| Senior Artist for Blizzard's next MMO sure likes dieselpunk Posted: 06 Sep 2012 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Real life, News items, Miscellaneous It's always a good thing to know the sort of hands in which the art of an upcoming MMO rests. One of Blizzard's senior artists, Nick Carver, has got quite the excellent collection of personal works. As a senior artist, Carver is busy with Blizzard's tremendously mysterious Project Titan, the company's MMO-in-the-making. While personal works may not be indicative of which way an MMO's art team is leaning, these are still well-worth an appreciative gander.There are occasional speed paintings and one-offs, but many of the pieces belong to the world of the dieselpunk or Decopunk city of Dustrum, Carver's personal project. Head over to Kotaku to check out a fine sampling of Carver's work, or hit up his blog to wade hip-deep in the original source.  Senior Artist for Blizzard's next MMO sure likes dieselpunk originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| City of Steam closed beta coming in November Posted: 06 Sep 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Sci-fi, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Browser, City of Steam Mechanist Games has announced a closed beta date for its upcoming City of Steam title. Well, sort of. A new post on the game's website spends three paragraphs leading up to the word November, but it doesn't mention a specific day. The post also mentions that the devs are combing through reams of alpha feedback from the recently completed testing phase, and it suggests that you keep an eye on the CoS forums and your inbox if you're itching to get into beta. City of Steam is a free-to-play browser-based MMO based on a series of steampunk-flavored RPG books. City of Steam closed beta coming in November originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Guild Wars 2 boots up support and help forums Posted: 06 Sep 2012 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Bugs, Guild Wars 2 Those seeking help from the Guild Wars 2 pantheon of gods (and developers) now have an official source of help and information. ArenaNet brought online a portion of its forums for the game to deliver news and support from a centralized location. The new Guild Wars 2 forums include a place for official announcements, the dev tracker, account issues, technical support, and reporting game bugs. For those looking to talk about the game, ask questions, and share tips, ArenaNet's also opened a Players Helping Players forum to facilitate that discussion. [Thanks to Cecil for the tip!] Guild Wars 2 boots up support and help forums originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: Does new content bring you back to an older game? Posted: 06 Sep 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Daily Grind My Age of Conan playtime has dropped considerably in recent weeks. The blame falls squarely on The Secret World and a spate of single-player games, though Guild Wars 2 is nudging into the picture as well. News of AoC's Secrets of the Dragon's Spine updates was both interesting and a little bit irritating, then, as there's only so much time in my MMO day. While I'd love to come back and check out the new dungeons, mounts, and an outdoor playfield that is reportedly as expansive as Turan, I'm loathe to trade the fun I'm having in TSW for the old, familiar confines of Hyboria. What about you, dear readers? Do new content updates compel you to leave your current flame for an older MMORPG?  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: Does new content bring you back to an older game? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| MMO Family: Lessons from an MMO-light summer Posted: 05 Sep 2012 08:00 PM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, MMO Family, Family, Miscellaneous Ever find yourself telling your kids to log off while you're holding your smartphone in one hand and have one eye on your email/Facebook/Twitter/browser/game of Angry Birds or Plants vs. Zombies? I admit it, I caught myself doing that back at the beginning of summer, and it happened to be around the time I stumbled on an article from David Gelernter titled Make it a Summer Without iStuff. Around the house, we stay on top of gaming time and try to stick to hard limits so that it doesn't dominate the day. But summers in New England are fleeting, and having been inspired by Gelernter's article, we decided to cut back on gaming even more. What I noticed during our dialed-down summer is that there's a lot more to it than just shutting off the iStuff and that MMOs might not be the "mental purgatory" that Gelernter says is created by iToys. Let's take a look in this week's MMO Family! Continue reading MMO Family: Lessons from an MMO-light summer MMO Family: Lessons from an MMO-light summer originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Free for All: Xulu Universe is more than Second Life-lite Posted: 05 Sep 2012 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Screenshots, Game mechanics, Interviews, New titles, Previews, Second Life, Free-to-play, Races, Casual, Virtual worlds, Free for All, Miscellaneous, Sandbox, Crafting Xulu Universe is a new world built with far-reaching horizons. In reality, those horizons are within reach for anyone who wants to take the time to travel. If you see it, you can go to it. Xulu Universe is also a world of endless building opportunities as in Second Life, although comparing it to Second Life wouldn't quite be accurate. Where Second Life is a sandbox with no set boundaries, Xulu Universe is more of a standardized experience. Sure, there are plans to allow players to add unique touches to creations, but initially, creators will have access to a limited toolset. Don't let that fool you; the tools are quite robust and easy to use. Last week I joined Xulu Entertainment's co-founders, CEO Nanci Solomon and CTO Joe Santos, for a tour around the new building MMO. We drove, flew, ran, shot, stacked, and jumped through the physics-based world thanks to a new peer-to-peer-styled server plan. What does all of this mean? Click past the cut and I'll do my best to explain what Xulu Universe is all about. Continue reading Free for All: Xulu Universe is more than Second Life-lite