General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article


Windows 8 Causes Dip in Microsoft Customer Satisfaction Rating

Posted: 23 May 2013 08:06 PM PDT

Windows 8 Logo

Bad, but not quite Vista

Given its subjective nature, satisfaction isn't something that readily lends itself to quantification, but that hasn't stopped the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) from measuring the satisfaction of U.S. customers for more than 19 years now. The latest ACSI update is of particular interest to us because it sheds some light on Windows 8's impact on Microsoft's customer satisfaction rating.

Windows 8 hasn't exactly been able to charm PC users off their feet and Microsoft's latest ACSI rating seems to confirm as much, with the company's customer satisfaction rating falling one point from last year's score of 75 and as many as four points from the company's best of 78, which it achieved in 2011.

Things, however, don't appear to be as bad as they were following the launch of Windows Vista. Back then, Redmond shed three rating points. If we go back another year to 2006, the first time Microsoft appeared on ACSI's radar, it is clear that the company's customers are more satisfied with its products now than they were back then.

"It seems clear that the release of Windows 8 did not give Microsoft a significant bump, as the release of Windows 7 did, nor did it dramatically lower customer satisfaction in a rather short time frame, as the release of Vista did," David VanAmburg, director of ACSI, told Computerworld.com, adding that if Microsoft's rating does take a more serious pounding next year then Windows 8 will surely be the one to blame.

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Windows Button Hitches a Ride on New Mice Models From Microsoft

Posted: 23 May 2013 12:08 PM PDT

Sculpt MiceA pair of mice made for Windows 8.

Windows 8 is a game changer in more ways than one. Along with a new look and feel, Windows 8 has influenced design changes across the board, even when it comes to peripherals. Witness Microsoft explains. "You don't have to worry about a tiny USB transceiver since the Sculpt Comfort Mouse uses Bluetooth to connect to your Windows PC or tablet. It also has a comfortable ergonomic design and our BlueTrack technology to be used on pretty much any surface."

The Sculpt Mobile Mouse is essentially a Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 with a Windows touch tab. It has a compact design, a wireless USB transceiver, and BlueTrack technology.

Microsoft says the Sculpt Comfort Mouse will be available in June for $40 and the Sculpt Mobile Mouse in May for $30.

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Psst Microsoft, Windows 8 Users are Barely Touching Metro Apps

Posted: 23 May 2013 10:48 AM PDT

Samsung Windows 8 TabletStudy reveals surprising stats about Windows 8 app usage.

When Microsoft "re-imagined" its Windows platform with a heavy focus on touch computing, its Metro interface was deemed a critical component to the user experience. Ideally, Windows 8 users would find themselves relying less and less on the traditional desktop and start taking advantage of the tiled UI, downloading apps from the Windows Store in the process. However, a new study by Soluto reveals that Windows 8 users rarely touch apps on their Windows 8-based desktops and tablet PCs.

Soluto analyzed 10,848 Windows 8 machines and examined more than 313,000 Metro app launches across 9,634 unique Metro apps. The result? On average, a Windows 8 user will launch a Metro app 1.52 times per day.

Predictably desktop users are the least active Metro app users with an average of 1.41 launches per day. Just as predictable, tablet users launch the most Metro apps at an average clip of 2.71 per day, besting touch laptop users (2.22 apps) and regular laptop users (1.51 apps).

"To put this number into context, we looked at the percent of people who launch a Metro app less than once a day (i.e. less than 7 Metro app launches per week). We found that among desktop and laptop users, 60 percent of users launch a Metro app less than once a day," Soluto said. "This number significantly improves with tablets, but still 44 percent of Windows 8 tablet users launch a Metro app less than once a day."

Interestingly, the most engaging app appears to be Yahoo Mail, which is loaded an average of 26.91 times per week by those who use it. Below that, several versions of solitaire rank in the top 10, which might be indicative of the Windows Store needing a bigger and better stockpile of apps.

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Nvidia Releases 320.18 WHQL Drivers with Support for GTX 780

Posted: 23 May 2013 08:56 AM PDT

Nvidia GPUThis is the Game Ready driver for Metro: Last Light.

What would a new graphics card launch be without new drivers to help squeeze out the most performance possible? So it goes, Nvidia today not only introduced the world to its GeForce GTX 780 video card -- check out write-up with benchmarks -- the GPU maker also made available new GeForce R320 Series (320.18) drivers that are WHQL certified and primed for Metro: Last Light.

The new drivers promise up to a 10 percent boost in performance in Metro: Last Light, and if you use GeForce Experience, Nvidia will take care of detecting optimal game settings with PhysX effects and DirectX 11 tessellation.

The highlights for the R320 series are the same as they were for the 320.14 beta drivers, which we covered last week. To quickly recap, you can expect up to 20 percent faster performance in several PC games running on your GeForce 400/500/600 Series GPUs, Nvidia says. You'll also find a bunch of new and updated SLI profiles.

Nvidia Driver Downloads

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Newegg Daily Deals: Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 Case, Sapphire Radeon HD 6670, and More

Posted: 23 May 2013 08:41 AM PDT

Fractal Design Arc Midi R2Newegg

Top Deal:

You can hand pick all the best components for your next PC build, but if you toss them in a sub-par case, you could end up spending your time troubleshooting errors and heating issues rather than having fun. A case that emphasizes cooling ensures that won't happen. Today's top deal is for a Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 Mid Tower Computer Case for $70 with free shipping (normally $120 - use coupon code: EMCXRVW45). It comes with three Silent Series R2 fans and even sports an integrated fan controller.

