MMO Updates |
- Storyboard: The RIFT project - week 1
- Guild Wars 2's Sanctum of Rall shard named after late gamer
- Drakensang celebrates end of beta, releases Atlantis trailer
- MMO Blender: Matt's immersive cyberpunk monstrosity
- The Daily Grind: Do you remember your first guild leader?
- The Guild Counsel: Bad gamers
- The MMO Report: Not Casey Schreiner edition
- Lord of the Rings Online dev diary discusses 'reincarnation' of PvMP
- Firefall ramps up for its summer milestone
- Sevencore beta registration open, Occupation Wars mechanics detailed
- Perfect World Entertainment's Mark Hill previews Rusty Hearts: Reborn
- Marvel Heroes unveils Rocket Raccoon
- Amazon offers Guild Wars 2 with $5 Amazon games credit
- Chinese MMO developer accused of plagiarizing Torchlight backs down
- Star Trek Online celebrates the 25th anniversary of The Next Generation
- gPotato releases Allods' New Horizons expansion trailer
- The War Z zombie MMO coming soon
- The Summoner's Guidebook: Why big metagame changes to League of Legends could be bad
- Kill3rCombo bumps Elsword level cap to 56, offers giveaways
- ArenaNet releases Guild Wars 2 Asura intro cinematic [Updated]
- All heroes in Heroes of Newerth will be free as of tomorrow
| Storyboard: The RIFT project - week 1 Posted: 20 Jul 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Lore, Opinion, Roleplaying, RIFT, Storyboard, Miscellaneous  I'm going to go on the record stating two things, just in case they weren't clear from the first column. The first thing is that this project is not an official Massively thing by nature, just something that I had dreamed up and figured would be interesting to read about. Second, I'm well aware that I'm probably going to have one or two enormous lore holes in my recaps or character summaries. Those of you who read regularly probably already know that I lose precisely no sleep over this fact, and you should not either. It's just a game; we should all really just relax. With the preamble out of the way, let's get into the story so far. Continue reading Storyboard: The RIFT project - week 1
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| Guild Wars 2's Sanctum of Rall shard named after late gamer Posted: 20 Jul 2012 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Culture, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Guild Wars 2, Free-to-play  What's in a server name? Quite a lot if you're talking about Guild Wars 2's Sanctum of Rall shard. Roger "Oldroar" Rall passed away last fall, but his name will live on when ArenaNet launches its fantasy opus on August 28th.Rall was a member of the Gaiscioch gaming community, and renowned for his calm battlefield leadership in Warhammer Online and RIFT. Gaiscioch's website remembers him as "a voice you could not ignore. He led armies into battle, created hundreds of memories for any who followed, and held family values higher than any man we had ever encountered. He was a role model, a hero, an inspiration to many." The guild will hold a memorial for Rall on the server that bears his name. The event is scheduled for August 29th at 9:00 p.m. EDT at Shaemoor Garrison, Queensdale. [Thanks to Rayko for the tip.]
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| Drakensang celebrates end of beta, releases Atlantis trailer Posted: 20 Jul 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Trailers, Video, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play  Its bread-and-butter browser MMOs are still alive and kicking, though, none more so than Drakensang Online. The free-to-play hack-and-slash title is celebrating its end-of-beta milestone, and Bigpoint says the game has amassed a whopping nine million registered players. As usual with such stats, we don't know how many of those nine million have actually played (or paid), but it's a big number nonetheless. The game also boasts a new continent (Atlantis), and Bigpoint has released an accompanying teaser trailer that you can view after the cut. [Source: Bigpoint press release] Continue reading Drakensang celebrates end of beta, releases Atlantis trailer
