General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article

VIA Agrees SYSMark 2012 Not Useful, Quits Too

Posted: 22 Jun 2011 05:47 PM PDT

AMD resigning in a huff over alleged bias in SYSMark2012 is one thing, but now two other vendors have publicly confirmed that they have quit the benchmarking organization called BAPCo.

On Wednesday, officials with VIA confirmed reports that the company had quit and said its reasons were similar to AMD's.

"VIA today confirmed reports that we have tendered our resignation to BAPCo," Richard Brown, a spokesman for VIA, told Maximum PC late Wednesday. "We strongly believe that the benchmarking applications tests developed for SYSmark 2012 and EEcoMark 2.0 do not accurately reflect real world PC usage scenarios and workloads and therefore feel we can no longer remain as a member of the organization." 

Echoing AMD's statement, VIA said it wanted more transparency.

"We hope that the industry can adopt a much more open and transparent process for developing fair and objective benchmarks that accurately measure real world PC performance and are committed to working with companies that share our vision."

VIA is familiar to most consumers for its successful run of chipsets in the Pentium III and Athlon days but it has since exited chipsets for Intel and AMD CPUs to concentrate on its own CPUs such as the VIA C7, Nano X2 and Eden X2 chips. All are seen as low powered and pale in comparison to the speed of Intel's processors, or even AMD's processors.

Still, VIA taking its ball home along with AMD as well as Nvidia can't help the perception that something is amiss with the new SYSMark 2012 benchmark. Nvidia officials confirmed on Tuesday that the company quit BAPCo's board too, but would not elaborate on why it left.

A BAPCo spokesman has denied AMD's claims of bias and said AMD was involved in the process all along and even created the method used to adopt the work loads. 

 

Chrome to Natively Support Skype-like Features

Posted: 22 Jun 2011 04:44 PM PDT

Skype may have eventually gone to Microsoft, but that would have never happened had Redmond's cloud-obsessed rival Google not dropped the idea of acquiring the popular VoIP service in 2009. The Internet behemoth came very close to making a bid but backed out at the last moment.

According to Wesley Chan, an investment partner at Google Ventures, the data-intensive nature of Skype's underlying peer-to-peer technology turned out to be the deal breaker. Needless to say, the Big G has absolutely no regrets about not acquiring Skype's "old technology" as its own efforts seem to be coming along nicely. It has now announced plans to add Skype-like real-time communication (RTC) features into Chrome using its open-source WebRTC initiative.

"Our goal is to enable Chrome with Real-Time Communications (RTC) capabilities via simple Javascript APIs," Henrik Andreasson, a Google programmer, wrote on Friday. "We are working hard to provide full RTC support in Chrome all the way from WebKit down to the native audio and video parts. When we are done, any web developer shall be able to create RTC  applications, like the Google Talk client in Gmail, without using any plugins but only WebRTC components that runs in the sandbox. "

Besides Google, the WebRTC project also has the backing of Mozilla and Opera. It will eliminate the dependence of RTC applications like Google Voice and Video Chat on pesky browser plugins. Browsers from all three vendors are expected to begin shipping with WebRTC support very soon.

The Eyefinity Field Manual: Your Guide to Multi-Monitor Bliss

Posted: 22 Jun 2011 03:22 PM PDT

When ATI Launched its 5000 series graphics cards back in September 2009, it was more than just a performance marvel, it ushered in a new technology that promised PC gamers an experience unlike no other: true, no compromise, multi-monitor gaming.

Sure, some ambitious PC-centric titles such as Supreme Commander had dabbled with multiple display support in the past, but these limited attempts offered little more than a convenient way to separate the mini map from the action. Eyefinity, by comparison, promised to bring multi-display gaming to hundreds of titles that were never optimized to support it. This would turn out to be both its biggest strength, and its greatest obstacle. It was an ambitious and somewhat buggy undertaking when it was revealed back in 2009, but has over a year and a half of driver releases improved the situation?

Having lived with an Eyefinity setup now for the past twelve months, I feel uniquely qualified to talk about not just how the technology has evolved, but if it was worth the cost.

Does multi-monitor gaming in 2011 finally live up to all the marketing hype? Hit the jump to find out.

Eyefinity in 2011. What's Improved, What's Hasn't.

AMD fans may not care to admit it, but the Catalyst driver suite hasn't always been the industries golden boy when it comes to reliability. ATI has a proud history of impressive hardware under its belt, but the software team has had a lot to prove over the past few years. If you're one of the few still holding a grudge, let me reassure you. Despite the odd hiccup here and there, I can now comfortably state that a modern release of the Catalyst Control Center feels every bit as stable, and capable, as its ForceWare competitor.

Eyefinity support was added with the launch of the 5000 series GPUs in Catalyst 9.9, but most of the caveats that existed back then have been fully smoothed out today. Of the three biggest obstacles we saw at launch, all but one of these have been addressed by the driver team.

CROSSFIRE SUPPORT

When AMD launched Eyefinity without native support for Crossfire, we were left scratching our heads. Considering that older titles such as Crysis still have the ability to make our graphics cards weep, how would a single GPU hold up while being forced to pump out 3 times as many pixels as before? The answer is not very well. Performance was acceptable in source engine games, but let's face it, 15fps in Crysis just doesn't cut it. 

Luckily, with the release of Catalyst 9.12 in December 2009 this obstacle was not just overcome, but has improved dramatically ever since. Practically every subsequent driver release has brought improved Crossfire scaling to the table, and nobody benefits from this more than an Eyefinity gamer. A 15% improvement in your favorite game might go unnoticed on a single display, but makes all the difference in the world when you're trying to push over 6 million pixels at once.

BEZEL COMPENSATION

The single most common complaint about Eyefinity setups is usually in reference to the thick plastic frames that house a modern day LCD. The thickness of the bezel was never much of a concern for display makers before Eyefinity came along, and unfortunately not much has changed. Eyefinity users are still very much in the minority, and simply don't buy enough screens to influence the market. AMD has worked with Samsung to release the best bezel offering we've seen so far, but at $1,900 for a 3 monitor configuration, and $3,100 for six, the vast majority of Eyefinity hopefuls will still need to look at thicker bezel alternatives.

AMD, aware that this was a sticking point for many users, introduced a pretty innovative fix in Catalyst 10.3 to help address the issue. Driver level bezel correction allows you compensate for the dead space between your LCDs and converts this area into a blind spot, rather than a hard stop. Prior to introduction of bezel correction, textures would end on one monitor and abruptly start on the second, creating a very disjointed image. The bezel correction works by creating a custom resolution for your configuration and broadcasting this as the native setting for all your apps.

Bezel correction is an optional step when setting up a new Eyefinity group in the Catalyst control center, so make sure you don't miss it. You might not notice it in a racing game when looking at the grass or sky, but it will stick out like a sore thumb when you're looking at a face that has been incorrectly split in two by a 4-inch bezel.

DISPLAY PORT BLUES

When Eyefinity initially launched, the requirement for one monitor to be DisplayPort ready dramatically limited your options. In 2011 DisplayPort monitors still command a slight premium, but it's nowhere near as bad as it was. With a little effort I was able to find several options starting at just $250. They may not be the best panels on the market, but it's a great way to get your feet wet. The alternative is to use an active DisplayPort adapter, and luckily, these too have seen a considerable drop in price. Back in 2009 these dongles could run you $100 or more; now perfectly acceptable options are in the $25-$30 range.

The Nvidia solution for 2D surround requires users to purchase two graphics card in SLI. It's not as elegant a solution to be sure, but if you were going to buy two cards either way, it certainly isn't a deal breaker.

Do I Really Need a Multi-Monitor Gaming Setup?

Eyefinity really is luxury gaming taken to excess. Does anyone really need to run their favorite games at a resolution 12 times higher than an Xbox 360? Probably not. Is it worth every penny if you have the money to burn? Well that really depends on your favorite genre.