Other Deals:

MEElectronics RX12 3.5mm Connector In-Ear Headphone for $7 with free shipping (normally $25).

Logitech K800 Wireless Slim Illuminated Keyboard for $75 with free shipping (normally $100 - use coupon code:[EMCXRVW76]).

Sapphire Ultimate Radeon HD 6670 1GB Video Card for $80 with free shipping  (normally $90; additional $15 mail-in rebate).

Iview USB 3.0/eSATA 4-Bay Storage Box for $51 with free shipping (normally $110 - use coupon code:[EMCXRVW237]).

Samsung Touts Over 10 Million Galaxy S4 Sales in First Month

Posted: 23 May 2013 08:21 AM PDT

Samsung Galaxy S4Fastest selling Galaxy device to date.

The cold, hard truth for companies like Nokia and HTC is that one of their biggest competitors, Samsung, is red hot right now. Apple faces the same concern, though the Cupertino company isn't fighting for scraps like the other guys, it's leaving them behind alongside Samsung, the latter of which just announced it has surpassed 10 million Galaxy S4 sales in less than a month after its commercial debut.

If it took you 10 seconds to get to this point in the article, Samsung just sold another 40 Galaxy S4 devices, as the South Korean handset maker claims it's selling four S4 devices every second. It's a new record for Samsung, which is seeing quicker sales with its Galaxy S4 than any of its predecessors.

"On behalf of Samsung, I would like to thank the millions of customers around the world who have chosen the Samsung Galaxy S4. At Samsung we'll continue to pursue innovation inspired by and for people," said JK Shin, CEO and President of the IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics.

There's no single reason for Samsung's success, but several. Android at this point is a mature operating system that's really come into its own with the launch of Jelly Bean; the Galaxy S4 device itself is well equipped with a large screen, fast processor, and several features; and finally, Samsung has done a great job marketing the S4's features in a series of TV ad spots, especially when it comes to showing off the built-in camera and the device's editing tricks.

It also helps that Samsung has made the device available in many corners of the world. The Galaxy S4 is currently being sold in more than 110 countries and will gradually be rolled out to 155 territories via 327 partners.

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EVGA Launches New Double Ball Bearing Cooling Solution Dubbed ACX

Posted: 23 May 2013 08:12 AM PDT

EVGA ACX CoolerHow EVGA's high-end GPU keeps its cool.

Nvidia and its hardware partners are all about the GeForce GTX 780 launch, but that's not the only thing on tap from EVGA. The GPU maker is introducing a totally new ACX Cooler with a double ball bearing design that's more efficient at dissipating heat than the company's previous coolers. A large part of the increased cooling performance is due to the 40 percent increase in heatsink volume, allowing for a 15 percent reduction in GPU temperatures.

EVGA didn't just pay attention to cooling the GPU, but also the surrounding components that make up the card. The ACX Cooler features a reinforcement baseplate that helps maintain a straight PCB (printed circuit board), which helps lower mosfet temperatures by 7 percent and memory temperatures by 15 percent.

EVGA ACX Cooler Explode View

Perhaps the most impressive upgrade is that EVGA is using high quality fan blades that are 700 percent stronger and weigh 25 percent less when compared to competitors' dual fan designs, the company claims. By EVGA's math, that makes them 20 percent more efficient by requiring lower power levels. And that dual ball bearing design we touched on earlier? EVGA says they have a 12-year lifespan.

Here's a look at the cooler on EVGA's upcoming GeForce GTX 780 graphics card:

EVGA GeForce GTX 780

Stay tuned to this space as we currently have the card in our lab for testing and will release benchmarks soon!

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GeForce GTX 780 Benchmarks

Posted: 23 May 2013 06:01 AM PDT

GTX 780Team Green captures the single-GPU crown, again

Today Nvidia pulls the wraps off its $650 GK110-based 700 series flagship card, the GeForce GTX 780. This board slides directly into the yawning chasm that exists between the $500 GK104-based GTX 680 and the $1,000 GK110-based GTX Titan, though despite its price it's actually much closer in specs and performance to the Titan than it is to the GTX 680.

Specifications

Like the Titan, the GTX 780 is a GK110 board, so it has all 7.1 billion transistors, a 384-bit memory bus care of six 64-bit memory controllers and two less SMX clusters with 12 for a total of 2,304 CUDA cores. Its 3GB of memory runs at the usual 6GHz clock speed, and its 863MHz core clock speed is just a smidge higher than the Titan's 836MHz clock. Its 900MHz boost clock is also a bit faster than the Titan's 876MHz. Overall, it would be fair to refer to the GTX 780 as the so-called Titan LE that has been rumored for a while now, as it's a basically a slightly neutered version of the Titan, at least as far as gamers are concerned. Performance in games is extremely competitive with the Titan, more so than we thought it would be given its price. When it comes to compute performance, however, the GTX 780 is heavily neutered compared to the Titan, and for good reason. The 1.5 Teraflops of double precision performance that was so welcome in the Titan is nowhere to be seen in the GTX 780, as Nvidia is reserving that feature for the pricier Titan, and is also billing the GTX 780 as strictly a gaming card. The GTX 780 still offers respectable single precision performance though, clocking in at 4 Teraflops compared to the Titan's 4.5 Teraflops. For comparison, the GK104-based GTX 680 can only push 1 Teraflop of single precision, and its double precision performance is just 1/24th of that by Nvidia's design. It wants these "cheap" cards to be used for gaming, period, and its expensive Tesla cards to be used for Compute. This is why the Titan costs $1,000 and the GTX 780 costs $650.

