MMO Updates |
- Spirit Tales open beta starts today, new features abound
- Ask Massively: Always on the wrong weekends edition
- Aeria launches Waren Story website, offers beta signups
- The Secret World reaches one million beta signups
- The Daily Grind: What's your preferred camera distance?
- Guild Wars 2 hosting a surprise stress test next Monday
- Why I Play: Global Agenda
- Free for All: Zeroing in on my favorite free-to-play mains
- EVE Online overhauls factional warfare for cleaner systems and bigger consequences
- Salem sandbox MMO not for the faint of heart
- City of Heroes announces Paragon Market Freebie Fridays
- Analyst predicts The Elder Scrolls Online will launch with a subscription fee
- New End of Nations trailer shines some light on the Shadow Revolution
- World of Warcraft holding steady at 10.2 million subscribers
- A Mild-Mannered Reporter: How City of Heroes almost died
- Vanguard update brings new loyalty rewards for subscribers
- RIFT adds streaming client
- Neverwinter releasing Q4 2012, opens French and German websites
- Blood, guild emblems and more returning to EU TERA next week
- Druids, Drow, and destinies in an epic DDO expansion tour
- Wizard101 fansite owner hired to be Pirate101's community manager
| Spirit Tales open beta starts today, new features abound Posted: 10 May 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play  The devs have added guild islands, sigil stones, and a sweetheart system to the current build, so there are plenty of things to do even if you get tired of fighting fantasy mobs in Spirit Tales' whimsical 3-D world. There's also an enhanced pet system, new legendary gear and instanced dungeons, and a level 45 cap (beyond which lies "exclusive new content," according to KoramGame). More info, including signup details, is available at the official Spirit Tales website. [Source: KoramGame press release]
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| Ask Massively: Always on the wrong weekends edition Posted: 10 May 2012 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Game mechanics, Opinion, Ask Massively, Miscellaneous  This week's Ask Massively does not discuss this particular state of awesome. Instead, it discusses the deferred awesomeness of switching combat styles on the fly and what games feature something similar. If you've got a question you'd like to see answered in a future installment of the column, leave it in the comments below or send it to ask@massively.com. Questions may be edited slightly for brevity and/or clarity. Continue reading Ask Massively: Always on the wrong weekends edition
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| Aeria launches Waren Story website, offers beta signups Posted: 10 May 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, Free-to-play  The site features bits about the fantasy title's story, its customizable weapons and gear, and plenty of info on skills and character classes. There's also a section devoted to Waren Story's mercenary mechanics, which allow players to hire a wide variety of powerful combat allies. Elf archers, dwarf warriors, and Dryad queens are all yours for the taking, Aeria says. Head to the game's new web destination for further details, and don't forget to sign up for the closed beta while you're there. [Source: Aeria Games press release]
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| The Secret World reaches one million beta signups Posted: 10 May 2012 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Horror, Sci-fi, MMO industry, The Secret World  Senior Vice President Morten Larssen sees this as a shining omen for a dark world: "Shattering our previous beta records gives us great hope for The Secret World's launch and its future. Combining this positive number with the excellent feedback we have received from both beta testers and the press that have played the game, make us very optimistic for a successful launch of The Secret World." Anyone who's pre-ordered The Secret World can get in on tomorrow's beta weekend, the first of several that Funcom's planning as it leads up to release. This beta weekend will be focused on the Templar starting experience and the area of Solomon Island.
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| The Daily Grind: What's your preferred camera distance? Posted: 10 May 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous  Some games limit you to intimate over-the-shoulder shots, while others give you such a huge range on your camera that you can pull it waaaay back and effectively grant yourself the equivalent of a top-down strategy-game view. For today's Daily Grind, we want to know where you fall on the camera placement spectrum. Do you zoom way out, way in, or are you one of those odd first-person ducks? In a nutshell, what's your preferred camera distance?  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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| Guild Wars 2 hosting a surprise stress test next Monday Posted: 09 May 2012 10:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Events, real-world, Previews, News items, Guild Wars 2  Worth noting is that the stress test is only for pre-purchasers, but beyond that there are no specific test requirements -- you can continue using the characters you created during the beta weekend. Players may experience some slight performance issues, since the purpose is to try and alleviate issues before the next beta weekend rolls around. So if you've pre-purchased the game, get ready to head back to Tyria in less than a week's time.
