MMO Updates

---

• Eligium dates closed beta, goes toe-to-toe with Jedi and Sith
• Funcom hosting The Secret World Templar Q&A on Facebook
• Star Trek Online dev blog talks new content, Dominion featured episode
• Glitch dev lashes out against Zynga's business model
• Luvinia Online releasing Age of Enlightenment expansion on November 30th
• RIFT opens the Ember Isle to players with a new trailer
• World of Warcraft is doing quite well in China, thank you very much
• The Daily Grind: Are you a sucker for MMO collectibles?
• Final SWTOR beta weekend targeting November 25th - 28th
• Enter to win an Alienware MX14 laptop from Origins of Malu
• Fallen Earth partners with MAINGEAR for Play2Win contest
• Choose My Adventure: Getting crafty
• Eligium shows off the Human and Viridis races
• MechWarrior Online developers answer forum questions
• Martial Empires Path to Purgatory update brings big content drop
• MMO Family: First Impressions of Project Exonaut
• Massively Speaking Episode 174
• Funcom details Secret World Templar mission [Updated]
• Massively Exclusive: A look at Luvinia Online's Bishop
• Scarlet Legacy raises level cap, adds new dungeons and crafting recipes
• New TERA videos highlight BAMs, again
• RIFT's patch 1.6 goes live today
• Mortal Online introduces political map, Chronicles of Nave
• EVE dev video talks customer relations and server nodes
• SWTOR beta participants log one meeeeellion hours of testing

Eligium dates closed beta, goes toe-to-toe with Jedi and Sith Posted: 17 Nov 2011 09:30 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, MMO industry, Free-to-play Hey, do you have plans for December 19th? We didn't think so. Good thing that Frogster is here to save us from holiday boredom with the closed beta for Eligium! That's right -- Eligium is heading into closed beta on the 19th, which is pretty gutsy considering that a majority of the MMO community might have something else on their mind come that date. Then again, the allure of Panda Monks might overcome gamers' curiosity. Players interested in testing this fantasy MMO need to head over to the official website to register for the beta and then cross their fingers that a key will be sent their way. Frogster is limiting the size of the beta to test the servers and game mechanics properly. Also, the company has also said that, yes, as with most betas, Eligium's closed beta characters will definitely be wiped at some point. [Thanks to Piaskowy for the tip!] Eligium dates closed beta, goes toe-to-toe with Jedi and Sith originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Nov 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Eligium

Funcom hosting The Secret World Templar Q&A on Facebook Posted: 17 Nov 2011 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Horror, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, Lore, MMO industry, New titles, News items, The Secret World Want to know more about The Secret World's Templar faction? Aside from reading up on everything related to Templar Week, the best thing you can do is tune in to Funcom's next Facebook developer Q&A session. The shindig happens tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. EST, when lead content designer Joel Bylos and writer Ben Schroder will be fielding your Templar-related questions. Funcom's press release says that interested gamers are free to submit their questions in advance, but the devs may not be able to answer everything. Thus far Templar Week has served up some new screens, art, and a few mission details, and the dev Q&A looks to be the icing on the cake. Funcom also notes that the Illuminati faction will be getting a similar week-long publicity treatment in the near future. [Source: Funcom press release] Funcom hosting The Secret World Templar Q&A on Facebook originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Nov 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Star Trek Online dev blog talks new content, Dominion featured episode Posted: 17 Nov 2011 08:30 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries Cryptic executive producer Stephen D'Angelo has posted another Star Trek Online Path to F2P dev diary. For the 23rd installment (yes, 23!), D'Angelo outlines a near future roadmap for the game as the business model transition continues. D'Angelo says that STO will boast a Featured Episode Replay event for the remainder of November on the live server. The first week of December should see a new game build migrating to the live shard from the Tribble test server. This update will feature "new content, new systems, and many gameplay improvements," and D'Angelo characterizes it as a "significant" release. How significant? It includes new Borg content (the Invasion of Defera), the new duty officer system, and several new events and dailies. There's more to read at the official STO website (including an upcoming Featured Episode series focused on the Dominion!), so check it out by following the link below. Star Trek Online dev blog talks new content, Dominion featured episode originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Nov 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Path to F2P 23

