General Gaming Article

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• Galaxy S4 Catches Fire, Samsung Tries to Silence Customer
• AMD Radeon R9 290X: Press Board vs. Retail Board
• Reminder: Windows 8.1 Preview License Expires in January 2014
• Asus Allows Color Customization of GeForce GTX 780 Ti DirectCU II Cards Using Bundled Stickers
• Samsung's Magician 4.3 Software Supercharges Your 840 Pro and Evo SSDs
• Intel Plans to Attack Every Tablet Category in 2014
• Samsung Launches First 1TB mSATA SSD, High Capacity Ultrabooks Can't Be Far Behind
• Newegg Daily Deals: Corsair Hydro Series H55 Quiet Cooler, Intel Core i5 4430 Haswell, and More!

Galaxy S4 Catches Fire, Samsung Tries to Silence Customer Posted: 09 Dec 2013 04:30 PM PST One customer's burnt phone turns into a PR disaster YouTuber ghostlyrich was appropriately alarmed when his Samsung Galaxy S4 caught fire after he started charging the phone. He uploaded a video of the damage to YouTube to prove to Samsung that the phone was defective. The three-minute video shows off a partially melted micro-USB cable and a burned charging port. Gadgets malfunction all the time, but Samsung's response is more than a little disheartening.  Samsung's reply was a settlement proposal that offered a replacement phone only if ghostlyrich deleted his YouTube video, promised not to upload similar material, waived his right to sue, and would also "irrevocably release, remise, quit claim and forever discharge Samsung."  Ghostlyrich has responded by uploading another video which has since generated over 400,000 views—over five times the 70,000 view count on his original video. Samsung's attempt to put the incident to bed has completely backfired into a lose-lose situation leaving a customer without a phone and a company with a burnt image. How do you think Samsung should have handled the situation? Tell us in the comments.