Free for All: Xulu Universe is more than Second Life-lite originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| City of Heroes fans rally to try to save the game Posted: 05 Sep 2012 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Culture, Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play It goes without saying that City of Heroes fans are no strangers to the idea of a heroic effort. Now they face the greatest possible challenge of the game's existence: try to prevent the impending shutdown. A petition has been formed asking for a stay of execution, and fans are convening at a message board dedicated to averting the closure of the industry's first superheroic MMO. The boards contain a number of suggestions and calls for respectful action to make it clear to NCsoft's management how much the game has meant to the players. The staff of Paragon Studios is just as invested, however. A recent message in-game has confirmed that management is in talks with both NCsoft and investors. Community manager Andy Belford has stressed that these are just talks at the moment and that players shouldn't jump to conclusions. Regardless of the final outcome, it's clear that the game's fanbase will not let the game go quietly, which might be a more earnest show of what the game has meant to players than anything else. City of Heroes fans rally to try to save the game originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| DC Universe Online's update 18 goes live Posted: 05 Sep 2012 05:30 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Game mechanics, Patches, Endgame, News items, Free-to-play, DC Universe Online If you're hoping for a bunch of new content with the latest update to DC Universe Online, you'll be disappointed. If you're hoping for a better system of player rewards and more challenging encounters, you'll be quite pleased. Game Update 18 ushers in several changes to the game's challenges, alerts, and duos, providing players with both a smoother set of progression content and a more unified system of rewards. Aside from reorganizing several pieces of group content into clearer progression tiers, the update unifies reward currencies into Marks of Triumph. Reward items are all purchased via Marks of Triumph, with higher-tier items requiring a correspondingly larger number of Marks. Players will also receive a weekly award box the first time they clear a Tier 1 through 3 challenge within a week; these award boxes contain both Marks of Triumph and a random level-appropriate item. For more details on the particulars of these revisions, take a look at the full update list, or just log in and start playing. DC Universe Online's update 18 goes live originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Choose My Adventure: Beware the Bard edition Posted: 05 Sep 2012 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Polls, Opinion, Massively Meta, Hands-on, Choose My Adventure, Miscellaneous All the world's a game, and all the men and women are merely players. Shakespeare was really onto something there, even if he flubbed a word a bit. Folks who try to deny their participation in games are just fooling themselves! What are games, after all, but progression in a given world? Some people are just so boring that they stick to only one world. We know better, though, don't we? We choose ours from a myriad of options! Or, as in this case, you Choose My Adventure. I will admit, I have been in the wings, eagerly awaiting my next casting call. Twice now you've sent me on amazing adventures, and I've had a blast! And finally, it's my turn to take the stage again. So what will I star in this time? Will it be a military epic, a space adventure, or a flight of fantasy? My big comeback is in your hands! Peruse the list below and follow your muse to choose which world I will spotlight for the next six weeks. Just be sure to have your vote in by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Sunday the 9th. And don't forget to stay tuned to the MV Guide over the coming weeks to watch the adventures unfold on Massively TV! Continue reading Choose My Adventure: Beware the Bard edition Choose My Adventure: Beware the Bard edition originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Mists of Pandaria approved for operation in China Posted: 05 Sep 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, MMO industry, News items  We're sure you're all familiar with the rumors that Blizzard's latest World of Warcraft expansion, Mists of Pandaria, had been seeing some trouble in China due to its depictions of pandas having the stuffing beaten out of them. Well, it looks like we can finally put those rumors to rest because the Chinese Ministry of Culture has approved Chinese web operator NetEase to operate the game (humorously Google-translated as World of Warcraft: Panda Man of Mystery; can we get a title change?) in the territory. This is a stark contrast to previous expansions Wrath of the Lich King, which was delayed in China for two years, and Cataclysm, which didn't hit the People's Republic until July of this year. The game's Chinese approval is good news for Blizzard considering the recent loss of around a million WoW subscribers. There doesn't seem to be an official Chinese release date for Panda Man of Mystery yet, but North American and European players will get their hands on it later this month on September 25th. Mists of Pandaria approved for operation in China originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Marvel Heroes releases new heroes, closed beta details Posted: 05 Sep 2012 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Super-hero, News items, Free-to-play, Marvel Heroes, Dev Diaries PAX Prime might be over, but the good news isn't! The Marvel Heroes team made use of the convention to announce three new heroes: Punisher, Daredevil, and Squirrel Girl. Yes, Squirrel Girl. If you're eager to run around with a prehensile tail and an ability to communicate with small forest rodents, a dose of closed beta testing information might be just what you're looking for. Marvel Heroes' CBT begins October 1st, 2012. On that date you'll be able to create a free account and have a chance to join the beta. New testers will be added over time, so fear not if you're not selected to join right