MMO Updates

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• Aion digs through history with an in-game event
• Bigpoint says game publishers should sell in-game advantages
• The axe falls: DDO's first novel is released
• Spiral Knights adds spooky Candlestick Keep content
• Nexon Europe gearing up for Vindictus closed beta
• The Daily Grind: Is the free-to-play content usually enough for you?
• A hunting moon rises for Final Fantasy XIV
• Rusty Hearts smashes its way into open beta on September 13th
• Allods Online gives players a chance to choose their luck
• BioWare delaying Star Wars: The Old Republic's European testing
• MMObility: More news and tech from the world of mobile
• Hyperspace Beacon: We hope this never comes out of SWTOR, but knowing our luck, it probably will
• New World of Planes video shows off air combat, ground strafing, and more
• One Shots: The face of intimidation
• The Soapbox: Groupthink
• EVE Online's new forum is back online
• Cryptic uploads Star Trek Online's free-to-play plans

Aion digs through history with an in-game event Posted: 07 Sep 2011 10:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Events, in-game, Humor Atreia's precious artifacts don't belong in some rich guy's collection -- they belong in a museum! If you're feeling the Indiana Jones vibe and are in the mood for a little treasure hunting, then Aion's got the in-game event for you: Picking Up the Past. The past is a litterbug, we tells ya! Starting today and running through October 5th, Picking Up the Past challenges players on both sides of the faction fence to uncover fossils that are apparently everywhere. Some will be easy to find, others are riding piggyback on dungeon monsters. Once a player find enough fossils, he or she can can turn them in for a variety of rewards including medals, Abyss relics, consumables, crafting mats, and -- why not? -- couples t-shirts. There are no quests associated with the event; simply find and turn in fossils as fast as you can! Aion digs through history with an in-game event originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Bigpoint says game publishers should sell in-game advantages Posted: 07 Sep 2011 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Business models, MMO industry, News items, Miscellaneous In case you were wondering where browser MMO specialist Bigpoint stands on the issue of selling in-game advantages, a new interview with the company's chief games officer leaves little to the imagination. "The crucial part of the design is not having to invest, but wanting to. Most people in the Bigpoint universe don't ever pay," says Philip Reisberger. "But if they want to pay, don't just offer hats -- offer them something that will help them." Reisberger doesn't stop there, though. He goes on to dismiss the retail business model and also chastises Electronic Arts for its decision to avoid giving Battlefield 3 pre-order players a competitive advantage. "It wouldn't ruin the game. If selling an advantage ruins the game, you haven't done the balancing right," he said. Bigpoint says game publishers should sell in-game advantages originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The axe falls: DDO's first novel is released Posted: 07 Sep 2011 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Culture, Free-to-play It's not every MMO that is honored with a published novel set in its world, but when it happens, it's a cause for celebration. Today Dungeons and Dragons Online joins the ranks of other novelized MMOs by being immortalized in book form, as Wizards of the Coast has released The Shard Axe by Marsheila Rockwell. According to the description, The Shard Axe is steeped in familiar DDO settings: Sentinel Marshal Sabira d'Deneith has spent the last eight years trying to drown the memories of the mission that cost her partner his life and gave her the nickname, the Shard Axe. But all the old memories come flooding back when she's recalled from the city of Stormreach to carry out a mission on House Deneith's behalf-to protect and defend the heir of the dwarven city of Frostmantle during his murder trial. The same heir she and her partner guarded eight years ago in the same city-from the same style of murders. Is the dreaded Nightshard still alive and taunting her? Or is there another serial killer loose in the Mror Holds? We got the opportunity to talk to Ms. Rockwell back in February with an extensive interview about the book. The Shard Axe is just $6.99 and is available in both paperback and on a variety of e-readers. The axe falls: DDO's first novel is released originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Spiral Knights adds spooky Candlestick Keep content Posted: 07 Sep 2011 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, News items, PvE, Free-to-play, Casual, Dungeons If you thought steampunk couldn't mate with adorkable, think again. Spiral Knights, Three Rings' lobby-based action-MMO, delivers both in the consummate concoction of clockwork and cute, and the company recently launched an update bringing new dungeon content to the game. The haunted Candlestick Keep, "all that remains of the once prosperous Owlite Academy," is crawling with undead monsters like Grimalkins, but fortunately, players can make use of colored ward candles to protect them from spookats and open pesky locked doors. The update also adds challenging new Danger Rooms, a revamped Crash Site, and cash shop tweaks. Our own free-to-play guru Beau Hindman took a stroll through the game way back in March, deeming it "repetitive but really fun." It is currently available for download on the official site and as part of Steam's F2P offerings. Spiral Knights adds spooky Candlestick Keep content originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Nexon Europe gearing up for Vindictus closed beta Posted: 07 Sep 2011 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Trailers, Video, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Vindictus Better late than never, right? That's what Nexon Europe is hoping its fans are saying about the late arrival of Vindictus. The free-to-play title launched in Korea in January 2010, then it took a bow in North America in October 2010, but the game is just now getting around to its European closed beta phase. The beta begins on September 15th, and testers will need a key to participate. Registration happens on the game's official website, and there's more info on the Vindictus Europe Facebook page as well. Nexon has also released a new trailer to mark the occasion, and you can view it after the break. [Source: Nexon Europe press release] Continue reading Nexon Europe gearing up for Vindictus closed beta Nexon Europe gearing up for Vindictus closed beta originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: Is the free-to-play content usually enough for you? Posted: 07 Sep 2011 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Business models, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous News came in last week about Perfect World Entertainment's plans to turn Star Trek Online into a free-to-play business model. While most of us were not in the least bit surprised at the news, most of the comments we've seen here at Massively have been to the effect of, "Now I can finally try that game out!" This is a sentiment we see expressed more and more these days, as more MMOs are either launching as or converting to include some sort of basic free content. That content can be restrictive, but for many players, it's the only choice they have. Despite the challenge of playing a F2P game without touching your wallet, we wonder if the free content is usually enough to keep you satisfied. Are four classes enough for you in Age of Conan? Is one tier enough for you in Warhammer Online? Are three bags enough for you in Lord of the Rings Online? Let us know how you feel about the free content in MMOs. Are you happy with what you have available, or do you find the limits too restrictive? 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: Is the free-to-play content usually enough for you? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

