MMO Updates |
- The Game Archaeologist and the What Ifs: Ultima X: Odyssey
- Aion community update details server-first boss kills and more
- ArcheAge Lillet Meadows location previewed
- Bright Shadow Online announced
- Players to celebrate diversity in Star Trek Online
- The Daily Grind: What's your longest patch-day wait?
- Lost Pages of Taborea: Improving versatility in RoM's content
- Wings Over Atreia: You are what you play
- One Shots: Welcome to pet week!
- Global Agenda's new F2P model a resounding success
- The Tattered Notebook: Looking back at RMT through a futuristic monocle
| The Game Archaeologist and the What Ifs: Ultima X: Odyssey Posted: 05 Jul 2011 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Ultima Online, Humor, The Game Archaeologist  And now, for the exciting conclusion! As disappointed that some MMO fans were over Ultima Worlds Online: Origin's cancellation, the truth is that the industry still was young, these MMOs still had their "new car smell," and hey, there was always Ultima Online to play. It was probably the right call at the time to not create your own competition, but if that was the case, EA should've never begun it to begin with. So did the company have a major case of cancellation remorse? Or did it look at other industry sequels like Asheron's Call 2 and EverQuest II and feel as though it was being upstaged? Whatever the reason, EA decided that it had been too hasty, and it greenlit development on yet another Ultima Online sequel, this one titled Ultima X: Odyssey. It would go deeper and further into development, gather more acclaim, and generate more hype than UWO:O, and in fact would get within spitting distance of launching. Continue reading The Game Archaeologist and the What Ifs: Ultima X: Odyssey
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| Aion community update details server-first boss kills and more Posted: 05 Jul 2011 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, MMO industry, News items  The post is packed with content including player screenshots, artwork, profiles of Aion community managers, and a detailed accounting of the first western shard boss kills for both Sematariux and Padmarashka. There's also an embedded video (which you can view after the cut, below) if you're looking to get a few pointers for your own raiding party. Finally, check out the helpful how-to for those of you interested in designing your own legion cloak emblems, as there's a special emphasis on making logos with transparent backgrounds. All of these juicy details can be found at the official Aion website. Continue reading Aion community update details server-first boss kills and more
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| ArcheAge Lillet Meadows location previewed Posted: 05 Jul 2011 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, New titles, News items, ArcheAge  Ordinarily we'd describe this sort of piece as a zone preview, but given that ArcheAge is an open world the phrase "location preview" seems more appropriate. The location in question is the Lillet Meadows, an area designed for players between levels 10 and 15 and situated near the Elven and Nuian starting areas. The meadows lie in a lush, fertile valley far from the hustle and bustle of the nearest city, and AAportal spends a good bit of virtual ink describing the natural surroundings. Despite the tranquil setting, enemies abound in the area, most of them variations on undead that include wraiths, ghosts, and a new type of zombie that apparently features broken weapon fragments instead of limbs. Head to AAportal for all the details, and don't forget to click the image links to see all the Lillet Meadows screenshots.
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| Bright Shadow Online announced Posted: 05 Jul 2011 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, MMO industry, New titles, News items  Bright Shadow's beta begins this Friday, July 8th on Gamania's beanfun! platform. Interested players can grab a beta key by playing the Bright Shadow Memory Game at the title's website. The minigame involves matching six pairs of monster cards, at which point you'll unlock your key. Careful, though, you've only got four lives to spend. Bright Shadow Online features 20 classes, 60 randomly generated dungeons, over 600 collectible monster cards, and extensive character customization according to Gamania's official website.
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| Players to celebrate diversity in Star Trek Online Posted: 05 Jul 2011 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Culture, Events, in-game, Star Trek Online  This upcoming weekend, Stonewall Fleet, Star Trek Online's largest GLBT and straight ally guild, will be hosting the second annual STO Pride Weekend. In memory of the gay rights movements from decades ago, as well as to celebrate the diversity that Gene Roddenberry always envisioned Star Trek to encompass, festivities are planned that will span both Saturday, July 9th, and Sunday, July 10th. Whether you would like to attend the opening ceremonies, play a round of PvP, warp in the parade, or attend the prom, there is something for everyone. We had a chance to speak to Nicholas Swinford, founder and Fleet Admiral for Stonewall Fleet, who told us, "this time of year is a time of great celebration for the GLBT community. Millions worldwide celebrate during this time of year in remembrance of the Stonewall Riots. For this occasion, Stonewall Fleet will be hosting events throughout the second weekend of July. The events will be open to the entire Star Trek Online community and we hope that you and your fleet will come join in." With that said, red (orange, yellow, green, blue and purple) alert, shields up, set your phasers to fabulous, and engage!
