General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article

Homeless People Double As 4G Hotspots At SXSW Conference

Posted: 12 Mar 2012 09:13 AM PDT

From the "We're not sure how we feel about this" department: People attending the SXSW conference in Austin, Texas have a new way to get online -- homeless people. The Bartle Bogle Hegarty marketing firm has launched a non-profit drive called "Homeless Hotspots." Basically, they supply homeless Austin residents with a 4G MiFi hotspot; the homeless people wear a shirt listing their name and access info for the hotspot; and you give the homeless person a donation (which he then keeps) to use the connection.

It's a kind of interesting setup that solves an accessibility problem and puts cash in the pockets of those who need it, but a lot of people are expressing unease about it. A lot of the discontent revolve around the wording on the homeless people's shirts, which read "I'm <insert name here>, a 4G hotspot." Some would rather the shirts say "I'm running a 4G hotspot" or something similar.

Semantics aside, there's no questioning the good that comes from the program: BBH supplied the hotspot devices for free, and the homeless "managers" get to keep the money they raise from people using the service. (BBH suggests a donation of $2/15 minutes, and allows you to donate to specific managers/hotspots via PayPal on the homelesshotspots.org website if you don't have cash on hand.) BBH, of course, gets a case study in new advertising/message campaigns.

As we said, we're not really sure how to feel about this. Offhand, it seems like a decently well-intentioned, innovative idea, but turning the homeless into roaming 4G hotspots just seems like something from a dystopian sci-fi novel. What are your thoughts?

Thanks to Wired.com for pointing this out! Image taken from this YouTube video.

Blizzard: No PvP At Diablo III Launch

Posted: 12 Mar 2012 09:07 AM PDT

Remember when we thought that Diablo III was going to launch in 2011? Ah, those were the days. But Blizzard put a halt to that rumor train soon after the launch of D3's closed beta test, pushing the game back to Q2 2012 to avoid releasing a game that was "almost ready." They apparently don't want to release "almost ready" components of the game, either: Blizzard recently said that Diablo III won't include PvP when it launches.

Game director Jay Wilson dropped the bomb on the Battle.net website: As we're counting down the days until we're ready to announce a release date for Diablo III, we've come to realize that the PvP game and systems aren't yet living up to our standards. Today, we wanted to let you know that we've made the difficult decision to hold back the PvP Arena system and release it in a patch following the game's launch. After a lot of consideration and discussion, we ultimately felt that delaying the whole game purely for PvP would just be punishing to everyone who's waiting to enjoy the campaign and core solo/co-op content, all of which is just about complete.

On the positive side, Wilson promises that PvP will include new achievements, maps, a "personal progression system" and a matchmaking system -- when it gets around to launching, that is.

While the PvP setback is a bit disheartening, I for one appreciate that Blizzard has high quality standards and plans on releasing the majority of the game rather than delaying the super-hyped title even further. (Although an official release date would be even better.) What do you think about Diablo III's PvP delay?

YouTube Video Shows How "Real People" React To Windows 8

Posted: 12 Mar 2012 09:01 AM PDT

Consumers downloaded the Windows 8 Consumer Preview over a million times in less than 24 hours, but we're willing to bet that the majority of those downloads came from the technically inclined rather than, say, your parents. The tech world has already proclaimed what it likes and doesn't like in Windows 8 -- but do everyday people really care if W8 has an enhanced contact app? Can everyday people even locate the contact app in W8? Lockergnome's Chris Pirillo decided to put the W8 interface to the test by plopping his elderly father down in front of the new OS with no introduction.

As you can see, Pappa Pirillo struggled to find his way back to the Metro home screen after opening Windows Explorer. What does this prove? Nothing, really -- it's far from a scientific test. But anecdotally, the video shows that the loss of a Start button and the schizoid Metro/Classic interface will likely cause headaches in everyday non-techie users who think that, say, Internet Explorer is the Internet. Or, as Pappa Pirillo says, "Are they trying to drive me to Mac?"

Thanks to Geek.com for pointing this out!

AVADirect Announces Intel E5 Xeon Processor Options for Servers and Workstations

Posted: 12 Mar 2012 08:20 AM PDT

The boutique system builders at AVADirect tell us they've updated their professional server and workstation systems to now include Intel Xeon E5 processor options. Intel's E5 Xeon chips are based on the chip maker's Sandy Bridge-E architecture and come in quad-core, six-core, and eight-core flavors starting with the E5 2603 (four cores, 1.8GHz, 10MB cache, 80W TDP) on up to the E5 2690 (eight cores, 2.9GHz, 20MB cache, 135W TDP).

