MMO Updates |
- The Soapbox: Voice chat is the worst thing ever
- Turbine reveals shape-shifting DDO Druid class
- Blizzard acknowledges TOR's impact on WoW
- ArcheAge evaluates CBT4 and revs up for CBT5
- The Daily Grind: Would you play a Witcher MMO?
- Not So Massively: Diablo III's competitors speak up and LoL reveals Lulu
- Captain's Log: Focus on the Foundry
- Guild Wars 2 and the evolving narrative of a personal story
- Another one bites the dust: Warhammer Online shuts down another server
- Leaderboard: Betas are a boon vs. betas are a bust
- GDC 2012: Watch Funcom's full The Secret World presentation
- Blizzard's project Titan still in the works
- EVE Online Fanfest 2012 schedule unveiled
- What do you want to know about the next Guild Wars 2 beta?
- Wings Over Atreia: Did someone say 3.0?
- The Firing Line Exclusive: Tribes Ascend utility pack giveaway
| The Soapbox: Voice chat is the worst thing ever Posted: 20 Mar 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, Humor, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous  Part of me thinks that voice chat is a product of the miraculous and wondrous age we live in. I can still remember when the very idea of the internet seemed like a magical idea. I could search an entire world full of knowledge and ideas at once! The fact that video games have evolved into games where I can log in to a shared world and speak to someone in a real-time discussion is nothing short of astonishing. Most of me, however, really just hates voice chat. I've used voice chat extensively before, and I didn't like it then. I still don't like it now. And for all of the advantages it offers, I can't say it's something that I consider a positive addition to the MMO landscape any more than I'm happy about the widespread adoption of the colloquial term "toon." It might not be a cultural issue that needs to be addressed, but I really hate voice chat. Continue reading The Soapbox: Voice chat is the worst thing ever
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| Turbine reveals shape-shifting DDO Druid class Posted: 20 Mar 2012 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Classes, Expansions, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play  The content drops on June 25th, and the Druid will be available as a premium playable class (and free to VIPs). The Druid is primarily a caster, but he's also proficient with daggers, sickles, staves, and clubs. His signature ability allows him to transform into a winter wolf, a dire bear, a water elemental, or a fire elemental. Each shape has its own set of spells, and the class also features a Druidic oath that boosts resistances to entanglement, poison, and other natural ailments. More info on the expansion is available via Turbine's official website. [Source: Turbine press release]
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| Blizzard acknowledges TOR's impact on WoW Posted: 20 Mar 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Business models, MMO industry, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic  "Of course people are trying Star Wars -- our development team are trying Star Wars! I'm one of the few people who's still playing it actually, but yeah we've seen a dip in subs. It certainly has to at least be attributable to The Old Republic, but it's also attributable to people who want to wait and get Mists of Pandaria, so it's not surprising," Lagrave tells Eurogamer. He goes on to say that Blizzard is exploring its options when it comes to extending WoW's trial (which currently tops out at level 20), and he also reiterates the fact that free-to-play isn't in the cards for Azeroth.
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| ArcheAge evaluates CBT4 and revs up for CBT5 Posted: 20 Mar 2012 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, ArcheAge, Sandbox  ArcheAge's fourth closed beta test expanded the game significantly. Three land regions, four sea zones, siege warfare, pirates, an auction house, the Kraken, and the new Hariharan race were added for players to try out. The team also improved the look of the Ferre race and clarity during character creation. During the event, XLGAMES incorporated a Footprint system into the game that would "mark" a trespasser who attempted to steal another player's resources, such as cutting down trees. One new feature was removed, however. The team had an combustible liquor barrel in the game but yanked it when griefers threw it into the middle of a wedding ceremony and killed everyone. As the devs put a wrap on closed beta four, Jake Song says that they're hard at work preparing for the fifth test. Before that happens, however, the team will attempt to fix many of the bugs that popped up during the last test, improve client downloading speeds, and incorporate instant dungeons and housing improvements.