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| MMO Blender: Matt's immersive cyberpunk monstrosity Posted: 20 Jul 2012 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Asheron's Call, EverQuest II, The Matrix Online, Opinion, Star Wars Galaxies, Guild Wars 2, The Secret World, All Points Bulletin, Champions Online, TERA, Miscellaneous, MMO Blender  Let's take a look at the acronym MMORPG for a moment. If you're reading this site, you surely know what it stands for: massively multiplayer online role-playing game. Ever since World of Warcraft hit the big-time, MMOs have been cropping up left and right in more shapes and sizes than many would have ever guessed. Swords and sorcery: check. Spreadsheets and spaceships: check. Roman orgies: coming soon. But somewhere along the line, game developers have forgotten something. Before there were MMORPGs, there were just RPGs, played by folks gathered around the kitchen table armed with nothing more than pencils, paper, and their trusty dice. I'm not going to pretend that "I was there, man" because -- being a '90s kid -- I didn't get into pen-and-paper games until my teens in the 2000s. But even I know that those games put an emphasis on the "RP" part of RPG in a way that MMORPGs simply don't, and in some ways, can't. But I'm sure that I can't be the only one who still wants to escape to another world, to become fully immersed in that world and in my character. So in my Frankenstein's monster experiment today, I'm going to try my best to meld modern MMO features into an immersive fantasy roleplaying world. Won't you join me? Continue reading MMO Blender: Matt's immersive cyberpunk monstrosity
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| The Daily Grind: Do you remember your first guild leader? Posted: 20 Jul 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Guilds, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous  I still remember my first guild leader as being someone I looked up to because he took charge, organized our play nights efficiently, and didn't take any lip from the whinier members of the bunch. Sadly enough, I forgot the man's name, which is more a testament to my failing memory than his impact on me. Do you remember your first guild leader? Would you follow him or her through fire? Tell us your story in the comments below!  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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| Posted: 19 Jul 2012 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Guilds, Opinion, The Guild Counsel, Miscellaneous  Continue reading The Guild Counsel: Bad gamers
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| The MMO Report: Not Casey Schreiner edition Posted: 19 Jul 2012 05:30 PM PDT Filed under: Video, Culture, MMO industry, News items, Humor, The MMO Report, Miscellaneous  Walsh moves from discussing a mechanical killing machine to discussing several organic killing machines vis-a-vis the first trailer for Game of Thrones: Seven Kingdoms. He also looks back at news regarding RuneScape's big registration milestone, information on the Guild Wars 2 beta weekend, and a new round of unexpected World of Warcraft violence. Check off the video past the break, and tune in again for another installment of The MMO Report from G4TV and Massively. Continue reading The MMO Report: Not Casey Schreiner edition
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| Lord of the Rings Online dev diary discusses 'reincarnation' of PvMP Posted: 19 Jul 2012 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries  Today's Lord of the Rings Online dev diary begins by stating that "over the course of LotRO's lifetime, the Ettenmoors has been updated several times." It continues, "this is not one of those times. This is a new beginning; this is a reincarnation." Those are some bold words, so what about this new incarnation of the Ettenmoors is so revolutionary? Well, a number of things, according to the dev diary. The team is not looking for a "mystical silver bullet that magically makes everything better" but instead is looking at three primary areas to revamp. First, the team is taking a look at the many keeps, outposts, and the Delving. The current model rewards players for flipping control points to their faction's control, but there's no incentive to continue to hold them, so the studio aims to "shift the model to instead provide large benefits for having and keeping locations." Secondly, Turbine is analyzing Creep traits and skills for "usefulness, potency, and acquisition costs. Finally, all Creep classes will be receiving new skills and "an overall balance adjustment on... damage and healing" to ensure they are balanced with the Free Peoples. The full dev blog is far too in-depth to post the whole thing here, but if you're interested in the nitty-gritty of all the PvMP changes coming with Riders of Rohan, head on over to the full post.
