MMO Updates

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• The Repopulation adds gore, stampedes, turrets, and more
• Camelot Unchained secures an additional $3 million in funding
• The Think Tank: Would you play a chat-free MMO?
• Ask Massively: A new era of soft launches
• The Daily Grind: Which classes would you like to see in Neverwinter?
• WildStar sneaks a peak at Stormtalon's Lair
• Free for All: Introduction to MUD May
• SMITE unchains the might of Fenrir
• Defiance bugs invade RIFT
• Dragon's Prophet shows off screenshots of Wynnadia
• Star Trek Online goes behind the scenes with Denise Crosby
• MMO sandbox TUG launches its Kickstarter
• Camelot Unchained meets Kickstarter goal
• Dyeing your armor the SWTOR way
• Choose My Adventure: Pouring the foundation in Darkfall
• A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Super news, super review
• TERA celebrates first anniversary, teases future content

The Repopulation adds gore, stampedes, turrets, and more Posted: 02 May 2013 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, Patches, News Items, Sandbox, Crafting, The Repopulation The Repopulation's end-of-the-month progress report is here, and judging by the sheer length of the thing, April was one for the books. The new update takes a high-level view of development and it states that since the majority of The Repopulation's features are complete, the dev team is now focusing on content creation and an enjoyable new player experience. Highlights from April's patch cycle include the new harvester system, player turrets, AI tweaks, stampedes, and gore options. Of course, that's just the tip of the iceberg, so be sure and read the full post for all the details. [Thanks J.C.!] The Repopulation adds gore, stampedes, turrets, and more originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 May 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: April update

Camelot Unchained secures an additional $3 million in funding Posted: 02 May 2013 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, PvP, News Items, Sandbox, Crafting, Crowdfunding, Camelot Unchained, Subscription So Camelot Unchained surpassed its $2 million Kickstarter goal. It's kind of old news, we know, but there have been some additional funding developments since yesterday's milestone. The game will now receive an additional $3 million, $2 million of which comes from City State co-founder and MMO industry veteran Mark Jacobs. The remainder comes courtesy of unnamed investors. "The last 30 days have been an incredible journey," Jacobs said via press release. "We believed there's an audience for a highly focused game like ours, which has now been proven. What we didn't expect was how our community would come together so quickly and avidly. Not only is our average pledge off the chart, our backers have been just as intensely supportive in other ways, from providing immense amounts of helpful feedback to translating information into four languages (German, French, Japanese and Korean), and more." Camelot Unchained will use a proprietary engine optimized for large-scale battles and already battle-tested to the tune of 200-plus frames per second while displaying 1,000 simultaneous characters rendered with 12,000 polygons. The three-faction PvP-focused fantasy MMO also boasts a building-block crafting system that will allow players to construct individual cells and larger segments before assembling them "in nearly limitless ways." [Source: City State press release] Camelot Unchained secures an additional $3 million in funding originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 May 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Think Tank: Would you play a chat-free MMO? Posted: 02 May 2013 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Opinion, Miscellaneous, The Think Tank Last month, Justin asked you in a Daily Grind article whether you'd play a chat-less MMO. His examples included The Endless Forest, where communication is done through emotes and symbols, and Journey, where players use visual cues to signal intent. As MMO players, we feel that massive communication is a must-have feature and socializing is just part of the game. So I was curious about the opinions of the massively staff members on this topic. Would they play a chat-less MMO? Continue reading The Think Tank: Would you play a chat-free MMO? The Think Tank: Would you play a chat-free MMO? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 May 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Ask Massively: A new era of soft launches Posted: 02 May 2013 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Business Models, MMO Industry, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Massively Meta, Ask Massively, Events (Massively's Coverage), Miscellaneous, Neverwinter Neverwinter soft launched this week. What's a soft launch? It's when a game really shouldn't be launching yet and knows it and yet has to launch anyway for reasons probably involving money. Soft launches are incredibly confusing to old school gamers who are used to a certain kind of testing and release cycle, the uncomplicated kind that involves, you know, some testing and a release. Soft launches make games writers uncomfortable too. Why won't your weird special snowflake of a game launch fit into our perfectly planned box? Massively reader zmeul expressed his annoyance with us thusly: "I can't understand why some games get this 'soft launch' from you and others do not, even if the criteria are met." It's a brave new world out there, zmeul! Continue reading Ask Massively: A new era of soft launches Ask Massively: A new era of soft launches originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 May 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: Which classes would you like to see in Neverwinter? Posted: 02 May 2013 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, MMO Industry, New Titles, PvE, Opinion, Free-to-Play, The Daily Grind, Neverwinter I haven't dipped a toe into the Neverwinter pool yet, but I'm doing a bit of preliminary research for some potential playtime this weekend. One of the things that I'm finding is that the game's class roster is a bit light on, well, classes. Specifically, there are five to start with, which seems somewhat spartan for a title based on Dungeons and Dragons. Notably absent is my preferred ranged DPS. There's the Control Wizard, of course, and he sounds mighty interesting, but the Neverwinter wiki says his primary role is crowd-control. What about you, Neverwinter players? What sorts of classes would you like to see available in the future? 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: Which classes would you like to see in Neverwinter? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 May 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

