MMO Updates |
- World of Tanks British armor sighted in the wild
- Schilling speaks out on 38 Studios debacle, stands to lose $50 million
- The Soapbox: Games-as-a-service sucks for the consumer
- Renaissance Heroes closed beta starts May 31st, and we've got keys
- BioWare responds to SWTOR layoffs
- The Daily Grind: Do you think devs act on your forum feedback?
- Next Guild Wars 2 beta weekend coming June 8
- FFXIV version 2.0 trailer won't be at E3 after all
- Not So Massively: Diablo III players conquer Inferno and more
- Wings Over Atreia: Much ado about housing
- Captain's Log: New starbases, a focus on Klingon play, and test missions
- Jagex closing down browser-based 8Realms
| World of Tanks British armor sighted in the wild Posted: 29 May 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Historical, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, War, Free-to-play, World of Tanks  The Crusader, the Black Prince, the Centurion, and the Conqueror are just a few of the British tanks that will join the game's extensive tech tree, and producer Sergey Burkatovskiy says the lengthy wait for new armor was worth it. "The British tanks are by far the most intriguing models we've come across over the course of World of Tanks development," he says. Head past the cut to view the trailer, then check out the WoT website for further details. [Source: Wargaming.net press release] Continue reading World of Tanks British armor sighted in the wild
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| Schilling speaks out on 38 Studios debacle, stands to lose $50 million Posted: 29 May 2012 09:30 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Economy, MMO industry, News items, Miscellaneous  Schilling also laid some blame at the feet of Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee, whom he says made public statements that were "devastating" and that "scared off private investors." Joystiq also reports on why some former 38 Studios employees remained silent as the drama unfolded over the last week. "[Schilling] had invested so much into us financially and personally, we were not about to betray that trust. We were not going to take the chance of speaking to the press and accidentally ruining any chances with outside investors. Unfortunately, it didn't matter if the employees spoke and ruined things with the investors as the governor beat us to it," the source said.
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| The Soapbox: Games-as-a-service sucks for the consumer Posted: 29 May 2012 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Economy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous, Diablo III  If you pay close attention to game industry marketing-speak, you've probably heard of something called games-as-a-service. It's an initiative that's been gaining momentum in recent years, as publishers and development houses look to increase revenue, strangle used game sales, and clamp down on both PC and console piracy. It's also championed by a few of our more clueless game "journalists," more often than not due to their (desire for a) cozy relationship with the aforementioned industry players. Put simply, games-as-a-service seeks to change both the definition and the public perception of the phrase "video game" from a product that you buy to a service that you rent, thereby granting developers and publishers complete control over the end-user's experience. If that sounds somewhat nefarious, that's because it is. It's also something that MMORPGs have been doing for two decades. Continue reading The Soapbox: Games-as-a-service sucks for the consumer
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| Renaissance Heroes closed beta starts May 31st, and we've got keys Posted: 29 May 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play  The game features the usual deathmatch, team deathmatch, and capture-the-flag modes, along with over 100 unlockable achievements. Unlike your daddy's FPS, it also features crossbows, battlehammers, and other classical weaponry. Closed beta starts May 31st, but we're handing out 1000 keys now to get you ready. Again, the keys won't be able to be redeemed until May 31st. Click past the cut for your beta key redemption instructions. Continue reading Renaissance Heroes closed beta starts May 31st, and we've got keys
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| BioWare responds to SWTOR layoffs Posted: 29 May 2012 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, Star Wars: The Old Republic  Despite the layoffs, Lusinchi said that the development team is still "one of the biggest" in the industry and has detailed plans for SWTOR's future. Still, that didn't make dealing with the realities of the job cuts any easier. "On a personal level it's quite difficult to have people that you've been working with for a long time that you know personally, you go to their barbecue and you meet their families and it's never easy," he said. "I doubt it'd be easy in any industry for anyone, but it happens."
