MMO Updates |
- En Masse bringing TERA and sci-fi surprise to PAX East
- Free for All: Becoming a mediocre trader in several free titles
- Tencent grows its empire with SURA Online
- Blizzard beta FAQ explains how to test Mists of Pandaria
- ArcheAge to feature Chinese-themed city, additional content
- Blizzard and NetEase renew license deal for WoW in China
- The Daily Grind: Who was your MMO mentor -- and whom did you mentor?
- Grab, smash, and burst: Champions Online summarizes Alerts
- Howsabout another 5000 TERA closed beta keys?
- Flameseeker Chronicles: Setting up for success
- RIFT 1.8: Guild recruitment system preview
- BioWare: There is another (free TOR weekend trial)
- Hyperspace Beacon: Gooey GUI
- Massively Speaking Episode 193: Happytime face smiles
- ArenaNet expands on microtransactions in Guild Wars 2
- BioWare talks SWTOR's 1.2 crew skill changes
- Gameloft bringing Order & Chaos Online to your Mac
| En Masse bringing TERA and sci-fi surprise to PAX East Posted: 21 Mar 2012 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events, real-world, News items, TERA  PAX East 2012 is swiftly approaching, and that means that it's about time developers start announcing their plans for the show. Today, En Masse Entertainment joined that steadily growing roster with an announcement that the studio will be showcasing its upcoming action-based MMO TERA at the convention. Attendees will be able to get a look at a never-before-seen area of the game, so fans of the title would do well to stop by En Masse's booth to have a go-'round in the world of Arborea. To top it all off, the studio ends the announcement with the cryptic remark that it "will also have some new details to share that are sure to excite fans of modern sci-fi." We're not sure if this means that TERA is going to be getting some sci-fi flavor or if En Masse has a new project to announce or what, but we can't wait to find out. Of course, Massively will have its own presence at the show (including yours truly!) so even if you can't make it to Boston for the con, you can bet that we'll be bringing you all of the delicious, juicy TERA news that you could possibly ask for. In the meantime, though, just hang tight for a couple of weeks. We're sure it'll be worth the wait. [Source: En Masse Entertainment press release]
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| Free for All: Becoming a mediocre trader in several free titles Posted: 21 Mar 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Economy, Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, Browser, Casual, Humor, Free for All, Crafting  OK, so I have time, but not if I wanted to do what I do here. That is to say, I am not dedicated to one game because it is my job to tell you readers about several games. About every game. About as many games as possible. I can't do that while maintaining a high DPS score. It's a give and take, but I love to explore, fortunately. Let me tell you about how I love to trade or craft in some of my favorite titles and why it's important to me. Continue reading Free for All: Becoming a mediocre trader in several free titles
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| Tencent grows its empire with SURA Online Posted: 21 Mar 2012 09:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Business models, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play  SURA boasts three races and six classes, and TIG compares its fighting mechanics to the Tekken series (you can see an official gameplay trailer after the cut, below). Tencent is a major player in the global MMO market, and much of its revenue stems from the sale of virtual goods via its Q Coin currency. Interestingly enough, the company also acquired the ZAM Network in February. Continue reading Tencent grows its empire with SURA Online
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| Blizzard beta FAQ explains how to test Mists of Pandaria Posted: 21 Mar 2012 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Betas, Fantasy, Expansions, MMO industry, News items  If you have a Battle.net account with at least one attached Blizz title, you can opt in to the test via the beta profile page. After you do that, sit tight and wait for an acceptance email. If you have an annual World of Warcraft pass, you're automatically in, but Blizzard says that you might have a bit of a wait anyway due to its staggered invite waves. Finally, there's no NDA for WoW's newest expansion, so you'll be seeing plenty more screenshots, video, and commentary flooding the web in short order. Check out our sister site for the latest and greatest MoP coverage.
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| ArcheAge to feature Chinese-themed city, additional content Posted: 21 Mar 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, MMO industry, New titles, News items, ArcheAge, Sandbox  Additional Chinese-themed content is coming in the "near future," according to MMO Culture, and it will include costumes, dungeons, maps, and events. ArcheAge recently closed the book on its fourth Korean closed beta test, and XL's upcoming CBT5 phase will coincide with the first Chinese beta.
