| The Anvil of Crom: Can AoC survive The Old Republic? Posted: 16 Oct 2011 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, MMO industry, Opinion, Free-to-play, Star Wars: The Old Republic, The Anvil of Crom Can Age of Conan survive the onrushing BioWare MMO apocalypse? That's a fair question, and if you've been playing AoC lately, or really any MMORPG, you've probably heard of a competing game called Star Wars: The Old Republic. If you haven't, well, I don't believe you. Anyway, you may or may not be aware that BioWare announced the official launch date for its MMO opus a while back, and barely a day goes by when I don't hear a guildmate, a groupmate, or someone in global chat talk about it. That's Age of Conan's global chat, in case you were wondering, and as a long-time fan of Funcom's barbaric fantasy MMO, I can't help but be a bit concerned about its future health after December 20th. Continue reading The Anvil of Crom: Can AoC survive The Old Republic?  The Anvil of Crom: Can AoC survive The Old Republic? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 16 Oct 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Global Chat: October 9-15, 2011 Posted: 16 Oct 2011 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Opinion, 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! While almost all of our news stories and columns are game-specific, the conversation that follows in the comments often expands beyond the game in question. Discussion turns to mechanics, development styles, and industry trends. Even if the game in the original story isn't your thing, you may find some interesting conversation, so follow along after the jump to see what some of our readers had to say last week. Continue reading Global Chat: October 9-15, 2011 Global Chat: October 9-15, 2011 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 16 Oct 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Secret World unveils Tokyo Flashback at New York Comic Con Posted: 16 Oct 2011 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Horror, Video, Game mechanics, Previews, News items, PvE, The Secret World  As The Secret World draws ever closer to its April 2012 launch date, more and more information on the game continues to trickle forth. Today's treat comes to you from New York Comic Con, where Funcom has revealed the first eight-ish minutes of gameplay that new players will experience when they jump into the game. This introductory instance is known as Tokyo Flashback, and not only does it serve to introduce players to the mechanics of combat within The Secret World, but it also sets up the game's conspiracy-laden storyline by introducing players to four key characters of The Secret World's universe. Most players will be familiar with these characters from the title'sprevious trailers, including the one from Gamescom 2011. The demo of Tokyo Flashback follows a shotgun-toting heroine as she tags along with the NPCs against a horde of infected humans known as the Filth. The demo also imparts some new knowledge of gameplay mechanics. For instance, mobility is very important, and few -- if any -- abilities will root the character in place, allowing players to move freely at all times. It's also revealed that combat (or shotgun combat, at any rate) uses a combo-point-esque mechanic wherein certain attacks build resources on a target, and other "finisher" attacks expend those resources. For the full trailer, head on past the cut, and check out the write-up of the Comic Con panel over at The Hydra Initiative. And don't forget, players interested in beta-testing The Secret World can sign up for The Secret War on the game's official site. Continue reading The Secret World unveils Tokyo Flashback at New York Comic Con The Secret World unveils Tokyo Flashback at New York Comic Con originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 16 Oct 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: Do you like to level in parties? Posted: 16 Oct 2011 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Game mechanics, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous Back in the old days of MMOs -- and feel free to insert your own jokes about dinosaurs roaming the earth -- leveling was something that was done in groups. Soloing was for farming or running from place to place, but for the most part, you leveled with several other people, meaning that you knew from a very early level what you needed to do when in a group. It also meant, unfortunately, that it was really difficult to just play on your own schedule instead of the times when everyone else was on and available. To some players who grew up on games like EverQuest, the idea that almost every game can be soloed to max level is a bit jarring. But there are lots of reasons to level in parties anyway, ranging from working with others when you play a group-centric build to just wanting other people around when you level. So do you like to try and level up in groups? Or do you group up for special events and level on your own for the most part?  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 like to level in parties? