MMO Updates

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• Joymax announces Knight Age, opens beta for one week
• DDO shows off new expansion dungeon: House of Broken Chains
• End of Nations beta starts July 20th, founder's edition guarantees access
• World of Tanks 7.5 patch to add new tanks, maps
• Frogster changes name to Gameforge Berlin AG
• The Secret World reveals its launch trailer
• Atlantica Online update offers new puppeteer mercenary during festival
• The Daily Grind: Has an MMO launch ever lived up to your expectations?
• Not So Massively: Path of Exile's map system, D3 drop rates, and MOBA news
• Eligium is shutting down
• Darkfall kicks off its ultimate promotion
• Funcom's CEO steps down on the day of The Secret World's launch
• Exclusive: Grimlands dev talks post-apocalyptic PvP, item decay, and more
• Game of Thrones MMO announces full name, upcoming trailer
• Everything you need to know about The Secret World, part deux
• Leaderboard: Fantasy vs. sci-fi vs. contemporary setting
• Captain's Log: Star Trek Online potpourri
• Phantasy Star Online 2 launches in Japan this week, new vids abound
• Funcom patches The Secret World's chat issues, other stuff

Joymax announces Knight Age, opens beta for one week Posted: 03 Jul 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, Miscellaneous The studio that brought us Silkroad Online has announced its newest venture in the MMORPG market: Knight Age. Based on a vast world of knights battling against a malicious god, the game will feature pets that will fight alongside players, guild sieges, and giant PvP battles of 50 vs. 50 and even 1 vs. 100 in the ultimate fight for Excalibur. And what's a knight without his or her horse? Knight Age will feature mounted combat where players will be able to perform elaborate attack skills while mounted and on the move. The first English closed beta is open to everyone on July 10th and will last one full week until the 17th. Players can participate in this beta via the official site. [Source: Joymax press release] Joymax announces Knight Age, opens beta for one week originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 03 Jul 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

DDO shows off new expansion dungeon: House of Broken Chains Posted: 03 Jul 2012 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Expansions, News items, PvE, Free-to-play, Dungeons With Dungeons and Dragons Online's first expansion Menace of the Underdark a week old now, have you seen everything? Neither have we. Luckily for us all, Turbine keeps treating us to screenshots showcasing the new areas. Today the spotlight is on the new dungeon, House of Broken Chains. Besides just offering the standard fare of foes, this dungeon presents a new dynamic in the game; as players fight both slaves and their masters, they can choose to kill all of the slave masters and free the slaves or simply eradicate everything in true hack-and-slash form. Take a look at the images of this new dungeon along with other Menace of the Underdark screens in the gallery below. Gallery: Dungeons and Dragons Online: Menace of the Underdark [Source: Turbine press release] DDO shows off new expansion dungeon: House of Broken Chains originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 03 Jul 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

End of Nations beta starts July 20th, founder's edition guarantees access Posted: 03 Jul 2012 08:30 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, MMORTS What do Trion and Tears for Fears have in common? Not much aside from the title Everybody Wants to Rule the World, which will now be stuck in your head for the next couple of hours. You're welcome. Trion has co-opted the phrase in its latest press release for End of Nations, which reveals that the game's first closed beta event is coming on July 20th. The first event "promises both large and small player maps across a variety of different terrains, as well as a multitude of upgrade options and a wide range of units and battle tactics to deploy," according to the devs. You can either apply for beta and hope for the best, or you can shell out $29.99 for the founder's edition and its guaranteed access. Details on both options are available at the official EoN website. We've also got a complete list of founder edition goodies listed for you after the cut. Continue reading End of Nations beta starts July 20th, founder's edition guarantees access End of Nations beta starts July 20th, founder's edition guarantees access originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 03 Jul 2012 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

