MMO Updates

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• The Anvil of Crom: Evaluating the dev update - crafting edition
• Mortal Online update expanding territory control features
• Global Chat: September 3-10, 2011
• The Daily Grind: What F2P game should offer a sub?
• Luvinia Online celebrates open beta with an exclusive giveaway on Massively!
• The Mog Log: Point by point
• Funcom teases Age of Conan's Turan content with new trailer
• One Shots: Aren't you a little warm in that?
• Older gamers more likely to drop money in cash shops to save time

The Anvil of Crom: Evaluating the dev update - crafting edition Posted: 11 Sep 2011 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Anvil of Crom, Crafting Hallelujah, amen, and by frickin' Crom! What's got me all excitable this week? Well, the latest dev update, for starters, and I apologize in advance for reneging on last week's promise to devote today's column to a deeper examination of the new Savage Coast of Turan content. The last time we met, I gave you a quick rundown on the Ardashir Coast, but with all due respect to Funcom's content designers, the most interesting bit of Age of Conan news from the last little while is the crafting revamp that Silirrion hinted at in the August 31st update letter. But Jef, how interesting could it be if it's taken you over a week to write about it? Well, you got me there, and I could throw in some excuses about needing to get something Turan-related out last week, as well as the fact that I was doing the DragonCon shuffle, but I won't. Anyhow, holy shitaki mushrooms! Funcom mentioned AoC's tradeskills! Join me after the cut and bring the smelling salts. Continue reading The Anvil of Crom: Evaluating the dev update - crafting edition The Anvil of Crom: Evaluating the dev update - crafting edition originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 11 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Mortal Online update expanding territory control features Posted: 11 Sep 2011 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, PvP, News items, Mortal Online Mortal Online's sandbox is about to get a bit sandier if a new territory control update video is any indication. The fantasy title from Star Vault has had a rough time in the court of public opinion since its June 2010 launch, but development continues apace. The latest patch brings control structures to the table, and according to the video intertitles, said structures can be placed anywhere near territory that you already control. Occupied land then earns taxes and control points for its owners, and control points may be spent "to further increase the area of any of your control structures, increase their abilities, or build more of them." City control is possible with the new update, as is the collection of guild points after completing "various deeds." Star Vault says that the guild points can be used for a number of actions including outlawing players in your territory or declaring martial law. Check out the video after the break and head to the official Mortal Online website for more details. Continue reading Mortal Online update expanding territory control features Mortal Online update expanding territory control features originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 11 Sep 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Global Chat: September 3-10, 2011 Posted: 11 Sep 2011 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Massively meta, Global Chat, Miscellaneous Welcome to this week's Global Chat! We love hearing what you have to say at Massively, and we love it even more when we can share the best comments with all of our readers. Massively staffers will be contributing some of their favorite comments every week, so keep an eye out every Sunday for more Global Chat! We're all about comparing communities this week on Global Chat -- free-to-play vs. pay-to-play communities as well as PvE and PvP. As an added bonus, we've got a laugh to share from a Massively contest winner. Follow along after the jump to see what some of our readers had to say this week, then lend your voice to the discussion! Continue reading Global Chat: September 3-10, 2011 Global Chat: September 3-10, 2011 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 11 Sep 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: What F2P game should offer a sub? Posted: 11 Sep 2011 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Business models, MMO industry, Opinion, Free-to-play, Miscellaneous Free-to-play games, with or without a subscription option, have become the business model darling of the MMOsphere. There's no shortage of games that have switched over to the model, and certainly no dearth of games in testing and preparing for launch that do the same. But there are games whose free-to-play nature either doesn't quite fit or actively hampers enjoyment, such as the Allods Online death penalty, which many players felt enforced a de facto subscription price. Naturally, designers need to give players some incentives to drop money on the game -- you can't run an MMO for free, and most designers like to live indoors and not get eaten by wolves. But is there a game where you feel the core game would be improved if it didn't need a price tag mechanic? Is there a game among the legions of free-to-play titles that you'd rather see as a subscription title? 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: What F2P game should offer a sub? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 11 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Luvinia Online celebrates open beta with an exclusive giveaway on Massively! Posted: 10 Sep 2011 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Contests, Free-to-play, Giveaways Luvinia Online began open beta this week, effectively putting the welcome mat out for all and sundry. Even better, Outspark has arranged for a little welcome gift for Massively readers who wish to take a look at the game. We've got codes for a free 14-day mount in Luvinia Online, but you get to choose the color! Pictured above is the light brown Harriet bunny mount, an exclusive item that you can only get from Massively. If you'd like something a little more brightly colored, there's also a pink version. We've got two separate giveaway pages, so you can choose your color. To get your Harriet mount, visit the page of your choice, either the brown Harriet or the pink Harriet. Get your code, then enter it at Outspark's redemption page. When you log into Luvinia Online, you'll find your mount in your in-game gift box. Enjoy! Luvinia Online celebrates open beta with an exclusive giveaway on Massively! originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 10 Sep 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Mog Log: Point by point Posted: 10 Sep 2011 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Classes, Game mechanics, Opinion, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, The Mog Log Physical levels are leaving Final Fantasy XIV. We've all known that for a while, to the point that I even wrote a column speculating, in part, about what will happen to the whole bonus point system once that change goes live. As it turns out, what will happen for the time being is that it will be abandoned altogether, with character development going automated until at least 1.20. No more allocation of points to attributes any longer, and no word on what this will mean for the many traits designed to muck about with attribute distribution. This is going to result in a bit of a downgrade for some players (if you're physical 40 and leveling something at rank 10, for instance), but by and large it's also going to help correct a longstanding issue that the game has had. We've got a lot more options for playing around with attributes and abilities when it comes to FFXIV than we did in Final Fantasy XI, but the downside of the breadth has been the simple problem that no one knows what the attrbute values actually mean. You know the number, but the number itself is pretty much meaningless. Continue reading The Mog Log: Point by point The Mog Log: Point by point originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 10 Sep 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Funcom teases Age of Conan's Turan content with new trailer Posted: 10 Sep 2011 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Age of Conan, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Dungeons If you haven't taken the plunge on Age of Conan's new Savage Coast of Turan adventure pack yet, you can still get a good look at the new location thanks to a developer video recently posted by PC Gamer. The clip runs for over six minutes and is narrated by Funcom's Craig Morrison, otherwise known by his forum handle Silirrion and for his deeds as AoC's game director. The video hits all the adventure pack's highlights, and Morrison says that the dev team set out to offer something for everyone in the form of new solo instances, a group dungeon, and a large quest-driven playfield. The video also delves into a bit of the lore behind the Persian-themed Ardashir coast region and mentions the cross-over between the recent Conan the Barbarian film and several of the storylines and characters that players will encounter in their adventures. See all the sights after the cut. Continue reading Funcom teases Age of Conan's Turan content with new trailer Funcom teases Age of Conan's Turan content with new trailer originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 10 Sep 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

