MMO Updates

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• RuneScape players will choose cards in themed Top Trumps game
• Devs dish out details in City of Titans interview
• Camelot Unchained details progress in latest update
• Some Assembly Required: Is Black Desert the new ArcheAge?
• The Daily Grind: Should government regulate crowdfunding?
• The Summoner's Guidebook: Working with your LoL lane partner
• Here's a trailer for promising indie sandbox Life is Feudal
• The Guild Counsel: Low in levels? Join a guild!
• Pathfinder Online dev blog explores outpost raiding
• EVE Steam sale includes first month and some gear to immediately lose to pirates
• Albion Online trailer dives into cross-platform design
• Warhammer 40k: Eternal Crusade offers up an Ork-themed newsletter
• Alter Ego: Issue #1 - Kid Critical in DC Universe Online
• The Secret World mysterious box stumps community [updated]
• Champions Online nerfs dodge for the sake of diversity
• EVE: The Second Decade Collector's Edition has landed
• Star Wars: The Old Republic frees up the names on unused free-to-play characters
• Heroes of the Storm hits yet another naming conflict

RuneScape players will choose cards in themed Top Trumps game Posted: 25 Oct 2013 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, News Items, RuneScape, Free-to-Play What's in the cards for RuneScape players? The chance to select which monsters and villains will appear in the newly announced themed Top Trumps card game, Monsters of RuneScape. Today Jagex announced a partnership with Winning Moves to produce the first card pack based on the game, a move that Neil McClarty, Global Marketing Manager for RuneScape noted would "expand the RuneScape brand and bring the game to new audiences." Starting today, registered players can participate in 15 daily votes on the official site to select their favorite monsters to include in the game. Do you think Kalphite King or Kalphite Queen should wear the crown as best monster? Who deserves a place in Monsters of RuneScape more, Vorago or Nex? Make your choices known, then watch for Monsters of RuneScape to launch before Christmas. The card game will be available for purchase in the game's online store. [Jagex press release] RuneScape players will choose cards in themed Top Trumps game originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 25 Oct 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Devs dish out details in City of Titans interview Posted: 25 Oct 2013 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Crowdfunding With such an outpouring of support for City of Titan's Kickstarter campaign, you can bet there's a crowd of fans who want to hear as much as they can about the game as often as they can. And thanks to an interview at MMO Games with CoT Project Lead Chris Hare and Technical Director Nate Downes, they can. Fans get to hear some juicy tidbits about their favorite aspiring game like how the game came upon its new title, why CryEngine 3 was dropped in favor of the Unreal Engine, and plans for player-generated content (partially out of respect for a prominent City of Heroes player, the solid track record of Unreal 3, and possible costume contests and sport leagues, respectively). Besides playing a hero or a villain, the team is also planning for a special costume slot to allow players to run around as a secret identity. Devs are also looking at ways of making this secret ID playable within the game. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!] Devs dish out details in City of Titans interview originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 25 Oct 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: MMO Games dev interview

Camelot Unchained details progress in latest update Posted: 25 Oct 2013 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, New Titles, PvP, News Items, Dev Diaries, Sandbox, Crowdfunding, Camelot Unchained Camelot Unchained has come to the end of another "sprint," City State's term for a roadmap, and CEO Mark Jacobs has whipped up another post detailing everything that was accomplished, noting what didn't make it into the completed pile, and laying out the next batch of tasks to tackle. Of the 25 + items on the list, the team checked off 23; it even threw in a few bonus tasks. According to Jacobs, "Our biggest accomplishment in Sprint 4 was pulling together our entire editor, build system, database, patch server, and patch client into a fully working pipeline." This way, when artists and designers make changes to the world it can be instantly downloaded by the workgroup or even the beta or live game. This paves the way for quick response in the live version. For more details on all the technical accomplishments, check out the full update. Camelot Unchained details progress in latest update originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 25 Oct 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Update

