MMO Updates |
- Hyperspace Beacon: It's time for free-to-play, SWTOR
- Defiance TV show begins production today
- XLGAMES reveals first ArcheAge story teaser trailer
- Need for Speed World celebrates its second anniversary
- The Daily Grind: What game features your favorite concept art?
- Wings Over Atreia: Fulfilling the need for speed with Aion 3.1
- Captain's Log: Star Trek Online celebrates 25 years of The Next Generation
- SWTOR devs answer community's PvP-related questions
- Not So Massively: Battle of the online action RPGs
- A look at Curt Schilling's management of 38 Studios
- Final Fantasy XIV patch 1.23 scheduled for July 26th
- Turning over a new leaf in Guild Wars 2's Sylvari starting experience
- Piranha reveals MechWarrior Online's Caustic Valley
- Eight million gamigo user accounts compromised
- Reserve your Guild Wars 2 name by July 31st
- Marvel Heroes chief: 'It's very Diablo-like'
- EVE Online: Inferno 1.2 hits servers August 8th
| Hyperspace Beacon: It's time for free-to-play, SWTOR Posted: 24 Jul 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Business models, Expansions, MMO industry, Opinion, Free-to-play, Rumors, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Hyperspace Beacon  When EA was voted the worst company in America by the Consumerist, it was not because the products suck. If a customer has a constant feeling that she is not going to get what she pays for from a specific publisher, then it will start to wear on her. Now whenever someone from EA speaks, we have to ask ourselves whether there is any double meaning to what was said. I believe SWTOR will be free-to-play by the time the first expansion comes out, and not directly because of subscription numbers or rumors. My evidence comes from those who speak for SWTOR and the actions of BioWare's management. I can also guess as to how the studio is going to spin it. Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: It's time for free-to-play, SWTOR
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| Defiance TV show begins production today Posted: 24 Jul 2012 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Consoles, Defiance  Although both the show and the game will launch in April 2013, the game will kick things off in San Francisco where players will meet the main characters of the show, Nolan and Arissa. Then the show will start after the two characters travel to St. Louis, Missouri. There, the series will unfold in the boom-town of Defiance while the game narrative continues in the Bay Area. Both the show and the game will influence each other and evolve together. For more information on Defiance, check out its spotlight in The Firing Line and watch the Comic-Con videos. [Source: Trion Worlds press release]
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| XLGAMES reveals first ArcheAge story teaser trailer Posted: 24 Jul 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Lore, New titles, News items, ArcheAge, Sandbox  Check out the video and the poster after the break. Continue reading XLGAMES reveals first ArcheAge story teaser trailer
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| Need for Speed World celebrates its second anniversary Posted: 24 Jul 2012 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Events, in-game, Interviews, Patches, Free-to-play, Hands-on, Giveaways, Need for Speed World  In honor of the occasion, the dev team invited us to a group interview session culminating in a race-off during which we got to show just how hot (or not) our racing skills were. Lead Producer Marc de Vellis and Lead Designer Melvin Teo were on hand to answer our questions and talk about how the game has grown over the past two years. They enthusiastically discussed the ways they've developed NFSW as a result of community feedback, both in terms of game features and in terms of community interaction. Read on for a look at what changes they've made to keep their virtual drivers coming back for another lap. Continue reading Need for Speed World celebrates its second anniversary
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| The Daily Grind: What game features your favorite concept art? Posted: 24 Jul 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous  Some of my favorite pieces hail from games like Age of Conan, Guild Wars 2, and the EverQuest franchise (particularly the art produced for the Legends of Norrath card game). What about you, early risers? What game features your favorite concept art?  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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| Wings Over Atreia: Fulfilling the need for speed with Aion 3.1 Posted: 23 Jul 2012 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Patches, PvP, PvE, Opinion, Free-to-play, Wings Over Atreia  I know, I know. Usually I am regaling you with facts about upcoming patches far in advance and drooling over things to come. This time, however, the patch kind of sneaked up on me. I swear I didn't fall asleep at the launchpad; this patch just wasn't as hyped as its predecessors. But less hype does not equal lack of goodies. Just like 2.7, which followed Empyrean Calling, 3.1 might not have a spiffy name besides its numeric moniker, but it does have some spiffy stuff. Enough stuff, in fact, that I'll have to spend more than one week sharing the goodness. Today, Wings Over Atreia's inaugural look at 3.1 focuses on that first change that caught my eye and even made me do a double-take: the Fast-Track server. Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: Fulfilling the need for speed with Aion 3.1
