MMO Updates |
- The Secret World's Digging Deeper update is now live!
- Massively Speaking Episode 216: The economy show
- LotRO treasure hunt event returns to Middle-earth
- The Soapbox: The classic Dungeons & Dragons problem
- Guild Wars 2 is now available for Mac
- Flameseeker Chronicles: The long haul in Guild Wars 2
- The Daily Grind: Are lifetime passes worth it after F2P?
- Not So Massively: Updates ahead for Firefall, Diablo III and more
- TERA on sale again, merge details revealed
- Captain's Log: Star Trek Online's skill points and expertise
- Star Wars: The Old Republic rolls out consolidation of locked servers [Updated]
- Leaderboard: Complexity vs. simplicity
- Team Fortress 2 helped Valve survive without an MMO
- RIFT adds pumpkin patch lootables to mobile app
- Pirate101 launching in 'early October'
- Xsyon creature migration system unveiled
- Wings Over Atreia: Aion 3.5 comes alive this October!
- Lengthy Blade & Soul review finds a lot to love
| The Secret World's Digging Deeper update is now live! Posted: 18 Sep 2012 10:30 AM PDT Filed under: Horror, Sci-fi, MMO industry, Patches, News items, The Secret World  Another change includes new loot bags that will drop off of all region bosses. These include various goodies like blueprints to summon the boss, epic items, and unique raid puzzle pieces. More information about this update can be found in the official patch notes.
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| Massively Speaking Episode 216: The economy show Posted: 18 Sep 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Podcasts, EVE Online, MMO industry, Ryzom, News items, Guild Wars 2, Massively Meta, Massively Speaking, RIFT, Final Fantasy XIV, DUST 514, WildStar  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 216: The economy show
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| LotRO treasure hunt event returns to Middle-earth Posted: 18 Sep 2012 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Events, in-game, News items, Free-to-play  Players who don't want to take the time to ride out to the field on their own can travel via the special festival announcer NPCs located in West Bree, Michel Delving, Thorin's Hall, and Celondim. More information about the event can be found in the Road to Mordor's treasure hunting guide.
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| The Soapbox: The classic Dungeons & Dragons problem Posted: 18 Sep 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous  Older tabletop roleplaying games are a mess. I realize that some our readers may not have had the unique pleasure of getting introduced to gaming via a handful of dice and a pencil, but let me give you the very short version. A long time ago, a game called Dungeons & Dragons was written, and it was the first roleplaying game. Since then, we've seen a lot of other roleplaying games come out with different ideas and different themes. We've also seen a lot of other roleplaying games meant to intentionally hearken back to the days when Dungeons & Dragons was the only game in town. This is almost never a good idea. Nor is the idea unique to tabletop games. In fact, we're seeing the same thing in the MMO space. There are games that market themselves by promising to be a return to the days of Ultima Online or points related, a throwback to the old school of gaming. I'm pretty sure Vanguard was the first of that movement. And while I understand the sentiment, it pretty much always ends in tears for some very good reasons. Continue reading The Soapbox: The classic Dungeons & Dragons problem
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| Guild Wars 2 is now available for Mac Posted: 18 Sep 2012 07:15 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Events, real-world, News items, Guild Wars 2, Dev Diaries  Yes, you read that right. Guild Wars 2 is available for Mac -- now. ArenaNet just announced that Guild Wars 2 will be supported on Apple's Mac OS X moving forward. Anyone who's purchased Guild Wars 2 has both clients available to them. Players using a Mac client will have all the same features and access to the same servers as a PC client. The current client available for download is listed as a beta client, so keep in mind as you play that performance and system requirements haven't been finalized. Check out this nifty Mac FAQ if you want more information.
