General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article


Liberty Reserve Indicted for Laundering $6 Billion

Posted: 29 May 2013 04:50 PM PDT

Liberty Reserve Shut Down

Largest international anti-money laundering action in history

Last Thursday, the official website of the Costa Rica-based digital currency Liberty Reserve went offline, stirring panic among its million-odd users. It soon became clear that it was no ordinary outage, but a case of the proverbially long arm of the law finally catching up with the notorious website and delivering a death blow.

Thursday's action, according to a statement issued by Costa Rican authorities, was the result of a money laundering investigation that began in 2011 after the local authorities received a "request from a prosecutor's office in New York." The next day, the Costa Rican authorities raided Liberty Reserve founder Arthur Budovsky Belanchuk's residence and offices in Escazá, Santa Ana, just southwest of the national capital San José.

The 39-year-old Budovsky, who lived in the U.S. until he fled the country following an indictment on money laundering-related charges in 2006, was arrested in Spain the very same day. He is one of seven Liberty Reserve principals indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for what U.S. authorities allege was a money laundering scheme worth $6 billion. In all, five people named in the indictment have already been arrested, including Liberty Reserve co-founder Vladmir Kats, who was arrested in Brooklyn, New York, while two are still believed to be at large somewhere in Costa Rica.

"As charged, Liberty Reserve operated, on an enormous scale, a digital currency system designed to provide cyber and other criminals with a way to launder their profits without leaving a trace," Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman said in a Department of Justice press release which described the crackdown on Liberty Reserve as the "largest international money laundering prosecution in history"

"The company's very purpose was to launder its users' criminal proceeds through the U.S. and global financial system.  By indicting Liberty Reserve and its principals, restraining over $25 million in criminal proceeds, forfeiting domain names, and seizing servers in countries around the globe, our message is clear:  money launderers can run, but they can't hide from the U.S. justice system."

As massive as this action against Liberty Reserve may be, many people seem more interested in its possible implications for Bitcoin, a decentralized, cyrptocurrency that has drawn plenty of interest from the media and seen its value rise spectacularly over the past couple of years. While there can be no disputing its decentralized nature, the anonymity popularly associated with it seems to be an entirely different matter.

Some experts believe a large part of the anonymity usually associated with Bitcoin transactions is entirely notional, and that the system is actually more transparent than even some of the more conventional online payment systems out there.

This means that unlike their Liberty Reserve-using counterparts, people who only use Bitcoins for legitimate purposes have nothing to worry about. However, make sure that you steer clear of Bitcoin-related services that either lack proper authorization or are widely suspected of abetting illegal activities.

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FanimeCon 2013: Cosplay Gallery

Posted: 29 May 2013 02:46 PM PDT

Chell Portal60 cosplay pictures from FanimeCon 2013

We had the chance to check out FanimeCon 2013 in San Jose, California this past weekend. While the annual event is widely known as an anime convention, gaming played a huge part of the show. In addition to having an entire expo hall dedicated to video games, there were a ton of game-inspired costumes. Popular outfits this year included the large roster of League of Legends champions to the ever popular Team Fortress 2 classes, and much, much more!

Presented below are some of our favorite FanimeCon 2013 cosplay costumes. Let us know which ones are your favorite in the comments section!

Google Hopes You'll Go Gaga Over Gmail Tabs

Posted: 29 May 2013 12:13 PM PDT

Gmail TabsTabs work for browsing, can they for email as well?

Can you remember surfing the web before tabs? Power surfing has never been the same, and even casual web users can benefit from tabbed browsing. Google didn't invent the concept, nor did the company even popularize tabbed browsing, but it is incorporating tabs of a slightly different kind into its Gmail service on the desktop and mobile. It's almost like a pre-sorting system.

"On the desktop, the new inbox groups your mail into categories which appear as different tabs," Google explains in a blog post. "You simply choose which categories you want and voilà! Your inbox is organized in a way that lets you see what's new at a glance and decide which emails you want to read when."