AVADirect offers the latest E5 Xeon processors in four different configuration types, including 1U, 2U, and 4U/Pedestal servers manufactured by Supermicro, and various workstations, culminating in AVADirect's E5 Xeon Supercomputer, a powerhouse system that starts at $4,759.73 and includes a Lian Li Armorsuit PC-80 tower case, Asus Z9PE-D8 WS motherboard, a pair of Intel Xeon E5 2603 processors, Arctic Cooling Freezer i30 CPU coolers, 8GB of Crucial DDR3-1333 memory, PNY Quadro 600 graphics card, Nvidia Tesla C2075 compaion processor, 1TB Seagate hard drive, Sony 24X DVD burner, and a Silverton Strider ST1200 power supply. Upgrade options abound depending on how deep your budget allows. For an additional $14,718, for example, you can upgrade the RAM to 256GB.

You can view/configure AVADirect's Intel E5 Xeon Servers here, workstations here, and Tesla HPC Supercomputer here.

Image Credit: AVADirect

Lian Li's Super Skinny 'PC-Q05' Mini ITX Chassis Gets a Product Page

Posted: 12 Mar 2012 07:00 AM PDT

It's been several months since Lian Li's PC-Q05 was tipped online, reportedly the first chassis to support the new Thin ITX or Thin Mini-ITX format developed by Intel. The super slim chassis then made an appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last January, and it's been relatively quiet ever since. Lian Li's lips are still sealed, though there's now an official product page for the PC-Q05 filled with glamor shots.

The PC-Q05 is an all-aluminum chassis that weighs a mere 1.76 pounds. It measures 11.18 inches (W) x 1.85 inches (H) x 12.08 inches (D), plenty small enough to accommodate boards built around Intel's Thin Mini-ITX form factor, which must limit the I/O shield to 25mm (0.98 inches) high rather than 44mm (1.73 inches) as found on regular Mini-ITX boards.

Lian Li equipped the PC-Q05 with a pair of 2.5-inch drive bays, so it's possible to install a speedy solid state drive (SSD) for OS chores and a larger capacity mechanical hard drive for storage duties. The case will be available in silver and black, though when and for how much are details Lian Li has yet to reveal.

Image Credit: Lian Li

CNN Reportedly in Talks to Buy Mashable for $200 Million

Posted: 12 Mar 2012 06:35 AM PDT

It's the beginning of a new week and what better way to kick off the humdrum of another Monday than with a juicy rumor? As the latest chatter goes, CNN is apparently really, really close to acquiring the social media news site Mashable for a cool $200 million, perhaps more, and could make an official announcement about the takeover as early as tomorrow.

Reuters blogger Felix Salmon was first to report CNN's interest in acquiring Mashable, claiming that a "little bird" told him at South by Southwest that it was essentially a done deal and would be announced tomorrow. More little birds have since started chirping.

Based on information obtained from "three people with knowledge of the talks," The New York Times today is reporting that the Time Warner company is in "advanced talks" with Mashable, though CNN officials have so far denied that an announcement would be made on Tuesday. Other than that, both sides have declined to comment, which suggests the two are at least talking about a takeover, even if no deal is imminent.

Media sites have been changing hands at a somewhat rapid pace in the last year or so, though it's usually AOL that does the buying. In September 2010, AOL announced it would acquire TechCrunch for $25 million, and then followed that up by buying Huffington Post for $315 million.

Image Credit: Mashable

Low Cost Raspberry Pi Hits "Manufacturing Hiccup"

Posted: 12 Mar 2012 05:33 AM PDT

Baking a $35 Raspberry Pi sounds like an easy recipe, but when you mix up the ingredients, the result is a sour system that should't be served to the masses. That's what happened to the first batch of Raspberry Pi devices. The cooks responsible for putting together Raspberry Pi systems inadvertently baked in the wrong type of Ethernet jacks, a minor "manufacturing hiccup" that could delay the shipment of some units.

