MMO Updates |
- Shroud of the Avatar unleashes its content creation kit
- Darkfall gains two new warships and a new class today
- Razer unveils redesigned Naga MMO mouse
- Chat up the NPCs with The Repopulation's new Inquiry System
- Massively Speaking 257: Bubble hearth
- Guild Wars 2 celebrates the Queen's Jubilee
- The Daily Grind: What does it take to keep your interest?
- ANet's Stein talks Guild Wars 2 design team goals and roles
- Not So Massively: Dota 2's 5 million players, Path of Exile's death penalty, and Blizzard as an 'indie'
- PlanetSide 2's Player Studio functionality now live
- Camelot Unchained hires more staff, lays out roadmap
- Age of Wushu Changing Skies trailer features new weather systems, lots of kung fu
- Chaos Theory: The joys of build-swapping in The Secret World
- TESO Ask Us Anything talks roleplay, add-on support
- Captain's Log: Interview with Star Trek Online's Daniel Stahl, part two
- Massive update coming to AIKA Online in August
| Shroud of the Avatar unleashes its content creation kit Posted: 30 Jul 2013 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, Dungeons, Crowdfunding, Player-Generated Content, Shroud of the Avatar  In last night's dev update, Executive Producer Dallas Snell introduced the Dungeon Kit: a Unity-based content creation tool that is now available to all Developer-Level ($400+ pledge tier) backers. This tool not only lets you build assets for SotA, but it also allows you to build assets for any Unity-based game that you may be working on. Snell reports that this may be the first time that something like this has been made available to other game devs or publishers before the game is even released. Be sure to check out the full update for much more on getting started with the kit, getting started with Unity, and some interesting factoids on how surveyed devs will be using the Dungeon Kit.
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| Darkfall gains two new warships and a new class today Posted: 30 Jul 2013 09:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Darkfall, Classes, Game Mechanics, Patches, PvP, News Items, Sandbox  The Junk and Barque are both fairly slow warships, lined with cannons -- 12 side and one rear on the former and nine side and two on each the front and rear on the latter. To craft either, a player needs a shipbuilding mastery of 50. The new class is the Slayer, a melee warrior with skills like Battle Rage and Vampiric Strike. Changes were also made to the village capturing and stealing mechanics to help the villages fall more in line with their envisioned purpose of being PvP hotspots. Full details on these and the other changes can be found in the patch notes. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
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| Razer unveils redesigned Naga MMO mouse Posted: 30 Jul 2013 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Launches, MMO Industry, News Items, MMOFPS, MMORTS, Miscellaneous, MOBA, MMORPG  Also new with this edition of the Naga is an in-game configuration tool that allows users to set keybindings to the device directly from the game of their choosing. The tech specs look like this: 19 programmable buttons, 8200 DPI 4G sensor, green LED backlighting, 7-foot braided cable, and 1000Hz ultrapolling. Perhaps most interesting: Razer is releasing both right-handed and left-handed versions of the new Naga. Our own Eliot Lefebvre is taking a run with the updated mouse and will be reporting his findings here once he's put it through its paces. [Source: Razer press release]
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| Chat up the NPCs with The Repopulation's new Inquiry System Posted: 30 Jul 2013 08:30 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Lore, News Items, Dev Diaries, Sandbox, The Repopulation  The system works like this: You simply click the NPC to make an inquiry. After any quest dialogues and vending is taken care of, the inquiry chat bubble will appear. Players can then ask about directions to someone or something or try to illicit hidden information using diplomacy skill. Want more information about a particular NPC, such as personality traits and profession? Ask his NPC friends around town! If you are interested in learning more of the world backstory or obtaining hidden missions, you can weasel that knowledge out of NPCs as well. The Inquiry system will also be dynamic, with NPC moods and world events affecting what may become available during an inquiry.
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| Massively Speaking 257: Bubble hearth Posted: 30 Jul 2013 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Podcasts, MMO Industry, News Items, Massively Meta, Massively Speaking, Miscellaneous  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 257: Bubble hearth
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| Guild Wars 2 celebrates the Queen's Jubilee Posted: 30 Jul 2013 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Events (In-Game), Patches, Previews, Guild Wars 2, Buy-to-Play  If you're not bent on the subjugation or destruction of the entire world (or can at least keep quiet about it for the first act or so), you're welcome to hitch a ride in one of the nifty hot air balloons Her Majesty has provided to take guests to the brand-new Crown Pavilion in the human home city of Divinity's Reach. Fighting stuff is de rigueur for any Tyrian social event, and players can earn rewards through single combat in the Queen's Gauntlet, where the value of the rewards increases as challengers take more risks and fulfill special conditions. The crown is also employing a new technology known as watchwork; players will be able to gather it themselves for use in crafting new recipes and purchasing the new Sovereign weapon set. Completing the meta-achievement for the event will earn you a sweet miniature replica of one of Jennah's intimidating Watchknights. They're pretty creepy-looking, but they seem a lot less prone to putting their feet in their mouths than Logan Thackeray is. Continue reading Guild Wars 2 celebrates the Queen's Jubilee
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| The Daily Grind: What does it take to keep your interest? Posted: 30 Jul 2013 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous  So today we're coming at this from the obvious angle -- what does it take to keep your interest? Is it a question of update speed, whether you prefer rapid updates like Guild Wars 2 or big expansions a la World of Warcraft? Is it a question of fundamental mechanics, such that you prefer a wide-open sandbox like EVE Online or a directed experience in Star Wars: The Old Republic? Is it a matter of feel and lore that keeps you invested in Star Trek Online or Final Fantasy XIV? What does it take to keep your interest?  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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| ANet's Stein talks Guild Wars 2 design team goals and roles Posted: 29 Jul 2013 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, Interviews, MMO Industry, News Items, Guild Wars 2, Buy-to-Play  Stein also offers some frank analysis with regard to GW2's lofty pre-launch goals. "You can't pour your blood, sweat, and tears into something for more than five years and not see a million things that you'd do differently, if given the chance," he explains.