GTX 780 Specs

Spec Comparison

Otherwise the card looks, feels, and runs almost exactly like a Titan. It has the same 10.5-inch length, the same six-pin and eight-pin PCIe connectors, and the same HDMI, DisplayPort , and DVI connectors. It supports up to three-way SLI. The minimum power supply required is 600w, and the card's TDP is 250w, just like the Titan.

New Technology

Nvidia is releasing the GTX 780 with a fair bit of cool new technology that helps round out the package a bit, so let's look at each of them one by one.

Adaptive Fan Control

Adaptive Fan Control

Nvidia's all-new Adaptive Fan Control smooths out the speed at which the fans spin up and down, resulting in less noticeable noise during operation.

Even though the GTX Titan was and is a "quiet" GPU by our standards, Nvidia tells us that it's not necessarily fan noise that people notice as much as changes in fan speed, and we have to say there's some truth to that. Once a fan is spinning at a certain RPM we tend to not notice it, especially as the Titan and the GTX 780's fans never really spin very fast. It is certainly noticeable though when the fans spin up or down suddenly; we all hear that. So on the GTX 780 Nvidia has smoothed out the speed at which the fans spin up and down so you don't hear the change in fan speed.

ShadowPlay

ShadowPlay

ShadowPlay is designed to improve the in-game video recording experience over FRAPS by consuming less system resources and compressing the videos. It will work with any Kepler GPU and will be released this summer.

Now this is a cool feature, albeit one we have not tested as it was not available just yet. This is software that only works with Kepler GPUs to record your gaming sessions by using the GPU's built-in H.264 video encoder. The software will just record everything you do and keep only the portion that you just played, hence it's name, as it records everything that you just did, like a shadow. You can tell the software to just keep the last five minutes, 10 minutes, or 20 minutes, and it'll intelligently delete what is not needed, helping keep file sizes down by both deleting unneeded video and also through video compression. Nvidia also claims the peformance hit from turning on Shadowplay is less than five percent, so it's main advantages over FRAPS are that it only records what just happened instead of everything, and it requires less system resources to do so. This software will be rolling out this summer and will be available via Nvidia's GeForce Experience software, and will be supported on any Kepler GPU. It should be noted that beginning with this launch driver, the GeForce Experience software will replace the Nvidia Update software in the driver package, and though users can opt out of installing it, by default it will be installed with all Nvidia drivers going forward.

Head on over to page 2 to read about the rest of the new features, see the benchmarks, and our final thoughts.


 

GPU Boost 2.0

GPU Boost 2.0

The GTX 780 features GPU Boost 2.0 temperature target settings as well as the ability to overvolt the board.

This feature first appeared on the GTX Titan and it works beautifully. Its main goal is to prevent the GPU from throttling itself due to excessive heat, which results in reduced performance. To prevent this from happening, users can now set the peak temperature for a card, which by default is set to 81C but it can be pushed up to 95C if you like (the card can handle it). Nvidia tells us these cards can go all the way up to 105C before the hardware is damaged, but you'd be lucky to push either a Titan or a GTX 780 past 80C typically since their coolers are so effective. However, the GPU will overclock as high as it can until it reaches that pre-determined temperature, so you can nudge the temperature GPU Boost 2.0 also allows for overvolting a card, so you can overclock it as high as you can get away with by pushing the core clock power target, temperature target, memory, and voltage. Only the Titan and the GTX 780 offers these features at this time. If you try to use them on a GTX 680, for example, they are simply greyed out.

Performance

When we first heard of this card we figured it would land squarely in between the $500 GTX 680 and the $1,000 GTX Titan, both in performance and price. Then Nvidia informed us the card was priced at $650, and we looked at the benchmark charts and thought this was either a very competitively priced product, or the Titan is really overpriced, at least for gamers. Looking at the benchmark chart (below) you can see the GTX 780 is within five to 15 percent of the Titan in all benchmarks, which is seriously impressive given it costs $350 less. In general we run all games at 2560x1600 with 4XAA enabled, which is extremely taxing on even the most hardcore systems, and yet the GTX 780 was just on the cusp of playing all games extremely smoothly, with the exception of Metro: Last Light, which will remain a ball buster for the forseeable future it seems. Even though we'd prefer to have at least 40-50fps, that is just not possible with a single GPU at the resolution we run, and only the Titan can get close to achieving it. That said, the GTX 780 is damn close, and easily puts some distance on both the GTX 680 and the Radeon HD 7970, making it the fastest sub-$1,000 GPU available at this time. It should also be noted that the card ran cool and quiet throughout testing, and we were able to run it at 1,084MHz with no problems at all.

