General Gaming Article

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• Rumor: Single Slot GTX 670 & 680 Cards Coming Soon From Galaxy
• VLC Offers a Free DVD Player, Why Can’t Microsoft?
• EA Unleashes the Wrath of the Indies
• Intel Adds the DX79SR Extreme Edition Motherboard to its X79 Lineup

Rumor: Single Slot GTX 670 & 680 Cards Coming Soon From Galaxy Posted: 06 May 2012 12:59 PM PDT When the GTX 500 series hit the market they were strong performers, but ran both hot and loud. The Kepler architecture on the other hand didn't just give Nvidia's 600 series a performance advantage, they are extremely competitive when it comes to power draw. Thanks to incredible advances in power efficiency however, it may finally be possible to offer single slot design for even the highest end GPU's. Galaxy is looking to be the first AIB vendor to offer such a solution, and a series of leaked photos shows off what they have in mind.  Both designs are looking to make use of a large single fan design, coupled with copper and aluminum channels to pull heat away from the various components. We're guessing that the PC Gamer's with $350-$500 to spend on a graphics card also has a case that can accommodate a double wide GPU, however small form factor PC's are gaining in popularity and shouldn't be ignored.  Imagine a day when you can build a Core i7 system with a high end graphics card like this, and have it still be small enough that it could mount to the back of your monitor. We still have no idea when, if ever this card will hit North America, but we'll keep you in the loop. It's entirely possible the cards shown in these pictures caught on fire 30 seconds after the photo was taken, and in-fact were nothing more than a pipe dream. Only time will tell.

VLC Offers a Free DVD Player, Why Can’t Microsoft? Posted: 06 May 2012 12:22 PM PDT We've recommended VLC on more than one occasion, and for good reasons. It's the swiss army knife of the video playback world. It supports more formats and codecs then we can count, installs quickly, and is updated frequently. With the upcoming release of Windows 8 however, it will start offering a new killer feature most people probably didn't care about before - DVD playback. Microsoft's decision to not support DVD playback in Windows 8 unless you shell out the extra cash for media center has created a ton of vitriol in comment feeds around the web, but also a pretty obvious question. If a free and open source app can offer the feature, why can't Microsoft? ZDNet blogger Ed Bott set out to answer the question, and his findings may surprise you. Before we get to the answer it is important to understand that DVD playback is made possible by way of two core software components. First you need an MPEG-2 decoder, and second you need Dolby Digital audio support. The cost of adding these to Windows 7 is estimated to be somewhere in the range of $2-$3, so how does VLC do this for free? It helps to be French. VideoLAN, the company behind VLC explains the French connection on its "Legal concerns" page, and skipping down to the bottom of the page you find the following.  "Patents and codec licenses Neither French law nor European conventions recognize software as patentable (see French section below). Therefore, software patents licenses do not apply on VideoLAN software." Of course they also have size on their side. VLC is a nonprofit organization based outside the reach of the US legal system, and represents a small enough niche that it's currently not worth pursuing. We can't help but wonder if that will change over time if it becomes more popular, though it's hard to image a world where the big OEM's ever ditch CyberLink PowerDVD in favor of something open source.

EA Unleashes the Wrath of the Indies Posted: 06 May 2012 11:35 AM PDT In 1697 William Congreve coined the phrase, "Hell has no fury like a woman scorned", though in 2012 its starting to look like "indie" might also be an acceptable substitution. The controversy surrounds EA's use of the words "indie bundle" in their most recent Steam sale, and real indies have been lashing out at the company from every angle. The most outspoken, as usual, is Markus Persson (AKA Notch), the creator of Minecraft. "EA releases an 'indie bundle'? That's not how that works, EA. Stop attempting to ruin everything, you bunch of cynical bastards.", he tweeted. "Indies are saving gaming. EA is methodically destroying it". EA has defended its use of the term by claiming that the studios listed in the indie bundle used them as little more than a publisher, and remain independent development houses. Is all this rage justified? Or is this just a side effect of them now being the most hated company in America?

