MMO Updates

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• Silent Hunter inaugural video showcases U-boat on the offensive
• Aventurine on Darkfall's new UI, possible payment models, and more
• Flameseeker Chronicles: Environmental weapons in Guild Wars 2
• Jukebox Heroes: The Secret World's soundtrack
• The Daily Grind: What goals do you set for yourself in an MMO?
• Not So Massively: LoL World Championship, HoN Tour, and D3 patch 1.0.5
• Hands-on with World of Tanks' patch 8.0
• ArenaNet explains upcoming Guild Wars 2 PvP features
• Black Desert shows off time transitions
• EVE Online store closing on October 31st, will reopen in 2013
• Leaderboard: Go it alone vs. go it together
• Marvel Heroes assures fans that it's 'completely free'
• Riot apologizes for League of Legends tournament issues
• Pirate101 early access has lifted anchor
• City of Steam promises November beta

Silent Hunter inaugural video showcases U-boat on the offensive Posted: 09 Oct 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Video, MMO industry, New titles, News items, War, Free-to-play, Browser Adventure on the high seas isn't all about pirates and booty; the upcoming browser-based naval strategy game Silent Hunter features U-boats and battleships. To show off some of this sub vs. ship action, Ubisoft has released a video demonstrating a U-boat stalking and attacking a convoy. In this first ever look at actual gameplay footage, players can see what steps are taken to launch an attack against another ship. The video also gives a clear view of the UI inside the submarine. The game is slated for release this fall. Interested players can apply for a chance to participate in the closed beta by signing up on the official site. Continue reading Silent Hunter inaugural video showcases U-boat on the offensive Silent Hunter inaugural video showcases U-boat on the offensive originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 09 Oct 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: The Verge

Aventurine on Darkfall's new UI, possible payment models, and more Posted: 09 Oct 2012 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Darkfall, Business models, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, Sandbox, Crafting So Darkfall: Unholy Wars is a few weeks away, and we've managed to corral Aventurine for a quick interview on the state of Agon. The development firm has been pretty tight-lipped about its fantasy sandbox reboot in recent months, but as the November 20th launch date draws nearer we're starting to see some new info. Join us after the cut as AV General Manager Tasos Flambouras talks about an updated GUI, possible microtransactions, and more. Gallery: Darkfall main gallery Continue reading Aventurine on Darkfall's new UI, possible payment models, and more Aventurine on Darkfall's new UI, possible payment models, and more originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 09 Oct 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Flameseeker Chronicles: Environmental weapons in Guild Wars 2 Posted: 09 Oct 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, PvP, PvE, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Flameseeker Chronicles Environmental weapons were one of the early aspects of Guild Wars 2 that ArenaNet could talk up and players could get excited about. They were kind of the poster child for the interactive world that ArenaNet has been building, so we as fans heard about picking up rocks, boulders, and buckets of water many times. However, rocks, boulders, and buckets of water won't nearly do for defining the scope of environmental weapons in Guild Wars 2. The team went kind of nutso in creating items, forms, and stationary weaponry to change how users interact with the world. Sometimes that interaction falls well short of the mark, but when it works, it's particularly beautiful. Continue reading Flameseeker Chronicles: Environmental weapons in Guild Wars 2 Flameseeker Chronicles: Environmental weapons in Guild Wars 2 originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 09 Oct 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Jukebox Heroes: The Secret World's soundtrack Posted: 09 Oct 2012 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Horror, Sci-fi, Culture, MMO industry, Opinion, The Secret World, Jukebox Heroes As a video game music collector and lover, I am frustrated by how very few MMO soundtracks ever make it to a proper release. Sure, I know it's a niche interest within a niche hobby, but it's still maddening to think of how many great games have no soundtracks out there whatsoever. Considering how going digital with sales makes it so much more easy (and cheap) these days, I say there's no excuse. So good on Funcom for getting The Secret World's soundtrack out there. Marc Canham (Far Cry 2) and Simon Poole (The Longest Journey) split the composer duty on this one, and it's probably a good thing that there are multiple perspectives on what is a game that marches to the beat of its own drummer. Contemporary, horror, and conspiracy together beg for a much different sound than grandiose fantasy fanfares. I actually ended up liking this more than Age of Conan's score (blasphemy among some of you, I know). There's still too many atmospheric dread pieces that don't lend themselves to listening on their own, but fortunately, there are enough notable tracks to make up for the rest. Continue reading Jukebox Heroes: The Secret World's soundtrack Jukebox Heroes: The Secret World's soundtrack originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 09 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: What goals do you set for yourself in an MMO? Posted: 09 Oct 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous There are two kinds of goal with any given game. The obvious goals are the ones that the game sets for you -- quest objectives in World of Warcraft, for example, are just things you have to do to clear a quest. But then there are the goals you set for yourself, like leveling one character of each advanced class in Star Wars: The Old Republic or taking down another player while in a mining ship in EVE Online. These goals aren't necessarily meant to make the game harder or easier, just to give you something else to shoot for as you're enjoying the game normally. So what goals do you set for yourself in an MMO? Have one alt of each class or character type? Master all crafting skills? What sort of esoteric objectives do you place alongside the goals that the game lays out for you? 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! The Daily Grind: What goals do you set for yourself in an MMO? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 09 Oct 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Not So Massively: LoL World Championship, HoN Tour, and D3 patch 1.0.5 Posted: 08 Oct 2012 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Contests, Culture, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, New titles, Patches, PvP, Endgame, News items, PvE, Not So Massively, MOBA, League of Legends, Diablo III Diablo III's endgame woes may soon be a thing of the past as patch 1.0.5 hit the test realm this week with some awesome new endgame content and much-needed magic-find buffs. Upcoming action RPG Path of Exile had no trouble keeping its beta players engaged, with this week's Turbo Hardcore league event giving players the ultimate challenge. North America's hopes of winning the League of Legends World Championship were dashed this week as all three US teams were knocked out of the competition along with Dota 2 world champions Invictus Gaming. Heroes of Newerth fought back with its new competitive HoN Tour event, which aims to give hundreds of cash prizes away to players of all skill levels. Dota 2 released classic hero Magnus this week, SMITE revealed its newest god Ares, and Guardians of Middle-earth showed off its two newest additions: Nori and Wulfrun. Finally, Russian MOBA success Prime World revealed some details on its PvEvP Dragonwald game mode ahead of the release of its North American and European beta tests. Continue reading Not So Massively: LoL World Championship, HoN Tour, and D3 patch 1.0.5 Not So Massively: LoL World Championship, HoN Tour, and D3 patch 1.0.5 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 08 Oct 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Hands-on with World of Tanks' patch 8.0 Posted: 08 Oct 2012 05:30 PM PDT Filed under: Launches, Patches, Opinion, War, Free-to-play, Hands-on, World of Tanks World of Tanks is one of the biggest MMOs in the world, boasting over 40 million registered users and a record peak concurrency of around 500,000 players. The game is simple on its surface: Two teams of tanks head out into a variety of battleground maps, then blow the heck out of each other until a base is captured or one team is obliterated. However, deep tech trees, customizable ammo and supply loadouts and dozens of tanks across five tank types make for an experience with plenty in the way of personalization and flexibility. Wargaming.net, the developer of World of Tanks, keeps players engaged with frequent content updates. Most of the time, these updates contain small tweaks. Other times, they reinvent the game from the ground up. The recently released patch 8.0 falls into the latter category, so I hopped into World of Tanks to see what changes Wargaming.net hath wrought. Continue reading Hands-on with World of Tanks' patch 8.0 Hands-on with World of Tanks' patch 8.0 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 08 Oct 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