FIRST PERSON SHOOTERS

Have you ever considered buying a $60 mouse pad because a fancy display ad told you it would improve your accuracy? If you answered yes, and you haven't considered Eyefinity yet, you've been looking in all the wrong places. By increasing the number of pixels you can see at any given time, your advantage on the battlefield increases exponentially. I cannot begin to tell you how many times I've seen foes blindly run past me in the distance, completely unaware of what's going on directly beside them.

Aside from the obvious competitive advantages, Eyefinity also creates a sense of immersion that is simply unmatched. Having so much additional screen space to monitor can be a bit unnerving at first, particularly for single display veterans, but over time you will eventually train your eyes to scan these monitors effortlessly using your peripheral vision. It takes a healthy dose of both patience and practice, but once you get the hang of it you'll wonder how you ever lived without it.

On the down side, some FPS titles suffer from an uncorrectable phenomena often called Fisheye, but we'll touch more on that later.

Portrait or Landscape?  LANDSCAPE
Best Examples: Battlefield Bad Company 2, Dead Space, Source Engine Games Including: Team Fortress 2, Half-Life 2, Left for Dead 2.

THIRD PERSON ACTION GAMES & MASSIVE MULTIPLAYER ONLINE RPGS

Most of the advantages I listed above for the first person shooter junkies also apply here, but with one key exception. The third person viewpoint is ideally suited for Eyefinity, without exception. Rather than the extra displays being a source of distraction, it just works. Open world games such as Just Cause 2 offer a slightly better experience over indoor titles such as Batman Arkham Asylum - but only because the walls of a high security prison are somewhat less captivating than a tropical wonderland.

The vast majority of MMOs I tested also looked great in Eyefinity. The extra screen real estate comes in super handy if you prefer to leave your status windows open. Eve Online, for example, is a gorgeous game, but on a single monitor it's sometimes hard to even find your ship under the sea of required scanner windows.

Portrait or Landscape? LANDSCAPE
Best Examples (Action): Assassin's Creed II & Brotherhood, Batman Arkham Asylum, Just Cause 2, Splinter Cell Conviction
Best Examples (RPG/MMOs): World of Warcraft, Eve Online, Rift, Dragon Age

TOP DOWN STRATEGY GAMES

Any decent strategy gamer will tell you that awareness of your surroundings should always be priority #1, so using this logic, more pixels should offer a decisive advantage, right? The answer is an undeniably yes; some developers know this, and have gone to great lengths to even the playing field.

The latest releases of big budget games such as Dawn of War, Shogun, and even Civilization work flawlessly with Eyefinity, while others such as Starcraft II have gone out of their way to disable it. Some resourceful gamers have found ways to mod Eyefinity support back in, but you won't catch me logging into a multiplayer lobby with a modified client. Blizzard isn't known for having much patience in that regard.

Blizzard aside, I would describe the strategy genres embrace of wide screen gaming as mixed at best. When it works, the extra screen real estate can be invaluable for providing early warning of an incoming enemy attack, but since most strategy games use some variation on fog of war, this isn't always an advantage, even if the game natively supports it.

Another key example would be Civilization V. While the game looks simply fantastic in Eyefinity, multiple-monitors really don't add much to the experience beyond the wow factor. Since the vast majority of your attention is focused on the center of the screen, multiple-monitors can actually be somewhat annoying since you need to turn your head to view the controls locked on the far left, and far right monitors respectively. If you love strategy games, you're probably better off spending your hard earned cash on a single 30" screen with a native 2560 x 1600 resolution. If you do use Eyefinity however, I would highly recommend looking at a portrait configuration. Unless you make a habit out of building your bases out in the middle of the map, you typically don't need to see as far east or west. Worse yet, if you end up building on the edge of a map, you could end up wasting an entire monitor that gets stuck looking into a black abyss. Portrait-mode Eyefinity also somewhat addresses the Civilization problem mentioned above with controls being placed so far out of your normal visual spectrum.

Portrait or Landscape?  PORTRAIT
Best Examples: Dawn of War II & Retribution, Total War Shogun 2, Civilization V

RACING & SIMULATION GAMES

If you find AMD showing off Eyefinity in the field, more often than not, you're probably going to see them demonstrating a racing or flight sim. The reason for this is simple. People who drive cars are used to being able to look out side windows and see the landscape whipping by.

Some might argue that Eyefinity was designed with simulation games in mind, but it's also the one genre that gains next to no advantage from the extra real estate. Eyefinity can turn almost any racing sim into an immersive experience that you have to see to believe, but the advantages end there. At the end of the day the road ahead is all that matters, making an Eyefinity setup less helpful to your game than a set of fancy rims. It sure adds alot of bling, but don't expect it to help you win the race.

Portrait or Landscape? LANDSCAPE
Best Examples: Need for Speed Shift, Burnout Paradise, Dirt 2, H.A.W.X 1 & 2

Picking Monitors & Hardware

One of the most common questions people ask me about multi-monitor gaming is where to start. If you've got a Radeon 5000 or 6000 series GPU, or two GeForce 400 or 500 series boards, you're already half way there.

PICKING THE GRAPHICS CARD

When picking from the AMD camp the most expensive single GPU you can afford will always be your best option. If you have any money left over, buy two. If you're an Nvidia fan, simply buy a pair of whatever you can comfortably afford. This might sound like an overly simple answer to a complicated question, but trust me when I say you'll need all the performance you can get.

Another important consideration is video memory. 1GB might sound like more than enough for a graphics card, but it disappears quickly at resolutions of 5760 x 1080 or higher. Always opt for a GPU with the most amount of onboard memory possible.

PICKING THE MONITORS

Picking the right monitors is one of the most difficult challenges, and leaves you with some tough choices. The natural temptation is to simply mix and match, and while you can certainly take this route to help keep the cost down, I'm going to list a few best practices.

Requirements:
All Monitors must be the same resolution, refresh rate, and at least one must have a DisplayPort (if you don't have an active DisplayPort adapter when using Eyefinity).

RECOMMENDATIONS:

  1. Buy the same brand/model/year whenever possible.
    When I took the Eyefinity plunge over a year ago, I mixed a two-year-old Dell Ultrasharp 2407-WFP, with the closest match I could find at the time, the Dell U2410. This made financial sense back then but despite my best efforts I was never able to fully match the colors between the two models, since the newest Ultrasharp panels are all IPS. I lived with it for almost a year, before finally giving up and standardizing the U2410 for all three.
  2. Stick with the same size.
    If you are going to mix and match old & new displays, stick with the same physical size if at all possible. If you have a 24" 1080p panel in the center, try your best to find a matching set. It's not required, but it's definitely ideal.
  3. Three vs. six monitor setups.
    If you're flush with cash you might be tempted to opt for the full six display Eyefinity experience (what Maximum PC reader wouldn't?!). But trust me when I say diminishing returns sets in quickly after the first three. If you're a typical user who sits less than three feet away from your displays, anything more than three monitors can be pretty overwhelming. In addition to the visual overload, you're also forcing your system to crunch over 12 million pixels at once. The performance toll for a six-monitor configuration can be pretty extreme.
  4. If you're mixing and matching old and new monitors, you'll want to calibrate.
    Software solutions such as ColorWizzard ($50) work well, but hardware devices such as Datacolor's Spyder 3 work best ($169). Mismatched colors might not be something you'll notice on the desktop, but when the walls in your favorite game change color as your eyes scan across the screen, it can be pretty distracting.

HOW TO CONFIGURE MONITOR GROUPS

Setting up an Eyefinity group using the Catalyst Control Center has gotten much easier since launch, but it's still not completely intuitive, even for advanced users. Rather than walk you through it step-by-step, I would encourage you to check out AMD's interactive tutorial.