AMD Radeon R9 290X: Press Board vs. Retail Board Posted: 09 Dec 2013 03:38 PM PST Are retail R9 290X boards slower than press samples, and does the AMD driver update fix it? Last month AMD launched the Radeon R9 290X GPU, and overall it went very well for AMD as the card was heralded for its incredible price-to-performance ratio compared to Nvidia's top silicon. Shortly after the launch however, a few media outlets got ahold of some retail boards and found them to be much slower than the cards sent to them by AMD. Naturally, people suspected foul play, but AMD insisted it was just a driver issue, in that retail boards and press boards were using different fan speeds, thus delivering different levels of performance. It quickly issued a new driver with Catalyst 13.11 Beta 9.2 and we decided to test and see what the problem was, how the press board differed from the retail board, and whether AMD's latest drive resolved the issue. So what is the issue? When the Radeon R9 290X launched, we learned that AMD's Hawaii GPUs handle clock speeds a bit different than cards that have come before it. Instead of shipping with a guaranteed base clock speed, the Hawaii cards instead have a "maximum clock speed" that they can reach if they are running cool enough. You can also dictate what the card's maximum temperature is through the AMD PowerTune software, and once the card reaches that temperature it begins to throttle in order to stay below that threshold. On the Radeon R9 290X, by default it will run at 1,000MHz if it's nice and cool, but once it gets up to 94C it will begin to throttle since by default its max temp is 95C. So, at 94C it will begin to throttle, and will drop down to 940MHz, or 850MHz, or even lower if it's really stressed out. It's impossible to accurately predict with 100 percent certainty how an individual card will throttle, as all cards will behave slightly differently due to environmental factors as well as differences between individual chips, which is why people were curious about how other cards "in the wild" would behave. In our tests, we found the R9 290X would throttle a tiny bit to around 900MHz or so once it reached 94C, which isn't too far off the mark. When the card throttles by 50-100MHz, performance isn't affected much. However, other media outlets were reporting that it throttled much more than that, even going as low as 727MHz and staying there for awhile. Nvidia also made this claim with a scary PowerPoint presentation prepared for the launch of the GTX 780 Ti. Tom's Hardware said the retail boards it purchased were slower than the less expensive R9 290 boards.  This caused AMD to release a statement to The Tech Report, stating, "A media outlet has uniquely reported instances of AMD Radeon R9 290X boards purchased in retail that have exhibited an uncharacteristic level of performance variance as compared to press samples issued by AMD. We're working to secure the board(s) in question for further analysis.  Boards purchased by other media outlets have not exhibited similar characteristics that we're aware of. In the meantime, we've identified areas where variability can be minimized and are working on a driver update which will minimize this variance.  We will provide an update shortly." Shortly thereafter, AMD released a new driver named Catalyst 13.11 Beta 9.2 that promised to normalize fan speeds across all Radeons R9 290X GPUs.  Retail versus press boards Our retail test board - a still shrink wrapped PowerColor R9 290X Overclocked. Amidst all this hoopla we scored ourselves a retail board made by Powercolor (a third party sent us the board for testing). The card was still wrapped in plastic and had never been touched by human hands. To begin our tests, we ran all of our benchmarks with both the press sample Radeon R9 290X and the PowerColor using the original driver we used for testing -- Catalyst 13.11 Beta 9. Here are the benchmark results:   Radeon R9 290X benchmarks at 2560x1600 with the "original" Beta 9 driver Best scores are bolded. As you can see, just looking at this chart indicates there's a problem, as the press board is clearly faster than the retail card using the same driver. This was the same behavior indicated by reports from other media outlets, and Nvidia as well. However, by leaving the driver the same and swapping out the GPUs we were able to track down the source of the problem... Click the next page to read our analysis on the problem.   The fan on the press board is set to run at a maximum of 40 percent under load, which in its default "quiet" mode is 2,125rpm. The fan on the retail board is set to run at a maximum of 40 percent under load, which in its default "quiet mode is 2,025rpm. We also independently verified the fan speeds using a digital tachometer. It required us to place a reflective sticker on the GPU's blower fan, and then a laser tracks how many times it sends back a signal during a short interval. We also noticed on Legitreviews that Editor Nathan Kirsch recognized that his press board and a retail board were running different versions of the card's BIOS. We checked and sure enough our cards were also running different versions of what appears to be the same BIOS. The press board's BIOS was numbered "015.039.000.007" while the PowerColor board's BIOS was numbered "015.039.000.006," which appears to be one revision older. When we asked AMD About the different BIOSes, it just said, "the variance was due to fan speeds, which we can control through the driver."  Here is that driver, which is the "Beta 9.2" driver designed to "minimize the variance." Benchmarks at 2560x 1600 with the Catalyst 13.11 Beta 9.2 "fix" driver Best scores are bolded. As you can see, with the Beta 9.2 driver installed, the retail board achieves performance parity with our press board. When we reached out to AMD and asked them to tell us specifically what caused the variance in fan speed between the retail boards and our press board, we received the following response. "The variance in production was larger than what we saw before launch." Apparently AMD set all the fans to run at "40 percent" and figured this would translate into the same fan speed for all GPUs. However, according to AMD, because of the way PowerTune fine-tunes voltages, fan speeds, and clock speeds, that 40 percent setting still leaves enough room for there to be differences in fan speeds, which translates to perfomance differences. To corrrect this situation, AMD issued the new driver (13.11 Beta 9.2 and all versions beyond that) which normalized all GPU fans at 2,200rpm in Quiet Mode on the R9 290X. For the one retail board we have tested, the resolution totally worked. Why does the variance only favor AMD? The most curious aspect of this whole fiasco is that AMD says it's being caused by "variance," which it didn't see in pre-production. Now, variance would normally imply that you'd see some boards that are faster than the press board, and some that are slower, but in this case all of the retail boards tested by the media have been the same speed or slower than the press boards. In fact, we can't recall a single website that has found a retail board that is faster than one of the press review units. This does not appear to us as "variance" but more like AMD cherry-picking review samples. To be fair, we are certain Nvidia tests every GPU it sends to media as well, but we don't believe it tests a dozen cards and then sends the best one to a particular media outlet. We don't know if AMD did that for the R9 290X or not but it certainly appears that the review cards are as good as it gets. To its credit, AMD is addressing these issues, or at least acknowledging them. In its latest statement to the Tech Report, it wrote, "These changes [in PowerTune] will also result in some degree of run-to-run test variability based on environmental and operational conditions in un-controlled test environments." Regarding the question of why the variance only favors AMD, it wrote, "Reasonably we would expect the variability to occur both above and below the performance of the press samples, however it appears that most reported performances are biased towards the low side." AMD concludes its statement by saying, "We are actively investigating these reports and we will update when we have completed our investigation." At this point, it seems unlikely we will ever get to the bottom of this situation because the average website can't go out and buy a dozen GPUs to test. We also looked online to see if we could get a larger sample of boards and the R9 290X was sold out at every major online retailer. Whether the cards are sold out because AMD sent very few to the channel or if they are just super popular, we're not sure, but we don't recommend the R9 290X as the R9 290 is a much better deal since it delivers performance that is very close to its big brother for $150 less. In fact, nothing in this story changes or reflects our feelings on the R9 290X. It's a great card, but AMD made the R9 290's performance a bit too close to it in our opinion, making the 290X irrelevant. That said, if AMD conducts an "investigation," we are very curious to see what it comes up with in terms of an answer. What is abundantly clear is that AMD's first attempt at marketing its GPUs using only the maximum clock speed isn't working out so well very far, so perhaps it'll rethink this approach in the future. We're also getting very close to the release of R9 290X boards with custom PCBs and cooling solutions, so we are very curious to see how those bad boys measure up to the press boards as well.

