MMO Updates |
- Ex-BioWare dev: Negativity too much for Zeschuk, Muzyka
- Age of Wushu beta and launch announced
- 38 Studios assets to be auctioned off in October
- Blade & Soul introduces the Lyn Blade Master
- The Daily Grind: How important is intellectual property to your MMO?
- Analysts: Mists of Pandaria sales disappointing
- Phantasy Star Universe is gone for good
- RaiderZ previews Mt. Eda
- The Guild Counsel: Dealing with returning members at the dawn of a new expansion
- Save CoH movement invites NCsoft execs to play, petition passes 20,000 signatures
- DayZ receiving a standalone version before the year is out
- Chaos Theory: Stuff The Secret World needs
- LotRO explains history of mounted combat
- RIFT lets you go on the offensive with Hunt Rifts
- Get EVE Online: Inferno for $5 this weekend only
- Blizzard offering free server transfers to offset Mists of Pandaria queues
- Garriott shares Ultima Online anecdotes for 15th anniversary
| Ex-BioWare dev: Negativity too much for Zeschuk, Muzyka Posted: 28 Sep 2012 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Culture, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Star Wars: The Old Republic  "The last time I met up with [Greg], I felt his exhaustion," Oster told Now Gamer. 'Punch out, eject, get the hell out,' was my suggestion to him and it hit closer to the mark than I had realized. I also think the Mass Effect 3 fan reaction and the Old Republic fans' negativity was just too much." Oster goes on to express surprise at Muzyka's departure, saying that he had him "pegged as an EA lifer." "I'm sure the internal culture at EA had pinned the Old Republic conversion to free-to-play as a failure and hung that completely on Ray, so that would have hurt his upward climb. But, I figured he would fight harder. EA upper management must have been even worse than I thought," Oster explained.
|
| Age of Wushu beta and launch announced Posted: 28 Sep 2012 08:30 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Launches, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Sandbox  Players can gain access to the November closed beta by purchasing the limited-time Elite pre-sale package for $9.99 USD. The package includes a full version of the game as well as exclusive in-game items. After the November beta closes on the 25th, players can purchase one of three Age of Wushu gift sets -- filled with in-game and real world items -- to get access to the next beta starting December 20th. The gift sets have the additional perk of allowing players into an exclusive access period starting February 1st, giving them 90 days of play before the official launch. [Source: Snail Games press release]
|
| 38 Studios assets to be auctioned off in October Posted: 28 Sep 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Legal, Miscellaneous  Currently listed in the assets are XBox 360 Development Kits, which Microsoft is requesting be removed since they are the property of Microsoft and not 38 Studios.
|
| Blade & Soul introduces the Lyn Blade Master Posted: 28 Sep 2012 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Classes, Patches, Previews, Free-to-play, Blade & Soul  As one might infer from the title, Lyn Blade Masters are quite skilled in slicing and dicing. Players using the class can employ stuns, flying swords, and AoE attacks. The Lyn Blade Master has use as a tank too, with strong grabbing skills to keep the enemy rooted and focused on him or her. October's update to Blade & Soul has a slew of changes and tweaks. NCsoft is revamping the Summoner class, creating a new endgame dungeon from an old one, adding a solo dungeon called the Tower of Mushin, implementing a cross-server party matching system, throwing in a tournament system, and more. Check out the Lyn Blade Master reveal video after the jump and let us know if you'll be playing one! Continue reading Blade & Soul introduces the Lyn Blade Master
|
| The Daily Grind: How important is intellectual property to your MMO? Posted: 28 Sep 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous  It's nice to have a familiar world in which to play, as games like World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, and Star Wars Galaxies have shown us. But fresh-from-scratch worlds are usually just as enticing. Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 seem to be doing pretty well for themselves. So which do you prefer? Does a familiar world matter to you, or do you reward originality?  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!
|
| Analysts: Mists of Pandaria sales disappointing Posted: 27 Sep 2012 09:50 PM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Expansions, MMO industry, News items  This is a significant drop from the 3.3 million unit sales of Cataclysm, World of Warcraft's last expansion which shipped in December of 2010. One important caveat is that Lazard doesn't take digital sales into account, but VentureBeat reports that the firm believes "digital sales won't make up for [MoP's] poor retail performance.
|
| Phantasy Star Universe is gone for good Posted: 27 Sep 2012 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, in-game, MMO industry, News items  Saying goodbye to a game you love is sad. Phantasy Star Universe has been in the process of bidding its players adieu for quite some time, beginning by departing from the PS2 and PC platforms two years ago. Since then, players have been clinging to the XBox 360 servers and dreaming of a happy future. Today, with the closure of the Japanese PSU servers, players had to bid the game a final farewell. [Thanks to savvy reader Kassandra for the tip.]Fans got together on the PSO World forums to share memories and final screenshots.
