MMO Updates |
- Age of Conan's Craig Morrison talks conquest vs. competition
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Online footage sighted in the wild
- World of Planes renamed, evolves 'beyond pure aerial combat'
- Choose My Adventure: I fell into a burning ring of Ryzom
- Trion attempting virtual marriage world record in RIFT
- Riding into Rohan: LotRO maps out 2012
- BlizzCon skipping 2012 due to 'jam-packed schedule'
- Turbine responds to LotRO store armor controversy
- The Daily Grind: What vanity pet would you like to see in your favorite MMO?
- League of Legends update bringing sharper AI, new bots
- Hyperspace Beacon: Roleplayer's rant
- Max Schaefer talks Torchlight II development, potential MMO plans
- Star Trek Online handing out Odyssey starships for its second anniversary
- RuneScape increasing subscription prices on February 1st
- SWTOR pushes out ability delay improvements with promises of more to come
- The Game Archaeologist's World of Warcraft confession
- From hero to 0.0: EVE Online deploys Crucible 1.1 update
- The Soapbox: Credible currency
- Bigpoint and gPotato join forces, host contest to celebrate
- Massively Speaking Episode 183: Squeeing Rubi edition
- PlayStation 3 patch to require more disk space for Final Fantasy XI
| Age of Conan's Craig Morrison talks conquest vs. competition Posted: 25 Jan 2012 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Game mechanics, MMO industry, PvP, News items, Opinion, Free-to-play  Age of Conan game director Craig Morrison recently waded into the fray via his personal blog, and he says that defining PvP in an MMO context involves separating the wish for conquest from the wish for competition. Morrison touches on several interesting aspects of MMO PvP, including a bit of history relating to the arenas and battlegrounds that are usually reviled by hardcore player types. "The needs of accessibility dictated that designers try and find a way to accommodate the appeal of the conquest style of play while also retaining the fairness of the competitive desires of the players," he explains. Ultimately, Morrison offers a bit of hope for those who prefer open-world conflict. "It's great to finish a great story and storm the castle and beat the bad guy. It is something else altogether to get to keep his castle, and for you to become the bad guy for the next would-be hero to try and conquer," he says.
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| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Online footage sighted in the wild Posted: 25 Jan 2012 08:30 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, MMOFPS, Post-Apocalyptic  Apparently the title has been in the works for a while, and an ongoing open beta phase is currently available in Russia. VG24/7 reports that there is a multi-language pack in the works, but until it's ready you'll need to bone up on your language skills if you want to participate. For the uninitiated, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is a series of post-apocalyptic single-player titles that mix first-person shooter action with sandbox RPG elements. Head past the break to check out the gameplay footage. Continue reading S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Online footage sighted in the wild
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| World of Planes renamed, evolves 'beyond pure aerial combat' Posted: 25 Jan 2012 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Historical, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, War, Free-to-play  The official website has been redesigned to reflect the change, and most interestingly, Gaijin states that aviation is no longer the title's sole focus. "This name change is significant because the online multiplayer universe Gaijin is developing has evolved beyond pure aerial combat. The massive historical battles featured in War Thunder cannot be fought with aviation alone -- World of Planes is only the beginning," the site says. What this means is anyone's guess, since Gaijin has not offered any details regarding ground- or sea-based combat as of yet. The company has released a new screenshot gallery, though, and you'll find that and more at the new official site.