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| Flameseeker Chronicles: The long haul in Guild Wars 2 Posted: 18 Sep 2012 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Economy, Endgame, PvE, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Flameseeker Chronicles, Dungeons, Crafting  I hear a lot of Guild Wars 2 players talk about level 80. I hear, specifically, a lot of Guild Wars 2 doubters talking about level 80. Surely, surely, if the level cap could be hit in mere days (or for those of us well behind the vanguard, mere weeks), then the game must be content-light? Surely, surely, that would mean that the real game was "endgame"? Nope. Don't get me wrong; hitting the level cap is significant. It's cool. Your character strikes a pose (you know, the same one he has struck literally scores of times before at each and every level-up). Your character says a catch-phrase. You feel good. But in terms of actual gameplay, I can think of very little that is less significant. Continue reading Flameseeker Chronicles: The long haul in Guild Wars 2
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| The Daily Grind: Are lifetime passes worth it after F2P? Posted: 18 Sep 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Horror, Lord of the Rings Online, Business models, MMO industry, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Daily Grind, The Secret World  With TSW, Funcom would have to hold off on F2P for another year in order for me to get the full monthly sub value out of the $199 up-front charge. Even if it doesn't make it, though, I'm glad I supported the game out of the gate. The Secret World is that rare MMO with the courage to do things differently, and personally that's worth a whole lot more than 200 bucks. What about you, dear readers? Are lifetime passes worth it even if the game goes F2P?  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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| Not So Massively: Updates ahead for Firefall, Diablo III and more Posted: 17 Sep 2012 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Events, in-game, New titles, Patches, Previews, PvP, News items, PvE, Not So Massively, MOBA, League of Legends, Diablo III, Firefall  Diablo III developers gave a sneak peek of the upcoming patch 1.0.5 update, which aims to reduce monster damage, rebalance defensive abilities, and introduce "uber" versions of several bosses. Players also found a way to farm treasure goblins this week with an odd quirk of the Puzzle Ring legendary. Upcoming MOBA SMITE revealed details of Thor, god of thunder, in a new video. League of Legends officially released its devestating new dark mage Syndra this week and started a new video series that asks professional players about their favourite champions. Finally, Wrath of Heroes introduced new Dark Elf assassin Zathis and detailed its new Alchemy system, which lets players convert their old tactics and masteries into something useful. Continue reading Not So Massively: Updates ahead for Firefall, Diablo III and more
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| TERA on sale again, merge details revealed Posted: 17 Sep 2012 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, News items, TERA, Promotions  It's worth noting that this deal is valid for only the downloaded version; the retail version does not have the same price discount or special offer. The deal doesn't technically reward you with an immediate copy, instead providing a $9.99 promotional credit that can be redeemed only on a second copy of TERA. This credit is valid until October 15th, but the promotion ends on September 22nd. If you and a friend have been tempted to give TERA a shot, now is obviously the time to jump in, although you may want to wait for a day as the game is merging down to three servers tomorrow. In fact, En Masse has just officially announced the names of the new servers and revealed additional details about the merges on the TERA website. [Thanks to potatochobit for the tip!]
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| Captain's Log: Star Trek Online's skill points and expertise Posted: 17 Sep 2012 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play, Captain's Log, Guides  With the kind assitance and input of many members of the STO and Massively communities, I'm continuing a series of columns devoted to helpful hints for the new player. This week we'll be taking a look at the game's skill trees for playable characters and their bridge officers. Continue reading Captain's Log: Star Trek Online's skill points and expertise
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| Star Wars: The Old Republic rolls out consolidation of locked servers [Updated] Posted: 17 Sep 2012 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic  For those players curious about their new destination or the ever-present naming issue, the team has created an FAQ to answer any obvious questions. The character limit on the destination servers has also been raised to 12. Players who have more than 12 total characters after consolidation will still have access to all of their characters but cannot create any new characters until they delete a few (although all of the characters will be available for play). As with any sort of transfer, there's still some ambiguity about how smoothly everything will run, so players will have to keep their eyes peeled, log in tomorrow, and see what happens after the dust settles. [Update: The team also just released a miniature dev blog that explains how shadows will soon be prettified.]