Intel Adds the DX79SR Extreme Edition Motherboard to its X79 Lineup Posted: 06 May 2012 10:53 AM PDT If you've been thinking about building a new Ivy Bridge system, you've no doubt been drowning yourself in X79 reviews over the past few weeks. If you fit that description, Intel has one more board that should catch the attention of anyone who plans to build a high end rig. The DX79SR Extreme edition will be positioned above the DX79SI and DX79TO, and will carry a price tag and feature set to match. The big improvement over the DX79SI comes in the way of additional USB 3.0 and SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports. Two additional USB 3.0 ports on the back, and the addition of Marvell 88SE9128 controller finally make this board competitive with many of the third party offerings from Gigabyte, MSI, Asus, and others. In total, the DX79SR offers four SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports, four SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports, and six USB 3.0 ports (four on the rear, and header pins for two more front). Intel also claims they will be tossing in a USB add-on module which will enable 802.11 b/g/n wireless, along with Bluetooth 3.0 support. If you are a big fan of Intel SWAG it's also worth noting that they are tossing in a mouse pad, and thermal probe at no extra charge.  The DX79SR will sell for US $299, with the DX79SI and DX79TO dropping $50 off the price at each step respectively. We haven't seen very much feedback yet on how these boards perform when it comes to overclocking, however you should expect it to be pretty basic. If you fancy yourself a tweaker of BIOS's, then you'll probably be better off looking at a third party board. If on the other hand you would like to match up your new processor with the purest Intel experience possible, they've got a pretty competitive lineup these days. (Image Credit: VR-Zone)

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MMO Updates

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• Rise and Shiny: Looking back on two years and making changes
• Previously on MV TV: The week of April 28th
• The Daily Grind: Do you mourn games that never were?
• The Road to Mordor: Seven player events you must attend
• The Mog Log: The calcification of Final Fantasy XI
• The Tattered Notebook: Reading the tea leaves of EQII's May update
• Earthrise website jumps to life with new countdown timer

