MMO Updates |
- Age of Conan announces 5th anniversary event, new membership perks
- A tale of Forgotten Realms: DDO's Update 18 and the Shadowfell Conspiracy
- TUG offers your own private island with your rules
- The Art of Wushu: Learning the basics of combat
- The Daily Grind: How do you handle a closed MMO still on the shelf?
- Massively surveys WildStar's Scientist and Settler paths, the Esper class, and the crazy things Jeremy Gaffney says
- Blizzard congratulates itself on Diablo III's anniversary
- Massively's Dragon's Prophet first impressions
- Jukebox Heroes: Character select music
- MechWarrior Online introduces new map in which players can die painfully
- Flameseeker Chronicles: Catching crabs in Guild Wars 2
- EVE Online redesigns radial menu for Odyssey
- Massively Speaking Episode 249: Captain Grumpypants
- RIFT introduces loyalty rewards program for dedicated players
- World of Warcraft patch 5.3 goes live today
- Guild Wars 2 developers share APIs, hopes for the future
- Hyperspace Beacon: Does SWTOR's F2P work?
| Age of Conan announces 5th anniversary event, new membership perks Posted: 22 May 2013 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Events (In-Game), News Items, Free-to-Play, Anniversaries  As anniversary gifts, all players will receive a one-week pass to Khitai as well as other items that can be claimed from the item shop. Members will receive a double item store discount throughout the five-day event as well as a special gift. Starting tomorrow, membership will include account-wide double xp items, 200 bonus points per month, and a bonus AA point for every level (granted retroactively). Interested in becoming a member? Funcom is also offering a special deal through May 30th granting 50% more time with multi-month subscriptions.
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| A tale of Forgotten Realms: DDO's Update 18 and the Shadowfell Conspiracy Posted: 22 May 2013 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Classes, Expansions, Patches, Previews, Free-to-Play, Races  It's obvious that Turbine's a little Forgotten-Realms-mad right now, although that's not a bad thing. The setting is a favorite among D&D fans, and while Eberron has its supporters, the studio obviously sees the Forgotten Realms as the future of this long-running MMO. While the expansion is still a couple of months away, today's Update 18: Disciples of Shadow update will serve as a prologue so that players can get started on their journey through this fresh land. We sat down with DDO's team to talk about Update 18, the new races coming with Shadowfell Conspiracy, and the pre-purchase program that promises to give you head start. Read on, or else the wrath of the owl bear will be upon thee! Continue reading A tale of Forgotten Realms: DDO's Update 18 and the Shadowfell Conspiracy
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| TUG offers your own private island with your rules Posted: 22 May 2013 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: MMO Industry, New Titles, Miscellaneous, Sandbox, Crowdfunding  Official servers are broken into two categories: Survival, where your items are not safe, and Adventure, which follows more of a traditional RPG/MMO ruleset. But in the private servers, your floating islands will be yours to do with as you please. TUG is currently still in its Kickstarter campaign with 9 days and around $75,000 to go before the project is funded. Head on over to its Kickstarter update page to learn more about private islands and the other features found in this sandbox game.
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| The Art of Wushu: Learning the basics of combat Posted: 22 May 2013 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Historical, Game Mechanics, PvP, Free-to-Play, Guides, Age of Wushu, The Art of Wushu, MMORPG  If you're coming from a mostly MMO background, combat in Age of Wushu is a bit daunting at first. It's really nothing like combat in any other MMO. It has a bit slower pace than a typical action-MMO, but it is the first to really employ tempo control. Attacking recklessly is a patch to a quick defeat, forcing players to make tough tactical decisions. If you're like me and came to MMOs from a fighting game background, things readily click into place. Baiting common reactions and punishing them, punishing actions on reaction, and getting in the head of your opponent is better-rewarded than in any other MMO combat system. I don't want to badmouth games like GW2 that have great combat, so don't get me wrong; many other games have excellent combat. Age of Wushu's battle system is just even more fantastic. When I win a fight against an even-leveled opponent (or higher level, though that's rare) without taking an unblocked hit, I feel like a total beast. Continue reading The Art of Wushu: Learning the basics of combat
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| The Daily Grind: How do you handle a closed MMO still on the shelf? Posted: 22 May 2013 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Opinion, Tabula Rasa, The Daily Grind, Sunsets  The question is, is it up to me to tell the store clerks about how wrong this is, or do I contact someone higher up at Walmart? Perhaps I should go straight to NCsoft with this one? I can't imagine the dismay in a child's eyes when he buys the game, rips it open and installs it, only to find out that no Bane will be dropping down in front of his leech gun any time soon. Think of the children! So, wise Massively readers, how would you handle this situation? Or have you seen a closed game on a store shelf before? Did you report it? Let us know!  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!
