MMO Updates

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• Rise and Shiny: Aardwolf MUD
• Previously on MV TV: The week of June 30th
• The Daily Grind: Do you find post-launch games intimidating to start playing?
• The Tattered Notebook: Touring EQII's winning player-generated dungeons
• The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV's baroque crafting
• Newegg offers Guild Wars 2 for $48 today only

Rise and Shiny: Aardwolf MUD Posted: 08 Jul 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Previews, Opinion, Free-to-play, Casual, Roleplaying, Rise and Shiny, Livestream, Miscellaneous This week I dove into yet another MUD in the hopes of finding even better gameplay than I found in titles like Gemstone IV and Threshold RPG. It's a bit of a daring attempt for me, especially considering that I often suffer from migraines when I have to concentrate on text on my monitor so much. Funny enough, when I get a MUD client set up just how I want, I have no issues and can play for a few hours at a time. MUDs are relaxing much of the time and don't feel as rushed as standard MMOs do. That relaxation must help with the migraines! At first, I was bit hesitant in saying Aardwulf MUD is akin to the titles I have covered in the past. Something about the site, and the fact that the game did not force roleplay, turned me off, and I was determined to find it lacking. Luckily, I was proven wrong and even suckered fellow Massivelyite (Massivelyian?) Jeremy Stratton into the game; he's contributed a few of his thoughts today too. Continue reading Rise and Shiny: Aardwolf MUD Rise and Shiny: Aardwolf MUD originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 08 Jul 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Previously on MV TV: The week of June 30th Posted: 08 Jul 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Horror, Video, City of Heroes, EVE Online, EverQuest II, New titles, Previews, PvP, PvE, Opinion, Vanguard, Free-to-play, The Secret World, Humor, Free Realms, Kids, World of Tanks, Family, Post-Apocalyptic, Guides, Livestream, Miscellaneous, MOBA, Previously on MV TV This week was another stellar week in gaming, despite the fact that many of us in the Massively offices were busy spending our holiday on the beach, together, hugging and shooting fireworks and remembering old times. We have had this tradition for the last 17 years, back when many of us were only in our tweens. Ah, good times. Massively good times. What's that? You missed some of these killer streams that we worked so hard to bring you? It's all right; just follow past the cut to catch up on some of the best moments from the week. Also, be sure to bookmark our livestream schedule to see what we are doing next! This week, we have playtime with Mike as he heads into the blackness of EVE Online and then braves the battlefields of World of Tanks. MJ takes over from there and plays some The Secret World, EverQuest II, and City of Heroes and sees some good times in Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. Richie attacks stuff in the new MOBA SMITE, and I round things out by continuing to beat up the Gloam in Free Realms. Hurry up and die already so we can see the new area, Gloam! Continue reading Previously on MV TV: The week of June 30th Previously on MV TV: The week of June 30th originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 08 Jul 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: Do you find post-launch games intimidating to start playing? Posted: 08 Jul 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Game mechanics, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous When a game launches, it's usually fairly small in scope. That doesn't mean it's simple, but it does mean that there's a fairly limited amount of stuff from level 1 on upward. But when a game has been out for a couple of years, odds are good that the game has undergone several major patches, with more sidequests and options added to the game from start to finish. On the one hand, this is great; a player starting in RIFT or Star Trek Online or EverQuest now has many more options than he or she did back when the game first launched. But it also means that instead of absorbing a few new features at a time, you need to absorb huge new chunks of the game at once. Do you find it intimidating to start playing a game that's been out for a while? Or do you look forward to exploring the nature of a more mature and refined game? 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: Do you find post-launch games intimidating to start playing? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 08 Jul 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Tattered Notebook: Touring EQII's winning player-generated dungeons Posted: 07 Jul 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Tattered Notebook In my spare time, I love to watch cooking competition shows because I can sit back on the couch and pontificate about how the contestants did this wrong and plated that poorly and how I could do it so much better. And then when I get into the kitchen, I thank Tunare I don't have a clock at my back and that no one's judging me on my knife skills. It's pretty much the same with creating a dungeon in EverQuest II. I have all these blueprints, items, and tools, and I've seen plenty of examples for which I swear I could do it sooooo much better, and yet I just can't seem to put together one that's worthy of publishing. Back in the spring, I resolved to construct a Poet's Palace dungeon for SOE's official dungeon maker contest, and I had several ideas in mind, but once again, my ambitions were larger than reality, and I just couldn't get the job done. Fortunately, there were over 80 players who did, and the winners were announced this week. I visited each of the four winning dungeons and was blown away by what I saw. Read on for a look at the real dungeon masters of EQII! Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: Touring EQII's winning player-generated dungeons The Tattered Notebook: Touring EQII's winning player-generated dungeons originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 07 Jul 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV's baroque crafting Posted: 07 Jul 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Opinion, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, The Mog Log, Crafting If you liked absolutely nothing else about the launch of Final Fantasy XIV, you have to admit that the development team really went the distance to try and make crafting relevant and unique. Even though a lot of games add some depth to crafting beyond waiting for a bar to fill, most of those games make the actual craft process start and stop with a click. Not so in the advanced and in-depth synthesis that the game has always sported, from the needlessly ornate original version to the more streamlined system the game now features. A claim that Final Fantasy XIV's crafting is one of its biggest draws is just a statement of fact. But the crafting system isn't flawless, and since we know it's due for more revision with version 2.0, now's a fine time to look at what about it is so spectacular and what could use some serious revisions, especially after I've spent most of my time in-game over the past week hammering, burning, and grinding may way to the higher levels of a craft. Continue reading The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV's baroque crafting The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV's baroque crafting originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 07 Jul 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Newegg offers Guild Wars 2 for $48 today only Posted: 07 Jul 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Guild Wars 2, Promotions Are you still on the fence about purchasing Guild Wars 2? If you've been holding out for a deal, this might just be it: Newegg.com is offering GW2 for $12 off the standard edition. The standard edition of Guild Wars 2 is normally priced at $59.99, but with this promotion, you can pick it up for $47.99. To get the discount, you'll need to pre-order it through Newegg.com (obviously) and use the following promotion code: EMCYTZT1867. It's important to note that this is a retail box copy that will ship on release, not the digital download. Also, this promotion applies to today (July 7th) and today alone. [Thanks to Nitai for the tip!] Newegg offers Guild Wars 2 for $48 today only originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 07 Jul 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Newegg.com, Newegg promotions

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