"As you'll have noticed, there's been a bit of a delay in shipping the first batch of Raspberry Pis out to people. This is because of a hardware parts substitution that was made in the factory by accident: specifically, where we'd specified jacks with integrated magnetics in the BOM and schematics, the factory soldered in non-magnetic jacks," the Raspberry Pi team stated in a blog post. "No magnetics means no network connection. We've known about this for four days now, but we haven't been able to tell you about it because it meant we had to do some further tests to make sure that nothing else was affected."

Things aren't as bad as they could be. The Raspberry Pi team said it's a "very minor problem to fix" and that the factory making these things is nearly finished ripping out the non-magnetic Ethernet jacks and replacing them with the correct ones on the first set of boards. The Raspberry Pi Foundation expects the first batch to still ship out as scheduled, though later batches may suffer a "slight delay" if the company runs into trouble sourcing magnetic jacks.

Image Credit: Raspberry Pi Foundation

Microsoft Will Allow Third-Party Metro Browsers Special API Access To Compete With IE

Posted: 11 Mar 2012 08:56 PM PDT

Windows 8It was almost a month ago that Mozilla announced it would be working on a Metro version of Firefox, however an important question remained. Would Metro Firefox be little more than a live tile that was more of a pain than it was worth? Or would Microsoft allow them to take over default access for opening links and other non-sandbox friendly operations? We finally have an answer, and even though it is still somewhat vague, it looks like Microsoft is going to great lengths to make sure users can replace Internet Explorer in metro should they feel so inclined. 

According to Firefox developer Brian Bondy, in addition to classic desktop and Metro web browsers, Microsoft is going to allow a third category of app called "Metro style enabled desktop browsers". Apps in this category would have a desktop version similar to what you are using today, and a metro style counterpart that would take care of operations done in a non-desktop environment natively. For example; if you click a link while in a Metro application, you get a Metro version of Firefox. If you click that same link in a desktop application, you get the desktop version. 

By creating a third category of app Microsoft is also choosing to except web browsers from certain features such as Metro sandboxing, and unlock additional API's such as background processing and extensions. These permissions are only unlocked in Metro mode however if you choose to make it the default browser, and the reasons for this are still somewhat unclear. Mozilla is planning to release the Metro and Desktop version of their Windows 8 browser in one package downloadable from the Windows Store, though they admit it remains to be seen if Microsoft will approve that approach since the policy at the moment is Metro only.

Microsoft spent years in court defending itself anti-trust allegations in regards to Internet Explorer, so it makes sense they might spend a bit of extra time making sure they play nice with competitors now so history doesn't repeat itself.   
Posted by Shri Krishna

MMO News

MMO News

MMOHut Weekly Recap #77 Mar 11 – City of Heroes, Grand Chase, WarFace, & More

Posted: 12 Mar 2012 02:47 PM PDT

A quick look and discussion for every major announcement and update during the week! This week we discussed updates from the following games: City of Heroes, Grand Chase, Requiem, Warface, Scarlet Legacy, Aika and Carte. The biggest news comes from the announcement that City of Heroes has now released its newest  update Issue 22, the first update since the game has gone F2P. The update added new costumes, powers, end game features and more. The biggest portion of the update involves the new co-op zone which is available to players above level 50. You can view all the individual news articles mention over at the MMOHut.com News section.

Clone Wars Adventures celebrates 10 million

Posted: 12 Mar 2012 01:24 PM PDT

Sony Online Entertainment is celebrating over ten million registered players for Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures.

The game reached eight million registered users in its first year of service, and has continued to expand content to coincide with the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series. The game has 96 trophies and over 15 titles to earn, 584 game stages to play, and much more. Darth Maul will also soon be returning to the game in an upcoming content update.

To celebrate the new milestone, all registered players will receive Gold Death Watch Armor.

Sony Online Entertainment also publishes EverQuest and Free Realms.

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Star Wars: Clone Wars Adentures Gameplay Screenshot

Source:

JEDI COUNCIL GREETS MORE THAN 10 MILLION REGISTERED PLAYERS IN STAR WARS®: CLONE WARS ADVENTURESTM
Squad Leader Sony Online Entertainment Releases In-Game Data to Celebrate Growing Population of the Republic

SAN DIEGO, CALIF. – March 12, 2012 – Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) and LucasArts, a division of Lucasfilm Entertainment Company Ltd., today announced that Star Wars®: Clone Wars Adventures™, the free-to-play, family-friendly, online game based on the popular Cartoon Network animated series, Star Wars®: The Clone Wars™, has more than 10 million registered players.