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| Posted: 21 May 2013 11:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Screenshots, Video, Classes, Economy, Game Mechanics, Interviews, Previews, PvP, Endgame, PvE, Opinion, Events (Massively's Coverage), WildStar, Crafting, Housing, Player-Generated Content, MMORPG  Massively's Gavin Townsley recently attended a WildStar media event in San Francisco, at which he was treated to a hands-on look at the upcoming sci-fantasy MMORPG's Scientist path and Esper class. He also chatted with Carbine Studios executive producer Jeremy Gaffney, who pulls a Gaffney (I'm coining that) and can't resist leaking a bit of new info about tradeskills while filling Gavin in on how endgame will work, why we should play the Settler path, and whether talent trees are passé. If you think making 10 pairs of cotton space pants sounds boring, then yeah -- you're going to like what he's got to say. Enjoy all three articles plus the brand-new path videos we've embedded past the cut!
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| Blizzard congratulates itself on Diablo III's anniversary Posted: 21 May 2013 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, MMO Industry, Diablo III, Anniversaries  Said statistics include 67.1 million characters created world-wide, 3.3 trillion monsters killed world-wide, and 22.4 million characters that have killed Diablo. Interestingly, Blizzard left off the number of hours lost to launch server login issues, nor is there any mention of D3's much-maligned real-money auction house. You can see the full graphic after the break. Continue reading Blizzard congratulates itself on Diablo III's anniversary
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| Massively's Dragon's Prophet first impressions Posted: 21 May 2013 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, Previews, News Items, PvE, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Hands-On, First Impressions, Dragon's Prophet  Fortunately, negative vibes like that didn't affect my recent hands-on with Dragon's Prophet's beta, which, in case you're wondering, is Runewaker's followup to Runes of Magic. Unfortunately, I don't think the new game in its present state is quite ready for prime time. Continue reading Massively's Dragon's Prophet first impressions
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| Jukebox Heroes: Character select music Posted: 21 May 2013 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: City of Heroes, EverQuest II, Final Fantasy XI, The Chronicles of Spellborn, Vanguard, Miscellaneous, WildStar, Jukebox Heroes, Music  These themes don't tend to be rip-roaring in their presentation because that's not their purpose. They have to be pleasant enough without being annoying when looped endlessly. After all, sometimes players spend a loooong time making their characters or sitting there at the select screen, and the last thing you want is for their ears to become fatigued by the experience. So here are six MMO character select and character creation themes that I've enjoyed over the years. And if you saw the title graphic up there and immediately started hearing this song in your head, then you and I probably grew up in the same era. Continue reading Jukebox Heroes: Character select music
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| MechWarrior Online introduces new map in which players can die painfully Posted: 21 May 2013 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Video, Patches, News Items, War, Free-to-Play, MechWarrior Online  MechWarrior Online's newest map, the Canyon Network, is riddled with slot canyons, steep drops, and high plateaus. As part of MWO's latest update, the Canyon Network is meant to provide a playground for snipers and strategic thinkers. The Blackjack has been named as the new Mech of the Month, with the Jenner donning the mantle of Champion Mech. As part of the content update, new cobra camo patterns and faction cockpit medallions have been added to the store. Skip below the cut to check out videos of the new Canyon Network and the Blackjack in action. [Source: MWO press release] Continue reading MechWarrior Online introduces new map in which players can die painfully
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| Flameseeker Chronicles: Catching crabs in Guild Wars 2 Posted: 21 May 2013 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events (In-Game), Game Mechanics, PvP, PvE, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Flameseeker Chronicles  My goodness, that lady's bikini is awfully close to body tone from this far away, isn't it? If the sun and sandy beaches didn't give it away, I've spent most of the last week or so of Guild Wars 2 time in Southsun Cove. Karka Island! Sunny Orr! Whatever you call it, I hope we can all agree that Southsun Cove is a terrible place filled with awful monsters that nobody in their right mind, in-universe or otherwise, would ever want to visit without the lure of titles and shiny -- literally, one of them glows, and the other glistens -- backpieces. Continue reading Flameseeker Chronicles: Catching crabs in Guild Wars 2
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| EVE Online redesigns radial menu for Odyssey Posted: 21 May 2013 01:30 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game Mechanics, Dev Diaries, Sandbox, Subscription  In looking to trim down some of the menu bloat for EVE Online's Odyssey expansion, CCP Games is resurrecting and redesigning the radial menu to be a "silver bullet" for this issue.The updated radial menu will be connected to the underutilized left mouse button and is confined to eight segments that will change depending on what the user is clicking. The studio wrote up a blog post on the subject, promising that the redesign is intuitive and will result in faster access to relevant commands. Initially, the radial menu upgrade will be for ship flight only, although CCP is willing to expand its domain if players find it useful. This feature is currently available on the test server.
