General Gaming Article

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• BioShock Infinite Review
• Get a Visual Tour Inside 1&1’s Massive Data Center
• Valve Teases Trio of Upcoming Steam Announcements
• Steve Ballmer Believes Google Has Reached Monopoly Status
• Google is Rewarding QuickOffice Users with 10GB of Online Storage for 2 Years
• Director Robert Rodriguez Taps AMD Technology to Power "Machete Kills" Film
• PSA: Microsoft Designed the Xbox One Console to Lay Flat
• Newegg Daily Deals: AVerMedia Live Gamer HD, Intel Core i5 4570, and More!

BioShock Infinite Review Posted: 20 Sep 2013 03:57 PM PDT Would you kindly play this game? How do you critique a dream? It's the problem we face in reviewing Irrational Games's BioShock Infinite, a game that straddles the gap between an adventure title and a first-person shooter. The visuals within BioShock Infinite can be awe-inspiring. That's not a reflection of its overt design—BioShock Infinite is, at its core, a title that will leave those with less-developed keyboard and mouse skills a bit sad. Rather, the flawlessness of the game's storytelling and general structure compels a player to want to explore, not shoot. BioShock Infinite, once you beat it—and kudos to you for making it through the game's final challenge, which is a bit of an unexpected kick in the pants to its difficulty level—just makes sense. The game's big reveal helps to write away some of the frustrations you might feel when pushing your way toward the conclusion, ever driven by BioShock Infinite's exceedingly complicated storyline and wonderfully drafted protagonists. We had hoped for a title that eschews raw gunslinging for role-playing, one that allows a player more choice and flexibility in gameplay—sadly, this is not it. Instead, BioShock Infinite offers a fairly linear progression that feels like a step back of sorts from the game's predecessors. BioShock Infinite is the truest journey into the unknown, accentuated by flashbacks and other plot devices that give the story a perfect, full-circle narrative (no spoilers). You'll be confused. You might even be bored at times—thanks to those action elements that, quite frankly, are hardly as compelling as your character's stumbles through a world that doesn't make sense, won't make sense, and makes less sense the more you uncover its secrets. In its third BioShock offering, Irrational has perfected the art of, well, being BioShock, which requires mastering a tricky balance of aloofness, storytelling, and just plain weird that you don't often see quite as brilliantly mixed in other similarly "odd" titles. We're loathe to discuss the plot of BioShock Infinite to our usual detailed degree due to the transformative experience that Irrational builds during your trip through the 1912 world of Columbia—truly, a city in the clouds. In many ways, the game's plot is what you make of it; blast your way through with reckless abandon and you'll lose some of the flavorful storytelling elements that require a bit more sleuthing to uncover. And God help you when it comes time to parse the game's overall plot during its big conclusion—you'll get a nosebleed. What we can say is this: You're tasked with tracking down a girl, Elizabeth. This quest pushes you through all the oddities of an Andrew Ryan–like totalitarianism—based on religious zealotry this time around, not capitalism—throws in the age-old plot device of forcing your character, Booker DeWitt, to run the gauntlet between two warring factions, and then just gets plain strange. The strange parts offer up some of the game's most intellectually stimulating moments, assuming that they don't completely turn you away from finishing the title outright. They could. You'll wonder why '70s rock music and other "modern" songs coexist in the same realm where you're shooting up giant robotic Abraham Lincolns and blasting them with wicked powers from your glowing left hand. A giant George Washington robot carrying a huge gun is something we wouldn't want to piss off. We're not huge fans of the game's combat elements, precisely because they aren't really all that difficult, nor do they offer a great deal of variety or interest. Your guns are fun, but relatively standard—pistols, machine guns, burst-fire machine guns, sniper rifles, etc. They're upgradable to a small extent via purchasable elements from the litany of terminals scattered throughout the game, which present a fun challenge in itself: You have limited resources to upgrade. Unless you frequently spend big on ammunition, you'll find yourself frequently switching between whatever guns you happen to be able to pick up. Which is to say, don't bank on always having a favorite at your disposal during an extended firefight. Your left-hand "Vigor" powers—an icon of the BioShock universe—are a bit more varied. You can zap, firebomb, push, and even turn enemies to your side (they kill themselves when they're finished fighting for you, one of the game's first "oh, wow" moments). These, too, can be upgraded, but at a significantly greater cost than your guns. You can also string your powers together to form some unique and painful combinations, but this is definitely one of BioShock Infinite's less-advertised bits. (We hope you saved your Salts.) The game's baddies are decently intelligent, but BioShock Infinite is a bit fonder of throwing legions of pain at you and forcing you to come up with fun ways to kill them without turning to fisticuffs (which, we note, is still fun). You do get some strategic elements to play with around midway through the game, thanks to your travelling companion, Elizabeth—as to how, we won't spoil. However, these bits make some fights almost too easy, though we do appreciate being able to summon friendly, chaingun-carrying robots to hang out with us. The world of Columbia does tie into historical events… to a certain extent. And then there's Elizabeth. Irrational has polished the nuances of your travelling companion to such a degree that you might actually find yourself emotionally struck by the various twists and turns you two take throughout your journey(s) in Columbia and beyond. Not since Valve's GLaDOS have we felt that a developer perfectly nailed a character's presentation in such a compelling, captivating fashion. This is helped in part by the game's mechanics—specifically, its help-you system, which has Elizabeth tossing you items whenever you seem to need them most. Not only does she save your gaming butt, the experience further cements the unique bond that Irrational often evokes between your character and hers. She's not just a combat droid along for the ride; she's humanity in digital form. If you don't believe us, go hunting around for a guitar within the game; the single scene of Elizabeth singing Columbia's "theme," as it were, is easily one of the more poignant (albeit subtle) moments we've experienced in a first-person shooter. Heck, she'll even warm her hands on a fireplace when you enter a room that has one—it's subtle, but critical believability. BioShock Infinite's pacing and "learnability" is ideal; its complexity is vast yet subtle, precisely based on how deep you're willing to try new tactics and features as you play. Its characterization and environments are as beautiful as its dystopian setting is disturbing and, at times, racist. You owe it to yourself to play this game all the way through, if for nothing else than the hours you'll spend debating its merits (if not its ending) with your gamer friends. The world of BioShock doesn't get much better than this. $60, www.bioshockinfinite.com