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| Firefall ramps up for its summer milestone Posted: 19 Jul 2012 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, Classes, Game mechanics, Previews, News items, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, Firefall  Meeting the new and more functional Engineer will turn that impression around. Engineers have gotten a new weapon that ramps up in damage as it scores repeated hits on a single target. They've also been granted a number of better build items, such as mini-turrets that can be tossed in odd locations and instant-build forcefields. And that's just a sample of what the milestone is improving in the game, something detailed in two recent development blogs outlining the philosophy behind the changes and what players can expect after the dust clears. Continue reading Firefall ramps up for its summer milestone
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| Sevencore beta registration open, Occupation Wars mechanics detailed Posted: 19 Jul 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, Free-to-play  Korean free-to-play fantasy imports aren't exactly scarce these days, but this one adds a dash of sci-fi and some nifty mount mechanics into the usual MMO mix. Players can battle across land, sea, and sky as well as fight from the backs of dragons, hover-bikes, and more. Sevencore mounts can also be trained to fight beside their player masters, which makes them more than your typical MMO beasts-of-burden. gPotato has opened up beta registration as of today, so head to the official site and sign on if you'd like a shot at testing on August 9th. Sevencore features three classes (Warrior, Magician, and Gunner), plenty of PvE, and PvP in the form of guild battles called Occupation Wars. gPotato intends for Occupation Wars to be a persistent territory control mechanic, as the victors will set tax rates and item prices for players who enter a region under their dominion. [Source: gPotato press release]
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| Perfect World Entertainment's Mark Hill previews Rusty Hearts: Reborn Posted: 19 Jul 2012 03:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Game mechanics, Interviews, Previews, News items, Free-to-play, Massively Interviews  About a week ago, we got our first look at the first expansion to Perfect World Entertainment's side-scrolling hack-and-slash title, Rusty Hearts. On July 24th, Rusty Hearts: Reborn will be bringing a wealth of new content to the game, and I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Mark Hill, senior product manager of Rusty Hearts, about the new update. What's particularly interesting about Rusty Hearts: Reborn is that many of the features coming with the expansion are a direct result of player feedback. According to Hill, the studio recognized that many players were quitting the game prematurely, sometimes as early as level 5, and as such, the expansion is focused on retooling the early- and mid-game to make it more welcoming to new players. That's not to say that there's nothing for established players, however, so if you're interested in what Rusty Hearts: Reborn is bringing to the table, head on past the cut, where I'll share all of the information gleaned from my talk with Mr. Hill. Continue reading Perfect World Entertainment's Mark Hill previews Rusty Hearts: Reborn
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| Marvel Heroes unveils Rocket Raccoon Posted: 19 Jul 2012 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, News items, Free-to-play, Marvel Heroes, Dev Diaries  We don't know much about this little fellow's in-game powers yet, but keep an eye on his hero information page to find out.
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| Amazon offers Guild Wars 2 with $5 Amazon games credit Posted: 19 Jul 2012 02:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, News items, Guild Wars 2, Promotions  Amazon has been reaching its fingers into a bunch of MMO pots lately. First there was that one time when a bunch of games including RIFT and TERA were put on mad sale, then there were the chronoscrolls and olive masks for TERA, and now it's Guild Wars 2's turn. According to an Amazon press release today, the company has launched Guild Wars 2 pre-purchases. Users who buy the Standard or Digital Deluxe editions via Amazon will receive a digital download and pre-order key, beta access, pre-purchase perks, and $5 credit for Amazon video games. Some of the details are a little hazy, as ArenaNet has made a distinction between pre-ordering (which is exactly what you're used to it being) and pre-purchasing (which is when you pay the full cost up-front) but Amazon appears to be using the terms interchangeably on the product page. Additionally, Amazon has not been added to the official list of pre-purchase retailers for North America (for that matter, Amazon has also not been listed on the official page as being able to distribute the Collector's Edition, but apparently it has physical boxes for sale as well). Anyway, if you haven't bought Guild Wars 2 but would like to, and if the thought of $5 Amazon credit and some in-game perks is appealing, this may be A Thing for you. [Source: Amazon press release]
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| Chinese MMO developer accused of plagiarizing Torchlight backs down Posted: 19 Jul 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, News items, Miscellaneous  "We did great efforts to do each modeling, mapping, bone construction and action by our own on our self-developed 3D engine . . . We want to make clear, if necessary, that we would like to submit the documents, files, and other materials related to the game developing to Apple to prove the originalities of the game and the efforts we devoted into the game developing."Torchlight developer Runic Games appears mollified by the outcome though not convinced of EGLS's innocence. "We're really just trying to get the thing pulled down from the App Store and to have them use their own assets," studio president Travis Baldree told Joystiq. (Apple has apparently removed the game already.) In happier news, Runic announced that oft-delayed Torchlight II is still slated for a summer launch, though Baldree joked, "The end of summer is September 25th or something like that, right?"
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| Star Trek Online celebrates the 25th anniversary of The Next Generation Posted: 19 Jul 2012 01:30 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, in-game, News items, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries, Anniversary  The first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation launched 25 years ago. In honor of the anniversary of the blessed event, Star Trek Online players have the opportunity to unlock some nostalgic swag for free. From now until "around" 1:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday the 24th, players can take a mini-mission that will send them off to speak with good ol' Worf. Completing that mission will unlock the free swag: Federation characters will receive a TNG Season 1 uniform, male Klingon and Federation characters with hair options will receive Worf's Season 1 short hair and goatee (sorry, no bearded ladies), and Klingon and Federation characters of both species will get access to Worf's Season 1 sash. This is a per-character unlock, so be sure to talk to Worf with every character that you'd like to boldly go with a little more panache.