In Android and iOS, you'll see your Primary mail when you open the app, and from there you can easily navigate to the other tabs, Google says. Alternately, if you'd rather not use them, you can switch off all the optional tabs to go back to the classic view or any other inbox types you might be using.

Look for tabs to roll out "gradually" within the next few weeks.

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Asus Teases Upgraded Supreme FX Audio on Z87 Maximus VI Formula Motherboard

Posted: 29 May 2013 11:29 AM PDT

Asus SupremeFXThe next evolution of SupremeFX is coming.

I found nestled in my inbox this morning a note from Asus saying it's getting ready to introduce an "even more advanced version of SupremeFX on the upcoming Formula" board built for Haswell. Along with the note, Asus attached a teaser photo marking the recent evolution of SupremeFX (versions III and IV), leaving the world to wonder what it has in store for the next release. Care to venture a guess?

SupremeFX, once a discrete audio solution, is now incorporated into select Asus motherboards. Version III introduced a backlit "redline" on the PCB (Printed Circuit Board), which highlights the physical separation of the audio processing from the rest of the motherboard. Drawing power from the motherboard, some line conditioning is required for a clean signal, which is handled by a large 1500uF capacitor. The codec itself is actually housed underneath an aluminum cap where it's isolated from surrounding EMI.

Version IV, introduced with the Asus Maximus V Formula, added a headphone amp and premium ELNA capacitors specifically designed for audio applications due to features like ultra-low ESR.

Asus SupremeFX Teaser

So, what will SupremeFX V bring to the table? Asus hasn't provided any clues, though we wonder if a higher signal-to-ratio might be in cards.

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7 Indie Games Featured in This Week's Humble Bundle

Posted: 29 May 2013 09:58 AM PDT

Humble Bundle

$1 contribution grabs you some great indie titles

The Humble Bundle has struck again giving bargain hunters another cheap assortment of games. This week's bundle features seven games, five of which you can get all for as little as a single dollar! Among those titles are indie games Little Inferno, Capsized, Thomas was Alone, Dear Esther, and Awesomenauts. 

If you donate more than $5.68 (the current average) you will also receive the critically-acclaimed titles Hotline Miami and Proteus too. 

The Humble Bundle supports the developers who put their games on the service and charity too. You can of course choose to donate as much money as you would like and choose where that money goes to, be it to the developers or charity organizations (Child's Play Charity and/or the American Red Cross).

Powercolor Launches a Low Profile Radeon HD 7750 Video Card

Posted: 29 May 2013 09:00 AM PDT

Powercolor HD7750 Eyefinity 4 LP EditionSmall but capable of driving up to four displays.

TUL Corporation's Powercolor division today announced what it claims is the first low profile Radeon HD 7750 graphics card capable of driving up to four displays via AMD's Eyefinity technology. Dubbed HD7750 Eyefinity 4 LP Edition, this low profile part can fit into slim cases and features four mini DisplayPort outputs to run 4x1 Landscape Display Group, 2x2 Landscape Display Group, and 3x1 Display Group Plus 1 Extended configurations.

The card is equipped with 2GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 1,125MHz on a 128-bit bus. It has a core clockspeed of 800MHz and supports CrossFireX setups, PowerColor says. Outside of gaming applications, PowerColor envisions customers using this card for financial services, on wall-mounted television displays, transportation, monitoring, professional design, digital signage, and other professional use scenarios.

If you're interested in this particular model, note that the four DisplayPort outputs are the only ones it has. You won't find any DVI or HDMI ports.

Powercolor didn't say how much the card will cost or when it will be available to purchase.

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AMD Rumored to Launch Radeon HD 8000 Series in Third Quarter

Posted: 29 May 2013 07:55 AM PDT

AMD Radeon GHz EditionNext generation video cards from AMD might be just around the corner.