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| The Daily Grind: Would you play a Witcher MMO? Posted: 20 Mar 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous  I played the original Witcher RPG many moons ago, and one of the few things I remember about it is the tacky naked wench trading cards. Thankfully, the sequel is a superior (and less juvenile) game in every respect, and in fact it's one of the more impressive PC RPGs I've experienced in a number of years. Yeah, it's high fantasy, but it's fairly original, it's for adults, and it features fascinating lore rife with factional conflict (and a unique take on traditional elves). Would The Witcher 2's cinematic presentation and unforgiving combat translate to a traditional MMO? I don't know, but I'd definitely pay monthly for a Temerian "action MMO" akin to Vindictus. What about you, Massively readers? Would you play a Witcher MMO?  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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| Not So Massively: Diablo III's competitors speak up and LoL reveals Lulu Posted: 19 Mar 2012 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Video, Game mechanics, New titles, Patches, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, Not So Massively, MOBA, League of Legends, Diablo III  In MOBA news, League of Legends revealed its next champion, Lulu, and explored the game's rapidly growing German community. Dota 2 added classic DotA hero Shadow Demon and performed some much-needed tweaks to bots, and Rise of Immortals released the official Azcadelia immortal spotlight. Heroes of Newerth released Gunblade, an original ranged agility carry hero that was been met with some strong disapproval in the community. Blacklight: Retribution's open beta updates continued this week with the release of its Vertigo map, a battleground set in the roofspaces of a sprawling industrial complex. Continue reading Not So Massively: Diablo III's competitors speak up and LoL reveals Lulu
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| Captain's Log: Focus on the Foundry Posted: 19 Mar 2012 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Culture, Game mechanics, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play, Captain's Log  Continue reading Captain's Log: Focus on the Foundry
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| Guild Wars 2 and the evolving narrative of a personal story Posted: 19 Mar 2012 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lore, New titles, Previews, News items, Guild Wars 2  Of course, branches alone aren't worth much of anything if they don't lead to some interesting gameplay in the process. The design blog discusses how this works in the Asura starting area, whose designers began with a design document stating that the player needed to investigate two genius golemancers to determine which one was culpable in a crisis. Rather than forcing the player to simply run to two separate locations and have a chat, the staff realized that the two geniuses would be more likely to be interacting at an event -- say, a competition of golems. The refinement goes on from there, with each step refining the narrative and investing the players further to make something more memorable than a simple questioning session.
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| Another one bites the dust: Warhammer Online shuts down another server Posted: 19 Mar 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, Warhammer Online, News items, Free-to-play  Another round of server merges are coming to Warhammer Online, and this time it's Drakenwald's metaphorical head on the proverbial chopping block. As of tomorrow, March 20th, Drakenwald will be marked as a Legacy server, which will prevent players from creating new characters there. In the meantime, the players who currently populate the server will be able to move to either Karak Norn or Badlands. After three weeks in Legacy status, Drakenwald will be officially retired and any characters remaining on the server will have to be transferred before they can be played. WAR players should know the routine by now, but if you need a refresher, the details can be found on the game's official site.