Rise and Shiny: Looking back on two years and making changes Posted: 06 May 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Screenshots, Video, Culture, New titles, Opinion, Free-to-play, Browser, Mobile, Hands-on, Casual, Humor, First Impressions, Rise and Shiny, Miscellaneous, Anniversary This column will turn two years old on May 8th, 2012. I'm proud of not only the fact that I have been able keep up the column with a decent amount of content and writing that has slowly gotten better over that time but also the fact that I have introduced the readers of Massively to so many games that they wouldn't otherwise have known about. Recently, I have increased my efforts by streaming odd and indie games as well as writing about the relatively new world of mobile MMOs. This might all seem like I am attempting to build some sort of indie hipster street cred, but the totally honest truth is that nothing thrills me more than exposing a new game to the world or giving an older game some much-needed sunlight. If someone posts, "This game is still around?" in the comments section, I call that a win. From now on, I am going to tweak how I do things for Rise and Shiny in order to raise the quality of coverage. Let me explain how as well as give you a few figures to illustrate just how many titles I have covered. Continue reading Rise and Shiny: Looking back on two years and making changes Rise and Shiny: Looking back on two years and making changes originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 06 May 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Previously on MV TV: The week of April 28th Posted: 06 May 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Culture, Launches, New titles, PvP, PvE, Opinion, Free-to-play, Browser, Casual, Humor, Guides, Livestream, Miscellaneous, Previously on MV TV Ah, another fine week of streaming videos! Who needs television when you have such killer content right at your fingertips, for free? Well, we need Game of Thrones, but other than that, we'll stick by Massively TV! Be sure to bookmark our livestream schedule page so that you won't miss any of the cool videos. Sign up, join in the chat room, and participate! This week we had Mike back with his EVE Online and RIFT streams, followed by MJ with a ton of great stuff, including Aion, Lord of the Rings Online, TERA and City of Heroes! Woo! I finished up by showing viewers how to build clothing attachments in Second Life. So stop reading this and click past the cut. Check out the videos and let us know what you think in the comments section. Here, have some popcorn. Continue reading Previously on MV TV: The week of April 28th Previously on MV TV: The week of April 28th originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 06 May 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: Do you mourn games that never were? Posted: 06 May 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous With the sudden and unexpected shutdown of Dominus prior to its launch, the game joins a long line of titles canceled before ever seeing the light of day. Some of them were expansions or campaigns, like Guild Wars: Utopia; some were full games, like the various Ultima Online sequels planned over the years. But none of them ever saw general release. They existed only as test clients and unrealized screenshots. Obviously, it's difficult to feel the same sense of loss for these games. Star Wars Galaxies is gone now, but it was released and playable at one time. But for some people, the games that never really existed can be a little bit sadder. They weren't cut down in their prime; they were cut down before they even had a chance. So do you mourn games that never were? Do you reminisce about what could have been? Or do you save your sorrow for games that did get released and then faded away? 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: Do you mourn games that never were? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 06 May 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Road to Mordor: Seven player events you must attend Posted: 05 May 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Culture, Events, in-game, Free-to-play, The Road to Mordor More than any other MMO I've played, Lord of the Rings Online seems to draw out player events like crazy. Maybe it's the setting, Tolkien's world-building, the renaissance fair outfits, or the disproportionately large RP crowd, but LotRO seems to be graced with far more of these kinds of player-driven initiatives than elsewhere. As such, today I wanted to scout around the forums and official calendar to highlight a few of the many, many events that festoon this great game of ours. These are great to check out, particularly when you're a little bored with the same-old, same-old of questing, raiding, skirmishing, or PvMPing. The ingenuity and spirit of these events is often quite infectious, and I never regret going to one once I make the effort. So check out seven great player events in LotRO, coming to a server near you! Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Seven player events you must attend The Road to Mordor: Seven player events you must attend originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 05 May 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Mog Log: The calcification of Final Fantasy XI Posted: 05 May 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Expansions, Patches, News items, Consoles, The Mog Log Over the last couple of months, I've been trying something different. As I mentioned back in my anniversary column, I spent a year trying out a strictly alternating format for Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV, but it wasn't working out to my satisfaction for a number of reasons. Backing off and focusing on the game with more activity seems to be working quite well (from my perspective, anyway), but it also means that I haven't really been discussing Final Fantasy XI much. This isn't entirely by coincidence, as the game itself hasn't changed much over the past several months. In an earlier column, I had mentioned that the roadmap made it pretty clear that if change was on the horizon, we wouldn't be seeing it until the new roadmap finally came out. And here we are, one new roadmap later. So what do I think? Is this the promised vision of the future, the prophecy to lead us all into a new era of joy and light across the game's continents? Continue reading The Mog Log: The calcification of Final Fantasy XI The Mog Log: The calcification of Final Fantasy XI originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 05 May 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Tattered Notebook: Reading the tea leaves of EQII's May update Posted: 05 May 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Patches, Previews, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Tattered Notebook The paint has barely dried on the Skyshrine Update, and already we're hearing tidbits about what's planned for this month. On Thursday, EverQuest II Producer Holly "Windstalker" Longdale announced a few highlights that players can expect to see in the May update. The monthly letters are always welcomed by players, and this one announces several changes that should shore up the foundation of the game even more. "More" and "new" are often used when it comes to update announcements, but if you heap too much on the very top, you need to go back and work through some of the older content and features to make sure they can support the burden. Read on for a look at the highlights, which bring a welcome change to Dungeon Maker fans, add a new tool that should make testers happy, and hint at changes to bring about more "low-impact" gameplay. Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: Reading the tea leaves of EQII's May update The Tattered Notebook: Reading the tea leaves of EQII's May update originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 05 May 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Earthrise website jumps to life with new countdown timer Posted: 05 May 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Business models, MMO industry, News items, Earthrise, Sandbox Remember Earthrise, the post-apocalyptic sci-fi sandbox from Masthead Studios? The fledgling title shut down last February after a tumultuous year that included a rough launch and lukewarm (or worse) reviews. Masthead originally intended to convert the subscription-based game to a free-to-play business model but opted to pull the plug entirely due to a lack of investor interest. As of today, though, there's a countdown timer on the official Earthrise website (as well as a new background graphic that shows off the game's sci-fi battle action). Has Masthead found an investor after all, and is Earthrise making a comeback? We'll see in a little over five days, but feel free to speculate in the comments! [Thanks to IMN for the tip!] Earthrise website jumps to life with new countdown timer originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 05 May 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Latest Gaming and MMORPG Updates

