MMO Updates |
- Choose My Adventure: Out of breath but not out of meat in The Kingdom of Loathing
- GDC Europe: Funcom's Morrison says focus on the why, not the what
- Massively Exclusive: DK Online Warrior class spotlight
- PlanetSide 2 available for hands-on play at Gamescom
- New FFXIV 2.0 screenshots released
- Play Diablo III for free up to level 13
- Gamescom 2012: DayZ stand-alone to have instanced building [Updated]
- Gamescom 2012: Wargaming.net teases World of Warplanes CG trailer
- The Secret World's August update adding new weapon, abilities, missions, and more
- RIFT breaking down faction walls and normalizing PvP in 1.10
- GDC Europe 2012: Designer says American gamers can't handle failure
- The Daily Grind: Do you like in-game gambling?
- Jukebox Heroes: Runes of Magic's soundtrack
- Guild Wars 2 starts up the final countdown to launch [Updated]
- Massively Speaking Episode 212: Free-to-say
- Another day closer to release, another Guild Wars 2 stress test
- Hyperspace Beacon: All SWTOR classes are useful in Huttball, part 1
- Guild Wars 2 giveaway for Gamescom attendees
- LotRO's Lore-masters get buff (and buff others) in Riders of Rohan
- World of Warcraft schedules big patch for Guild Wars 2's launch day
- GDC Europe 2012: F2P developers should expect 70 percent initial user drop
- DC Universe Hand of Fate DLC coming in September
- Funcom addressing PvP issues in The Secret World
- Trion offering free expansion, mount, and title with yearly RIFT sub purchase
| Choose My Adventure: Out of breath but not out of meat in The Kingdom of Loathing Posted: 15 Aug 2012 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Polls, Video, Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, Browser, Casual, Humor, Choose My Adventure, Community Q&A, Livestream, Miscellaneous  I am slowly getting the hang of the pace of the game. Last week's votes showed that most players enjoy the game at about the same pace I do. It's only an hour or so a day that many of us play, but that's because of how the game is built. I can guarantee that a lot of that time is spent hanging on the forums, chatting it up with other players, and generally staying connected to the game while not necessarily playing it. It's a good pace, especially for someone like yours truly who cannot sit for several hours a night playing a single title. So let's recap the last week and get to voting! Continue reading Choose My Adventure: Out of breath but not out of meat in The Kingdom of Loathing
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| GDC Europe: Funcom's Morrison says focus on the why, not the what Posted: 15 Aug 2012 08:45 AM PDT Filed under: Age of Conan, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, The Secret World  Referencing both Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Simon Simek's work on motivation, Morrison's talk ranged from discussing how games go wrong by focusing on only one kind of player to encouraging the development and fostering of community. "Unless you expose the players to the community and encourage community interactions, there's not that much difference between your game and a single-player game," he opined.
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| Massively Exclusive: DK Online Warrior class spotlight Posted: 15 Aug 2012 08:30 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, Classes, Interviews, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries  As companies are wont to do with pre-release titles, Aeria Games is rebranding the game from Dragon Knights Online. As such, the game's official website will be switching over to a new address later today. Get a load of the Warrior after the jump and see if this might be the class for you! Continue reading Massively Exclusive: DK Online Warrior class spotlight
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| PlanetSide 2 available for hands-on play at Gamescom Posted: 15 Aug 2012 08:15 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Events, real-world, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, PlanetSide 2  The game stations will be open for Planetside 2 play in four blocks of time stretched over two days: tomorrow, August 16th and Friday, August 17th. On both days the available times will be 11:45 a.m. - 12 :15 p.m CET (5:45 a.m. - 6:15 a.m. EDT) and 3:45 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. CET (9:45 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. EDT). Additionally, on Thursday and Friday Creative Director Matt Higby will take the stage and present a brand new PlanetSide 2 trailer as well as deliver several game giveaways to those who attend. [Source: Sony Only Entertainment press release]
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| New FFXIV 2.0 screenshots released Posted: 15 Aug 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Patches, Previews, News items, Final Fantasy XIV  Gamescom maketh the good things flow. Today saw Square-Enix releasing a double helping of new FFXIV screenshots and artwork as a preview of what awaits fans in the game's 2.0 patch. The long-anticipated update, known as FFXIV: A Realm Reborn, is bringing some pretty significant changes to the game. The new images show off everything from skill effects and mounts to architecture and NPC dialogue. They serve as a mightily shiny glimpse at what's to come when the patch hits and brings a nearly universal graphical update with it. And chocobo-raising, because what good is a world without chocobo raising? [Source: Square-Enix press release]
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| Play Diablo III for free up to level 13 Posted: 15 Aug 2012 07:45 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Diablo III  Now, though, Blizzard has righted the ship and released a proper D3 trial to the masses, exclusively via Battle.net. Tire-kickers can advance to level 13 and confront the game's first boss (the Skeleton King). Try it out for yourself via the game's official website.