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| Leaderboard: Betas are a boon vs. betas are a bust Posted: 19 Mar 2012 03:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Culture, Opinion, Leaderboard  You see, betas can be a doubled-edged sword, capable of hurting as much as helping. They can be a boon to those who truly want to help a game's development by testing for bugs, they can help players decide if this is a product worth purchasing, and they can assist in getting one's "game legs" before the main event begins. However, betas have been known to foster an environment of entitlement ("Why isn't this game 100% polished? I judge it fail!") while robbing the newness of an MMO that has yet to release. So, overall, do you deem that betas are a boon to the community or a bust? Are they useful tools for both developers and players, or are they nothing but glorified demos that harm more than help? Put your vote where your opinion is after the jump! Continue reading Leaderboard: Betas are a boon vs. betas are a bust
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| GDC 2012: Watch Funcom's full The Secret World presentation Posted: 19 Mar 2012 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Horror, Sci-fi, Video, Previews, The Secret World, Massively Event Coverage  Topics covered in the presentation include character creation, the creepy/sexy Dragon starter experience, how achievements work, story, crafting, and the lands of Transylvania. While the video isn't 100% pristine -- Funcom apologized for the less-than-perfect lighting during the presentation -- it's so chock-full of information and footage that you won't even notice. Give it a whirl after the jump! Continue reading GDC 2012: Watch Funcom's full The Secret World presentation
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| Blizzard's project Titan still in the works Posted: 19 Mar 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, News items, Free-to-play  In and around the flurry of news swirling about >World of Warcraft's upcoming Mists of Pandaria expansion, a kind soul has been looking out for everyone waiting for news on the mystery-shrouded project Titan. Tom Chilton, a lead designer for WoW, told The OC Register about the "slow trickle of expertise" from the WoW team into the Titan team. Although he didn't confirm anything, Chilton said that it's possible that the movement of developer talent over to the Titan project may ramp up. Despite laying off about 13 percent of its workforce, Blizzard is still hiring in order to fill the development teams for both WoW and the new project. Chilton says: "I do believe there's room for us to have two highly successful MMO games. I don't feel like there's going to be a time where we just say 'OK, everybody on the WoW team, pack it up you're moving over to the Titan MMO.' I don't see that as being a realistic probability. I think we're going to try to staff up both teams and actually end up with two large, strong MMO teams."Hopefully this sort of talk means that MoP is nearing readiness so the company can give a little more attention to the Titan MMO -- might we someday soon find ourselves with actual, hard facts about this mysterious project?
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| EVE Online Fanfest 2012 schedule unveiled Posted: 19 Mar 2012 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, real-world, News items, DUST 514, Sandbox  The days leading up to this year's EVE Online Fanfest are fading quickly, and this weekend, fans of internet spaceships from around the world will descend upon Reykjavik. In light of that, it's probably about time that attendees start planning their schedules, and CCP is here to help them do just that. The full Fanfest 2012 schedule is now up and running, and boy-howdy is it ever packed. In addition to the usual smattering of roundtables and panels, the convention will play host to a number of tournaments, and of course, hands-on time with DUST 514. The full schedule is too cram-packed to even begin to summarize here, so just head on over to the official site and start filling your agendas.
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| What do you want to know about the next Guild Wars 2 beta? Posted: 19 Mar 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, News items, Guild Wars 2  We've triple-checked our paperwork, so we're sure it's safe to tell you: Massively has been invited back for another glimpse of Tyria in the upcoming Guild Wars 2 beta! We'll be jumping back into the action very soon, and we can hardly wait to tell you all about it. While we're busy clearing out our schedules, why not ponder what it is that you want to know? We want to know what you good folks are most interested in having us explore and what kind of specific information you're looking for. Leave us some questions in the comments here or shoot an email to elisabeth@massively.com and we'll do our best to satisfy your curiosity! Additionally, after the NDA lifts early next week, we'll be opening up a Q&A on our livestream to answer other questions that come up and further share our experience. So what are you burning to know?
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| Wings Over Atreia: Did someone say 3.0? Posted: 19 Mar 2012 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Expansions, Patches, Opinion, Free-to-play, Wings Over Atreia  Previously, we explored the different aspects of 3.0 using the translated Korean patch notes. Those are all well and good for giving us a good basis for what to expect, but there are always little changes in the western release of the game (see instance names), not to mention exact details of some of the systems (like mounts) are lacking. Luckily Aion's newly released official game guide, though incomplete, has new information to pass along to interested Daevas. And let's not forget the unexpected goodness of the impending free-to-play model. Yup, I can definitely find a few more things to chat about there. If you are still reading, then either you had your interest rekindled or you are patiently waiting for me to get to the goods. So let's get on with it! Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: Did someone say 3.0?
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| The Firing Line Exclusive: Tribes Ascend utility pack giveaway Posted: 19 Mar 2012 10:30 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Classes, Game mechanics, MMO industry, PvP, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, Giveaways  How can I get my hands on this fine item, you ask? It's as easy as clicking on the giveaway button after the break. After you've secured your code, boot up your Tribes client and select "extras" from the in-game menu followed by "redeem promotion." Enter your code in the box and then click over to your Soldier class to swap out your new pack! Continue reading The Firing Line Exclusive: Tribes Ascend utility pack giveaway
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