Glitch dev lashes out against Zynga's business model Posted: 17 Nov 2011 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Business models, Free-to-play, Browser, Casual Not all social games developers are in love with Zynga's business model. Some are bucking against what Tiny Speck's Stewart Butterfield is calling a "scorched earth policy" that will do far more harm in the long run than what helps the industry now. Butterfield is the co-founder of Tiny Speck, which recently launched the sleeper MMO hit Glitch. While both Glitch and Zynga's games are browser-based and use microtransactions to fund the titles, the similarities end there. Butterfield says that he is adverse to how Zynga creates artificial walls in its games: "The fundamental design of the game became 'Here's a stop sign in your gameplay, you can stop now and come back in a day, or you can keep on playing and it will cost you three bucks, or a buck, or ten bucks, or whatever it is.'" Butterfield called Zynga's approach "unsavoury" and said that it leads to burned-out players and a "lame future" for the genre where gamers are unwilling to return. Ultimately, he predicts that people will forget Zynga's efforts entirely: "They won't be as into it as someone who's playing WoW is in to WoW, or someone who's playing EVE is into EVE, or even someone who's playing Civilization IV is into Civilization IV. It's a much lighter touch." For more Stewart Bufferfield goodness, make sure to check out our interview with him on Massively Speaking! Glitch dev lashes out against Zynga's business model originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Nov 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: GamesIndustry.biz

Luvinia Online releasing Age of Enlightenment expansion on November 30th Posted: 17 Nov 2011 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Dungeons Outspark's gearing up for Luvinia Online's new expansion, and according to the company's latest press release, there's quite a lot to be excited about. The patch is called Age of Enlightenment, and it includes a level cap increase, two new dungeons, new explorable maps, and a generous helping of new quests and content. Oh, and let's not forget the new second tier subclasses which unlock 12 new roles for level 80 players. Obtaining a new subclass will require a bit of effort, as Outspark says that players will need to "traverse the new Knowledge Pagoda" which is basically a "giant book depository" filled with quests and various items required for advancement. How soon can I get my hands on this new expansion, you say? November 30th, according to Outspark, and the new content will go live during the regular server maintenance period. [Source: Outspark press release] Luvinia Online releasing Age of Enlightenment expansion on November 30th originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Nov 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

RIFT opens the Ember Isle to players with a new trailer Posted: 17 Nov 2011 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Patches, Endgame, News items, RIFT It's time to head off for an island adventure in RIFT. The heavily anticipated patch 1.6 has hit the servers, and that means players will be off to the brand-new Ember Isle, a massive zone that's stated to be twice the size of anything else. But that's not the only thing coming along with the patch -- there are new zone events, a new set of Planar Attunements, new group content (both a dungeon and a raid), and a new warfront mode. Not quite enough to pique your interest? Then take a look at the trailer just past the cut, which gives an overview of the lore driving players to explore the island. There's more to the story than simply "the spot where the Kelari used to live," and the trailer shows it off in all its glory. Take a look past the break to watch it, perhaps while you fire up the game's launcher and get down to the brass tacks of updating. [Source: Trion Worlds press release] Continue reading RIFT opens the Ember Isle to players with a new trailer RIFT opens the Ember Isle to players with a new trailer originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Nov 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

World of Warcraft is doing quite well in China, thank you very much Posted: 17 Nov 2011 05:30 AM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Economy, MMO industry Earlier this month we heard the news that World of Warcraft's subscriber base took yet another substantial hit, although Blizzard was quick to say that most of these losses were coming from eastern countries like China. It's odd then that we've just received word that World of Warcraft is on the rise in China following an extremely profitable third quarter. NetEase, which operates World of Warcraft in the region, announced that its Q3 earnings were actually up over the same time last year. Both revenues and profits for WoW in China are on the upswing, marking a 39.8% increase year-over-year. NetEase said that it pulled in $308.3 million in revenues, out of which $128.2 million is pure profit. Subscriber hit or no, WoW continues to be a major force in the Asian market, and with numbers like these it's hard to imagine it going away any time soon. World of Warcraft is doing quite well in China, thank you very much originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Gamasutra

