MMO Updates |
- Frogster planning TERA Europe stress test today
- RIFT in China: 'biggest game deal ever' for a Western MMO
- Final Fantasy XIV merging servers in March
- The world of World of Warcraft recreated in Minecraft
- The Daily Grind: How many chat channels do you use?
- Earthrise shutting down today
- WildStar Wednesday talks about the game's narrative design
- A Mild-Mannered Reporter: The obligations to the useless
- Guild Wars: The winds just keep on a-changin'
- DC Universe Online's next update: Welcome to Paradise
- MMO Family: Why safe chat isn't so safe (and why that's OK)
- Lineage II boasts increased revenue and playerbase following free-to-play transition
- Warhammer Online encourages murder most foul
- Free for All: Comparing the payment models of Glitch and Ryzom
- ArcheAge besieges us with a new warfare trailer
- Grab yourself a Seven Souls Online beta key from Massively!
- Super Hero Squad Online gets vocal with new all-star cast of talent
- GamersFirst teases APB Valentine's Day massacre event
| Frogster planning TERA Europe stress test today Posted: 09 Feb 2012 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Events, in-game, MMO industry, New titles, News items, TERA  TERA Europe community manager Raven says that "you might experience lag or other issues," and "this test is not intended to offer you a normal gameplay experience." If you're OK with that -- and you feel like volunteering your time -- head to the official forums to learn more (and set your alarms accordingly). If you're wondering about TERA's American client, En Masse Entertainment sent word that last night's pre-test dress rehearsal "went swimmingly."
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| RIFT in China: 'biggest game deal ever' for a Western MMO Posted: 09 Feb 2012 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, MMO industry, News items, RIFT  "We do a lot right, but we think there's so much to learn from Asia, and a company like Shanda that has been in the market so long, and has innovated in so many ways, is a great partner to work with and learn from," Buttler says. Trion is flexing its muscles -- and broadening its horizons -- on the strength of a banner year that included a hefty influx of investment capital as well as RIFT's $100 million revenue windfall. Trion is also developing an MMORTS called End of Nations and an MMO shooter called Defiance. Additionally, the firm is fleshing out its Red Door program which will outsource its development platform and distribution channels to third-parties.
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| Final Fantasy XIV merging servers in March Posted: 09 Feb 2012 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, News items, Final Fantasy XIV  Character transfers are mandatory for players on one of the affected shards, and the transfer period starts on March 1st and continues through the 19th. Kotaku reports that the new servers will have temporary names (New World 01, 02, etc.), but Square states that "name assignments will be announced after the transfer selection period has ended."
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| The world of World of Warcraft recreated in Minecraft Posted: 09 Feb 2012 06:00 AM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Culture  Rumsey says that he had to cheat a little: Instead of placing every single block by hand, he wrote a piece of software that helps to automate the process of making full-scale version of the world. He's recently completed one continent -- Kalimdor -- and has plans to do the others as well as all of WoW's dungeons. He says that the only problem he's run into is Minecraft's height limit of 128 blocks, so he's had to employ mods to get around that. When the project is complete, Rumsey has hopes that it will be hosted online for tourists to visit this much blockier version of their favorite WoW stomping grounds.
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| The Daily Grind: How many chat channels do you use? Posted: 09 Feb 2012 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Free-to-play, The Daily Grind  My EverQuest II Sage has 19 (19!) channels on his UI, and though I rarely see any activity in the ratonga or evil chat rooms, I keep tabs on them anyway in case a useful nugget happens by. What about you, dear readers? Does your MMO of choice have multiple global chat channels, and if so, how many do you monitor at once?  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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| Posted: 09 Feb 2012 04:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, Free-to-play, Earthrise, Post-Apocalyptic  "One year after the launch of the game, we have decided to stop the Earthrise servers. Earthrise was released too early and did not meet the expectations of its fans" said Atanas Atanasov, Director of Masthead Studios. "We did our best to revive the game in 2011, but the time was not enough to keep up with the user requirements. There is a huge interest in high quality open world sandbox MMORPGs, unfortunately the big publishers do not show any interest in the genre. It is unfortunate that low budget companies like ours are trying to bring innovativeness in the already saturated MMO market. I hope that one day an independent studio will be able to release the long anticipated open world sandbox MMO, which everyone is talking about, but no one is making. We tried, but did not succeed. We would like to apologize to those who were disappointed from Earthrise and to thank everyone who supported us during the years." The studio does mention that the planned free-to-play version for this year may still launch if any investor interest is shown, but there has been no word on this yet.
