MMO Updates |
- A look back at a cataclysmic year for World of Warcraft
- New interview talks Warhammer Online and Wrath of Heroes synergy
- Bigpoint sells 2000 virtual space drones for €1000 each
- The Daily Grind: Have the post-NDA testimonials changed your mind about SWTOR?
- Shanda Games going back to private ownership
- Bigpoint may co-publish Star Trek: Infinite Space
- Guild Wars 2 devblog highlights cinematic conversations
- Goblinworks announces Pathfinder Online
- TERA monthly chat talks public previews, PvP, and more
- Jagex unveils new RuneScape website
- League of Legends announces the start of Season Two with new video
- Firefall video diary talks Medics, Assaults, and that dreaded balance word
- PlanetSide 2's Vanu Sovereignty gets a new batch of screenshots
- The Soapbox: The best complaint is an empty seat
- RIFT gets into the holiday spirit with the Fae Yule world event
- The Game Archaeologist's excellent EverQuest Online Adventures: The memories
- Flyff's V18: Renaissance patch buffs Baruna weapons, brings bonus XP
| A look back at a cataclysmic year for World of Warcraft Posted: 23 Nov 2011 09:00 AM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Expansions, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Endgame, News items  So how did that work out? What's been happening with the game over the past year? Let's pick up in December because that's when the story really begins, a story that involves a dragon smashing huge chunks of both continents to pieces. The result was a complete revamp of the game's lower-level areas, the addition of several new high-level areas, and a redesign of the way the game handled progression. It kicked off a war against primal forces and Old Gods for players, and that's without even getting in to the mechanical shifts. Continue reading A look back at a cataclysmic year for World of Warcraft
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| New interview talks Warhammer Online and Wrath of Heroes synergy Posted: 23 Nov 2011 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, Warhammer Online, News items, Free-to-play  The distinction between the two games is up for discussion in a new Warhammer Online interview at Stratics. "There is no direct link currently between your WAR and WOH characters. That being said, we plan on giving WAR subscribers benefits in WOH," explains producer James Casey. "We are also looking at other ways to connect them and have the benefits go both ways." The interview also touches on the next WAR update (currently slated for the PTS next month), as well as the fact that the devs are considering a level-cap increase on the game's endless trial offering.
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| Bigpoint sells 2000 virtual space drones for €1000 each Posted: 23 Nov 2011 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Business models, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Browser  Earlier this year Bigpoint made headlines for its pragmatic approach to pay-to-win business models in free-to-play MMOs. Today, Gamesbrief has published a story illustrating just how successful such strategies can be. Bigpoint recently made a rare space drone available in its DarkOrbit MMO. While this isn't newsworthy in and of itself, what caught our attention was the €1000 price tag. Our eyebrows arched a little higher as Bigpoint producer Simon Davis revealed that upwards of 2000 people bought one of the drones over a four-day period. If you're counting at home, that's over €2 million (nearly $2.7 million) in four days from a single virtual item.
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| The Daily Grind: Have the post-NDA testimonials changed your mind about SWTOR? Posted: 23 Nov 2011 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Miscellaneous  While we cannot stress enough that a beta is a beta and not a launched product deserving of a full-range judgment, many curious players have taken this opportunity to soak up the information, particularly if they have not been in the beta as of yet. Others might have dipped their toes in the beta but are interested to hear what some of the long-time vets have to say at this juncture. So what about you? Has anything you read or heard about SWTOR following the NDA drop changed your mind?  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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| Shanda Games going back to private ownership Posted: 22 Nov 2011 06:00 PM PST Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Legal, Miscellaneous  All shares will be jointly purchased by a parent company headed by Shanda's CEO, Shanda's COO (the CEO's son), and the company director (the CEO's wife). A $180 million loan was taken out to ensure that the stocks could be traded, with the purchasers buying shares at a higher price to help ensure the transfer. The board of directors has already approved this move, which means that it should go through without a hitch before the first quarter of 2012.