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| The Daily Grind: What's your longest patch-day wait? Posted: 05 Jul 2011 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Culture, MMO industry, Patches, Opinion, Free-to-play  Age of Conan's 2.6 patch (or Unchained, if you prefer) falls into the latter category. It was so big, in fact, that the game servers were down for a whopping 13-plus hours last Thursday. While this was expected and Funcom did an admirable job of updating the launcher as well as a relevant forum thread, the wait tested the patience of some AoC die-hards before it finally went live around 10:30 p.m. EDT. For today's Daily Grind, tell us about your patch-day patience. Do you constantly watch for updates, or do you forget about the game for a while and do something more productive? What's the longest you've ever had to wait?  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!
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| Lost Pages of Taborea: Improving versatility in RoM's content Posted: 04 Jul 2011 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Opinion, Free-to-play, Runes of Magic, Lost Pages of Taborea  RoM's gear-system ensures that you get a lot of variety in choosing what kind of character to make and how you want to play it, but there's a threshold at which the only way to allow for even more diversity among class builds is to offset the linear difficulty of new content by replacing your stats with more powerful versions of themselves, adding refinements and tiering, upgrades that just up your sheer power. Players get funneled into more restrictive builds as they gain levels. The downfall is in the content itself because it becomes super-easy-mode killing after over-gearing. It's turning on a cheat code. Any need -- or desire -- to manage blood bars or skill rotations gets thrown out with the trash. It's a foreseeable issue in just about any game across any platform or genre in which you would allow the players to gain extra amounts of power. But is there a way to allow for it and keep in some challenge and variety? Some solutions might be to slow down the pace of combat, stretch the utility of player bars, make content more dynamic, or throw in some sandbox behavior. Continue reading Lost Pages of Taborea: Improving versatility in RoM's content
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| Wings Over Atreia: You are what you play Posted: 04 Jul 2011 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Opinion, Wings Over Atreia  It's quite fascinating, really -- certain personality traits are simply drawn to certain classes. More so than any other aspect of gaming, character class is a reflection of some of our core traits and beliefs; character creation is rarely just random but rather is guided by conscious and unconscious desires. Don't believe me? Take a look around Atreia -- it is demonstrated time and time again. Warriors, scouts, mages, priests... each has idiosyncrasies that are unique to the archetype and are fitting for the gamers who play them. And don't think others' opinions aren't colored by your class; each also subtly alludes to these specific traits. So what does your class say about you (or your legionmates)? Step past the cut into my office and we can delve into these personality profiles within Aion. Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: You are what you play
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| One Shots: Welcome to pet week! Posted: 04 Jul 2011 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, One Shots, RIFT  This is my Dragon Whelp pet, earned from Dragon Slayer reputation and purchased from the vendor at revered. This pet attracts the most compliments of all the reputation pets, followed closely by the Gravemaker pet from Mathos.Now it's your turn! Large or small, deadly or purely decorative, we want to see your favorite pet companion. Just let us know your name, the name of the game, and a little about your pet and how you acquired it. Send it all to to oneshots@massively.com and we'll feature you and your pet on One Shots this week.
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| Global Agenda's new F2P model a resounding success Posted: 04 Jul 2011 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Business models, Interviews, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Global Agenda  "We have many, many more people creating accounts every day, many more people playing concurrently, our revenues are higher than they ever have been before which means we can develop content and put it into the game faster than ever before," he explained. It wasn't always so, as Harris also admits to a bit of F2P bias in a previous life. With Global Agenda flying high under its new model, though, it's unlikely that Hi-Rez will be looking back. "I do think [F2P is] clearly the direction of gaming," Harris says.
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| The Tattered Notebook: Looking back at RMT through a futuristic monocle Posted: 04 Jul 2011 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, EVE Online, EverQuest II, Economy, Opinion, The Tattered Notebook  I have to say, it was an odd moment. First off, I had to pause to make sure I hadn't accidentally logged into my Free Realms account that I play with the kids because sparklers and fireworks seem more appropriate there. Second, I was trying to recall a time in EverQuest II when an in-game quest, tied to a live event no less, actually required possession of an item from the Marketplace. In EQII, we've come a long way when it comes to cash shops and microtransactions, and EVE Online's recent controversy surrounding the Noble Exchange really puts things into perspective. In this week's Tattered Notebook, we'll look back on EQII's RMT evolution -- through EVE's ill-fated monocle. Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: Looking back at RMT through a futuristic monocle
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