MMO Updates |
- Mythos Global open beta starts February 2nd
- Funcom kicks off The Secret World's Illuminati week
- God save the green: Deal makes Jagex a US company
- Black Gold Online alpha footage released
- Flameseeker Chronicles: ArenaNet talks PvE vs. PvP
- MV Guide: January 9-15, 2012
- The Daily Grind: Do you play in self-enforced hardcore mode?
- MMO Week in Review: No power in the 'verse
- EVE Evolved: Development on EVE in 2012
- The Anvil of Crom: Quality-of-life improvements for 2012
- Rise and Shiny recap: The Kingdom of Loathing
| Mythos Global open beta starts February 2nd Posted: 09 Jan 2012 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Mythos, Free-to-play  Mythos originally launched in April 2011 before shutting down in October and announcing its impending return in late November.
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| Funcom kicks off The Secret World's Illuminati week Posted: 09 Jan 2012 09:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Horror, Game mechanics, Lore, MMO industry, New titles, News items, The Secret World  Funcom's version of the (in)famous Illuminati group casts its members as "invisible puppet-masters and corporate manipulators" who seek "power and wealth by any means necessary." Head to the official Secret World website to check out the latest Illuminati-themed art, and don't forget to take the initiation test to see which faction is right for you. [Source: Funcom press release]
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| God save the green: Deal makes Jagex a US company Posted: 09 Jan 2012 09:00 AM PST Filed under: MMO industry, RuneScape, Free-to-play, Legal, Miscellaneous, Transformers Universe  Insight Venture Brothers, a venture capital firm from the US, completed a deal last year to increase its ownership to 55% of the UK-based company. Previously, the firm had 35% interest in Jagex. Now that the scales have tipped to the new ownership, this technically makes Jagex a US-controlled company and has US investors leading its board of directors. While revenues were up 2% for Jagex in 2011, both operating and net profits were significantly down from the previous financial year. Jagex is a major player in the MMO free-to-play market, with RuneScape, Transformers Universe, and 8Realms as part of its project portfilio. Develop reports that the controlling interest was made possible by Jagex co-founder Andrew Gower selling off his ownership claims to the firm for $115.65 million. As part of the deal, Jagex paid $3.85 million in expenses. The studio will remain in Cambridge while its controlling firm is in NYC.
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| Black Gold Online alpha footage released Posted: 09 Jan 2012 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play  According to MMO Culture, Black Gold will pit two rival factions against one another in a struggle for control of a world divided between nature lovers and technologists. We don't know a whole lot of gameplay details yet, but we'll keep our eye on this one. Don't forget to check out the Russian server alpha footage after the cut. Continue reading Black Gold Online alpha footage released
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| Flameseeker Chronicles: ArenaNet talks PvE vs. PvP Posted: 09 Jan 2012 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Interviews, PvP, PvE, Guild Wars 2, Flameseeker Chronicles  This is something that I've heard with some regularity over the past year or two, and every time I sort of shake my head in confusion. How could anyone perceive Guild Wars 2 as a PvP-only game? Really, just take a look at what we've seen from the development team and how PvE-centric it is and it seems that you'd get the impression that if anything, there's more of a PvE focus. Of course, I can see where this perception comes from -- Guild Wars 1 holds the same perception for a lot of people, so it carries over. As a huge fan of both games and a pure PvE player, I thought it would be fun to take this week and clear things up. Eric Flannum and John Stumme were kind enough to help, stepping in to answer a few questions about the balance of things both past and present. Curious about what they have to say? Click past the cut and take a look! Continue reading Flameseeker Chronicles: ArenaNet talks PvE vs. PvP
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| Posted: 09 Jan 2012 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Livestream, Miscellaneous, MV Guide  Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of titles to take a look at. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule! Continue reading MV Guide: January 9-15, 2012
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| The Daily Grind: Do you play in self-enforced hardcore mode? Posted: 09 Jan 2012 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Game mechanics, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Roleplaying, Miscellaneous  I've gamed with roleplayers who took their characters deadly seriously and would delete their characters if they were killed off within the context of the game. (So much for the idea that roleplayers are casuals, eh?) Their web of self-inflicted rules is so complex (maiming? dice rolls? emote-combat?) that playing with such RPers can actually become stressful, especially if you don't want to be responsible for their having to delete and reroll. What about you folks? Do you play or roleplay in a self-enforced hardcore mode? Do you do it because it's fun, because it makes gameplay more intense, or because you like a good challenge?  Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
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| MMO Week in Review: No power in the 'verse Posted: 08 Jan 2012 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Massively Meta, Week in Review, Miscellaneous  Browncoat gamers have been pining for a Firefly MMO almost since the day the TV show was canceled, and Multiverse was supposed to make that happen... right up until the project was shut down for lack of funds, taking the sky from both the Firefly and Buffy games, as we reported this week. But no power in the 'verse can stop Firefly fans; almost immediately, a successor group formed up to take over the source code and keep the project flying. Check out the rest of Massively's top MMO stories past the break! Continue reading MMO Week in Review: No power in the 'verse
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| EVE Evolved: Development on EVE in 2012 Posted: 08 Jan 2012 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, MMO industry, Previews, PvP, Opinion, MMOFPS, EVE Evolved, DUST 514, Sandbox  The staff members who remained were faced with the task of turning things around, and with the feature-packed Crucible expansion, they did so spectacularly. In just a few short months, hundreds of high-profile features, graphical overhauls, and quality of life improvements breathed new life into a neglected universe. I think most players recognise that this has been a genuine turn-around from within CCP, but some are still skeptical that the company has really reformed. The question on everyone's mind is whether CCP can really keep up this quality of development in the coming year as it delivers two full expansions and integrates EVE with DUST 514. Perhaps nobody is better qualified to assess that than CSM delegate and former CCP game designer Mark "Seleene" Heard, who recently attended the December CSM summit and witnessed first-hand the aftermath of monoclegate and Crucible's development. In this week's EVE Evolved, I delve into Mark's CSM Summit report to find out how development at CCP has changed, what we can expect in 2012, and how monocle-gate has affected CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson. Continue reading EVE Evolved: Development on EVE in 2012
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| The Anvil of Crom: Quality-of-life improvements for 2012 Posted: 08 Jan 2012 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Game mechanics, Lore, MMO industry, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Anvil of Crom  It's certainly not a bad game as is; I've been traveling Hyboria for four years now (and writing about it for two), and you don't do that with titles you have to force yourself to play. Like most things, though, AoC could be better. Continue reading The Anvil of Crom: Quality-of-life improvements for 2012
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| Rise and Shiny recap: The Kingdom of Loathing Posted: 08 Jan 2012 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Culture, Previews, Opinion, Free-to-play, Browser, Hands-on, Casual, Humor, Rise and Shiny, Livestream, Miscellaneous  Surprisingly, I found some really charming aspects to the game. Unfortunately, the game didn't seem to share my enthusiasm for its quaint design. Because it's existed for nine years, I expected to find some fine-tuned stick figure gameplay, but the game seemed content with sort of rehashing the same stuff over and over. Of course, since this column is all about playing a game enough to form only a first impression, I did not reach the higher levels and might have missed something. I just wish the game would have been more confident in its delivery. Continue reading Rise and Shiny recap: The Kingdom of Loathing
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