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 16 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| This Week in MMO: Honestly EVE edition Posted: 15 Oct 2011 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Video, EVE Online, Culture, MMO industry, Free-to-play, Final Fantasy XIV, Miscellaneous The life expectancy of subscriptions -- and the enormous discussion swirling around it -- is at the forefront of Gamebreaker.TV's This Week in MMO. Massively's own Rubi Bayer joins the crew as they analyze Mark Jacobs' comments on subscriptions vs. free-to-play. Jacobs' blunt labeling that most F2P games are "crap" is incendiary, although it's hard to deny there are a lot of shoddy titles out there. The roundtable goes on to talk about CCP's apology to EVE Online players and what's being done to repair faith, trust, and ship-spinning in the game. It seems that frank apologies from higher-ups to customers is en vogue these days, from Netflix to Square-Enix, although it's debatable how much face is saved from such actions. Hit the jump to watch the full episode! Continue reading This Week in MMO: Honestly EVE edition This Week in MMO: Honestly EVE edition originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 15 Oct 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Mog Log: Love potion number 1.19 Posted: 15 Oct 2011 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Patches, Opinion, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, The Mog Log I've had another week to digest the enormous patch that we got last week, and I have to say that... I'm still not done. Really. I'm no longer in the stage of absolute baffled disbelief, but I haven't yet gotten a firm grip on all the changes. Heck, I haven't had time to explore all of them to my satisfaction. I've been questing and riding a chocobo hither and yon and noticing how repairs now cost me essentially pocket change. But I promised more talk about the patch this time around, and I've got more. I just want to emphasize how enormous this patch really is, bigger than any of its predecessors -- and considering how big several of Final Fantasy XIV's previous updates were, I'd say that's saying something. So let's talk about experience chains and powerleveling, class balance, and of course materia just past the break. Or rather, I'll talk. You know what I mean. Continue reading The Mog Log: Love potion number 1.19 The Mog Log: Love potion number 1.19 originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 15 Oct 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Tattered Notebook: Why EverQuest is a Hall of Fame game Posted: 15 Oct 2011 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest, MMO industry, Opinion, The Tattered Notebook Earlier this week, at GDC Online, EverQuest was inducted into the Hall of Fame. There, up on stage, were about a dozen of the original members of the team. It's remarkable to consider how many games these developers have been a part of since their work on EQ. But in 1999, these were pioneers, scrambling to answer daily questions about what exactly the MMO genre should be. There are a lot of factors that make EverQuest worthy of being inducted to the Hall of Fame, and in this week's Tattered Notebook, we'll look at a few as well as take a larger look at the state of the industry from GDC Online. Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: Why EverQuest is a Hall of Fame game The Tattered Notebook: Why EverQuest is a Hall of Fame game originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 15 Oct 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Road to Mordor: Getting the most out of your F2P account Posted: 15 Oct 2011 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Free-to-play, The Road to Mordor, Guides We're going to step waaay back from Rise of Isengard today (screenshots notwithstanding) to address a question that I've seen pop up time and again. The question comes from players on the free-to-play side of the game who are wondering "What do I need to do or buy to get the most out of my LotRO gaming experience?" In my opinion, the lovely aspect of Lord of the Rings Online's hybrid model is that you, the player, have a wide range of choices when it comes to how you want to fund your gameplay. If you decide not to go the subscription/VIP route, it can get a little confusing, especially in light of just how much there is in the LotRO store. Do you need to buy anything at all? What are the essentials? How should you go about earning some free Turbine Points to finance these purchases? Unlike many other recent MMO F2P conversions, LotRO's offers you more flexibility than "just suffer with F2P restrictions or subscribe," which should give you hope that you can tailor the game to your exact needs. In today's Road to Mordor, I'm going to put myself in the shoes of a F2P player and tell you exactly what I'd do to get the most out of my account. Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Getting the most out of your F2P account The Road to Mordor: Getting the most out of your F2P account originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 15 Oct 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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When AMD spun off its manufacturing arm as GlobalFoundries back in 2009, it was assumed their controlling interest would drive the bulk of its investments in the same direction. AMD has been forced to use TSMC, a rival to GlobalFoundries in recent years to keep pace in the graphics card wars, however new rumors are suggesting 
A Stockholm District Court has handed down its sentence against Pirate Bay founder Gottfrid Svartholm, and he'll be spared the whip, but little else. Assuming he ever turns up, he'll be forced to serve a one year jail sentence and pony up a cool $1.1 million to pay off his debt to society. Svartholm's fate was decided separately from his fellow Pirate Bay crew as a result of medical complications that prevented him from attending the original trial; however, these same complications prevented him from attending the new proceedings as well. As if being sentenced to a prison term without being present wasn't bizarre enough, Svartholm's lawyer admits he has no clue where is client is, or even if he is dead or alive.
Earlier in the week Microsoft unveiled a new online security test to help educate users on the dangers of surfing with outdated browsers. The concept is noble, but they also succeeded in stirring up the Mozilla folks, and with just cause. The site 
