MMO Updates |
- Voyage Century Online introduces new Crete instance
- Gamebreaker's This Week in MMO: John Madden edition
- 75% of MapleStory's marriages suffer the heartbreak of divorce
- Allods Online announces October update
- Guild Wars 2 Asura week continues with new video and web page
- Massively Exclusive: EverQuest's City of Tides unveiled
- The Daily Grind: People still play that game?
- Off the rails: Star Wars Galaxies introduces atmospheric flight
- Jagex offering last chance to sign up for RuneScape Classic service
- DDO prepares us for Update 11 with a new catch-up trailer
- Rusty Hearts open beta now live, and with a new trailer to boot
- The Secret World announces group and raid sizes
- Choose My Adventure: The Telara Saga
- A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Surviving a headstart
- Play The Chosen VIP-style by winning a prize pack from Snail Games and Massively!
- Patch notes available for City of Heroes Freedom head start
- One Shots: Not at all intimidating
- Free for All: News roundup from some of my favorite free-to-plays
- Enter at Your Own Rift: RIFT's battle plan
- Concentrated magnificence: Writing the Guild Wars 2 Asura
- Massively Speaking Episode 165
- Darkfall under siege as of tomorrow
| Voyage Century Online introduces new Crete instance Posted: 15 Sep 2011 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Dungeons  Accessing Crete requires players to be sea battle level 15 and class level 15. Once these requirements are met, it's a matter of navigating to the Straight and preparing for three waves of pirate forces. The baddies include Gibraltar pirate flagships and North Sea pirate flagships, both of which will challenge high-level players as well as lower-level types who want to advance quickly by doing the daily quest and defeating the three bosses. There's a fair bit of incentive to run the instance due to its loot drops as well, and enterprising captains have a chance to snag buckshot cannon and dartling cannon drops, not to mention rare gold and high-grade forging materials. [Source: IGG press release]
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| Gamebreaker's This Week in MMO: John Madden edition Posted: 15 Sep 2011 09:30 AM PDT Filed under: Video, Lord of the Rings Online, News items, Opinion, Mortal Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Astronaut: Moon, Mars, and Beyond, Miscellaneous, PlanetSide 2, WildStar  This week, Gary is joined by ZAM's Mike B aka Fony and Hillary "Pokket" Nicole to talk about Planetside 2, Star Wars: The Old Republic, subscription models, Wildstar, Lord of the Rings Online, Mortal Online, Astronaut the MMO, and why women don't like voiceover. First up: Planetside 2 will be free-to-play, and SWTOR may be the last subscription MMO. Is anyone surprised? The panel weighs in on if Wildstar mechanics are more of the same or maybe this game has something new. Mike B and Pokket discuss how LotRO is making Isengard appear more epic. We also find out why Mortal Online territorial control is not for the faint of heart. Lastly, is anyone interested in being an astronaut anymore? If you like intelligent, fun discussion about the latest in MMOs (in video format), you should check out the recorded version of This Week In MMO right after the cut, or live every Wednesday evening! Continue reading Gamebreaker's This Week in MMO: John Madden edition
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| 75% of MapleStory's marriages suffer the heartbreak of divorce Posted: 15 Sep 2011 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MapleStory, Culture, Free-to-play, Browser, Roleplaying  MapleStory's marriage system is fairly popular, with 26,982 such events occurring last year in North America alone. Each marriage costs $25 for the couple, but it seems that the initial investment wasn't enough to keep a majority of the players together for long. Within a year, over 20,000 of those marriages broke up. Due to the high divorce rate -- much higher than the real-world version by far -- Nexon investigated individual stories of in-game divorce trying to figure out why these virtual marriages aren't sticking. One player named Seth realized that his "Maple spouse" was merely using their relationship to bum free items off of him, which led to their break-up. Marriage in MapleStory is a detailed process involving an official engagement, two rings, real-world cash, and a spiffy in-game item that gives the happy pair a big boost to stats. However, if a marriage is annulled, each partner has a 10-day cooling off period before they can remarry. [Source: Nexon press release]