The neat thing about the never ending GPU wars is that there's always something newer and faster on the horizon. AMD and Nvidia never have time to rest on their laurels, instead playing a constant game of leapfrog where the biggest winners are gamers. In keeping with that theme, a Chinese language website is reporting that AMD is gearing up to launch its Radeon HD 8000 Series of graphics cards sometime in the third quarter of this year.

In addition to a launch time frame, Chiphell posted some updated specifications for AMD's new crop of cards. The fastest of the bunch is the Radeon HD 8970, which features 36 compute units, 2,304 stream processors, 144 TMUs, 48 ROPs, and an 1,100MHz core clockspeed. It also has 6GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 7,000MHz (effective) on a 384-bit bus, all of which results in 5.07TFLOPS of floating point performance. Versus the Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition, the new part will run 35 percent faster and cost $599.

Next up is the Radeon HD 8950 ($399) with 28 compute units, 1,792 stream processors, 112 TMUs, 32 ROPs, 4GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 7,000MHz on a 256-bit bus, 1,200MHz core clockspeed, and 4,30TFLOPS of floating point performance. It's said to run 10 percent faster than a Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition card.

Below that sits the Radeon HD 8870 with 24 compute units, 1,536 stream processors, 96 TMUs, 32 ROPs, 2GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 6,000MHz on a 256-bit bus, 1,100MHz core clockspeed, and 3.38TFLOPS of floating point performance. This $299 card is supposed to be 40 percent faster than a Radeon HD 7870.

Finally there's the Radeon HD 8850 ($229) with 20 compute units, 1,280 stream processors, 80 TMUs, 32 ROPs, 2GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 6,000MHz on a 256-bit bus, 1,000MHz core clockspeed, and 2.56TFLOPS of floating point performance. It's said to run 15 percent faster than a Radeon HD 7870 graphics card.

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MMO Updates

MMO Updates


Dragon's Prophet EU soars into open beta

Posted: 29 May 2013 10:00 AM PDT

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Dragon's Prophet EU soars into open beta
It's a bird! It's a plane! No -- it's a dragon... and it shall be mine!

European players eager to tame their own dragons will finally be able to utter those words as Dragon's Prophet EU launches into open beta tomorrow. Founders can enter the world of Auratia today and get a head start on training, riding, and fighting alongside (or against) the over 300 unique dragons in game.

The open beta launch introduces a new starting zone, Puretia. Full of waterfalls and airships fighting in the sky, Puretia gives way to a volcanic landscape and deep canyons as players journey on to the region's capital of Arboran. More updates and expansions are already in the works and will continue to release regularly throughout open beta.

If you need something to distract you from the launch count-down timer on the official site, check out this new trailer after the break.

[Source: Infernum Productions press release]

Continue reading Dragon's Prophet EU soars into open beta

MassivelyDragon's Prophet EU soars into open beta originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 29 May 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    Lindvior touches down in Lineage 2 today

    Posted: 29 May 2013 09:00 AM PDT

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    Lindvior touches down today in Lineage 2
    Today's the day that the goddess Shilen unleashes her fury on the world of Aden in the form of her champion, the dragon Lindvior, Lord of the Western Winds. But Lineage II's latest update, Lindvior Goddess of Destruction, brings more than just this epic dragon boss to test the mettle of players. It also adds more Awakened classes (bringing the total from eight to 34), three new zones, and plenty of new armor and weapons. On top of that, players will have a new character customization system with over 100 new looks.

    Gon Namkung, L2's development director, stated, "This is by far the most intricate challenge that players have ever faced in Lineage II throughout its long and storied history. The entire Lineage II development team is proud of this achievement and we are confident only the best players will defeat Lindvior." He continued, "We issue this challenge to all our players, who will defeat Lindvior first!?"