away. Interested in a glimpse of what's to come? Check out Marvel Heroes' newest trailer. Marvel Heroes releases new heroes, closed beta details originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Diablo III tries a new approach to crowd control Posted: 05 Sep 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Dev Diaries, Diablo III If you've been playing Diablo III and thought that its crowd control mechanics felt, well, weak, then Blizzard agrees with you. In a new post on the official site, Senior Technical Game Designer Wyatt Cheng explains the original reasoning behind Diablo III's crowd control, brainstorming sessions that the devs had to fix it, and the team's final decision. Coming soon to the game will be a buff for CC that creates new rules for how mobs process these abilities when used against them. Cheng explains it thusly: "Monsters have a 'CC resistance' that is stored on a per-monster basis. The CC resistance starts at 0%. For every one second CC that is applied to the monster, the monster receives 10% CC resistance. Monsters lose 10% of their CC resistance every second that they are not CC'd. Elite monster CC resistance is capped at the current reduction values already active for Elites." He says that after the change, "near-infinite CC strategies will work," making the player feel powerful while not unbalancing the game. Diablo III tries a new approach to crowd control originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Peek inside your (least) favorite game company at Glassdoor.com Posted: 05 Sep 2012 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: MMO industry, News items Have you heard of Glassdoor.com? It's worth a look if you're career-minded and itching to get some inside info on game development firms. The catch is that the info isn't fool-proof. Posters are largely anonymous and therefore the company ratings and reviews should be taken with a grain of salt. Still, the site requires registration and purports to review every post. What do anonymous insiders have to say about MMO companies? Plenty, as it turns out. Kotaku has collated a list that includes BioWare, Blizzard, CCP, NCsoft, Sony Online Entertainment, and others. None of the firms escape unscathed, and Glassdoor users are particularly hard on CCP and NCsoft. "Too much kool-aid, not enough substance," writes one former employee of CCP's Atlanta studio. NCsoft doesn't fare much better. "No leadership, complete chaos caused by the HQ and the lack of professionalism in the Seattle office. I could not wish this company to my enemy," says one disgruntled employee. Peek inside your (least) favorite game company at Glassdoor.com originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Battle of the Immortals trumpets Shifting Tides expansion Posted: 05 Sep 2012 12:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Expansions, Free-to-play, The Secret World Battle of the Immortals hasn't been making waves this past year, but that looks to change: Perfect World Entertainment announced that the free-to-play title is on the verge of releasing an expansion called Shifting Tides. The expansion pits players in a quest to protect the world and avoid a coming apocalypse. But the story is always second to features, so what does Shifting Tides have to offer? Perfect World is adding new zones, new instances such as the Radiant Temple, a high-level character customization system that unlocks perks, a PvP arena, and a stunning 100-level solo dungeon. Shifting Tides will release on September 19th, but in the meantime you can watch the official expansion trailer after the jump. Continue reading Battle of the Immortals trumpets Shifting Tides expansion Battle of the Immortals trumpets Shifting Tides expansion originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Enter at Your Own Rift: Is the subscription justified? Posted: 05 Sep 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, Opinion, RIFT, Enter at Your Own Rift I wonder whether the folks at Trion Worlds feel as if they're on an ever-shrinking island, holding fast to the subscription-only model while the world erodes into the sea of free-to-play. It's got to be an unsettling feeling, particularly as the competition continues to press in from all sides. Is clinging to RIFT's subscription worth it? When even Star Wars: The Old Republic flinched and buckled to F2P, what chance does RIFT have to stay its course? Is Trion hurting or helping this game by holding fast to the business model? It's a tricky question that's made trickier by the scarcity of facts. Trion's expressed strong confidence in the way it's steered RIFT so far, and I wonder whether that's a genuine confidence based on numbers that I don't see or a brave front for a duck that's paddling furiously under the calm pond surface. So is RIFT really so good that it justifies a monthly subscription, and if so, what makes it OK to stay above the F2P waters on that tiny island? Continue reading Enter at Your Own Rift: Is the subscription justified? Enter at Your Own Rift: Is the subscription justified? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| NPD report: America's gamer population is shrinking, mobile overtakes consoles Posted: 05 Sep 2012 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Business models, MMO industry, News items Is the video game industry finally returning to earth after years of sustained growth? Possibly, although a new market research report that suggests a shrinking gamer population comes with some rather significant caveats. First off, the report by the NPD Group claims that 211.5 million people are playing video games in the U.S. this year, which is approximately a third of the country's total population. That number is 12 million less than in 2011, though (a five percent drop). Console gamers, light PC gamers, avid PC gamers, and family/kid gamers saw the biggest drop, but the downloadable/online and mobile gamer segments experienced substantial growth. According to NPD, mobile gamers now constitute the largest market share, edging out core console gamers at 22 percent of the total. NPD report: America's gamer population is shrinking, mobile overtakes consoles originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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