| Aventurine reveals a few Darkfall 2.0 changes Posted: 14 Aug 2011 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Darkfall, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Sandbox Aventurine has updated the Darkfall Epic Blog again, and this time there's a good bit of info regarding the upcoming 2.0 reboot. Producer Tasos Flambouras reiterates that 2.0 is "a new game created on top of the current game rather [than] simply an expansion." He also states that the devs don't want to get too specific and give everything away just yet. That said, this week's entry does provide a very interesting list of changes "that are already implemented." First and foremost is the game's new skill set customization which is in turn tied to a new armor system. In a nutshell, your armor choice will affect your usable skills by rendering certain abilities ineffective and leading to highly specialized character roles (as opposed to the current game where every character can learn every skill, given enough grinding). Skill and attribute gains have also been tweaked, and players who focus on skilling up a single role will excel at it in short order through "casual play." The catch, though, is the inability to have more than one specialization active at a time. Crafting has also been overhauled, and the world map has been "completely changed." There's more big news where that came from too, including UI tweaks, alignment tweaks, incapacitation, dungeon and magic school redesigns, and new combat mechanics like momentum and crosshair wobble. Read all about it at the official Darkfall website.  Aventurine reveals a few Darkfall 2.0 changes originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 14 Aug 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Global Chat: Player-created content edition Posted: 14 Aug 2011 08:00 AM PDT |
| The Daily Grind: Is there a game you would prefer not to beta test? Posted: 14 Aug 2011 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous I'm excited as heck about Star Wars: The Old Republic. That having been said, even if I got into the beta tomorrow, I probably would largely stay out of the game. After all, I already know I'm going to buy the game and play it when it comes out -- why should I spend a great deal of time and effort getting used to the game in beta just to do it all over on release? Or worse yet, grow fond of a feature that's going to get snipped before it sees release? We all have games that we're looking forward to, naturally, but there are games that we want to test and games that we'd rather not. Maybe you think the testing will be particularly arduous, maybe you feel that feedback wouldn't be heard by the developer, or maybe you just don't want to spoil yourself on the game early. So is there a game that you would prefer not to test even if you had the opportunity? Would you feel like you missed out, or would you be happy for remaining fairly clean going in?  Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!The Daily Grind: Is there a game you would prefer not to beta test? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 14 Aug 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Mog Log: Acquired tastes Posted: 13 Aug 2011 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Opinion, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, The Mog Log I've been saying for nearly a year now that Final Fantasy XIV is not for everyone. I've also been saying for a year now that I really like it. The veracity of both statements has remained essentially unchanged through everything, even though the game is indisputably better than it was when it launched. But saying "this game isn't for everyone" isn't saying a whole lot, especially as the statement is true of MMOs in general and every specific MMO in existence. In the case of Final Fantasy XIV, though, it's a bit more complicated than simply "you may or may not like it." The game is its own flavor of bizarre crossbreed, something that is at once modern and a throwback and filled with some unusual decisions. On the open plains populated by the lions and hyenas of other MMOs, FFXIV strides around looking like an inheritory to the great theropods of the Jurassic, filling the same evolutionary niche while being a totally different animal. Continue reading The Mog Log: Acquired tastes The Mog Log: Acquired tastes originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 13 Aug 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Anvil of Crom Extra: Silirrion on Turan, open-world PvP, and those pesky Funcom points Posted: 13 Aug 2011 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, Patches, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Anvil of Crom It's almost time for another Age of Conan content drop, and that means it's also time to catch up with game director Craig " Silirrion" Morrison to chat about it. This weekend I interviewed the Funcom executive producer about a range of topics, including all that's new and shiny with AoC's forthcoming Savage Coast of Turan adventure pack. As we told you earlier, the pack features a boatload of new material, from new solo dungeons to a new raid to 50 new quests and a large outdoor playfield. While that's quite a bit of stuff, Funcom isn't done yet, as the devs are also hard at work implementing the bullet points Morrison covered in his latest dev update. Join me after the cut as we explore Turan, combo-skipping fixes, the riskiness of AoC's new open-world PvP content, and the question of whether subscribers are getting a good deal in terms of point rewards. Continue reading The Anvil of Crom Extra: Silirrion on Turan, open-world PvP, and those pesky Funcom points The Anvil of Crom Extra: Silirrion on Turan, open-world PvP, and those pesky Funcom points originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 13 Aug 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| One Shots: When in doubt, blow something up Posted: 13 Aug 2011 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, EverQuest II, One Shots Discovery Channel fans are sure to get a big kick out of today's One Shots. Massively reader Emily shared EverQuest II's homage to Mythbusters (and the antics of Jamie and Adam) with us: This screenshot shows Jamie and Adam, tinkered weapons testers at Gnomeland Security in the Steamfont Mountains. They're quest-givers whose quest series involves you building a series of stronger and stronger target dummies on which they have you test their latest creations (including troll snot-flingers, turkey launchers, and more). It's time to start thinking about next week's One Shots theme, and we'll be revisiting an old favorite: environments. Snap a screenshot of your favorite MMO vista, tell us a bit about what it is, and send it to oneshots@massively.com. We'll be featuring the best of them all next week! One Shots: When in doubt, blow something up originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 13 Aug 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Revell and World of Tanks form model tank alliance Posted: 13 Aug 2011 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Historical, Real life, Culture, Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items, War, Free-to-play, World of Tanks Raise your hand if you're male, you're over 30, and you have fond memories of building plastic model kits as a kid. Now that we've probably eliminated half the population of this website, those of you remaining (or those of you looking for a gift for a nerdy loved one) may get a kick out of Wargaming.net's latest press release. The strategy gamemaker has partnered up with Revell, one of the oldest model manufacturers in existence, to cross-promote some of the heavy armor featured in World of Tanks. Many of the game's tanks are already featured in Revell's replica product line, and the company has been offering true-to-life scale model kits of tanks, aircraft, automobiles, ships, and many other kinds of vehicles since the early 1940s. Revell recently dipped a toe into radio-controlled modeling as well, and the company will be demoing an RC tank at the World of Tanks Gamescom booth later this month. In return, Wargaming.net will appear at Revell's booth during the Hobby Spiel exhibition in Leipzig this coming October. Revell and World of Tanks form model tank alliance originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 13 Aug 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Tattered Notebook: Let's play 'Keep it or nuke it!' Posted: 13 Aug 2011 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Opinion, The Tattered Notebook As a longtime fan of EverQuest II, I'm often asked by non- EQII-players what the game is like. I usually try to answer by describing the usual game features like combat, crafting, PvP, and the unfortunate inclusion of Gnomes. But the best analogy I can think of for EverQuest II is that it resembles a type of MMO archaeological site. If you play the game long enough, you can begin to see the stratification of the game, as layer upon layer of content and features were heaped onto what was already there. It's something I've admired about the game because the developers have always been willing to try new things and make changes. But the mound of content can be overwhelming to a new player and even confusing to those who have returned after an extended hiatus. With a new round of content having just arrived on servers and even more due in a few months, it's time to consider whether some of the older stuff might need to go, for clarity's sake. In this week's Tattered Notebook, we'll play a little game called, "Keep it or Nuke it." Read on for my recommendations, and then add yours below. Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: Let's play 'Keep it or nuke it!' The Tattered Notebook: Let's play 'Keep it or nuke it!' originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 13 Aug 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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