Get a Visual Tour Inside 1&1’s Massive Data Center Posted: 20 Sep 2013 11:48 AM PDT Web hosting company invites us to Kansas to check out its 55,000 square-foot facility To celebrate its 10-year anniversary in the United States, web hosting company 1&1 invited us to check out its sophisticated 55,000 square-foot data center in Lenexa, Kansas.  If you're unfamiliar with 1&1, the company started in Germany in 1998 and focuses on helping people and small-to-medium businesses build websites. The company's research shows that many small-to-medium companies want to build professional-quality sites, but are intimidated by the process. When we met with 1&1, the company said that its straightforward "MyWebsite" content management system has gone a long way in streamlining this process for over 500,000 customers. This is quite impressive when you consider that this feature has been around for less than two years. Want to integrate e-shop apps, PayPal support, or social media integration on to your website? Simply drag and drop those supported apps on to your web page using the company's site-building tool. That is not to say the web hosting company doesn't support other content management systems, however. If you'd rather use Wordpress, Drupal, or other popular services and just wanted to register a web domain through 1&1, that's an option too. As a result of its business practices, 1&1 is now one of the largest web hosting companies in the world.  When we spoke with 1&1, the company said that the Internet landscape will really change in the next few years with over 700 new top level domains (TLDs) rolling out. This means that instead of seeing ".com" at the end of every website, you'll begin to see .music, .blog, .nyc, and more. 1&1 says that these new TLDs will bolster relevant search engine optimizations (SEO) and help local businesses with geo-location searches. To take advantage of this, 1&1 says that it has worked out an agreement to register these new  TLDs from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). It will be interesting to see how these developments affects the online landscape moving forward. Regardless, the thing that got us most excited about 1&1 was being able to visit the company's high-tech data center. To get a glimpse of what it was like on the inside, check out our pics and descriptions below!