Common Problems With Eyefinity

FISHEYE & FOV

When developers set to work on a modern game, they typically do so with the expectation that the vast majority of users will experience that content on a wide screen display. This generally means an aspect ratio of 16:9 (1080p, 720p) or one of the other generally accepted standards such as 4:3 or 16:10. Eyefinity takes these ratios and throws them right out the window. Once activated, three seperate 1080p displays in landscape mode are presented to the operating system as a single, massively wide panel with an aspect ratio of 16:3 - possibly lower if you're using bezel correction.

The end result of such a hugely disproportionate aspect ratio varies greatly depending on the title, but first person shooters in particular are prone to suffering from image distortion the further you get from the center. You'll often hear this refereed to as "Fisheye", but I've also heard it called tunnel vision. Forward-thinking developers, such as Valve, have included the ability to adjust the FOV (Field of Vision) to help compensate for this problem, and it makes a huge difference if you're sensitive to this type of distortion. If - like me - you only use the side displays for peripheral vision, not being able to adjust this setting isn't a complete deal breaker, but is certainly nice to have.

When you lower the FOV you will stretch the appearance of objects further away from the center, as you increase it, images become more compressed. Valve makes this setting accessible with a handy slider under the graphics settings, but many other titles hide it in .cfg and .ini files. If you Google your favorite game and add the word "Eyefinity" to the end, you will typically get directed to the Wide Screen Gaming Forums. This community has done a fantastic job of rounding up fixes for almost every title, and is a great starting point when looking for fixes.

The WSGF community has also released an FOV calculation tool that is second to none.

STRETCHED MENUS & DISTORTED CUT SCENES

Eyefinity works in an impressively large percentage of games - both older and modern titles - however, you'll need to come to terms with the fact that some will never stretch out properly no matter how hard you try. High profile games such as the Witcher or Mass Effect 1 & 2 are great examples of titles where the developer made engine level design decisions that make trying to run Eyefinity a complete nightmare.

The most common mistake I've seen so far is when developers code the size of the main menu options to scale with the width of the display. Best-case scenario is an ugly UI, more often than not however, it renders the interface completely unusable. Another common Eyefinity issue is when cut scenes or in-game scripted sequences render incorrectly. Bulletstorm, for example, allows for the adjustment of the FOV by binding a key in the .cfg files which works great. Scripted sequences however, ignore this override, leading to an abnormally high number of unintended crotch shots between missions, which works...not so great.

Final Impressions

Multi-monitor gaming in 2011 is not only alive and well, but is more affordable than ever before. It's easy to go overboard once you start looking high-end displays with AMD's latest and greatest in Crossfire, but don't feel pressured. Even a modest investment in a pair of matching side monitors will drastically improve the sense of immersion you derive from your gaming sessions. Assuming you already have a modern GPU, a $500 investment is about all it takes to get started.

This might sound like a hands down ringing endorsement, and while I do firmly believe multiple-monitors is a worthwhile upgrade for any hardcore gamer, it still isn't for the faint of heart. If rooting through the file system in search of .ini files, or researching FOV fixes for hours on end doesn't sound like your idea of a good time, then this might not be for you. An impressively large percentage of titles work with next to no effort at all, but you'll only remember the ones that don't. Once you've sampled true ultra wide-screen gaming, it can be painful being forced back down to a single display to play one of the more stubborn titles.

Wide Screen Gaming Resources

AMD Eyefinity Tech Demo & More Information
Delphium's Field of View & Aspect Ratio Calculator
Widescreen Fixer (Unofficial Eyefinity patch for all COD titles + Bioshock, Battlefield 2, Halo, Unreal 3, and more)
Widescreen Gaming Forum

LulzSec Franchise Opens in Brazil, Takes Down Government Sites

Posted: 22 Jun 2011 02:57 PM PDT

lulzIf you thought one LulzSec was one too many, get ready for your worst nightmare. A new Brazilian faction of the now infamous hacker group has begun its own attacks on government sites in Brazil. "Our Brazilian unit is making progress. Well done @LulzSecBrazil, brothers!" LulzSec proper tweeted.

LulzSec Brazil reportedly brought down the Brazilian government site, as well as the site of the President's office. The successful attacks were announced on Twitter with the traditional LulzSec call of "Tango Down". LulzSec Brazil has promised more mayhem is to follow today, but we have yet to hear of any significant attacks. The Brazilian arm of Anonymous has also been making some noise in the last 24 hours, possible in response to LulzSec's attacks. 

Both Anonymous and LulzSec in Brazil seem to be protesting, in their own ways, the lack of transparency in the nations government. Brazil is often cited as lacking sufficient protections for free speech. We have to wonder if more LulzSec franchises will pop up around the globe.

Google Hiring Product Manager for "Games at Google"

Posted: 22 Jun 2011 02:43 PM PDT

goog game

Google has its proverbial fingers in a lot of pies, but one space they have yet to really investigate is gaming. If a new job posting is to be taken seriously, The Big G is about to change that. The company is looking for a product manager for a product called Games at Google. Can't really get more clear than that.

There aren't a lot of solid details in the job posting, just that the applicant has to be (and we're paraphrasing) a genius with an advanced degree and technical expertise. The position is said to include, "game distribution and discovery, player identity, game mechanics, and more." The term social gaming is also used.

There are a few way this could go. Google may be developing an Android alternative to Apple's Game Center and the cross-platform Open Feint. Similarly, they could be developing a gaming centric back end for the Chrome web store. What do you thing Google is up to?

Google Hits Unique Visitor Milestone

Posted: 22 Jun 2011 11:34 AM PDT

In its "Do No Evil" quest to become the entire Internet, Google hit a milestone in May that no other website has ever hit before. Just when you thought that the company couldn't possibly attract new visitors simply because everybody and his sister already used the service – no one searches the Web anymore, after all, they Google it – the Internet giant became the first website to ever have 1 billion unique visitors in a month.

It looks like the China fracas didn't faze users in other countries. So how does the world's biggest website keep drawing in new eyeballs? It's all about the extra services. The Wall Street Journal says that Gmail and YouTube both contributed significantly to Google's total.

Google's billion-user breakthrough occurred after an 8.4 percent increase in visitors over the past year. Those 1 billion visitors spent about 200 billion minutes on Google's sites, or just over three hours per person. Microsoft's had an even bigger viewership gain over the past year, with a 15 percent increase in users. The Redmond-based company nearly cracked the billion user mark itself, but fell just short at 905 million. When comScore first began tracking Internet traffic in 2006, Microsoft actually held the edge over Google by around 45 million visitors.

Fired IT Manager Responds With Porn

Posted: 22 Jun 2011 11:05 AM PDT

Hell hath no fury like a sysadmin scorned. Just ask Baltimore Substance Abuse Systems Inc; after the organization fired 52-year old Walter Powell in 2009, the IT manager went on a hack attack against his former employer, breaking into the network and installing keyloggers on company computers. With his former CEO's password firmly in hand, he unleashed his coup de grace. And yes, it involves porn, as many humorous computer stories do.

Powell used his ill-gotten access to seize control of his former boss' computer while the CEO was in the middle of a board meeting. Smack dab in the middle of a PowerPoint presentation, Powell replaced the original slideshow with slideshow of hot and steamy pornographic images on the room's 64-inch television, according to NakedSecurity.

The Associated Press reports that Powell "pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful access to a computer causing a malfunction and a count of possessing a pass code without authorization ." Earlier this week, Powell was sentenced to three years of probation, 100 hours of community service and two years in the slam, but the judge on the case suspended the jail sentence.

Computers Play Second Fiddle To Mobile Devices On Wi-Fi Networks

Posted: 22 Jun 2011 10:29 AM PDT

Little brothers are like your own portable punching bag: name calling, insulting and rubbing your smaller sibling's face in the dirt are all typical big brother pastimes. As any bigger brother can tell you, though, it sucks when your little brother gets big enough to fight back and punch you in the eye. The days of us big brother PC-types mocking younger technologies like smartphones and tablets may be coming to an end if a recent report is any indication: more people access Wi-Fi Internet using mobile devices than traditional computers.