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| Choose My Adventure: I fell into a burning ring of Ryzom Posted: 25 Jan 2012 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Polls, Ryzom, Opinion, Free-to-play, Choose My Adventure, Sandbox  For those of you who don't know what in the world Ryzom is, you can sort of be forgiven. It's one of those games that seems to be uniquely brilliant while managing to fall off the radar altogether, which is a real shame. So this week I'm going to discuss the game in an overarching sense, outline what I'm looking forward to, and of course give everyone a chance to vote on the character that I'll be making for the next six weeks of exploration. Continue reading Choose My Adventure: I fell into a burning ring of Ryzom
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| Trion attempting virtual marriage world record in RIFT Posted: 25 Jan 2012 06:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, RIFT  The event will take place on February 14th at noon eastern, and there are no restrictions with regard to character race, class, or sex (opposing faction nuptials are a no-no, however). Trion is also offering up an exclusive Valentine's Day character title (Tier of Knots) to each wedded character. RIFT's marriage mechanics will go live in the 1.7 update in early February, and they include rings, a wedding planner book, and wedding instances that support up to 200 friends. More info is available on the RIFT forums. [Source: Trion press release]
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| Riding into Rohan: LotRO maps out 2012 Posted: 25 Jan 2012 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, Interviews, Previews, Free-to-play  The big emphasis for LotRO in 2011 was the unifying of the global community and the release of the game's third (and best-selling) expansion, Rise of Isengard. While the aforementioned unification of the NA and EU sides of the game presented many challenges for the team including localization, it paid off in spades. Turbine plans to continue to add more payment options for those used to methods other than the ones currently available. The team was most proud of unveiling Saruman "in all of his glory" and the inclusion of free players into the sphere of Monster Play. "The game definitely grew last year," Mersky said in response to a question about the current number of players. He noted that the playerbase has changed somewhat in the past two years, becoming more casual in some respects. But it's time to move forward! Turbine is prepared to take LotRO players on a dizzying chase around the wilds of Middle-earth with a few significant changes and additions to the game -- and the release of the brand-new expansion later this year, Riders of Rohan. Mounted combat, ho! Continue reading Riding into Rohan: LotRO maps out 2012
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| BlizzCon skipping 2012 due to 'jam-packed schedule' Posted: 25 Jan 2012 05:45 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Miscellaneous  Our sister site WoW Insider spotted the word on the World of Warcraft forums, in which a community manager posted a brief update on the popular convention: "In light of our jam-packed schedule, we've decided to hold the next BlizzCon in 2013." Currently the studio is working on Diablo III, World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, and its top-secret Titan MMO project. BlizzCon has been held yearly since 2005 with only one exception: The studio declined to hold it in 2006. The convention was notorious for being the venue in which Blizzard announced its major upcoming projects. The absence of BlizzCon this year may be offset by the announcement of the 2012 Battle.net World Championship to take place in Asia toward the end of this year.
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| Turbine responds to LotRO store armor controversy Posted: 25 Jan 2012 05:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Business models, Free-to-play  Community Manager Sapience says that Turbine is "very aware of the controversy" and wanted to address specific points of concern. According to the post, Turbine said it never intended to promise that it would abstain from selling statted gear to give low-level players a boost, but the studio promised that this would not happen with endgame armor. The company admits to being "too generous" with the stats in question, and may adjust the item's power levels or possibly remove them from the store after further observation. The studio took the opportunity to clarify its "convenience not advantage" stance. "Anything that's compulsory to be competitive in ranked play or achieves something by degrading another player's experience. We have not and will not make that part of our F2P offering," Sapience writes. He concludes by promising more transparency going forward: "We'll take this as a sign that we need to do a better job in clear and open communication. In the future we will take more time to explain why -- not just what we're doing." Massively previously reached out to Turbine for an interview on the subject but the studio declined to participate. [Thanks to Whitewolf for the tip!]
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| The Daily Grind: What vanity pet would you like to see in your favorite MMO? Posted: 25 Jan 2012 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous  Justin and I chatted a bit about that on this week's Massively Speaking, and Justin put forth the awesome idea of a tiny Beholder pet. I loved the idea and it set me to thinking. Vanity pets in MMOs are such a frivolous little thing, yet they're such fun to so many people, and it seems like everyone has a wish list of "wouldn't it be cool if..." vanity pets. So what's yours? Would you love a little Beholder in DDO? Would you love to see Fallen Earth offer a prairie chicken pet to go with your mount? Tell us what vanity pet you'd love to see trailing along behind your character!  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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| League of Legends update bringing sharper AI, new bots Posted: 24 Jan 2012 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Patches, Previews, News items, Free-to-play, MOBA  League of Legends is well known for its challenging team-based gameplay and its rather steep learning curve, leading many users to play co-operatively against AI in order to hone their skills. In addition, co-op vs. AI is "the primary game mode for a surprisingly large percentage of users" according to senior producer Mark Norris. In light of this, Riot Games is bringing a huge new update to League of Legends' AI matches. For starters, Riot will be introducing AI bots for a whopping 40 of the game's champions, allowing players to test their mettle against a wider variety of opponents. In addition, the AI itself is in for an update that will allow bots to behave more like their human counterparts by utilizing predictive targeting for skillshots (such as Ashe's ultimate) and employing a great deal more strategy than the current bots. Of course, there are still some things that bots can't do (such as intelligent jungling), but Norris suggests "that's actually a huge advanced area that we do want to look at and get into, that we're in the the real rudimentary stages of trying to figure out right now." For the full details on what awaits players in the upcoming AI update, just click on through the link below and read the full story.
