MMO Updates |
- Some Assembly Required: TUG interview reveals the true nature of Soylent Green
- Neverwinter State of the Game announces public test shard, raid content
- Storyboard: As stupid does
- Guild Wars 2 mixes up its WvW matchups
- The Daily Grind: Would you re-buy a game for bonuses?
- The Summoner's Guidebook: Why you shouldn't always buy Deathcap on LoL casters
- Champions' Forum Malvanum alert now live
- BioWare responds to SWTOR Legacy system exploits and bans
- Ken Hartsook discusses Ultima Forever from behind the scenes
- Plastic Wax Studios targets MMO and mobile cinematics
- Black Sheep Online gameplay detailed in new vids
- The Guild Counsel: Managing the peaks of success
- Ragnarok Online 2 releases in Europe
- Watch Destiny's law of the jungle trailer
- Defiance demands your attention during Memorial Day weekend [Updated]
- Ask Massively: The irony of media and betas
- Shazam gives Infinite Crisis lineup a jolt
| Some Assembly Required: TUG interview reveals the true nature of Soylent Green Posted: 24 May 2013 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Sandbox, Crowdfunding, Player-Generated Content  Enter TUG. Formally known as The Untitled Game, the game is the brainchild of Nerd Kingdom, a group hailing from the world of academia that happens to have intersected with gaming. Self-described as "a collaboration of video game developers, academic scientists, modders, and gamers," this group wants to move beyond just improving the way games are made "to show[ing] that such games can make us better as individuals and as a society." I was able to catch up with one of the founders of Nerd Kingdom, Scientist and Researcher of Stuffs Peter Salinas, to talk about the game. We touched on everything from player design input to features (like player books and companions) to making an engine available for others to use. Oh, and of course, Soylent Green. Continue reading Some Assembly Required: TUG interview reveals the true nature of Soylent Green
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| Neverwinter State of the Game announces public test shard, raid content Posted: 24 May 2013 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Bugs, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Free-to-Play, Dev Diaries, Neverwinter  Velasquez jumped right into discussing the bugs and exploits that have affected the game since open beta started and outlined the fixes that were implemented to squash them. He went on to talk about the top issues that the team was working on currently and then reveal what players can expect to see in the next few weeks. A Public Test Shard is coming to Neverwinter (to hopefully catch bugs and exploits before going live), as is new endgame raid PvE/PvP content called Gauntlgrym. Other new content includes updates in the Foundry and new companions, zones, mounts, mechanics, Paragon Paths, and a new "ranged" class.
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| Posted: 24 May 2013 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, Roleplaying, Storyboard, Miscellaneous  This should not be the case. This should, in fact, be the opposite of the case. Playing someone with the mental alacrity of a ball of twine should be much easier than your brilliant wizard. But when you try to play a dumb character, it's easy for that character to wind up slipping into periods of pointless stupidity without acting like any of the nitwits you've actually dealt with over the course of your life. Intelligence is a hard thing to quantify at the best of times, but some of our characters are meant to be just plain slow. I've played a few, and it's always a challenge to make the character feel like a person instead of a caricature. So here are some tips for making your big dummy feel appropriately oafish and endearing instead of just being a strawman. Continue reading Storyboard: As stupid does
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| Guild Wars 2 mixes up its WvW matchups Posted: 24 May 2013 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, PvP, News Items, Guild Wars 2, Buy-to-Play  The short version of how things will work is that servers will be matched up semi-randomly, with ratings taken into account to assure that the spread between opponents isn't too severe. More math beneath the surface takes into account both the current rating of a given world and its overall deviation, producing a "real" rating that will facilitate fair matches. Take a look at the official blog for all the hard details.
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| The Daily Grind: Would you re-buy a game for bonuses? Posted: 24 May 2013 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, MMO Industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous  MMOs especially are games that you should never need to re-purchase. But sometimes you can find a game packaging something nice in with another purchase, and it almost becomes worth it to have another copy despite not needing a second account. So would you re-buy a game for new bonuses, either in-game or just bonus trinkets? Or does the very idea seem ridiculous to you?  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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| The Summoner's Guidebook: Why you shouldn't always buy Deathcap on LoL casters Posted: 23 May 2013 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Opinion, Free-to-Play, Guides, MOBA, League of Legends, The Summoner's Guidebook  Deathcap is one of the perennial caster items in League of Legends. Not only does it give an enormous amount of ability power, but it also increases all of your ability power (including what it grants) by a whopping 30%. This seems so ridiculously powerful! Even though it's expensive, 30% increase in AP is such a huge boost to damage that it can't be beaten. Is this really the case, though? In Summoner's Rift, I completely agree that Deathcap is a great item. In Twisted Treeline, Wooglet's Witchcap (the replacement item for Deathcap) is also incredible. However, in Dominion and ARAM, the fast-paced action and frequent conflicts change the nature of the wizard hats considerably. Continue reading The Summoner's Guidebook: Why you shouldn't always buy Deathcap on LoL casters
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| Champions' Forum Malvanum alert now live Posted: 23 May 2013 06:30 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Patches, News Items, PvE, Free-to-Play, Champions Online, Dungeons  "The Lunar Games include ten rounds of enemies, with some variation in each run," according to Cryptic's announcement post. "Heroes who complete the first five rounds are guaranteed a prize as worthy competitors. More rewards will be granted by Tateklys for defeating the time-limited sixth through tenth rounds, including a climactic final fight with Firewing himself, reigning champion of the Games. Rewards include costume pieces, resources and more." [Thanks Matixzun!]