"Well, duh," you might be thinking, but GigaOm says it's actually the first time it's ever happened, citing a report from cloud networking provider Meraki. In 2010, desktop operating systems like Windows and OS X accounted for the lion's share of the market, claiming 64 percent of the total Wi-Fi pie. Android devices and the iOS devices combined only accounted for a third of all Wi-Fi access.

Those numbers shifted gigantically in 2011. Wi-Fi usage for Mac OS X, Windows 7/Vista and XP all fell roughly 50 percent apiece, to a cumulative total of 36 percent for desktop operating systems. Google and Apple were all too happy to pick up what the desktops dropped: every mobile device in the study saw decent usage gains. Now, mobile OS's can call themselves king of the Wi-Fi roost, sitting atop a healthy 58 percent chunk of the market. The iPhone alone accounts for almost a third of all Wi-Fi usage.

Before you think the traditional PC's sky is falling, realize the limitations of the report: Meraki's study took place in restaurants and only covered about 100,000 devices, a small fraction of the total number of devices connecting to the Internet via Wi-Fi. There's no reason to think those numbers wouldn't scale up, though. Plus, traditional desktop PCs are unaccounted for, since people rarely drag their rigs down to Burger King. If anything, we think Meraki's report suggests that users are ditching laptops in favor of smaller tablets and smartphones, and what's wrong with that? We keep a smartphone in our pocket, too.

PowerColor Pumps Double Barreled Radeon "HD6870X2" Graphics Card

Posted: 22 Jun 2011 09:06 AM PDT

PowerColor today said it "aims to blow gamers' minds" with its very first dual-GPU solution with AMD's Bart XT graphics engine, the PowerColor HD6870X2. As the name implies, this dual-GPU graphics card sports two 6870 graphics chips under its dual-fan cooling apparatus. That equates to 2,240 stream processing units and 4.03 teraFLOPS of computing power.

The GPU cores cruise along at 900MHz and 2GB of GDDR5 memory at 1050MHz (4.2Gbps). To keep instability from rearing its ugly head, PowerColor's cooling solution consists of 'Heat Pipe Direct Touch (HDT)' technology with six flattened heat pipes directly over the GPU. This, PowerColor claims, dissipates heat 50 times better than a regular copper base.

No official word on price, though according to news and rumor site Fudzilla, PowerColor plans to sell the card for around $450.

Image Credit: PowerColor

PlayStation 3 Modder Short on Funds, Expects Jail Sentence

Posted: 22 Jun 2011 08:33 AM PDT

George "Geohot" Hotz received a mountain of criticism for backing down on his scuffle with Sony and settling out of court, in part because so many donated money to his legal battle. Hotz has since made amends by donating leftover legal defense money to the EFF, but many are still furious he didn't fight this thing to the end. Given what might go down with another PS3 modder -- Alexander "graf_chokolo" Egorenkov -- Hotz might have made the right move after all.

Authorities raided Egorenkov's home in February after being sued by Sony for hacking the PS3 trying to restore OtherOS (Linux) to the system. According to Kotaku, Sony at last check was seeking €1,000,000 (about $1.44 million), and while Egorenkov tried to fight the good fight with donations, the well is apparently drying up and he's now fearing the worst.

"Hi guys, no money left anymore. Going to jail soon probably because I cannot pay court costs," Egorenkov said on his website. "But I'm ready to stand up for everything I said and go to jail for that too. It's not important to win, more important is to show them that we are ready to fight, that they cannot scare me off easily. Yeah, I'm ready to go to jail for my beliefs and my principles."

Egorenkov hasn't actually been sentenced yet, but if he does end up going to prison, it might be Sony that ultimately can't afford the outcome, in terms of yet another PR hit.
Posted by Shri Krishna

MMO News

MMO News

City of Heroes announces its “Freedom”

Posted: 21 Jun 2011 09:54 PM PDT

City of Heroes has also announced its intentions to soon join the world of free-to-play MMOs sometime “later this year.”

Players will be able to play up level 50 for free, have access to 45 Hero and Villain zones, have two characters, and choose from 8 of the character archetypes and 105 of the power sets. VIP subscriptions will also remain in place for players who want the entire game, and will grant special bonuses and items each month along with new story arcs only available to VIPs. Expansions like Going Rogue still much be purchased.

City of Heroes is published by NCSoft, which also publishes Aion and Lineage II.

city-of-heroes-team.jpg

City of Heroes Gameplay Screenshot

Source:

City of Heroes Freedom is the Future
World's most popular super heroic MMO to deliver more content and better gameplay for free

NCsoft® and Paragon Studios® are excited to announce that the world's top comic book inspired Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) game is putting the power of choice into players' hands by making the City of Heroes® franchise available to everyone. Arriving later this year, City of Heroes Freedom™ is a compelling new way for Paragon Studios to deliver more content to more players than ever before.

" Freedom is about getting more content into the hands of our players, whether they are subscribing or playing for free", said Brian Clayton, Executive Producer at Paragon Studios. "To do this, we've looked at City of Heroes from the ground up and focused on three ways to enhance the experience by giving our players more choices, greater rewards and the best content we’ve ever produced. And for the first time ever, players can choose to enjoy more than seven years of content for free."

Choice
Freedom means that everyone can customise their experience – those who wish to play an unparalleled amount of content for free can do so, while those who wish to enjoy a premium experience can do so as well. Players who want to enjoy the unrivalled free experience will be able to fight and fly their way to level 50 with full access to Hero and Villain zones, choosing the specific pieces of content they want. Players that decide to subscribe will enjoy all current subscriber benefits as well as new VIP exclusive benefits, content and services.

Rewards
City of Heroes Freedom will reward its loyal players through a value-packed Paragon Rewards program that provides bonus content tailored to each player's preferences. Ranging from powers and costume sets, to unique visual effects and consumables, these all-new items are rewarded monthly and chosen by the player.

Additionally, starting July 1st, current subscribers will begin accumulating 400 Paragon Points every month up until launch, giving loyal customers unprecedented rewards and options when City of Heroes Freedom arrives. These points can be used to purchase hundreds of costumes, items, services and consumables available via the in-game Paragon Market (co-developed by online transaction leaders, PlaySpan) and will be available to use on the first day of launch.

Content
The City of Heroes franchise is already packed with unequalled content and features, with 20 free expansions, more than 1,600 missions and 375,000 user-generated missions. Now with Freedom, Paragon is delivering more content, more often and spearheading this charge is Issue 21: Convergence. Issue 21, which launches alongside Freedom, is packed with some of the highest-quality content yet including First Ward – a dynamic new co-op zone that is gripped in conflict – as well as a new Power Set, the highly-anticipated Underground Incarnate Trial and two full costume sets. Along with a completely new starting experience and a greatly enhanced character creator, Issue 21 offers content for new, returning and veteran players.

In addition to more Issues delivered more frequently, players can look forward to unique content such as monthly Signature Story Arcs (free for VIP Players) that will empower players to make a difference in the City of Heroes universe by fighting alongside iconic heroes and villains as the story unfolds.

Freedom is the Future
"After an unforgettable seven years, the City of Heroes franchise remains the world's most popular super-powered MMO, and we're excited to continue that momentum with Freedom," said Clayton. "Through City of Heroes Freedom, we will be delivering more content to players than ever before, while continuing to expand the ever-evolving City of Heroes storyline and legacy."

City of Heroes Freedom and Issue 21: Convergence will be launching simultaneously later this year and players can get their first experience with the game at San Diego Comic Con. New and existing fans are encouraged to stay tuned to the City of Heroes website for more information about Paragon Rewards, Issue 21, and more.

For more information on today's announcement, an FAQ and a summary of benefits for VIP Members and Free Players, please visit www.coh.com/freedom.

LEGO Universe going Free to Play

Posted: 21 Jun 2011 09:08 PM PDT

LEGO Universe has announced that it will join the free-to-play ranks this August, with a limited but infinite free-to-play area.

