MMO Updates |
- Free for All: How I'm preparing for the release of Wakfu
- Choose My Adventure: Ballad of a teenage Zorai
- See the shores of the Anduin in LotRO's Update 6
- Why I Play: Final Fantasy XIV
- Hands-on with End of Nations
- SWTOR launches in the Asia Pacific region
- The Daily Grind: How would you define a sandbox MMO?
- Bigpoint's A Game of Thrones MMO to debut at GDC 2012
- City of Heroes lets low-level players go Drowning in Blood
- The Game Archaeologist reminisces with EQMac vets
- EQII producer teases March update info, promises more communication
- LotRO's Wargs to be stealthy or beefy fighters
- Custom-tailor your character with Guild Wars 2's traits and attributes
- Funcom gutting Age of Conan's crafting system, starting over
- First official MechWarrior Online trailer drops into action
- Test your luck with RuneScape's Squeal of Fortune
- The Soapbox: There's no such thing as a miracle MMO
- ArcheAge explores the possibilities of an open world in a new video
- Massively Speaking Episode 188: Podcasting on two hours of sleep
- Lay waste to the wasteland in new Grimlands shooter
| Free for All: How I'm preparing for the release of Wakfu Posted: 29 Feb 2012 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Launches, Previews, Opinion, Free-to-play, Casual, Free for All, Sandbox  Wakfu is one of those games I know is going to at least be different from its rivals. I have already played a bit in all of the betas and now know that it is far from your typical MMO. The classes are different and fun; the lore and artwork is amazing. It runs on almost any PC. The game doesn't insult the player with hand-holding and non-stop popups. It really does walk that fine line between a sandbox and a more linear game. So how am I preparing for the release of this unique game? Continue reading Free for All: How I'm preparing for the release of Wakfu
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| Choose My Adventure: Ballad of a teenage Zorai Posted: 29 Feb 2012 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Polls, Game mechanics, Ryzom, Opinion, Free-to-play, Choose My Adventure  For those of you under the misapprehension that this was, in fact, an actual thing, I apologize for the not particularly elaborate act of deception. My question to myself, at this point, was what I actually had to do at this point. Did this mean that I had to search through every city in the game to find a paradise, only to discover at the end that paradise had metaphorically been at home the whole time? Was I already in the paradise city, judging by the fact that some people would call the jungle a virtual paradise? The girls were pretty, the grass was green, and by almost any metric you cared to use, Corlede was as close to home as she was getting. But no, I knew what I had to do. Something I had known since I started playing. I went home. Continue reading Choose My Adventure: Ballad of a teenage Zorai
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| See the shores of the Anduin in LotRO's Update 6 Posted: 29 Feb 2012 07:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Video, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play  The patch brings us to Thinglad, Parth Celebrant, Eorlsmead, Wailing Hills, Limlight Gorge, the Brown Lands, and the Rushgore. Take a look at each of these areas in our Update 6 gallery below, then click past the cut for video tours of Limlight Gorge and Eorlsmead. [Source: Turbine press release] Continue reading See the shores of the Anduin in LotRO's Update 6
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| Posted: 29 Feb 2012 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Game mechanics, Opinion, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, Why I Play  Here's the thing: None of those statements is wrong. The game has made enormous progress over the past year toward fixing those issues, but the players like yours truly who do enjoy the game don't love these elements. They love the game that lies underneath all of that, the design elements that shine through despite a lot of hoops you have to jump through first. I enjoyed the game at launch. I enjoy the game now, and based on what I've seen so far, I'm going to enjoy the game in the future. There's something very special about the game amidst all of the downsides, something that made me decide back in beta that even if this game is going to take extra work to play, it's going to reward the effort. Continue reading Why I Play: Final Fantasy XIV
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| Posted: 29 Feb 2012 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, New titles, Previews, Opinion, War, Free-to-play, Hands-on, MMORTS, Massively Hands-on, Massively Event Coverage, Miscellaneous  The team behind End of Nations has some serious industry cred. Publisher Trion Worlds is notable for its remarkably smooth-launching MMO, RIFT. Developer Petroglyph's pedigree is no less respectable (if a little dated), with titles like 1992's Dune II (widely credited for having inspired the Warcraft series of RTS games) and the original 1995 Command and Conquer under its belt. My time with this game was spent during the alpha testing phase, and many things might change between now and launch. Still, the bones of the game were there, and I'm happy to share my findings with you, discerning readers. From what I saw and experienced, End of Nations just might have what it takes to become the first "triple-A" MMORTS. Continue reading Hands-on with End of Nations
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| SWTOR launches in the Asia Pacific region Posted: 29 Feb 2012 05:30 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Launches, Star Wars: The Old Republic  Asia Pacific players who not only jump on board but either subscribe or use a 60-day game card by the end of April will also receive a Founder's Medal, which grants an in-game title. BioWare is aware that many players in these countries have already begun to play on NA servers, and as such the studio is offering a "limited-time opportunity" to transfer for free to a local server in late April. Entire guild transfers, however, will not be possible. The SWTOR FAQ page has more information about the transfer process and payment methods available.