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| BioWare responds to SWTOR Legacy system exploits and bans Posted: 23 May 2013 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, Star Wars: The Old Republic  "If you have not had your suspension reversed and you feel this was in error, please contact accountdisputes@swtor.com and they will be able to look into the issue further," Musco writes. [Thanks Olorunsegun Adewumi!]
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| Ken Hartsook discusses Ultima Forever from behind the scenes Posted: 23 May 2013 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Game Mechanics, Previews, News Items, Mobile  According to Hartsook, one of the biggest challenges was finding a control scheme that worked for tablets and smartphones, which meant deviating substantially from classic control models. He also discusses the tilesets in the game and his experience playing a Fighter in the test version of the game. So if your iPad is ready and waiting for a chance to take the jump into Britannia, check out the full interview just past the break. Continue reading Ken Hartsook discusses Ultima Forever from behind the scenes
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| Plastic Wax Studios targets MMO and mobile cinematics Posted: 23 May 2013 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, MMO Industry, Free-to-Play, Neverwinter  Executive Vice President Dane Maddams touts the studio's high fidelity and skill when it comes to these trailers: "We aimed to really push technology and art to compelling and cutting edge realism with our recent release of the Director's Cut cinematic for Perfect World's Neverwinter. The cinematics were carefully designed to enhance the story in a never seen before narrative and build anticipation for the title to new heights." If you haven't watched the Neverwinter cinematic yet, you can do so after the jump. [Source: Plastic Wax Studios press release] Continue reading Plastic Wax Studios targets MMO and mobile cinematics
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| Black Sheep Online gameplay detailed in new vids Posted: 23 May 2013 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items  The game allows for different limb-focused hit boxes (so targeting arms and legs is a viable strategy), and it also features destructible environments including breakable dungeon walls. Steparu reports that Black Sheep boasts action-style combat and some sort of grappling system. You can check out a gameplay video after the cut, then head to Steparu.com for the full report. Continue reading Black Sheep Online gameplay detailed in new vids
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| The Guild Counsel: Managing the peaks of success Posted: 23 May 2013 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Guilds, Opinion, The Guild Counsel, Miscellaneous  We've looked at the valleys quite a bit in this column because valleys represent a more urgent problem, but in this week's Guild Counsel, let's look at how to handle the peaks. Continue reading The Guild Counsel: Managing the peaks of success
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| Ragnarok Online 2 releases in Europe Posted: 23 May 2013 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Launches, Free-to-Play, Promotions  Gravity Managing Director Yves Bléhaut said of the launch, "For us, Ragnarok Online 2 represents a major step in the life of a brand with as high a profile as Ragnarok. First and foremost, hosting so many players on two continents simultaneously represents a technical challenge for both us and our American partner, and it's also a major editorial step as two versions of Ragnarok will coexist: RO1 for purists, and one more accessible to the general public, RO2." Ragnarok Online 2 has been rolling out worldwide over the past few months. Gravity Europe is offering two different goodie packs through "specialized media" to promote the launch. [Source: Gravity Europe press release]
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| Watch Destiny's law of the jungle trailer Posted: 23 May 2013 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Trailers, Video, MMOFPS, Destiny  Of course, there's a bit of the game setting in there too, with masked, cloaked soldiers pulling out big guns and showing the enemy the business. The trailer concludes by stating that there will be a worldwide gameplay reveal for Destiny at E3 on June 10th. Check out the savage trailer after the jump and let us know what jungle animal guides you in space! Continue reading Watch Destiny's law of the jungle trailer
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| Defiance demands your attention during Memorial Day weekend [Updated] Posted: 23 May 2013 11:30 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, News Items, Defiance, Buy-to-Play  Gamers who have yet to explore the open world shooter can try it on PC for free on Steam from May 23rd atThe studio notes that other retailers will feature independent sales but did not specifically say which ones. [Source: Trion press release] [Update #1: Readers are reporting that the free weekend on Steam is still not active. The times quoted here are exactly what the press release said, and they have come and gone. We've contacted Trion for clarification and will keep you posted when we actually know more.] [Update #2: Trion's PR says it's aware of the problem on Steam and is trying to get to the bottom of it now.] [Update #3: Trion says the new go-live time is now 4 p.m. PDT (7 p.m. EDT) today!]
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| Ask Massively: The irony of media and betas Posted: 23 May 2013 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Business Models, Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, Ask Massively, Miscellaneous  Here's a recent example from a reader named Will6: Lucky you, getting to test drive the game. Everyone knows the press get instant invites because they are a free way [for studios] to advertise their game and get the word out.It's time for "everyone" to be disabused of that notion. Continue reading Ask Massively: The irony of media and betas
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| Shazam gives Infinite Crisis lineup a jolt Posted: 23 May 2013 10:30 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Super-hero, Trailers, Video, Classes, Game Mechanics, New Titles, News Items, Free-to-Play, MOBA, Infinite Crisis  Want to catch of glimpse of Shazam's powers and abilities like Speed of Mercury, Power of Zeus, Lightning Field, and Mystic Power/Defense? Then watch the champion reveal video after the break. [Source: Turbine press release] Continue reading Shazam gives Infinite Crisis lineup a jolt
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