World of Tanks 7.5 patch to add new tanks, maps Posted: 03 Jul 2012 08:15 AM PDT Filed under: Historical, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, War, Free-to-play, World of Tanks Update 7.5 is on its way to World of Tanks. The patch will likely make endgame players happy, as it includes new Tier 10 medium tanks, tank destroyers, maps, and vehicles. The American tech tree gets most of the Tier 10 love courtesy of two T110 model destroyers and an M48 Patton III. French, German, and Soviet forces aren't left out, though, as each gets two additional tanks. Finally, Wargaming.net is expanding the game's map roster with three new North American locations called Port, Highway, and Quiet Beach. Head past the cut to see all of this in action via the new 7.5 trailer. [Source: Wargaming.net press release] Continue reading World of Tanks 7.5 patch to add new tanks, maps World of Tanks 7.5 patch to add new tanks, maps originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 03 Jul 2012 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Frogster changes name to Gameforge Berlin AG Posted: 03 Jul 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: MMO industry, Miscellaneous After two years of working together in harmony under the separate names Frogster and Gameforge, Frogster's shareholders decided to fully integrate the two and ditch the Frogster name. This will not only affect the German company's European subsidiaries, but will also change the Frogster America and Frogster Pacific GmbH names to Gameforge America Inc. and Gameforge Pacific GmbH, respectively. There's no word of any staff changes or (further) game shutdowns associated with this name change, and the company's CEO, Seth Iorio, commented that they now have "the combined experience and expertise of around 600 employees in all locations available and can thus offer our players even better service." [Source: Gameforge press release] Frogster changes name to Gameforge Berlin AG originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 03 Jul 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Secret World reveals its launch trailer Posted: 03 Jul 2012 07:45 AM PDT Filed under: Horror, Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, Launches, New titles, News items, The Secret World Some secrets are out. Funcom might have slipped the launch in a day early, but The Secret World's launch trailer kept to the initial schedule. For just under three minutes, players can now get a glimpse of some of the secrets hiding throughout the world in the form of various beasts and monsters while being serenaded by the bluesy voice of Dinah Washington crooning (the quite appropriate) This Bitter Earth. Watch the debut cinematic after the cut, and to catch up on all the latest about The Secret World, check out the launch-day roundup as well as Massively's new column dedicated to the world of secret organizations, Chaos Theory. [Thanks to Acidburn for the tip!] Continue reading The Secret World reveals its launch trailer The Secret World reveals its launch trailer originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 03 Jul 2012 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Launch trailer on YouTube

Atlantica Online update offers new puppeteer mercenary during festival Posted: 03 Jul 2012 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Atlantica Online July is here and with it comes heat, BBQs, and Atlantica Online's newest in-game challenge: the Bunraku Festival. Why participate in this summer festival? How about for the chance to recruit the new Puppeteer Rin mercenary. When battling the forces of evil, who wouldn't want to have puppeteer with a power-saw-wielding puppet on their side? From now until July 26th, players can collect festival scripts just by logging in and also by helping bring an end to evil through a series of quests for Dr. Gon. These scripts can then be turned in for various prizes, including the mercenary. [Source: Nexon press release] Atlantica Online update offers new puppeteer mercenary during festival originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 03 Jul 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: Has an MMO launch ever lived up to your expectations? Posted: 03 Jul 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Horror, Launches, MMO industry, New titles, Opinion, The Daily Grind, The Secret World Yes, it's another Secret World-powered opinion post. Some on the Massively staff have fallen for the game pretty hard, so you'll have to bear with us if you're not among the faithful. In any event, Funcom's horror-conspiracy title officially went live yesterday, and the occasion made me think about the last time an MMO launch actually met my expectations (in a positive way). Sure, there's several features I would like to see implemented in TSW going forward, but as it stands, it's one of the more enjoyable MMOs I've played in a while. How about you, dear readers? Has any MMO launch lived up to your expectations? 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! The Daily Grind: Has an MMO launch ever lived up to your expectations? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 03 Jul 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Not So Massively: Path of Exile's map system, D3 drop rates, and MOBA news Posted: 02 Jul 2012 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Trailers, Video, Game mechanics, News items, Free-to-play, Not So Massively, Dungeons, MOBA, League of Legends, Diablo III Upcoming MOBA SMITE met some opposition from The Universal Society of Hinduism this week as the game lets players control the Hindu gods Kali, Vamana, and Agni. Developers also released Guan Yu this week, a new character based on an ancient Chinese general. Lord of the Rings-based MOBA Guardians of Middle-earth published its first gameplay trailer this week, showing classic DotA-style gameplay tweaked for console controls. Diablo III released a hotfix this week that doubled the drop rate of valuable items in Inferno difficulty and made bosses more tempting targets. Blizzard also announced plans to address the use of gear-switching mouse macros that players have been abusing in magic find runs. Upcoming free-to-play dungeon crawler Path of Exile released exciting details about its endgame map system that is sure to take over from traditional magic find runs. League of Legends celebrated the release of its Pulsefire Ezreal legendary skin this week with a half price offer and an updated Ezreal champion spotlight video. Dota 2 also continued its march toward release with the addition of two classic heroes: Luna and Wisp. Finally, Firefall reached a whopping 500,000 beta signups this week and impressed fans with an augmented reality technology demo. Continue reading Not So Massively: Path of Exile's map system, D3 drop rates, and MOBA news Not So Massively: Path of Exile's map system, D3 drop rates, and MOBA news originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Eligium is shutting down Posted: 02 Jul 2012 05:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play The game's full title is Eligium: The Chosen One, but as it turns out, the game wasn't chosen after all. Following evaluations of the game's performance and player feedback, Frogster has determined that the game simply isn't up to the company's standards, and so Eligium is shutting down as of July 17th. Forums for the game will remain open until the 19th for players to say goodbye and possibly coordinate on moving to a new game. Players who had acquired shop currency or items in the game will be reimbursed through store credits to other Frogster games. Direct refunds will not be available, and further purchases are already disabled. Players will also benefit from regular Experience and Soul Point boosts until the live servers are shut down so that everyone can enjoy one final romp. The game's official site is already unavailable, marking a sad day for all those who did enjoy the game during its brief life. Eligium is shutting down originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Official shutdown notice