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| Gamescom 2012: DayZ stand-alone to have instanced building [Updated] Posted: 15 Aug 2012 07:30 AM PDT Filed under: Horror, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Sandbox  Hall says that the feature will probably take the form of underground bases accessed via portals (think a grate in the ground). He's leaning toward having players dig out the space, pour concrete, set up hydroponics, and possibly even have the structure collapse around them if it's a particularly gruesome day. DayZ's stand-alone client will also feature a revamped Chernarus that features more buildings you can actually enter as well as more detail and "entirely new areas." [Update: There are also talks of it coming to consoles.]
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| Gamescom 2012: Wargaming.net teases World of Warplanes CG trailer Posted: 15 Aug 2012 07:15 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Historical, Trailers, Video, MMO industry, New titles, News items, War, Free-to-play, World of Warplanes  While there's no gameplay footage, we do get to see a good representation of all the different aircraft up for grabs in the game. Everything from World War II stalwarts like the P-51 Mustang and Messerschmitt Bf-109 to Korean War birds like the F-86 are on display. There's even a glimpse of some World War I-era hardware. See for yourself after the break. Continue reading Gamescom 2012: Wargaming.net teases World of Warplanes CG trailer
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| The Secret World's August update adding new weapon, abilities, missions, and more Posted: 15 Aug 2012 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Horror, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, PvE, The Secret World  The Secret World's second major content drop is coming on August 28th. The "Digging Deeper" update includes new avatar customization options, new investigation and action missions, and last but not least, the game's first post-launch weapon addition.The weapon in question is a rocket launcher which boasts seven new abilities, an eighth ability hotbar slot, and a new auxiliary ability wheel. If you're unhappy with the results of your initial character creation session, you can visit Dr. Anton Aldini in Brooklyn or Ockham's Razor barber shop in London for facial feature and hairstyle customization. New missions include the titular Digging Deeper, which continues the story thread originally introduced in The Kingsmouth Code. Finally, the August update will add nightmare modes to the The Facility and Hell Eternal dungeons. More info is available at the official Secret World website. And don't forget about the newly announced free trial where anyone can sign up for three free days of The Secret World. If three days isn't enough, you can earn an additional two days and 1200 bonus points when you complete 30 missions.
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| RIFT breaking down faction walls and normalizing PvP in 1.10 Posted: 15 Aug 2012 06:45 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, PvP, RIFT  For players, this means that there will be a lot more inter-faction communication and interaction. To start with, both factions will be able to join together for public groups, trading, the dungeon finder, raids, instant adventure, and weddings. The team also has plans to open up chat channels, quest sharing, guilds, friends list, and more between the two sides. There will be exceptions to some of these features on PvP servers, however. RIFT is also preparing to implement PvP normalization, which means that all players competing in PvP will do so with the same stats and no benefits from gear. Trion Worlds promises that there will still be "meaningful PvP progression," but that this should put the emphasis on skill rather than gear. [Thanks to Warbs and Marc for the tip!]
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| GDC Europe 2012: Designer says American gamers can't handle failure Posted: 15 Aug 2012 06:30 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Miscellaneous  "The idea of failure has been dramatically reduced," Daglow said, before going on to opine that this stems from an educational system where failure has been removed from the curriculum. He also said that many gamers blame their failures on the game itself instead of analyzing their mistakes and trying again.