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X.A.O.C (TW) Posted: 06 May 2012 09:22 AM PDT [More info] It has been quite some time since anyone heard about X.A.O.C, and it is a pleasant surprise seeing game back in the headlines again. Developed in Taiwan by Winking Entertainment, I was told the name  is actually a Russian word meaning “Chaos”. First revealed way back at E3 2010 (link), the game is now confirmed to be shipping to all the major online gaming regions, including North America, Europe, China and Korea, although the developer stopped short of naming the companies involved. The latest game X.A.O.C below shows a generous duration of combat and one of the instance dungeons. The combat is a non-target one, but personally, that hovering mouse icon is really an eyesore. Noticed the character carrying 3 different weapons in the 2nd part of the video? While some games have weapon swapping, the weapons are mysteriously kept in an alternate dimension until being used. This extra touch of showing all the weapons is really welcoming for me. Talk about a clash of cultures. Despite having a core team of Taiwanese staff, X.A.O.C’s assistant producer actually hails from the Korean gaming industry and the game is also a joint effort between both the Taiwan and Korean studios. X.A.O.C is not actually not totally Eastern influenced, but there are various elements from the Western cultures as well in outfit and architecture designs. While some folks might see this as a misplaced or confusing sense of game design, it is actually deliberate on the developer’s part to have this fantasy “fusion”. One of the more interesting features I read about X.A.O.C requires players to be dead. Well, in-game dead, not dead-dead. If you played World of Warcraft, you would have known that players enter a “ghost mode” and will need to run back to their corpse to revive. The same goes for X.A.O.C, but there will be more special ghostly and demonic NPCs to interact with. You might be given crafting materials only available from this realm (for use in the living realm), but I am looking forward to see if there are special “dead” quests as well. Unfortunately, there is a limited time for players to stay in this mode. Overshot it, and the ghost guards will be after you. These are boss-class monsters, and it will be near impossible to escape their claws. But if you do and manage to revive before being “captured”, the equipments in your living realm will be severely damaged. Think of it as a lesser punishment than “spirited away”. I ain’t sure if the Western players will like this, but the tea drinking function is actually one of the game’s touted features. Pretty much like a crafting/ life skill, players are able to boil tea in a manner close to reality, sitting down, fanning the cooking teapot etc. Players must control these movements and even observe the weather to boil a good pot of tea. There is a chance for players to consume “bad tea”, which will lead inflict negative status. Another… hmn, both unique and strange feature is the hot spring spots. A favorite of Asians, especially the Japanese, characters in X.A.O.C are able to locate several hot spring rest areas across the world in towns or out in the wilds. All these hot springs will have different themes and designs. Players will be able to use these spots to get additional buffs and even socialize with others~ And yes, the hot springs in the wilds act as safe havens as well, with the wild mobs not able to get near them. Jumping back into the game’s combat system, there are 3 different modes within it. For “Attack”, it is the normal mode for continuous fighting. Choosing the right time after normal attacks, “Break” mode will deal more damage. “Speed” mode is used when breaking up enemy’s skill or spell cast. This system sounds a little similar to Age of Wulin’s, but in a non-target environment. That is all for now, feels like ages since I typed so much stuff =.=”’ The game is in its final stage of development, and will go for the beta phase at the end of this year. Just a note, the development team did mention that some features such as the ghost realm might be localized for different regions due to… well, religious issues. Once again, more information for the game such as the live weather system and character classes can be found in my previous posts (link).

