| Rise and Shiny: The empty MMO section on the RT marketplace Posted: 28 Jul 2013 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Bugs, Business Models, Guilds, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Browser, Mobile, Casual, Rise and Shiny, Miscellaneous As many of you know, I have been in love with portable devices for a while now. I am always perfecting my all-in-one experience, trying to find a device that allows me access to my favorite job and hobby (MMO gaming) while actually getting some work done. That means I need to be able to communicate, type, and create content all with the same small computer. My 3G Nexus 7 was glorious for a while, but mainly as a mobile gaming platform and social network connection. I needed something larger, and I took the destruction of my 7 to mean it was time to get out of my comfort zone. So I got myself an Asus VivoTab RT, a 10-inch tablet with a 4G LTE connection. It came with the keyboard dock for only $300 US. I'll save the explanation for buying such a device -- especially considering RT's shaky footing -- for my other blog, but I have really been enjoying RT and the fact that I still have access to Flash, browser-based games, and a larger screen. Searching for MMOs in the Windows Store has been a nightmare, though, mainly because there are none. I'll show you what's being offered and will look at the 8.1 preview to see if we can expect changes. Continue reading Rise and Shiny: The empty MMO section on the RT marketplace  Rise and Shiny: The empty MMO section on the RT marketplace originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 28 Jul 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| One Shots: Peering over the edge Posted: 28 Jul 2013 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Screenshots, Culture, Guild Wars 2, One Shots, The Secret World, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Miscellaneous, Firefall I do not like heights. By transitive properties, I do not like Cyberpunkhobo for sending in this photo that is capitalizing on my deepest fear. Did Cyberpunkhobo know that he was establishing himself as my lifelong enemy by the very act of this photo submission? Yes, I think he did. Vendetta accepted, sir. Cyberpunkhobo attempts to dismiss the seriousness of his actions in his description of this screenshot: "If there's one thing Firefall does well, it's making you feel vertically-challenged. I don't know how many times I've been met by a giant wall of rock on my merry way to an ARES mission. But when I found my way to the top of this particular precipice, I literally felt like I was on top of the world. So I took a screenshot, unfurled my glider, and proceeded to fly away as far as I could." You better fly, Cyberpunkhobo. I'll give you a 10-minute head start, and then all bets are off. So while we wait for this deadly cat-and-mouse game to begin, why not take a look at the other One Shots for this week? Continue reading One Shots: Peering over the edge One Shots: Peering over the edge originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 28 Jul 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: Why do you play a short race? Posted: 28 Jul 2013 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Races, Miscellaneous Let me put my capital-b Bias up front and center here: Short races rock. Whether they be Gnomes, Gibberlings, Asura, Hobbits, or Dwarves, if I have the option to play a diminutive character in an MMO, I'll take it. Even my City of Heroes characters jacked down the slider to the shortest possible height. It's why I'm ecstatic that WildStar will be offering the Chua as an option, because my purpose in life is to play a small rabid kangaroo-rat-thing. So why do I play short races? Being somewhat short myself, I like putting my height out there in games as a point of pride instead of being ashamed of it. Plus, there's always something cool about watching a tiny dude beat up someone 1500% of his body mass. Plus plus, short races are often associated with a wicked sense of humor and irreverence. That's me, baby! Enough about me; why do you play a short race? Where are my gnomies at today? Speak up, tiny brothers and sisters!  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: Why do you play a short race? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 28 Jul 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Make My MMO: Crowdfunding July 14 - 27, 2013 Posted: 27 Jul 2013 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, Massively Meta, Miscellaneous, Crowdfunding, Make My MMO Another fortnight down; another MMO hopeful lost. The casualty? Story Quest Online, which didn't come close to meeting its Kickstarter goal. The newest addition to this list, Realms of Creation, is still moving toward its goal and has another 34 days left to reach it. To see more about it, check out the new video after the break. In other news, Pathfinder Online also has a new video, and Star Citizen's Chris Robert's talked at length in an exclusive Massively interview. Even controversial Greed Monger headlined with a demonstration of its house building feature. Catch all the links to these stories right here in Make My MMO. Continue reading Make My MMO: Crowdfunding July 14 - 27, 2013 Make My MMO: Crowdfunding July 14 - 27, 2013 originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 27 Jul 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Wings Over Atreia: A quick guide to Aion 4.0 dungeons, part 2 Posted: 27 Jul 2013 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Expansions, Lore, Free-to-Play, Wings Over Atreia, Guides, Dungeons Do you want to know why you are wading into a particular instance and decimating all you see? Or are you more of a just-get-in-and-get-it-done kind of Daeva? Either way, you've come to the right place! Welcome to the second half of the handy dandy Aion 4.0 dungeon guide. From lore to location, this guide will aid you in your journey to lay the smackdown on the latest Atreian troublemakers that are so rudely keeping your new loot from you. In the first half of the guide we could cover only six of the new instances: Steel Rose, Kamar Battlefield, Danuar Mysticarium, Danuar Reliquary, Danuar Sanctuary, and Idgel Research Center. Today's part two introduces and offers a bit of insight into the five remaining Dark Betrayal dungeons spread throughout Aion's newest zones of Katalam, Danaria, and Idian Depths. Each of these instances is for Daevas level 65+ and for groups of six (unless otherwise noted). Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: A quick guide to Aion 4.0 dungeons, part 2 Wings Over Atreia: A quick guide to Aion 4.0 dungeons, part 2 originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 27 Jul 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Mog Log: The mandatory early dungeons of Final Fantasy XIV Posted: 27 Jul 2013 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Game Mechanics, Opinion, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, The Mog Log, Dungeons You're going to be exploring at least three dungeons in Final Fantasy XIV no matter what, possibly more. Progression in the main story requires a trip through Sastasha Seagrot, the Tam-Tara Deepcroft, and Copperbell Mines. While I've talked a great deal about the ethics of including this grouping experience, what I haven't really discussed are the actual dungeons themselves, even though that's certainly a big deal. Let's be honest here: If this stuff isn't fun, all of the talk about the validity of forced grouping is kind of pointless. Even if you can, there are times when you shouldn't. Fortunately for the long-term viability of these dungeons, all three have more than just nice loot (which is apparently shared between them); they also offer a fun ride through regardless. So as you could probably infer from all of the text up to this point, let's take a gander at the first three dungeons in the game and the ones we know for a fact you have to clear right off. Continue reading The Mog Log: The mandatory early dungeons of Final Fantasy XIV The Mog Log: The mandatory early dungeons of Final Fantasy XIV originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 27 Jul 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Revival is a story-driven sandbox in the making Posted: 27 Jul 2013 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Business Models, Economy, Game Mechanics, Interviews, New Titles, Previews, PvP, Sandbox, Crafting, MMORPG Lovecraft-inspired Revival's recent reveal caught our attention with its promises to "revive the MMORPG" by way of a gorgeous sandbox. Developer IllFonic went on record stating, "It's a genre that has a bad name. There are hardcore fans in the genre, but there's no reason why the whole world shouldn't be playing this genre. The genre has been locked out with a bad taste for a decade. It's time to rethink it, go back to the drawing board, start from scratch and tell everyone that an MMO isn't a stat-chasing, quest-ignoring snorefest." Music to sandbox fans' ears! Naturally, we were keen to hear more, so we spoke with IllFonic Creative Director Kedhrin Gonzalez and surprisingly received very few "we can't talk about that yet" responses. Just remember as you make your way through our interview: A lot can change between the prototype and final release version, so don't unbridle your skepticism just yet. Continue reading Revival is a story-driven sandbox in the making Revival is a story-driven sandbox in the making originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 27 Jul 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Google can translate, but tact will still be on you
World of Warcraft seems to be losing subscribers at an exponential rate, and the unstoppable force may be seeing continual losses. According to 
Keep calm and Dubstep Doomsday.