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| Captain's Log: Star Trek Online celebrates 25 years of The Next Generation Posted: 23 Jul 2012 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, in-game, Patches, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play, Captain's Log, Anniversary  This week we were told that a new version of the infamous lock box is being released. Part of the announcement also addressed the fact that Cryptic Studios has decided to make some tweaks to the Lobi store. The Foundry has been kept offline since the Season Six launch and remains shut down. Capping off the week, Star Trek Online began a weekend-long celebration of the 25th anniversary of the first airing of Star Trek: The Next Generation! Join me after the jump to learn a little bit more about it. Continue reading Captain's Log: Star Trek Online celebrates 25 years of The Next Generation
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| SWTOR devs answer community's PvP-related questions Posted: 23 Jul 2012 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Classes, Game mechanics, PvP, Endgame, PvE, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Community Q&A  As usual for the SWTOR players, PvP topped the list of concerns. For one, why don't cooldowns reset after death in a warzone? BioWare's new favorite son, Senior Designer Austin Peckenpaugh, explained, "The decision of 'going all out' should be a strategic and tactical one rather than a no-brainer that you squeeze in before each death." To a seasoned player, that makes sense; you don't want what we old-school PvPers call "suicide bombers." Number-crunching theorycrafters deduced that some classes are better off carrying PvP relics than PvE relics. A new voice spoke up to answer this concern. "In the long run our intent is to make sure PvP gear is never competitive in end-game PvE situations," replied Senior Game Balance Designer Jason Attard. But for now, he explained that, "in theory the active abilities on the PvE relics do not provide quite as much sustained damage-per-second as a passive relic at the same item level." Take that as you will. The BioWare community team has consistently been able to snag the appropriate designers to answer the top player questions. If you have a burning question that you'd like to have answered this week, stop by the official SWTOR forums.
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| Not So Massively: Battle of the online action RPGs Posted: 23 Jul 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Video, Game mechanics, PvP, News items, Not So Massively, Dungeons, MOBA, League of Legends, Diablo III  In MOBA news, League of Legends released updated champion spotlight videos for its recently overhauled champions Evelynn and Twitch, and Heroes of Newerth surprised players by releasing all of its heroes for free to every player. Dota 2 added classic hero Naga Siren and updated the spectator UI with a much-requested gold-per-minute table. Hi-Rez Studios released a new SMITE video featuring Hindu demon Bakasura, a character who can eat enemies to regain health and later vomit them up on the battlefield. Wrath of Heroes also revealed ranged assassin Korith Bitterborn this week, and Guardians of Middle-Earth published its first battle profile video showing some of Gollum's and Gandalf's attacks. Continue reading Not So Massively: Battle of the online action RPGs
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| A look at Curt Schilling's management of 38 Studios Posted: 23 Jul 2012 03:30 PM PDT Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Opinion, Miscellaneous  The article paints Schilling as being relentlessly optimistic and dedicated to his employees but at the same time unfamiliar with business and the realities of running a game company. He also wound up with a bloated staff and disregarded information from management, leading to conflicting demands and a general lack of progress on major deadlines for Project Copernicus. If you've got any interest in the game industry, it's a fascinating look at how a game company can start with high hopes and dissolve under financial realities.
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| Final Fantasy XIV patch 1.23 scheduled for July 26th Posted: 23 Jul 2012 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, Final Fantasy XIV  In a new producer's letter, Yoshida promises a "flood of info" from now until the relaunch. The first part of that flood is news that patch 1.23 will be going live on July 26th. The patch centers around an epic battle that will cap the current storyline, as well as a new skirmish and the summer festival. Also coming to the game are skimpy bathrobes known as yukata. As you can see above, they're not for the modest amongst us!