WildStar sneaks a peak at Stormtalon's Lair Posted: 01 May 2013 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Previews, News Items, WildStar, Dungeons Making a new discovery on Nexus is always sort of a double-edged sword. The good news is that the Exile Academy of Science has discovered all sorts of fascinating details about the Thundercall Pell race living in the south of Galeras. The bad news is that some of this has come about as a result of discovering strange energy readings emanating from the caverns known as Stormtalon's Lair and the loss of a science team investigating the region, meaning that WildStar players will have to go in and deal with whatever ate the team that went in the first time. The latest WildStar Wednesday sheds some light on this early dungeon, explaining the motivations behind the inhabitants of the Lair and some of the mysteries still surrounding them. Players will be tasked with fighting their way into the depths, stopping the Thundercall High Priest from awakening the eponymous Stormtalon. Which means you'll probably arrive just in time to fight Stormtalon before it gets free, because really, how else could this end? WildStar sneaks a peak at Stormtalon's Lair originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 May 2013 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Stormtalon's Lair

Free for All: Introduction to MUD May Posted: 01 May 2013 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Business Models, Opinion, Races, Roleplaying, Free for All, Player-Generated Content For the month of May, I will be using this column to cover the world of MUDs aka multi-user-domains or dungeons. MUDs are text-based MMORPGs, and playing one is sort of like playing through a choose-your-own-adventure book with potentially thousands of other players. I'm not so arrogant to think that I could cover the decades of MUD development within the span of five articles, but I've had a go at it in the past and want to examine the topic more. Why? There are many reasons, and to kick off this series, I'd like to talk about them. After today, my columns will concentrate on interviews with developers and players to explain how and why MUDs still work, and I hope that all of this will encourage many of you who have never tried a MUD to pick one out now. The recent buzz surrounding Twine-based games and interactive storytelling is perfect fuel for MUDs to come back into the spotlight. Unless, of course, many of the issues with the insulated community of MUDers sabotage the perfect timing. Let's get started. Continue reading Free for All: Introduction to MUD May Free for All: Introduction to MUD May originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 May 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

SMITE unchains the might of Fenrir Posted: 01 May 2013 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, MOBA After many years, we finally have the answer to a rhetorical question: SMITE let the dogs out. Well, one dog -- Fenrir. But he's enough dog to count for all the others. If you hadn't guess, Fenrir is the newest deity added to the game, coming into the game with a full suite of melee abilities suitable for a wolf feared by the Norse pantheon. Fenrir's core mechanic is a stacking set of runes, with each of his abilities gaining a major buff when at a full stack of five. Normally, Fenrir can leap to do damage to an area, leap to do damage to a single target, or buff himself with increased damage and lifestealing. With a full stack of runes, his area leap stuns, his single-target leap becomes an AoE, and his buff becomes more efficient. He can also grow to a massive size, increase movement speed, and carry an enemy god around like a chew toy. Take a look at all of Fenrir's trick in the reveal video past the break, and read up on the full list of changes in the official patch notes. Continue reading SMITE unchains the might of Fenrir SMITE unchains the might of Fenrir originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 May 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Fenrir patch notes