"Clone Wars Adventures is one of our original free-to-play games and it continues to demonstrate the success of the free-to-play business model," said John Smedley, President of Sony Online Entertainment. "Surpassing 10 million registered players so quickly is an extraordinary achievement and we have no intention of slowing down. Our goal is to continue to create an immersive environment that captures the essence of Star Wars, and we remain committed to further amplifying the Star Wars experience for all of our 10 million-plus registered players."

Since the game's launch less than two years ago, Clone Wars Adventures has steadily increased its player base; reaching eight million registered users in one year and continuing to grow. Additionally, Clone Wars Adventures has released a variety of content to maintain its connection with the animated television series, including the summer game series Mission on Iceberg Three, mini-game Aquatic Assault and combat environment Battle of Umbara.

"Clone Wars Adventures does an exceptional job of integrating the storylines from Star Wars: The Clone Wars," said Mary Bihr, VP of Global Publishing at LucasArts. "This unmistakable bond between the animated series and Clone Wars Adventures provides fans an amazing opportunity to actually be a part of the galactic conflict and is an instrumental factor in acquiring such remarkable registration numbers."

With more than 10 million registered players in the galaxy, Clone Wars Adventures has seen:

  • 584 stages of game play (including challenges and multiplayer) for players to enjoy
  • 96 trophies for players to earn
  • The most popular mini-games in order:
    • Republic Defender
    • Galactic Forces
    • Lightsaber™ Dueling
    • Starfighter™
  • The most popular character to battle in-game is the Rancor on Umbara
  • Over 30 Droids™ and creatures in the game
  • More than 15 titles available for players to earn
  • More than 4.5 billion meters bounced by Jar Jar Binks, by all users in Stunt Gungan
  • 37 Lightsabers, 36 Ranged weapons, and 18 other Wieldables in the game – the most popular is the Rotary Blaster Cannon
  • Over 1,000  items added to the game since launch

To celebrate this accomplishment, SOE will be giving an in-game Gold Death Watch Armor to each of its 10 million registered users.

Additionally, just as Darth Maul made his triumphant re-entry in season four of the television series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the fan-favorite Sith Lord is making his debut in Clone Wars Adventures. Beginning on March 15, the horned villain will appear in Clone Wars Adventures in three different ways, providing players with opportunities to interact with Maul, earn a new player title, and other rewards.

BBC launches Doctor Who: Worlds in Time

Posted: 12 Mar 2012 12:11 PM PDT

BBC Worldwide Digital Entertainment and Games, partnered with Three Rings (developer of Puzzle Pirates and Spiral Knights), has officially launched Doctor Who: Worlds in Time.

Doctor Who: Worlds in Time is a browser-based, free-to-play online game based on the Doctor Who series. The game features story missions, minigames, customizable avatars, contraption creation, and more. Players will be able to travel to worlds including Ember, Mars, and New New York to defend civilization.It is available at DoctorWhoWIT.com.

Doctor Who celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2013.

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Doctor Who: Worlds in Time Gameplay Screenshot

Source:

BBC Worldwide Transports Doctor Who: Worlds in Time Into Commercial Launch
Casual Multiplayer Online Game Proves It’s “Bigger on the Inside”

 

 

LOS ANGELES, March 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/– BBC Worldwide Digital Entertainment and Games today announced the official launch of Doctor Who: Worlds in Time (DoctorWhoWIT.com), the first-ever browser-based, free-to-play multiplayer online game based on the popular television series. Created in partnership with Three Rings, the award-winning developer of persistent online worlds Puzzle Pirates and Spiral Knights, the game transports fans and gamers alike on a journey throughout the boundless Doctor Who universe.

Doctor Who: Worlds in Time offers something for everyone, including an intriguing narrative for sci-fi followers and serious gamers and stimulating missions for game enthusiasts looking for a quick pick-up-and-play game. After preparing the TARDIS, players travel to various immersive worlds (including Ember, Mars and New New York) and work together to defend civilization against infamous villains (including the Weeping Angels, Cybermen, Daleks, Autons, Oods and Zygons) bent on creating chaos and destruction in the universe. Since the open preview launch in December 2011, the BBC and Three Rings have worked to make more Doctor Who environments available, as well as introduce additional virtual items and create deeply engaging communal features.

