| Massively does Geek Week: The top 10 most epic encounters in Guild Wars 2 Posted: 08 Aug 2013 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Events (Real-World), Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Hands-On, Humor, Guides, Buy-to-Play As MMO players, we know all about being geeks; we're the geekiest video gamers around! Join in the fun today as we celebrate Google's Geek Week with a series of MMO-flavored videos to introduce fellow geeks to our favorite games: Guild Wars 2, SWTOR, The Secret World, and more! Guild Wars 2 is gorgeous. It's as simple as that. Even as it approaches the first anniversary of its launch, we still find ourselves gawking at the painterly landscapes and impressive character models. Lush environments, enormous world bosses, and breathtaking vistas are all accented by an emotionally gripping soundtrack in an immersive experience. To illustrate this, we've compiled a top 10 list of the most epic encounters in Guild Wars 2 based on its environments, animations, and sound design. Temporary content was off the table (with one big exception), so some fan favorites like Super Adventure Box, Molten Weapon Facility, and the Wintersday festivities weren't included. Enjoy our take on the most epic encounters in GW2 in celebration of Geek Week! Continue reading Massively does Geek Week: The top 10 most epic encounters in Guild Wars 2  Massively does Geek Week: The top 10 most epic encounters in Guild Wars 2 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Aug 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Guild Counsel: EQ Next, guilds, and you Posted: 08 Aug 2013 09:30 AM PDT Filed under: Guilds, Opinion, Free-to-Play, EverQuest Next, The Guild Counsel Once again, SOE Live has come to a close, but with all the news about EverQuest Next, there are several questions left unanswered, particularly when it comes to the social side of gameplay. Each week here, we look at questions related to guild leadership, but over the years, the design process of MMOs has had as much a role as anything in how guild leaders make management decisions. It's been less than a week since we first saw the EQ Next reveal, and there are already many guilds mobilizing and preparing for their first adventures together in game. So let's look at a few of the questions related to guilds and the social side of EverQuest Next in this week's Guild Counsel. Continue reading The Guild Counsel: EQ Next, guilds, and you The Guild Counsel: EQ Next, guilds, and you originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Aug 2013 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Gameforge teases TERA Europe political system update Posted: 08 Aug 2013 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Patches, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, TERA Gameforge has issued a press release detailing an alliance update for TERA Europe scheduled for later this month. There's a new political system in the works along with a "continent-comprehensive" PvP mode that awards winners with priority access to instanced dungeons. Players will be able to ally themselves with the Velika, the Allemantheia, or the Kaiator (and their faction-specific bonuses), as well as join in the battle for the mysterious mineral Noctenium. Gameforge has released an update-specific teaser trailer that you can view after the break. [Source: Gameforge press release] Continue reading Gameforge teases TERA Europe political system update Gameforge teases TERA Europe political system update originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Aug 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Scott Hartsman returns to Trion, takes CEO role Posted: 08 Aug 2013 08:45 AM PDT Filed under: MMO Industry, News Items Scott Hartsman has returned to Trion, this time as CEO. "We're going to rapidly be laying the groundwork for a new strategy for Trion -- one that's closer to the foundation of how we've had our wins so far, and then extending that base into the enduring success this company can, and will, be," he said, according to a company press release. Hartsman previously served as chief creative officer on RIFT. He succeeds Lars Buttler, who remains a Trion board member. [Source: Trion press release] Scott Hartsman returns to Trion, takes CEO role originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Aug 2013 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Think Tank: What goals do you have in your current MMOs? Posted: 08 Aug 2013 08:30 AM PDT |
| Final Fantasy XIV beta phase 4 starts on August 17th Posted: 08 Aug 2013 08:15 AM PDT |