Some Assembly Required: Is Black Desert the new ArcheAge? Posted: 25 Oct 2013 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Classes, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, PvP, Endgame, PvE, Opinion, ArcheAge, Some Assembly Required, Sandbox, Crafting, Black Desert, Player-Generated Content I hate to admit it, but I'm getting over ArcheAge. This sucks because XLGAMES' fantasy sandpark is undoubtedly the most feature-rich MMO since Star Wars Galaxies. But Massively first covered ArcheAge in 2010. I first played it in 2011. And we're rapidly approaching 2014 with absolutely no sign of an English-language client on the horizon! Yeah, Trion famously signed on to distribute the game to western audiences last January, but since then we've heard a whole lot of nothing about how the translation is progressing. Hell, we don't even know if it is a translation as opposed to some ill-conceived "westernization" waste of time. And maybe the MMO gods will strike me down for jumping off the bandwagon. Maybe Trion will make me look a fool by announcing a beta date of some sort later this very afternoon. If so, that's OK because Black Desert is looking just as good, if not better. Continue reading Some Assembly Required: Is Black Desert the new ArcheAge? Some Assembly Required: Is Black Desert the new ArcheAge? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 25 Oct 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: Should government regulate crowdfunding? Posted: 25 Oct 2013 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Business Models, Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, News Items, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous, Crowdfunding Earlier this week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission proposed rules for regulating public equity crowdfunding that could hit as early as February of next year. If adopted, these rules could affect kickstarters and similar ventures dramatically, according to Forbes. Notably, the regulations would cap crowdfunding investment revenue at $1 million dollars per year, limit individual contributions according to income, eliminate most advertising, and require management through a registered brokerage. The rules are intended to allow crowdfunding ventures to legally sell shares and accept investors, not just rely on donations as we see in the typical MMO kickstarter. But as Forbes argues, the rules won't necessarily have the intended effect as typical project creators can't actually afford to meet the regulations since that's why they were using crowdfunding in the first place. We wonder whether Congress and the SEC will target donation-driven crowdfunding next. It seems to me that at least in MMOland, a lot of studios would struggle, whether they're Star Citizen with 24 million bucks raised to date or Baby's First MMO Startup with two part-time employees and a cat running PR. Then again, kickstarter frauds aren't unheard of, and a lot of people have seen their donations-that-sure-sound-like-investments go down the toilet. What's your take? Should the SEC be regulating crowdfunding ventures the way it would any other investment or fundraising method? [Our original question assumed that Kickstarter donations would be affected. Updates to the SEC proposal have made it clear this is not the case, so we have updated the premise here accordingly, though the question still stands.] 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: Should government regulate crowdfunding? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 25 Oct 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Via: Forbes