Darkfall kicks off its ultimate promotion Posted: 02 Jul 2012 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Darkfall, News items, Promotions Whether you're currently playing Darkfall, a former player with interest in the state of the game, or an onlooker curious about the game, today brings you good news. Today is the start of the Darkfall Ultimate Promotion, an event slated to run until the game gets its major version 2.0 upgrade. That means that new players can start off playing the game for just the price of a month's subscription and all players can enjoy the discounted subscription rate of $9.95. The promotion isn't limited to the subscription fees, however; the game has multiplied skill gains by 20 as previously reported. Global loot drops are quadrupled as well, giving players plenty of opportunities for major rewards. If you've got any interest in Darkfall, today is probably the day to go back or head in for the first time, as these benefits will fade as soon as the game launches its major reboot. Darkfall kicks off its ultimate promotion originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Promotion and Patch Notes

Funcom's CEO steps down on the day of The Secret World's launch Posted: 02 Jul 2012 04:15 PM PDT Filed under: Horror, Real life, MMO industry, News items, The Secret World, Miscellaneous If you were the CEO of a major MMO developer and your studio had just finished a major game project, what would you do to celebrate? Buy some drinks? Throw a party? Resign from your position and step into a new advisory role? Apparently Funcom's former CEO Trond Arne Aas opted for the last one, as he has officially ceded the CEO post to former COO Ole Schreiner on the same day that The Secret World has launched. Aas himself is remaining with the company as a chief strategy officer, working on the company's newly announced LEGO game as well as undisclosed other projects. His direct statements indicated that he feels the company is in a solid position on all fronts, meaning that now is the perfect time for him to step into a freer advisory position while still remaining involved with the future of Funcom. It's a surprising move, but we hope it's one that will benefit both Aas and Schreiner in the long run. Funcom's CEO steps down on the day of The Secret World's launch originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Funcom CEO steps down

