| Massively seeks a new Guild Wars 2 columnist Posted: 07 Jun 2013 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: MMO Industry, Guild Wars 2, Massively Meta, Miscellaneous Yes folks, it's that time again: the time when Massively hops into the hiring channel and says, "Looking for more!" We're looking to hire fresh meat a new staff member for the site, a Guild Wars 2 columnist to keep up the quality of our GW2 coverage as produced by past experts Lis Cardy and Rubi Bayer and our interim Flameseeker Chronicles video guru Richie Procopio. Here's the skinny on us: Massively is Joystiq's geeky MMO cousin. We're owned by AOL; we're all paid, remote contractors; and we uphold a strict set of ethical standards you won't find among our rivals. We focus on high-quality writing with fair sourcing and a mix of news and features. We employ actual copyediting and editorial oversight, so you won't see trainwreck English in every headline. In short, we are the MMO site the other sites use as an RSS feed. This position would be an awesome chance to break into paid gaming journalism if you happen to have just the right blend of Guild Wars 2 experience, availability, excellent writing skills, and passion for the MMO genre. If that describes you, then read on and apply! Continue reading Massively seeks a new Guild Wars 2 columnist  Massively seeks a new Guild Wars 2 columnist originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 07 Jun 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Is Turbine's shadowofmordor.com for LotRO? Posted: 07 Jun 2013 09:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, MMO Industry, Free-to-Play, Rumors As first reported by Kotaku, Turbine's previously registered assortment of Tolkien-related domain names has just been moved over to the Turbine servers. These names include several variations of something relating to a trademark for Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor by the Saul Zaentz Company. From here, we can do nothing but speculate, but Goldenstar over at the A Casual Stroll to Mordor blog can't help but point out some interesting possibilities for a connection to Lord of the Rings Online. For one, this is the same pattern we saw when riderofrohan.com was first trademarked. Another domain, firesofmordor.com, was originally thought to be our ticket to the dark lord's land way back in 2009, but this may actually be a revision of that. Even if this has nothing to do with LotRO and is for an entirely new game, we're happy to see Turbine growing as much as it has in the past few years. I just want to pinch its little cheeks! Is Turbine's shadowofmordor.com for LotRO? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 07 Jun 2013 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Derek Smart teases new Line of Defense E3 preview Posted: 07 Jun 2013 09:00 AM PDT |
| Second Wind: Returning to Wurm Online is a process Posted: 07 Jun 2013 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Wurm Online, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Sandbox, Crafting, Second Wind After being away from Wurm Online for almost a year, I have to admit I was a bit scared to return. Anxiety levels are high as you log in and have a quick scan of the area to see if you're surrounded by something that will immediately eat your face. It's also fairly unsettling to see how much of your stuff has rotted or been stolen since you left. In fact, once I determined that my house, my boat, and most of my possessions hadn't been taken by other players in my absence, I had to log back off. I just had to do something else offline for a bit while that anxiety flow slowed to a trickle. But I soon answered that unexplainable call to log back in and start my new life as a reborn Wurmian. I've heard so many great things about the game's improvements over the last few months that I just had to check them out for myself. Continue reading Second Wind: Returning to Wurm Online is a process Second Wind: Returning to Wurm Online is a process originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 07 Jun 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Ragnarok Online celebrates 10 years with content update 14.2 Posted: 07 Jun 2013 07:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, Patches, Free-to-Play, Anniversaries To help celebrate 10 years as an MMO, Ragnarok Online is breaking out with a new update entitled 14.2 Eclage. This sequel to 2011's Bifrost update introduces new maps, dungeons, foes, equipment, and a continued questline from 14.1. An in-game festival helps celebrate the 10th anniversary with players completing mini-games for prizes. To join in the festivities, head over to the official site to sign up. [Source: WarpPortal press release] Ragnarok Online celebrates 10 years with content update 14.2 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 07 Jun 2013 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Ran Online gets publishing deal for Europe Posted: 07 Jun 2013 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, New Titles, Free-to-Play, Legal Why should you care about Ran Online? For starters, it's a rare MMO that's set in the modern era, featuring school students who form clubs to defend the world against monsters and the like. For another thing, it's about to enter the European market. Games-Masters.com signed a publishing deal with Min Communications to bring Ran Online to Europe, initially with an English-only version. Ran Online has an eight-year history in Asia, boasting 26 game updates and a graphic engine overhaul during its lifespan. Games-Masters.com CEO Thorsten Schauer is hopeful that the new market will embrace the title: " Ran Online is one of the most successful MMOs in Asia due to its deep content and customization, and we are looking forward to seeing fans all over Europe playing the EU version." [Source: Games-Masters.com press release] Ran Online gets publishing deal for Europe originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 07 Jun 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| CCP claims DUST 514 is 'driving' PS3 sales Posted: 07 Jun 2013 06:30 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, MMO Industry, Free-to-Play, Consoles, MMOFPS, DUST 514 DUST 514 may be causing the CCP faithful to go out and buy a PlayStation 3, Vice President Thor Gunnarsson suggested. He claims that sales for Sony's console are increasing thanks to the popularity of the sci-fi MMOFPS. "We already