Reminder: Windows 8.1 Preview License Expires in January 2014 Posted: 09 Dec 2013 01:02 PM PST The free ride is coming to an end If you've been sitting pretty with a Windows 8.1 Preview license and have intentions of sticking with it for any length of time, you may want to add a retail copy to your holiday wish list and start dropping hints for your friends and family. Microsoft posted a reminder on its TechNet blog giving users a heads up that the Windows 8.1 Preview license will expire sometime in January 2014, though the Redmond software giant didn't specify an exact date. "Plans should be made to move to the released version of Windows 8.1 or return to the prior OS version as soon as possible to avoid interruption in use of the device on which the Windows 8.1 Preview was installed," Microsoft stated. How you update from Windows 8.1 Preview to Windows 8.1 (or Windows RT 8.1) will depend on how the Preview version was installed. You can reference a special webpage Microsoft setup with detailed instructions on how to make the transition. To summarize, if you installed the Preview from the Windows Store or installed the Preview using media while Windows 8 was running, you can download the update from the Windows Store. If you installed the Preview by booting from ISO media, you can updated to the final version of Windows 8.1 Pro using the Windows Store, but your system won't activate until you buy a license and product key. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Asus Allows Color Customization of GeForce GTX 780 Ti DirectCU II Cards Using Bundled Stickers Posted: 09 Dec 2013 12:02 PM PST A Geforce GTX 780 Ti card with red and gold stickers included Asus has figured out another way to make its GeForce GTX 780 Ti DirectCU II graphics card stand out from the crowd (as if the custom cooling solution wasn't enough). The upcoming card will come bundled with red and gold stickers that you can apply to the part for a custom look. Use of the stickers is totally optional, of course, and you can leave the black colored heatsink alone if you want. Otherwise, the stickers allow you to add semi-custom accents that are a little bit like racing stripes. Color options aside, Swedish language website sweclockers.com posted what it claims are final specs for the upcoming card (GTX780TI-D2OC-3GD5). Assuming the info is accurate, the card will ship with 3GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 7,000MHz on a 384-bit bus. The GPU base clockspeed is set at 954MHz and the boost speed is 1020MHz, and it has 2,880 CUDA cores. It will also sport a pair of modified 8-pin power connectors, along with a native Dual-Link DVI-I port, Dual-Link DVI-D port, HDMI output, and a DisplayPort. No word yet on price or release date. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Samsung's Magician 4.3 Software Supercharges Your 840 Pro and Evo SSDs Posted: 09 Dec 2013 11:27 AM PST Samsung's caching technology unlocks an insane speed boost on select SSDs One thing we didn't cover in Samsung's earlier unveiling of a 1TB 840 Evo mSATA solid state drive (SSD) is the immediate availability of the company's Magician (version 4.3) software. This is notable because it introduces two big upgrades to Samsung's current SSD product lineup, including RAPID (Real-time Accelerated Processing of I/O Data) Mode for Samsung's 840 Pro family of SSDs, and a security features for the company's Evo SSD line. It's the RAPID Mode that really excites us, however, as it offers a significant speed boost to an already insanely fast SSD lineup. We touched on this technology in our examination of Samsung's standard size Evo 1TB review back in July, but to recap, what it does is a take a portion of the host system's DRAM and CPU and uses those resources for caching purposes. "RAPID Mode performs host level read acceleration and write optimization by utilizing free DRAM system memory and is designed to dramatically increase overall PC performance," Samsung says. "Previously only available on the 840 Evo, bringing this to the 840 Pro will enable current and future 840 Pro users to achieve storage subsystem performance faster than the SATA 3.0 interface allows." What kind of speed boost? Samsung says by enabling RAPID Mode, users will see over 1,000MB/s sequential read speeds, or twice that of typical high-performance SATA SSD (and tens that of an average HDD), in certain situations. It achieves this by caching frequently used files in system memory. You can switch the mode on and off in software, but since it only requires 50MB of RAM and an 840 Pro or Evo drive to be activated, you might as well leave it on. As for the security upgrade, the Magician software also enables TCG/OPAL on Samsung 840 Evo SSDs, It's a security specification defined by Trusted Computing Group that allows for better manageability and multi-level authentication. You can download the Magician 4.3 software now. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Intel Plans to Attack Every Tablet Category in 2014 Posted: 09 Dec 2013 08:50 AM PST Watch out ARM, Intel's coming out swinging It's fair to say that Intel missed the boat on mobile in terms of tablets and smartphones, and in doing so, inadvertently conceded the market to ARM. The good news for Intel is that it's early in the game, and the bad news for ARM is that we're going to see a much more aggressive Intel target the mobile sector in 2014 than what we've seen before. From entry-level tablets to high-end slates, Intel's processor roadmap has them all covered. The Santa Clara chip maker has already launched Bay Trail-T with support for Windows 8/8.1. By the end of the year, expect to also see Android-supported models, according to Digitimes and its sources within Taiwan's tablet supply chain. Based on what they've seen, Intel is getting ready to launch entry-level 7-inch Bay Trail (Z3735D Series) tablets running Android ranging in price from $99 to $129. Sounds ultra aggressive, though this isn't the first we've heard of Intel launching a $99 tablet. Larger models up to 8 inches will run $149 to $199 and be available in the first quarter of 2014. Following that, Digitimes' sources say Bay Trail and Cherry Trail platforms will infiltrate 8-inch to 10-inch tablets priced at $199 to $249, and 10-inch models above $249. Cherry Trail, which is based on Intel's 14nm Airmont architecture with support for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 8/8.1 and Android, will come later in the year around September 2014. Intel also plans to release Windows and Android supported tablets running Willow Trail, which is based on its 14nm Goldmont architecture. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Samsung Launches First 1TB mSATA SSD, High Capacity Ultrabooks Can't Be Far Behind Posted: 09 Dec 2013 08:14 AM PST Big capacity stuffed into a small size SSD Ultrabooks and laptops in general aren't getting any chunkier these days, and to accommodate increasingly thin profiles, mSATA form factor solid state drives (SSDs) are taking the place of 2.5-inch drives. That doesn't mean you'll need to give up storage space. Samsung today launched its 840 Evo mSATA SSD line, among which is the industry's first 1TB mSATA-based SSD, the company claims. These drives are an extension of Samsung's Evo family introduced back in July. They're about a quarter of the size of a traditional 2.5-inch SSD, yet offer the same high density and performance. The drives use 128Gb NAND flash memory built from a 10nm-class manufacturing process. Note the "class" qualifier, which doesn't mean these are 10nm chips -- they're actually built on a 19nm process. Tricky marketing aside, these drives are a mere 3.85mm thin and weigh just 8.5 grams. They're available in 120GB, 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB capacities. The 1TB model boasts 98,000 random read and 90,000 random write IOPS, as well as 540MB/s sequential write and 520MB/s sequential read performance. The 840 Evo mSATA SSD line will be available later this month. No pricing information has yet been announced. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Newegg Daily Deals: Corsair Hydro Series H55 Quiet Cooler, Intel Core i5 4430 Haswell, and More! Posted: 09 Dec 2013 07:12 AM PST Top Deal: Liquid cooling used to be a scary thing for the uninitiated. It required lots of research, patience, technical know-how, and a little luck never hurt. These days self-contained liquid coolers are as comon as the cold, most of which don't require any maintenance. If you've been thinking about going down that road, check out today's top deal for a Corsair Hydro Series H55 Quiet Edition Liquid CPU Cooler for $65 with free shipping (normally $77; additional $10 mail-in-rebate). It's easy to install, great for small cases, and never needs refilling or priming. Other Deals: Asus M5A99FX Pro R2.0 AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS for $135 with free shipping (normally $150; additional $20 Mail-in rebate) Intel Core i5-4430 Haswell 3.0GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I54430 for $175 with free shipping (normally $190; use coupon code: [EMCWVXR25]) Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 ST3000DM001 3TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5-inch Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive for $110 with free shipping (normally $135; use coupon code: [EMCWVXR27]) Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model BLS2KIT8G3D1339DS1S00 for $120 with free shipping (normally $140)