The Daily Grind: Are you a sucker for MMO collectibles? Posted: 17 Nov 2011 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Super-hero, Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, DC Universe Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic So the other day I was browsing the local comic shop and catching up on a two-year absence from the hobby. There was a lot of backlog, naturally, but there were also some curious new game-related tie-ins that caught my eye. In addition to Arkham City and DC Universe Online: Legends titles, I also picked up installments one and two of Star Wars: The Old Republic - Lost Suns, which is apparently a five-issue special that offers a bit of backstory for BioWare's upcoming opus. Multimedia crossovers are nothing new, of course, but this was the first time I'd seen MMO comic book products outside of a collector's edition box. What about you, Massively folk? Are you a sucker for MMO novels, comics, figurines, or other extra-game collectibles? 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 a sucker for MMO collectibles? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Final SWTOR beta weekend targeting November 25th - 28th Posted: 17 Nov 2011 04:30 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Star Wars: The Old Republic As it's Thanksgiving weekend in the US, it's fitting that BioWare is giving players something to be thankful for: one last, giant beta test of Star Wars: The Old Republic. So if you're interested in seeing if the hype matches the game, make sure you stay out of any turkey comas following Thursday! According to SWTOR's Twitter, the test has been scheduled for November 25th through the 28th. This represents the largest beta test for the soon-to-be-released title yet, with hundreds of thousands -- perhaps millions -- of players invited to stress-test the servers. The test might not technically be "open" beta, but it's pretty hard at this point not to get into it. Any player who registered for beta testing prior to November 11th is automatically included, and those that didn't can grab one of the thousands and thousands of keys floating out there -- including from us! If you have questions about the beta test, it might behoove you to check out SWTOR's FAQ on the event. Final SWTOR beta weekend targeting November 25th - 28th originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: SWTOR twitter

Enter to win an Alienware MX14 laptop from Origins of Malu Posted: 16 Nov 2011 06:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Contests, News items, Giveaways, Sandbox Who doesn't love free things? We know we do! Burning Dog Media knows it, too. In order to promote its upcoming MMO, Origins of Malu, the company is giving away a shiny new Alienware MX14 gaming laptop. To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is head over to Origins of Malu's official Facebook page, like it, and register on the game's forums. It's as simple as that! So if you want a shot at winning a free laptop, get on over to the official Origins of Malu website. And while you're at it, be sure to head on over and check out our interview with the folks behind this promising upcoming sandbox title. We'll be keeping our eye on this one; we suggest you do the same. Enter to win an Alienware MX14 laptop from Origins of Malu originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Origins of Malu contest page

