General Gaming Article

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• Microsoft Online Store in India Hacked, Passwords Stored in the Clear
• Windows 8 on Arm – Everything You Need To Know About WOA
• Microsoft Had Windows 7 Running on Arm Two Years Ago

Microsoft Online Store in India Hacked, Passwords Stored in the Clear Posted: 12 Feb 2012 12:05 PM PST It's been almost a year since the famous Sony hack leaked the personal information of millions of unsuspecting gamers into some of the seedier corners of the Internet, and history is repeating itself again, this time with Microsoft. Those visiting the Microsoft Online Store in India this morning were greeted with the haunting image of Guy Fawkes warning them that this "unsafe system would be baptized". A hacker group known as the Evil Shadow Team has taken responsibility for the attack, and has even released proof that passwords stored on the server were not encrypted.  Microsoft seems to have regained control and closed the site down until further notice, but something like this is always a bit of a PR disaster. Getting hacked doesn't look good, but it happens to the best of us. Storing passwords sans encryption on the other hand is just downright inconsiderate considering how easy it is to salt in a bit of extra protection.   We still don't know if the online stores in other countries are vulnerable to the same type of attack, but since only the India site was taken offline, the rest might be secure for now. We also won't know if credit card data was compromised, and likely won't until Microsoft releases an official statement.  Surely they know to encrypt those right? (Image Credit: HackTeach)

Windows 8 on Arm – Everything You Need To Know About WOA Posted: 12 Feb 2012 10:52 AM PST Up until late last week Windows 8 on ARM was a complete mystery. We know the product existed, that it would launch at some point in the future, and it would sport the Metro interface Microsoft has been showing off for almost a year now. The silence on just about everything else had led many to wonder if Microsoft was further behind on the ARM version than they were letting on, but this week they finally opened up the information floodgates. That might sound like a bit of an exaggeration, but 9000 words is a bit more than we were expecting. It makes for an interesting read, but let's be honest here, most of you just want the CliffsNotes right?  We've got you covered. Important For Everyone Application Compatibility Microsoft has maintained its monopoly on the desktop largely through the ability to innovate, while still maintaining backwards compatibility. With WOA (Windows on Arm), nothing you are running today will work, no exceptions. Some core Windows functions such as Explorer will make the jump, but if you installed it yourself, or downloaded it from the web you'll need an X86 device to use it in Windows 8.  It's not all bad news mind you. Metro applications purchased through the Windows 8 store will run identically on both x86 and ARM based devices, and can be installed on 5 separate pieces of hardware at once. Developers will also only need to write and compile their applications using one set of code that works perfectly on both x86 and ARM based devices. The fact that this works is an amazing step forward, and perhaps one of the single most important innovations in Windows 8.  Microsoft Office Windows on Arm will come bundled with some core Microsoft Office functionality, but the exact details are still a bit unclear. Versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote will all come standard, run using the desktop interface (not metro), and is a great concession for those of us who purchased older versions such as 2010 that won't run on ARM. It remains to be seen if the Office version being offered is feature complete, or if upgrades will be offered to unlock advanced features. No mention was made of Outlook. You Can't Turn It Off You don't turn off tablets, and since WOA is being aimed directly at this market, it won't either. It is being designed from the ground up to make efficient use of battery life while in a partially suspended state, but otherwise is being designed to run constantly.  Windows 8 ARM Will Ship Concurrently With X86 Editions  We still don't have an exact release date for either version at this point, but what we do know is that both will ship at the same time before the end of 2012. Of course Microsoft can ship the bits, but that doesn't mean you'll be able to buy them, or more importantly, any hardware running it. Microsoft's hardware partners may be ready with devices on day one, or they may not.  Windows Updates Microsoft claims that all WOA-based systems will receive updates through traditional updating tools built into the OS, but we remain a bit skeptical. This isn't an easy promise to make given how many variations there are of ARM hardware. Even Windows Phone 7 has begun to fragment as Microsoft struggles to maintain a common set of features across dozens of different phone implementations. In the case of Windows Phone 7, Microsoft even laid out strict hardware restrictions which should have made updating easier, but turned out to be more difficult than originally intended.   x86 vs. ARM, What To Buy? This isn't an easy question, but at least the pros and cons are easier to understand following Microsoft's post. Pros: Better battery life, smaller form factors, free copy of Office. Cons: No desktop application compatibility, and the chance of being left in the dust by your OEM with an orphaned device if it doesn't sell well. You'll always be able to get driver updates from Intel, AMD, and NVidia for X86 hardware, but with ARM you are at the mercy of the OEM.   No Internet Explorer Plug-In Support. The X86 version of Windows 8 will allow for browser plug-ins while using the desktop version of Internet Explorer 10, WOA will not. The big take away here? No flash! This problem will no doubt be solved by third party browsers given the open and accepting nature of the Windows 8 App Store, but is still one more nail in the coffin for Adobe.  Important For Geeks Windows 8 Is One Code Base Windows on ARM shares a nearly identical code base to the client, server, embedded, and even its upcoming update to Windows Phone. Each version of Windows on Arm will need to be modified slightly to match the hardware it's being targeted towards (a problem unique to ARM), but updates should happen in tandem across all variations. Driver update on the other hand may be a different story.  Wintel is Still Alive and Well Windows on ARM is an important release for Microsoft, but they made it clear that they are more engaged with Intel and AMD than ever before. Don't believe me? Here is a direct quote from the blog: "We could not be more excited or supportive of the new products from Intel and AMD that will be part of Windows 8—across a full spectrum of PC form factors including tablet, notebook, Ultrabook™, all-in-one, desktop, and more that all take advantage of the new capabilities of Windows 8 while Windows 8 takes advantage of new features in hardware." The Desktop Will Be Included, But Only For Office It was rumored for months that Microsoft would strip the desktop interface out of the arm version, especially because well, nothing runs on it. It turns out however that while desktop will make an appearance, it's only there to allow proper functionality of the bundled Office 15 applications. You can access explorer, probably the task manager if you should need it, but otherwise it will be completely locked down and useless. If you get homesick while using metro you can go visit your old stomping UI, but all the Windows have been boarded up. (Drum Roll). You Can't Install It Yourself I'm guessing more than a few of our readers have installed a copy of Windows in their day, but don't expect to do the same with Windows 8 ARM. Each installation will need to be carefully tweaked for the hardware, and while I'm sure at least a few of our readers might be able to pull it off, it's doubtful you'll never be able to buy ARM hardware without Windows 8 pre-installed.  Windows 8 will also include an in-place restore function on both ARM and X86 editions, allowing for an OS refresh whenever you feel the need. We expect more details to be released over the coming months, and hopefully, even some hardware. What are your early impressions?