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| Allods Online announces October update Posted: 15 Sep 2011 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Lore, Patches, Free-to-play, Allods Online  To help alleviate the usual gap that happens between European and North American content launches, gPotato will launch in both regions simultaneously. The exact date for this launch hasn't been announced yet, but in the meantime, you can check out the update's new screenshots below, and watch for more news to come. [Source: gPotato press release]
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| Guild Wars 2 Asura week continues with new video and web page Posted: 15 Sep 2011 07:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars 2, Races  The web page gives a rundown of the Asura race's history (which can be seen firsthand in the current Guild Wars game) as well as information on the ups and downs of being an Asura in Guild Wars 2. As with the other four races, there is plenty to enjoy and be proud of, but not everything is perfect. Threats from around the land of Tyria -- such as the elder dragons -- are an ongoing worry, but internal politics, individual agendas, and personal rivalries also contribute danger from within. Chief among those is the Inquest: "The greatest danger to the Asura is, to no one's surprise, other Asura. Putting aside the sometimes dramatic, even explosive, nature of their experiments, a group of Asura have banded together to form their own meta-krewe. Known as the Inquest, these Asura combine their resources into a larger organization and share their knowledge among their own members - never with those outside the Inquest." The icing on the cake is the video -- a detailed view of Rata Sum, the greatest of Asura cities. Follow along after the jump for a look at the video, and check out all the latest information on the race at Guild Wars 2's new Asura page. Continue reading Guild Wars 2 Asura week continues with new video and web page
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| Massively Exclusive: EverQuest's City of Tides unveiled Posted: 15 Sep 2011 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, EverQuest, Expansions, Previews, News items  EverQuest is beginning to gear up for its 18th expansion, Veil of Alaris. Along with raising the level cap to 95, introducing new AA options, and a providing a smorgasbord of other new features, the expansion includes a whopping 12 new zones. One such zone is known as Sarith, the City of Tides. We have an exclusive look at this fabled location in the form of a short dev diary video, courtesy of the fine folks at Sony Online Entertainment. The devs talk about the city's unique architecture and the process involved in bringing the city to life. For the full video preview of Sarith, jump on past the cut and take a look. Continue reading Massively Exclusive: EverQuest's City of Tides unveiled
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| The Daily Grind: People still play that game? Posted: 15 Sep 2011 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: MMO industry, Opinion, Massively meta, The Daily Grind, Humor, Miscellaneous  OK, even if you're not that guy -- the type who posts "people still play that game?" in every comment thread just to show how awesome he is -- there's still probably a game that makes you wonder who plays this stuff? So what's the one game you're shocked is still around?  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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| Off the rails: Star Wars Galaxies introduces atmospheric flight Posted: 15 Sep 2011 05:30 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, Patches, News items, Star Wars Galaxies, Sandbox  This morning, Sony Online Entertainment published Game Update 21, the highlight of which is atmospheric flight. For real. With atmospheric flight, you will be able to travel the skies above and see the worlds of Star Wars Galaxies in a new way. To launch into atmospheric flight, or to return to the ground, you can use your ship's icon in your datapad. Whether you are looking to host a peaceful event in your yacht with the Theed Waterfall as a backdrop or prove your piloting skills against another player over the desert of Tatooine, atmospheric flight will offer a unique way to experience Star Wars Galaxies.The patch notes indicate that players can launch directly into space while piloting through planetary atmosphere, and you'll need some skill to navigate as ships will take damage if crashed into the ground. GU21 also heralds the "Final Battle," which presumably is another stage in the ongoing Galactic Civil War sunset events. Remember, today is literally your last chance to reactivate and give the game a proper send-off.