    [Sourse: NCsoft press release]

    MassivelyLindvior touches down in Lineage 2 today originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 29 May 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      MMO Family: A look at Phineas and Ferb's Agent Alert

      Posted: 29 May 2013 08:00 AM PDT

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      MMO Family  A look at Phineas and Ferb's Agent Alert
      It's hard to walk by a school or a playground without seeing the image of an aqua-colored platypus emblazoned on a kid's shirt, hat, backpack, or lunch box. Phineas and Ferb, the long-running animated Disney series, has been a big hit with children, so it's little surprise that the tie-in game Agent Alert was launched a few months ago.

      I'm not exactly familiar with the show, but when I got an email alert about a new MMO based on the series, I had to check it out. Was I about to head into a world of thousands of player-made platypus characters? I feared the worst but was pleasantly surprised.

      Continue reading MMO Family: A look at Phineas and Ferb's Agent Alert

      MassivelyMMO Family: A look at Phineas and Ferb's Agent Alert originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 29 May 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Marvel Heroes' strengths and weakness

        Posted: 29 May 2013 07:00 AM PDT

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        Oh no, you think.  Not again.
        Those of you who have followed the column for a while are familiar with the fact that I'm not the biggest fan of Marvel Heroes, though it's more an issue of apathy than malice. Still, early access has started, players are starting to get what they paid for up front with Founder's Packs, and it's time to stop considering what the game could do before testing ends and start considering what it's actually doing.

        Leaving aside the discussion of whether or not it fully succeeds at its goals, I think Marvel Heroes has a couple of big positives in the current market and one staggeringly dumb decision. So we're going to look at that sandwich-style. And then let's talk about the future of the column at the end -- if we're talking about Marvel, we really need a shocking revelation at the end or it won't ring true.

        Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Marvel Heroes' strengths and weakness

        MassivelyA Mild-Mannered Reporter: Marvel Heroes' strengths and weakness originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 29 May 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          The Daily Grind: When's the last time you logged out in frustration?

          Posted: 29 May 2013 06:00 AM PDT

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          The Daily Grind When's the last time you logged out in frustration
          The other night I had to take a break from The Secret World, because it was either that or ram my head through the monitor. A particularly tricksy mission boss had been kicking my butt up and down the alley until all of my armor was broken and my soul was reduced to a whimpering, pathetic noise. It got so bad that my character, upon resurrection, would face me, fall to her knees, and beg that I not send her back into that meat grinder once more.

          I'm sure I'll get it next time, but I just had to take a break to cool down and regroup. That happens sometimes, you know?

          So what about you? When is the last time you logged out in frustration and why? Was it just a hard quest, a difficult mechanic, or progress that was wiped out in the blink of an eye?

          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!

          MassivelyThe Daily Grind: When's the last time you logged out in frustration? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 29 May 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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            Own a copy of RIFT, play for free for a weekend

            Posted: 28 May 2013 08:00 PM PDT

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            Own two copies of RIFT, play... just as free for a weekend.  But on two accounts.
            So you bought RIFT, and you played it for a while, and then you stopped. Now you're not playing RIFT. But now you also know the game is going free-to-play in June, and so you could jump back in. But you don't know if you want to, you've lost track of the patches... you're just not sure. What you really need is a chance to jump back in the game for a few days and see whether the game still holds some magic for you.

            Lo and behold, it's just been announced that RIFT will open the doors to everyone who owns the game from May 30th until June 3rd. If you've left the game but used to play, this will be a chance to drop back in and see if you want to kick off your play again after all. If you don't own the game... well, you'll have your chance soon enough.

            MassivelyOwn a copy of RIFT, play for free for a weekend originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 28 May 2013 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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            TUG hits its Kickstarter goal

            Posted: 28 May 2013 07:30 PM PDT

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            There's a lot of tower to go, see.
            Good news, friends! Or more specifically, friends who are also fans of TUG. The indie sandbox exploration game has hit its funding goal with two days to go, meaning that development can continue on the title. While its success was somewhat in doubt over the long weekend, fans made up the last bit of funding and ensured that the game's unique philosophy will have a place to expand.