Defiance bugs invade RIFT Posted: 01 May 2013 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Events (In-Game), News Items, Consoles, RIFT, Promotions, Post-Apocalyptic, Defiance, Subscription Adventurers of Telara, you've kind of got a good news/bad news situation taking place here. The bad news is that RIFT is getting invaded, which was already the case. The worse news is that it's now being invaded by the Hellbugs from Defiance, which usually require a great deal of automatic weapons fire to be put down. The good news is that if you can somehow manage to overcome the distinct lack of any firearms and put down the invasion, you can keep a Hellbug around to ride! Wait, that might still be bad news. Yes, Trion Worlds is kicking off a cross-promotional event with new fire rifts that give players a chance at Defiance-related rewards, most notably the chance to pick up a Hellbug mount. The event is open to all players, even if you're just trying out the game's Lite version. No word on how long the event will last, but it's probably best to assume that it won't be forever -- which is also sort of a good news/bad news situation, unless you wanted to see the game overrun by Hellbugs. Defiance bugs invade RIFT originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 May 2013 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Hellbug event

Dragon's Prophet shows off screenshots of Wynnadia Posted: 01 May 2013 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Previews, News Items, Free-to-Play, Dragon's Prophet Despite the name of the game, Dragon's Prophet does not exclusively feature dragons and prophets thereof. It also has lands for all of that to occupy. The Wynnadia zone even has houses and people living there, providing a rich background for all prophet- and dragon-related antics. It's a pleasant zone filled with rolling hills, farming communities, undead monstrosities clawing their way up from the depths, and charming beaches. Wait, do we need to go back to that middle one? Once in game, players will be tasked with exploring the Accursed Tower and the Nameless Keep, full of dark secrets and alluring treasure. But it's not all monster-stomping day, as the zone is also home to the cities of Zarland and Lilia, with the former composed mainly of outcasts and refugees and the latter serving as an impressive naval stronghold. While we're assured that there's danger in the zone, all of the pictures in the gallery below look more inviting than deadly. [Source: Sony Online Entertainment press release] Gallery: Dragon's Prophet Dragon's Prophet shows off screenshots of Wynnadia originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 May 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Star Trek Online goes behind the scenes with Denise Crosby Posted: 01 May 2013 03:30 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Video, Expansions, Lore, Previews, News Items, Star Trek Online, Free-to-Play When Star Trek Online launches its first expansion, Legacy of Romulus, players will find themselves facing off against the formidable Empress Sela right from the start. The return of Sela also marks the return of veteran actress Denise Crosby to the game, and the community team behind STO had a chance to speak with Crosby about returning to the franchise and to the same characters she portrayed years ago on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Crosby mentions that while she enjoyed the chance to reprise the role of Tasha Yar (a character she jokingly says simply refuses to die), revisiting Sela is a chance to dive deeper into a character who was not fully realized during her first appearances. Sela's life is the Empire, and she feels that any means necessary to restore the power and prestige of her people is more than justified. Click past the break to see the full video and learn a little bit more about the face of the Romulan Empire in the expansion. Continue reading Star Trek Online goes behind the scenes with Denise Crosby Star Trek Online goes behind the scenes with Denise Crosby originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 May 2013 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

MMO sandbox TUG launches its Kickstarter Posted: 01 May 2013 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Trailers, Video, Business Models, Game Mechanics, Lore, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Sandbox, Crafting, Crowdfunding If you're the sort of sandbox aficionado who's more into crafting and exploration than griefing, then this post is for you. Brand-new to Kickstarter today is an MMO called, well, The Untitled Game, or TUG for short. Inspired by the likes of Minecraft, Zelda, and EVE Online, TUG promises an immersion-driven, "massive procedurally generated world to explore" along with such features as combat, crafting, building, an organic UI, modding tools, hidden civilizations, animal taming, "logic engineering," day/season cycles, realistic weights, support for roleplayers, and no DRM. Like rival Shroud of the Avatar, TUG will be playable solo, on a private server, and on the official MMO server. Developer Nerd Kingdom styles itself as "a collective of scientists, researchers, technologists, economists, content creators, artists, modders, and gamers from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds" with a "deep passion for the nerdery of academic sciences, art, and technology," but in spite of its academic background, the studio promises a survival sandbox/multiplayer RPG hybrid without all the associated spreadsheets and number-crunching. The game is targeting 2015 for launch with an alpha this coming July; the digital download edition of the game can be secured for as little as 10 bucks on Kickstarter now. See whether the videos behind the break don't convince you. Continue reading MMO sandbox TUG launches its Kickstarter MMO sandbox TUG launches its Kickstarter originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 May 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: TUG Kickstarter

