MMO Updates

MMO Updates

Previously on MV TV: The week of August 4th

Posted: 12 Aug 2012 08:00 AM PDT

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Hello again, Massively readers and viewers! Did you enjoy the Mars Rover landing? By the time you read this, were you able to get some time outside to check out the Perseid meteor shower? No? That's OK because you were inside watching Massively TV, right? No?

All right, let's stay calm. Here's what I'll do for you, but just this once. I'm going to recap some of the best moments from the last week of livestreaming. I'll wrap them up in a nice package to save you some of the work. All you need to do is click past the cut, watch the streams and... hey! Stop looking at those meteors! Get back in here.

This week we had Blake returning with his Lunchtime Livecast, this time discussing the new Star Wars: The Old Republic transition to free-to-play. Next up, I took the mic and played some of The Kingdom of Loathing for Choose My Adventure. I jumped head-first into Dark Blood after that (with Outspark's help, of course) and followed it up with a revisit to Allods Online. Mike shot a lot of stuff in EVE Online, and Jeremy took us through another starter zone in Vanguard: Saga of Heroes in celebration of SOE's early free-to-play transition. MJ joined up and streamed some EverQuest II, a bit of DC Universe Online, The Secret World, and Aion. Voila! Instant entertainment!

Continue reading Previously on MV TV: The week of August 4th

MassivelyPreviously on MV TV: The week of August 4th originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 12 Aug 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    The Daily Grind: Do you expect big news from this week's confluence of conventions?

    Posted: 12 Aug 2012 06:00 AM PDT

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    Or maybe you'll just be gaming all of next week and won't realize until Friday that there was stuff going on this week. That might actually be more fun.
    GDC Europe, GenCon Indy, and Gamescom all happening at the same time? It'd be completely unbelievable if it weren't happening right now. This week sees three major gaming conventions all taking place, and while all three are focusing on different areas of the gaming world, you can't focus on one while ignoring the others. That means that next week is going to be full of coverage of all three events, and if you've been following the convention calendar, you're no doubt eagerly anticipating this.

    But will there be any major news? After all, sometimes these events don't produce news so much as a few interesting footnotes. With so much gaming concentrated in a single week, it would almost make more sense to wait until the ruckus has died down to make any big announcements. So do you expect big news from this week's convention extravaganza? Or do you expect a whole lot of noise and not a lot of signal?

    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!

    MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Do you expect big news from this week's confluence of conventions? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 12 Aug 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      Guild Wars 2 stress testing continues today

      Posted: 12 Aug 2012 05:30 AM PDT

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      I don't even remember what stress test this is from.
      In a surprise move that absolutely no one could have anticipated, ArenaNet has announced another stress test for the soon-to-launch Guild Wars 2.

      The test will run from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EDT on Sunday the 12th (today!). Like those before it, the test is open to those who have pre-purchased the game and characters, will not have been deleted. As in previous stress tests, the team is advertising that this test is, true to its name, designed to stress the servers. Players might experience features not working as intended, and that's par for the course.

      Have fun if you make it into the game, and remember that this will hopefully make the real deal a much smoother experience for everyone in a mere 13 days.

      MassivelyGuild Wars 2 stress testing continues today originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 12 Aug 2012 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      The Tattered Notebook: Exploring identity with EQII's SOEmote

      Posted: 11 Aug 2012 04:00 PM PDT

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      The Tattered Notebook EQII's SOEmote and New Voiceovers
      This week, EverQuest II launched a new feature called SOEmote. It gives players the ability to use a webcam and create facial expressions for their avatars, but it also includes the ability to change your voice to match your character in voice chat. You wouldn't think that being able to raise and lower eyebrows, tilt your head, or sound like a pixie would match up well with killing orcs and looting treasures, but neither would home decorating, and yet it's become a very popular activity in game. Will SOEmote follow suit and be yet another outlet for player creativity, or is it just a gimmick? In this week's Tattered Notebook, we'll take a look at the new feature and give some first impressions about its potential.

      Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: Exploring identity with EQII's SOEmote

      MassivelyThe Tattered Notebook: Exploring identity with EQII's SOEmote originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 11 Aug 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        The Mog Log: A bucket list before 2.0

        Posted: 11 Aug 2012 02:00 PM PDT

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        The Mog Log header by A. Fienemann
        Doom approaches Eorzea. It's nice to think that we as players won a temporary victory and a brief respite from that oncoming destruction, but let's face it: We all know from trailers and outside sources that it's just a momentary win. Cities will burn, lands will be razed, and the best we can hope for is that when we emerge once more, the world is a better place. Final Fantasy XIV is getting a lot of upgrades in version 2.0, but a whole lot of the game is going to be flushed away first.