ArenaNet explains upcoming Guild Wars 2 PvP features Posted: 08 Oct 2012 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, Game mechanics, PvP, News items, Guild Wars 2, Dev Diaries Guild Wars 2 has a pretty active and dedicated sPvP community. ArenaNet's Jonathan Sharp took to the blog today to talk to that community (and the rest of you peasants, too) about some upcoming goodies for PvP. Right now, players are able to compete in structured automated tournaments. These free tournaments pit eight teams of five against each other, with reward chests, glory, and rank going to the top four teams. Soon, players will also be able to participate in paid automated tournaments. Tickets for entry can be found in reward chests from free tournaments, bought in the gem store, or received whenever a player hits a new sPvP rank. Every team in the paid tournaments will receive a reward, but the four teams with the best performance will get better loot -- including gems. What better way to hone your skills for paid tournaments than by renting custom arenas in which to practice? Custom arenas can be rented by players with options for password protection, scrimmage hosting, and setting a custom map rotation. Sharp promised more information about custom arenas in a future blog post, and said that after paid tournaments and custom arenas come online, the team will turn its focus to other key features for making Guild Wars 2 sPvP even better. ArenaNet explains upcoming Guild Wars 2 PvP features originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 08 Oct 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: GW2 blog

Black Desert shows off time transitions Posted: 08 Oct 2012 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Previews, News items, Sandbox, Black Desert We've all sat down to play our favorite game in the evening only to be alerted to the time by sunlight filtering in through the window. In many games, however, day and night are simply toggles -- the game goes from dark to light, possibly with some dimming or brightening along the way. Black Desert is going for a more realistic approach, and a new set of photos shows off the game's transition from the deep of night into the brightness of day. According to translations, a full day cycle runs in four hours, with a gradual progression of the sun from the horizon to its zenith and then back down again. The result are shadows and light patterns that reflect the time of day. Time will also be reflected in the habits of NPCs, with shopkeepers returning home to rest and monsters swarming in increased numbers. There will also be content only available during the day or night, something to look forward to as the sun rises or sets. Black Desert shows off time transitions originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 08 Oct 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Black Desert Facebook post Via: Steparu