“Worlds in Time offers players a multitude of elements and opportunities to socialize,” said Robert Nashak, Executive Vice President, BBC Worldwide Digital Entertainment and Games. “From introducing beloved characters and progressive storylines to presenting additional guild play, our goal is to become the largest Doctor Who community ever assembled, while also being an enjoyable experience for all players.”

While Doctor Who: Worlds in Time is free-to-play, ,players can enrich their gameplay and hasten their progress through the purchase of Chronons, which help them to customize their avatars, complete mini-games, build new contraptions and more.

“I have been a fan of Doctor Who since I was a child, so developing this game with BBC Worldwide is a dream come true,” said Daniel James, CEO of Three Rings Design, Inc. “Like the Doctor, we have our own mission, to provide Doctor Who fans an experience matched only by the wondrous TV series, and casual gamers a warm opportunity to discover the marvelous world for themselves. It’s exciting to see the Doctor Who universe come to life in such a unique way.”

 

Doctor Who, one of BBC Worldwide’s flagship brands, is the longest-running science fiction series in the world and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2013. It’s the story of the Doctor, the mysterious traveller in time and space, who has saved the universe so many times. The Doctor is a Time Lord, one of a legendary race of powerful beings whose job it is to observe and record, but never interfere. 2011 was the biggest year ever for Doctor Who on BBC AMERICA with record ratings and mass critical acclaim. The series broadcasts in more than 70 million homes and On Demand across all major digital platforms.

Player Expectations vs. Developer Expectations

Posted: 12 Mar 2012 12:05 PM PDT

By Gavin Dickson

 

Whenever a new game is announced people everywhere overflow with excitement anticipating their next adventure into a new game. Some would argue that players tend to expect too much when a new game is announced. Even though this is how adoring fans show their gratitude towards developers, it could potentially set an unreasonable expectation level that the game MUST hit. In the minds of gamers this is normal, yet developers know full well they cannot please everyone and sometimes players can't agree with that. Being a Gamer and a Jr. Developer myself, I know how frustrating it is when something doesn't match up with my expectations and how hard it is to meet everyone else's too. With that in mind let's dive a little deeper into what players expect versus what developers expect to deliver.

Player Expectations

Players always set a high expectation on the latest and greatest games coming out. Having these expectations isn't a bad thing by any means, but it could potentially ruin their overall experience. They expect the game to be bug free, polished, and filled with all new features thus pleasing their every need. Truth be told, in the past I had the exact same mindset, but let's face it people, this is NEVER going to happen. The reason being is that every time a developer fixes one problem or decides to go down one design path it creates a chain of new complications. Sometimes these lead to bugs or a piece of the game not being as polished as the rest. Perhaps maybe even left out entirely, such is game development.

Again this links to games trying to please everyone with the short answer being they can't. Even if a game pleases the masses there is always going to be someone who just wasn't satisfied and/or let down because they hyped the game up so much. It is ridiculous to think that every game is going to please every single person on this planet because every individual has a different taste when it comes to games in general. Overall, players tend to expect too much from games nowadays. There is only so much a developer can do to cater to a certain audience. At the end of the day, developers are trying to please as many people as possible in a certain gaming spectrum and people can either hop on the bandwagon or hop off it.

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Expected too much…Got way too little

Developer Expectations

Developers have a completely different mindset when creating a new game. The first thing they talk about is the audience they are trying to bring in with their new project. This is what the game itself is planned around. Then they try their best to narrow their audience down to the casual and hard-core market because it gives them a foundation from which to design the overall experience. This doesn't mean that gamers from both markets won't play the game; it just gives the developers a clearer definition of what content should be in the game. Developers always research their audience before they develop, knowing well they will not be able to please everyone.

If it was easy for developers to create an experience that everyone could enjoy, then there wouldn't be a casual or hard-core market. Every game created wouldn't have ESRB ratings saying what age group and audience will legally enjoy the game. Most of all, there would be no disappointed people and no expectations of games in general. The gaming industry's dream is to create content that every person can enjoy equally, but they know full well that it would take the challenge out of development. All-in-all developers expect to please only a portion of the market with their new title. But what separates a good developer from a bad one is knowing how they can best please that portion and live up to the majority of the player's expectations. Asking any more from them and you risk the integrity of the title as a whole.

Update 6 arrives in The Lord of the Rings Online

Posted: 12 Mar 2012 11:50 AM PDT

Turbine has launched the latest major update to The Lord of the Rings Online – Update 6: Shores of the Great River.