Valve Teases Trio of Upcoming Steam Announcements Posted: 20 Sep 2013 11:20 AM PDT Something bold is brewing at Steam Valve co-founder Gabe Newell turned a few heads earlier in the week at the LinuxCon 2013 conference by saying the next step for his company is to release some work it's been doing on the hardware side of things. Many speculated he could be referring to an official Steambox, though even if that's the case, it won't be the only thing Steam is cooking up for next year. Valve will make three announcements next week. If you head over to http://store.steampowered.com/living/room, you'll see the headline, "The Steam Universe is Expanding in 2014," along with placeholders for three announcements at the bottom. The first one will be revealed on Monday, though there isn't much in the way of clues if you're trying to guess beforehand. "Last year, we shipped a software feature called Big Picture, a user-interface tailored for televisions and gamepads. This year we've been working on even more ways to connect the dots for customers who want Steam in the living-room," Valve states on its teaser page. "Soon, we'll be adding you to our design process, so that you can help us shape the future of Steam." Other than an official Steambox, it's possible Valve will announce a Linux-based Steam operating system to drive its hardware. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Steve Ballmer Believes Google Has Reached Monopoly Status Posted: 20 Sep 2013 09:17 AM PDT Ballmer drops the "M" word at Google There was a time not all that long ago that when you heard the word "monopoly" being used in tech circles, it was often directed at Microsoft. Some would still argue that Microsoft is a monopoly, but underscoring the changing of the guard as the market transitions to mobile, Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer tossed the "m" word at Google during an annual meeting with financial analysts. In response to a question about how Microsoft can make money in consumer services, Ballmer pointed out that Google has found a way, and then added a bit of a quip in some followup remarks. "They have this incredible, amazing, dare I say monopoly that we are the only person left on the planet trying to compete with," Ballmer said, according to The Verge. Ballmer points out that Microsoft with its Bing search engine is the only company in the world attempting to compete with Google's dominance in search and advertising. Even though Bing is in second place with a 17.9 percent share of the search market, there's a tremendous gap between it and Google, which commands a 67 percent share. "I do believe that Google's practices are worthy of discussion with competition authority, and we have certainly discussed them with competition authorities," Ballmer added. "I don't think their practices are getting less meritorious of discussion." Ballmer has never been once to mince words, though now that he's announced his retirement, there may be even less of a filter between what he's thinking and what he says. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Google is Rewarding QuickOffice Users with 10GB of Online Storage for 2 Years Posted: 20 Sep 2013 08:58 AM PDT QuickOffice is now free and comes with a perk Google is determined to win the cloud wars, and to prove it, the company announced that its document editing software QuickOffice is now free for both Android and iOS platforms. Prior to Google's pro bono change of heart, this was a $20 program, which is popular for its ability to let you edit Microsoft Office documents on your smartphone or tablet. Not only is it now free, but Google is giving away online storage, too. Just sign into your Google Account from the new QuickOffice app for either platform by September 26, 2013, and you'll receive an extra 10GB of Google Drive storage to your account for two years (it will show up sometime in the next few weeks, Google says). Combined with the free app, that's not a bad haul for no out-of-pocket expense. Google removed the old version of QuickOffice from Apple's App Store and Google Play, so there's no confusing which one you're downloading. The updated app also has some new features, including a refreshed icon, the ability to create ZIP folders, and the ability to view charts in Excel and PowerPoint files. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Director Robert Rodriguez Taps AMD Technology to Power "Machete Kills" Film Posted: 20 Sep 2013 07:52 AM PDT AMD goes to Hollywood You may have seen a trailer for "Machete Kills," an upcoming sequel to "Machete" starring Danny Trejo, Charlie Sheen, Mel Gibson, Sofia Vergara, Michelle Rodriguez, Antonio Banderas, Cuba Gooding Jr., and even Lady Gaga (her first cinematic appearance). There are some big names there, though they're not the only recognizable ones involved with the film. Behind the scenes is another big name: AMD. Quick Draw Studio's visual effects division, Troublemaker Digital, is using AMD Opteron processors and FirePro graphics cards on many of the movies it's involved with, including "Machete Kills." According to AMD, director Robert Rodriguez of Quick Draw Studios is a pioneer in the use of computing technology for big-screen action and high fidelity imagery in major motion pictures. "Editing, content creation and special effects were all made easier with AMD technology in our studios," Rodriguez said. "We just had to put AMD's brand in the film as a special shoutout to a great technology partner, and we had a lot of fun bringing this sequel to life. 'Machete Kills' is action-packed and very visually rich, and we pushed our creative process even further on this release." This isn't Rodriguez's first time tapping into AMD. He's also used the Sunnyvale chip designer's hardware in a bunch of previous films, including the first "Machete," "Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams," "Spy Kids 3D: Game Over," and "Sin City," among several others. "Machete Kills" come to theaters in October. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