A hunting moon rises for Final Fantasy XIV Posted: 06 Sep 2011 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, Lore, News items, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV Final Fantasy XIV's holiday events have been building up steam of late, and a new event has gone live today for players to enjoy. Celebrating the hunter's moon (albeit a bit early), the event plays directly off the lore of the summer festival. A shipment of earrings was made to commemorate the victory of adventurers over the flaming bombards that assaulted Eorzea... but the jewelry was stolen by nothing less than a horde of rats, leaving those same adventurers tasked with hunting down the decorations that should rightly be theirs. Running until September 20th, the event sees players stalking special monsters appearing around the various hamlets in the game to retrieve an earring. While the event seems a bit simple for the time being, it's quite possible that it will be rolled out in phases, akin to the Easter event earlier this year. Even if not, who wouldn't like to stomp some rats for a free piece of frippery? A hunting moon rises for Final Fantasy XIV originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Rusty Hearts smashes its way into open beta on September 13th Posted: 06 Sep 2011 06:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Launches, News items, Free-to-play Fans of Perfect World Entertainment's side-scrolling beat-'em-up Rusty Hearts are in for a treat. After a leisurely Labor Day weekend, PWE announced in a press release today that the title will launch into open beta on September 13th. Closed beta players will have their last hoorah on September 8 at 5:00 p.m. EST, at which point the game will shut down until it enters open beta on the 13th. The open beta isn't the same old cow as the closed beta, however. With its open beta launch, Rusty Hearts is also bringing a number of new updates, such as the removal of the universally panned Stamina system and customizable gamepad settings for Rusty Hearts' more console-inclined players. The level cap will also be raised, allowing players to explore a brand new hub world and a number of new dungeons and quests. So sit tight, Rusty Hearts fans. You'll be pounding monsters into a fine paste before you know it. [Source: Perfect World Entertainment Press Release] Rusty Hearts smashes its way into open beta on September 13th originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Allods Online gives players a chance to choose their luck Posted: 06 Sep 2011 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, News items, Free-to-play, Allods Online Luck is fickle. One moment you seem to be hitting a 20% chance for a critical hit every other swing, the next you're lucky if you can avoid missing. But Allods Online is giving the playerbase a chance to change its collective luck through pure will. Well, pure will and a helpful dose of popularity. The Choose Your Lucky Moment event has begun, offering everyone a shot at something bigger and better next week. Currently, there's a poll available with a long list of lucky bonuses, such as increased experience gained from quests and better loot from the Astral. The voting runs until Friday, September 9th. Once the votes have all been tallied, the three bonuses with the highest number of votes will be turned on for the next week on both servers, running from September 10th until September 16th. It might not help you with that string of critical hits, but it's the best chance Allods Online players will have to turn their luck around by choice. Allods Online gives players a chance to choose their luck originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