The update introduces a new part of the epic story, free for all players to enjoy, which sends them on a journey to see Galadriel’s wisdom. This quest takes part in place in the new Great River region, featuring seven new areas; quests here are free to VIPs. The update also allows players to summon their skirmish soldier into the field itself, and makes several improvements to the instance finder as requested by players.

Turbine also publishes Dungeons and Dragons Online.

The Lord of the Rings Online: Update 6 Screenshots:

Source:

The Lord of the Rings Online
Update 6: Shores of the Great River

The journey towards Rohan begins with Update 6: Shores of the Great River!

Overview

The Great River Region
Travel along the shores of the mighty Anduin in the expansive new region coming in Update 6! The signs of war are all around you as Isengard and Barad-dûr put their dark plans into motion. Push back the Easterlings, dangerous brigands and an ancient enemy of Rohan, as they gather for an attack on Rohan and Lórien. Explore seven new areas along the upper Anduin including the green plains of Parth Celebrant where treacherous shades roam, unable to rest.

The Great River region is free to VIPs!

Epic Story
The latest chapter in LOTRO's free Epic Story awaits! Travel to Lothlórien to seek Galadriel's wisdom after experiencing troubling dreams. Investigate the grim tidings along the Great River but be prepared as the evidence may point to a foe more terrible than your darkest nightmares.

Soldier on Landscape
Get the helping hand you need with LOTRO's new Soldier on Landscape! This new feature allows you to summon your faithful skirmish companion in the field. Customize your skirmish solider to help you tackle even the toughest challenges!

Instance Finder Update
You spoke, we listened, and now we're making Instance Finder better than ever! Instance Finder will soon allow you to queue for the specific instances and skirmishes that you want to do. You can also choose to change loot rules and remove players with a fellowship vote. The rewards are being enhanced, too, granting additional XP for skirmish completion and scaling currency bonuses for when you queue for a larger range of instances.
Posted by Shri Krishna

MMO Updates

MMO Updates

Wings Over Atreia: When egos attack!

Posted: 12 Mar 2012 10:00 AM PDT

Filed under: , , , , ,

Wings Over Atreia header
The battle was fierce, both sides unleashing everything they had. Around the arena they danced, attacking, dodging, and slaying the occasional beast that interrupted the duel. Though caught by surprise that first time and making one critical mistake, the Cleric withstood the other attacks the Assassin was throwing at her. Fast and furious the blades would fly, but the Cleric held them off, counterattacking in-between heals. She even scored a kill on the Sin in the final round, but her opponent was still in the lead by a hair. The Sin jumped in and tried to shock the Cleric; she activated the shield to prevent a death blow from the poisoned blades. Then, in the last moments, a relic appears. Running to it, the Cleric grabs it moments before the battle ends, putting her score 50 points ahead -- a win right at the buzzer.

"WTF?!?! Yer such a cheater...!!"

The preceding vignette is a true story and sadly not the only one of its kind in Aion. I kindly left off the rest of the response received from the loser (this is a reputable site, after all, and we have standards), but I am pretty sure you all can fill in the blanks from your own experiences. It's the all-too-common phenomenon of OMG-I-can't-have-lost-unless-you-somehow-cheated!

Prepare your rant-protection gear because I am about to let loose! This week, Wings Over Atreia explores the show that seems to be gaining popularity in Aion: When Egos Attack!

Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: When egos attack!

MassivelyWings Over Atreia: When egos attack! originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    Otherland info collected in a single post

    Posted: 12 Mar 2012 09:00 AM PDT

    Filed under: , , , , , , ,

    Otherland - coming Q3 2012?
    We got our first real glimpse of Otherland at last week's GDC, and if you're hungry for more info on the upcoming MMORPG from gamigo, a fansite called Otherland Net Feed has you covered. The Tad Williams-inspired title might be available as early as the third quarter of 2012, according to the site, and to whet your appetite the admin has collected just about every known game factoid in a single sprawling post.

    There is plenty of verbiage relating to the title's simulations (that's Otherland-speak for zones), as well as a ton of images from the game's different locales. There are several trailer embeds as well, and concise reviews of combat, crafting, questing, and travel.

    [Thanks to Travis for the tip!]