PSA: Microsoft Designed the Xbox One Console to Lay Flat Posted: 20 Sep 2013 07:08 AM PDT Go vertical at your own risk Here's a heads up for any of you who may have pre-ordered or otherwise plan on purchasing an Xbox One game console. Depending on how adventurous you're feeling, you may need to rearrange your AV cabinet if you've already made room for the console and assumed it would be okay place it vertically. Turns out it's not okay and you could actually damage the console if you don't lay it flat. So says Albert Panello, senior director of product management and planning at Xbox, who spoke with GameSpot at the Tokyo Game Show this week. "We don't support vertical orientation; do it at your own risk," Panello said. "It wouldn't be a cooling problem, we just didn't design the drive for vertical. Because it's a slot loading drive, we just didn't design it for both." To us, that seems like a major oversight, especially since the Xbox One is the most expensive of all three next generation consoles (it also comes with a Kinect motion controller, so it's not an arbitrary price difference). And it's not like Microsoft is breaking new ground here. Both the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 sport similar designs with slot-loading optical drives, but you're free to orient them vertically or horizontally. Panello reasons that through Microsoft's own research, the company found that 80 percent of people situate their Xbox console horizontally anyway. Even if true, 20 percent is a big chunk to flip the finger at. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Newegg Daily Deals: AVerMedia Live Gamer HD, Intel Core i5 4570, and More! Posted: 20 Sep 2013 05:51 AM PDT Top Deal: If all you're doing is playing video games, you're missing out on half the fun. The other part of the equation is recording your epic gaming moments and sharing them online. All you need is a capture device, and it just so happens that today's top deal is for an AVerMedia Live Gamer HD Capture Card for $150 with free shipping (normally $170 - use couopn code GAMING9212). Armed with a PCI-E x1 interface, this capture card records 1080p@60 gameplay and lets you add live voice commentary, too. Other Deals: Intel Core i5-4570 Haswell 3.2GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor for $190 with free shipping (normally $200 - use coupon code: [GAMING9197]) LG 24EB23PY-B Black 24" 5ms LCD Monitor w/ Built-in Speakers for $225 with free shipping (normally $250 - use coupon code: [LGCMNT23]) OCZ Fatal1ty 550W Modular Power Supply for $63 with free shipping (normally $70 - use coupon code: [SECX10]; additional $30 Mail-in rebate) Raidmax Helios Black Steel/Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case for $45 with free shipping (normally $60 - use coupon code: [GAMING9188]; additional $15 Mail-in rebate)

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MMO Updates

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• Looking for Guild: We want to help you find your next guild!
• Filth invades Agartha in The Secret World's collaborative event
• Shadow Cities closing down October 7
• Experience TERA with a free high-level character
• World of Warplanes bumps release dates to November
• The Daily Grind: Have you ever scored an MMO world first?
• The Summoner's Guidebook: LoL Season 3 World Championships' group stage
• Lord of the Rings Online explains Hunter changes in Helm's Deep
• New trailer shows off the best of PvP in Star Wars: The Old Republic
• Ask Massively: The order of all the things
• The Guild Counsel: Running an MMO guild on an empty server
• A virtual economist's defense of the subscription model
• Camelot Unchained reveals the HelBound class
• Neverwinter gives rewards for transferring ZEN
• The Think Tank: How do you feel about community involvement with an MMO's development process?
• Wander winds its way to the PS4