BioWare delaying Star Wars: The Old Republic's European testing Posted: 06 Sep 2011 05:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic International issues with Star Wars: The Old Republic started cropping up more or less as soon as the pre-order began, and they're apparently persisting. It's recently been officially announced that European testing invitations have been delayed, missing the initial weekend and being postponed for an unspecified length of time. Fortunately for the players who are no doubt sore over the delay, an explanation was included with the announcement, which kicks off by pointing out that a new build and an associated character wipe are on their way for later in the week anyway. The new build will require testers to re-download the entire client, and with the client requiring a 27 gig download, it was suspected that any players presently invited might finish the download only to have to start an entirely new download immediately afterward. Localized French and German versions of the game will be included in the new build, which further contributed to the decision to ultimately hold off on the European testing. It's cold comfort to would-be testers left out of the game, but at least it isn't without some logic. BioWare delaying Star Wars: The Old Republic's European testing originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

MMObility: More news and tech from the world of mobile Posted: 06 Sep 2011 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Launches, New titles, News items, Opinion, Free-to-play, Browser, Casual, Humor, MMObility Welcome again to MMObility, your weekly stop for all things mobile! I've decided that it would be a good idea to make this column concentrate not only on the games for your phones, tablets and netbooks but on some of the different tech and items that any mobile fan will probably love. The games are the centerpiece, of course, but this is no fast-moving genre like "standard" MMORPGs... so filling in some of the gaps between development cycles with tech talk only makes sense. This week I have a bit of news and a bit of tech. Feel free to chime in with your comments, especially if you have anything to add that might help people play better or shop better. Now, click past the cut! Continue reading MMObility: More news and tech from the world of mobile MMObility: More news and tech from the world of mobile originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Hyperspace Beacon: We hope this never comes out of SWTOR, but knowing our luck, it probably will Posted: 06 Sep 2011 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Culture, New titles, Opinion, Humor, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Hyperspace Beacon When I started the Hyperspace Beacon, I didn't want every article to be a stoic look into the world of Star Wars: The Old Republic. Sometimes we need to kick back and have a little fun with the product that we love. We kind of earned it, right? Within the first couple months of articles, I examined the worst parts of the Star Wars games and movies and what is it that we hope to never see in TOR. That is when I wrote We hope this never makes it into SWTOR, but knowing our luck, it probably will. I speculated on not just what we didn't want to see in the game but how it would implemented. This week, I visit WHTNMIISWTORBKOLIPW again and ask about merchandising. There have been some horrific ideas that came out of the Star Wars franchise, and I don't just mean the changes in the Blue-Ray release. I shared a couple of these on Google+ this weekend. The Princess Leia Pizza Pringles has to be the worst. I didn't believe it myself until I saw the photographic evidence. We know that if SWTOR is hugely successful, Lucasfilm will certainly use that as an opportunity to capitalize on the game. Follow after the break for my leap into the world of TOR-vertizing. (OK, not everything works with TOR dropped in front of it.) Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: We hope this never comes out of SWTOR, but knowing our luck, it probably will Hyperspace Beacon: We hope this never comes out of SWTOR, but knowing our luck, it probably will originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

New World of Planes video shows off air combat, ground strafing, and more Posted: 06 Sep 2011 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Historical, Real life, Trailers, Video, MMO industry, New titles, News items, War, Miscellaneous Gaijin Entertainment has released another heart-pounding video from its upcoming World of Planes MMO, and the scene has shifted from the Pacific theater showcased last month to what looks to be the Kuban region of southern Russia. A gaggle of great-looking World War II fighters are on display, as are a few stomach-churning cockpit perspectives and some spiffy smoke, fire, and damage effects. There's a lot of air combat, of course, but there's also a brief glimpse of some target strafing and quite a lot of detail when it comes to terrain textures, buildings, and other ground objects. Flight sim fans will be happy to know that Gaijin was responsible for 2009's IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey, a console-based air combat title that followed in the footsteps of the venerable Sturmovik series on the PC. Gaijin also developed a PC version called Wings of Prey and looks to be using that expertise for its new free-to-play World of Planes MMO. Kick the tires and light the fires by checking out the new trailer after the cut. Continue reading New World of Planes video shows off air combat, ground strafing, and more New World of Planes video shows off air combat, ground strafing, and more originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