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| The Daily Grind: Do you like in-game gambling? Posted: 15 Aug 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous  In-game gambling actually has a long association with computer and video game RPGs. I've never seen it as a legitimate money-maker so much as a pleasant distraction from combat and a tool for immersion. Plus, if the developers actually managed to create a good poker minigame out of it all, then it's like getting two games for the price of one! It might be hard to developers these days to keep microtransactions out of in-game gambling systems, but fortunately that's not a universal problem as of yet. Whether or not real money comes into the equation, do you enjoy gambling in your MMOs?  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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| Jukebox Heroes: Runes of Magic's soundtrack Posted: 14 Aug 2012 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Free-to-play, Runes of Magic, Jukebox Heroes  Sure, the game shares enough DNA with World of Warcraft that the two titles can never marry or else they'll have inbred children, but RoM's soundtrack is anything but a clone of WoW's. Runes of Magic actually goes toe to toe with some of the greatest music I've ever heard in MMOs, and that's no exaggeration. I have to thank Massively's Jeremy Stratton for turning me on to this particular score. According to a few accounts I've read, Runes of Magic's music is both cobbled together from tracks of other video games as well as original pieces composed specifically for this. I honestly don't care where the music comes from; I just care to turn my speakers all the way up and feel epic when it's playing. So here we go with my absolute favorite tracks from Runes of Magic, minus a couple that I've shared on Massively before! Continue reading Jukebox Heroes: Runes of Magic's soundtrack
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| Guild Wars 2 starts up the final countdown to launch [Updated] Posted: 14 Aug 2012 05:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Launches, News items, Guild Wars 2  Pre-purchasers with access to the headstart will be able to start playing on August 25th at 3:00 a.m. EDT, with the caveat that servers may be brought up three hours early to check stability one last time. Those who pre-ordered the game but didn't fully purchase a copy will have access to a one-day headstart beginning on August 27th at 3:00 a.m. EDT. If you're in either camp and want to get patched up ahead of time, you can download the client now and ensure that your computer is ready to catch every moment of the last two weeks before launch. [Thanks to miattavich for the tip!] [Update: The team has also posted the full server list for launch.]
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| Massively Speaking Episode 212: Free-to-say Posted: 14 Aug 2012 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Podcasts, MMO industry, News items, Vanguard, Massively Meta, Massively Speaking, RIFT, DUST 514, Allods Online, TERA, Miscellaneous  MJ joins Justin to co-host this week as Bree has mysteriously gone missing. Don't worry, however; a nearby gnome with an exclamation point above his head is willing to send you on a quest to rescue her from the Dirty Diaper Dragon. Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot an email to podcast@massively.com. We may just read your email on the air! Get the podcast: [iTunes] Subscribe to Massively Speaking directly in iTunes. [RSS] Add Massively Speaking to your RSS aggregator. [MP3] Download the MP3 directly. Listen here on the page: Read below the cut for the full show notes. Continue reading Massively Speaking Episode 212: Free-to-say
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| Another day closer to release, another Guild Wars 2 stress test Posted: 14 Aug 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Launches, News items, Guild Wars 2  The test will run from 3:00 p.m. EDT until 7:00 p.m. EDT. Development teams will be actively working on the game and the servers during the event, which may result in disconnections or login difficulties. The announcement emphasizes that these issues are indicative of the state of the stress test rather than the presumed state of the game on launch. So if you've got some free time tomorrow evening, you may want to get a nice little dose of Guild Wars 2 before the main event in two weeks.
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| Hyperspace Beacon: All SWTOR classes are useful in Huttball, part 1 Posted: 14 Aug 2012 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, PvP, Endgame, Opinion, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Guides, Hyperspace Beacon  As I said last week, my guild does recreational PvP, which is to say that we do it for the fun of it and not because we have to be the best of the best. This helps us enjoy the sport of it without having the pressure of maintaining a ranked-PvP score. Unfortunately, that also means we run into a lot of other players who don't know exactly what they are supposed to be doing in games like Huttball. Those same complaining players are also the ones who claim that their particular class is deficient in one way or another based on the PvP map. The biggest cringe in SWTOR comes from Huttball. Naysayers complain that one class or another does something different or better than they do. Today, I'm going to break down a couple of the classes to show you how each of them can be more effective. Let's dive in. Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: All SWTOR classes are useful in Huttball, part 1
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| Guild Wars 2 giveaway for Gamescom attendees Posted: 14 Aug 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Real life, Events, real-world, News items, Guild Wars 2, Giveaways  It's that special time of year again. There are thousands of people packing bags, boarding trains, and piling into Cologne, Germany. Soon the halls that host Gamescom will be filled with people, the din of dozens of competing booths, and the scent of unwashed masses. What does that mean for you if you're a Guild Wars 2 fan in attendance? It means that along with a weekend with tens of thousands of your best buddies, you get a chance for super-special in-game items. Every day, ArenaNet staff members in the team's booth will be giving away an in-game goodie to anyone who can tell them the day's password. The passwords for each day will be announced via Twitter, so be sure to keep one eye on the Guild Wars 2 Twitter feed and another on an ArenaNet employee who'll accept said password. Aside from setting themselves up to be trampled by a seething horde of item-hungry fans, the ArenaNet team members will be chilling in Hall 8, chatting with folks, and generally keeping low-key. They might be saving their energy for something; I hear there's a game of theirs coming out soon.