The Summoner's Guidebook: Working with your LoL lane partner Posted: 24 Oct 2013 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: PvP, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Guides, MOBA, League of Legends, The Summoner's Guidebook The duo lane is the most strategically interesting lane in League of Legends, but that also makes it complex to play. In a solo lane, you have to think about only your abilities and your opponent's. In a duo lane, the interplay between ADC/marksman and support makes every situation different. I've talked about playing ADC and support already. Both roles are vital, but whether you're the guy with the gun or you're putting the enemy on lockdown, working with your teammate is the most important thing you can do to win the game. Continue reading The Summoner's Guidebook: Working with your LoL lane partner The Summoner's Guidebook: Working with your LoL lane partner originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Oct 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Here's a trailer for promising indie sandbox Life is Feudal Posted: 24 Oct 2013 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Sandbox Need another indie sandbox to pin your player-generated hopes and dreams upon? Life is Feudal might be up to the task if the game's latest trailer is any indication. Bitbox's brief video clip highlights features including a seamless open world, 100 percent terraforming, "flexible free building," physics-based melee and ranged combat with aiming, crafting minigames, a realistic player damage system, and a combat formation system. Bitbox's press release says that additional game-related details are coming in the future, including information on a "complex food and cooking system" as well as full loot mechanics, skill and stat caps, and weapon combos. Click past the cut for the trailer. [Source: Bitbox press release] Continue reading Here's a trailer for promising indie sandbox Life is Feudal Here's a trailer for promising indie sandbox Life is Feudal originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Oct 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Guild Counsel: Low in levels? Join a guild! Posted: 24 Oct 2013 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Guilds, Opinion, Massively Meta, The Guild Counsel, Miscellaneous Every single MMO player should be part of a guild. Yes, you too! Massively Shawn's recently launched Looking for Guild column has been well received and is bridging players with potential guilds. But one comment that pops up quite often is that players like the column but plan to wait and level up more before throwing their hats in the ring. Don't wait, and don't hesitate! It's never too soon to join a guild, and there are plenty of good reasons to jump in even if you aren't of the same level as everyone else. Let's look at a few in this week's Guild Counsel. Continue reading The Guild Counsel: Low in levels? Join a guild! The Guild Counsel: Low in levels? Join a guild! originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Oct 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Pathfinder Online dev blog explores outpost raiding Posted: 24 Oct 2013 03:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, New Titles, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, Dev Diaries, Crowdfunding, Pathfinder Online, MMORPG Goblinworks celebrated its third major Pathfinder Online milestone with a detailed blog centered on the game's PvP raiding system. While the company was careful to note that raids are still in deep development and may change in scope and design, the blog dives into the rewards and risks of raiding along with the consequences to other players. Raids are short, small skirmishes initiated against player outposts. Since every outpost produces goods, there is always something worth stealing at any given outpost. To challenge an outpost, raiders must kill NPC guards in addition to any defending players. Raiders can stock up on an outpost's goods after its defenders have been bested. According to Goblinworks, NPC guards for outposts are "few and far between." Stealing items from outposts disrupts supply chains to local settlements. If raiders hold an outpost for over 10 minutes, they can then strip mine it. Strip mining increases the output of goods but deals damage to the outpost until it is destroyed. You can read more about raiding, strip mining, and how each affects your hostility rating over on the official post. Pathfinder Online dev blog explores outpost raiding originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Oct 2013 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Dev Blog

EVE Steam sale includes first month and some gear to immediately lose to pirates Posted: 24 Oct 2013 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, PvP, News Items, PvE, Sandbox, Subscription, MMORPG If you've always wanted to get in the business of blowing up internet spaceships, now might be the time. Steam is currently offering the EVE Online Amarr starter pack as a weekend sale item, priced at 75% below normal. For $4.98, you'll receive your first month of EVE Online game time in addition to a Sarum Magnate frigate, some exploration equipment, a few skill books, and a skill booster -- all of which will look great after they're pried off your frozen corpse and mounted on a null-sec predator's mantle. Purchasing EVE from CCP's official site runs you about $14, so the Steam sale represents a decent bit of savings. However, it is worth noting that Steam EVE accounts are not eligible for character transfers, and you must access the game through Steam to access your bonus starting items. The deal ends October 28th. EVE Steam sale includes first month and some gear to immediately lose to pirates originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Oct 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Steam