GTX 780 Benchmarks

GTX 780 Benchmarks

Final thoughts

This is one wicked fast GPU, and if it was $750 or so like we thought it would be you would see us waffling a bit between this card and the Titan. However, at $650 it is very competitive, though we've yet to compare it to dual GTX 660 Ti cards or GTX 670 cards in SLI, but then you have to deal with dual GPUs. Also, add-in board partners will be releasing their own versions of the GTX 780 with custom cooling solutions, but we do not know at this time whether the boards will be overclocked or offer larger frame buffers.

In our opinion, the best news about the GTX 780 is at the resolution we use for testing there was no such thing as an affordable GPU that could handle it. The GTX 680 and the HD 7970 were all stuck around 20fps or so for newer games, though the Titan could handle them much better. With the GTX 780 we have a truly semi-affordable card that can run newer games at these resolutions and AA settings just fine. Nvidia says the GTX 780 is 34 percent faster than a GTX 680 and that seems about right to us, and 70 percent faster than a GTX 580, so people with older cards will see quite a jump in performance by upgrading. There also might be other 700-series cards in the pipeline, so anyone looking to upgrade might want to wait just a bit before pulling the trigger on a new card.

As far as how AMD will respond, that remains to be seen. The company reminded us that the HD 7970 GHz edition is still the fastest card at its price point of roughly $420, and that is certainly true. Whether or not it will respond with a GCN 2.0 board dubbed Radeon 8790 or similar is anyone's guess, but given the ferocity of the GPU wars as of late we'd be shocked if AMD sat on the sidelines for very long.

PS: Here is a promotional video Nvidia sent us that walks you through the GTX 780's hardware and software.

OCZ's Vertex 450 Solid State Drive Family Runs Barefoot

Posted: 23 May 2013 06:00 AM PDT

OCZ Vertex 450New SSD line gets its kicks from the Indilinx Barefoot 3 Series controller.

One thing OCZ had yet to do up to this point was deploy in-house ASIC technology on its Vertex family of solid state drives. That changes with the introduction of the Vertex 450 Series, which OCZ is marketing as a mid-range performer that sits between its value offerings and flagship Vector line. The Vertex 450 Series uses OCZ's Indilinx Barefoot 3 M10 controller, essentially a newer iteration of the Barefoot controller found in the Vertex 4.

In comparing the two, the Barefoot 3 M10 has a lower clockspeed and supports 20nm NAND flash memory. It also boasts AES-256 encryption, sustained performance across all file types, and a power-optimized clock generator that helps improve yield and drives down cost, the combination of which translates into better overall availability and value for consumers, OCZ says.

The Vertex 450 Series pipes data through a SATA 6Gbps interface at various rates, depending on the capacity. Here's a breakdown of each one's performance:

  • 128GB: 525MB/s read, 290MB/s write, 75,000 4KB random read IOPS, 70,000 4KB random write IOPS
  • 256GB: 540MB/s read, 525MB/s write, 85,000 4KB random read IOPS, 90,000 4KB random write IOPS
  • 512GB: 540MB/s read, 530MB/s write, 85,000 4KB random read IOPS, 90,000 4KB random write IOPS

All three drives come with a 3-year warranty, Acronis cloning software, and a 3.5-inch adapter. MSRPs have been set to $130 (128GB), $235 (256GB), and $500 (512GB).

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AMD Details Multifaceted Mobile APU Strategy

Posted: 22 May 2013 09:12 PM PDT

AMD A6 APUAMD attempts to change with the market.

The rapid shift to mobile seems to have caught x86 chip makers off guard, but on the bright side for Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), this tectonic shift in technology represents a new opportunity to perhaps do things differently than before. Maybe the outcome will be different, maybe not, but either way, we have an early look at AMD's agenda for the changing market place, and it starts with "Temash."

Temash

Temash is AMD's solution for touch tablets, notebooks, and hybrids less than 13 inches in size. According to AMD, it's Temash-based APUs (Accelerated Processing Units) offer the best graphics of any SoC (System-on-Chip) on the planet and is part of its "Elite Mobility" platform.

"The performance of Elite Mobility APUs will reset user expectations for what they can do in tablets and hybrids," AMD explains.

Compared to its 2012 platform, AMD's Elite Mobility APUs for 2013 offer up to 212 percent more performance with less than half the power consumption. And compared to Intel's CloverTrail parts, AMD says Temash has several advantages, including application acceleration through GPU compute, DirectX 11 support, high-speed SATA support, support for up to two USB 3.0 ports, 8GB system memory support, and more.

AMD announced three Temash APUs, including the A6-1450 (four cores clocked at 1GHz base/1.4GHz max, 2MB L2 cache, DDR3L-1066 support, 8W TDP) with Radeon HD 8250 graphics (128 Radeon cores, 300MHz base/400MHz max clockspeed); A4-1250 (two cores clocked at 1GHz, 1MB L2 cache, DDR3L-1333 support, 8W TDP) with Radeon HD 8210 graphics (128 Radeon cores, 300MHz); and A4-1200 (two cores clocked at 1GHz, 1MB L2 cache, DDR3L-1066 support, 3.9W TDP) with Radeon HD 8180 graphics (128 Radeon cores, 225MHz).