Microsoft Had Windows 7 Running on Arm Two Years Ago Posted: 12 Feb 2012 08:27 AM PST Many have claimed that Microsoft's Windows on Arm efforts were a direct reaction to the iPad, and while I'm sure that's the motivation these days, it turns out Microsoft had the idea long before the first Apple tablet ever shipped. In a recent post on the building Windows 8 blog, several Windows on Arm details leaked out, along with a pair of photos showing Windows 7 running on an Asus smartphone. Careful examination of the EXIF data shows the pictures were taken on January 22nd 2010, several months before the iPad was released. Windows 8 ARM tablets are a bit late to the party at this point, but at least now we know Microsoft has been hard at work adapting Windows for years now, and not simply ignoring market trends as some have speculated.   Incompetence and lollygagging should not be confused here folks.

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Latest Gaming and MMORPG Updates

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• What’s the One Thing You Want Most in Next-Gen Consoles?
• 9Dragons (KR)
• Indie Royale bundle celebrates Valentines Day with its latest bundle
• Microsoft Allowing a Small Number of Mistakenly Banned 360s Back on Xbox Live
• Contrasting the IAAs and VGAs: Is There a Difference?
• Asura (CN)
• Tianxia 3 (CN)

What’s the One Thing You Want Most in Next-Gen Consoles? Posted: 12 Feb 2012 07:54 AM PST The DICE conference in Las Vegas is good for a lot of things, but one thing it’s great for is bumping into people. People who work in games and have opinions, even. So at this year’s event, I posed two questions to many of them: what’s the one thing you want to see most in next-gen consoles, and why are game budgets so secretive. (And perhaps notably, many of them said they’d heard the former question a lot in the past few days.) This story, if you’re playing along and read the headline, contains the answers to the first of those two. Head over here for the budget talk, read on to see what people in the industry had to say, and if you feel inspired, offer your own take in the comments below. Brian Reynolds, Zynga “Well, I think it would just be something faster, something that would load the next screen up. You know, I play Skyrim and every time I go in a building I have to wait for it to load, and I would watch my friend play the same thing on the PC, and the little [loading bar] only rotates this much , and I’m on the 360 and I have to watch it go all the way around. Just making it faster would be enough. You know, if they make it higher-res, fine, but I don’t feel a hunger for high resolution graphics. I do feel a hunger to have it go faster.” Marc Merrill, Riot Games “Just to be candid, we make games for the PC at the moment, and no immediate plans to change that, so I think we’re a little bit biased. We’d love to see consoles — it’d be great if there was no hardware, and there was sort of a virtual machine that was embedded in other places. I’m sure that’s very wishful thinking, but yeah.” Mike Capps, Epic Games “A tenfold increase in technology. It’s quite feasible. It’s quite possible. We showed that last year at GDC that that’s the PC hardware today, and I hope console manufacturers really step up.” Randy Pitchford, Gearbox Software “I want a direct and immediate relationship with all of our customers, so I want everyone to be connected all the time, and I want the distance between us to be as small as possible.” Robert Bowling, Infinity Ward “It’s all about processing power for me. I want those full physics on everything that it makes sense on. I want full special effects, and I don’t want it hitting framerate. So I want to get to that area where we can make everything an interactive environment, if we so choose, if it’s right for our gametype, without taking a hit in terms of framerate or smoothness of controls.” Michael Condrey, Sledgehammer Games “I’m excited for next-gens. I love current-gens, because right now we’re in that sweet spot — developers know how to really get every ounce out of it. You know, the processing power’s going to be great when we make that leap. I’m looking for really great