    MassivelyOtherland info collected in a single post originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 Mar 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    XL lowers the curtain on ArcheAge CBT4, releases stats

    Posted: 12 Mar 2012 08:30 AM PDT

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    ArcheAge - dude in a rowboat
    ArcheAge's fourth Korean closed beta test is officially in the books, and XLGAMES has released a few noteworthy numbers from the three-month event. The test began on December 8th (that's a whopping 95 days ago if you're counting at home), and saw the creation of 173 guilds, 3,400 houses, and the planting of 2,200,000 trees.

    Players also bought (and sold) 130,000 livestock, 750,000 pine trees, and 660,000 strawberries according to Korean news site ThisIsGame. CBT4 featured over 40 patches which introduced several new systems to the ArcheAge client, among them siege warfare, the family system, the pirate system, and aquaculture.

    "We deeply appreciate the testers who participated [in] the long test of [an] incomplete game," said XL's Yong-Gon Kim. "Later schedule[s] [will] be announced as soon as we finish reviewing the test." Western fans are hoping these upcoming announcements will include some sort of English-speaking beta, but thus far XL has been silent on the matter.

    MassivelyXL lowers the curtain on ArcheAge CBT4, releases stats originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 Mar 2012 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    LotRO's Great River update flows today, patch notes released [Updated]

    Posted: 12 Mar 2012 08:00 AM PDT

    Filed under: , , , , , ,

    LotRO
    Strike the tents and put out the campfires, Middle-earth adventurers, it's time to move on... north? That's right, Lord of the Rings Online is taking players on a journey back to an old familiar location -- Lothlorien forest -- as it releases Update 6: Shores of the Great River today. It's an absolutely massive content update for the game meant to span the gap between the Rise of Isengard and Riders of Rohan expansions.

    While players patch up and wait for the servers to come back online, there are patch notes and then some to be read. If you lack the hour or so it might take to really get into the notes, just know that the update's highlights include a brand-new high-level zone (The Great River), the next book of the epic story, the addition of Landscape Soldiers and a fleshed-out barter wallet, several major class updates (such as the Warden and Rune-keeper), an improved Instance Finder tool, and plenty of PvP improvements.

    Massively recently sat down with the developers to tour through the new content in Update 6.

    [Update: Added the trailer for the update after the jump!]

    Gallery: LotRO - Update 6: Shores of the Great River

    Continue reading LotRO's Great River update flows today, patch notes released [Updated]

    MassivelyLotRO's Great River update flows today, patch notes released [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 Mar 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    MV Guide: March 12 - 18, 2012

    Posted: 12 Mar 2012 07:00 AM PDT

    Filed under: , , , , ,

    RIFT screenshot
    MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively TV.

    Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of titles to take a look at. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.)

    Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule!

    Continue reading MV Guide: March 12 - 18, 2012

    MassivelyMV Guide: March 12 - 18, 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 Mar 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      The Daily Grind: Should MMOs balance for PvP, PvE, or yes?

      Posted: 12 Mar 2012 06:00 AM PDT

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      Guild Wars
      The original concept for Guild Wars is right there in the name: guild wars. There was no question that regardless of how much PvE content the game planned to feature, there'd be at least as much or more GvG content for the competitive folks.

      But as more and more skills were added to the game, the devs ran into serious balancing problems and began tweaking the skills so that the PvP meta was less affected by the powercreep slowly taking over PvE. Eventually, ArenaNet split the skills, giving some skills different effects depending on whether they were being used against players or monsters; some newer skills were designed to be PvE-only from the start.

      Do you think Guild Wars offers a pragmatic solution to the PvE/PvP balance problems that plague so many MMOs? Or do you think games should strive to balance their gameplay without creating skills (or gear) that do different things in different situations?

      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!

      MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Should MMOs balance for PvP, PvE, or yes? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 Mar 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        MMO Week in Review: GDC 2012

        Posted: 11 Mar 2012 06:00 PM PDT

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        GDC 2012
        At the end of every week, we round up the best and most popular news stories, exclusive features, and insightful columns published on Massively and then present them all in one convenient place. If you missed a big MMO or WoW Insider story last week, you've come to the right post.

        This week, Massively sent four MMO experts to the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, California, so our usual Week in Review consists of a bit more than just the usual Star Wars: The Old Republic and World of Warcraft shenanigans! (Don't worry; it has those too.) Join us for a roundup of our best GDC coverage as well as the top non-GDC posts of the week. Maybe you'll see something you missed!

