| The Anvil of Crom: Savage Coast first impressions Posted: 04 Sep 2011 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Age of Conan, MMO industry, Patches, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Anvil of Crom Oy, the life of a game blogger. Earlier this week I teed off a bit on subscription-based games that tack on a cash shop. The short version of that particular rant is that I'm not a fan of the practice, at all, and as far as my personal gaming time goes, I've bid adieu to all of the double-dippers formerly denting my wallet -- with one exception, of course. Whether that one exception makes me a hypocrite or is simply part of my job description is something I haven't quite figured out yet. In any event, it's somewhat ironic that I'm now about to tell you what a good time I had after spending 20 bucks in Age of Conan's item store. Yep, there I was, forking over for 2400 Funcom points -- I only needed 2000 for the Savage Coast of Turan adventure pack, of course -- and enjoying it for the most part. Luckily, it only costs 520 Massively points to read my first impressions after the cut. Continue reading The Anvil of Crom: Savage Coast first impressions  The Anvil of Crom: Savage Coast first impressions originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 04 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Global Chat: Free-ish Wasteland edition Posted: 04 Sep 2011 08:00 AM PDT |
| The Daily Grind: Do you still watch game trailers? Posted: 04 Sep 2011 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Trailers, Opinion, Massively meta, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous As the summer convention madness winds down, some of us in the Massively offices came to the realization that many of the upcoming, over-hyped releases aren't necessarily floating our collective boat. Though we're sure to buy all these blockbusters, play them, and love them in the end (we're gamers, after all), it's been hard to summon much enthusiasm in the pre-launch fog. Some games are making us apathetic -- in my case, so apathetic that I skipped over some of the major gameplay videos from Gamescom and PAX, even for MMOs I am planning to purchase or have already preordered. At some point, I know I've already decided to buy it. I don't need the spoilers or details anymore. How about you, Massively readers? Do you consume all the big gameplay videos and trailers like a feral fan? Or are you so over the hype that you'd rather pass up the footage and wait until you can play the real thing?  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: Do you still watch game trailers? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 04 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Anarchy Online shows a glimpse of its future makeover Posted: 03 Sep 2011 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Galleries, Screenshots, Anarchy Online, Previews, Free-to-play News of the much-anticipated Anarchy Online graphics revamp has been sparse, to say the least, so to see six brand-new screens of the updated engine is like a cold drink of water after an endless trek through IKEA. Seriously, it takes like two hours just to navigate through that store! Director/Producer Colin Cragg posted the six updated screenshots showing off the city of Tir on the Anarchy Online forums today. The screenies don't just have fans of the long-running MMO pumped, but the Anarchy Online team as well. "I have to keep shooing the rest of the team away from Parsed's desk...this is probably a good sign," Cragg writes. AO players have been waiting for the promised new graphic engine at least since 2009, so this is a good sign that Funcom is on track to update its oldest MMO with a 2011 veneer. You can check out all six screens in the gallery below. [Thanks to Kane Hart for the tip!] Anarchy Online shows a glimpse of its future makeover originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 03 Sep 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The dangers and allure of real money trading in MMOs Posted: 03 Sep 2011 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Business models, Economy, Legal, Miscellaneous It's been one of the longest-running debates in the MMO industry: whether or not real money trading (RMT) helps or hurts players and the game worlds they inhabit. The Ottawa Citizen shed some light on the subject by showing how the games industry at large has dealt with the subject, from players dealing in grey market trades to studios overseeing RMT in the hopes of keeping players' bank accounts safe while lining the studios' pockets with additional income. Two examples were given of players engaging in illicit -- and ill-advised (Massively disclaimer) -- RMT activities. One player said that he made $7,000 in 2001 by purchasing EverQuest characters from bored players and reselling them to others, even though this was against the game's EULA. He likened it to real-world corporate practices: "It was kind of like buying a company and breaking (it) down and selling off all its assets, and flipping it for more cash." Another player admitted to spending $50 in hopes of gaining 2,000 gold in World of Warcraft, but the third-party company simply took his cash and never delivered the gold. The article notes how games like Second Life and companies like Sony and Microsoft are embracing RMT even as the issue remains taboo in many MMOs. The dangers and allure of real money trading in MMOs originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 03 Sep 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| One Shots: Neener neener! Posted: 03 Sep 2011 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Free-to-play, One Shots, Allods Online Enemies in MMOs can be tricky with their unexpected attacks, the spawns that happen at the worst possible moment, and their variety of spells that cause you to freeze in place or simply run away whether you want to or not. We've learned to expect that sort of thing, but a creature that seems to be trying to lure you off the edge of a cliff is certainly a new one. Kyervin discovered that one the hard way in Allods Online: Here is my Orc Paladin Dreadblood running around Wild Corner in Asee-Teph. I came across a snake floating in mid-air, taunting me that i couldn't get to it. Well, knowing my full-charging Paladin wouldn't stand for this, I charged up and soon found myself falling off the side of the allod. You win this time, snake. We've showed off some of the most attractive landscapes, characters, mounts, armor, and more here on One Shots, so we figure it's only fair that we give a nod to the opposite end of the spectrum. Next week is ugly armor week. Whether you have an eye-searing color scheme, a set of armor pieces that clash like crazy, or something that you just put together for a laugh, we want to see. Send your screenshots in to oneshots@massively.com and we'll feature them in next week's One Shots! One Shots: Neener neener! originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 03 Sep 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Mog Log: Far too much accountability Posted: 03 Sep 2011 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Business models, Opinion, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, The Mog Log Sometimes, it's really hard to figure out what in the world Square-Enix is thinking. I don't really make a habit of defending Square on principle; I defend stuff that's defensible in the first place. There are decisions that might seem odd, but they make logical sense and can actually be defended in the correct light. That's mostly a function of trying to see a reasonable set of decisions and reasonable motivations amidst what can sometimes seem baffling. It's not always an easy road. And then there are times when I can't even start to decipher what in the world anyone in the management train was thinking. Even when I do decipher the thought process that led to the action, it's the sort of thing that leads to some mixture of bafflement and irritation at the overall lack of thinking. That's my reaction when I look at the whole Square-Enix Account merger fiasco for Final Fantasy XI -- something that could have been a great idea but wound up just being an overall terrible execution. Continue reading The Mog Log: Far too much accountability The Mog Log: Far too much accountability originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 03 Sep 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Fibre Optic cables have revolutionized the way we move data, spewing bits at the speed of light across the globe in a matter of milliseconds. The technology behind the cables is pretty impressive, but amazingly, scientists from the City University of New York believe they have found a way to further increase the bandwidth on existing cables by 
If you've been looking to build an HTPC, but either didn't care for a hot & loud full tower case, or simply couldn't stomach the paltry performance of Atom powered nettop boxes, we have great news for you. Zotac sent out a press release today announcing the release of the palm sized 
Regardless of how you feel about Activision, or the Call of Duty franchise in general, it's hard to deny these guys have found a winning formula that countless other publishers are struggling to emulate. And while Battlefield 3 team will probably be doing backflips all the way to the bank if they come even remotely close to matching Modern Warefare's sales numbers, the companies new subscription based Elite service has created a moving target that EA would no doubt copy if they thought they could pull it off. During the Call of Duty XP keynote, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirsberg has finally detailed 