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| Leaderboard: Complexity vs. simplicity Posted: 17 Sep 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Polls, Opinion, Miscellaneous, Leaderboard  I appreciate both and everything in between on that spectrum. Complexity certainly does drive people away and present a real obstacle to growing a playerbase, but it also asks folks to step up and learn something instead of be handed welfare epics. Simplicity is relaxing as well because life is complicated enough. Sometimes you just want to see big numbers and things going poof. So take out your imaginary crayons today and draw a line. To the left are complex MMOs and to the right is simplicity in its finest. Don't levy judgment on which is better overall; just tell us where your preferences lie -- to the complex or to the simple? Vote after the jump! Continue reading Leaderboard: Complexity vs. simplicity
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| Team Fortress 2 helped Valve survive without an MMO Posted: 17 Sep 2012 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Business models, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Miscellaneous  "[When TF2 shipped], MMOs were the dominant story in the industry, and one concern we had was that we might not be able to survive if we didn't build one," Walker told the website. "We didn't think we were ready to undertake that, but we did think that we might be able to build some pieces of one, learning enough so that if or when we did need to build one, we had less risk on the table. We decided that persistent item design and storage seemed like a reasonable amount of risk for us to bite off, and could be made to fit into TF2's gameplay," Walker explained.
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| RIFT adds pumpkin patch lootables to mobile app Posted: 17 Sep 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, Mobile, RIFT  The new lootable is available for a limited time only, presumably until the end of the game's festival. Lucky winners can nab currency for the event or a goodie bag containing special food. Lootables are free lottery-type scratchers that are granted once every hour on the mobile app, with a maximum of six kept in reserve at any one time.
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| Pirate101 launching in 'early October' Posted: 17 Sep 2012 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Business models, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Browser, Casual, Kids, Family, Pirate101  Forbes says the free-to-play kid-friendly title will go on sale just in time for International Talk Like a Pirate Day (that's September 19th if you're curious). Pre-sale purchasers will get access to the game a week prior to its actual launch, and they'll also score a range of in-game pets, mounts, weapons, and homes. If you're willing to fork over 89 bucks for the Boochbeard bundle, you'll get automatic beta access which will enable you play this week.
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| Xsyon creature migration system unveiled Posted: 17 Sep 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Game mechanics, News items, PvE, Xsyon, Post-Apocalyptic, Sandbox  Different species will also exhibit different tendencies when migrating. Smaller, tamer critters will congregate toward the shores of Lake Tahoe and civilization, whereas the more dangerous creatures will migrate toward the mountains away from people. The wild animals that venture too close or into the toxic mist will mutate and return to wreak havoc upon the denizens of the land. [Source: Notorious Games press release]
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| Wings Over Atreia: Aion 3.5 comes alive this October! Posted: 17 Sep 2012 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Game mechanics, Interviews, Previews, Opinion, Free-to-play, Massively Interviews, Wings Over Atreia, Dungeons, Housing  Not only that, but I was able to sit down with Associate Producer Sean Orlikowski to talk about some of these great new features, like housing changes, legion quests, and Dimensional Vortexes. We discussed the epic conclusion of the Dragon Lord's saga, the underlying story that has been playing out since the game launched. Then he shared some details about the Anniversary events starting on September 19th. Trust me -- a lot of stuff is coming our way. So what do Daevas have to look forward to next month? Where to begin... Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: Aion 3.5 comes alive this October!
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| Lengthy Blade & Soul review finds a lot to love Posted: 17 Sep 2012 10:30 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Blade & Soul  The piece delves into everything from the game's unique movement and travel systems to its combat, clothing, and skill mechanics. There are quite a few embedded gameplay videos as well. So what's the author's verdict? "I played this game hardcore for two months straight with ten-hour long gaming sessions each day," he writes.
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