        Continue reading MMO Week in Review: GDC 2012

        MassivelyMMO Week in Review: GDC 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 11 Mar 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          GDC 2012: Frogster shows off Eligium: The Chosen One

          Posted: 11 Mar 2012 05:00 PM PDT

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          Eligium concept art
          At GDC, there is much to see and do. And one of the best things to do (besides try to win a really cool fuzzy hat) is to actually experience a game through a demonstration or even some hands-on play. I had the opportunity to do just that with one of Frogster's upcoming games. No, not that one; the other one. Ellen-Jane Austin, Country Manager UK, and Marco Neubert, Director Product PR, took me on a brief tour of Eligium: The Chosen One.

          Although this game from Shanda Games Ltd. is pretty similar to other games in many respects, there are a few features that give it a unique flair, especially the virtue system, mounts, and my personal favorite, an ability to shape-change into a two-headed dragon!

          Continue reading GDC 2012: Frogster shows off Eligium: The Chosen One

          MassivelyGDC 2012: Frogster shows off Eligium: The Chosen One originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 11 Mar 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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            EVE Evolved: CSM 7 candidate roundup

            Posted: 11 Mar 2012 04:00 PM PDT

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            EVE Online is unique among MMOs, and nowhere is this more evident than in the political struggles that take place every day in New Eden. Just this weekend, I spent long hours negotiating the surrender of a friend's wormhole starbase with an Elysian Empire diplomat, only to have his CEO overrule the decision because he wanted to get the killmail for blowing the starbase up. For EVE's more ambitious political machinists, perhaps the greatest challenge of all is to be part of the democratically elected Council of Stellar Management (CSM).

            The council functions as an advisory board to CCP and a mechanism through which players can get their views and ideas across to developers. Last year's CSM was instrumental in forcing CCP's hand and making the company refocus development on EVE Online. With this year's ambitious plans to revamp all ships and forms of PvP, and DUST 514 due for a summer release, the stakes for this year's council are even higher. Voting is now underway to select the team of players who will represent the EVE playerbase to CCP for the coming year.

            In this week's EVE Evolved, I round up all of this year's candidates to help you choose whom to vote for.

            Continue reading EVE Evolved: CSM 7 candidate roundup

            MassivelyEVE Evolved: CSM 7 candidate roundup originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 11 Mar 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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              GDC 2012: Publishing heavies weigh in on F2P conversions

              Posted: 11 Mar 2012 03:00 PM PDT

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              GDC 2012 logo
              Like it or not, free-to-play is rapidly coming to dominate every corner of the gaming industry. While that's good on the surface, it also blurs the line between business and design, and it creates a lot of tension for both consumers and developers who are increasingly faced with the challenges inherent in separating monetary decisions from gameplay decisions.

              One of the more interesting GDC 2012 round-tables featured Sony Online Entertainment executive producer Dave Georgeson, NCSoft publishing director Steve Levy, Perfect World VP John Young, GamersFirst monetization director Joe Willmon, and Digi-Capital Limited managing director Tim Merel, all of whom convened for a mind-meld on successfully migrating subscription games to F2P.

              As you would expect, the panel was heavy on business-speak, but it also featured plenty of insight into the pricing phenomenon that has become the rule rather than the exception.

              Continue reading GDC 2012: Publishing heavies weigh in on F2P conversions

              MassivelyGDC 2012: Publishing heavies weigh in on F2P conversions originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 11 Mar 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                GDC 2012: Forty minutes with Derek Smart and Line of Defense

                Posted: 11 Mar 2012 12:00 PM PDT

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                Line of Defense - Fighter banking over Frostbite base
                "I didn't want to make another Derek Smart game because usually when you mention 'Derek Smart' and 'game', gamers tend to run in the opposite direction," Smart told us when we asked about Line of Defense.

                That's quite a candid intro, and it set the stage for an interesting 40-minute interview that featured plenty of insights into 3000AD's latest offering. Smart, of course, has something of a notorious reputation in the online community, and while we won't go into that here, it is worth noting that he's focusing on the work and letting his game do the talking.

                Continue reading GDC 2012: Forty minutes with Derek Smart and Line of Defense

                MassivelyGDC 2012: Forty minutes with Derek Smart and Line of Defense originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 11 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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