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| gPotato releases Allods' New Horizons expansion trailer Posted: 19 Jul 2012 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Expansions, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Allods Online  The clips runs for well over four minutes, so head past the break to see for yourself. [Source: gPotato press release] Continue reading gPotato releases Allods' New Horizons expansion trailer
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| The War Z zombie MMO coming soon Posted: 19 Jul 2012 12:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Horror, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Sandbox  "We started thinking about doing a zombie game last year and began developing a quest-based MMO set in a large, zombie-infested world. Players would be able to explore and unlock new areas on the map as they progress through quests assigned to them in-game," explains executive producer Sergey Titov. What about the DayZ connection? There really isn't one aside from coincidental timing. DayZ is a mod for an existing military sim title, whereas The War Z is a stand-alone MMO with a dedicated team behind it (and an upfront cost of $29.99). Is it really an MMO, though? That's in the eye of the beholder, we suppose, but it does have a huge open world, PvP, and the ability to support 250 players per server. The War Z also features dozens of skills and social niceties like bounties and in-game notes (no profanity, though; blowing off zombie heads should never result in inappropriate language). If the War Z name sounds familiar, it might be because you're thinking of Paramount's World War Z property that we've talked about before. As with DayZ, though, the two projects are unrelated save for the similar names and the horror sub-genre. The War Z is currently undergoing internal alpha testing, with a closed beta expected later this summer. IGN says the final game will be out "before the end of the year."
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| The Summoner's Guidebook: Why big metagame changes to League of Legends could be bad Posted: 19 Jul 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: PvP, Opinion, Free-to-play, MOBA, League of Legends, The Summoner's Guidebook  Riot Games chose to completely rework these two champions, weakening Twitch's stealth aspects in order to make him a more normal carry. Evelynn was completely reworked, and she is so much different from her old self that she's basically a new character. Both of these champions are still "weird," however; despite the changes, neither character exemplifies any element of the current metagame. I think that this is sort of dangerous. Riot has already introduced one very weird champion recently that has turned out to be viable (if not strong), Jayce. The stealth rework patch will also be succeeded by Zyra, who has very weird caster/pet mechanics. With all of these dramatic meta changes, League will become very unpredictable, especially at the middle levels of skill where I reside. I think that this is somewhat of a bad thing.
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| Kill3rCombo bumps Elsword level cap to 56, offers giveaways Posted: 19 Jul 2012 11:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Classes, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play  The devs are also releasing a new El Officer costume for Chung, who is the game's newest playable character. In addition to the new leveling content, Kill3rCombo is giving players a chance to win numerous prizes simply by logging in during the month of July. An Elsword-themed iPad, Amazon gift cards, and various in-game goodies are all up for grabs, so head to the official website to learn more. You can also check out a video of Chung in action after the cut. [Source: Kill3rCombo press release] Continue reading Kill3rCombo bumps Elsword level cap to 56, offers giveaways
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| ArenaNet releases Guild Wars 2 Asura intro cinematic [Updated] Posted: 19 Jul 2012 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Trailers, Video, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Guild Wars 2, Free-to-play, Races  ArenaNet has released a two-minute clip that gives us some background on the diminutive race, and the running time is heavy on the firm's one-of-a-kind concept art. Since this is also an intro cinematic, it lets us in on what awaits players who elect to roll as one of the floppy-eared cutelings in this weekend's beta as well as Guild Wars 2's forthcoming launch. See the Asura for yourself after the break. [Thanks to Michael for the tip!] [Update: Anet has released a new blog post that offers a bit of insight into the creation of the Asura cinematic.] Continue reading ArenaNet releases Guild Wars 2 Asura intro cinematic [Updated]
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| All heroes in Heroes of Newerth will be free as of tomorrow Posted: 19 Jul 2012 10:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, MOBA  Players who purchased a released hero within 15 days of the patch's launch will receive a refund. In addition, any player who has ever purchased a hero with real-world currency will receive an exclusive new super robot avatar, Mecha Gemini. Legacy players will also be rewarded for their loyalty by earning more rewards for each match played. [Source S2 Games press release]
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