social integration. I want everything in one box. Right now I have to do things on my iPad and my iPhone. I’m doing certain things on my set-top box. I’m looking forward to the full integration of all of my networks into one place.” Matthew Lee Johnston, PopCap “I’d like to see always-on connectivity. I’d like to see less of this sort of walled-garden environment where I can experiment more with my business model. Real time metrics so that I can continuously evolve the game and tune it based on player feedback that’s coming to me through their play data. It’s something that we have in mobile platforms now. I would love to have it in these next-gen consoles.” Greg Kasavin, Supergiant Games “For me, it’s just the extreme ease of use around downloading games. And games in particular, because I know that consoles are trying to be a whole bunch of different things now and they don’t really want to be about just games, and I get that, but as long as they don’t leave games by the wayside because that’s where the early adopters are — where the most passionate users of these devices are going to be, and they just need to make games as accessible to those people and as easy to find as possible.” David Jaffe, Eat Sleep Play “Real world or fantasy world? Real world would be always on, so as I get older and I have kids and I have a very demanding job and I still love console games, I don’t like the fact that there’s this long preamble that happens every time I sit down to play console games. The boot up, to going into the dashboard or the XMB, to loading up the game, to seeing the logos. It’s like ‘dude, I just want to fucking play.’ So what I loved about PSP and DS, the last generation, and I haven’t opened up my Vita yet but I’m assuming it has a sleep mode… But to have a console that basically I can be playing Batman, and my kids have a nightmare and I go take care of them, and two days later I get back to Batman, and I haven’t had to shut things down and I can pick right back up where I left off. That’s what I want, practically. I hope that’s in there. Fantasy-land, I want hardware that’s a lot easier for designers to work with, so we can just sort of imagine things and they appear on the box. That would be the best.” Tomonobu Itagaki, Valhalla Game Studios “I’m always saying the same thing, but what I’m expecting is just power — more power… Also, there needs to be a scheme that allows the console to connect to social games easier.” Todd Howard, Bethesda “It’s definitely coming, right, and it’s stuff that we are planning for and looking at. But I think the current platforms have been so successful, and a lot of people are happy with their systems. They’re HD now, they’re all connected, the graphics look great — you’re going to need to do something really special and new. And I do think overall we need to look at, OK, whatever happens, is there a way we can make these games upwards compatible? Can I put Skyrim in some other new fancy box and it’s better? I think that would be great for my current library. Think about when you upgrade your iPhone. iPhone 4 is out and it has a retina display, and now there’s all these updates for games — oh I’m gonna play Plants vs. Zombies now and it looks better. Or this looks better, or this looks better. But I’m not having to flush my library of stuff and get all new stuff, and decide if I want to commit to this. I think there’s a better way to go about it going forward, and I hope that would be the case. It’s definitely coming. I just don’t want to take all of the current systems and the games and all of the fans and say ‘well, your time is over.’ You know what I mean? [1UP: Do you have another current gen game in you?] I don’t know. Our games take a while, so I can’t answer that question right now. I can honestly tell you, ‘I don’t know.’” Ted Price, Insomniac Games “Instant loads. As a player, having my game load up immediately is pretty important to keep me engaged, so if there’s some way that can happen, I’ll be a fan.” Posted by: admin in Gaming News Find related article at: http://www.1up.com/news/next-gen-consoles-most-wanted Thank you for Visiting Gameforumer.com, Hope you enjoyed the stay with us.