Kabini

AMD Kabini

Moving up to AMD's Mainstream APU platform, we have Kabini. AMD is pitching Kabini as the first x86 quad-core SoC for entry-level and mainstream systems with best-in class graphics on the level of consoles. These consist of two A-Series APUs, including the A6-5200 (four cores, 2GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 25W TPD) with Radeon HD 8400 graphics (600MHz) and A4-5000 (four cores, 1.5GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 15W TDP) with Radeon HD 8330 graphics (600MHz), and three E-Series APUs, including the E2-3000 (two cores, 1.65GHz, 1MB L2 cache, 15W TDP) with Radeon HD 8280 graphics (450MHz), E1-2500 (two cores, 1.4GHz, 1MB L2, 15W TDP) with Radeon HD 8240 graphics (400MHz), and E1-2100 (two cores, 1GHz, 1MB L2 cache, 9W TDP) with Radeon HD 8210 graphics (300MHz).

Richland

AMD's "Elite Performance" tier is where its Richland APUs take residence. These parts purportedly offer up to 71 percent better graphics performance than Intel's Core i5 line while still being able to run up to 10+ hours while resting and 7.5+ hours surfing the web, AMD claims. These chips are destined for elite ultrathins.

Here's a look at the Richland parts and their respective specs:

AMD Richland Chart

Between Temash, Kabini, and Richland, AMD seems to have all of its mobile bases covered, now it's just a matter of whether or not it can bring them home to consumers.

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Latest Gaming and MMORPG Updates

Latest Gaming and MMORPG Updates


CEO of HP Thinks of Android for thier Tablets

Posted: 23 May 2013 02:27 AM PDT

Hewlett-Packard is thinking a lot more about Android these days. CEO Meg Whitman focused on new Android products during the company’s earnings conference call. Android of course.   “Using multiple operating systems, multiple architectures, and multiple form factors, we are moving quickly to product the devices that customers want,” she … Continue reading

The post CEO of HP Thinks of Android for thier Tablets appeared first on GAMEFORUMER.COM | MMORPG | Technology | Video Gaming.

Trion World’s Rift goes Free 2 Play

Posted: 23 May 2013 02:01 AM PDT

Trion Worlds’ MMORPG Rift is set to go free-to-play, starting June 12, alongside the launch of its next major content update. The move to free-to-play is a significant change for the subscription-based game, which launched over two years ago with an initial development budget of $50 million. Rift launched as … Continue reading

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MMO Updates

MMO Updates


Neverwinter Days: The great economic collapse of 2013

Posted: 23 May 2013 10:00 AM PDT

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Neverwinter Days The great economic collapse of 2013
So funny story: In planning out in advance what I wanted to talk about in this biweekly Neverwinter column, I had selected something that recently caught my eye about the game and made me happy. That something was the Neverwinter Gateway, a web portal that allows out-of-game players the ability to fiddle with their character sheets, auctions, professions, guilds, and mail. I thought -- and I still do -- that this was a nifty service that deserved a day in the sun.

As I was getting set to write that column, Neverwinter's economy exploded and then imploded over the course of a weekend, thanks to a nasty exploit that involved, yup, the Gateway. Suddenly my topic had to shift from "isn't this a neat tool?" to "check out what the tools are doing with this tool." Seeing the economy effectively destroyed in a matter of hours and how Cryptic Studios dealt with this PR nightmare might be old news at this point, but it's definitely worthy of reflection, analysis, and speculation as to how trust can be rebuilt in this fledgling title.

Let's get cracking -- we have a lot of ground to cover!

Continue reading Neverwinter Days: The great economic collapse of 2013

MassivelyNeverwinter Days: The great economic collapse of 2013 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 23 May 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    Final Fantasy XIV's relaunch set for August 27

    Posted: 23 May 2013 09:30 AM PDT

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    Final Fantasy XIV's relaunch set for August 27
    Square Enix has announced today that Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is set for release on August 27, 2013 on both PC and PS3.

    According to previous reports, the third phase of the relaunched game's beta will begin some time next month. This phase will be the first time A Realm Reborn will be open to PS3 players during this beta.

    Click past the jump for complete details on pre-order bonuses and the Collector's Edition box contents.

    [Source: Square Enix press release]

    Continue reading Final Fantasy XIV's relaunch set for August 27

    MassivelyFinal Fantasy XIV's relaunch set for August 27 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 23 May 2013 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      BioWare 'actively investigating' recent SWTOR bannings

      Posted: 23 May 2013 09:00 AM PDT

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      BioWare 'actively investigating' recent bannings
      If you follow Star Wars: The Old Republic at all (and judging by the response to our tip line, you do!), you've heard the hullabaloo involving crystals and account bans going on right now. It appears some players have found they can bypass the fee necessary to unlock crystals account-wide in the Collection UI by spawning multiple crystals and using the Legacy system to trade those crystals to alts. As a result, a number of accounts have received temporary bans for exploiting. However, a number of players also claim they were caught in the cross-fire just for having a large number of legitimate crystals in their inventory.

      BioWare has issued a statement that it is aware of the situation and is actively investigating, and that more information will be posted when it is available. In regards to the deleted and locked threads involving the issue, BioWare also reminded players that posts discussing exploits or action taken against accounts is not permitted on the forums.

      [Thanks to all who sent in tips!]