Fallen Earth partners with MAINGEAR for Play2Win contest Posted: 16 Nov 2011 05:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Contests, Events, in-game, News items, Free-to-play, Post-Apocalyptic, Sandbox Are you in the market for a spankin'-new gaming rig? Of course you are. Well, GamersFirst wants to help you out. The company has partnered with MAINGEAR to run a contest that will reward one lucky winner with a shiny new MAINGEAR F131 gaming PC. But there's a catch, of course. In order to win the custom Fallen Earth computer, players must venture into the wastelands of Fallen Earth to collect MAINGEAR computer parts from unique resource nodes scattered about the world. Whoever has the most parts when the contest ends on December 14th will be declared the winner. Head over to MAINGEAR's website for the full contest rules, and then sign up to play at the Fallen Earth official site and get to scavengin'. [Source: GamersFirst press release] Fallen Earth partners with MAINGEAR for Play2Win contest originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Choose My Adventure: Getting crafty Posted: 16 Nov 2011 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Opinion, Humor, Choose My Adventure, Final Fantasy XIV, Crafting All right, folks, it's that time again. No, not happy hour. That's not until later. It's Choose My Adventure time, so take a swig of the most potent nearby beverage and sit tight. Last week, you folks voted for me to give Final Fantasy XIV's dungeon-crawling a go so that I could have a sample of party mechanics and do something that wasn't a levequest. However, after standing around for a couple of hours on Sunday and a few more hours on Monday, screaming my lungs out in Ul'Dah asking for a group, I came up empty-handed. The vast majority of parties I saw being advertised were for higher-level content (mostly level 30 to 40+), and I'm still sitting pretty at level 10 and change. So what did I do with my playtime instead? Well, I took the first runner-up (botany and alchemy) and went with that. And what did I glean from choppin' trees and mixin' chemicals? Well, just follow along past the cut and I'll tell you. Continue reading Choose My Adventure: Getting crafty Choose My Adventure: Getting crafty originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Eligium shows off the Human and Viridis races Posted: 16 Nov 2011 04:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Previews, News items, Free-to-play We're still in the dark about many of the mechanics behind Eligium, the upcoming fantasy MMO from Frogster, but we now know a bit more about who players can be within the context of the world. Two races have been unveiled on the official site: the Human race, with the classes of Warrior and Mage, and the Viridis, who can become Druids. The classes are locked to given races, meaning that each individual class says a great deal about the race as a whole. Humans are the only race who appears to get two different classes, with Warriors as heavily armored wrecking balls and Mages as long-range purveyors of destruction. The Viridis, meanwhile, are a green-skinned people who formerly studied under the Elves before breaking free and mastering the art of nature magic. The first preview of basic Druid abilities is also available, which should help potential players get an idea of what they want to play when the game starts up. [Thanks to Piaskowy for the tip!] Eligium shows off the Human and Viridis races originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Introducing the Human race, Introducing the Viridis race

MechWarrior Online developers answer forum questions Posted: 16 Nov 2011 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, New titles, Previews, News items, Free-to-play If you're looking forward to the future of warfare today, you're probably keeping a close eye on the development of MechWarrior Online. And the developers are no doubt aware of this, as they've just posted a lengthy set of answers on the game's official forums, covering a broad range of topics from update speed to character development. While the answers confirm that at this point the software is still yet to see an alpha test, there's still a great deal of information therein. Aside from a few answers that are likely to prove discordant come launch (such as plans for biweekly update patches), the team is aiming at starting off with a strong PvP environment with persistent world elements in a similar fashion to MAG. PvE will not be in at launch, but it is on the table for later release. That's only the barest summary of the information in the full set of answers, which should keep any intent pilot eagerly anticipating his or her personal 'Mech. [Thanks to nimzy for the tip!] MechWarrior Online developers answer forum questions originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Forum Q&A

Martial Empires Path to Purgatory update brings big content drop Posted: 16 Nov 2011 03:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Dungeons It's patch day in Martial Empires, and gamigo has a hellish road in store for fans of the free-to-play action MMO. The Path to Purgatory update features a new survival mode challenge that pits players against hordes of monsters as they carve their way through 32 levels of a gigantic tower. There's also a big nasty waiting at the end of the challenge, and that's only part of the package. The update also features various mounts and battle pets, guild research functionality, and a new quest series that stretches from level one through 55. gamigo is also planning a number of in-game events, according to its latest press release, and you can learn more about Martial Empires on the game's official website. [Source: gamigo press release] Martial Empires Path to Purgatory update brings big content drop originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