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| WildStar Wednesday talks about the game's narrative design Posted: 08 Feb 2012 06:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Culture, Previews, News items, WildStar  As lead designer Chad Moore explains it, the narrative design team is responsible for outlining the world of Nexus, which was in part created to serve as a perfect locus for a variety of different adventures. While this design team isn't particularly concerned with mechanics, it is concerned with ensuring that every part of the game has the same degree of personality as the first cinematic trailer. If you're one of the many people anticipating the game heavily, take a look behind the scenes to see how it produces its feel.
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| A Mild-Mannered Reporter: The obligations to the useless Posted: 08 Feb 2012 05:30 PM PST Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, Humor, A Mild-Mannered Reporter  I'm not actually a very good City of Heroes player. I mean, I'm "good" in the sense that I play the game, enjoy it, think about it, try to improve my character appropriately... but I'm not actually very skilled at the game. My rotations look awkward, my slotting is usually sub-optimal, and my ability to recall important data is pretty paltry. I understand the mechanics just fine, but when it comes time to log into the game, somehow I wind up as the guy who just subtly makes the entire team worse. I'm not terribly skilled. And for all that I'm going to be playing the game for some time to come, I don't think that I'm ever going to reach the point that I say I'm really any good. Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: The obligations to the useless
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| Guild Wars: The winds just keep on a-changin' Posted: 08 Feb 2012 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Patches, News items, PvE  If you'd like to see the new content in action, join us tomorrow, February 9th, at 7 p.m. EST for a special edition livestream. Our own Richie Procopio will be joined by ArenaNet staff as he streams the game live on our Twitch channel!
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| DC Universe Online's next update: Welcome to Paradise Posted: 08 Feb 2012 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Super-hero, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, DC Universe Online  Players will find Brainiac as he's assaulting the Amazons' island and have their final confrontation with him there. But don't worry about the ache of missing your main antagonist, heroes! If there's one thing that comic books have taught us, it's that you should never count a villain out for good -- and that the conclusion of one story arc doesn't mean that things are going to settle down at all. As Jens Anderson (Creative Director for DCUO) says, Brainiac's future isn't settled; his fight "will be an ongoing one as he tries to recover from the player's resistance and future Luthor's manipulation of everyone... The story will then move into a new phase, but Brainiac's actions will always have a lasting effect on DC Universe Online." Moving forward, players can anticipate learning more about the shady figures of Future Lex Luthor and Future Batman.
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| MMO Family: Why safe chat isn't so safe (and why that's OK) Posted: 08 Feb 2012 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Opinion, Kids, MMO Family, Family, Miscellaneous  On the other hand, when it comes to kids MMOs, having open communication means other players can use it to harass each other. Worse is the scenario of the deranged adult abusing it to exploit young people. As a result, virtually every kid-friendly MMO has some sort of filter in place that restricts what players can say to each other. But are these chat filters really that effective? Are kids better off without them? Let's take a look in today's MMO Family. Continue reading MMO Family: Why safe chat isn't so safe (and why that's OK)
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| Lineage II boasts increased revenue and playerbase following free-to-play transition Posted: 08 Feb 2012 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Lineage 2, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play  It's been a little over two months now since NCsoft's Lineage II adopted a free-to-play business model that the studio has taken to calling "Truly Free." It would appear the transition went over well for the long-running title, as a new press release boasts that since the change, "[the game] has almost quadrupled its revenue and increased its concurrent player base by more than 800 per cent." Not a bad resurgence for a game that's been kicking around for the better part of eight years now. The studio attributes the success -- at least in part -- to the newly added Path to Awakening feature, "which provides helpful buffs, items and advice to accelerate new characters towards the level cap." If you'd like to get in the game and experience the freshly reinvigorated world of Lineage II for yourself, just click on through to the official site. [Source: NCsoft press release]
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| Warhammer Online encourages murder most foul Posted: 08 Feb 2012 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, Warhammer Online  Mythic's annual WAR bloodfest centers around players attempting to appease a gruesome Elf god by taking out contracts on each other's lives. From February 9th through the 22nd, players will try to complete Tome of Knowledge tasks by completing "Marked for Death" quests and killing those with a dripping red skull-and-crossbones over their heads. The rewards are worth the effort, though, with items like Lobbin' Noggins, Khaine's Caress, and a fun pike sporting your opponent's head that you can slam down next to a defeated foe. It's the yearly holiday your mother always warned you about, but you never listened then and you're probably not going to start now.