Albion Online trailer dives into cross-platform design Posted: 24 Oct 2013 02:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, New Titles, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, Mobile, MMORPG Sandbox Interactive today released a new trailer for Albion Online, a game the studio refers to as the "first true cross-platform sandbox MMO." In the trailer, employees of Sandbox offer details regarding the development of the game and the challenges of cross-platform design. Information revealed in the trailer includes the reason the team got rid of player leveling, notes on how the economy will function, an explanation of Sandbox Interactive's focus on social interaction as a gameplay requirement, and a brief glimpse of PvP. There's also plenty of gameplay footage on display in between snippets of various dev interviews. Check out the full video after the jump. Albion Online is due for release in 2014 and will feature territory control, corpse-looting, and other "hardcore" conceits along with crafting and class customization. [Source: Sandbox Interactive press release] Continue reading Albion Online trailer dives into cross-platform design Albion Online trailer dives into cross-platform design originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Oct 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Warhammer 40k: Eternal Crusade offers up an Ork-themed newsletter Posted: 24 Oct 2013 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Business Models, Lore, Previews, News Items, Free-to-Play, Warhammer 40k, Buy-to-Play Yes, the Orks of Warhammer 40k: Eternal Crusade are bloodthirsty marauders who care only for the destruction of all they survey, but that doesn't mean they have to express themselves solely in monosyllabic grunts. The latest newsletter for the game is quite Orkish in its penmanship, and you'll find that it is quite comprehensibly the work of a literate Ork. And it contains some much-needed elucidation on matters of design and progress, which would make it a worthwhile read for any forward-looking fan of the game. One of the points touched upon is the game's business model. In essence, it appears that free players will be able to enjoy access to all races but not some of the more advanced character options, whilst players who buy the game get access to everything and those who pay more will have an even wider array of options. The game is apparently close to being ready for public display, something that will make all of the soon-to-be-deprived Orks of Warhammer Online happy for the future. Warhammer 40k: Eternal Crusade offers up an Ork-themed newsletter originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Oct 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Orkish newsletter

Alter Ego: Issue #1 - Kid Critical in DC Universe Online Posted: 24 Oct 2013 01:30 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Galleries, Screenshots, Lore, MMO Industry, PvE, Free-to-Play, Comics, Roleplaying, DC Universe Online, Alter-Ego Some intergalactic psychopath called Brainiac covets the Earth. He's trying to digitize the lot of us, see, only his exobyte technology has some... unforeseen side effects. At the risk of going all science whiz on you, I'll just say that these nanite exobyte gizmos transformed hundreds of humans into uber-powerful ubermensch. Mutants or even metahumans, if you'd prefer. We're superheroes, really, when you get right down to it. It's a good thing, too, because Earth's real superheroes couldn't stop Brainiac. Superman, Batman, the Justice League, all of them failed. Even supervillains attempted to save mankind, for a time at least. Before long, though, they did what villains do: They leveraged chaos and exploited disorder for their own selfish ends. So, yep, it's pretty much business as usual but for the meglomaniacal space invader bent on destroying both sides. Me, I'm just a soldier in this new war, one of a fortunate few gifted with the power of Brainiac's buggy exobytes. Before all this I was a nobody. A minor game critic or some such silliness. Now, my friends just call me the kid. You can call me Kid Critical. Every two weeks, Kid Critical and his Alter Ego, mal-mannered game journo Jef Reahard, take you for a whirlwind tour of DC Universe Online. Join the dynamic duo as they explore PvE, PvP, story content, and more! Alter Ego: Issue #1 - Kid Critical in DC Universe Online originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Oct 2013 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Secret World mysterious box stumps community [updated] Posted: 24 Oct 2013 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Horror, Sci-Fi, Culture, The Secret World, Post-Apocalyptic, Buy-to-Play A series of mysterious forum posts might be a new alternate reality game for The Secret World. The posts show a honeycomb cylinder with a note and SD cards inside that was sent by a fan to Funcom. The note reads, "To unlock the truths of the void, one must offset themselfs [sic] from the tenements [sic] of known reality." On the SD cards were very small files with a few letters and numbers in each. The studio made the files public, and the players have responded by investigating what appears to be a community-led ARG. If a Massively reader can crack the code, make sure to share with the entire class! [Update: This was sent in by a fan, not the developers. Made changes to the story accordingly.] [Thanks to Ehra for the tip!] The Secret World mysterious box stumps community [updated] originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Oct 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: A Mysterious Package