Looking for Guild: We want to help you find your next guild! Posted: 20 Sep 2013 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Guilds, Massively Meta, Miscellaneous, Looking for Guild Do you ever find yourself standing alone in your favorite MMO, staring longingly at the group content that lies ahead? Has your guild abandoned you for the newest shiny MMO? Are you a guild leader looking to expand your ranks? Fret no more, fellow MMO fans, for we are starting up a brand-new column this week for those of you looking for a new guild or guildie. We'd like to think that Massively readers are a unique bunch and should all be playing these games together, so we're going to do what we can to help that along. While we've done similar community pushes in the past, we want to present this current column as a more personalized approach to finding a guild or guildie. Think of it as a personals ad for the guildless or under-guilded. Continue reading Looking for Guild: We want to help you find your next guild! Looking for Guild: We want to help you find your next guild! originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Sep 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filth invades Agartha in The Secret World's collaborative event Posted: 20 Sep 2013 09:30 AM PDT Filed under: Horror, Real-Life, Events (In-Game), News Items, The Secret World, Buy-to-Play You knew it was coming, and you've waited for it -- the day when the filth would infiltrate Agartha itself and a new cooperative long-term event would begin in The Secret World. Well, that day is today! Starting now, players will have to work together to fend off the Filth, unlocking new content and rewards as they go; the more each player contributes, the more rewards and success the entire community will have. The Whispering Tide event will escalate as the months go by, and the culmination of the event will pit the community against a brutal foe whose defeat will open the Tokyo portal and herald the release of the much anticipated Issue #9. [Source: Funcom press release] Filth invades Agartha in The Secret World's collaborative event originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Sep 2013 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Shadow Cities closing down October 7 Posted: 20 Sep 2013 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Real-Life, Sci-Fi, Sunsets First announced in 2010, Shadow Cities was set to be a completely new experience in MMO gaming. The location-based mobile game secured millions in investment capital and had a promising showing at GDC 2011. But all of that wasn't enough to keep the game afloat almost three years later. Finnish developer Grey Area has announced that they will be closing down Shadow Cities on October 7 of this year. The game has already been removed from the iTunes App Store as of today and it will not accept new Mana Potion purchases. [Source: Grey Area release] Shadow Cities closing down October 7 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Sep 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Experience TERA with a free high-level character Posted: 20 Sep 2013 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, Giveaways, TERA, Promotions Last March, En Masse enticed new players to join and get to high levels in TERA with a power-level promotion. But for some, even prizes couldn't make that much grinding worth it. If you fall in that crowd, then TERA's newest promotion is for you: For a limited time, new and existing accounts can get a free level 58 character! This Level Up Test Event is a chance for current players to get friends into the game and group up with them immediately as well as for new players who've been debating trying it to experience the newest content. To get your free level 58 character, you must create a brand-new character between 1:00 p.m. September 19th and 2:59 a.m. September 22nd and give it a name ending in ".Levelup" (i.e. Bob.Levelup, Jane.Levelup). All newly minted level 58 characters will be supplied with gear, a mount, access to all story quests, and a name change voucher. For full details, visit the official site. [Thanks to John for the tip!] Experience TERA with a free high-level character originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Sep 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Level Up Test Event

World of Warplanes bumps release dates to November Posted: 20 Sep 2013 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Historical, Launches, New Titles, War, Free-to-Play, World of Warplanes Wargaming's World of Warplanes has changed its official release date from September 25 and 26 to November 12 (for the Russian Commonwealth of Independent States) and 13 (for both North America and Europe). The previous date was given at this year's Gamescom, but this postponement "seeks to offer gamers a richer, more immersive multiplayer experience at launch. " On launch day, all XP earned during open beta will not reset and will be evenly distributed between pilots of low-level warplanes from each of the five national lines. [Source: Wargaming press release] World of Warplanes bumps release dates to November originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Sep 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: Have you ever scored an MMO world first? Posted: 20 Sep 2013 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Culture, Events (In-Game), Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Opinion, Star Wars Galaxies, The Daily Grind, Humor, Miscellaneous, Sandbox Back in the days before achievement systems reassured us that we were indeed having fun and badges were considered content, I had a dream: a dream to be the first Master Image Designer on my Star Wars Galaxies server. With the help of my guildies, I put together the staggering amount of money to train my skill and made at least a thousand people "look like Neo" for tips, becoming so well-known that newcomers to the profession traveled the galaxy (literally!) to seek me out for training like some NPC. (I promptly used my newfound fortune to round out my template as a Smuggler because nothing says "upstanding hairstylist" like drug-dealing and hacking.) Back then, games didn't reward you with a pretty badge or fancy title for being "first," but modern MMOs do. Players and guilds will go to ridiculous lengths to ensure their place in history as "first guild to down such and such boss with 13.5 players" or "first tailor to sew hot pink level 500 epic boots." How about you guys? Have you ever landed a world or server first, recorded or otherwise, and what was it? 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: Have you ever scored an MMO world first? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Sep 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Summoner's Guidebook: LoL Season 3 World Championships' group stage Posted: 19 Sep 2013 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Events (Real-World), PvP, Opinion, Free-to-Play, MOBA, League of Legends, The Summoner's Guidebook I am at a bit of a disadvantage here. At the time I'm writing this, the group stage isn't over, but you guys will be watching the last of it around the time you read this. Regardless of the time delay, there have been some great matches at the League of Legends Season 3 World Championships. The matches haven't been the only thing good about the tournament. Riot has added a lot of presentation quality, including pro interviews and an analysis desk. In spite of some minor technical issues, this has been a very solid tournament thus far. Continue reading The Summoner's Guidebook: LoL Season 3 World Championships' group stage The Summoner's Guidebook: LoL Season 3 World Championships' group stage originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Sep 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Lord of the Rings Online explains Hunter changes in Helm's Deep Posted: 19 Sep 2013 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Classes, Expansions, Previews, News Items, Free-to-Play Ranged classes can be hard to handle from a design standpoint. Lord of the Rings Online had exactly that problem with Hunters; players felt that one of the class trait lines was the "main" line and the others were just supplementary. The latest development blog explains how that issue has been corrected: the developers have given the Bowmaster, Huntsman, and Trapper of Foes lines unique roles and specialties on the battlefield. The Bowmaster is a stationary high-DPS ranged specialization that requires a steady spot for consistent damage. The Huntsman, meanwhile, emphasizes mid-range mobility and rapid output of weaker attacks. Trapper of Foes fills out the roster by focusing on crowd control and AoE, trading in some damage for more group offerings. Players can start enjoying these changes when the expansion goes live in November. On an unrelated but important note, players impacted by the game's outage issues earlier in the month have now been compensated via time extensions for subscribers and free Turbine Points for lifetime members. It's not a class revision, but it's certainly a welcome bit of recompense. Lord of the Rings Online explains Hunter changes in Helm's Deep originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Sep 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Hunter class changes, Downtime compensation