see that DUST 514, during open beta, had been driving hardware sales for Sony. We actually track that together," Gunnarsson said. "We know that our fanbase, DUST-curious players, are buying the PlayStation 3 to get into our game." Recently, the studio claimed that DUST 514 was vital to the "long-term trajectory" of the company. CCP claims DUST 514 is 'driving' PS3 sales originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 07 Jun 2013 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: What must E3 deliver to MMO fans this year? Posted: 07 Jun 2013 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Business Models, MMO Industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, The Daily Grind, Events (Massively's Coverage), Community Q&A, Miscellaneous The 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo kicks off next week, and Massively will be on the show floor feeding opinions and news and videos back to you this year as every year. Our lineup is more than respectable when it comes to upcoming MMOs; we'll be looking at blockbuster MMOs like The Elder Scrolls Online, WildStar, ArcheAge, and Final Fantasy XIV as well as up-and-comers like HEX and Black Gold, just to name a few. But even with a full roster of games to preview, I've worried the last few years that E3 is being eclipsed, at least for MMO fans, by more player-friendly and MMO-friendly venues like PAX. What do you guys think -- am I wrong? What must E3 deliver to MMO fans specifically this year to seem more like a chance for the industry to showcase games in one convenient location and less like an advertising platform for the biggest companies as they trample each other with hype? Bonus question: What, above all else, do you want Massively's attendees to focus on at E3 this year?  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: What must E3 deliver to MMO fans this year? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 07 Jun 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Cryptic North studio formed to polish Champions Online Posted: 07 Jun 2013 05:30 AM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, MMO Industry, Star Trek Online, Free-to-Play, Champions Online, Miscellaneous, Neverwinter In a recent interview with Gamasutra, Cryptic's Jack Emmert announced the formation of Cryptic North, a studio reborn from Pirates of the Burning Sea's Flying Lab and currently set to work on polishing Champions Online. Led by Flying Lab co-founder Russell Williams, Cryptic North is looking to grow the team by recruiting Seattle-based talent. When asked if the new studio will be working on any projects independent of Cryptic's Redwood City, California branch, Jack Emmert called that a "definite possibility." Be sure to read the entire interview over at Gamasutra for more. [Thanks to Psi for the tip!] Cryptic North studio formed to polish Champions Online originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 07 Jun 2013 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Arcane Saga launches with Steam bonus packs Posted: 06 Jun 2013 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Launches, New Titles, News Items, Free-to-Play Ready to start a new saga? After a brief period of open beta testing, Arcane Saga has officially launched today for players to enjoy a saga all about the arcane. Or a saga that is itself arcane. However you want to dissect the game's title, you can download directly from the official site or pick the title up among Steam's free-to-play offerings. Steam players also have the option of purchasing up exclusive item packs, so that might be an added incentive. Arcane Saga's main selling points are fast leveling, job combinations, and a competitive PvP endgame. The stated design goal is to get players into the meat of the game quickly and provide players ample opportunities to forge their own paths. No events are scheduled to celebrate the game's launch, but considering the number of free-to-play titles that simply add a full cash shop onto an open beta, the official launch is compelling enough. [Source: Netmarble press release] Arcane Saga launches with Steam bonus packs originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 06 Jun 2013 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Summoner's Guidebook: Team leaders roam League of Legends' jungle Posted: 06 Jun 2013 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: PvP, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Guides, MOBA, League of Legends, The Summoner's Guidebook Leader. Shot caller. Playmaker. The jungler is the heart of a League of Legends team. On both Summoner's Rift and Twisted Treeline, the jungler is the leader of the pack. More than any other role, the jungler is called upon and expected to swing the game in his favor. He's expected to be everywhere at once. If a laning player dies to an enemy jungle gank, it is her jungler's fault for not being there. If a laning player fails to make a kill happen, it's also her jungler's fault. It is any jungler's personal experience that if lost game is not lost in the laning phase or blame cannot be pinned on a specific person, the jungler is always to blame. With this responsibility comes great power, however. The jungler has the ability to influence a match in numerous covert and overt ways. He can steal enemy creeps to disrupt the opposing jungler or even influence lanes by stealing the enemy blue buff. He can make his presence known via ganks and directly impact the outcome of lane confrontations. Perhaps most notably, the jungler can place wards to warn his teammates of enemy incursions and/or allow them to make better strategic decisions. While the support can be a team leader as well, the role defaults to the man in the jungle. When he comes from the cover of the trees to strike at his foes, they quake in terror. Continue reading The Summoner's Guidebook: Team leaders roam League of Legends' jungle The Summoner's Guidebook: Team leaders roam League of Legends' jungle originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 06 Jun 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Meet the art director behind Ultima Forever Posted: 06 Jun 2013 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Previews, News Items If you've been playing Ultima forever, you started out by playing the game on a monochrome monitor with all the graphical lushness that an Apple IIe could provide. Ultima Forever's art director Peter Lipman knows all about