The game will no longer require the purchase of a copy; it will instead become available for free to download. Players can then play for free infinitely in a free-to-play zone – which includes two adventure zones and one player property area. Those who want to go further will need to purchase a $10 monthly subscription. LEGO Universe does not plan yet to add microtransactions like an item mall.

lego-universe-preview

Lego Universe Gameplay Screenshot

Source:

The LEGO Group Launching Free-to-Play Version of LEGO® Universe

LEGO® MMOG Continues Expanding with Fresh Content, New Players Gain Unlimited Access to Free-to-Play Zones this August

June 21, 2011
The LEGO Group today announced plans for an upcoming free-to-play offering in LEGO® Universe, the MMOG (massively-multiplayer online game) based on the iconic brick-building play experience. Beginning this August, the free-to-play option will welcome players to try LEGO Universe for free, as long as they like, before deciding whether or not to become paid members. Also, players will no longer need to invest in the game DVD to play LEGO Universe. The game will be available via free digital download only.

"The LEGO Group remains committed to success in the digital space and to LEGO Universe," said Jesper Vilstrup, Vice President, the LEGO Group. "We see LEGO Universe as a key element for our digital play division, and are adjusting the business model to make the game more accessible to players, without the immediate obligation to purchase or subscribe."

LEGO Universe will continue to generate revenue through paid memberships, and there are no plans for micro-transactions at this time. Players can try out the free-to-play zone for an unlimited period of time, and can pay $10 (USD) per month to become a LEGO Universe member and receive full game access. Those who sign up for extended memberships will continue to receive discount pricing.

The LEGO Universe free-to-play experience will offer a limited selection of game content, including two adventure zones and one player property area for building their own virtual LEGO models. Paying members will have access to all areas in the full game, along with membership benefits such as competitions and community events. In addition to the 15+ robust adventure zones and instances as well as 5+ property worlds currently in-game, access to new expansions, like major Ninjago content coming later this year, will require players to register for full membership.

Aside from simplified registration and game access for consumers, digital distribution will also enable LEGO Universe to expand more efficiently. The MMOG has new updates, features, challenges and rewards – more than any box could handle – planned for Q4 2011 and beyond!

Following official launch in October 2010, thousands of players have entered the vibrant virtual world of LEGO Universe. The development team has released numerous content updates, new gameplay features and enhancements, and the community has been bustling with events, contests, and incredible user-generated content from creative players across the globe. Now is the time for players to gear up for the free-to-play launch coming in August, and see just how far they can stretch their imaginations in LEGO Universe at www.LEGOuniverse.com.

Mythos expands guild system

Posted: 21 Jun 2011 07:49 PM PDT

Mythos Europe has now added new features to the guild system.

Guilds now receive buffs based on their guild level, which can add bonuses to experience gain, defense, life, speed, and resistances. A new ranking system now gives each guild “points” based on its rank and its members’ online times. Each of the top three guilds based on this special point system gain an additional guild buff that boosts luck and experience gain.

Mythos is published in Europe by Frogster, which also publishes Runes of Magic.

mythos-ferus

Mythos Gameplay Screenshot

Source:

Get Buffed

Ranking and Buffs Expand the Guild System in Mythos

Expanding upon the recently implemented guild system in Mythos, practical guild buffs and a new ranking system have been added, ensuring that players have even more fun, and success, hunting monsters with their friends. Guild members automatically receive bonuses in experience gain, defence, life, resistance, and speed. The higher the guild's level, the higher the guild buff.

Thanks to the new ranking system, the most diligent guilds get an additional reward. Each guild is given a certain number of points, depending on the guild's level and the online time of its members, and the guilds are ranked according to this number. The top three guilds in this ranking receive an additional buff to luck and experience gain.

For more information on the Mythos guild system, please visit the official forum:  http://community.mythos-europe.com/en/community-site/start/newsdetail/article/gildensystem-vorstellung.html

Pre-open beta announced for Karma Online

Posted: 21 Jun 2011 07:23 PM PDT

Closed beta for Karma Online has come to an end, and the pre-open beta has been announced as starting on July 5.

As part of this announcement, Joymax has revealed details on six of the game’s characters, as listed below.

THE AXIS

Karl Tönitz is an upcoming character featured as the “poster boy” for the Axis.  Born in 1921, at a tender 24 years old, he has risen through the ranks and now works within the Armored Division of Führer’s Armed Guards as an Intelligence Officer.  He has a full set of twelve skills, focusing on accuracy and movement – he gets into position quickly and can unerringly shoot his quarry without blinking an eye.

Otma Waldorov is a newly recruited soldier for the Axis forces.  Born in 1923, he was recruited not long ago for his ability to handle a gun, and was placed in the German 12th Infantry Division as a Rifleman.  His six skills revolve around reducing recoil and improving aim.  He can also send out a dying message to his comrades, showing their positions on the map so his teammates can exact revenge.

Ryuva Makinova is the youngest member of the current Axis forces; recruited as much for her beauty as for her battle prowess, she picks up a gun with pride for the Red Army General Staff Office.  A smaller figure on the battlefield, she can call in a deadly artillery attack, can dash to an advantageous position, and has increased accuracy while shooting on the run.

THE ALLIES

Eileen is a mysterious woman with no stated last name; her file contains enough black ink to print a dozen propaganda posters.  Born in 1923, she was trained as a young girl to use a variety of weapons; now at 22, she is an established Rifleman in the Red Army ‘Leningrad Military District’, an undisputed part of the Allies.  Like her female counterparts in the Axis, her small size allows for faster movement, and improved accuracy.

Georgy Juikov is a senior member of the Red Army “Leningrad Military District”; born in 1896, he will turn 50 later this year.  An Intelligence Officer, he is able to disable the enemies’ mini-maps, as well as spy on their locations if he cannot respawn.  His long-time service has given him considerable stamina, and his experience can aid his fellow Allies in spotting opposing troops.

Vasily Jaichev will be joining the Red Army “Leningrad Military District” later this year.  With keen survival instincts, he has survived to see his 52nd year, and looks forward to retirement at the end of the war.  His Assassination skill means he can defeat an enemy without leaving a trace.  His long-time experience as a Sniper, he is able to hold his breath for a longer period of time, and his aim is unshaken as he sets the enemy in his sights.

Joymax also publishes Silkroad Online.

karma-online-pod-screen

Karma Online Gameplay Screenshot

Source:

JOYMAX REVEALS THE CHARACTERS BEHIND KARMA ONLINE: PRISONERS OF THE DEAD

Snipers and Intelligence Officers Are Pitted Against Rifleman And Assassins In The Ultimate Battle of Axis vs. Allies

Seoul, Korea, June 21, 2011 – Joymax, a leading online game developer and publisher, has revealed the details behind the characters of its highly-anticipated Online FPS, Karma Online: Prisoners of the Dead.
The game, which just completed it closed beta testing phase today won’t leave players waiting long for another chance to play as the Pre-Open Beta will begin on July 5th.  To sign up for the upcoming tests and learn more about the game, players can visit http://www.joymax.com/karma/

To tide players over, Joymax has compiled a select personnel file on just a few of the many interesting playable characters available for either side.  Some of these were playable during the closed beta, while others will be playable for the first time during open beta or at launch.  Each character has their own area of expertise which can be adjusted with skills to suit any player’s style!

THE AXIS

Karl Tönitz is an upcoming character featured as the “poster boy” for the Axis.  Born in 1921, at a tender 24 years old, he has risen through the ranks and now works within the Armored Division of Führer’s Armed Guards as an Intelligence Officer.  He has a full set of twelve skills, focusing on accuracy and movement – he gets into position quickly and can unerringly shoot his quarry without blinking an eye.

Otma Waldorov is a newly recruited soldier for the Axis forces.  Born in 1923, he was recruited not long ago for his ability to handle a gun, and was placed in the German 12th Infantry Division as a Rifleman.  His six skills revolve around reducing recoil and improving aim.  He can also send out a dying message to his comrades, showing their positions on the map so his teammates can exact revenge.