9Dragons (KR) Posted: 12 Feb 2012 07:54 AM PST Yes, you read it right. One of the most popular martial arts online game ever (too bad the momentum wasn’t kept up) in the English market, the Korean server has teamed up with Zerodin Games to bring the title into web browsers. Using the proprietary Zerodin Web Engine, 9Dragons can now be played on Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome and even Apple’s Safari platform. For the English server of 9Dragons, it is now being published by Games Campus (link), taking over from GamersFirst (or K2 Network). With Age of Wulin (link) taking the martial arts genre by storm soon, can 9Dragons withstand the attack? Posted by: admin in Gaming News Find related article at: http://www.mmoculture.com/2012/02/9dragons-kr-now-playable-through-web.html Thank you for Visiting Gameforumer.com, Hope you enjoyed the stay with us.

Indie Royale bundle celebrates Valentines Day with its latest bundle Posted: 12 Feb 2012 07:54 AM PST The sixth major Indie Royale bundle is out now. The five games making up the bundle include the excellent Source Engine-powered FPS Zeno Clash, fellow Independent Games Festival nominee, Lume, and Big Sandwich Games' multiplayer strategy game Hoard. The final two games, and something of a coup for the bundle site, the retro RPG-defense games Souclaster I II. Indie Royale bundles run on a five-day model where the price automatically goes up as more people buy it. The price is driven down, however, when people choose to pay more than the minimum price at the time of purchase. You can find out more and grab the bundle on the Indie Royale bundle site. Posted by: admin in Gaming News Find related article at: http://www.totalpcgaming.com/latest-pc-news/indie-royale-bundle-celebrates-valentines-day-with-its-latest-bundle/ Thank you for Visiting Gameforumer.com, Hope you enjoyed the stay with us.

Microsoft Allowing a Small Number of Mistakenly Banned 360s Back on Xbox Live Posted: 12 Feb 2012 01:26 AM PST Taking your Xbox 360 online with a pirated game, using a modded console, and cheating are all recipes for getting banned from Xbox Live. Typically these bans are handled by individuals at Microsoft. Recently, a number of bans were handed out by a piece of software and it appears that mistakes were made. Stephen Toulouse, the head of Xbox Live’s Policy and Enforcement team, has written a blog post today explaining that a number of suspensions were mistakenly made by this software that is sometimes used. It occurred between August 29 and September 9, and those who were impacted will find that their console has been unbanned. To make it up to those affected users, Microsoft will soon grant them a free three-month subscription to Xbox Live Gold and 1,600 Microsoft Points ($20). “Recently, it was brought to our attention that a number of customers had concerns about the validity of a recent ban of their individual consoles, which they feel had been triggered inaccurately,” he wrote. “In this case, the bans were related specifically to modded consoles. I take these claims very seriously, and after an initial investigation we have confirmed that a handful of banned consoles did in-fact appear to not have been modified or tampered with. We’re still conducting our review but the cause appears to be a software issue, not an error on the part of the enforcement team’s normal actions. It’s very specific and occurred between August 29 and September 9, affecting a very small percentage of users.” He went on to apologize and reiterate that this didn’t involve a large number of users. “One of the most serious actions my team can take is to prevent a console from accessing Xbox LIVE,” he continued. “We make every effort to be conservative when taking that action. If there is any doubt that this step was taken incorrectly, we want to address it while at the same time protecting the service for our customers.” If you happen to be among the unfortunate few who was banned, you don’t need to do anything — simply try logging into Live and you’ll be all set. If you still find yourself banned, then you weren’t among those in the group banned by mistake. “I’d like to take a moment to personally apologize for the inconvenience this has almost certainly caused to the affected customers. You have my assurance that we are investigating how this error occurred and have since discontinued use of the software that was used. The Xbox LIVE community is the best out there and we regret the inconvenience this may have caused for our loyal members.” Very often, the people who complain about being banned unjustly turn out to be lying — and in the process make up ridiculous (albeit very entertaining) excuses. However, it looks like some users actually had a legitimate gripe for once, and at least Microsoft is being forthcoming and honest that it screwed up. Toulouse said that use of the software in question has been discontinued. Hopefully that means something like this won’t happen again. Posted by: admin in Gaming News Find related article at: http://www.1up.com/news/microsoft-allowing-small-number-mistakenly-banned-xbox-back-live Thank you for Visiting Gameforumer.com, Hope you enjoyed the stay with us.