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| Massively Speaking Episode 249: Captain Grumpypants Posted: 21 May 2013 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Podcasts, MMO Industry, News Items, Massively Meta, Massively Speaking, Miscellaneous  It's not just about F2P on this week's Massively Speaking; we have game launches, layoffs, previews, and tons of reader mail to cover. Will we have the words to do it? Or will we just end the podcast humming informatively? Jef's on it today, so there definitely will be a song and dance number at some point! Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot an email to podcast@massively.com. We may just read your email on the air! Get the podcast: [RSS] Add Massively Speaking to your RSS aggregator. [MP3] Download the MP3 directly. [iTunes] Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. [Stitcher] Follow the podcast on Stitcher Radio. Listen here on the page: Read below the cut for the full show notes. Continue reading Massively Speaking Episode 249: Captain Grumpypants
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| RIFT introduces loyalty rewards program for dedicated players Posted: 21 May 2013 12:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Business Models, Economy, Game Mechanics, News Items, Free-to-Play, RIFT  RIFT is introducing an innovative new program that allows players to get items for free when they spend money or money-substitutes on other items! The new rewards program will give players Loyalty points as those players purchase or spend credits, subscribe as a Patron, or consume REX (RIFT's tradable currency that can be purchased for real-world money). Since REX is tradable between players, a particularly thrifty player could accrue loyalty points without ever spending a real-world dime in RIFT's store. Current and former subscribers will be awarded some Loyalty points based on how long they have been subscribed. Players will be able to use Loyalty to unlock exclusive costumes, the ability to change target icons, and unique dimensions. This is all part of RIFT's free-to-play initiative and will be going live on June 12th with RIFT 2.3: Empyreal Assault.
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| World of Warcraft patch 5.3 goes live today Posted: 21 May 2013 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Patches, Endgame, News Items  Another World of Warcraft patch day has come upon us. Patch 5.3, Escalation, is hitting the game today, bringing with it a whole host of changes from loot specialization to increased pet battle accuracy. The patch introduces a new Battleground, Deepwind Gorge, as well as a new Arena called The Tiger's Peak. Four new scenarios are being added, plus six new Heroic difficulties. The Escalation quest campaign adds new tasks for Alliance and Horde members as they prepare to remove Garrosh Hellscream from Orgrimmar. You can read the exhaustive patch notes on the official site, and you can catch up on all the nitty gritty details on patch 5.3 on our sister site, WoW Insider.
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| Guild Wars 2 developers share APIs, hopes for the future Posted: 21 May 2013 11:30 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Business Models, Culture, News Items, Guild Wars 2, Buy-to-Play  This morning, ArenaNet dropped the price point of Guild Wars 2 by $10 across all available editions. In a follow-up chat about some of the decisions behind that move, Game Director Colin Johanson talked a bit about community support, the game's regular update cadence, and the company's hopes for bringing Guild Wars 2 into new markets. While a $10 price drop is not an extreme move, Johanson is confident that the change will bring Guild Wars 2 to new people. The company seems to be currently focused on building up community support. Just yesterday, some APIs were made available to the public for the first time. We've already seen them put to use in real-time WvW tracking and event monitors. Johanson also talked about recent efforts to shore up the support for sPvP and how the additions of custom arenas and spectator mode has led to viewers for sPvP streams "more than doubling" in the last few weeks. The game appears to be moving towards a twice-monthly update schedule. Johanson said that while ArenaNet has "not ruled out" the idea of future expansions, the company is committed to the idea of the living story. Johanson mentioned that Guild Wars 2 is sitting solidly at "well over 3,000,000 copies sold" without tapping into the Chinese market. He added that the game just had its first closed beta test in China and that the team is optimistic. ArenaNet hopes to make the Chinese version of the game as similar as possible to the existing one. [Source: ArenaNet conference call]
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| Hyperspace Beacon: Does SWTOR's F2P work? Posted: 21 May 2013 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Business Models, Economy, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Ask Massively, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Hyperspace Beacon  This week, I'd like to talk about SWTOR's free-to-play model in general. Although the design team has received a lot of heat from fans and haters alike, the system does have merit along with legitimate flaws. I do like SWTOR, but I'm not ignorant enough to believe that everything the game designers have done is perfect. I am also not one to hate because the game wronged me a year and a half ago. No matter the game, I understand, given my three years reporting in the industry and many other years playing video games, that there will always be people who hate a game no matter what developers do to appease them. At the same time, there will always be those who love a game no matter what stupid thing the developers do and will see no wrong no matter what you say to try to convince them. I try to put myself somewhere in the middle. Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: Does SWTOR's F2P work?
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