EVE Online store closing on October 31st, will reopen in 2013 Posted: 08 Oct 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, News items, Promotions Are you the sort of discerning individual who needs to make it clear when not playing EVE Online that you are still a fan of EVE Online? Do you display this with your personal apparel by sporting shirts and hoodies from the EVE Online store? If so, you'll want to stock up on any new items you need before the end of the month, as CCP Games has announced that the store will be closing temporarily as of October 31st. The current plan is for the store to open in a revamped capacity in 2013. Of course, there's a lot of stock still sitting in the warehouse, so the store has seen massive price reductions on all current items with discounts of up to 50%. Supplies are limited, so if you're the sort of discerning individual we mentioned in the introductory line, you may wish to head over early to avoid the rush. EVE Online store closing on October 31st, will reopen in 2013 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 08 Oct 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Store closing announcement

Leaderboard: Go it alone vs. go it together Posted: 08 Oct 2012 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Polls, Culture, Game mechanics, Opinion, Miscellaneous, Leaderboard A lot of modern games don't really require you to have someone along with you at all times. Star Wars: The Old Republic gives you a companion for your leveling adventures, but there's no need to have a real person with you when completing the game's solo content. World of Warcraft is tuned so that everyone can level through quests solo, even if sometimes you make it through by healing yourself until monsters give up and die of boredom. It's a welcome change from logging on, finding out your friends are offline, and giving up for the evening. But let's say you have a friend who will play alongside you if you want. On the one hand, you can suddenly make your life much easier by pairing up to tackle content designed for just one, doubling what you can accomplish. On the other hand, there are always quests that become more frustrating with two people after the same objectives, even when those two people are ostensibly working together. Plus, working alone means never having to stop for five minutes because your partner has to put a squalling baby to bed. Given the choice, would you rather be grouped up or solo when taking on content that allows for soloing? Continue reading Leaderboard: Go it alone vs. go it together Leaderboard: Go it alone vs. go it together originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 08 Oct 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Marvel Heroes assures fans that it's 'completely free' Posted: 08 Oct 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Super-hero, Business models, Interviews, Free-to-play, Marvel Heroes Worried that you'll hit a content wall in Marvel Heroes and be unable to progress without taking out your wallet? Rest easy today, gentle player, for this is not to be. Gazillion President David Brevik said that he dislikes the vagaries of the free-to-play label and assured players that Marvel Heroes is going to be as up-front with its business model as possible. "We aren't just a little bit free," Brevik said. "We're completely free. All the content is free and there are others things that you can buy to enhance your experience but they are completely optional. This isn't a nickel and dime experience we're creating." Brevik admitted that the team had to take liberties with the Marvel IP to make it all work as an MMO but has faith that it will be received well by fans after the Avengers movie this past summer. Marvel Heroes is currently accepting closed beta signups. Marvel Heroes assures fans that it's 'completely free' originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 08 Oct 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: GamesIndustry

Riot apologizes for League of Legends tournament issues Posted: 08 Oct 2012 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Events, real-world, Free-to-play, Browser, Legal, MOBA, League of Legends If you peek, you did cheat -- or so sayeth Riot Games. The studio came forth to address several issues with this past weekend's $2 million League of Legends tournament, including allegations of cheating by participants. Viewers noted that tournament players were looking at competitors' minimaps on the large screen, and Riot admits that it didn't do enough to keep that particular temptation at bay. VP of eSports Dustin Beck apologized to LoL fans: "We're trying to deliver an extraordinary experience for viewers, and yesterday didn't live up to our goals. In hindsight, the potential visibility of minimap screens for players was a mistake." Riot is rescheduling the problematic matches and promised that the remainder of the tournament will be minimap temptation-free. Beck also mentioned that the team is looking into several disconnects that happened during the event. As an apology for what happened, Riot is granting all players double influence points for 24 hours following the finals match on October 13th. Riot apologizes for League of Legends tournament issues originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 08 Oct 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Kotaku, Playoff compensation

Pirate101 early access has lifted anchor Posted: 08 Oct 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Launches, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Kids, Pirate101 After giving everyone a chance to sample Pirate101 during the sneak peek last week, KingsIsle Entertainment restricted access to beta members. Today, the game leaves beta and opens for its head start period before the official launch next Monday. The week-long head start is open to everyone who participated in closed testing, purchased a Boochbeard or Gandry Bundle, is a member of Pirate101, or redeemed a gift certificate for a prepaid membership. Want to get in on the early access, but don't fit in one of these categories? You still can! Folks can start playing right now by either becoming a Pirate101 member or making one of the aforementioned purchases. Pirate101 early access has lifted anchor originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 08 Oct 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Twitter announcement

City of Steam promises November beta Posted: 08 Oct 2012 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Video, Free-to-play, Browser, Humor, City of Steam Gear up and prepare to vent some pressure: City of Steam is gaining momentum for the beta! The developers announced that the steampunk MMO will be hitting the beta testing stage in November. As if that weren't enough reason to rejoice, the stressed-out team threw together one of the funniest promotional videos that you may ever see. The Massively staff is undecided as to the best line. "Take THAT, Copernicus!" and "So many Goblin babies!" are tied for first. Check it out after the break and let us know your favorite. Continue reading City of Steam promises November beta City of Steam promises November beta originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 08 Oct 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Power Steam Trailer

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