|
| Posted: 27 Sep 2012 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Previews, News items, Free-to-play  Players can warm themselves up for the mountain's challenges with PvP matches on the slopes. That practice will hopefully prepare them for fighting the giant yeti near the mountain's peak. Or they can try to go through the tunnels beneath the mountain... tunnels infested with diabolical tribes and huge colonies of marauding insects. Check out the full trailer just past the break for a rundown of what you can expect from the mountain. [Source: Perfect World Entertainment press release] Continue reading RaiderZ previews Mt. Eda
|
| The Guild Counsel: Dealing with returning members at the dawn of a new expansion Posted: 27 Sep 2012 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Expansions, Guilds, Opinion, The Guild Counsel, Miscellaneous  On the surface, the sudden roster boost might seem like a welcome scenario, especially for raiding guilds. But in reality, it can turn into a disruption that has the potential to add drama and headaches for the guild leader. In this week's Guild Counsel, we'll look at a few things to be mindful of when you're faced with a sudden influx of returning members. Continue reading The Guild Counsel: Dealing with returning members at the dawn of a new expansion
|
| Save CoH movement invites NCsoft execs to play, petition passes 20,000 signatures Posted: 27 Sep 2012 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play  One player has put forth a unique idea: Instead of asking NCsoft executives to reverse their decision, he's asking them to come play the game. Other fans have taken to mirroring the letter and sending it to the address set up for CoH-related messages. The hope is that playing and experiencing the game will convince the people in charge how much the game means to the players who have spent years in Paragon City. If you've already signed the petition and sent your letter, you might be looking for a bit of happy news. That would come in the form of photos of the player-bought lunch for Paragon Studios, a gift from the community to the team. It's a sign of the dedication behind the Save CoH movement and an inspiration to those still hoping that the game's sunset will be averted. [Thanks to Jeffrey for the tip!]
|
| DayZ receiving a standalone version before the year is out Posted: 27 Sep 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Horror, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Post-Apocalyptic, Miscellaneous  Hill has not named an exact price, but he has made it clear that the standalone version will be cheap. He's also made a point of stating several of his longer-term plans for the standalone version, including the spread of diseases, makeshift first-aid remedies, and the eventual inclusion of vehicles. All of it is very ambitious, but that's part of the reason that the team is dead-set on having the standalone game out before the end of December.
|
| Chaos Theory: Stuff The Secret World needs Posted: 27 Sep 2012 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Horror, MMO industry, Opinion, The Secret World, Giveaways, Housing, Chaos Theory  Good MMOs are virtual worlds, though, and Funcom's got plenty of options for expanding immersiveness and gameplay potential going forward. Oh, and fair warning: If you're one of those lulz-we-don't-need-no-stickin'-fluff types, this week's column isn't for you. Continue reading Chaos Theory: Stuff The Secret World needs
|
| LotRO explains history of mounted combat Posted: 27 Sep 2012 02:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries  The diary begins by recalling the history of mounts in the game, back to the very earliest days when they were barely implemented in time for launch. The notion of mounted combat went from insurmountable to a strict on-rails system to a much more free-form system. It also dropped several ideas along the way, such as momentum, horse attacks, and purely generic combat skills. War-steeds will take some getting used to, according to the devs: "Probably the very first thing you notice when you ride your War-steed for the first time is that it moves completely differently than your standard horse or goat. The War-steed is a large creature and its part of a much larger system, one that requires some skill, time, and practice to master."
|
| RIFT lets you go on the offensive with Hunt Rifts Posted: 27 Sep 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Game mechanics, RIFT  Hunt Rifts are challenging events in which players will be targeting planar commanders. According to Trion Worlds, these commanders are tough prey indeed; you'll need a hearty group and advanced tactics to take them down. Hunt Rifts will be found in the two new continents: Dusken and Brevane. The cool part about Hunt Rifts is that they allow players to work their way up the chain of command in the enemy's forces, earning special items and gradually unlocking super-tough Great Hunts. Great Hunts are impossible for players to accomplish without the help of Torvan Hunters and many friends.
|
| Get EVE Online: Inferno for $5 this weekend only Posted: 27 Sep 2012 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Promotions, Sandbox  Sweetening the deal, this offer is for the limited edition of Inferno, which means that savvy shoppers can also snag a special ship, a cerebral accelerator booster, and in-game shirts for both avatar genders. The fee will deliver a code that can be used only to upgrade new or trial accounts, so current or previous subscribers are not eligible.
|
| Blizzard offering free server transfers to offset Mists of Pandaria queues Posted: 27 Sep 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Expansions, MMO industry, News items  Blizzard says that guilds may also move as long as the leader purchases a Guild Master Realm Transfer, after which point the remaining member migrations will be free of charge. Head to WoW Insider for full details.
|
| Garriott shares Ultima Online anecdotes for 15th anniversary Posted: 27 Sep 2012 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Ultima Online, Sandbox  Richard Garriott tells of his run-in with a player thief bent on ruining the game experience for a new player. It's an amusing anecdote that illustrates how UO's early incarnation led to plenty of unexpected gameplay scenarios. "After [the incident], I began to think more carefully about the rules we ourselves put in the game, and the inevitable play styles that would come of it," Garriott writes.
|
| You are subscribed to email updates from Massively To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