New trailer shows off the best of PvP in Star Wars: The Old Republic Posted: 19 Sep 2013 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Trailers, Video, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, Star Wars: The Old Republic Star Wars: The Old Republic has been hitting the advertising road a bit harder lately. The newest trailer isn't a live-action romp, but it does encourage prospective players to pick a side in the game's conflict between the Republic and the Empire. That's because this one is all about the game's PvP, more specifically about the factional warzones which feature several members of both factions beating the stuffing out of one another. Existing players will probably recognize all of the warzones pictured (and potentially question why so many people are standing in place fighting duels in a Huttball match), as the trailer doesn't contain any footage of the upcoming arena PvP maps. But if you're unfamiliar with what the PvP looks like in the game, you could do worse than taking a gander. Here's a hint: It involves a lot of lightsabers. Continue reading New trailer shows off the best of PvP in Star Wars: The Old Republic New trailer shows off the best of PvP in Star Wars: The Old Republic originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Sep 2013 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: YouTube

Ask Massively: The order of all the things Posted: 19 Sep 2013 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, MMO Industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, Ask Massively, Events (Massively's Coverage), Community Q&A, Miscellaneous, Crowdfunding This week in Ask Massively, we're fielding two queries about how we position games in some of our weekly roundup columns. As an obsessive list-maker, I understand the need to make sense of list chaos, believe me. I actually have lists of my lists. I'm not kidding. Our first question is from Siphaed, who wondered about the entries in our Week in Review: I'm a bit confused why The Elder Scrolls Online and Star Citizen got above FFXIV. Don't get me wrong, I honestly don't like either game and still prefer the one above all three (Guild Wars 2). However, I see that FFXIV has four key articles dedicated to it this past week and the other two have only three each. I would think that it would get a slight priority in the pecking order based on that. If not, what are the credentials for one game getting priority over the others in the article listing? I love that you guys think we're sitting around steepling our fingers trying to decide which game should go on top and get the golden star sticker for the week, but unfortunately, it's nowhere near that much fun! Continue reading Ask Massively: The order of all the things Ask Massively: The order of all the things originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Sep 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Guild Counsel: Running an MMO guild on an empty server Posted: 19 Sep 2013 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Guilds, Opinion, The Guild Counsel, Miscellaneous Guilds and MMOs have a surprising number of things in common. They both want the game to succeed, they both want lots of players to be in game playing, they want people to be happy and having fun, and they both constantly struggle with attrition. That last one has been a particular problem for practically every MMO that's launched because after the first few months, populations begin to drop, sometimes dramatically. For MMOs that have multiple servers, this means some servers will begin to feel empty, and that can take a toll on the guilds that play there. When you're running a guild in a graveyard, it's harder to recruit, more difficult to find others to group and raid with, and harder to keep morale up. But is moving the guild really the best answer? Let's explore your options in this week's Guild Counsel. Continue reading The Guild Counsel: Running an MMO guild on an empty server The Guild Counsel: Running an MMO guild on an empty server originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Sep 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