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| Turning over a new leaf in Guild Wars 2's Sylvari starting experience Posted: 23 Jul 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, Culture, Lore, Previews, PvE, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Hands-on, Races, Massively Hands-on, First Impressions  The Sylvari have been my race of choice ever since they were announced as a playable race in Guild Wars 2. It's not often that you see races outside of the generic Orc-Elf-Dwarf-Human spectrum, so the sylvan-esque race really appealed to me as something different. So of course, when time rolled around to stake claims on the impressions piece of the newly introduced Sylvari starting experience during the final beta weekend, you better believe I pounced on it. So here we are: Guild Wars 2's final beta weekend is over, and it's just a matter of time before launch is upon us. But you'll be happy to know that I spent my entire weekend prancing around Tyria in the leafy soles of a Sylvari's boots. It was a journey full of mystery, surprises (both pleasant and otherwise), and a whole lot of oversized foliage. Follow along past the cut, where I shall make like a tree and get the hell on with it already. Continue reading Turning over a new leaf in Guild Wars 2's Sylvari starting experience
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| Piranha reveals MechWarrior Online's Caustic Valley Posted: 23 Jul 2012 01:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Video, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, MechWarrior Online  Caustic Valley also plays havoc with heat-based weapons. As Piranha Games says in its latest blog update, the heavy dust and brutal heat "greatly affects your ability to use heat-producing weapons such as lasers, as they will quickly spike to very high levels." See for yourself after the cut. Continue reading Piranha reveals MechWarrior Online's Caustic Valley
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| Eight million gamigo user accounts compromised Posted: 23 Jul 2012 01:15 PM PDT Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Miscellaneous  Steve Thomas, founder of a hacking alert service called PwnedList, says the gamigo breach is "the largest leak I've ever actually seen." Compromised data include usernames, passwords, and email addresses. Users who held gamigo accounts prior to March 2012 are being encouraged to change their credentials.
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| Reserve your Guild Wars 2 name by July 31st Posted: 23 Jul 2012 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Guild Wars 2, Free-to-play  OK, but the date for reserving your character name is considerably sooner, so be sure to mark July 31st on your calendar. You'll need an active Guild Wars account to participate, and it's also worth noting that these reservations aren't indefinite. "You must create a Guild Wars 2 character with the same name as your Guild Wars character during the headstart access period or on launch day. Shortly after launch, we'll free up all the unclaimed names for new Guild Wars 2 players to use," ArenaNet says.
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| Marvel Heroes chief: 'It's very Diablo-like' Posted: 23 Jul 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Super-hero, Video, Events, real-world, Interviews, Marvel Heroes  Brevik also discussed the game's story, which pits players against a nefarious plot by Doctor Doom. The key parts of the story will be told in over an hour's worth of motion comics. The team is strongly leaning on the Marvel IP to draw in fans and is relying on well-known heroes and classic locations to make geeks happy. When asked why players will not be allowed to make their own superheroes but instead will be forced to play one of Marvel's pre-existing characters, Brevik said that the game's system is just more compelling. While he admits that there could be 20 Spideys all in the same area, he points out that players have the option of switching their active character or choosing a different costume. You can watch the full video after the jump! Continue reading Marvel Heroes chief: 'It's very Diablo-like'
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| EVE Online: Inferno 1.2 hits servers August 8th Posted: 23 Jul 2012 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, EVE Online, Patches, News items, Sandbox  Adding to the graphical upgrades given to the Minmatar ships in 1.1, patch 1.2 distributes the same V3 shaders to the Angel pirate faction ships. EVE will also sport an improved user interface and include more information for new pilots just starting to navigate the universe. You can take a look at new details added with the shader model update on the Dramiel, Daredevil, Ixion, Cynabal, and Macharariel ships after the break. Continue reading EVE Online: Inferno 1.2 hits servers August 8th
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