        How long do we have? The rest of the month, certainly. Most of September, probably. More than that? Dubious. So it's time to start making a bucket list for Eorzea-that-is before it becomes Eorzea-that-was, since we all know that a lot of things are changing by then. I'm not talking about finishing out the storyline missions; if you haven't already done that, then odds are you're not too concerned about doing so. I'm talking about the things you need to do in order to prepare for the end, stuff that you should start knuckling down and doing. Maybe some of it won't be necessary after all, but it's better to assume that the clock is running for you to take a last look.

        Continue reading The Mog Log: A bucket list before 2.0

        MassivelyThe Mog Log: A bucket list before 2.0 originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 11 Aug 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          SOE to stop offering expansions for Station Cash, offers 50% off this weekend

          Posted: 11 Aug 2012 01:00 PM PDT

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          SOE to stop offering expansions for Station Cash, offers 50% off this weekend
          In the wake of the initial removal of subscriptions from the Station Cash store, Sony Online Entertainment is giving players a heads-up about the impending removal of expansions and DLC packs. Starting on Monday the 27th, players will no longer be able to purchase any expansions for EverQuest or EverQuest II or DLC packs for DC Universe Online using Station Cash. The company explains that the change is due to the substantial cost of the content development, the need to protect revenue, and the competing desire to continue running player-loved Station Cash promotions.

          Along with the notification, SOE is offering a 50% off sale on expansions and DLC packs from now through 2:59 a.m. EDT on Monday, August 13th. Players can take advantage of this offer with either cash or their saved SC, but only for this limited time. After that, all purchases will be cash-only.

          [Thanks to Paul for the tip!]

          MassivelySOE to stop offering expansions for Station Cash, offers 50% off this weekend originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 11 Aug 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          The Road to Mordor: LotRO's next four expansions

          Posted: 11 Aug 2012 12:00 PM PDT

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          The Road to Mordor LotRO's next four expansions
          With under a month to go until Riders of Rohan hits the digital starting gate and gallops past the horse metaphor, expansions are weighing heavily upon my mind. I'm excited about horse combat and a break from traditional questing (to a point), but I'm also hoping that Lord of the Rings Online's fourth expansion will prove far more compelling than its previous one turned out to be.

          LotRO may be coasting into its middle-age years (in MMOs, every year in real life is like nine for the game), but it still has quite a bit of life -- and journey -- ahead of it. Unlike every other MMO out there, this title has a specific story it's following from beginning to end. Maybe we get off the beaten path of Tolkien's works now and then, but our fate as players is intertwined with the fates of Frodo and the One Ring. It gives us the advantage of knowing more about our future in the game than we would have otherwise.

          So today I'm putting on my prognostication cap and giving you all the skinny on Lord of the Rings Online's next four expansions past Riders of Rohan. I have no insider knowledge, just a gut feeling and a time-traveling buddy named Soren from the year 2020.

          Continue reading The Road to Mordor: LotRO's next four expansions

          MassivelyThe Road to Mordor: LotRO's next four expansions originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 11 Aug 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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            John Smedley on PlanetSide 2's strengths and three-year plan

            Posted: 11 Aug 2012 11:00 AM PDT

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            John Smedley espouses PlanetSide 2's strengths and threeyear plan
            "PlanetSide 2 -- what is it and why do I want to play it?," asks SOE President John Smedley in a recent LiveJournal post (yes, LiveJournal lives!). In a little over 3,000 words, Smedley attempts to make the case for why PlanetSide 2 is a genuine contender in both the MMO and FPS markets. "We're thinking about a game we plan to have running in 2025. Yeah. Really," he writes.

            John Smedley's selling points on PS2 are as follows: It has a "very deep" certification system, the deepest team-based gameplay of any FPS, an immersive world, no end, a huge community, resourced-based gameplay and territorial control, and familiar gameplay. And it's free-to-play.

            Smedley also opens up regarding SOE's three-year plan for PlanetSide 2, mentioning possible player-owned bases, harvestable resources, a seamless planet and water vehicles, NPC armies and enemies, e-sports support, and a Mac version.

            MassivelyJohn Smedley on PlanetSide 2's strengths and three-year plan originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 11 Aug 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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