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| Jagex offering last chance to sign up for RuneScape Classic service Posted: 15 Sep 2011 05:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, RuneScape, Free-to-play, Browser  You'll need to hurry, though, as Jagex is only allowing new-player registration on the throw-back servers for a limited time as part of the browser title's 10-year anniversary celebration. Make sure you log in between Thursday, September 15th and Thursday, September 29th to ensure that you can access RuneScape Classic in the future, as this is the last time Jagex will be allowing new players to use the service. You'll also want to collect the unique skillcape emote and the classic cape and hood items since they'll be unobtainable after the conclusion of this event. As always, the RuneScape website has full details. [Source: Jagex press release]
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| DDO prepares us for Update 11 with a new catch-up trailer Posted: 14 Sep 2011 09:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Free-to-play  Turbine Entertainment would like to suggest that you play its free-to-play MMO Dungeons and Dragons Online. To help set the mood, the developers put together a two-minute trailer to get you ready for the full DDO experience. The trailer visualizes the adventurer's journey through the land of Eberron which includes demons, dragons, and of course, magic. Besides the MMO release lull, another reason you may find this to be a great time to experience DDO is the newly released Update 11. The Secrets of the Artificers is now live on the DDO servers waiting for you to get your steampunk on. Check out the trailer after the break! Continue reading DDO prepares us for Update 11 with a new catch-up trailer
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| Rusty Hearts open beta now live, and with a new trailer to boot Posted: 14 Sep 2011 08:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Launches, News items, Free-to-play, Giveaways  Perfect World Entertainment's free-to-play beat-'em-up Rusty Hearts has been in closed beta for what may seem like ages now, but it's finally time to open the doors wide for everyone. According to a press release from PWE earlier today, the game has entered open beta, allowing anyone and everyone to take a crack at the dungeon crawling goodness that awaits. To celebrate the game's transition to open beta, PWE is putting on a bunch of fun events and contests for players to win prizes such as limited edition Rusty Hearts posters and a Logitech F710 gamepad. And last but not least, PWE launched a brand-new trailer to commemorate the game's release, which can be found after the cut. For more details on the contests, and to download the client and register for open beta, head on over to the game's official site. Continue reading Rusty Hearts open beta now live, and with a new trailer to boot
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| The Secret World announces group and raid sizes Posted: 14 Sep 2011 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-fi, Game mechanics, New titles, The Secret World  That's the big picture, but what about smaller groups? In an interview with The Electric Playground, Lead Content Designer Joel Bylos explains the general idea behind the group dynamics: We really feel that an MMO is a shared experience, right? It's very important that people work together to solve these problems. That's the greatest sort of feeling of achievement: when you work together with other people to overcome something.He goes on to say that it may be possible for players with similar builds to actually be viable even when they're grouped together. He specifically mentioned a group of all tanks' being able to tackle a dungeon if they all had a self heal. But how many players are actually in groups? Bylos says five, and raid groups are 10. No more worrying about finding those other 30 people you would need for those 40-man dungeons, thank goodness!
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| Choose My Adventure: The Telara Saga Posted: 14 Sep 2011 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Events, in-game, PvE, Opinion, Races, Choose My Adventure, RIFT  As you can imagine, it was difficult to snap screenshots while trying to livestream, but I did get 10 pretty good ones, which I added to the gallery below. After the break, I have snippet of Seriia's story, as usual. Then I have a very important question to ask you as my time in this column draws closer to its end. Continue reading Choose My Adventure: The Telara Saga
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| A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Surviving a headstart Posted: 14 Sep 2011 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Events, in-game, News items, Opinion, Free-to-play, A Mild-Mannered Reporter  As those of you with astute memories or a good sense of pattern recognition have probably already surmised, this is a bit problematic from my point of view, as I'm writing this column before the headstart has actually happened, but we're going to be live right after it starts. As a result, I can't tell you with certainty what the launch has brought thus far. But I can certainly speculate on the world being overrun by players flush with new powersets and the new starting areas, not to mention some new costume pieces to help spice up the deal. So what are my survival tips for the first moments of the headstart program? Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Surviving a headstart
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| Play The Chosen VIP-style by winning a prize pack from Snail Games and Massively! Posted: 14 Sep 2011 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Contests, Free-to-play, Giveaways  The team at Snail Games has given us a prize package for one Massively reader. The package contains a Frost Wolf mount, 20 Mysterious Eggs, a $25 growth pack, and a 30-day VIP pack. The VIP pack contains five free instant revives per day, free teleport, notification in chat and above avatar of character's VIP status, and a VIP trumpet window to broadcast messages to other players. Since we like to have fun with these contests, we want to know how you'd use that VIP trumpet if you were the winner. That's right, all you have to do to enter this contest is leave a comment telling us what you'd broadcast to other players, but remember to keep it clean! Do this before noon EDT tomorrow and we'll choose the one that makes us laugh the most. So check out the contest rules, leave your comment, and good luck! 
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| Patch notes available for City of Heroes Freedom head start Posted: 14 Sep 2011 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Business models, Patches, News items, Free-to-play  While the large changes, such as the inclusion of all the Freedom enhancements, have been known for some time, there are also a number of other improvements for players to enjoy. Power pools have been improved all around, with travel powers now universally available at level 4 and new top-tier powers for those pools. Ancillary and Patron pools are now available starting at 35 instead of 41. And if that alone isn't enough for you, there are also some new bonuses available in the Paragon Market for you to spend your free subscriber points on -- a definite incentive.