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| Bigpoint may co-publish Star Trek: Infinite Space Posted: 22 Nov 2011 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play  There may be hope yet for Star Trek: Infinite Space. The title's future was called into question when a series of layoffs wracked Gameforge, causing the studio to state that the Star Trek title would be cancelled unless it could acquire a co-publisher. A post on the Star Trek: Infinite Space official forums stated that Bigpoint has taken an interest in the title. Now all that remains is to wait and see how Gameforge responds to Bigpoint's offer. Stay tuned, and we'll be sure to bring you the latest as it develops.
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| Guild Wars 2 devblog highlights cinematic conversations Posted: 22 Nov 2011 04:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, News items, Guild Wars 2, Dev Diaries  "One of the things we game developers always have to struggle with is reconciling our ambition with the reality of a production environment," begins today's Guild Wars 2 dev blog. That principle of balance comes into play in the case of the game's cinematic conversations, as the blog notes. James Boer goes on to detail many of the unique strategies used in Guild Wars 2's dialogue scenes in order to ensure that precious balance between ambition and pragmatism. For instance, characters are designed in such a way that they don't look terribly good during close-ups, and there is no easy way to integrate facial animation. As a result, the team settled on a compromise, pushing the characters farther into the background. This, combined with the painted backgrounds utilized during conversations, lends a unique style to GW2's cinematic dialogues. For the full details, just head on over to the ArenaNet dev blog.
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| Goblinworks announces Pathfinder Online Posted: 22 Nov 2011 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, New titles, News items  For pen-and-paper RPG players, Pathfinder remains a perennial favorite game setting. Those players may find themselves excited to know, then, that Goblinworks has announced Pathfinder Online. This MMORPG adaptation of the extremely popular system will be a "hybrid sandbox/theme park-style MMO roleplaying game." The title will feature a "robust trading system [that] puts players in control of the world's economy," which should be wonderful for players who like to work the market. Characters can also establish settlements and expand them into full kingdoms while raising an army to help defend their turf. The announcement boasts randomly generated events, as well, stating that "as settlements develop, the surrounding wilderness develops more complex and challenging features." The goal appears to be not just to create a game, but in fact to bring to life a real, evolving world. Pathfinder fans should keep their eyes on Goblinworks' official site, where further development updates will be posted.
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| TERA monthly chat talks public previews, PvP, and more Posted: 22 Nov 2011 03:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Interviews, PvP, News items, TERA  TERA's November edition of the monthly Twitter dev chat has been posted on the game's official site, and it brings a few choice morsels involving the current alpha test and the upcoming closed beta. The team notes that the current testing is going quite well, and the first public preview event will be starting in early 2012. Many players also ask about the game's open world PvP, and the team mentions that a free-for-all-from-level-1 PvP server is not out of the question, though it won't happen at launch. Master glyphs, guild wars, and fashion customization are all on the table as well, so for the full transcript, head on over to the official TERA site.
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| Jagex unveils new RuneScape website Posted: 22 Nov 2011 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, News items, RuneScape, Free-to-play, Browser  Jagex announced today that it is giving the official RuneScape website a makeover. The update will add a couple of features to the popular F2P title's website, such as a new wiki and an events section, which should help the community pull together. The studio is also updating the site's news feed in order to ensure that players can get the latest in RuneScape news all the time. To check it out for yourself, just head on over to the official RuneScape site. [Source: Jagex press release]
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| League of Legends announces the start of Season Two with new video Posted: 22 Nov 2011 02:30 PM PST Filed under: Trailers, Video, Events, real-world, News items, Free-to-play, MOBA  The time has finally come, League of Legends players: Season Two is upon us. And to commemorate the occasion, Riot Games has released a video recapping the events of Season One and introducing players to what they can expect in Season Two. Season Two's tournaments, for those not in the know, will reward players with 5 million USD in prizes, so if you've got the skills, there's money to be made. To check out the full video, just click on past the cut. Continue reading League of Legends announces the start of Season Two with new video