MMO Family: First Impressions of Project Exonaut Posted: 16 Nov 2011 03:00 PM PST Filed under: PvP, Opinion, Free-to-play, Browser, Casual, First Impressions, MMO Family, Family Lately, I've been moving away from my "sword and board" mentality and instead checking out some MMOs that have faster gameplay, such as Vindictus' physics-based, arcade-style combat and Global Agenda's jetpack shooter battles. But while I've had fun grabbing gnolls by the throat and crushing them against the wall in Vindictus and fending off waves of zombies and chupacabras in Fallen Earth, the content isn't necessarily kid-friendly. I wanted to find a game that had action, fast-paced combat, and jetpacks but still touched on all the things that make for a good family game. I stumbled on Project Exonaut, made by Cartoon Network, and decided to check it out. It's a browser-based, free-to-play game that pits you against other players in a futuristic setting. It's not quite an MMO and would probably fall under our Not So Massively heading, but I decided to try it out. Read on for a look at the game and my first impressions! Continue reading MMO Family: First Impressions of Project Exonaut MMO Family: First Impressions of Project Exonaut originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Massively Speaking Episode 174 Posted: 16 Nov 2011 02:30 PM PST Filed under: Podcasts, Culture, News items, Opinion, Humor, Massively Speaking, Miscellaneous Massively Speaking Episode 174 marks a very special first episode for the team of Justin Olivetti and Rubi Bayer as they explore this week's MMO news without Shawn. They talk over free-to-play changes and successes, accidentally deleted MMOs (well, one), Star Wars: The Old Republic's upcoming beta testing weekend, Richard Garriott's Facebook manifesto, and more. Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot an email to podcast@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 174 Massively Speaking Episode 174 originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Funcom details Secret World Templar mission [Updated] Posted: 16 Nov 2011 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Horror, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, The Secret World, Dev Diaries Templar Week continues at Funcom, and this time the firm is teasing fans of The Secret World with bits and pieces of the game's factional missions and mythology. Today we get a look at a rogue agent mission within what is ostensibly the world's oldest (and definitely its most well-known) secret society. Funcom's dev diary paints the Templars as an uncompromising bunch, and players interested in joining the ranks of these ancient smiters of evil will travel to London, where they'll "feel the weight of thousands of years of history in the great arches of Temple Hall." They'll also be chasing a defector across the globe and even into some sort of alternate hell dimension, and you can read all about that and more at MMORPG.com. [Update: PC Gamer's got a preview of bunch of spooky TSW monsters too!] Funcom details Secret World Templar mission [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: MMORPG.com

Massively Exclusive: A look at Luvinia Online's Bishop Posted: 16 Nov 2011 01:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Expansions, News items, Free-to-play Luvinia Online has only been officially launched for a couple of months, but already there's a new expansion on the way. The update, Age of Enlightenment, brings with it the game's second tier of subclasses. One such subclass is the Bishop, an offshoot of the Priest archetype, and Massively has an exclusive blurb on what players can expect from the new healer. So click on past the cut for a short bio on the Bishop, and prepare for the Age of Enlightenment expansion to go live on November 30th. Continue reading Massively Exclusive: A look at Luvinia Online's Bishop Massively Exclusive: A look at Luvinia Online's Bishop originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Scarlet Legacy raises level cap, adds new dungeons and crafting recipes Posted: 16 Nov 2011 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Dungeons, Crafting GamesCampus is raising the level cap on its Scarlet Legacy MMO, and players can now strive for level 55 while toodling around the martial arts title's fantastical setting. The game's latest content update also boasts 35 new skills, a new story quest line, and more than 400 new items (including epic gear that is designed to do away with cookie-cutter avatars). GamesCampus has also added more than 130 new crafting recipes and several new maps. Windy Cliff and Windy Valley are designed for players between levels 51 and 55, and the new Altar of Wind dungeon is ideal for folks between 47 and 50. More info, as well as the client download, is available via the official Scarlet Legacy website. [Source: GamesCampus press release] Scarlet Legacy raises level cap, adds new dungeons and crafting recipes originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

New TERA videos highlight BAMs, again Posted: 16 Nov 2011 12:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, MMO industry, New titles, News items, PvE, TERA Oh TERA, forever teasing us with new press releases about BAMs in lieu of meaty gameplay details (or heaven forbid, a release date). The latest blurb comes courtesy of Frogster, the fantasy title's European publisher, and it features three new videos that provide a sneak peek at three more of the game's ubiquitous big-ass monsters. Each video runs for about a minute and each gives future denizens of Arborea a good look at the ovolith, the teralith, and the kumas BAMs in their native environments. Whether you're into creepy spiders, giant rock dudes, or beer-bellied behemoths that shoot death rays out of their stomachs (really), you'll probably find something to your liking in one of Frogster's new clips. Head past the break to see them all. [Source: Frogster press release] Continue reading New TERA videos highlight BAMs, again New TERA videos highlight BAMs, again originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