Ryuva Makinova is the youngest member of the current Axis forces; recruited as much for her beauty as for her battle prowess, she picks up a gun with pride for the Red Army General Staff Office.  A smaller figure on the battlefield, she can call in a deadly artillery attack, can dash to an advantageous position, and has increased accuracy while shooting on the run.

THE ALLIES

Eileen is a mysterious woman with no stated last name; her file contains enough black ink to print a dozen propaganda posters.  Born in 1923, she was trained as a young girl to use a variety of weapons; now at 22, she is an established Rifleman in the Red Army ‘Leningrad Military District’, an undisputed part of the Allies.  Like her female counterparts in the Axis, her small size allows for faster movement, and improved accuracy.

Georgy Juikov is a senior member of the Red Army “Leningrad Military District”; born in 1896, he will turn 50 later this year.  An Intelligence Officer, he is able to disable the enemies’ mini-maps, as well as spy on their locations if he cannot respawn.  His long-time service has given him considerable stamina, and his experience can aid his fellow Allies in spotting opposing troops.

Vasily Jaichev will be joining the Red Army “Leningrad Military District” later this year.  With keen survival instincts, he has survived to see his 52nd year, and looks forward to retirement at the end of the war.  His Assassination skill means he can defeat an enemy without leaving a trace.  His long-time experience as a Sniper, he is able to hold his breath for a longer period of time, and his aim is unshaken as he sets the enemy in his sights.

Developed in conjunction with Dragonfly, and published by Joymax, KARMA
Online: Prisoners of the Dead is the newest installment in the KARMA Online series, the top online first-person shooter series in Korea.
Players go back in time to World War II, where they must choose to side with the Axis or Allied powers and join the fight for global victory – with a zombie twist.  In this virtual and historical simulation, players will be up against enemy troops as well as hundreds of the walking dead from the remains of the catastrophic battle.

To become a fan of Karma Online: Prisoners of the Dead, players can
visit:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/KarmaPOD

http://twitter.com/karmapod

http://www.youtube.com/user/KarmaPOD

Watch for contests that will be running now until Pre-Open Beta on Facebook.

Eden Eternal

Posted: 21 Jun 2011 06:31 PM PDT

Eden Eternal is a 3D anime inspired fantasy MMORPG set in the world of Eden. Start as a Warrior or Magician, then freely swap between classes as you unlock them. Progress through Eden and you’ll discover a total of 12 playable classes, from the nimble Thief to the mystical Shaman!

scarlet-legacy-preview

Publisher: Aeria Games
Playerbase: ??
Graphics: High
Type: MMORPG
EXP Rate: ??
PvP: Arena / Duels / Guild Battles
Filesize: ??

Pros:+Unique Class System. +Excellent interface. +Good music. +Good variety of classes.

Cons: -Generic Fantasy Setting. -Each class only has a handful of skills. -Game world is a bit small

Overview

Eden Eternal Overview

In Eden Eternal, players are not limited to one class per character. Start as a Warrior or Magician, then freely swap between classes as you unlock them. Progress through Eden and you’ll discover a total of 12 playable classes, from the nimble Thief to the mystical Shaman! Currently players can adventure in Eden as Human, but more playable races are coming soon! On your trek, you’ll encounter a variety of beastly races. Meet members of the Anura, Ursun and Torturra tribes. Discover who is friend, and who is foe!

Eden Eternal Screenshots

Eden Eternal Featured Video

Click here to view the embedded video.

Full Review

Eden Eternal Review

Coming Soon…

Screenshots

Eden Eternal Screenshots

Coming Soon…

Videos

Eden Eternal Videos

Eden Eternal First Impressions

Click here to view the embedded video.

Links

Eden Eternal Links

Eden Eternal Official Site

System Requirements

Eden Eternal Requirements

Minimum Requirements:
OS: Windows XP / Vista
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 3000 MHz / AMD Athlon 64 3000+
RAM: 1 GB
HDD: 4 GB Free
Graphics Card: GeForce 7600 / ATI Radeon Х1600

Recommended Specification:
OS: Windows XP / Vista / 7
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 3000 MHz / Intel Core Quad 2400 MHz / AMD Athlon 64 6400+ or better
RAM: 2 GB or more
HDD: 4 GB or more
Graphics Card: GeForce 8800 / ATI Radeon HD 4700 or better

Prius Online Gameplay – First Look Part 2 HD

Posted: 21 Jun 2011 12:28 PM PDT

To Learn More About the Game, Check out our Prius Online Page.

Prius Online is a 3D famtasu MMORPG published by gPotato – the same company behind Rappelz, Allods Online, Fly For Fun, Aika Online, Iris Online, Tales Runner and several other free to play titles. The game boasts a Sword 2 style multiple character control combat system where players can control themselves, their animas, and their gigas. The game has been available in South Korea for some time now and launched in U.S. and Europe through gPotato in early June, 2011. This is part 2 of my first Prius Online First Look. To learn more about Prius Online check out the official MMOHut Prius Online page which includes a detailed review, tons of screenshots, and additional videos.
Posted by Shri Krishna

MMO Updates

MMO Updates

Fiesta Online unveils the Joker class

Posted: 22 Jun 2011 10:00 AM PDT

Filed under: , , , , ,

Outspark's Fiesta Online has your standard MMORPG classes. There's the Fighter, the Archer, the Mage, and the Cleric. The free-to-play fantasy title departs from the norm with the latest entries to its class stable, though, and today the devs have announced a followup to the Trickster class that was announced last March.

That followup is known as the Joker, and though he doesn't look terribly serious, he nonetheless brings the pain as well as your average comic book supervillain. According to an Outspark press release, the Joker is "an agile melee fighter who can deal a great deal of damage to his opponents in a short period of time." Additionally, Jokers boast their own class-specific system which involves absorbing souls from defeated opponents to strengthen subsequent attacks.

Weapon-wise, the Joker favors claws and dual swords. If you're interested in learning more about the class, or if you're ready to download Fiesta Online, head to the official website.

MassivelyFiesta Online unveils the Joker class originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Elsword Online unlocks the doors to two new dungeons

Posted: 22 Jun 2011 09:00 AM PDT

Filed under: , ,

The comic book action-fest Elsword Online got a little bigger today, as Kill3rCombo expanded the newly launched title with additional dungeons, enemies and quests.

The dungeons -- Nasod Foundry and Altera Core -- will offer tougher challenges to the three main characters, while 24 new quests should help to keep the playerbase busy. Since dungeons are run repeatedly, two new locales will be welcome across the board.

When they're not beating up the bad guys, the principal characters can now learn a third cash skill and earn one of two new titles: Hero of Ponggo and Hero of Sonic. No, not the hedgehog or fast-food chain (we checked).

You can get a peek at Nasod Foundry and Altera Core in the gallery below, and don't forget to check out our first impressions of Elsword Online from last month!

Gallery: Elsword Online

MassivelyElsword Online unlocks the doors to two new dungeons originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gods & Heroes going worldwide on Steam this week

Posted: 22 Jun 2011 08:00 AM PDT

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Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising is coming to Steam. The mythology-inspired MMORPG, launched yesterday by Heatwave Interactive, is now available on Valve's North American digital distribution platform, and will available worldwide later this week (June 24th to be exact).

Aside from the convenience of avoiding a retail purchase, Steam customers will also receive a traditional platform-exclusive in-game item, in this case a mythical minion called a Gorpal. The Gorpal is a damage-dealing Phorcid pet that "protects players by fighting with claws and a poisonous bite" according to a Heatwave press release.

Check out our Gods & Heroes launch day coverage for more on the game, and don't forget to stop by the official website as well.