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| Firefall video diary talks Medics, Assaults, and that dreaded balance word Posted: 22 Nov 2011 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, Classes, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, MMOFPS  Red 5 Studios is starting the Thanksgiving week off right with a delicious helping of video. The entree consists of David Williams talking a bit about class design and the balance challenges inherent in the title's battleframes (for the uninitiated, battleframes are the suits of power armor worn by Firefall's soldiers, and in gameplay terms they determine your class and combat role). When it comes to the dreaded "B" word, Williams uses the game's Medic class as an example, and he says that Red 5 wants combat docs to be able to deal damage and fulfill the primary support role. This poses a problem, of course, because other classes (like the Assault) aren't able to do both. The Medic "needed to be fun, it needed to be threatening, but it also needed to be just below the offensive capabilities of an Assault," Williams explains. See what else he has to say, and get a good look at Firefall in action, via the video after the break. Continue reading Firefall video diary talks Medics, Assaults, and that dreaded balance word
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| PlanetSide 2's Vanu Sovereignty gets a new batch of screenshots Posted: 22 Nov 2011 01:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, News items, MMOFPS, PlanetSide 2  PlanetSide 2's Terran Republic and New Conglomerate have both had their time in the spotlight, but now we get to hear from the faction that everyone actually cares about: the technologically superior Vanu Sovereignty. PC Gamer has some new, incredibly purple screens showing the Vanu in action. Marvel at the hovertanks! Stand in awe of Vanu Sovereignty airships! Prepare to be pew-pewed in the face by an awesome laser pistol! After all, it takes a real man to wear purple. Or something like that, anyway. Just click on over to PC Gamer for all the new screens.
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| The Soapbox: The best complaint is an empty seat Posted: 22 Nov 2011 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous  This is a public service announcement for you. Yes, you, with the post open for the message board and your finger hovering over the "post" button. I can't see what you've got written there, but I'm willing to bet some form of "turning the game into World of Warcraft" is there if you're posting about another game. Or possibly FarmVille. Hopefully I'm getting warm. Look, the point is that I now you're about to post this hateful diatribe about threatening to leave. But I've got a better suggestion for you. How about you delete that post, unsubscribe, and then head outside for a walk with some friends. Play a different game, maybe an offline one, for a couple of days. Don't whine and just leave. Continue reading The Soapbox: The best complaint is an empty seat
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| RIFT gets into the holiday spirit with the Fae Yule world event Posted: 22 Nov 2011 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, News items, RIFT  It's that time of year again, it would seem. A time for mirth, merriment, and fending off an evil dragon to ensure that it isn't able to enslave an entire race of magical creatures. Well, that's what's going on in Telara, anyway, thanks to RIFT's Fae Yule celebration. The event, which started today, will span six weeks and will feature "fancy holiday hats, new quests, a grumpy mead-guzzling satyr, and other festive items." But of course, this is Telara, so the festivities simply wouldn't be complete if Crucia, the evil dragon of air, didn't decide to make an appearance. She's already tired of the Fae's newfound freedom and wants to wrest them back into servitude. It's up to players to make sure she does not succeed. And to top it off, Trion is presenting players with experience, favor, prestige, plaque, and planarite bonuses this weekend only. So what are you waiting for, Telarans? Get a move on. [Source: Trion Worlds press release]
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| The Game Archaeologist's excellent EverQuest Online Adventures: The memories Posted: 22 Nov 2011 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Interviews, Everquest Online Adventures, Consoles, The Game Archaeologist  While we did attempt to contact SOE for an interview to see if we could find out anything new -- or even old -- about EQOA, it failed to materialize. As a wonderful consolation prize, however, this week we'll hear from three players who have extensive experience in the game. So let's hit this column running and equip our +2 Ears of Paying Attention! Continue reading The Game Archaeologist's excellent EverQuest Online Adventures: The memories
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| Flyff's V18: Renaissance patch buffs Baruna weapons, brings bonus XP Posted: 22 Nov 2011 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Flyff, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Dungeons  The dev team has also updated Baruna items by adding new enhancement options that "mold them into powerful weapons capable of empowering their owners against the most elite opponents," according to gPotato. Be sure to log in today and take advantage of increased sunstone and moonstone drops, and don't forget to head to the official Flyff website to read all about the new patch. Finally, take a look past the break for the latest Flyff community Q&A video. [Source: gPotato press release] Continue reading Flyff's V18: Renaissance patch buffs Baruna weapons, brings bonus XP
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