One Shots: Aren't you a little warm in that? Posted: 10 Sep 2011 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, One Shots, RIFT Today's One Shots entry, courtesy of RIFT, features armor that isn't necessarily ugly so much as searingly inappropriate for the environment. Crafting levels coincided with game progress to plop this Mage down in Scarlet Gorge clad head-to-toe in heavy wool robes, boots, gloves, and so on. The fire rift blazing away in the background isn't helping matters. It's ugly armor 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. Next week we'll be revisiting starting zones, so if you want to get a jump on things, grab a screenshot of your favorite starting zone and send it in to oneshots@massively.com and we'll feature it in next week's One Shots! Gallery: One Shots: 2011 One Shots: Aren't you a little warm in that? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Older gamers more likely to drop money in cash shops to save time Posted: 10 Sep 2011 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Business models, Culture, News items, Free-to-play, Miscellaneous How long are you willing to wait for your next level in a given game? According to a recent study, the older you are, the less likely you'll wait and the more likely you'll be to just whip out a credit card and buy an experience booster. Flurry Analytics conducted a survey of mobile and social gamers and found that older players are far more likely to just spend some money if it'll save some painful grinding in the long run. While the study was focused on the social gaming side of the coin, the business model is not dissimilar from that employed by many free-to-play MMOs that frequently offer in-game options to earn items that can also be purchased outright. And the logical conclusion is drawn -- younger players have less disposable income but more time to buckle down and grind, while older players have more responsibilities and more free money to spend. It's an interesting look at the spending patterns, one which looks to be increasingly relevant as free-to-play options continue to multiply. Older gamers more likely to drop money in cash shops to save time originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 10 Sep 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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