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MMO Updates

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• Shroud of the Avatar releases first chapter of novel and more in latest update
• The Nexus Telegraph: WildStar's last two classes
• NSA spies infiltrate MMOs to weed out terrorism
• Darkfall December patches include cannons, new dungeon, and more
• The Stream Team: I'm a unique snowflake edition, December 9 - 15, 2013
• New Frontiers revamp coming to Dark Age of Camelot
• The Daily Grind: Are you OK with auction houses?
• Watch the Destiny VGX trailer... now
• MMO Week in Review: Then man your ships, and may the Force be with you
• EVE Evolved: Lowsec isn't impenetrable

Shroud of the Avatar releases first chapter of novel and more in latest update Posted: 09 Dec 2013 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Dev Diaries, Crowdfunding, Shroud of the Avatar This week's update for Shroud of the Avatar has a variety of tasty news tidbits for fans of the upcoming fantasy game. For starters, early founders and all those who purchased the Blade of the Avatar novel add-on can download the first chapter, co-authored by Tracy Hickman and Richard Garriott, today. A teaser blurb of that first chapters is available on the site. Dev+ backers also get early access to the pre-release of Release 1 (which hits next week) today to help test the installer and patcher. The news doesn't stop thereas SotA has secured the rights to use the musical piece "Karelia's Song" by David Watson, aka Iolo, the great bard of Britannia. Additionally, fans can get limited-time deals on a skinning knife of prosperity and a taming reindeer call, and founders can get a peek at their special Crystal Sword reward. Shroud of the Avatar releases first chapter of novel and more in latest update originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 09 Dec 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Update of the Avatar

