MMO Updates |
- Massively Speaking Episode 176: Black and Blue Friday
- New launchpad coming to all EverQuest II users tomorrow
- Kotick questions how SWTOR will benefit EA
- World of Warcraft strikes the Hour of Twilight
- EVE Online: Crucible forges a new game today
- Star Trek Online's Season 5 content almost ready for prime time
- The Daily Grind: Would a closed beta key giveaway convince you to try a new game?
- Not So Massively: Dreamhack Winter 2011
- Black Prophecy bringing high-end raids with its next major update
- RuneScape adds a new dungeon for mold time's sake
- LOCO: Evolution goes live, brings new city and features
- Wings Over Atreia: Attitude of gratitude
- DDO's Challenges tweaked, torqued, and tailored
- Get your closed beta key for Archlord X: The Chronicles
- Vehicles to play a large role in DUST 514 battles
| Massively Speaking Episode 176: Black and Blue Friday Posted: 29 Nov 2011 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Podcasts, Interviews, MMO industry, Humor, Massively Speaking, Miscellaneous  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. Continue reading Massively Speaking Episode 176: Black and Blue Friday
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| New launchpad coming to all EverQuest II users tomorrow Posted: 29 Nov 2011 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play  As of November 30th, all EQII users will be migrated to a new launchpad. What's new about it? Well for starters, it doesn't require Flash. It also boasts a "much faster patching speed" and a "general aesthetic upgrade." The migration process should be painless for the end user, as Dave "Smokejumper" Georgeson says that all you'll have to do is point the new launcher at your existing EQII directory when prompted. There's a bit more info on the official site if you're curious.
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| Kotick questions how SWTOR will benefit EA Posted: 29 Nov 2011 08:30 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic  "Lucas is going to be the principal beneficiary of the success of Star Wars," Kotick posited. "We've been in business with Lucas for a long time and the economics will always accrue to the benefit of Lucas, so I don't really understand how the economics work for Electronic Arts." Kotick went on to say that the odds are stacked against new investors in the massively multiplayer market. "If you look at the history of the people investing in an MMO and achieving success, it's a small number," he said.
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| World of Warcraft strikes the Hour of Twilight Posted: 29 Nov 2011 08:00 AM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Patches  Patch 4.3 will go live later today with a wealth of updates to the game, the biggest of which have to be a trio of heroic dungeons and a new raid, Dragon Soul. The patch also introduces legendary daggers for rogues, a "transmogrification" system to allow players to change the look of their gear, a raid finder, and special Void Storage to free up more bank and inventory space. Our sister site WoW Insider has been covering all of the Patch 4.3 madness with aplomb, so catch up on all the goodies coming to the game over there!
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| EVE Online: Crucible forges a new game today Posted: 29 Nov 2011 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Patches, Sandbox  Today Crucible is coming to the game as a free expansion following a period of extended downtime. It's very much a "kitchen sink" update, with major improvements and reworkings of game systems. These include items as big as improved space visuals and dilating time to allow for large fleet battles to touches as small as contrails, an improved font, and new Captains Quarters. New ships in the expansion are a given, but ground-bound pilots might be attracted to opening up their very own customs offices to tax planetary businesses. There are so many additions and changes, in fact, that it's almost futile to try to crush them into a couple paragraphs, so while you're waiting for the game to come back up, make sure to check out the patch notes, the EVE Online: Crucible website, and our own Brendan Drain's thoughts for more info.
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| Star Trek Online's Season 5 content almost ready for prime time Posted: 29 Nov 2011 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play  Gameplay tweaks abound as well, with improvements to duty officers, space skills, and the leveling curve among the changes. Read the full list at the official STO website.