A virtual economist's defense of the subscription model Posted: 19 Sep 2013 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Business Models, Economy, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Free-to-Play, Miscellaneous, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription, MMORPG, Buy-to-Play ZeniMax Online and Bethesda's decision to release The Elder Scrolls Online as a subscription-based game unleashed a fresh wave of debate on the future of MMO payment models and the unique advantages and drawbacks offered by each. Virtual economist Isaac Knowles is the latest expert to offer his opinion on the announcement, posted in the form of a meaty defense of the subscription model in general. Knowles (who works under game economist Edward Castronova) posits that there are three primary criticisms with the sub model: it incentivizes players to rush through content, it requires the steady release of expensive content, and it prevents companies from price discriminating (charging players for how much those players value the game rather than a flat rate). He then works to dismantle each criticism, using math as his primary weapon. If you're into detailed looks at payment models, the full blog is worth a read. Hit the jump for a quick summary of Knowles' main points. Continue reading A virtual economist's defense of the subscription model A virtual economist's defense of the subscription model originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Sep 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Gamasutra

Camelot Unchained reveals the HelBound class Posted: 19 Sep 2013 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Classes, Lore, PvP, Dev Diaries, Camelot Unchained, Subscription Want to meet a new Camelot Unchained class that's part of the Vikings and can totally sear your soul if you so much as smile strangely at it? Sure you do! Mark Jacobs took the opportunity today to share some early details, lore, and concept art for the HelBound, a healer class that revolves around the theme of duality. "Becoming a HelBound means pain and pleasure, power and weakness for we are as our mother, creatures of a dual nature," the backstory intones. The HelBound is given the choice of a HelMark that will distinguish the character as either a healer or a death-dealing fighter. The class has cool half-masks that channel special effects due to an ancestor hopping along for the ride. According to Jacobs, the HelBound are "quite intriguing and just a wee bit dark." Camelot Unchained reveals the HelBound class originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Sep 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: HelBound reveal

Neverwinter gives rewards for transferring ZEN Posted: 19 Sep 2013 12:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Free-to-Play, Promotions, Neverwinter News flash: Perfect World Entertainment really, really wants you to spend money in its games. Now that you're shaking off the shock of that revelation, here's some more news for you: You can get additional rewards for doing so, at least in Neverwinter. From today through September 23rd, players who purchase ZEN (Perfect World's premium currency) and then transfer it into Neverwinter can receive rewards based on the amount of money spent. If you lock in 500 ZEN, you'll get a Sun Mask sent to all of your characters. Spend 3,000 ZEN and you'll get the mask and the Fey Wolf mount. And if you transfer 6,000 ZEN, you'll get all of the above and a Quickling companion. The in-game rewards will become available on September 27th. Neverwinter gives rewards for transferring ZEN originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Sep 2013 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Charge rewards program

The Think Tank: How do you feel about community involvement with an MMO's development process? Posted: 19 Sep 2013 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Opinion, Massively Meta, Miscellaneous, The Think Tank A game's community has become more important to the development of modern MMOs as studios are paying more and more attention to what the players actually want versus what publishers want. This is evident in games like EVE Online with its player council, and Kickstarter has opened up a whole new avenue for the players to influence that dev process. But sometimes, that player influence isn't always for the best. In the famous words of poet John Lydgate, "You can't please all of the people all of the time." Yet many developers still try. So I threw the question out to the Massively staff to get some fresh opinions. Should we all be able to play the part of an armchair developer, or should we leave the design up to the paid designers? Continue reading The Think Tank: How do you feel about community involvement with an MMO's development process? The Think Tank: How do you feel about community involvement with an MMO's development process? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Sep 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Wander winds its way to the PS4 Posted: 19 Sep 2013 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Galleries, Screenshots, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Consoles, Sandbox At PAX Prime, players who yearned for more to a game than just combat were treated to a glimpse of a game that doesn't even have combat. Aptly named Wander, this game's focus is on collaborative exploration and discovery. Currently the game runs on Linux, PC, and OS X, but today Creative Director Loki Davison announced that the Oculus Rift-supporting title will be available on the PlayStation 4. What can players expect when wandering in Wander? Explorable land totals 64 square kilometres so far and players will start off as a giant tree exploring a rainforest. Throughout their journeys, they can morph into a total of five different forms: Ent, Polynesian Elf Girl, Griffon, Azertash (sea creature), and Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger). You can get a taste of the world in the gallery below. [Source: Wander Game press release] Wander winds its way to the PS4 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Sep 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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