Dungeon Keeper Online (CN) Posted: 05 May 2012 11:57 PM PDT Back in May 2010 (link), I first posted about one of the biggest online game developer and publisher in China, NetDragon, working on Dungeon Keeper Online. The game is a joint production between NetDragon and Electronic Arts (EA), and there was quite a skeptical bunch of gamers since the developer is from China. Most didn’t know that the producer is actually a Westerner from EA! Having the chance to play the latest Elite Closed Beta phase, let us take a brief look at how true the game stayed to its predecessor! For the races (below), there are currently 2 available: Humans and Demons. These 2 are further divided into male and female. The races missing from the roster includes the Loli (yes, that is the name of the race, not Dwarf , female only) and Demi-Demon (male only). Next, there are the character classes. All races so far share the same 6 classes (all classes end with a “Lord” at the end): Dual Blade, Restoration, Giant Shield, Destruction, Giant Sword and Element. I am sure you guys can figure out what each class does. Character creation is quite limited in terms of editing features, but the choosing of horns and tails for the male Demon is certainly interesting. Cash shop horns and tails is a good idea! As there is no full screen option to accommodate my monitor, I had to go for a windowed game mode. And surprisingly, the chat box is not within the game itself, but rather an additional panel to the left side of the game. Is this really such a good idea? Hmn… Anyway, I am playing as a Demon Destruction Lord in this first try of the game. Read the text before watching the videos! Ok, the starting part of the game is actually the tutorial prologue, which is not really told to players adequately in advance. Here, the basic controls are being taught. I know, this looks like World of Warcraft, but as I mentioned in my previous posts about the game, there is both an open world element and dungeon keeping one in the game. Back to standard combat, you will notice that some mobs can be “tortured” and beaten the crap out of even if their health reaches zero, causing more loots and experience points to gain. Pretty neat eh? An example of a fun quest in the tutorial is when I was asked to find 3 female NPCs and forcefully kiss them. I love being bad! So, characters learn skills as normal when the appropriate level is reached although there are no stats to be added (Str, Con, Dex etc). Skills can also be upgraded to higher levels when the level requirement is met. For recovery, there are instant pots which takes 1min to cooldown and also food as well, where players have to be uninterrupted while being healed. Pretty a pain in the arse when meeting with aggro mobs. Before going on to the part about dungeon, one more thing about combat. So, there are a total of 17 world bosses ranging from level 12 to 84 (you can see the level 12 one in the videos) and also instanced dungeons as well, which I never did enter during this brief game test. However, there are random times a portal will just appear and hint players to enter with a party. Well, I entered one alone and died tragically, which can be seen in one of the game videos. Sigh… Ok, about dungeon now. See the big button at the lower part of the screen, right in the middle? That is where players can click to enter their dungeon. Materials needed to expand your dungeon are gathered from the open world map, where material drops can be clicked and prompting your minions to load them up and send to your dungeon inventory. Players must then deposit them from the inventory to the total material count. Talking about minions, you can attract more minions by building more living quarters. Players may also right click on any minions to “whack” those who have the “zzzz” sign and not making themselves useful To build and upgrade structures, gold is needed too. Players can deposit gold gained from the open world into the dungeon. It is like a totally different game! Do note that both the open world and dungeon are developed using different game engines, a rarity in the industry now perhaps? Just when you thought the dungeon is just like a demonized The Sims, think again. Other players may attack your dungeon and loot everything away! Other features not yet experienced or added into the game includes the PvP Arena, Player Vs Player (from the 2 different factions), Guild PvP battles, Castle Siege (with NPCs aiding),3 classes within one character and more! Gosh, are they going to add every element into this game?! So, here is my verdict through this small preview. The game is an absolute hit for me! I am seen as a strict gamer who trashes almost every online titles nowadays, but Dungeon Keeper Online is just awesome! Note how much content there has been already right off the game’s start. I am in love with it, and seeing that Dungeon Keeper Online is listed on NetDragon’s English portal as an upcoming title (link), I can’t wait! Similar Article can be found at: http://www.mmoculture.com/2011/09/dungeon-keeper-online-cn-exclusive.html Related Posts ChangYou preparing Shadowbane reboot Eyedentity Games developing 3rd online game Power Rangers Online (KR) Dungeon Hero (KR) Rumor

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MMORPG News

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• General: Introducing the Disgruntled Pony!
• Divina: Exclusive Weekly Comic Finale
• Rift: Twice Burned
• Eternal Blade: Special Community Q&A

General: Introducing the Disgruntled Pony! Posted: 05 May 2012 01:43 PM PDT Our resident pony, DarkPony, has started his own blog here at MMORPG.com and we're adding him to our highlighted blogs list! Check out his debut entry, "A delayed message for AAA mmorpg developers."

Divina: Exclusive Weekly Comic Finale Posted: 05 May 2012 06:41 AM PDT We have reached the end of our exclusive weekly comic based on the game world of beanfun's Divina. In our final feature, we present all of the comic's panels in one giant feature. Check it out!

Rift: Twice Burned Posted: 05 May 2012 06:00 AM PDT Caedryn the Dwarf has seen some mighty interesting things in his journey through Rift, none more interesting than what he's been involved with this week. Find out what Caedryn and Fido are up to in our latest Rift column. Let us know what you think in the comments!

Eternal Blade: Special Community Q&A Posted: 04 May 2012 12:02 PM PDT MMORPG.com has partnered with gPotato to bring you a special community Q&A for their upcoming free-to-play fantasy MMORPG, Eternal Blade. We recently took questions about the game from the MMORPG.com to be answered by Eternal Blade's classes themselves and today we've got all the answers for you!

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