      MassivelyBioWare 'actively investigating' recent SWTOR bannings originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 23 May 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      Lost Continent: An ArcheAge community guide

      Posted: 23 May 2013 08:00 AM PDT

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      Lost Continent - ArcheAge Adventures: Community guide
      Is it me, or has ArcheAge been a long time coming? I don't think it's me because it was three years and thousands of posts ago that Massively introduced ArcheAge to western gamers. Heck, it was six years ago that Jake Song and company started building XLGAMES' upcoming sandpark.

      And it's been two years -- two years! -- since I first got my hands on the game's seemingly endless closed beta. Now, though, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Trion recently and famously signed on to publish ArcheAge in the West, and despite the silence following the announcement, I'm still optimistic about a beta before the end of the year.

      Even if it that doesn't happen, we've still got plenty to talk about, which is why I'm taking the wraps off Massively's newest game-specific column. Join me after the cut for the traditional first-issue community roundup.

      Continue reading Lost Continent: An ArcheAge community guide

      MassivelyLost Continent: An ArcheAge community guide originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 23 May 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        The Perfect Ten: Movies for the MMO fan

        Posted: 23 May 2013 07:00 AM PDT

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        The Perfect Ten Movies for the MMO fan
        You love movies? Sure, who doesn't? I certainly do; I've been reviewing them with friends since 1997. I'm always fascinated by how many out-of-the-way gems there are that go overlooked by the mainstream audience, and I love how films tie into our daily experiences in unexpected ways.

        MMOs haven't quite gotten popular enough to spawn their own sub-genre of films, apart from the odd fan project or the long-rumored World of Warcraft flick. That doesn't mean that we're lacking good movie role models for our hobby, however. I think that there are plenty of films that are perfectly suited for the MMO fan, even if they've never been thought of as such.

        So here are 10 films that speak to us as gamers. To make things interesting, I excluded any movie that shares the same IP as an MMO. Read this list and let me know what you would pick!

        Continue reading The Perfect Ten: Movies for the MMO fan

        MassivelyThe Perfect Ten: Movies for the MMO fan originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 23 May 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          The Daily Grind: Would you like appropriate movie tie-in content in your MMOs?

          Posted: 23 May 2013 06:00 AM PDT

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          Superman arrestedI don't know if SOE has any plans to capitalize on the wave of Superman hype sweeping the nerdosphere on account of Zack Snyder's upcoming Man of Steel film. The firm's DC Universe Online title features the big blue boy scout rather prominently, of course, and the timing seems right if there aren't a bunch of legal stumbling blocks.

          SOE has done movie tie-ins with an MMO before, way back in 2005 when its Rage of the Wookiees expansion added a bunch of Episode III-themed content to Star Wars Galaxies. Last summer, though, the firm didn't really acknowledge Christopher Nolan's final Batman film in DCUO, so it may not be in the cards for Supes either.

          Regardless of what actually happens, would you like to see appropriate movie tie-in content in certain MMOs? Or do you prefer to keep the properties separate?

          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!

          MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Would you like appropriate movie tie-in content in your MMOs? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 23 May 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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            Free for All: An interview with ThresholdRPG's Michael Hartman

            Posted: 22 May 2013 06:00 PM PDT

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            ThresholdRPG screenshot
            The last time I explored ThresholdRPG, I had a blast. It was one of a batch of MUDs that I used to re-introduce myself to the ancient gaming genre, and I enjoyed its simplicity and friendly community. MUDs can seem to be very similar to each other, so in order to enjoy them, you must be able to pick out the finer details that separate them. In ThresholdRPG, I particularly enjoyed fishing, roleplay, customization, and a free-to-play model that was years ahead of its time when first released 17 years ago.

            The game can be a bit odd, like any MUD. During MUD May I've discovered just how confusing many of these titles can be, but I have also grown to enjoy solving the "mystery" of each game's particular set of code-words that unlock actions. ThresholdRPG is like other MUDs and introduces players to basic commands, but once out in the world a player is on her own. The good news is that an out-of-character help chat is always available and sits right on top of the standard roleplay-enforced chat. That juxtaposition of both channels actually helps immerse me in the game, allowing me to see literally where and when I can use out-of-character speech.

            I asked Michael Hartman, president and CEO of Frogdice, to talk about MUD development and branching out into other styles of gaming.

            Continue reading Free for All: An interview with ThresholdRPG's Michael Hartman

            MassivelyFree for All: An interview with ThresholdRPG's Michael Hartman originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 22 May 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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              Choose My Adventure: Building on the clan experience in Darkfall

              Posted: 22 May 2013 05:00 PM PDT

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              Choose My Adventure Building on the clan experience in Darkfall
              Boy, MJ's Misadventureland is really coming along! Hiring a few more hands sure has sped things up; you wouldn't even recognize the project now compared to even just one week ago. But isn't that the whole point of Choose My Adventure -- to watch the adventure that you're building develop and unfold? Well, that and to snicker at your Massively guinea pigs... we know.

              Having gone into this particular adventure knowing that Darkfall Unholy Wars was not a game meant for the solo soul, I knew that it was only a matter of time before I found myself in a clan to experience more of the heart of the game, which just so happens to be clan warfare. And trust me, the clan wasted no time throwing me into the thick of things once you put me in one.