MassivelyGods & Heroes going worldwide on Steam this week originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lord of the Rings Online bringing in major stat changes

Posted: 22 Jun 2011 07:00 AM PDT

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If you've played Lord of the Rings Online extensively, odds are good that you're familiar with the concept of stat caps. Functionally, stat caps are that certain point at which further increases to the stat in question will be wasted -- useful for balance purposes, but rather frustrating when players find new abilities and equipment useless due to the stat caps. So it's probably going to be a good thing when Rise of Isengard makes stat caps largely a thing of the past.

That's not the only useful takeaway from the new developer diary, however, as the game's statistics are also undergoing further revision to make the game easier to understand at a glance. A new stat, Finesse, will be added to specifically reduce your target's ability to evade or resist attacks. Resistance, Mitigation, and Critical Hit will all be merged from their current state (so melee, ranged, and tactical critical hit will all become simply Critical Hit). Finally, there are some changes incoming in terms of interactions with primary stats. It's a short diary, to be sure, but the implications for Lord of the Rings Online players should be far-reaching.

MassivelyLord of the Rings Online bringing in major stat changes originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: How long does it take to review an MMORPG?

Posted: 22 Jun 2011 06:00 AM PDT

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Evaluating an MMORPG is a tricky business. Massively has a long-standing editorial policy that frowns on "reviewing" massively multiplayer titles. I say "reviewing" with quotes because it's difficult to write about games in a completely review-free manner, and everything from opinion pieces to straight-up news stories often contains observations that might feel at home in a standard review.

One of the most difficult factors to reconcile with an MMORPG is the time allotted to the review process. How long does it take to experience enough of a particular title to both form an opinion about it and talk intelligently about multiple aspects of it? The answer can vary from game to game and from person to person, and herein lies this morning's Daily Grind topic. How long does it take you to decide about an MMORPG? Minutes? Hours? Months? Inquiring Massively minds want to know where you stand on evaluating our favorite genre.

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!

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: How long does it take to review an MMORPG? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Controversy brewing over EVE Online microtransactions

Posted: 21 Jun 2011 08:00 PM PDT

Filed under: , , , , , ,

When we first heard that EVE Online was planning to add microtransaction options, players were most concerned with the effect of microtransaction items on gameplay. CCP was quick to reassure players that microtransactions would focus on vanity items for Incarna and no gameplay-affecting items would be released. Fast-forward to today, when the first phase of Incarna finally went live along with the new Noble Exchange cash shop. As promised, the store contained only vanity items for Incarna, starting with a series of alternative clothing options.

The one thing we didn't really think of while we worried about microtransactions affecting EVE's gameplay was price. The current prices on items in the Noble Exchange are far above typical microtransaction charges and an order of magnitude higher than expected. Items in the Noble Exchange are bought with a new currency called Aurum, 3500 of which can be created from one 30-day pilot's license (PLEX). With the price of PLEX set at around $19.95 US, players can expect to pay over $20 for a skirt, $25 for a blouse, and more than a whopping $68 for the much-desired ocular implant monocle.

In a bizarre twist, many of the clothing options for sale at the Noble Exchange actually cost more than real clothes of the same type. As PLEX can be bought from other players for ISK, however, most players will not be spending their own cash on these items. PLEX prices have already spiked to over 400 million each, putting the price of the monocle at over 1.3 billion ISK. CCP could not provide any more information on the issue, but we expect an issue this hot will prompt an announcement.

MassivelyControversy brewing over EVE Online microtransactions originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Final Fantasy XI to merge PlayOnline accounts with Square-Enix accounts

Posted: 21 Jun 2011 07:00 PM PDT

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For a long time now, PlayOnline has been the albatross that Final Fantasy XI players have to contend with. The fact that the service essentially serves as an oversized launcher for the game has long been a point of mild frustration to console gamers and a massive annoyance to PC players. But change is coming in the form of an upcoming account merge, merging all PlayOnline IDs into Square-Enix accounts and removing the cumbersome launcher-based process for handling service changes.

The change will begin rolling out at the end of July and will run until August 31st, giving players ample opportunity to complete the transfer process and manage accounts solely through the website. While a full walkthrough is not yet available, preliminary questions have already been answered in an official support topic. Final Fantasy XI will still need to launch through the PlayOnline service, but it should be a boon to players to have at least one less set of account credentials to misplace.

MassivelyFinal Fantasy XI to merge PlayOnline accounts with Square-Enix accounts originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lord of the Rings Online's Summer Festival is here!

Posted: 21 Jun 2011 06:00 PM PDT

Filed under: , , , ,

Hear ye, hear ye, Free Peoples of Middle-earth! Summer is upon us, and that can only mean one thing: Lord of the Rings Online's Summer Festival is kicking into full swing. Throughout the course of the festival, you citizens of Middle-earth can "show your skill with reins or rod in the time-honored racing and fishing challenges [and] take part in new challenges too, and discover what new rewards are to be won!"

Those of you lot who are the gambling sort can place your bets on the keg races, as four Dwarves face off to see who is stoutest of stomach and fleetest of foot. If you'd prefer to show your own skills rather than placing wagers on others, then get behind the reins at the the horse races. After all that excitement, wind down with a scavenger hunt, or go drinking with the Ale Association or the Inn League for fun and profit. And what would any festival be without music and dancing? For the full details on this upcoming event, check out the announcement on LotRO's official site.

MassivelyLord of the Rings Online's Summer Festival is here! originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hyperspace Beacon: The Lost Suns

Posted: 21 Jun 2011 05:00 PM PDT

Filed under: , , , , , ,

This week, we are taking a break from studying the class powersets, although I do plan to return to them eventually. As I was contemplating what to write, it occurred to me that I really haven't covered any lore for quite some time. While my editors and I are talking about doing a specific series of lore-based articles leading up to the game's release, I definitely wanted to focus on more of the canon history behind the game. After all, this is Star Wars: The Old Republic, and it epitomizes the fourth pillar of MMO design: story.

I finally got my hands on the latest comic book with direct ties to SWTOR this past week. It's called The Lost Suns, and while it's fresh on my mind, we should probably discuss some of the main points and characters in the story. BioWare writer Alexander Freed and comic book artist Dave Ross collaborated to bring us this first of a five-issue comic book series about Theron Shan. As Freed said on the official TOR forums, "I like to describe The Lost Suns as our 'ninth story' -- every class in The Old Republic tells its own Star Wars epic, and Theron's tale intersects with the other eight and pushes the greater game story forward, just as they do." Follow after the break to discover how this "ninth story" is starts out.

Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: The Lost Suns

MassivelyHyperspace Beacon: The Lost Suns originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Game Archaeologist and the What Ifs: Middle-earth Online

Posted: 21 Jun 2011 04:30 PM PDT

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I had so much fun walking down the halls of "What if?" last week that I thought I'd keep the streak going for the rest of the month (if you'll allow for some summertime indulgence). It's not that I necessarily wanted MMO history to turn out differently than it did, but it's always tantalizing to wonder what the field would look like with different games out there. Would they have proven more popular than our current crops? Would they have pushed the envelope of innovation?

Of course, it's easy to project greatness onto never-released titles, bemoaning that "if only MMO X had launched, we would've had the perfect game!" What ifs are interesting but should never be taken as absolute fact.

This week I wanted to look at a project that's related to an MMO near and dear to my heart. As most of you know, I'm somewhat of a Lord of the Rings Online nut here at Massively. Sure, the rest of the staff is upset that I smoke pipeweed inside and never wear shoes, but that's just how far I go to understand the game.

But even my LotRO isn't immune to a massive what if. Known to some but not to all, Turbine wasn't the first MMO studio to take a crack at Tolkien's license -- no, for that we have to travel back to 1998 and revisit Sierra On-Line. It was this company that had a brief but memorable run designing Middle-earth Online, aka "What if LotRO had permadeath?" It's a fascinating glimpse into an entirely different approach to the IP, and even though it died a fairly early death, it's important to be remembered. Frodo lives!