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| Posted: 09 May 2012 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, PvP, PvE, Opinion, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, Global Agenda, Why I Play  Global Agenda is a different beast than other shooters, though. The competitive shooter market is saturated with class-based shooters whose emphasis is more on teamwork than on aiming, and Global Agenda really takes it to eleven. Aiming is still important, but it's hardly the most important skill in the game, and every class has a way of minimizing the need for aiming skill. In fact, most of the more effective builds in GA don't require aiming. The emphasis in GA is on teamwork, mobility, and good decision-making. Even though it's a shooter, I find it really easy to spend far too much of my time playing it. It's just great fun. Continue reading Why I Play: Global Agenda
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| Free for All: Zeroing in on my favorite free-to-play mains Posted: 09 May 2012 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Culture, Opinion, Free-to-play, Browser, Races, Casual, Kids, Free for All, Family  I'm not overly sentimental about it, but it is interesting how we feel about the pixelated versions of ourselves, the ones we control while sitting at a keyboard or while touching a tablet. I don't want to downplay how important gaming can be for many of us, either. Once, years ago, I met a fellow player in a social game called There. She was a wonderful person who had over time lost the ability to walk. She loved the freedom that the avatar gave her. Needless to say, she was very connected to her character. I made a short list of some of my favorite characters from the years. As I think about it, this list says a lot about me as a gamer and about the types of games I love. Continue reading Free for All: Zeroing in on my favorite free-to-play mains
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| EVE Online overhauls factional warfare for cleaner systems and bigger consequences Posted: 09 May 2012 05:30 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Game mechanics, PvP, News items, Sandbox  Turnaround time for system control is being lengthened to roughly 30 hours, but the penalties for enemy factions are also becoming more severe. Enemy factions cannot dock at stations in occupied systems, and the faction in control will be able to spend Loyalty Points to gain special upgrades so long as the system is controlled. If you like going to war in your internet spaceship but aren't really a fan of the wild frontier devoid of security, it might be worth taking a look at the newest design entry.
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| Salem sandbox MMO not for the faint of heart Posted: 09 May 2012 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Sandbox  Anyhow, the piece offers up a few interesting insights, like when creative lead Bjorn Johannessen admits that the devs "have almost nothing to do with what happens" outside the game's only safe area (a colonial-era Boston). Another noteworthy tidbit is the fact that Salem doesn't display avatar names. Instead, it prompts you to name other characters for yourself (or trust that someone is who he says he is). For more on Salem, check out the source below as well as our permadeath-flavored interview with Johannessen in Some Assembly Required.
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| City of Heroes announces Paragon Market Freebie Fridays Posted: 09 May 2012 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, News items, Free-to-play, Promotions  Everyone loves free things, and the folks at Paragon Studios know it. That's why the studio has announced a new treat for City of Heroes players: Paragon Market Freebie Fridays. The program is exactly as it sounds: Every week, the studio will choose a new item to be that week's freebie. Players then simply have to log on during the specified time frame, claim their free items, and enjoy! That's all there is to it, folks. The premiere Freebie Friday will be taking place this week, beginning on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. EDT and ending at the same time Friday, giving players 24 hours to claim their free stuff. The announcement states that the freebies "could be almost anything currently available in the Paragon Market," so be sure to log in each week and get your goodies!
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| Analyst predicts The Elder Scrolls Online will launch with a subscription fee Posted: 09 May 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, Previews, News items, Opinion, The Elder Scrolls Online  Of course, the price of play is far from the minds of most fans -- the real question is what the game will look like when it's actually playable. Director Matt Firor recently sat down to discuss the game's earliest stages of development, the relationship between ZeniMax Online Studios and Bethesda, and working within the lore of the established IP. It's an interesting look behind the scenes of development, and if you're interested in the game, watching the video is certain to be six minutes well spent.
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| New End of Nations trailer shines some light on the Shadow Revolution Posted: 09 May 2012 03:30 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, Classes, Previews, News items, Free-to-play, MMORTS  Last month, we got a look at the Liberation Front faction of Trion Worlds' upcoming MMORTS, End of Nations. Today, the company released a trailer highlighting the Liberation Front's enemy of war, the forebodingly named Shadow Revolution. Players of the Shadow Revolution faction have their choice of two classes: the Wraith class, which focuses on utilizing guerrilla tactics to strike quickly and retreat before counterattacks can be made, and the Phantom class, which takes advantage of cloaking devices in order to launch devastating surprise attacks that can cripple enemy forces before they know what hit them. To get a look at the Shadow Revolution's units in action, just check out the official trailer below. Continue reading New End of Nations trailer shines some light on the Shadow Revolution
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| World of Warcraft holding steady at 10.2 million subscribers Posted: 09 May 2012 03:23 PM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, MMO industry, News items  The studio is also seeing definite success with Diablo III; although the game has yet to release, it's currently surpassed all of the studio's previous high-water marks regarding pre-orders. This includes units sold as part of the Annual Pass promotion, which saw 1.2 million copies purchased in total. While WoW may not have reached its previous peak, it's certainly holding on to a stalwart base for the time being.