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| The Daily Grind: Do you think devs act on your forum feedback? Posted: 29 May 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Opinion, The Daily Grind  Aside from clan recruitment, much of the board focuses on game design discussion, and every other day there's a wall of text about some proposed PlanetSide 2 feature. And when I say wall of text, I don't mean a couple of paragraphs, I mean long, highly detailed musings on features that SOE developers may or may not be considering. PS2 creative director Matt Higby is a forum regular, and the level of fan dedication plus the developer appearances remind me of the beta boards on SOE's Star Wars Galaxies circa 2002, albeit on a smaller scale. I'm curious as to how much of the fan feedback is used by the devs, though, and since I'll probably never know for sure I'm throwing that question up for discussion this morning. Are you a part of an active MMO board, and do you think the devs act on your feedback?  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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| Next Guild Wars 2 beta weekend coming June 8 Posted: 29 May 2012 04:15 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, News items, Guild Wars 2, Dev Diaries  Clear out your calendar and stock up on the Cheetos, because ArenaNet has announced the date for the next Guild Wars 2 beta weekend event! In a blog post that went live early this morning, it was stated that the next BWE will run from 3:00 p.m. EDT on Friday, June 8th, until 3:00 a.m. EDT on Monday the 11th. Like the one before it, the only way to guarantee access to this event is to pre-purchase the game. In addition to a date, a little light was shed on changes made to the beta for the upcoming weekend. To begin with, existing characters will not be deleted, despite fears and whispers to the contrary! This will give more players a chance to hit the level 35 mark to make it into the available dungeon. Additionally, in response to feedback from the first BWE, changes have been made to overflow server functionality, chat, key binding capabilities, server stability, and general performance. There wasn't a whole lot of explanation on what went into these changes, but the community will evidently be able to test things out for itself in a pretty short while. More changes will be examined in greater detail in the "near future."
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| FFXIV version 2.0 trailer won't be at E3 after all Posted: 28 May 2012 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Events, real-world, Massively Event Coverage, Final Fantasy XIV  Square-Enix's Naoki Yoshida wrote of the trailer's completion in a recent producer's letter, but shared that the company is withholding it from E3 in order to package it with a larger marketing campaign. "During our most recent global PR planning meeting, we came to the conclusion that the most effective way to introduce version 2.0 to the world would be with a flood of new material rather than just a trickle," Yoshida said. Final Fantasy XIV 2.0's public debut is still scheduled for E3, however. The trailer, along with the info-flood, is slated to be revealed this August. Version 2.0 will be a relaunch of the title alongside the PlayStation 3 release. It will feature overhauled graphics, server architecture, multiple in-game improvements, and additional racial/gender choices.
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| Not So Massively: Diablo III players conquer Inferno and more Posted: 28 May 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Trailers, Video, Game mechanics, Launches, New titles, Patches, PvP, News items, Not So Massively, MOBA, League of Legends, Diablo III  In MOBA news, League of Legends celebrated one year of its player-mediated banning tribunal and released the official champion spotlight video for new champion Darius, the Hand of Noxus. Dota 2 released a new interface this week to help players pick heroes more effectively, and Heroes of Newerth released a strange new tentacle demon plant hero named Bramble. We also heard of upcoming indie MOBA Smashmuck, which entered closed beta yesterday. Upcoming action FPS Hedone was recently rebranded under a new name, and this week developers opened signups for a new closed beta. Torchlight II's beta officially ended this week, and the Wrath of Heroes Beta introduced new hero Amenadresh. Continue reading Not So Massively: Diablo III players conquer Inferno and more
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| Wings Over Atreia: Much ado about housing Posted: 28 May 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, Wings Over Atreia  To be honest, I admit I was a bit surprised (and pleased) by the fervor with which some fans defended the newcomer to the housing market. Daevas have really embraced this gameplay alternative to hunting and gathering -- just take a look at the bidding wars for prime housing or the recent decorating contest. Aion's housing might be totally new, but it's off to a pretty good to start and will keep getting better. Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: Much ado about housing
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| Captain's Log: New starbases, a focus on Klingon play, and test missions Posted: 28 May 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Patches, PvE, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play, Captain's Log  The players posting in the game's forums have turned to wild speculation as to what the patch will include and whether or not the devs' obvious absence from the forums spells doom for the game. It's been like this with every previous release, why should Season Six be any different? A better question might be: What we can do to keep ourselves occupied while we all wait to find out the truth? The good news is, a few leaks have come out and will allow players to get a sneak peek at a bit of the forthcoming content and may provide some entertainment, but will definitely generate a plethora of questions that will likely remain unanswered until the patch pushes to the test server in June. Continue reading Captain's Log: New starbases, a focus on Klingon play, and test missions
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| Jagex closing down browser-based 8Realms Posted: 28 May 2012 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, Economy, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Browser  We contacted Jagex for an official comment and were provided a statement by COO Daniel Clough: "Jagex has always been committed to creating fun and compelling games. During the 8Realms beta it has become clear that the game doesn't meet our high expectations for success and we are therefore channeling our focus on other exciting opportunities in the pipeline."
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