Contrasting the IAAs and VGAs: Is There a Difference? Posted: 11 Feb 2012 07:53 PM PST Many gamers who take the hobby seriously scoff at each year’s Spike TV Video Game Awards. There are numerous reasons for this, the most prominent being that the show is often filled with gags, skits, and seemingly anything that does not consist of awards being handed out and accepted. You need only look at the show this past December where certain awards were given out beforehand and others were announced so rapidly they were gone in the blink of an eye. But about what the awards themselves — are the selections, too, put to shame by other award shows? Last night, in the midst of the 2012 DICE Summit in Las Vegas, the 15th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards (the IAAs) took place and were hosted by who else but comedian and BlizzCon frequent Jay Mohr. DICE (which stands for Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) is an event geared towards those within the industry and thus has a much different focus than a trade show like E3. Whereas the nominees and winners of the VGAs are chosen by a select group of those in the videogame press, the IAAs are “decided by a peer-based voting system,” as the organizers, the Academy of Interactive Arts Sciences, put it. One might therefore expect the awards to end up in the hands of different nominees than the VGAs. In fact, the award winners from last night’s show and the VGAs in December were remarkably similar. Although not all of their categories line up, there are more than a few analogous ones to help make this comparison. Both named The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim their Game of the Year, which is no controversial decision unless you’re unfortunate enough to be still experiencing lag in the PlayStation 3 version. Likewise, Bastion was named Best Downloadable Game and Downloadable Game of the Year by the VGAs and IAAs respectively, while Mortal Kombat was the top fighting game, Forza Motorsport 4 was the best driving/racing game, and Skyrim was the best RPG/MMO. (Skyrim unsurprisingly cleaned up at the IAAs, winning five awards in all.) Even when the award titles differed more greatly, the same game often won. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was the VGAs’ Best Shooter and the IAAs’ Action Game of the Year; Batman: Arkham City was the VGAs’ Best Action/Adventure Game and the IAAs’ Adventure Game of the Year; and Super Mario 3D Land was the VGAs’ Best Handheld/Mobile Game, while the IAAs broke the category up into Handheld and Mobile categories, with Mario winning the former. There were a few disparities between the two shows’ award winners, one of which was in the sports category. Fight Night Champion (Best Individual Sports Game) and NBA 2K12 (Best Team Sports Game) won the VGAs’ two awards, while the IAAs’ Sports Game of the Year award was taken by FIFA 12. Voters also disagreed on what game had the best original music: the VGAs said Bastion had the Best Original Score, while the IAAs awarded Portal 2 with Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition. It’s hard to really argue either side got it wrong (as if there is a “wrong”), although I would have gone with Bastion, myself. Looking at the shows on paper, one place they differ even before the awards are handed out is in the degree of specificity in the IAAs, which has awards for Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering and Game Direction. (Skyrim was the winner of both.) When it comes to recognizing a game’s graphics, the VGAs do so simply by naming a game as having Best Graphics — Uncharted 3, in 2011′s case. The IAAs, on the other hand, break that down into three distinct categories: Outstanding Achievement in Animation, Art Direction, and Visual Engineering. Of course, even this doesn’t highlight much of a difference between the shows as a single game won all three of those awards: Uncharted 3. Regardless of what is named the winner of each of the awards, the IAAs are made distinct by their focus on the games and the developers (and, yes, a lot of Jay Mohr). That is, after all, the purpose of the awards: to recognize developers and their achievements. The VGAs have a different goal as a program being broadcast on Spike TV, but it’s still nice to know there is a formal awards show that puts the developers front and center. If you’re interested in seeing what last night’s show was like for yourself, you can watch it in its entirety here. Posted by: admin in Gaming News Find related article at: http://www.1up.com/news/contrasting-iaas-vgas-difference Thank you for Visiting Gameforumer.com, Hope you enjoyed the stay with us.

