MMO Updates |
- WRUP: Value this moment edition
- EVE Fanfest talks Inferno, World of Darkness panel later today
- The Daily Grind: Do you prefer open or closed chat?
- SWTOR devs attempt to balance the Force through nerfs
- Betawatch: March 17 - 23, 2012
- MMObility: A few bad design apples ruin the whole bunch
- Vindictus brings out a dragon with accompanying ink
- Storyboard: Talk this way
- Darkfall polishes content until it shines
- The Soapbox: Nobody's hero
- Colonize the New World: Salem opens beta sign-ups
- EVE's Inferno expansion launches May 22nd, precursor patch April 24th
- The Firing Line: A couple of PlanetSide 2 concerns
- Aika Online giving away Razer gaming peripherals
| WRUP: Value this moment edition Posted: 24 Mar 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Massively Meta, Miscellaneous  The rest of this week's installment is less somber, as we're discussing our usual weekend plans as well as whether or not we expect RP servers to be policed. Jump on past the break to see what we'll be up to, and then let us know your plans (and your opinions on the bonus question) in the comments. Continue reading WRUP: Value this moment edition
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| EVE Fanfest talks Inferno, World of Darkness panel later today Posted: 24 Mar 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, New titles, News items, World of Darkness, Sandbox  The official EVE website also received a ton of updates yesterday, the better to catalogue all of the breaking news direct from Fanfest. Today's docket is equally fascinating, and CCP devs are scheduled to speak about EVE-related game design topics that include war decs, concept art, and growing the game's infrastructure. Also on the menu is a presentation on World of Darkness that we'll be following with great interest. You can follow it too via our EVETV Livestream channel. Be sure to look for our expert analysis of all the Fanfest happenings in this Sunday's EVE Evolved column!
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| The Daily Grind: Do you prefer open or closed chat? Posted: 24 Mar 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Game mechanics, MMO industry, PvP, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Roleplaying, Miscellaneous  Roleplayers would never go for such a limited chat system, I realize, and I'm right there with them when it comes to annoyance that factional chats limit communication between, say, the opposing teams of World of Warcraft and Star Wars: The Old Republic. But at the same time, it's refreshing to see a streamlined chat that sticks to gameplay and isn't bogged down with Chuck Norris jokes and clever ways around the profanity filter. What do you think of closed vs. open chat?  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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| SWTOR devs attempt to balance the Force through nerfs Posted: 23 Mar 2012 08:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Classes, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Community Q&A  Today's topics begin with a discussion about why some advanced classes, such as Commandos and Mercenaries, lack an interrupt. This wasn't an oversight, the devs revealed, but "a purposefully designed weakness in their ability arsenal" to keep them balanced in the game -- especially in PvP. "Balance" was an answer to another issue as well, specifically the nerfs to some of the healing specs. Lead Combat Designer Georg Zoeller realized that folks were going to rail against it, but the team thought it was necessary: "I know trying to 'sell' a downwards adjustment (AKA nerf) to anyone affected is like selling the need for a tax increase to people. When you are on the receiving end of it, you're not going to be happy about it." Other questions revolved around rage timers, looping the game's music, cross-faction communication within the same guild, and legacy system specifics.
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| Betawatch: March 17 - 23, 2012 Posted: 23 Mar 2012 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, MMO industry, Betawatch, Miscellaneous  Are you hoping to populate The Repopulation? Alpha signups went live just a few hours ago! Or maybe you're still waiting on Glitch's re-release? TinySpeck released a progress report earlier this evening (housing fans should go peek). Finally, ArenaNet confirmed that a batch of Guild Wars 2 beta invites went out this week. Massively will be in attendance over the weekend, so tell us what you want to know and we'll do our best to focus on it! The full Betawatch roundup is after the cut! Continue reading Betawatch: March 17 - 23, 2012
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| MMObility: A few bad design apples ruin the whole bunch Posted: 23 Mar 2012 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Historical, Screenshots, Business models, Culture, Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, Browser, Casual, MMORTS, MMObility  You know I have to play Devil's Advocate, however. Despite the fact that the genre is packed full of potentially wonderful gaming sessions, there is so, so much that needs to improve. The negative stereotypes exist for a reason, and I want to shine a light on a few of the more popular titles to show just how one or two bad design and business decisions might reflect poorly on the entire genre. Continue reading MMObility: A few bad design apples ruin the whole bunch
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| Vindictus brings out a dragon with accompanying ink Posted: 23 Mar 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Vindictus  The update also adds a lower-level raid for levels 20 and 30 as well as some brand-new tattoos to help signify your battle against the scaly menace. You can buy new tattoos, or you can face off against the new bosses and have a chance at winning one for free. Not quite convinced? Then take a look at the dragon in action just past the break, and see if you don't have a sudden urge to put a flying lizard in its place. Continue reading Vindictus brings out a dragon with accompanying ink
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| Posted: 23 Mar 2012 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, Roleplaying, Storyboard, Miscellaneous  We don't think about it all the time because most of the time it's easy to construct the sound of something from context. Sure, simply saying that your character sighs could mean any number of things, but contextually it's usually obvious whether it's meant as a gesture of exasperation or a sign of relaxed contentment. "Yes, I'm sure your new weapon will make a huge difference in the war" could be sarcastic or serious, but there are generally enough clues in the situation to make the difference obvious. But there's one obvious case in which that breaks down, and that's in the matter of accents. After all, people from two different regions shouldn't quite sound the same... but there's also no effective way to communicate how one voice or another sounds different. And the most common solution is essentially a matter of making your character's words borderline unreadable in the hopes that you convey a sliver of your intention. Continue reading Storyboard: Talk this way
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| Darkfall polishes content until it shines Posted: 23 Mar 2012 02:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Darkfall, Previews, Dev Diaries, Crafting  Improved visuals are one of the priorities for the team, and players will be pleased to hear that SMAA -- uber-anti-aliasing -- should make the game's graphics shine. Weapons are being modified to have distinctive looks based on which rank they are, and the team reports that there are six weapons styles with nine ranks apiece, each requiring a unique design. Also on the table for examination is the improved crafting process. Aventurine is introducing two new professions dedicated to converting one material into a more refined product. Tanning will take on skinning's former duty of taking hides and turning them into leather, and weaving will be the primary avenue to create cloth from cotton. On top of these new professions is the expansion of the crafting system to allow professions to "infuse" rare materials into common ones, resulting in special crafting mats for high-quality gear.
