th January in Atlanta, Georgia.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Any SMITE players out there? What makes it worth playing over the more well established MOBAs?

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Smite goes all Compendium-like with World Championships https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/smite-goes-all-compendium-like-with-world-championships/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/smite-goes-all-compendium-like-with-world-championships/#respond Wed, 20 Aug 2014 07:42:57 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=208038 There's no denying that MOBAs like to draw a little inspiration from one another. Whether it's in the design of a hero, or the style of the map, most of them have something in common, if only because they all stem from the same original custom game mode. SMITE is one such game, despite its …

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There's no denying that MOBAs like to draw a little inspiration from one another. Whether it's in the design of a hero, or the style of the map, most of them have something in common, if only because they all stem from the same original custom game mode. SMITE is one such game, despite its somewhat different perspective, since it's recently announced that like Valve's amazingly popular Compendium, that helped push the prize pool for The International 2014 to over $10 million, the developers are going to be selling a similar product: The Odyssey.

Like the Compendium, buying The Odyssey will unlock in game items for players, with the more buys that come in unlocking more and more for those that have already purchased it, giving them an incentive to bring more people to the cause. These items will never be on sale again, so this is a unique opportunity for players.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXWxoRIyhJo']

A portion of each sale will also go towards the prize pool of the championships, giving players much more to fight over.

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The Smite world championships, don't actually take place until January next year however, so there's plenty of time for people to buy this thing and get the total up there. In the mean time, if you want to check out some SMITE action, the Challenger Cup, which gives amateur teams a chance to break into the pro-leagues, is ongoing right now and runs through until October.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: I've played a few different MOBAs, but never tried SMITE. What do you guys think of it?

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Riot Games parent company now backing alternative MOBA Smite https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/riot-games-parent-company-now-backing-alternative-moba-smite/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/riot-games-parent-company-now-backing-alternative-moba-smite/#respond Thu, 22 Aug 2013 09:51:43 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=148858 Self described “Leading publisher in the world,” Tencent, has announced its financial backing of Smite, a MOBA with a different take on the genre, combining fixed viewpoints with a third person perspective. This might not sound like the smartest move, considering how saturated the MOBA market is becoming, but it did this in the early …

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Self described “Leading publisher in the world,” Tencent, has announced its financial backing of Smite, a MOBA with a different take on the genre, combining fixed viewpoints with a third person perspective. This might not sound like the smartest move, considering how saturated the MOBA market is becoming, but it did this in the early days with Riot Games and its League of Legends and look how well that turned out.

Tencent, isn't going to be doing much in North America or Europe however, taking over publishing duties for the game in all other territories, while leaving developer Hi-Rez to handle the publishing in those two Western territories. This might seem like we're being shunned, but Tencent is focusing on its strengths. It apparently already controls 64 per cent of China's online market, with almost half a billion active users playing its games last year.

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With so many historical-like, mythical MOBAs, it's got to be getting hard to make unique heroes at this point.

“Smite is a totally new type of MOBA with some traditional mechanics, but also providing different modes of battle and gameplay,” said Tencent vice president Steven Ma in a statement (via Venturebeat). It's popular too, having generated over two million account registrations in the past year and is one of the top 15 most viewed games on Twitch.Tv in the past month.

Hi-Rez has a history of producing critically acclaimed games too, being the company behind Tribes: Ascend and the slightly less well received Global Agenda. It's also invested heavily in developing a free to play platform and believes there's more than enough room for another MOBA on the scene.

“We believe the MOBA category will be a genre that can support multiple games. We want to grow the market by adding an action element,” said CEO at Hi-Rez, Todd Harris. He won't be the only one hoping that though, as Infinite Crisis is another competitor in the genre that is gaining a bit of traction.

KitGuru Says: Smite looks like it'll be different enough to offer something other MOBAs can't. It also has the potential of drawing in players of other genres, like FPS and third person shooters. League of Legends and DotA 2, with their fifth person perspective are much more likely to attract RTS and RPG gamers, because of their familiarity with the control system and vantage point. 

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