            Of course, just hitting funding isn't usually the end goal; you have stretch goals and such, after all. With that in mind, Nerd Kingdom has announced a 30-day PayPal donation drive after the Kickstarter funding concludes to continue building toward stretch goals, as well as the option to add new benefits to the accounts of backers. There's still a little more time to back the project, so now's the time to do so.

            [Thanks to Jose for the tip!]

            MassivelyTUG hits its Kickstarter goal originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 28 May 2013 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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            Defiance gets sick and asks players for a cure

            Posted: 28 May 2013 07:00 PM PDT

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            Or don't look for a cure and die in a filthy triage center.  Your call.
            We're going to give it to you straight: Defiance has a fever, and the only prescription is... um... well, that's actually a good question. Nobody is sure. The entire focus of the new in-game event is trying to figure out how this fever can be treated. Presumably attempts involving bottles of Sprite and bed rest were inconclusive, and now you're going to have to go shoot some things to try to find the cure.

            This mini-event offers characters a new Pursuit, which can be cleared to improve your EGO rating, with players seeking out three data recorders to help assemble a cure to the sickness sweeping the Bay area. Triage centers have been established in both Top Notch and Shandu's Consulate. Avid players should get in on this event while it lasts -- there have been no dates given, but it seems this disease will either burn out or get worse fairly quickly.

            MassivelyDefiance gets sick and asks players for a cure originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 28 May 2013 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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            Jukebox Heroes: EVE Online's soundtrack

            Posted: 28 May 2013 06:00 PM PDT

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            Jukebox Heroes EVE Online's soundtrack
            EVE Online's soundtrack is a strange puppy to me. I've heard players proclaim their love and undying affection for it, although I believe that a great deal of that is tied into game loyalty and monogamy. From this outsider's perspective, it's a large number of ambient synth tracks that are big on atmosphere and small on catchy melodies or memorable themes.

            Even though I wouldn't rate it as one of the most exciting scores I've covered for this column, I don't want to dismiss its atmospheric nature as a negative. Creating a soundscape that communicates the wonder, mystery, and largely empty gulf of the cosmos has proven to be a great asset to gamer immersion for EVE, and at least most of these tracks are soothing and low-key enough to warrant a high rating on the replayability scale.

            Icelandic composer Jón Hallur Haraldsson was in charge of this project. Responding to an interview question about the score's musical category, Haraldsson said, "Back in the days I used to concern myself a lot with defining my music, but I don't do that as much anymore. I like to amalgamate, to take whatever I like from whatever style and try to put that into my music."

            You can listen to a bulk of the game's music on Sound Cloud, but here are my picks for the six best tracks out of the bunch!

            Continue reading Jukebox Heroes: EVE Online's soundtrack

            MassivelyJukebox Heroes: EVE Online's soundtrack originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 28 May 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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              Rumor: Blizzard's Titan has fallen, won't be getting up until 2016 [Updated]

              Posted: 28 May 2013 05:30 PM PDT

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              It's not a screenshot of Titan, but if you're excited about Titan this is really what you're interested in.
              Are you looking forward to Titan? It's a bit odd, since the game hasn't had so much as a screenshot released yet, but we can understand it. If that's the case, though, we've got some bad news for you, as the project is rumored to have been completely restarted. According to an unnamed GamesBeat source, the project has had 70 people taken off its previously 100-strong workforce, with the title's release delayed until at least 2016 as a result.

              Those who have followed Blizzard Entertainment for a while will remember that the last project restarted more than once was the ill-fated Starcraft: Ghost, which doesn't bode well for the future of Titan. With World of Warcraft's subscription numbers in decline, it's possible that the company is moving in a different direction. No official statements have been issued regarding the development of Titan or any expected release window for the game.

              [Update: ZAM reports that Blizzard has responded to that site's queries with the following statement: "We've always had a highly iterative development process, and the unannounced MMO is no exception. We've come to a point where we need to make some large design and technology changes to the game. We're using this opportunity to shift some of our resources to assist with other projects while the core team adapts our technology and tools to accommodate these new changes. Note that we haven't announced any dates for the MMO."]