| Crushing MOBA community strife in S2's Strife Posted: 08 Aug 2013 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Game Mechanics, Interviews, MMO Industry, Previews, Opinion, Massively Meta, Events (Massively's Coverage), Miscellaneous, MOBA Strife isn't just part of MOBAs; soon it will be a MOBA. As we revealed earlier this morning, S2 Games' new game is being designed from the ground up with a more positive community in mind. For new and old MOBA players alike, I join you in a collective heck yeah! Marc Deforest, Chief Executive Officer of S2, spent time with me at a recent press event chatting about how community-driven design is shaping Strife as a game and what it means for the player. By the end, I decided he wasn't a feeder and Strife is probably one of the most thought-out new additions to the genre in years. Continue reading Crushing MOBA community strife in S2's Strife Crushing MOBA community strife in S2's Strife originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Aug 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| EverQuest Next groups will function without 'the stereotypical tank' Posted: 08 Aug 2013 07:45 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Game Mechanics, Interviews, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, PvE, Free-to-Play, EverQuest Next, Sandbox The holy trinity has been a hot topic ever since SOE introduced EverQuest Next at last week's SOE Live convention in Las Vegas. The firm is clearly trying to move away from traditional MMO combat, and more evidence of this comes courtesy of a USGamer interview with producer Terry Michaels. "The dedicated roles of the holy trinity are not going to be present in Everquest Next. There will be different classes and different builds that are angled towards some of the roles," Michaels explains, "so there might be a class or a build that is more tankish but you don't need that person to accomplish that goal and content. You can go in there without having somebody who is the stereotypical tank." Not only that, but EQN is attempting a new spin on aggro in general. "The combat's very different. There's not the common threat mechanic that people see in MMOs where there is somebody who can generate enough aggro that the NPC will never ever turn away from them," Michaels says. [Thanks bardamu1999!] EverQuest Next groups will function without 'the stereotypical tank' originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Aug 2013 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Massively does Geek Week: Take a scenic tour of SWTOR Posted: 08 Aug 2013 07:30 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Video, Lore, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Roleplaying, Humor, Events (Massively's Coverage), Star Wars: The Old Republic, Guides, MMORPG As MMO players, we know all about being geeks; we're the geekiest video gamers around! Join in the fun today as we celebrate Google's Geek Week with a series of MMO-flavored videos to introduce fellow geeks to our favorite games: Guild Wars 2, SWTOR, The Secret World, and more! Despite its struggles since launch, Star Wars: The Old Republic retains a mighty playerbase. In fact, its subscription numbers easily place it in the top five MMOs! No doubt many players stick with the game because of its incredible and iconic vistas and locations. So why not live vicariously through our SWTOR columnist and virtually visit some of those destinations in a humorous flythrough recorded especially for Geek Week? Visit the haunted halls of the Sith Dark Temple on Dromund Kaas, tour the ruins of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and explore the war-torn wastes of Ilum. But whatever you do, don't mention what happens on the Bounty Hunter's D5-Mantis starship. We're still trying to block that from our minds. Continue reading Massively does Geek Week: Take a scenic tour of SWTOR Massively does Geek Week: Take a scenic tour of SWTOR originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Aug 2013 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Massively's hands-on with Strife, a new MOBA from S2 Games Posted: 08 Aug 2013 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Screenshots, Game Mechanics, New Titles, Previews, PvP, News Items, Opinion, Hands-On, First Impressions, Events (Massively's Coverage), Miscellaneous, MOBA My team is struggling. We've managed to hold our own after a nasty fight in the bottom lane, but then a message appears on my screen: Krytos is coming. The team at S2 Games had warned me about this giant ape and his tower-neutralizing, minion-stomping abilities. But there he was with the enemy team following in his wake. This is Strife, the new free-to-play MOBA from the company that created Heroes of Newerth. The three-lane-based gameplay might look familiar from the top down, but a giant ape is just one of many interesting mechanics Strife is utilizing to help create a more enjoyable and flexible MOBA experience. Oh, and did I mention the pets and the crafting? Continue reading Massively's hands-on with Strife, a new MOBA from S2 Games Massively's hands-on with Strife, a new MOBA from S2 Games originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Aug 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: Should MMO studios outsource their communities? Posted: 08 Aug 2013 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Business Models, Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, The Daily Grind, Global Agenda, Miscellaneous If you played MMOs at the dawn of the genre, you'll recall that player forums were not considered a mandatory feature of a studio's infrastructure. Many communities resorted to wild, offensive, private forums in an attempt to avoid heavily moderated official boards that looked more like advertisements than conversations by the time the mods