RIFT's patch 1.6 goes live today Posted: 16 Nov 2011 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, News items, PvE, RIFT Sharpen your blades and hone your spells, Telarans. RIFT's patch 1.6 goes live today, and it brings a ton of new content for players to experience. The new Ember Isle zone gives players a variety of new quests to complete, and the addition of sourcewells to the Island will allow players to fight off invasions on their own terms. Social players looking for a challenge will find just that in the form of the new non-linear instance (known as Caduceus Rise) and new world boss mobs. And of course, what is new content without new ways to progress your character? The second tier of planar attunement is now available, allowing players to further customize the way their characters play. For the full details, check out the patch notes over on the RIFT official forums. RIFT's patch 1.6 goes live today originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: RIFT patch 1.6 notes

Mortal Online introduces political map, Chronicles of Nave Posted: 16 Nov 2011 11:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, PvP, News items, Mortal Online, Sandbox Mortal Online players are going to have to wait a little bit longer for the game's The Dawn expansion, but in the meantime, Star Vault is busily working on the game's newly added territory control system. The newest addition to the system is a political map and a feature the team calls Chronicles of Nave. The political map allows players to track which territories are under whose control in real time, so they always know where the fights are raging. The Chronicles of Nave, on the other hand, is a ladder ranking system, which ranks players and guilds according to a variety of statistics. The current system displays players' stats and builds, though there is an option to turn this feature off in case a player would rather keep his build a secret. Both of these features are still in beta, so players can expect them to be updated with expanded functionality. For the full details, check out the forum post over at the Mortal Online official forums. Mortal Online introduces political map, Chronicles of Nave originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Mortal Online forums

EVE dev video talks customer relations and server nodes Posted: 16 Nov 2011 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, EVE Online, MMO industry, News items As part of a refocusing on developing EVE Online, CCP Games has recently taken us on a video tour of its art, features and core technology departments. This week it's the turn of the customer relations and Virtual Worlds departments as CCP Guard finds out what makes EVE tick. In his visit to the den of GMs, he finds that important stuck queue petitions are answered on average in 15 minutes, a response time much improved compared to a few years ago. Guard chats to several people from CCP's Virtual Worlds department, which is responsible for keeping all the EVE server clusters online and improving performance. CCP Hunter discusses what goes on during EVE's daily downtime and reveals that the once hour-long period has been reduced to only nine minutes per day. We also find out about recent hardware upgrades and the infamous "supernode" deployed for large-scale nullsec wars. Skip past the cut to watch the full video in HD. Continue reading EVE dev video talks customer relations and server nodes EVE dev video talks customer relations and server nodes originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

SWTOR beta participants log one meeeeellion hours of testing Posted: 16 Nov 2011 10:30 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic If it seemed like everyone and their dog got in on last weekend's Star Wars: The Old Republic beta event, well, they did. BioWare invited tens of thousands of Star Wars fans to the TOR testing party, and probably a few Star Trek fans and the blue glowy spirits of dearly departed Jedi Knights as well. The mass invites are designed to strain the servers prior to the game's December 15th launch date, and BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk says this is just the beginning. "One crazy number is we had over a million hours of testing over the weekend. It was a huge test, and there are even bigger ones coming. The key thing is for us to take those learnings, apply them and make the service really stable. We're happy with the game," Zeschuk told Eurogamer. Zeschuk and his BioWare cohorts aren't exactly raising pinkies to lips like an overconfident supervillain, though. "Everyone's cautiously optimistic. We're all very paranoid," Zeschuk said, before going on to explain how BioWare will carefully control TOR's launch availability to ensure a smooth experience. SWTOR beta participants log one meeeeellion hours of testing originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Eurogamer

You are subscribed to email updates from Massively To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610