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| The Daily Grind: How would you define a sandbox MMO? Posted: 29 Feb 2012 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous, Sandbox  Interestingly enough, the responses that some friends sent back my way were as varied as could be, suggesting that this might be more of a murky area than I assumed. Considering how much we throw the term around, both on Massively and elsewhere, I think it might be beneficial to come to a consensus. So how would you define a sandbox MMO? Is it the tools, the freedom, a lack of traditional leveling, the variety of non-combat activities, the tone, or something else entirely? Can you sum it up in one precise sentence?  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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| Bigpoint's A Game of Thrones MMO to debut at GDC 2012 Posted: 29 Feb 2012 04:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Events, real-world, News items, Free-to-play, Browser  Brace yourselves; GDC is coming. And with it comes the first ever public demonstration of Bigpoint's upcoming MMO title based on George R.R. Martin's hit fantasy series, A Game of Thrones. For the first time ever, players will be able to get a look at the world of Westeros brought to life in all its browser-based glory. Bigpoint CEO and founder Heiko Hubertz is understandably optimistic about the title, stating that the devs "intend to build a game that resonates intimately with its diehard community of followers, while also creating an authentic gaming experience that attracts newcomers to the franchise." So if you're heading to GDC 2012 and you want to take a look, just make a trip on over to Bigpoint's booth and see for yourself. What's that? You're not going to GDC this year? Well, then it's a good thing we're going for you! You can look for more info from our impressions coming later next week. Andremember: When you play the game of thrones, you win or you corpse run. [Source: Bigpoint press release]
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| City of Heroes lets low-level players go Drowning in Blood Posted: 28 Feb 2012 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries, Dungeons  In a recent developer diary, world designer Cord Carney explains how the team tried to balance both storytelling aspects and gameplay elements, keeping the second lower-level trial as engaging for new and returning players as the recent introductory trial Death From Below. Carney also explains how the trial will offer players a chance at obtaining a buff that lasts up to level 30, giving everyone a reason to participate with lower characters without unbalancing the endgame. It's an interesting look at making lower-level content engaging, epic, and fun.
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| The Game Archaeologist reminisces with EQMac vets Posted: 28 Feb 2012 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest, Culture, Interviews, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Game Archaeologist  You see, a month ago when I heard that EQMac was going to be shut down, I put out some feelers for any players who might want to share their side of the story. Apparently, this small community is downright fanatical about this game and deluged my inbox with stories and pleas. While it seems like the crisis has passed for these players, I still want to share some of these testimonies with you because that's what this column is about. So indulge me with one last week of EQMac discussion before we shift our attention elsewhere. If you're curious why players in 2012 would deliberately choose to game on an archaic server with extremely old-school rules, then the answer awaits you after the jump. And if you'd like to try out this completely free version of EverQuest, then head over to the EQMac.com forums for step-by-step instructions. Continue reading The Game Archaeologist reminisces with EQMac vets
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| EQII producer teases March update info, promises more communication Posted: 28 Feb 2012 03:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Patches, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries  The March update -- centered around the Velious storyline -- is coming along, and the team will be unloading tons of information in the near future. Longdale reports that it's not just new content that the EQII crew is concerned about, as bug fixing and refining features are a major priority for the team's engineers. Players irritated with the quest feather graphic issue will be happy to know that it's high up on the priority list. Longdale also let players know that she's paying attention to "big hot-button issues" with the game and is trying her best not to overlook anything. She wraps up her post sharing the meaning behind her dev name, Windstalker, and promising that she'll be corresponding with the community frequently from here on out.
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| LotRO's Wargs to be stealthy or beefy fighters Posted: 28 Feb 2012 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Classes, Patches, PvP, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries  As a stealth class, Wargs were seen by developers as being too vulnerable to imminent death after entering into combat. As such, the devs are beefing up the class' survivability by giving players a choice. With Update 6, Wargs can move between Shadow (stealth) and Flayer (brawler) stances, depending on the player's preference and situation. The Flayer stance will replace the old Shadow Howler one. Turbine previously outlined other changes for PvMP in Update 6, including Weavers, Audacity, and Commendations.
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| Custom-tailor your character with Guild Wars 2's traits and attributes Posted: 28 Feb 2012 02:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, News items, Guild Wars 2  To many people, character customization is an incredibly important part of MMORPGs. We're not just talking about cosmetic customization, though; many of those players also want the freedom to customize how their characters play. The Guild Wars 2 team is well aware of this, and in fact the devs have released a new dev diary detailing just how players will be able to tweak their characters through the use of traits and attributes. Players who have been following GW2 up until this point may already be familiar with the game's four primary attributes: power, vitality, precision, and toughness. But the team decided that four wasn't quite good enough, so five more attributes were thrown into the mix. While these five new attributes (three for offense, two for support) offer new and exciting ways to customize your playstyle, the catch is that players can only gain points in these attributes through trait lines or gear. Each profession also gets a profession-specific attribute. For instance, Rangers get the empathy attribute, which increases the attributes of the hunter's pet. Traits, on the other hand, operate more like traditional MMO talent trees. Each class is given access to five different trait progression lines; each of these trait lines matches up to a pair of attributes that will be improved each time the player puts points in the corresponding tree. The trait lines also unlock major trait slots that can be filled with -- you guessed it -- a major trait to further customize the character's playstyle. But there's a lot more to the system than we can fit here, so click on through the link to the ArenaNet dev blog below and give the full blog a read.