Asura (CN) Posted: 11 Feb 2012 01:52 PM PST One of the many upcoming self-developed online games by China powerhouse Tencent, Asura has been confirmed to be hitting its first official Closed Beta phase in March next month. Based on the elements found in the classic novel, Journey to the West, this Diablo-lookalike features several unique classes, including the recently revealed Deity Warrior (link). A new Player Vs Player (PvP) footage (8 minutes long, wow) was also released, showcasing a simple 2 on 2 battle. Nothing really spectacular, but you can see some of the skills being used by the character classes. Posted by: admin in Gaming News Find related article at: http://www.mmoculture.com/2012/02/asura-cn-closed-beta-phase-looming.html Thank you for Visiting Gameforumer.com, Hope you enjoyed the stay with us.

Tianxia 3 (CN) Posted: 11 Feb 2012 01:26 PM PST Back in 2009, I was just starting out on my blog and did a small review on a massive Chinese MMORPG, Tianxia 2 (link). Fast forward a little over 2 years later, its sequel was teased in recent weeks. Introducing Tianxia 3, developed and published by one of China’s online gaming powerhouses, Netease. A quick introductory preview video was revealed as well with no announcement of a Closed beta schedule. Basically, Tianxia 3 is a martial arts MMORPG, with various new elements added which Netease claims to let players play the game instead of the game playing the players. There will be an interactive world, where every small action by players will affect the overall happenings in the game. This is shown by the ability to build cities from ground up, create players’ very own skills, start their own clans and record history annuals. Interactive environments, time, weather and seasons system are just some of the eye candies revealed so far. Netease also boast that the game will have various different progression paths for players to choose, with many different “endgame” goals as well rather than just the questing and grinding. Like most of the details, everything is pretty vague right now. The thing which makes me believe the game will not see an English launch is due to the cloud technology Netease will be using. With world -class servers, the game can be played as long as there is a stable internet connection even on old PCs. Posted by: admin in Gaming News Find related article at: http://www.mmoculture.com/2011/09/tianxia-3-reaching-next-level.html Thank you for Visiting Gameforumer.com, Hope you enjoyed the stay with us.

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MMO Updates

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• Previously on MV TV: Week of February 6th, 2012
• The Daily Grind: What dead game would you play in a second if it revived?
• Lime Odyssey dev blog features the music of Yasunori Mitsuda
• The Mog Log: Who mourns for Eorzea?
• The Tattered Notebook: Build a better character with EQ2U