Continue reading The Game Archaeologist and the What Ifs: Middle-earth Online

MassivelyThe Game Archaeologist and the What Ifs: Middle-earth Online originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Suspected LulzSec member arrested

Posted: 21 Jun 2011 04:00 PM PDT

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Shhh. You hear that? It sounds like laughter. Lulzing, in fact. Could it be Ryan Cleary's future cellmate? Who's Ryan Cleary, you say? According to a news blurb at PC Gamer, he's the 19-year old chap recently taken into custody by the FBI and Scotland Yard and accused of spear-heading the LulzSec-sponsored DDoS attacks against EVE Online, Nintendo, the United States Senate, and the Central Intelligence Agency, to name a few.

Cleary is rumored to be a former member of Anonymous, and a Scotland Yard spokesperson says that the arrest was the result of an extensive and ongoing probe into the rash of cyber-crimes perpetuated over the last several months. "The arrest follows an investigation into network intrusions and distributed denial of service attacks against a number of international business and intelligence agencies by what is believed to be the same hacking group," PC Gamer reports.

Remaining LulzSec luminaries are seemingly unconcerned, if a message posted to the group's Twitter account earlier today is any indication. "Seems the glorious leader of LulzSec got arrested, it's all over now... wait... we're all still here," the message said.

MassivelySuspected LulzSec member arrested originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Trion Worlds releases more juicy details on RIFT's free shard transfers

Posted: 21 Jun 2011 03:00 PM PDT

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Tomorrow marks the launch of RIFT's patch 1.3, Waves of Madness, bringing with it a wealth of new features. But forget new raids, guild banks, vanity items, and all that hullabaloo. Everyone knows this patch is all about one thing: free shard transfers (for both lone players and guilds alike). Hyperbolic, you say? Blasphemy!

With this in mind, RIFT's Project Manager FireCait dropped by the forums today to fill players in on the finer points of server transfers. For instance, characters can be transferred once every seven days, though they must be level 15 to be eligible for transfer. Any character on any server can be transferred, but the possible destination servers will be limited based on faction population. And lastly, select shards will now be designated as Trial shards. Only Trial players will be able to roll new characters on these shards, and subscribers on these shards will be able to transfer off at any level, circumventing the usual level 15 requirement. For the full details, as well as the starting list of eligible transfer destination servers, check out the forum post!

MassivelyTrion Worlds releases more juicy details on RIFT's free shard transfers originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Shots: [Insert intimidating music here]

Posted: 21 Jun 2011 02:00 PM PDT

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One Shots Massively staff pick week continues, and Brendan Drain -- our resident EVE Online fanatic -- is up to bat:
This isn't just a nicely composed picture looking down an Archon class carrier; there's actually a fantastic story behind this screenshot. It was recovered from a stranded nomadic wormhole fleet that wandered into our hidden home system. I wrote up the cutthroat tale of how we "recovered" the ship for an edition of my EVE Evolved column back in 2009. I don't want to spoil the story, but to give you an idea of how things kicked off, I can say we named the plan "Operation Bastard."
Keep your eyes on One Shots all week to see what the Massively staff loves playing and showing off. Next week's theme is all about gear. It'll be your chance to show off your most epic armor and weapons and tell us all about how you acquired them! The week after that is pet week, and we can't wait to see your awesome pet companions and hear all about them. Just send a screenshot to oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a paragraph or two telling us about what we're seeing!

MassivelyOne Shots: [Insert intimidating music here] originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MMObility: Fifty games for the mobile lifestyle

Posted: 21 Jun 2011 01:00 PM PDT

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I like lists. Lists help keep my candy-coated brain functioning. I see so many games, devices, and developers that I need to write things down periodically or become lost. Not so long ago I made a list of 25 games for your shiny new laptop, but I wanted to update it with other devices as well. I'd like to clarify the devices I have, though, especially since it was brought to my attention that a lot of players use laptops as their primary gaming machines. When I refer to a laptop, it is far from a gaming machine and could not run games like EverQuest II or Age of Conan.

So here are some stats: I have an HTC Inspire, an iPhone 3GS, an iPad, a Phenom Triple-core PC desktop with an Nvidia 9800 card, six gigs of ram and onboard sound. My laptop is an HP G62 with an AMD Athlon II P340 dual core processor, three gigs of ram and an AMD graphics chip built in. I also have a more powerful gaming PC, but that is often referred to as "the wife's machine" around here, and it is so packed with her items that I rarely touch it. So most of these games can be run on their native devices, and if they are meant for PC, probably on netbooks as well. When I'm playing on netbooks, resolution is often the major issue. Some games just will not fit on the tiny screens without some slight modding.

Anyway, click past the cut to see the list. The first 11 are my favorites, the ones that I play often, if not every day. The rest are in no particular order, so keep that in mind as well. Remember that this year is going to be an incredible one for mobile, thanks to the new games I found at E3. So this list will change!

Continue reading MMObility: Fifty games for the mobile lifestyle

MassivelyMMObility: Fifty games for the mobile lifestyle originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SOE awards 2011 G.I.R.L scholarship

Posted: 21 Jun 2011 12:00 PM PDT

Last February we told you about the opportunities to be had via Sony Online Entertainment's Gamers in Real Life scholarship program. The catch was that you had to be a girl -- no surprise given the title acronym -- and on track to graduating from a game-related undergrad program after the spring of 2012.

Today SOE has announced the 2011 winner, and Alicia Crawford of La Quinta, California, has been awarded a $10,000 scholarship and a 10-week paid internship at SOE headquarters in sunny San Diego.

The G.I.R.L. program is in its fourth year and shows no signs of slowing down. "Supporting the education and careers of young artists drives our ever-evolving industry forward by adding fresh perspectives and new innovative ideas that help shape the future of games as we know them," said SOE VP Laura Naviaux via press release.

MassivelySOE awards 2011 G.I.R.L scholarship originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Soapbox: The Uncle Owen paradox

Posted: 21 Jun 2011 11:00 AM PDT

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Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column.

This week, the venerable Star Wars Galaxies celebrates its eighth year of existence. I was there in the beginning -- before the beginning, in fact. I did what a lot of you early SWG players probably did: I had a guild and a guild city, multiple accounts, a booming business as a chef, and a character who could entertain and fight. Even then, we realized how different SWG was from its immediate predecessors like EverQuest and Dark Age of Camelot. We'd returned to the earlier age of Ultima Online, of persistent worlds (as the term was used back then). It was more a world than a game, and in it we could roleplay whatever we liked, to a point. Nowadays, we'd call it a sandbox.

Old-school MMO gamers know well that the sandbox is under attack. Some will blame it on EverQuest, some on World of Warcraft, some on the free-to-play phenomenon. Among the Massively commenters, there's a large contingent of gamers who consider SWG's own NGE to be the beginning of the end of the classic sandbox. I can't say they're wrong when it comes to the philosophy governing new MMOs, but the sandbox isn't dead yet.

Continue reading The Soapbox: The Uncle Owen paradox

MassivelyThe Soapbox: The Uncle Owen paradox originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mythos guilds get buffed the heck up

Posted: 21 Jun 2011 10:30 AM PDT

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Mythos is already going through a few growth spurts in its first few months of life. Aww, look at it -- isn't it adorable? It's trying to talk... it's taking its first steps... it's buffing guilds and adding in a ranking system!

Guild buffs are exactly what they sound like: buffs that go out to every member of the guild. These passive buffs to experience, health, defense and more can be earned by simply leveling the guild up. The higher the guild levels, the better the buffs become. In Mythos, guilds purchase these levels with gold.

And for guilds who are out to truly excel, Mythos now gives each group a rank depending on its guild level and how much time its members spend in the game. The best of the best will get an even better guild-wide buff to experience gain and luck. The game will hand out rankings once a week during maintenance.

You can get into the nitty-gritty details of these systems on the Mythos forums!

MassivelyMythos guilds get buffed the heck up originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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