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| Hyperspace Beacon: Roleplayer's rant Posted: 24 Jan 2012 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Culture, New titles, Opinion, Roleplaying, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Hyperspace Beacon  As many of you know, I enjoy roleplaying in my MMOs -- character creation, really. I'm not one of those roleplayers who hang out in a pub all day never experiencing any gameplay. Although there's nothing wrong with that, I find it a be a waste of $15 a month. I have complied what I believe will make the experience of SWTOR more enjoyable for those who enjoy playing the game like I do, and I think that those of you who don't necessarily like to roleplay per se but do like to create unique characters in the MMO space will agree that these are a must. I did set some personal criteria when compiling the list. For instance, I didn't want to break BioWare's general vision for the game. I also wanted to use existing items in the game so that my expectations were realistic -- no guild capital ships or image design system. And all of these items have been mentioned in print someplace before, so I'm not the only one who believes these should be implemented. Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: Roleplayer's rant
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| Max Schaefer talks Torchlight II development, potential MMO plans Posted: 24 Jan 2012 03:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, MMO industry, News items, Miscellaneous  Schaefer also discusses a potential MMO coming out of the studio, something that's long been among the studio's plans -- one of the big reasons that Runic partnered with Perfect World Entertainment was due to its expertise with running an MMO. He claims that it's definitely still on the table, but it would be a big change for the studio, since the company has focused on staying small and launching an MMO is a very long-term commitment. Somewhat sad news for those hoping that Torchlight II's launch would spearhead MMO development directly, but the possibility certainly remains.
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| Star Trek Online handing out Odyssey starships for its second anniversary Posted: 24 Jan 2012 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, in-game, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play, Giveaways  Cryptic notes that the new Odyssey will be available for only a limited time at the start of the month, after which it will disappear from the game for an indeterminate amount of time. Players who cannot fly the top-tier starship can nevertheless earn it for use at a later date. The Odyssey (and its corresponding Klingon Vengeance-class starship) giveaway is just the first part of STO's second anniversary events. From February 2nd through the 5th, the mischievous Q will challenge players to complete tasks in exchange for mystery prizes.
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| RuneScape increasing subscription prices on February 1st Posted: 24 Jan 2012 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Economy, MMO industry, News items, RuneScape, Free-to-play, Browser  In a new post on the official RuneScape site, the game's vice president Daniel Clough has announced that, beginning in February, RuneScape membership prices will be rising from $5.95 US per month to $7.95 US per month. If you're already a member, don't worry! Anyone who is a registered member prior to February 1st will still be able to subscribe to the game at the current fee of $5.95 US per month, and the rate will not rise as long as the subscription isn't cancelled. So if you were thinking about shelling out for a RuneScape membership, act before the end of the month in order to lock in the current, lower pricing model. For the full details, click on through the link below to the RuneScape official site. [Thanks to Sean for the tip!]
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| SWTOR pushes out ability delay improvements with promises of more to come Posted: 24 Jan 2012 01:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Bugs, Patches, Star Wars: The Old Republic  Principal Lead Combat Designer Georg Zoeller announced today that the infamous ability delay should be clearing up nicely, thanks to an overnight 1.1.0b patch. He says BioWare didn't want to wait until the next big patch to roll it out, opting to instead deliver it as quickly to players as possible. However, Zoeller also notes that the team "is not done improving combat responsiveness" and has several other tweaks and fixes in the work for patch 1.1.1. Other areas of improvement that BioWare is investigating include UI clarity, making cast bars more accurate, and rectifying timing differences for specific abilities and animations.