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| Free for All: Comparing the payment models of Glitch and Ryzom Posted: 08 Feb 2012 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Business models, Culture, Ryzom, Opinion, Free-to-play, Browser, Casual, Free for All, Sandbox  The problem is that I do not really like the freemium model. I'm old-school, I guess. I enjoy the model that was imported to the States maybe eight years ago. A free client with a cash shop on top is all I need to steer my fun by. I'd rather skip any sort of tiered service as well. There are exceptions to the rule, of course. Continue reading Free for All: Comparing the payment models of Glitch and Ryzom
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| ArcheAge besieges us with a new warfare trailer Posted: 08 Feb 2012 11:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Previews, PvP, News items, ArcheAge, Sandbox  We have no idea when the Korean-developed ArcheAge is going to see the light of day on North American soil, but that doesn't mean we can't stare at the pretty trailers and hope that it's soon. Today, the official ArcheAge YouTube page has uploaded a new video that gives fans a look at the title's siege warfare. Now, you might think that you have an idea of what a fortress siege is like. A bunch of players group up, zerg rush the fortress, and the last side standing takes the prize, right? Well, not so much in ArcheAge's case. The video shows plenty of infantry clashing blades, but that's only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. There are catapults and siege towers and aerial attacks and more, lending a suitable sense of chaos to the entire ordeal. The objective of the madness seems to be the destruction of a crystal nestled deep within the defending fortress, though we don't speak Korean, so don't quote us on that. At any rate, it's certainly an impressive display of the large-scale PvP offered by ArcheAge, so load your trebuchets and click on past the cut for the full video. Continue reading ArcheAge besieges us with a new warfare trailer
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| Grab yourself a Seven Souls Online beta key from Massively! Posted: 08 Feb 2012 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Contests, New titles, Giveaways  The beta will begin on February 15th (so it won't be available until then!), but we have some keys to get you ready for the event. Simply head on over to our giveaway page, click "Claim Your Key" at the bottom, and go to this link to redeem your code. You'll need to register for an account on their site and click on "Apply for Beta" to complete the process, but after that, you'll be all set for the February 15th beta. 
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| Super Hero Squad Online gets vocal with new all-star cast of talent Posted: 08 Feb 2012 10:30 AM PST Filed under: Super-hero, News items, Free-to-play, Casual, Family, Super Hero Squad Online  Voice-acting in MMOs seems to be all the rage these days, and Gazillion Entertainment, publisher of the free-to-play Super Hero Squad Online, seems to be jumping on the bandwagon. In a press release today, the company announced that each and every hero and villain in the game will be receiving a full vocal makeover, and many characters will be voiced by the same actors who provide voice work for the Super Hero Squad television series. Jay Minn, vice president of The Amazing Society -- the development studio behind the games -- is obviously quite pleased with the decision to give voice to the game's dozens of characters, stating that "the heroes and villains in Marvel Super Hero Squad Online have always had their own unique personalities and attitudes... We're excited and very proud to let our heroes and villains speak their minds!" The statement adds that the game currently includes over 3000 lines of spoken dialogue (with over 100 attributed to everyone's favorite Merc with a Mouth), so players can expect plenty of witty quips from their characters of choice. To get in the game and hear the new voiceovers for yourself, just click on through the link below to Super Hero Squad Online's official site. [Source: Gazillion Entertainment press release]
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| GamersFirst teases APB Valentine's Day massacre event Posted: 08 Feb 2012 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Events, in-game, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, All Points Bulletin, Crime  All you have to do is log in, as G1 is sending everyone a couple of V-Day-themed weapons. Furthermore, each gun "contains an exciting new modification," according to a post on APB's official boards. Killing foes with the special weapons will advance two new roles and lead to Valentine prizes like new theme music, symbol art, and heart-shaped sunglasses. The shindig kicks off today and runs through February 20th, so be sure and get started on your role advancement ASAP.
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