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| A Mild-Mannered Reporter: How City of Heroes almost died Posted: 09 May 2012 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Business models, Culture, Expansions, Opinion, Free-to-play, A Mild-Mannered Reporter  Why am I making a point out of this? Because I've developed a theory about the state of City of Heroes, and I want to make it clear before I launch into this somewhat grim theory that I'm basing this entirely on outside observations. I want it to be clear that I could, in fact, be totally wrong, and when I say that City of Heroes nearly committed unintentional suicide a couple of years ago, I don't want that to be seen as some grand behind-the-scenes revelation. And if it weren't obvious from that line, yes, that's where I'm going. I think Going Rogue nearly gutted City of Heroes and burned the whole game to the ground. And I think everything the game has done since can be directly traced back to that expansion. Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: How City of Heroes almost died
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| Vanguard update brings new loyalty rewards for subscribers Posted: 09 May 2012 02:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Patches, Vanguard, Free-to-play, Promotions  Active players will get to haul away five goodies from SOE, including a brown sloop ship, unique tack and barding, and a "Kamelott Overland Onslaught Life-Sustaining Exo-Skeleton" mount. Players can also pick up free supply crates and veteran's caches (the latter are available only for level 50+ characters) every 44 hours. The update also fixed a few small issues with quests, retweaked some skills for Rogues and Bards, and changed a couple of items to make them work properly. SOE will continue to dish out loyalty rewards until Vanguard goes F2P.
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| Posted: 09 May 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Patches, RIFT  Players with a faster connection are invited to start the streaming client and then log into the game soon thereafter. The new client will continue to download the remainder of the game even while the player is logged in. However, Trion said that slower connection speed computers should wait for the full client to finish downloading first. RIFT's launcher will automatically convert to the new system. Players experiencing background downloading while in-game will see a symbol on the screen to indicate the fact.
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| Neverwinter releasing Q4 2012, opens French and German websites Posted: 09 May 2012 01:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Launches, MMO industry, Free-to-play, Neverwinter  As part of the global efforts, Perfect World has opened up French and German websites to cater to the diverse European playerbase. Each localized website is just as informative and media-packed as its English counterpart. Cryptic Lead Producer Andy Velasquez is quite excited to be working on the project and anticipates players' delight when the game finally arrives: "As a fan of Dungeons and Dragons, it's a rewarding experience to develop Neverwinter and contribute to the lore of the franchise. We're taking calculated steps to ensure Neverwinter will captivate players with its immersive storylines and beautiful artwork while being a fast and fluid action game." [Source: Perfect World Entertainment press release]
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| Blood, guild emblems and more returning to EU TERA next week Posted: 09 May 2012 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Patches, News items, TERA  European TERA players, it's time to get your violence on. Frogster has announced that a patch coming to the game next week will herald the return of the blood detail slider, so you sadistic freaks can finally revel in the spilled blood of your enemies. In addition, the patch is bringing back the guild emblem feature, which will allow players to once again upload their own unique icons to represent their guilds. The game's chat filter is also going to see some changes, which will hopefully stop the unnecessary censorship of certain words and phrases (and in some cases, linked item names) while ensuring that inappropriate language is properly censored. Eurogamer has further information, including a few words with Frogster's community manager Lucile Le Merle, so click on through to the full story for the full details.
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| Druids, Drow, and destinies in an epic DDO expansion tour Posted: 09 May 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Classes, Expansions, Game mechanics, Previews, Free-to-play, Hands-on  On the phone with us was Senior Producer Eric Boyer, Community Specialist Amanda Grove, and Design Director Ian Currie. "We want to show players how big the expansion pack is and how much it'll be changing the game," Boyer began, telling us that levels one through 20 were merely "heroic" -- now it'll be time to make the move into epic territory. From a look at the much-anticipated Druid and the previously vague Epic Destinies to a lightning tour of your first day in the Forgotten Realms, the team was out to convince us that Menace of the Underdark is fully worthy of the "expansion" moniker. How's it looking so far? Take a look for yourself! Continue reading Druids, Drow, and destinies in an epic DDO expansion tour
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| Wizard101 fansite owner hired to be Pirate101's community manager Posted: 09 May 2012 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, New titles, Massively Interviews, Wizard101, Family  As that transition from fan to employee is always a fascinating transformation, we recognize that it's not an easy decision. Massively itself has raised a handful of MMO community managers, so this news is particularly of interest to us. For that reason, we tracked Tom down and asked him some questions about his new role at KingsIsle. Follow along below for the complete interview. Continue reading Wizard101 fansite owner hired to be Pirate101's community manager
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