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| Blizzard and NetEase renew license deal for WoW in China Posted: 21 Mar 2012 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Business models, MMO industry, News items  NetEase operates WoW in mainland China (and has since 2009), and it also handles Warcraft III, Starcraft II, and Battle.net distribution duties. GamesIndustry.biz notes that the deal was consumated "just ahead of the launch of the fourth WoW expansion, Mists of Pandaria, which is widely regarded as being designed with the Chinese market in mind."
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| The Daily Grind: Who was your MMO mentor -- and whom did you mentor? Posted: 21 Mar 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous  This mentor showed us the ropes, taught us the slang, gave us resources so we weren't as vulnerable, and helped us get our game footing. Maybe it was a guild leader, a real-life friend or family member, or even a now-forgotten Gnome who took time out of her day to take pity on a greenhorn such as yourself. Later on as you gained more experience in the ways of the MMO, you had opportunities to mentor others in return. You heard the pleas from the advice channel, roped in a buddy to play the game, or taught a significant other about your hobby. The student became the teacher, and you found yourself explaining that mass-aggroing 20 mobs at once was not beneficial. So tell us: Who was your MMO mentor -- and whom did you mentor?  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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| Grab, smash, and burst: Champions Online summarizes Alerts Posted: 20 Mar 2012 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Super-hero, Game mechanics, Previews, Free-to-play, Champions Online, Dev Diaries  Executive Producer Rob Overmeyer writes an after-report of the Alert system from its recent stay on the public test server. His post provides a great overview and how-to guide of the system, starting with its three basic variations: GRAB Alerts (stopping villains from doing crime), SMASH Alerts (all-out brawls), and BURST Alerts (unstable environments necessitating instant action). Within the three versions of Alerts, all sorts of crazy events can occur. Players' nemeses may appear, and classic villains may team up to fight you. There are also specific rewards based on the Alert tackled; for example, Champions will give resources for GRAB Alerts and modifications for BURST Alerts. "Alerts are a great platform to offer a ton of gameplay with loads of variety," Overmeyer writes. "We're really excited to launch Alerts, and to see the feature grow with Champs over time."
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| Howsabout another 5000 TERA closed beta keys? Posted: 20 Mar 2012 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Contests, Massively Meta, Giveaways, TERA, Promotions  These keys will secure your spot in TERA's Closed Beta Test 4 for North American players only, which runs this weekend, beginning on March 23rd. Just click the button below, claim your key, and then copy and paste it into the appropriate section of your En Masse Entertainment account, which you can create at the official site. After you've verified your email address, click the "enter code" button on the right side of your account window and submit your key. You can download the TERA client via the button on the account overview tab. Don't forget to have fun! 
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| Flameseeker Chronicles: Setting up for success Posted: 20 Mar 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, PvE, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Flameseeker Chronicles, Dev Diaries  "Our goal is to use a scalable, inclusive ecosystem instead of a rigid fan site program that doesn't scale well and excludes large parts of the fan base."What I'm hoping this means is that the team members are opening themselves up to a lot more flexibility in which fan sites they support. This is great if it means that small blogs and niche communities can be more easily promoted; we already see this happening, as the Guild Wars 2 twitter feed is usually full of retweets pointing out various fan creations and posts. The flip side of this is equally true. In his article, Kerstein talks about wanting to promote a mature and helpful community, so hopefully the lack of a rigid structure in fan site support means the team members don't feel pressured to include and support toxic communities just because they've hit standardized milestones. I have high hopes for this scalable community engagement style, and I hope to see it pay off for a lot of smaller fan sites and projects. If the folks at ArenaNet want to demand more of the quality of their community, more power to 'em. Continue reading Flameseeker Chronicles: Setting up for success
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| RIFT 1.8: Guild recruitment system preview Posted: 20 Mar 2012 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, News items, RIFT  RIFT's upcoming 1.8 patch will come in handy for players still caught in the search for a guild to call home, thanks to the guild recruitment system. Guild leaders will be able to (but don't have to) post listings to try to attract more players to their guilds. These listings can be customized with such information as the guild's category (RP, hardcore, PvP, dungeons, raiding, and more), the sort of roles that need to be filled (tank, heal, damage, and support), character level, and play schedule. There's also a description field that'll allow leaders to give a more in-depth description of guild services and outlook. Players will access the guild finder through their social menu and be able to sort through guilds by roles, availability, guild size, and category. They'll then see all posted information and be able to decide which guild they think is a good fit for them. A message button in the finder screen will allow players to contact guild leaders, and thus shall many happy matches be made.