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| Funcom gutting Age of Conan's crafting system, starting over Posted: 28 Feb 2012 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Crafting  He isn't kidding either, as the new system does away with awkward quest blocks to progression and instead ties your advancement directly to making items and using the relevant skills. Harvesting nodes will also spawn with more variety (and at more locations), and the much-reviled random NPC attacks that used to happen while harvesting are finally being dropped. Still want more details? Well, material quality will matter, there will be some sort of refining process, and there's an entirely new system for the actual production of an item. There's a lot more to Age of Conan's new crafting system, of course, but we're out of space, so you'll need to head to the official site to check it out.
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| First official MechWarrior Online trailer drops into action Posted: 28 Feb 2012 01:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, News items, Free-to-play, MechWarrior Online  For some time now, the folks at Piranha Games have been teasing us with 'Mech reveals, Q&As, and steady info drips. Now, finally, we get to see those big badass 'bots in action, as the studio has just unveiled the first official trailer for MechWarrior Online. The short teaser trailer takes fans inside the cockpit of one of the game's monumental BattleMechs as its pilot prepares for an aerial drop. But you know what they say -- a picture's worth a thousand words. We're not sure what a video's worth, but we do know that we don't have that much room, so just click on past the cut and feast your eyes on MechWarrior Online's premiere trailer. Continue reading First official MechWarrior Online trailer drops into action
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| Test your luck with RuneScape's Squeal of Fortune Posted: 28 Feb 2012 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, News items, RuneScape, Free-to-play  It's time to step right up and spin the... squeal? Jagex Games Studio, creator of the ever-popular browser-based title RuneScape, announced in a painfully punny press release today that a new minigame known as Squeal of Fortune has been added to the game. As anyone familiar with the game's real-life namesake may have guessed, the minigame is a game of chance that involves spinning a wheel for fabulous prizes. Of course, RuneScape puts its own twist on the classic game show by somehow involving the squishing of goblins. We're not sure we want to know. At any rate, players can win all kinds of prizes from Squeal of Fortune, ranging "from valuable day-to-day resources to legendary and powerful weapons," so what are you waiting for? Head on over to RuneScape's official site and go for a spin. [Source: Jagex Games Studio press release]
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| The Soapbox: There's no such thing as a miracle MMO Posted: 28 Feb 2012 12:30 PM PST Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous  They're out there, in every forum, in every comment section, and across the blogosphere. They number in the thousands if not tens of thousands (just spitballing here), and they all share three common traits. One, they're discontented with any and all current MMOs; two, they love to gripe about said discontentment to anyone who will listen; and three, they have a grand hope that a particular upcoming title will finally break the discontentment code to become the be-all, end-all MMO for them. The miracle MMO, if you will. This is going to be the MMO that will right all wrongs. It will shift paradigms, break us out of whatever rut we're supposed to be in, and make us all fall down on our knees in gratitude that we have the privilege of living in such a grand age as this. So let's cut to the chase: There's no such thing as a miracle MMO, and there never will be -- except in your mind. If you can come to terms with that, you'll be a lot happier as a gamer. Continue reading The Soapbox: There's no such thing as a miracle MMO
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| ArcheAge explores the possibilities of an open world in a new video Posted: 28 Feb 2012 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, ArcheAge, Sandbox  In addition to the zen and art of tractor pulling, this video briefly highlights several other aspects of this gorgeous game. It illuminates the creation and use of a trebuchet in castle sieges, underwater exploration, housing decorations, and painstakingly animated dragon-lion mounts. While the video may not be in English, it's still a drop of cool water in the mouths of fans thirsty for this upcoming MMO. You can check out all of the lush goodness after the break. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!] Continue reading ArcheAge explores the possibilities of an open world in a new video
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| Massively Speaking Episode 188: Podcasting on two hours of sleep Posted: 28 Feb 2012 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Podcasts, Aion, Dungeons and Dragons Online, EVE Online, News items, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Massively Meta, The Secret World, Massively Speaking, TERA, 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 188: Podcasting on two hours of sleep
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| Lay waste to the wasteland in new Grimlands shooter Posted: 28 Feb 2012 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Post-Apocalyptic  Free-to-play publisher gamigo says its upcoming wasteland shooter comes complete with "a comprehensive crafting system, guild towns, vehicles, and PvP content." Regardless of whether it is or isn't a full-fledged MMO in every sense, it looks like a good time, particularly in light of the new trailer that shows off a bit of ambiance and a bit of gameplay footage. Grimlands is a third-person shooter being developed by Drago Entertainment, and you can watch the full clip after the cut. [Source: gamigo press release] Continue reading Lay waste to the wasteland in new Grimlands shooter
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