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| Posted: 29 Jul 2013 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Video, Business Models, Game Mechanics, Lore, New Titles, Patches, PvP, Endgame, News Items, PvE, Free-to-Play, Casual, Dev Diaries, Miscellaneous, Not So Massively, Sandbox, MOBA, League of Legends, Diablo III, Crowdfunding, Star Citizen  Meanwhile, League of Legends announced that its new website will be released soon following promising results from beta testers. The new site includes a community portal and a heavier focus on images and videos. Heroes of Newerth discussed its new design strategy of making every player feel different and announced plans to revamp Blitz, Ravener, and Lord Salforis in Patch 3.2. Dota 2 showed that its recent launch may have been a big success as it passed the 5 million unique player mark. And Prime World officially entered open beta this week and released an extensive guide for new players.
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| PlanetSide 2's Player Studio functionality now live Posted: 29 Jul 2013 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Business Models, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, MMOFPS, PlanetSide 2, Player-Generated Content  We told you last week about PlanetSide 2's foray into the player-generated content realm courtesy of SOE's Player Studio initiative. Today we're happy to tell you that the update is live!US-based players may "download sample geometry, learn how virtual items are constructed, and try designing items." SOE says that players can even pen an item name, description, and rationale for fitting their creations into the lore of the neverending war on Auraxis. Approved items will be placed in the PS2 marketplace alongside SOE-created items. A portion of the proceeds will be shared with the player content author.
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| Camelot Unchained hires more staff, lays out roadmap Posted: 29 Jul 2013 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, MMO Industry, PvP, Races, Camelot Unchained  CEO Mark Jacobs also vowed to deliver regular roadmaps to the community regarding the current progress and upcoming goals of the team. The first such update mentions initial passes to server loops and the patching system, not to mention work on overhauling the website. The team's also beginning work on the next race: "We have two possibilities right now (both are Arthurians) and one of them is definitely a little easier than the other but we'll see. One draws heavily on a Scottish legend while the other, well, it's different and also not so different at the same time." Finally, Jacobs posted concept art for the Hamadryads after giving his team some guidance where to go with this race. "First, I told them to think of the Hamadryads in a different way than is usually seen for this type of creature," he said. "Secondly, I told them to study both Guild War 2's Sylvari and the Dark Age of Camelot's Sylvan and make sure that our Hamadryads weren't clones, or even close to, those races."
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| Age of Wushu Changing Skies trailer features new weather systems, lots of kung fu Posted: 29 Jul 2013 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, Age of Wushu  Thus far Snail Games has not indicated when the new content will be exported to Age of Wushu's American or European servers. Click past the cut to watch the trailer. Continue reading Age of Wushu Changing Skies trailer features new weather systems, lots of kung fu
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| Chaos Theory: The joys of build-swapping in The Secret World Posted: 29 Jul 2013 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Horror, Real-Life, Video, Classes, Game Mechanics, Opinion, The Secret World, Guides, Livestream, Chaos Theory, Buy-to-Play  Previously, we covered how to improve your DPS build, but we focused mainly on gear and stats, only touching on swapping out abilities. This time, we're going to zero in on the ability to swap between weapons and abilities on the fly and how it can really enhance your experience. Continue reading Chaos Theory: The joys of build-swapping in The Secret World
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| TESO Ask Us Anything talks roleplay, add-on support Posted: 29 Jul 2013 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, News Items, Roleplaying, The Elder Scrolls Online, MMORPG  More specific to role-play lovers: ZeniMax has no plans to give players a place to write their own backstory, but noted that TESO's add-on system will be flexible enough that the community should be able to come up with something. Players will also have access to privacy settings including an invisible mode that shows them as being offline. Finally, the studio hinted at what types of weather players should expect to see while hanging out in Tamriel: From snowstorms in Skyrim to rain showers over the moors of Glenumbra, you'll experience lots of weather as you explore -- through the day and night -- in ESO."
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| Captain's Log: Interview with Star Trek Online's Daniel Stahl, part two Posted: 29 Jul 2013 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Expansions, Interviews, Endgame, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Free-to-Play, Captain's Log  Take a leap past the break and read more about what Stahl had to say about the new trait system, what a new level cap raise might entail, and his own involvement with writing new story content for the Klingon faction! Continue reading Captain's Log: Interview with Star Trek Online's Daniel Stahl, part two
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| Massive update coming to AIKA Online in August Posted: 29 Jul 2013 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play  A new skill will be unlocked for each job class when player hits level 85, but to get the new Heavenly Set equipment, players will have to utilize the new Disassembly System and acquire the materials by taking apart level 80 unique equipment. The new Hell Mode dungeon -- Kynari Aviary -- is located in the new Land of Wailing map, where monsters range in level from 90-95. Players can enter Kynari Aviary daily for a chance to challenge the powerful boss Seridunn. Prans also get some update love: Not only do they get skill improvements, but with the Property Change feature, they also have wider customization options. [Source: Redbana press release]
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