Previously on MV TV: Week of February 6th, 2012 Posted: 12 Feb 2012 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Video, Massively Meta, Livestream, Miscellaneous, Previously on MV TV Welcome back to Previously on MV TV, your source for highlights from last week's Twitch.tv streams! If you happen to miss one or want to check out some of our shows for the first time, then this is a great place to start. This week we have some Guild Wars developer fun with Richie and then again with Adventure Mike, a bit of Wurm Online exploration and construction with Jeremy and the creator of the game, the first stages of owning land and building a house in Second Life with yours truly, some MOBA action in Heroes of Newerth with Dylan, and the usual Star Wars: The Old Republic goodness with Larry. So what are you waiting for? Click past the cut to catch up on the streams you might have missed. While you're at it, bookmark our Massively TV guide so you won't miss any more! Continue reading Previously on MV TV: Week of February 6th, 2012 Previously on MV TV: Week of February 6th, 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: What dead game would you play in a second if it revived? Posted: 12 Feb 2012 05:00 AM PST Filed under: MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous Amidst all of the new games being released and the veteran titles still chugging along, it can be easy on occasion to overlook the titles that are no longer with us. Games like Tabula Rasa, Auto Assault, and The Matrix Online all had fans, but they are no longer available for players to enjoy in any form, leaving some with memories and others with the wish that they had tried it when they had the chance. So which games would you jump on if you had the chance again? What games stick out as ones that you wish you had tried or seem like old friends that are now sadly departed? We've seen a lot of closures over the past several years, ranging from small free-to-play titles to a few high-profile departures, so there's almost certainly one game you can think of that's no longer with us. What dead game would you play if it got a revival? 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 dead game would you play in a second if it revived? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 12 Feb 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Lime Odyssey dev blog features the music of Yasunori Mitsuda Posted: 11 Feb 2012 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Culture, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries It's time for another Lime Odyssey dev blog, and today's piece focuses on the free-to-play fantasy title's soundtrack. Aeria Games tapped veteran composer Yasunori Mitsuda to create the score, and though this is Mitsuda's first MMO project, it's definitely not his first video game suite. You've heard his work before if you've played Chrono Cross, Chrono Trigger, and Xenogears, and you can hear his latest in the sound samples we've got for you after the break. Click through to read a bit about the themes for Blue Coral, West Tumbara, and Pripet. [Source: Aeria Games press release] Continue reading Lime Odyssey dev blog features the music of Yasunori Mitsuda Lime Odyssey dev blog features the music of Yasunori Mitsuda originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 11 Feb 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Mog Log: Who mourns for Eorzea? Posted: 11 Feb 2012 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Lore, Opinion, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, The Mog Log Final Fantasy XIV takes place in Eorzea, which is one of the continents of Hydaelyn. It's also the smallest continent, and it's generally sort of off in the middle of nowhere. The land is surrounded by tiny islands, it's filled with bickering city-states of varying influence, and it generally seems to be seen as a place that's both wild and not always particularly pleasant. And from the player's perspective... well, we don't even see all of the continent. So every single player adventure has taken place on a small portion of the smallest continent in the world. And yet despite this, this tiny little land mass has apparently become massively important. The Garlean Empire is preparing to sweep into the land with all its might, and the land has become a hotbed of activity as the various city-states try to stop stabbing one another long enough to mount a defense. But all of that prompts the question about what, precisely, makes Eorzea noteworthy. Why is this tiny little corner so important? Continue reading The Mog Log: Who mourns for Eorzea? The Mog Log: Who mourns for Eorzea? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 11 Feb 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Tattered Notebook: Build a better character with EQ2U Posted: 11 Feb 2012 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Interviews, Free-to-play, Massively Interviews, The Tattered Notebook, Guides For years, EverQuest II fans have quietly suffered in silence as the EQ2Players site remained broken and buggy. We watched other games, with their Armories, Magelos, and extensive databases, and we pined for the day when we could once again look up things like characters, gear, stats, and guild rosters. The wait was worth it, though, and EQII players have gone from famine to feast. This past week, we got a glimpse of the newly refurbished EQ2Players site, but what's really exciting is that the EQII team has been working with fansites to provide the data feed and allow community figures to create their own resource sites. Morgan Feldon and Dethdlr, who do an amazing job with EQ2Wire, did just that, and on Friday, they officially launched EQ2U. It's a thorough and regularly updated database of things ranging from character stats, gear, and AAs to spell lists and warder pets. What's more, you can look up gear, track spells, and create your own wish list for your character. Feldon and Dethdlr have been working on this for the bulk of the past year, and Massively had a chance to talk with them about the project. Read on for a glimpse into the site's early beginnings and learn how EQ2U will help you get your characters up to snuff! Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: Build a better character with EQ2U The Tattered Notebook: Build a better character with EQ2U originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 11 Feb 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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WoW: Till Death Do You Part Posted: Players across Azeroth have recently embraced a new, very personal achievement: leveling a character "Iron Man" style. What started out as only a small movement, this bare bones, no-frills style of play has now transformed into a community-wide call-to-arms known as the Iron Man WoW Challenge, inviting World of Warcraft enthusiasts to see how close they can get to level cap with only the barest of necessities. Continue reading WoW: Till Death Do You Part.

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