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| One Shots: Not at all intimidating Posted: 14 Sep 2011 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Free-to-play, One Shots, Allods Online  As an Imperial player, your starting experience consists of astral ship battles, fighting off an astral demon, trying to survive in the sewers, and eventually facing the first sunlight as you step outside into Nezebgrad, a gigantic metropolis.It's starting zone week here at One Shots. First impressions are a big deal, so many developers put a lot into that first zone you see. Show us a screenshot of your favorite starting zone -- add your name and a little bit about the image, send it in to oneshots@massively.com, and we'll feature it in this week's One Shots! If you want to get a jump on next week, we'll be taking to the skies. One Shots will be all about aerial shots, whether they're taken from atop a high-flying mount or on the ground while viewing the action in the air. Send your image in and we'll show it off next week.
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| Free for All: News roundup from some of my favorite free-to-plays Posted: 14 Sep 2011 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, News items, Opinion, Free-to-play, Browser, Casual, Free for All  Of course, I will always miss something or just forget to put something in. The search bar is always good for finding bits of news, or you could just visit us here every single day. Several times. And leave comments about how cool I am. Click past the cut and let's get to it! Continue reading Free for All: News roundup from some of my favorite free-to-plays
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| Enter at Your Own Rift: RIFT's battle plan Posted: 14 Sep 2011 12:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, Opinion, RIFT, Enter at Your Own Rift  In a very real sense, RIFT is at a crossroads. It will shortly cease to be the newest big kid on the block, a position it has enjoyed for a majority of 2011. I won't invoke the names of the power hitters on deck, but trust me, many RIFT players are well aware of the competition. Players and guilds are evaluating the game as it is right now and whether or not they'll want to stay when the new hotness is released. My prediction? Some will, some won't. You can quote me on that. Personally, I think RIFT is in a remarkably good position. It continues to grow in subscribers, according to the company, and it's proven to have staying power a half-year after launch. I'm encouraged when I see friends and fellow players randomly praise the game even though its honeymoon veneer has long since worn off. There's something worth fighting for, here -- but a fight it will have. Hit the break as I lay out what I think should be RIFT's battle plan for the next 12 months. Continue reading Enter at Your Own Rift: RIFT's battle plan
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| Concentrated magnificence: Writing the Guild Wars 2 Asura Posted: 14 Sep 2011 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars 2, Races  Angel makes one thing very clear: these incredibly intelligent little guys might be short on patience and long on snark, but it's not out of a sense of cruelty. "This verbal abuse may seem mean-spirited, but the Asura don't see it that way. They don't take it personally. Their competitive natures drive them to greater heights of achievement. Remember, Asura have survived against terrible odds, including their tiny statures. They've earned their attitudes, and a certain amount of bravado keeps them from being victims. With their jibes, they're telling it like they see it, and if you can't take the heat, get out of the laboratory." The blog entry is accompanied by several audio clips to lend some vocal backup to Angel's writings, so head to the ArenaNet blog to take a listen and read the full story.
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| Massively Speaking Episode 165 Posted: 14 Sep 2011 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Podcasts, News items, Opinion, Humor, Massively Speaking, Miscellaneous  If you're interested in learning more about the Game Programming Instructor position Shawn has mentioned on previous episodes, check out the job listing or contact Shawn for more info. Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot an email to shawn@massively.com. We may just read your email on the air! Get the podcast: [iTunes] Subscribe to Massively Speaking directly in iTunes. [RSS] Add Massively Speaking to your RSS aggregator. [MP3] Download the MP3 directly. Listen here on the page: Read below the cut for the full show notes.  Massively Speaking is the official podcast of Massively.com. Hosted by Editor-in-Chief Shawn Schuster and Community Manager Rubi Bayer, Massively Speaking takes on the week's biggest news and dev interviews with plenty of opinion, rants, and laughs thrown in for good measure. Join us every Wednesday afternoon to listen in and see what we'll say next!Continue reading Massively Speaking Episode 165
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| Darkfall under siege as of tomorrow Posted: 14 Sep 2011 10:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Darkfall, Patches, PvP  In preparation for the much-anticipated siege update, Aventurine is deploying a small patch today to counter any sneaky players looking to initiate sieges before the team is ready. On Thursday, September 14th, Darkfall will go offline for an extended period of maintenance, after which the game will be brought back up with the new siege system in place. Patch notes will be available tomorrow as well. The new siege system is designed to replace the issues with the old one while allowing the team to respond and tweak it as needed.
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