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| The Daily Grind: Would a closed beta key giveaway convince you to try a new game? Posted: 29 Nov 2011 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Giveaways, Miscellaneous  That last item is an interesting one because there are so many varying factors to a closed beta key giveaway. How many keys are there? How long is the testing period? How polished is the game so far? Is the game super hot or will this giveaway be the first time some of our readers have heard of the game? If it is, then a closed beta key giveaway is as much a promotional tool as it is a testing opportunity for the developer. There's nothing wrong with that, of course -- the more the merrier. But does it work for you? If you see a beta key up for grabs, will you take one and use the opportunity to see what this new game is like? Are there criteria besides "hey, free key"? Hit the comment button and let us know!  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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| Not So Massively: Dreamhack Winter 2011 Posted: 28 Nov 2011 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Trailers, Video, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, Lore, New titles, Patches, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, Not So Massively, MOBA  Bloodline Champions officially released Metal Warden this week and celebrated a successful tournament at Dreamhack Winter 2011. Heroes of Newerth was also at Dreamhack this weekend, with the finals of MSI's massive Beat It tournament and news released of a new HoNTour tournament series. Rise of Immortals released a spotlight on new immortal Pycon this week, and Facebook MMO Dungeon Overlord published a trailer to celebrate the game's official launch. BioWare's Wrath of Heroes celebrated its third closed beta event this weekend, and I was there to get some first-hand experience. Keep an eye out this week for my first impressions of this upcoming MOBA. Skip past the cut for details of this week's biggest news from the world of MOBAs and other big online games that aren't quite MMOs. Continue reading Not So Massively: Dreamhack Winter 2011
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| Black Prophecy bringing high-end raids with its next major update Posted: 28 Nov 2011 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Expansions, Game mechanics, Patches, Endgame, News items, Free-to-play, Black Prophecy  Most of the details aren't yet known, as the announcement itself is fairly thin on hard facts, but players will be expected to form groups between eight to ten players in size. The encounters will focus heavily on group mechanics, and if prior experience is any indicator, they should reward players with significant increases in power when completed successfully. If you've gotten a bit tired of Black Prophecy's current PvE endgame, keep your eyes peeled for more details in the coming weeks.
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| RuneScape adds a new dungeon for mold time's sake Posted: 28 Nov 2011 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, News items, RuneScape, Free-to-play, Browser, Dungeons  The new dungeon can be reached north of the Duel Arena bank, with most of its contents requiring a high level in various skills. The inhabitants are non-aggressive, however, allowing any and all members to take a look at the place freely. Other updates include an improvement to the Slayer interface and the UI option to switch bloom lighting on or off, which should help improve your overall experience whether or not you decide to go mushroom hunting.
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| LOCO: Evolution goes live, brings new city and features Posted: 28 Nov 2011 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, MOBA  Last month, we learned that Alaplaya's free-to-play MOBA, Land of Chaos Online would be rebranding itself with its upcoming LOCO: Evolution content update. The wait is now over, however, as LOCO: Evolution is live, and so are the multitude of features that come with it. Players can now explore the new city hub of Arhonnas, accept and complete quests, track achievements, and much more. For the full details, head on over to the game's official site.
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| Wings Over Atreia: Attitude of gratitude Posted: 28 Nov 2011 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Opinion, Wings Over Atreia  Originally slated to release during the holiday, this topic was preempted by last week's announcement. No matter -- I certainly don't mind stretching out the season of gratitude. So while it might be more trendy to troll and spread hate, I dedicate this week's Wings Over Atreia to just saying thanks. Don't believe there are things to be thankful for? Step past the cut (or roll, if you enjoyed as much turkey as I did) to check out my reasons and a chance to express your own. Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: Attitude of gratitude
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| DDO's Challenges tweaked, torqued, and tailored Posted: 28 Nov 2011 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Patches, Free-to-play  There's no one specific aspect of the Challenges that is receiving the most attention, but a variety of tweaks to make the feature more enjoyable (and functional) as a whole. The patch includes additional weapons at Challenge vendors, Challenge loot that can be used in crafting and upgraded, and the ability for players to repeat Star Challenges for XP. There's also the interesting inclusion of the ability to sell DDO Store-bought loot to in-game vendors for cash. Players are invited to check the changes out on the Lamannia test server or to peruse the patch notes at their leisure.
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| Get your closed beta key for Archlord X: The Chronicles Posted: 28 Nov 2011 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Free-to-play, Giveaways  Archlord X is a continuation of the events of the Archlord universe, according to Webzen. The Archlord X game scenario is based a hundred years after Archlord, when Chantra fell into chaos from the Archon running out of control. Ready to check it out for yourself? Visit our giveaway page, then head over to the Archlord X redemption page. Create an account via the "play for free" button if you have not, then enter your beta key serial code. Once you've done that you're all set to download Archlord X -- enjoy! 
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| Vehicles to play a large role in DUST 514 battles Posted: 28 Nov 2011 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, MMOFPS, DUST 514, Sandbox  CCP says that vehicles "play a large role" on DUST's battlefields, with heavy armor units delivering long-range concussive attacks "while lighter units emphasize speed and flexibility." Vehicles are also highly configurable, and players will be given a choice of armaments drawn directly from EVE Online's weapon classes. Finally, the new blog entry gives us a glimpse of various vehicle aesthetics, and long-time New Eden fans will be pleased to note that the selection has a familiar factional feel (though duty compels us to complain about the lack of a Minmatar entry).
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