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| Posted: 23 Mar 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-fi, EverQuest II, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Star Wars Galaxies, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous, Sandbox  We're not heroes, at least in the ubiquitous Hollywood sense. We're teachers and janitors and businessmen, and we may occasionally be heroic in the eyes of our kids or our colleagues, but rarely are we celebrated beyond a tiny circle of family and friends. Games can meet this emotional need, at least temporarily, and that's a major reason they've become such a booming business over the last couple of decades. We get to be Kratos for a couple of hours, or fem-Shepard or a thousand other pixelized pariahs -- until we set foot in an MMORPG, that is. Software companies sell pre-packaged heroism in ways that book publishers and filmmakers can only dream of, and it doesn't really matter that it's fake heroism or impersonal heroism crafted on an assembly line and shipped out to millions of consumers. Shouldn't it matter, though, when it comes to MMORPGs? Continue reading The Soapbox: Nobody's hero
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| Colonize the New World: Salem opens beta sign-ups Posted: 23 Mar 2012 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Video, News items, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries, Sandbox  It's time to set sail for the New World with Paradox Interactive's upcoming free-to-play sandbox title, Salem. The studio announced today that beta sign-ups for the title have opened up, and anyone and everyone is welcome to jump in and give the team feedback. But remember, folks, the untamed wilderness of the New World is a harsh and unforgiving place, and death is not something to be taken lightly. If you don't play your cards just right, you could end up six feet under with no way of returning to the world of the living. Don't worry too much, though; the folks at Paradox have released a new video to give players a bit of a heads up on how to survive the wilderness. So after you're done with the "how-to-not-die-of-dysentery" primer, just head on over to the game's official site and get in on the test. [Source: Paradox Interactive press release] Continue reading Colonize the New World: Salem opens beta sign-ups
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| EVE's Inferno expansion launches May 22nd, precursor patch April 24th Posted: 23 Mar 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, real-world, Expansions, Game mechanics, Patches, PvP, News items, Sandbox  A new wardec interface will make wars easier to follow; loopholes like the wardec shield used by EVE University will be closed; and a new mercenary marketplace will be introduced. Faction warfare system ownership will be given more consequences, such as making it impossible for enemy militias to dock in the system. During the EVE Keynote speech today, CCP announced that Inferno will be hitting on May 22nd and that it will be CCP's first ever expansion preceded by a precursor patch. CCP intends to introduce new content with the patch that will prepare the way for the main expansion, but exactly what form that preparation will take has been kept a secret.
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| The Firing Line: A couple of PlanetSide 2 concerns Posted: 23 Mar 2012 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, PlanetSide, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, Opinion, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, PlanetSide 2, Sandbox  Don't get me wrong -- PS2 is still at the top of my most-anticipated MMO list, but there are a few points of contention that could relegate it to the status of fun diversion instead of zomg-must-play-every-day title. Continue reading The Firing Line: A couple of PlanetSide 2 concerns
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| Aika Online giving away Razer gaming peripherals Posted: 23 Mar 2012 10:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Contests, Events, in-game, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Aika  Aika Online has teamed up with Razer to give 15 players of the free-to-play fantasy MMO a chance to walk away with some slick new gaming peripherals, and all you have to do is loot the most Razer tokens. This is easier said than done, though, as would-be winners "must charge into the lairs of vile monsters" spread throughout the lands of Aika in order to loot the tokens. The player with the most tokens will take home the Tiamat (billed as the world's first true surround-sound headset), while four second-place finishers get the keyboard. Last but not least, 10 third-place contestants will grab a mouse for their trouble. You can read more about the contest event at the official Aika website.
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