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| BioWare: There is another (free TOR weekend trial) Posted: 20 Mar 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Business models, Events, in-game, MMO industry, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic  The next Weekend Pass Free Trial period begins this Thursday, March 22nd, at 1:01 a.m EDT and ends on Monday, March 26th at 3:00 a.m. EDT. The company says its first open house was a smashing success, and just as they did last time, players will get to explore each class's origin world and faction capital. Pre-existing accounts are ineligible (as are accounts created during the first trial), and you can read all the details at the official SWTOR website.
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| Posted: 20 Mar 2012 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Sci-fi, Video, Game mechanics, Patches, Previews, Opinion, Star Wars: The Old Republic, RIFT, Hyperspace Beacon  One the sticking-points during my beta impressions centered around my having to stare at my UI as I waited for cooldowns. I know that it's not a new thing for MMOs. In fact, nearly every MMO I can think of has some sort of abilities that require cooldown. Generally speaking, I am OK with having to look at the UI for those cooldowns. However, the positioning of SWTOR's UI really drew my attention away from what was happening on the main part of the screen. Exactly three months after release, I have become comfortable with how the Star Wars whack-a-mole works, but with the changes in Update 1.2, I can dream of something better... Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: Gooey GUI
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| Massively Speaking Episode 193: Happytime face smiles Posted: 20 Mar 2012 12:30 PM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Podcasts, EverQuest, MMO industry, News items, Opinion, Massively Meta, Massively Speaking, Miscellaneous, Diablo III  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 193: Happytime face smiles
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| ArenaNet expands on microtransactions in Guild Wars 2 Posted: 20 Mar 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, Economy, News items, Guild Wars 2, Dev Diaries  ArenaNet has put up a new blog post with information about Guild Wars 2's cash shop system as well as some of the philosophy behind the game's microtransaction design. Mike O'Brien, ArenaNet president and Guild Wars 2 executive producer, started off the post by saying that the microtransaction system will be part of this month's closed beta event, then went on to talk about the hows and whys of the system. ArenaNet's approach is this: Microtransactions are run on a currency of gems, which are purchased with physical-world money and traded in various quantities for the goods and account services available. Players also have the option of trading their purchased gems for in-game gold -- and purchase gems with in-game gold. "If you want something, whether it's an in-game item or a microtransaction, you ultimately have two ways to get it: you can play to earn gold or you can use money to buy gems. We think that's important, because it lets more players participate on a level playing field, whether they use their free time or their disposable income to do it."As to the micro-transaction items themselves, O'Brien steered away from specifics. He mentioned things like visual distinction and expression as well as account services (which we saw plenty of in the original Guild Wars) and "time-saving convenience items" while adding that ArenaNet is opposed to the idea of requiring players to spend cash in order to maintain an even playing field.
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| BioWare talks SWTOR's 1.2 crew skill changes Posted: 20 Mar 2012 11:30 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Crafting  Among the highlights are a large number of artifice schematics included with the patch. BioWare is keen on allowing players to choose their weapon color crystals without regard to the stats, and artificers will also be "the first profession to gain some dedicated PvP crafting." Other highlights include various changes to gathering and reverse engineering mechanics as well as the ability for cybertech practitioners to sell any of their created vehicles on the auction house (the devs are removing the current bind restrictions). Get the full scoop at the official SWTOR website.
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| Gameloft bringing Order & Chaos Online to your Mac Posted: 20 Mar 2012 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Business models, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Casual  Gameloft has just published a new trailer heralding Order & Chaos as "the MMORPG for Mac," and the video says that the client will be available for downloading in the Mac App store before the end of the month. Order & Chaos features two playable factions and four classes, and you can get a glimpse of the promotional clip after the cut. [Source: Gameloft press release] Continue reading Gameloft bringing Order & Chaos Online to your Mac
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