              Although I do think starting off solo was important to get the real experience Darkfall any new player would (after all, most find a clan after first logging in), this week really has shown me a whole new game. I'd just scratched the surface before, the skin if you will, and now I've peered into the heart and seen the seedy underbelly as well.

              Continue reading Choose My Adventure: Building on the clan experience in Darkfall

              MassivelyChoose My Adventure: Building on the clan experience in Darkfall originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 22 May 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                38 Studios vs. State of Rhode Island court case begins

                Posted: 22 May 2013 04:30 PM PDT

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                Whoever wins, this whole thing was a pretty substantial loss.
                We'll never see Project Copernicus come to light, and for some people that's the last that needs to be said about 38 Studios. For the state of Rhode Island, however, there's quite a bit more at stake, with the state alleging that 38 Studios tried to hide its financial condition and essentially defrauded the taxpayers of Rhode Island. Opening arguments have been heard today for the case, with the 14 individual defendants seeking to have the case dismissed as completely spurious.

                When 38 Studios folded, that left Rhode Island in the hole for a $75 million loan. The lawsuit is seeking restitution from Curt Schilling and 13 other individuals, including former members of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp that originally supported the loan. According to the EDC's lawyers, substantial evidence exists that this loan was based upon intentional misdirection on the part of upper management, although the defense claims these allegations are ridiculous. At this point, it's up to the courts who's in the right.

                Massively38 Studios vs. State of Rhode Island court case begins originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 22 May 2013 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                New video details the website changes for RuneScape 3

                Posted: 22 May 2013 04:00 PM PDT

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                I believe this man is named Scores.  Hi, Scores.
                What's in a website? Quite a lot when your game is based in a browser client, as it happens. With RuneScape 3 around the corner, the team at Jagex is hard at work putting together a new and improved website, and a new video from the development team shows off just what players can expect. Which is quite a lot.

                For example, one of the centerpieces of the revised design is a series of six buttons front-and-center on the page. The trick is that three of the buttons can be customized by you, allowing you to immediately jump to the most useful parts of the page for your particular playstyle. The team is also revamping the high score pages to incorporate weekly high scores, meaning that newer players can still have a shot at the top. There will even be rewards for people who do well in a given interval. For more details, check out the full video past the break.

                Continue reading New video details the website changes for RuneScape 3

                MassivelyNew video details the website changes for RuneScape 3 originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 22 May 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                TUG tackles sexiness and diversity

                Posted: 22 May 2013 03:30 PM PDT

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                TUG tackles sexiness and diversity
                We're not getting into a real talk about diversity in gaming here. We are, however, talking about The Untitled Game's take on that sort of thing. The latest update on the TUG Kickstarter page is all about Seed diversity. The team is promising to do its best to make sure that players don't have to deal with armors that have a "drastically different appearance" based on gender. Female characters won't get overly sexualized animations, and you're just as likely to find a manly NPC in distress as a lady one. The team is working to avoid stereotypical representations of races and cultures, and wants to be sure that white males aren't portrayed as the default for Seeds.

                Some servers will allow users only basic inputs on their Seed's appearance, like gender and skin color, and will automatically assign the rest. All Seed's appearances, regardless of initial input, will grow and change over time as they age. Players will also be able to directly affect their Seed's look with hairstyle changes, tattoos, and other mysterious alterations.

                MassivelyTUG tackles sexiness and diversity originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 22 May 2013 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                Kings and Legends Global melds the TCG with the MMO

                Posted: 22 May 2013 03:00 PM PDT

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                Kings and Legends Global melds the CCG with the MMO
                Watch out: It's an unholy fusion of addictive trading card games with addictive massively multiplayer online roleplaying games! The clinics will be overrun and crime will run rampant as police will be too captivated by the bleeps and bloops of their computer boxes to do anything about it.

                That's the dire future that Kings and Legends Global could usher in. Or it could just be an interesting title that mixes CCGs with MMOs to create a novel experience. The cards themselves can be customized, crafted, and traded by players and then used to battle in PvP and PvE environments. Knights and Legends will have four classes, seven races, an auction house, guild halls, a crafting system, and plenty of deck building to keep folks interested.

                GameFuse is tempting potential fans into registering by promising a free starter pack to those who sign up. You can do so on the website and then check out the game trailer after the break.

                [Source: GameFuse press release]

                Continue reading Kings and Legends Global melds the TCG with the MMO

                MassivelyKings and Legends Global melds the TCG with the MMO originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 22 May 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                  Hartsman: 'The traditional AAA style of development and distribution' is broken

                  Posted: 22 May 2013 02:30 PM PDT

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                  Hartsman 'The traditional AAA style of development and distribution' is broken
                  A few days ago we reported on RIFT's impending free-to-play conversion, followed by the news that Trion was undergoing a second set of apparently unrelated layoffs. Former Trion studio GM and CCO Scott Hartsman responded to the layoffs on Twitter, intimating that aspects of the gaming industry are "fundamentally broken."

                  After we invited your thoughts on that same subject in a Daily Grind earlier this week, we contacted Hartsman in the hopes of getting him to elaborate. Join us after the cut for the resulting interview.