were done with them. (Anyone else remember Crossroads of Britannia? Good times.) Since then, MMO studios have figured out that forums (and their annoying cousins, social media) are highly useful tools for getting information to and feedback from their playerbases. But sometimes it's gone too far; we've criticized studios for posting updates only to social media outlets at the expense of their own native forums. Well, move over, ArenaNet, because Hi-Rez has topped you: Earlier this week, Hi-Rez decided to shut down its games' official forums and move forum discussion and support to Reddit, which upset not only those people whose skin crawls at the idea of participating on Reddit but also Redditors themselves, who proposed (unsuccessfully) that Hi-Rez employees be banned, essentially, for mooching. So what do you think -- should MMO studios outsource or crowdsource their forums, communities, and support to unofficial and potentially toxic private social media venues? Does it signal an industry shift, an insensitive budgetary decision from Hi-Rez, or a genuine desire to go where the perceived population density is highest?  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: Should MMO studios outsource their communities? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Aug 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| SOE Live 2013: EverQuest II expounds on Tears of Veeshan Posted: 07 Aug 2013 07:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Classes, Expansions, Game Mechanics, Free-to-Play, Events (Massively's Coverage), Community Q&A, Dungeons, Crafting After so much attention has been given to the latest sibling in the EverQuest franchise, some fans have expressed concern about the fate of EverQuest II once EverQuest Next comes out. But anyone who was present at SOE Live had those concerns laid to rest; the passion and commitment of the development team is no less vibrant and palpable now than before the big reveal. Should anyone be worried that EverQuest II will be neglected and just fade away? No -- not if you heard all the upcoming plans for the title, both short and long term. Besides the revelations at the keynote address, EQII fans had myriad panels, events, and even special play-test sessions to attend to learn about the game. There was a focus on the new Tears of Veeshan expansion overall, a dedicated look at just the Channeler class, a panel just for new systems, and more. Players who missed the Q&A session missed out on learning some specific changes that are being added to the list for the future. Luckily, we've hit these all up and have the highlights for you right here. Continue reading SOE Live 2013: EverQuest II expounds on Tears of Veeshan SOE Live 2013: EverQuest II expounds on Tears of Veeshan originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Aug 2013 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| SMITE's newest god Tyr lays down the law Posted: 07 Aug 2013 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, MOBA Hi-Rez has released a new SMITE god to the masses. The deity of this particular hour is Tyr, also known as The Lawgiver. If that sounds intimidating, wait until you seem him two-hitting enemies, knocking them senseless (and into the air), and generally doing his best to remain impervious to stuns, taunts, fears, and mesmerize effects. There are some Tyr-related patch notes on Hi-Rez's official SMITE website, and the firm has also released a seven-minute video detailing the character's abilities and lore that you can view after the break. Continue reading SMITE's newest god Tyr lays down the law SMITE's newest god Tyr lays down the law originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Aug 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Superheroic news for July Posted: 07 Aug 2013 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Culture, Opinion, Free-to-Play, A Mild-Mannered Reporter So how's everybody been? You all doing well? Because I'm super, and thanks for asking. For some reason, July was one of the first months since its announcement that seemed to be fairly quiet for Infinite Crisis; I can only guess that most of the staff was too busy playing to make announcements, which would be the ideal situation. But the other superheroic games on the market certainly didn't quiet down, with Marvel Heroes and Champions Online both making plenty of noise. Even DC Universe Online got in on the action, or tried to until SOE Live wound up being all about one game. But I'm getting ahead of myself. You want a rundown on the super scene from last month? It's all here behind the cut, so come on down and take a look. It's the third month since we moved over to the new format, and I can't help but hope that I'm starting to get into the cadence. Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Superheroic news for July A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Superheroic news for July originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Aug 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Hearthstone preps for beta Posted: 07 Aug 2013 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Free-to-Play, Mobile, Trading Card Games, Dev Diaries While it's not quite beta time for Hearthstone, Blizzard's wild and crazy crew (above) announced that it has finished all of the major features that will be present for testing. However, there's still some more work to be done before the team opens the beta valve; bug fixes and infrastructure building are taking priority prior to any large-scale testing. "What that means is that we're not days away from launching the beta, but we're not months away either," the devs wrote. "At the Hearthstone announcement we committed to going into beta testing before the summer was over, and the team has been pulling out all the stops to make that happen." The upcoming beta will begin in North America, but the team assures residents of Europe, Korea, and Taiwan that their time will come shortly thereafter. While the initial influx of testers will be small, Blizzard will continually expand the testing pool until everyone can join in. The team revealed a special gold card that will be given to any testers who spend money in the beta and said that a recent test of cross-platform gaming between a PC and an iPad went smoothly. Hearthstone preps for beta originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Aug 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Piranha Games on why MechWarrior Online is getting a third-person mode Posted: 07 Aug 2013 02:00 PM PDT |
| Neverwinter beefs up skirmishes with Call to Arms Posted: 07 Aug 2013 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events (In-Game), Free-to-Play, Neverwinter Starting this Friday, Neverwinter is taking its skirmish system and turning up the dial to 10; just 10, that's as high as that dial goes and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Neverwinter's new Call to Arms events will be much more inclusive versions of its standard skirmishes, allowing players from level 5 to 60 to join in the fun. This will not only allow players to revisit skirmish areas they have since outleveled but give everyone great incentive to do so with a ton of rewards. Cryptic is handing out companions, dye packs, and transmutation items among other prizes for completing a Call to Arms event. Joining a Call to Arms is pretty simple, as players can queue up for one just as they can for skirmishes, dungeons, and PvP matches. Cryptic will be rotating through a stable of events, changing up the location and rewards as it does so. Neverwinter beefs up skirmishes with Call to Arms originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Aug 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Dead Island: Epidemic puts zombies back in MOBAs Posted: 07 Aug 2013 12:30 PM PDT Filed under: Horror, New Titles, Free-to-Play, MOBA What's a ZOMBA? It's not that thing that roams around your floor sucking up dirt but instead an entirely new thing that makes a happy marriage of Dead Island's zombies and MOBAs: a Zombie Online Multiplayer Battle Arena. Trust us, that term will be on everyone's lips come next week. Dead Island: Epidemic is an upcoming free-to-play MOBA set in the same gory world as the PC game. Details about the game are scarce, other than the fact that it'll be for the PC, feature three players, and probably contain a thousand bad "brainssss" references. Developer Deep Silver said that more information about the title will be released at Gamescom in a couple of weeks. [Source: Deep Silver press release] Dead Island: Epidemic puts zombies back in MOBAs originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Aug 2013 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| SOE Live 2013: Looking at the future of Vanguard Posted: 07 Aug 2013 12:00 PM PDT |
| WildStar discusses the state of the beta and big changes to come Posted: 07 Aug 2013 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, News Items, WildStar Beta testing is like reviewing the first draft of a story. You read, offer suggestions, and then the writer gets a chance to make the story better for another draft. With WildStar's latest phase of testing at a conclusion, creative director Mike Donatelli sat down to explain some areas where WildStar will be changing mechanics based on feedback from both players and the community. Some of these might be a little more familiar, and some are more unique. Donatelli explains that the team hasn't been happy with either incarnation of the Milestone system and has assembled a new system for future testing. Players in testing had complained that neither of the previous incarnations was successful at giving players control over the development of their characters. Kill quests are also going to be changed with the removal of a set count and implementing a sliding progression scale based on overall experience earned. For a more thorough breakdown and a deeper look at beta feedback, take a look at the full community address in this WildStar Wednesday. WildStar discusses the state of the beta and big changes to come originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Aug 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Hopes people will pay upwards of $2,000 for laptops drenched in red
Take a peek at what comes with the Xbox One
Can 50,000 simulations be wrong?
A new flagship SSD, perhaps?
Nvidia eyes up Android tablet market