One Shots: The face of intimidation Posted: 06 Sep 2011 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Guild Wars, One Shots One Shots today is Guild Wars round two, thanks to Massively reader Steven: Behold Jason Nesmith, the sexiest and manliest Paragon to ever grace the sands of Elona. Bow before his masculine gaze, and stand awestruck at the amazing pink-flavored radiation of awesomeness. Do you think you can come up with a scarier, crazier, or more painful-to-look-at ensemble? It's ugly armor week all week on One Shots, so whether you have an eye-searing color scheme, a set of armor pieces that clash like crazy, or something that you just put together for a laugh, we want to see. Send your screenshots in to oneshots@massively.com and we'll feature them in next week's One Shots! Gallery: One Shots: 2011 One Shots: The face of intimidation originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Soapbox: Groupthink Posted: 06 Sep 2011 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Game mechanics, Endgame, Opinion, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. I can pinpoint exactly the moment that the luster of World of Warcraft's big old-game-changing expansion wore off for me. And it didn't take very long, just long enough for me to pick up a quest named It's Raid Night Every Night for my Dwarf. It was an unremarkable quest in every way, with the only really clever-ish bit being the title that slyly winks at players about one of the game's criticisms. Except that it's not exactly an unfair criticism. If you were at the level cap and wanted to keep playing the game with anything approaching forward motion, it was raid night every night. The joke left a bad taste in my mouth. Of course, this isn't an article about WoW except in passing and by association. It's about the temptation and tendency to have group content as the panacea, as the overwhelming focus of any new content. It's about why we get so much content that focuses on large group efforts, and why that isn't necessarily such a good thing -- for the players or even the developers. Continue reading The Soapbox: Groupthink The Soapbox: Groupthink originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Online's new forum is back online Posted: 06 Sep 2011 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, News items Back in April, EVE Online received a brand-new forum with a revamped search tool, the ability to "like" posts, and other useful features. Unfortunately, players quickly found several serious security problems in the new forum software, including the ability to inject arbitrary HTML (but not script) into any thread via a modified forum signature. It also became known that the forum was a modified version of open source software Yet Another Forum, with the authentication system tied to CCP's own login service. A cookie exploit was discovered in this login system shortly after the forums went online, allowing users to post as anyone they wanted -- even as developers. The new forum was temporarily disabled pending a security review and the old one reactivated. After a complete security revamp and a period of rigorous testing, the new forum returned to service today. This forum is tied into CCP's web platform EVE Gate, which provides quick access to your character's evemails while not in the game and has integrated social networking features. The old forum will be officially decommissioned on Friday, September 9th and left as a permanent archive. [UPDATE: We've been informed that the previous injection exploit involved only HTML and not script. The post has been modified accordingly.] EVE Online's new forum is back online originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Cryptic uploads Star Trek Online's free-to-play plans Posted: 06 Sep 2011 11:30 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Business models, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play Curious about how a free-to-play Star Trek Online will look? We are too, which is why we're glad that Cryptic's followed up the unofficial announcement of STO's F2P conversion with specific and numerous details. On the site's new Free-to-Play page, Star Trek Online reveals what silver (free) and gold (subscribers and lifetimers) members will be able to access in the game. Free players will be able to enjoy a majority of the game's content, including character creation, all of the missions, the basic ships, the full range of levels, and special task forces. While free players won't be able to create their own missions through the Foundry system, they will be able to test out ones made by subscribers. The biggest restrictions a free account player will face are a limited mail system, reduced inventory space, and only two character slots. Subscribers and lifetime members will enjoy certain perks under the new system, including a monthly stipend of store points, priority login, respec tokens, Foundry access, and other basic MMO staples. It's interesting to note that when the game changes to the new system later this year, Klingon content for subscribers and free players will unlockable at level 25 instead of the current low level access. This is so that Cryptic can spend more time working on this weaker aspect of the game. The new system will also replace several types of currencies with a single new one, Dilithium, which will be used to purchase ships and gear. There are plenty more details on the site, including an FAQ and Features Matrix. Stay tuned later this week for an in-depth analysis of this information and a Q&A session with Cryptic in our STO column, Captain's Log! Cryptic uploads Star Trek Online's free-to-play plans originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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