Exclusive: Grimlands dev talks post-apocalyptic PvP, item decay, and more Posted: 02 Jul 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, Post-Apocalyptic, Sandbox, Crafting During last month's E3 and earlier this year at GDC, we got a chance to lay our hands on Grimlands, a new sandbox-shooter hybrid from gamigo. Given the game's post-apocalyptic setting and our fondness for open-world, off-the-rails titles, we were quite excited to take it for a spin. We also had plenty of questions for the devs, and fortunately product manager Bjoern Cahnbley was able to answer a few of them. Head past the cut to find out about PvP flagging, item decay, vehicles, and a lot more. Continue reading Exclusive: Grimlands dev talks post-apocalyptic PvP, item decay, and more Exclusive: Grimlands dev talks post-apocalyptic PvP, item decay, and more originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Game of Thrones MMO announces full name, upcoming trailer Posted: 02 Jul 2012 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Events, real-world, Free-to-play, Browser The upcoming MMO by Bigpoint now has a full name: Game of Thrones Seven Kingdoms. Producer Max Pfaff is relieved to have this major step out of the way: "Selecting a game's title can be quite an arduous process, especially in the free-to-play space where games must be easily discoverable by players around the world. By selecting Game of Thrones Seven Kingdoms, we're confident that we've chosen an identifiable name that will resonate with the global community of diehard Thrones fans." The project, which is being developed with HBO's cooperation, is set to make its grand entrance at this year's Comic-Con. It's there that the studio will show an exclusive game trailer, which promises to show the Seven Kingdoms' visual aesthetic and gameplay. If you haven't already, definitely check out our interview with Bigpoint about Seven Kingdoms from this year's GDC! [Source: Bigpoint press release] Game of Thrones MMO announces full name, upcoming trailer originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Everything you need to know about The Secret World, part deux Posted: 02 Jul 2012 02:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Horror, Classes, Game mechanics, Launches, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, PvE, Hands-on, The Secret World, First Impressions, Guides, Dungeons, Crafting Er, well, apparently it's launch day for The Secret World. Funcom has officially opened the floodgates, according to its Twitter feed. A few weeks ago, we put together a news roundup feature focused on TSW. We do this for every major MMO launch, but this one was a bit, well, early, since early access was still a month away at the time. We did it as a public service for our friends at Joystiq (and their heathen what's-an-MMO readership that had never heard of TSW). Just kidding, guys -- we love you, and we know there's some crossover too. In any event, it's time for the real Secret World roundup because a lot has happened since the warmup. Oh, and today is actually launch day, so it kind of makes sense. Join us after the cut for everything you need to know about Funcom's new horror-conspiracy MMO. Continue reading Everything you need to know about The Secret World, part deux Everything you need to know about The Secret World, part deux originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Leaderboard: Fantasy vs. sci-fi vs. contemporary setting Posted: 02 Jul 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Polls, Opinion, Miscellaneous, Leaderboard Whoa Nelly! We have ourselves a rootin'-tootin' genre standoff in this here Leaderboard! It all started when the various representatives from the major MMO settings got together for an early week brunch, and it ended with drawn swords, pistols, and ray guns. Every setting thinks it's the best, of course, and they all have the egos to back it up. Let's see whether we can't defuse this standoff today, shall we? Let's vote for the best genre setting for an MMO: fantasy, science fiction, or contemporary. By far, fantasy has the most MMO representatives and is pretty much the main staple of the industry. However, both science fiction and contemporary titles have been making in-roads, from The Secret World to Star Trek Online. Is it better to play in a virtual world that's the most similar to yours? Does a mythological spin on the Middle Ages resonate most strongly with our sense of adventure? Or does the far-flung future hold the most prospect in giving us an unlimited frontier? Make your vote known after the jump! Continue reading Leaderboard: Fantasy vs. sci-fi vs. contemporary setting Leaderboard: Fantasy vs. sci-fi vs. contemporary setting originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Captain's Log: Star Trek Online potpourri Posted: 02 Jul 2012 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Patches, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play, Captain's Log This week, Cryptic Studios continued its preparations for Star Trek Online's Season Six release. Many of the anticipated features have been made available on the game's test server, and lucky for you, I've had the chance to jump in and try out a little bit of the new fleet advancement system and the affiliated starbases. After the initial phases of Season Six were pushed to the test server, Cryptic announced the 900-day veteran rewards as well as information on the impending implementation of the new Account Guard system. Even better, more information about the starbase features, especially the ships players will soon be crafting, has been revealed by Star Trek Online's Lead Designer, Al Rivera. It's all after the cut! Continue reading Captain's Log: Star Trek Online potpourri Captain's Log: Star Trek Online potpourri originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Phantasy Star Online 2 launches in Japan this week, new vids abound Posted: 02 Jul 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, Classes, Game mechanics, Launches, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play Phantasy Star Online 2 isn't getting a lot of attention here in North America (or Europe or much of anywhere outside of Japan, for that matter). Still, the open beta has delighted fans of the original game, and the game's official Japanese launch has been set for July 4th. MMO Culture has posted a few gameplay videos that may well whet your appetite for SEGA's console MMO sequel. The site features the game's July update trailer as well as vids that show off the Ranger, Hunter, and Force class trailers. Check them all out after the cut. Continue reading Phantasy Star Online 2 launches in Japan this week, new vids abound Phantasy Star Online 2 launches in Japan this week, new vids abound originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: MMO Culture

Funcom patches The Secret World's chat issues, other stuff Posted: 02 Jul 2012 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Horror, Bugs, MMO industry, New titles, Patches, News items, The Secret World The Secret World doesn't officially launch until tomorrow, but Funcom has already unveiled the game's first major patch. Early release customers have been playing since last Friday, and today they awoke to a lengthy set of update notes for version 1.0. The patch doesn't feature any huge additions (or nerfs) but does boast a sizable collection of tweaks ranging from client and GUI adjustments to a fix for the chat server crashes that manifested over the weekend. Head to the official Secret World website for all the details. [Thanks to Acidbaron for the tip!] Funcom patches The Secret World's chat issues, other stuff originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: TSW 1.0 patch notes

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