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| The Game Archaeologist's World of Warcraft confession Posted: 24 Jan 2012 01:00 PM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, MMO industry, Opinion, The Game Archaeologist  Likewise, MMORPGs in their earlier forms appeared as user-friendly to me as that house on the block with overgrown shrubs, a rusty iron fence, and a mangy, ever-barking mutt in front of it. Maybe it was really cool inside, or maybe it was a death trap from whence there was no escape, but I never had the courage to find out. Let me put it this way: I purchased and read the entire Star Wars Galaxies Prima Guide three times over without once signing up for the game. I'm sharing this with you because I always want to remember that what we take for granted today -- that MMOs are friendly, fun, engaging, and a downright natural part of many of our gaming lives -- isn't always true for those curious lookey-loos who feel intimidated by the scope, busy UIs, subscription fees, or the often bizarre attitudes that long-term MMO players exhibit. For me, it took one game that tore those barriers down to extend a welcoming hand to me, guiding me into these awesome games. Of course, that was World of Warcraft. And even though my geek cred would be so much higher if it were something earlier or, well, not so mainstream, that wouldn't be the truth. So today I'm going to share my story of how I got into MMOs and why the early days of WoW were some of my most treasured gaming memories. Continue reading The Game Archaeologist's World of Warcraft confession
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| From hero to 0.0: EVE Online deploys Crucible 1.1 update Posted: 24 Jan 2012 12:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, EVE Online, Patches  Crucible 1.1 "enhances and updates" many of the key features of the game, starting with a customizable NeoCom (user interface) that can be tweaked to the player's desire. The update also contains adjustments to Tech 2 modules, balances to blaster ammo, and the ability for alliances to enter into factional warfare. As a result of a significant change to how player-owned structures use legacy fuel -- as in, they won't any longer, but they will be switching over to fuel blocks -- CCP is urging customers to pay attention lest they log in and find themselves in the dark. You can get the full skinny on the update by either reading the full patch notes, reading through the list of major features, or listening to the grizzled voice of CCP Soundwave going over the 1.1 highlights after the jump. Continue reading From hero to 0.0: EVE Online deploys Crucible 1.1 update
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| The Soapbox: Credible currency Posted: 24 Jan 2012 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Culture, MMO industry, Opinion, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous  With all of the other crises hitting the gaming world, it's easy to have missed the fact that Lord of the Rings Online has started selling statted gear in the cash shop. It's not endgame gear, of course, and it's mostly there for low-level players to get a minor boost. Really, as has been said by others, it's not something all that unusual, nor is it game-breaking in the slightest. It's just a convenience thing. It's also something that Turbine promised would never be done. I don't have an issue with the sale of low-level armor with stats on it, in Lord of the Rings Online or in other games. What I do have an issue with is the matter of credibility, the one currency that every company starts with and loses over time. Credibility is something you have to spend carefully, and every so often, a company spends it wrong. And the results, in the long term, are never pretty. Continue reading The Soapbox: Credible currency
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| Bigpoint and gPotato join forces, host contest to celebrate Posted: 24 Jan 2012 11:00 AM PST Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Browser, Battlestar Galactica Online  Two of the big players in the F2P MMO industry, publisher gPotato and Battlestar Galactica Online developer Bigpoint, have teamed up with one another in order to bring Bigpoint's browser-based titles to gPotato's ever-expanding library of titles. Bigpoint titles such as BSGO and more will be available at gPotato's game portal site, and in order to celebrate the arrival of the new games, gPotato is giving away $900 US in prizes. Ten Facebook fans will receive $50 in gPotato currency just for telling the folks at gPotato which new browser titles are their favorites. Five others will win a SUMO beanbag chair or a Razer mouse. For the full details, check out the link below and head on over to gPotato's official site to try the new game selections for yourself. [Source: gPotato press release]
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| Massively Speaking Episode 183: Squeeing Rubi edition Posted: 24 Jan 2012 10:30 AM PST Filed under: Podcasts, News items, Opinion, Humor, Massively Speaking, Miscellaneous  Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot an email to podcast@massively.com. We may just read your email on the air! Get the podcast: [iTunes] Subscribe to Massively Speaking directly in iTunes. [RSS] Add Massively Speaking to your RSS aggregator. [MP3] Download the MP3 directly. Listen here on the page: Read below the cut for the full show notes. Continue reading Massively Speaking Episode 183: Squeeing Rubi edition
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| PlayStation 3 patch to require more disk space for Final Fantasy XI Posted: 24 Jan 2012 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, MMO industry, News items, Consoles  The website reports that sometime in February, Sony will release a system update for the PS3 that will increase the hard drive space necessary to run the PlayStation 2 version of FFXI. PS3 models that feature 60GB and 20GB drives are the only units being affected, but it's worth noting because the FFXI client will require an additional 9GB of space after the patch (21GB total). The PS2 version of FFXI isn't changing, nor is the Windows version, so don't sweat it if you're not playing the title on your PS3. If you are, though, the source article is worth a read. As of press time, Square-Enix hasn't divulged a reason for the space increase. [Thanks to Andrew for the tip!]
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