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| LotRO's Lore-masters get buff (and buff others) in Riders of Rohan Posted: 14 Aug 2012 01:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Classes, Expansions, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries  In a new class dev diary, Turbine stated that all Lore-masters will be able to train the ability to use an off-hand sword at level 40. Previously, this was a legendary trait-only skill. Due to the change, the team has increased the other stats on the trait. The three new skills that the class will learn as it levels to 85 will greatly benefit both soloing and groups. Lore-masters will get an improved power-extraction ability, a group-wide power return skill, and a stacking heal-over-time that should beef up the class' medical acumen.
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| World of Warcraft schedules big patch for Guild Wars 2's launch day Posted: 14 Aug 2012 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Expansions, Patches, Guild Wars 2  Not one to take a competitor's launch sitting down, Blizzard has scheduled its World of Warcraft 5.0.4 patch release for Tuesday, August 28th. Fans of Guild Wars 2 might have an inkling that the 28th has some significance within their own community as well. WoW 5.0.4 is the pre-expansion patch for Mists of Pandaria. It weighs a hefty six gigabytes and includes shared mounts, new pets, and the massive talent revamp. North American players will get the patch on August 28th, while European servers will see it on the 29th. Mists of Pandaria is slated for a September 25th release. Deciding whether this happens to be an innocent coincidence or a shrewd counter-stroke to GW2's launch is up to you. All we know is that August 28th is going to be one very, very busy day.
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| GDC Europe 2012: F2P developers should expect 70 percent initial user drop Posted: 14 Aug 2012 12:30 PM PDT Filed under: Business models, Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play  He said that player retention is the key issue facing the new business model, and despite the fact that most players leave F2P titles shortly after registering, those who stick around for a few days will usually keep playing. Van der Crabben, who is currently designing browser-based F2P games at Travian, pointed to World of Warcraft as a model, noting its mechanical effectiveness at retaining users by presenting them with cyclical gameplay. This amounts to "kill[ing] stuff to get better to get more abilities to kill more stuff," he said.
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| DC Universe Hand of Fate DLC coming in September Posted: 14 Aug 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, DC Universe Online  Would-be superheroes can look forward to new utility belt attachments, new operations, new side missions, and magic-powered Legends PvP avatars. "We want to provide players with unique hero and villain experiences that immerse them in the most iconic DC Comics locations: Gotham City and Metropolis. What we hope players find in this DLC are emergent game play moments that challenge and reinvigorate them in the open world," explains DCUO creative director Jens Andersen. Hand of Fate will be free for Legendary members and available for purchase via the in-game store and PlayStation marketplace for Premium and Free players. [Source: SOE press release]
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| Funcom addressing PvP issues in The Secret World Posted: 14 Aug 2012 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Horror, Sci-fi, Game mechanics, PvP, News items, The Secret World  Among the changes are plans to give incentives for defending facilities and for staying in the Fusang PvP zone longer. The Eldorado and Stonehenge battlegrounds will also see some tweaks, including incentives for increased participation and a reduction in the size of the center "score circle" so players cannot gain points while hiding behind the perimeter stones. Additionally, players saving up for PvP talisman upgrade kits might soon get more for their tokens as the prices will most likely drop.
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| Trion offering free expansion, mount, and title with yearly RIFT sub purchase Posted: 14 Aug 2012 10:45 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, RIFT, Promotions  Storm Legion features two new continents that triple the size of Telara, 10 additional levels, four additional souls, and plenty of new content that includes seven dungeons, three raids, and a chronicle. Trion is calling its yearly sub-plus-expansion offering the RIFT Storm Chaser Edition, and you can grab it for $119.98 via the official site. In addition to everything listed above, you'll also receive an exclusive mount and in-game title.
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