The Nexus Telegraph: WildStar's last two classes Posted: 09 Dec 2013 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Bugs, Classes, Opinion, WildStar, The Nexus Telegraph, Subscription, Buy-to-Play In the wake of last week's class reveal, I'm going to start with a piece of information that was actually revealed shortly thereafter but might have been missed. According to the development team, the Chua can be Medics as well. So now, WildStar's full class and race layout has been made public, and what seemed to be a single odd omission is now corrected. You might recall that I did some serious class speculation when we didn't even know what the last two races were going to be back in March. Now we know the last two classes of WildStar and I can see how good my aim was. And once I'm done congratulating myself on fitting together pieces of obvious information, we can talk a little more about what the last two classes are actually doing within the context of the game. That seems fair, doesn't it? I'm glad you agree. Continue reading The Nexus Telegraph: WildStar's last two classes The Nexus Telegraph: WildStar's last two classes originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 09 Dec 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

NSA spies infiltrate MMOs to weed out terrorism Posted: 09 Dec 2013 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Miscellaneous News of our government spying on us is not actually news at this point, but recent reports suggest that governments are also spying on us in our online games. The reason? Suspected terrorism, of course! Former National Security Agency contractor Edward J. Snowden, ProPublica, The Guardian, and The New York Times report today that American and British intelligence agencies have infiltrated Second Life, World of Warcraft, and Xbox Live to weed out militants that may use the games to communicate, move money, or plot attacks under fake identies. So that noob in your PUG last night who just wouldn't heal the tank may have been a CIA agent getting paid ungodly amounts of money to level his Priest at the taxpayers' expense. Most interestingly, Blizzard denies any knowledge of such activities: "We are unaware of any surveillance taking place," said a spokesman for Blizzard Entertainment. "If it was, it would have been done without our knowledge or permission." [Source: ProPublica press release] NSA spies infiltrate MMOs to weed out terrorism originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 09 Dec 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Darkfall December patches include cannons, new dungeon, and more Posted: 09 Dec 2013 06:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Darkfall, Classes, Game Mechanics, Patches, PvP, News Items, Sandbox, Dungeons, Subscription Darkfall fans have more to look forward to this month than just a holiday to get off work (and game more!); Aventurine has posted a list of features that are coming to the sandbox during December. Along with UI changes (a new chat system and hotbars that show skill placement), players will get to experience a new epic dungeon called Sinspire Cathedral, cannons atop the towers in player cities, and Prowess Monoliths that grant prowess to all those who stand inside. Additionally, the third Primalist school -- Chaos -- is in the final stages of development, but might need a little extra time and miss a December release. For more details on these December highlights, check out the official post. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!] Darkfall December patches include cannons, new dungeon, and more originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 09 Dec 2013 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments December highlights

The Stream Team: I'm a unique snowflake edition, December 9 - 15, 2013 Posted: 09 Dec 2013 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Polls, MMO Industry, Massively Meta, Livestream, Miscellaneous, The Stream Team You know, it is true that every single snowflake is unique... just like every other one! So really, being unique is not unique. If you wonder what's got my mind on snowflakes lately, it's a combination of some incredible examples of photography I have seen recently and the fact that a nasty storm was supposed to hit over the weekend. I was expecting a ton of those little unique fellows to strand me in my house. Sad news? No way! As long as I have powerm I have Massively TV, so being unable to venture forth into the world and run errands does not wring a drop of disappointment from me. And there are plenty of good shows on this week's schedule, so bring it on, snow! Continue reading The Stream Team: I'm a unique snowflake edition, December 9 - 15, 2013 The Stream Team: I'm a unique snowflake edition, December 9 - 15, 2013 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 09 Dec 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

New Frontiers revamp coming to Dark Age of Camelot Posted: 09 Dec 2013 05:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Dark Age of Camelot, Patches, Previews, PvP, Subscription A major revamp to Dark Age of Camelot's New Frontiers is incoming on December 12th, signaling a shift in battle tactics and the landscape. The New Frontiers update will adjust the keep and tower layout of several zones to make it more predictable (and, according to Mythic, fun), add a permanent portal keep inside each realm's zones, bring back the portal ceremony, nerf boating, buff movement speed, and provide new objectives for combatants. Mythic says that the December 12th update will only be the first of two parts of the revamp, with the second covering keep fights, siege mechanics, and realm incentives. [Thanks to Mark for the tip!] New Frontiers revamp coming to Dark Age of Camelot originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 09 Dec 2013 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Patch preview