Camelot Unchained meets Kickstarter goal Posted: 01 May 2013 02:05 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, New Titles, PvP, News Items, Sandbox, Crowdfunding, Camelot Unchained Oh ye of little faith. Of course Camelot Unchained got funded. Niche MMOs with die-hard fanbases never say die, even when they're up against an 11th hour Kickstarter goal that looked mighty challenging just yesterday. And that's pretty much all we have to tell you at the moment. Other than the fact that Massively's Kickstarter watchers can officially get back to work. We'll bring you more details about the newly greenlit project as soon as they become available. Camelot Unchained meets Kickstarter goal originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 May 2013 16:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Kickstarter

Dyeing your armor the SWTOR way Posted: 01 May 2013 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Crafting Let's make a quick list of items Update 2.1 for Star Wars: The Old Republic will bring us: a new species, an appearance designer kiosk, name changes, and armor dyes. It's understandable why this update is named Customization. Details about each about each of these systems are trickling out slowly, and the latest crop of information comes from MMO fansite Dulfy.net. Dulfy spoke with BioWare about the armor dye system and scrounged up some very specific details about how it works. After the release of 2.1, players will be able to find a total of 48 different dye modules: 25 from the Cartel Market, 3 from the security key and collector's edition vendors, and 20 made through Artificing. There are three types of dyes modules: one with a primary color, one with a secondary color, and one with both a primary and secondary color. Unfortunately, not all armor with be able to be dyed. BioWare explained that the Knights of the Old Republic-inspired outfits will not have dye slots, so that those costumes can remain true to Star Wars lore. Sorry, no bright pink Bastila Shan outfit for you, sir. Dyeing your armor the SWTOR way originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 May 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Dulfy.net

Choose My Adventure: Pouring the foundation in Darkfall Posted: 01 May 2013 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Polls, Darkfall, Classes, Opinion, Races, Choose My Adventure It's relocation time! Although there were plenty of tempting properties spread around various locales to choose from, once the bidding wars began, Darkfall Unholy Wars grabbed the lead and refused to let go. So we're packing up our tools and moving to Agon to get this Choose My Adventure project started. And considering the whole neighborhood just went through a recent renovation, I'm sure we'll fit right in building our new retreat. Now, we just need... hm, where did we put those blueprints? Do we even have blueprints? No? Well, no matter; you can just give me the instructions as we go. Rome wasn't built in a day, and we've got five more weeks to work together to create this new retreat. I've got to tell you, I'm quite excited for this venture. One of the greatest things about the CMA series is that it forces us to finally dive in and check out games we've been wanting to but never quite "found the time." Once it becomes a part of your daily job, you have no choice but to make the time! Darkfall was always one of those games for me, and my curiosity and interest was piqued even more with Unholy Wars. So let's get this started. First, we need a foundation. Continue reading Choose My Adventure: Pouring the foundation in Darkfall Choose My Adventure: Pouring the foundation in Darkfall originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 May 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Super news, super review Posted: 01 May 2013 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, News Items, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Marvel Heroes, DC Universe Online, A Mild-Mannered Reporter, Infinite Crisis It's been a fairly quiet month on the superhero front, which is the way of things. Some months it seems as if you can't go a day without a new launch; others you realize belatedly that it's the end of the month because another round of bills are due. Possibly including subscription fees. It all ties together. Of course, the superhero arena has been quiet for a little while now, but we're seeing signs of life cropping up once again. There are titles in development, new content approaching, and a launch in about a month that should really be getting a bit more marketing support. That's a topic for another article. So as we do once per month at A Mild-Mannered Reporter, it's time to look back over the past month or so and talk about the news stories that have cropped up relating to the genre of men and women in spandex punching robots. Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Super news, super review A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Super news, super review originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 May 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

TERA celebrates first anniversary, teases future content Posted: 01 May 2013 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Patches, PvP, News Items, PvE, Free-to-Play, TERA, Anniversaries Fantasy action MMO TERA turns one year old today, and En Masse is celebrating by throwing a month-long party through the end of May. The firm is awarding players with in-game raffle items, mystery boxes "filled with rare and valuable prizes," and a new 10- and 20-person Kelsaik raid. TERA's future looks bright, too, as En Masse has a 20v20 battleground update complete with strongholds, tanks, cannons, and airships waiting in the wings. The devs also have a new player-driven alliance system scheduled for the very near future. Finally, En Masse has put together an anniversary infographic filled with esoterica like the number of accounts created (over 1.5 million), the ratio of male to female avatars (44.18 percent to 55.82 percent), and more. View the full graphic after the cut. [Source: En Masse press release] Continue reading TERA celebrates first anniversary, teases future content TERA celebrates first anniversary, teases future content originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 May 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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