                  Continue reading Hartsman: 'The traditional AAA style of development and distribution' is broken

                  MassivelyHartsman: 'The traditional AAA style of development and distribution' is broken originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 22 May 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                    Meet The Elder Scrolls Online's legendary wamasu

                    Posted: 22 May 2013 02:00 PM PDT

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                    Meet The Elder Scrolls Online's legendary wamasu
                    Meet the wamasu, ancient terror of Black Marsh! A creature barely hinted at in existing lore, the wamasu is a new addition to the stable of foebeasts in The Elder Scrolls Online. The wamasu, it turns out, are overgrown, electrified lizard-monsters. According to legend, wamasu have "lightning for blood." They're fond of nesting, protecting their eggs, and unleashing lethal tail strikes and lightning beams on anyone who pops their personal space bubble. There's an extra-scary high-voltage boss variant waiting in-game to kill you!

                    Skip below the cut to check out the wamasu in action.

                    Continue reading Meet The Elder Scrolls Online's legendary wamasu

                    MassivelyMeet The Elder Scrolls Online's legendary wamasu originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 22 May 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                    Captain's Log Supplemental: An Exclusive Q&A with STO's Daniel Stahl

                    Posted: 22 May 2013 01:30 PM PDT

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                    STO LoR Logo Header
                    After months of waiting, we can finally say that Star Trek Online's Legacy of Romulus expansion is upon us! After yesterday's launch, it's now possible to play as a member of the new Romulan Republic faction. It's now possible to begin a Klingon faction character from level 1! There's a new adventure zone and a completely overhauled user interface.

                    We recently had the opportunity to ask Star Trek Online's Executive Producer, Daniel Stahl, some questions regarding the update. We were also given a lot of screenshots of the new material, and all are included in the new gallery below. There was a lot to cover, so let's get to it!

                    Continue reading Captain's Log Supplemental: An Exclusive Q&A with STO's Daniel Stahl

                    MassivelyCaptain's Log Supplemental: An Exclusive Q&A with STO's Daniel Stahl originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 22 May 2013 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                      Uncharted Waters Online discounts Steam packages before a big patch docks

                      Posted: 22 May 2013 01:00 PM PDT

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                      Logically speaking even a really cruddy ship would still be ship-shape.
                      Is your ship in Uncharted Waters Online something less than ship-shape? Perhaps you could put the wind back in your sails with one of the special item packs available for the game on Steam. In anticipation of the game's next major patch arriving on the 28th, Netmarble has lowered the prices on all three packs by 70%, allowing characters to leave port with big boosts for fewer of your hard-earned real money.

                      The Booster pack is down to just $1.49 and provides faster experience gain, faster ship movement, and the ability to revive fallen sailors away from a port. The Premium pack is only $2.99, offers even faster experience gain, and also sets up you with 200 million ducats (in-game currency) and possibly even a rare ship. Last but not least, the Sea Adventure pack is down to $11.99 and offers the best possible experience boost, 300 million ducats, and several exclusive items. So if you're looking to set sail, a little money now will help you find your fortune.

                      MassivelyUncharted Waters Online discounts Steam packages before a big patch docks originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 22 May 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                      A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Another look at Plan Z

                      Posted: 22 May 2013 12:00 PM PDT

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                      Please, guys, put out some art so I can stop using this header every time I talk about you.
                      When life hands you lemons, you build a new life. Out of lemons. The metaphor is a bit tortured, but the ultimate point is still the same: When City of Heroes fans found out the game was shutting down, some decided to band together and make a new game to incorporate all of the best of CoH while not being, you know, shut down completely. It's something that I've discussed a few times now because it's a really neat idea that also has some really big potential pitfalls.

                      The Phoenix Project and Heroes & Villains are the two big games working at getting themselves together, and they've had about half a year to do so. Both have been moving forward, networking, and putting together everything needed to make the games actually exist. And there's good news and bad news about both, some in tandem and some separately. So despite the possibility of missing an important context clue or two, we carry on with our look at what's going well and what is... less so.

                      Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Another look at Plan Z

                      MassivelyA Mild-Mannered Reporter: Another look at Plan Z originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 22 May 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                        Vindictus EU shows off next episode of Season 2 with video, screenshots

                        Posted: 22 May 2013 11:00 AM PDT

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                        Vindictus EU shows off more Season 2 with video and screenshots
                        Vindictus fans in Europe don't have long to wait for the second episode of Season 2 as Nexon EU has announced that The Secret of Twilight Desert will launch on May 29th. As one of the largest updates ever to the game, this episode will expand the storyline and add new enemies in new areas as well as a dynamic day/night cycle.

                        Both new terrors and rare beauty come with the nightfall; the Grim Reaper and Guardian Soldiers will threaten adventurers after the sun sets, but the moonlight also reveals the Luminary Plant, a beautiful and powerful plant able to bestow rare gifts upon those capable of harvesting it. And for those seeking treasure buried under the sands, a new underground dungeon (with a traveling entrance) built by the eccentric wild Coffer Chasers offers adventurers a choice of treasure rooms. Choose wisely, though, as all other treasure rooms are locked once one is picked!

                        Get a glimpse of the coming adventures in the video after the break and the 11 new images in the gallery below.

                        [Source: Nexon EU press release]

                        Continue reading Vindictus EU shows off next episode of Season 2 with video, screenshots

                        MassivelyVindictus EU shows off next episode of Season 2 with video, screenshots originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 22 May 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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