              MassivelyRumor: Blizzard's Titan has fallen, won't be getting up until 2016 [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 28 May 2013 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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              Gazillion finds 'serious issues' with Marvel Heroes, delays early access launch

              Posted: 28 May 2013 05:00 PM PDT

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              Iron Man is sad
              Those of you with Marvel Heroes Founder's Packs might be wondering why you can't log in to the game, given that it's May 28th and given that May 28th was supposed to mark the beginning of the game's early access phase.

              As it turns out, Gazillion found some "serious issues" that left it unable to kick things off when it originally intended. CEO David Brevik spills the beans via a post on the MH community blog, saying that the dev team has been working for 96 hours straight to correct the problem. Brevik also says that the process "is nearly complete" and that "we will not leave this studio until you can play the game. We hope this will be a in a matter of hours."

              MassivelyGazillion finds 'serious issues' with Marvel Heroes, delays early access launch originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 28 May 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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              Mechanist launches City of Steam's patch 1.2: The Vault Unsealed

              Posted: 28 May 2013 04:00 PM PDT

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              City of Steam: Draug and Riven
              Tomorrow (or tonight, depending on your point of view) is patch day for free-to-play, browser-based title City of Steam. Starting at 2 a.m. EDT, the game will be taken offline for four to six hours while Mechanist Games pushes live patch 1.2: The Vault Unsealed.

              This new patch adds quite a bit of content to the still-in-development City of Steam, including new quests, the return of the Riven and Draug as playable races, the addition of a new content hub by the name of The Vault and a brand-new Wilderness level known as The Broken Stair. The level cap has also been raised up to 32, and PvP enthusiasts will find a new map and new tournament event in which to slay their fellow players.

              Mechanist is promising more details once the servers come back online; in the meantime, you can discuss the patch over at the official City of Steam forums.

              MassivelyMechanist launches City of Steam's patch 1.2: The Vault Unsealed originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 28 May 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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              EVE Online: Odyssey promises huge changes, dual character training

              Posted: 28 May 2013 03:00 PM PDT

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              EVE Online: Odyssey
              It's time again for another enormous EVE Online expansion. This latest chunk of tweaks, changes, and updates, titled Odyssey and due for launch June 4, marks the 19th free content addition in the space-based MMO's 10-year history. And like the expansions that came before it, Odyssey promises to make a host of changes to the EVE universe -- some big, some small, and some even game-changing.

              We sat down with CCP to get a look at Odyssey and some of its more major components, including a huge exploration overhaul, more user-friendly controls, and a dramatic change to the way in which resources are distributed across its vast, starry expanses.

              Here's what we've learned.

              Continue reading EVE Online: Odyssey promises huge changes, dual character training

              MassivelyEVE Online: Odyssey promises huge changes, dual character training originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 28 May 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                HEX: The MMO is in the cards

                Posted: 28 May 2013 02:00 PM PDT

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                HEX The MMOTCG is in the cards
                Massively was recently invited to meet with Cory Jones, president and chief creative officer of Cryptozoic, to get some greater insight into HEX, the studio's upcoming MMOTCG -- that is, massively multiplayer trading card game.

                At first, I had a difficult time associating a "massively multiplayer" aspect with a trading card game. My two-decade-old memories of very briefly playing Magic: The Gathering simply wouldn't let me get past my initial assumption about the head-to-head nature of these types of games. Even the online version of Magic used essentially the same structure as the offline version, with digital representations of Magic cards and an online challenge ladder.

                So imagine my surprise when a well-established box-and-trading-card-game company like Cryptozoic announced it was producing HEX, an MMOTCG using Kickstarter as a funding vehicle.