The Daily Grind: Are you OK with auction houses? Posted: 09 Dec 2013 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Economy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind You know, I really miss player shops in MMOs. I realize that the universal auction house is a concession to convenience that most players can no longer live without, but there's something to be said for local market economies and merchant autonomy when it comes to setting yourself apart from the crowd. Not to mention the fact that it's occasionally fun to take a break from the usual killing and looting and browse through a painstakingly furnished player storefront. What about you, Massively readers? Assuming you've ever played an MMO with player-run shops, vendors, and more realistic market systems, do you like those mechanics? Or do you prefer the auction house? 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: Are you OK with auction houses? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 09 Dec 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Watch the Destiny VGX trailer... now Posted: 08 Dec 2013 07:30 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Trailers, Video, MMOFPS, Destiny It's short on words and long on action, and it's something you should make a couple of minutes for to watch right now. We're talking about the Destiny trailer from Spike VGX, and it's a beauty to behold. There's some new shots, some old, and plenty of eye candy all around to see. We've got the video after the break, so check it out and let us know how hyped you are on this title from a scale of one to drool. Continue reading Watch the Destiny VGX trailer... now Watch the Destiny VGX trailer... now originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 08 Dec 2013 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Kotaku

MMO Week in Review: Then man your ships, and may the Force be with you Posted: 08 Dec 2013 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Massively Meta, Week in Review, Miscellaneous At the end of every week, we round up the best and most popular news stories, exclusive features, and insightful columns published on Massively and then present them all in one convenient place. If you missed a big MMO or WoW Insider story last week, you've come to the right post. Star Wars: The Old Republic celebrates two big events this month: its second anniversary and the launch of its latest expansion/update/patch/thing, Galactic Starfighter, for subbing players. The new content's highlights include new off-rails ship-to-ship content for PvP players. Should you shell out to play it now or wait until it's freely available next year? Our SWTOR columnist says it's easily worth the cost of a one-month sub right now. Read on for a look at the rest of this week's top MMO stories. Continue reading MMO Week in Review: Then man your ships, and may the Force be with you MMO Week in Review: Then man your ships, and may the Force be with you originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 08 Dec 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: Lowsec isn't impenetrable Posted: 08 Dec 2013 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game Mechanics, PvP, Endgame, PvE, Opinion, EVE Evolved, Guides, Sandbox, Dungeons, Subscription When EVE Online was created, one of its core design philosophies was the idea of risk vs. reward -- that higher-value activities should expose the player to greater risk of loss. This rule naturally follows from how the world of business and competition works in real life, and I think it will always arise organically from sandbox MMOs with limited resources. If something's risk-free and easy to do, you can bet there are countless other people already doing it and squeezing the profit margins. This idea was also built into EVE at a fundamental level, with the galaxy split into police-protected high-security systems, the pirate-infested low-security borders between nations, and the chaotic uncolonised wilderness of nullsec. The steep step up in risk when transitioning from high- to low-security space has always been a major point of contention with gamers, as those who don't know any better often charge straight into deep space to their deaths. The story of the newbie working his way up to get his first cruiser or battlecruiser and then losing it to pirates is repeated so often on forums and in the comments sections of articles that it's almost become a cliche. While the idea that pirates wait around every corner lingers on, this impenetrable barrier hiding all the best content from new players no longer really exists. Through the addition of wormholes and the changes made in Rubicon, no star system is now off limits to a pilot with just a few months of skill training under his belt. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at what you can do to safely travel and operate in EVE's dangerous areas, why the barrier into low-security space needs to remain low for new players, and how CCP has expanded the EVE universe through the introduction of riskier areas of space. Continue reading EVE Evolved: Lowsec isn't impenetrable EVE Evolved: Lowsec isn't impenetrable originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 08 Dec 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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