Champions Online nerfs dodge for the sake of diversity Posted: 24 Oct 2013 12:30 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Game Mechanics, Patches, Previews, Free-to-Play, Champions Online, Dev Diaries Champions Online is looking to nerf -- er, re-balance -- its dodge mechanic for the sake of diverse builds. As it stands, Cryptic noticed that the too many players were stacking dodge for its passive ability that outstripped other forms of avoidance and tanking. A new dev diary explains that while dodge tanking will still be viable, the team is looking to reduce dodge rating, keep the chance bonuses flat, and make dodge proc off of active powers. A new power, fluidity, will be introduced as a block power to help superheroes avoid being hit. The team is also lowering the damage from critical chance in an upcoming build while raising the damage from offense to keep it from being lopsided. These changes follow significant tweaks to the game's alert system in the previous patch. Champions Online nerfs dodge for the sake of diversity originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Oct 2013 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Dodge dev diary

EVE: The Second Decade Collector's Edition has landed Posted: 24 Oct 2013 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Trailers, Video, EVE Online, MMO Industry, News Items, MMOFPS, DUST 514, Sandbox, Anniversaries You've known that EVE Online's giant tribute to the game's first 10 years was coming in the form of a special collector's edition of the game, and now you can finally get your hands on it. The Second Decade CE is chock full of in-game items, from clothing to ship skins to a CCP Mystery Code for a special item, as well as real-world collectibles like a commemorative hardcover book, a board game, and an EVE Online Symphony CD. There are also in-game rewards available for DUST 514. The Second Decade CE can still be purchased at EVE's new store for $149.99. If you're currently waiting for yours to arrive, you can help pass the time by watching the official unboxing trailer below. [Source: CCP press release] Continue reading EVE: The Second Decade Collector's Edition has landed EVE: The Second Decade Collector's Edition has landed originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Oct 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Star Wars: The Old Republic frees up the names on unused free-to-play characters Posted: 24 Oct 2013 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Culture, News Items, Free-to-Play, Star Wars: The Old Republic There's nothing wrong with getting a desired character name because you were the first person to create a character with that name on a given server. But it does kind of smart if you're a Star Wars: The Old Republic subscriber with a burning desire to use the name "Xylophone" but can't, especially if that name was just snapped up by a free-to-play character who hasn't even made it off of Tython. It's with that in mind that the game is instituting a series of name releases for free-to-play and preferred status players. If you're a free-to-play or preferred status player, this does mean you're at some risk of losing your name. Characters below level 10 who haven't been played in 60 (free) or 90 (preferred) days will need to be renamed, as will characters below level 30 who haven't been played in 120 (free) or 180 (preferred) days. Characters 30 and above will be exempt across the board, as will all characters of subscribers. So you might be able to get your desired character name back! Or you'll find out that Xylophone is actually a level 31 Juggernaut, which is still kind of neat. [Source: BioWare press release] Star Wars: The Old Republic frees up the names on unused free-to-play characters originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Oct 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Heroes of the Storm hits yet another naming conflict Posted: 24 Oct 2013 10:30 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, MMO Industry, News Items, Miscellaneous, MOBA The game currently known as Heroes of the Storm has been through more names than most high school garage bands, having cycled through titles like Blizzard Dota, Blizzard All-Stars, and for a brief period of time, Blizzard Entertainment Presents A Bunch Of Guys Hitting Each Other. (It was an early idea.) Now the game seems to be hitting another snag with its title because of a Finnish tabletop game with the same title. Except in Finnish, obviously. According to WoW Insider, the author of the tabletop game, Mike Pohjola, has made comments implying that Blizzard might want to change the name again to avoid naming conflicts in his home country. How relevant the two games are to one another and how concerned Blizzard actually will be over such a conflict remains to be seen; the application for a trademark came from Blizzard first, but the tabletop game was published before the trademark application. Nothing might come of this, but if the game is renamed again to Blizzard's Steve and Ed Fun-time Game Hour, you'll know why. Heroes of the Storm hits yet another naming conflict originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Oct 2013 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: WoW Insider

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