                Continue reading HEX: The MMO is in the cards

                MassivelyHEX: The MMO is in the cards originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 28 May 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                  Funcom Q1 sales and restructuring keep studio moving forward

                  Posted: 28 May 2013 01:00 PM PDT

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                  Funcom restructuring, good Q1 sales keep studio afloat
                  If it's not the best news ever, at least we've got some good news from Funcom today. The studio posted its first quarter financial report, showing that it had solid sales and "significant" operating expense savings because of the recent restructuring of its organization.

                  Funcom made over $6.3 million of revenue in the first quarter, mostly thanks to sales and subscriptions of The Secret World and Age of Conan. The studio said that it saved almost $1.2 million of operating expenses in the same period thanks to the restructuring. Also, The Secret World made more money in Q1 2013 than Q4 2012 thanks to its new business model.

                  In terms of game news, Funcom is pushing forward with its LEGO Minifigures MMO, the new Anarchy Online graphic engine, a summer release for Issue #7 of The Secret World, and development of several smaller titles. Both LEGO and Funcom will be working to "establish closer integration between the physical product and the game." Finally, thanks to recent decisions by the studio, both Anarchy Online and The Secret World are boasting larger numbers of players than in the previous quarter.

                  MassivelyFuncom Q1 sales and restructuring keep studio moving forward originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 28 May 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                  The Soapbox: How to run a successful Kickstarter campaign

                  Posted: 28 May 2013 12:00 PM PDT

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                  The Soapbox How to run a successful Kickstarter campaign
                  The past few years have seen an absolute revolution in the games industry, with an explosion of studios securing funding through crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter. In a time when banks worldwide are tightening their belts, Kickstarter represents a lifeline for indie developers and a way for the bigger studios to work on their own projects free from the need for outside investors or publishers. But with the growing number of projects seeking funding each year, developers are facing stiff competition and the rising challenge of running a successful campaign.

                  Most developers don't release all of their stats or write up advice and insights following a successful crowdfunding campaign, and those who do are often lost on obscure blogs that don't appear when you Google for advice. But I'm in the unusual position of both being a games journalist and having successfully Kickstarted a small game project (unrelated to MMOs and my work on Massively). Six months ago, I ran a campaign for my new sci-fi 4X game Predestination, and in the process I learned some valuable lessons on what works and doesn't work on Kickstarter. We've since published the campaign stats and gone on to help a few other campaigns hit their goals.

                  In this article, I run down the lessons I learned the hard way during the Predestination Kickstarter campaign and give some advice for developers hoping to get funded.

                  Continue reading The Soapbox: How to run a successful Kickstarter campaign

                  MassivelyThe Soapbox: How to run a successful Kickstarter campaign originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 28 May 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                    Hyperspace Beacon: The SWTOR F2P experiment, closing chapter one

                    Posted: 28 May 2013 11:00 AM PDT

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                    Hyperspace Beacon The SWTOR F2P experiment, closing chapter one
                    It's been a couple of weeks since I've covered anything dealing with my Star Wars: The Old Republic free-to-play experiment, so I should do a quick rundown of the rules. I believe that it is possible to play SWTOR from beginning to end, including endgame, without paying for anything. The SWTOR cash shop (Cartel Market) and auction house (Galactic Trade Network) are directly connected in a way that allows for nearly everything sold in the cash shop to be sold to other players with in-game credits. There are enough people who have more real-life money than time to support those who have more time than money. So during my experiment, I vowed I would not take any gifts from other players or my alts and I would buy all of my unlocks off the GTN.

                    So far, I've noticed little change from level 1 to 10. However, Coruscant started to get rough. I also learned that leveling alongside a subscriber turned out to be disappointing. Yet in general, the leveling process seemed to be right on par with the planet I was on. It was my theory after leaving Taris that although there is a F2P experience penalty, my XP placed me on-level with each planet. Subscribers had an advantage of rising above the recommended level for each planet.

                    Then I ran into Tatooine.

                    Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: The SWTOR F2P experiment, closing chapter one

                    MassivelyHyperspace Beacon: The SWTOR F2P experiment, closing chapter one originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 28 May 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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