| The Anvil of Crom: Musings on MMO mortality Posted: 24 Jul 2011 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Culture, MMO industry, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Anvil of Crom Most of you are probably aware that Star Wars Galaxies announced its impending closure recently. As I booted up Age of Conan for my daily faction runs and tossed around some ideas for this week's column, I couldn't help but return to the fact that the MMO space is going to be that much dumber on December 16th. What does SWG have to do with The Anvil of Crom? Admittedly not much, unless you count the fact that AoC was the first of many games I migrated to when taking extended breaks from SWG beginning in 2008. The game's demise did get me to thinking on MMOs as a whole though, and of course Funcom's fantasy title in particular. While it may seem like an obvious conclusion in some respects, the fact that MMO players are ultimately no more than renters living on borrowed time was a sobering thought. Continue reading The Anvil of Crom: Musings on MMO mortality  The Anvil of Crom: Musings on MMO mortality originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 24 Jul 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Global Chat: Broke and richer for it edition Posted: 24 Jul 2011 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Economy, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Global Chat, Miscellaneous Welcome to this week's Global Chat! We love hearing what you have to say at Massively, and we love it even more when we can share the best comments with all of our readers. Massively staffers will be contributing some of their favorite comments every week, so keep an eye out every Sunday for more Global Chat! This week we're looking at all things money: Who has it, who doesn't, and why it makes the world go 'round. Naturally, Massively writers are richer than seven kings of Arabia combined and aren't concerned with such petty matters, but it seems to weigh heavily upon some of your heads. Hit the jump and let's see what the buzz was like in the comments section this past week! Continue reading Global Chat: Broke and richer for it edition Global Chat: Broke and richer for it edition originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 24 Jul 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: What grosses you out in MMOs? Posted: 24 Jul 2011 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous Most of us have squick lines in life that totally gross us out. Whether it be changing a dirty diaper, watching someone pick their nose, or hearing someone attempt to parody Rebecca Black's music, there's always something that can make us go "EWW!" and flap our hands around like grounded birds in distress. But what about MMOs? Is there anything in them that can actually gross us out? I'm willing to bet there is, considering that I've seen a few things that have given me the willies over the years. The biggest gross-out for me are decaying corpses that are detailed in ways I wish they were not. The above picture grosses me out, and that's just a dead cow in Lord of the Rings Online. So what grosses you out in MMOs? Is it the squashing of bugs, the terrible fashion sense on display, or something else entirely?  Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!The Daily Grind: What grosses you out in MMOs? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 24 Jul 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| ArcheAge novel penned by popular Korean fantasy author Posted: 23 Jul 2011 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lore, MMO industry, New titles, News items, ArcheAge MMO novelizations are pretty common nowadays, what with everything from EVE Online to Guild Wars represented in extra-game lore-centric endeavors. ArcheAge is looking to join the hit parade with its first tie-in novel, a fantasy romp called The Fir and the Hawk that fleshes out the upcoming sandpark's extensive backstory. When we say extensive, we really mean extensive, as the book chronicles ArcheAge history some 2,000 years prior to the game's timeline. The novel is the work of popular Korean fantasy author Min-Hee Jeon, and fansite ArcheAge Online calls it "ArcheAge's first official tome of lore." The Fir and the Hawk isn't yet available in the States, but Korean-language fans can pre-order it via the Aladin service. [Thanks to Mark for the tip!] ArcheAge novel penned by popular Korean fantasy author originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 23 Jul 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| EON Magazine issue 24 looks back at EVE Online's Apocrypha expansion Posted: 23 Jul 2011 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Lore, MMO industry, Opinion, Hands-on Issue 24 of EVE Online's quarterly official magazine EON hit the shelves this month, bringing a fresh dose of internet spaceships to coffee tables and bathrooms everywhere. Produced by MMM Publishing and written by a growing cast of writers from within the EVE community, EON provides something solid for fans of EVE to hold on to and acts as a snapshot in time or record of the game as it evolves. Recent big news stories and nullsec wars are detailed in each issue, along with editorial pieces, fiction, interviews and guides. The latest issue is a wormhole special, with a huge focus on 2009's incredibly successful Apocrypha expansion and the hidden wormhole systems it brought to EVE. In addition to the second part of Pottsey's background on the ancient Sleeper race locked away in wormhole systems, the magazine contains testflights of the four strategic cruisers produced from materials discovered in wormhole space. A fantastically insightful article on the making of Apocrypha also delves into the gritty details of how CCP put its entire weight behind one incredible expansion during a time of real world economic turmoil. Skip past the cut for a breakdown of everything in EON Issue 24 and my impressions from reading through it. Continue reading EON Magazine issue 24 looks back at EVE Online's Apocrypha expansion EON Magazine issue 24 looks back at EVE Online's Apocrypha expansion originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 23 Jul 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| One Shots: Original gangsters Posted: 23 Jul 2011 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Galleries, Screenshots, Star Wars Galaxies, One Shots Star Wars Galaxies may be going away at the end of the year, but for many of us it will resonate for far longer. One of a thousand seminal moments is captured above courtesy of an action shot inside a Naboo cantina. Naboo was a roleplaying hotspot circa 2004, particularly on the Starsider server where regular events and spontaneous fun could be found at the player cities in Vagabond's Rest, Rauha, Thornhaven, and all points in between. These particular gents are demonstrating their displeasure at a spice deal gone wrong, as well as sporting some old-school weaponry in the form of a laser rifle and two early pistol favorites (the FWG-5 and DX-2). All this week, Massively writers are spotlighting some of our personal favorite One Shots. What exciting stories revolve around our screenshots? Stay tuned to find out. Next week, after staff picks week, will be free-for-all week for you, our readers. Send any eye-catching, beautiful, scary, or generally epic screenshot to oneshots@massively.com, and we'll pick the best of the best for next week's One Shots! One Shots: Original gangsters originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 23 Jul 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Tattered Notebook: Mercenary or player, which would you choose? Posted: 23 Jul 2011 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, The Tattered Notebook If you're an EverQuest II fan, the one big takeaway out of SOE's Fan Faire is that the team is focused on addressing those long-time demands that players have been patiently hoping for. That's why we'll have Beastlords, a class that was so taboo you couldn't even post the name on the official forums. And it's why we're seeing an item revamp that now includes all items from levels 20-90. So you'd think that players would rejoice when they heard the news of mercenaries, an in-game feature designed to make it easier for players to make and fill a viable group, or get things done that they couldn't do alone. The response so far, though, has been the equivalent of a needle being dragged across an LP record at a dance party. Why the tepid response? In this week's Tattered Notebook, we'll look at why these swords for hire are causing so much trouble. Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: Mercenary or player, which would you choose? The Tattered Notebook: Mercenary or player, which would you choose? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 23 Jul 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Netbook sales have pretty much fallen off a cliff compared to this time last year, and Intel appears to be gearing up to drive another nail in the coffin. New Sub-$400 notebooks have begun appearing on Best Buy's website, and they are actually pretty compelling. These cheap and cheerful little machines are rocking new stripped down Sandy Bridge parts that put last generation Atom chips to shame.
BitTorrent is a great way to move large royalty free files around the web, but it's also a great way to get sued if you happen to stumble upon the wrong link. Since 2010 close to 200,000 people in the US have been sent 