that, because that's where he started as well. So going in with a memory of the franchise from the beginning, he decided to really focus on exploring how lush the world could look with a modern aesthetic. This was the core idea behind using background tiles rather than a 3D engine; as Lipman puts it, he wanted to take the beautiful concept art that people would come up with and put it directly into the game rather than just make something similar. You can hear all of Lipman's observations on designing the game in the video just past the cut, including a discussion of changing the game's overall art style to help make the game stand out more for players. Continue reading Meet the art director behind Ultima Forever Meet the art director behind Ultima Forever originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 06 Jun 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Neverwinter balance and gameplay update detailed Posted: 06 Jun 2013 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Free-to-Play, Neverwinter Perfect World wasn't kidding when it said earlier this week that it was prepping a kitchen sink patch for its new Neverwinter MMO. The title, now slated to shed its open beta tag for a proper launch date on June 20th, has just received a mammoth balance and gameplay post on its official website. The post touches on everything from classes and the queue system to PvP, the auction house, the gateway, and game performance. Grab yourself a cup of your favorite caffeinated beverage and click through the link below to start reading. Neverwinter balance and gameplay update detailed originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 06 Jun 2013 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The making of an arena and reading of minds at Champions Online Posted: 06 Jun 2013 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Events (In-Game), Previews, News Items, Free-to-Play, Champions Online Are you so excited to get tossed into a superpowered battle to the death that you can hardly contain your enthusiasm? That's... actually a little creepy. But if you're a Champions Online fan, there's plenty of reason to be excited about the Forum Malvanum, so it's all right. And you can see what went into the construction of the arena in the game's newest development blog, which walks players from the concept stage through to the finished version of the structure. Seems like the developers read your mind? They might have. They did just redesign the Telepathy set, after all. You can also read all about that on the official site, detailing the new powers and their interplay. The new Telepathy set is meant to provide plenty of control and damage options for new or existing characters, so if your characters tend to be fond of mind games you'll want to take a look at the changes. The making of an arena and reading of minds at Champions Online originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 06 Jun 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Free TERA server transfers through June 11 Posted: 06 Jun 2013 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, TERA TERA players, be sure you're on your favorite server by June 11th, elsewise you'll have to pay for the privilege of relocating. En Masse has posted a heads-up that its free server transfer promotion is ending at 3:00 p.m. EDT on the 11th, after which time fees of 2,750 EMP (standard players) or 1,650 EMP (elite players) will apply. The company has also opened up the Lake of Tears and Ascension Valley shards as part of its current transfer offer. More info on all of the rules and restrictions can be found on TERA's website. Free TERA server transfers through June 11 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 06 Jun 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| RIFT tops Raptr's May most-played list Posted: 06 Jun 2013 02:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, Free-to-Play, RIFT, Promotions, Neverwinter Is RIFT taking the charts by storm? At first glance when it comes to Raptr's most-played PC and Xbox 360 titles in May, it would appear so. However, just as with everything else associated with statistics, it's important to know the full story before jumping to conclusions. RIFT jumped up 13 spots to garner a 7.76% share of player hours in May, topping even League of Legends and World of Warcraft. This was largely thanks to a reward campaign that quadrupled the number of players from March. The company notes that Neverwinter was also a "big mover" in the month among Raptr players, netting 11th place. RIFT tops Raptr's May most-played list originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 06 Jun 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| EVE Online flirts with virtual reality Posted: 06 Jun 2013 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, Sandbox At this year's Fanfest, EVE Online teased the possibility of putting players into the game with the magic of virtual reality. The VR demo, courtesy of an Oculus Rift dev kit, turned a few heads both metaphorically and literally. Today, CCP put forth a blog post explaining the hows and whys that went into this intriguing project. CCP Karuck details the journey that led the team to adapting the studio's flagship title for a VR headset: "We brought up many genres and styles, but in the end decided to make a game in the EVE universe where players could fly fighter spaceships. That idea just checked all the boxes, and who hasn't wanted to experience first-person space flight in EVE?" Challenges for the team including modifying the UI to work with a headset and tweaking the experience so that users wouldn't get motion sickness. Karuck estimates that around a thousand players tried out the EVE VR demo at fanfest, and the team has plans to bring it to E3 for press previews. Still, he admits that he doesn't know what is in store for the future of it all: "We still don't know what will become of this little project of ours, with CCP considering various options." EVE Online flirts with virtual reality originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 06 Jun 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| EverQuest Next teaser photo posted Posted: 06 Jun 2013 01:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Screenshots, Events (Real-World), Previews, EverQuest Next, Sandbox There's your EverQuest Next, boys and girls, straight from the Smed himself. SOE President John Smedley posted a teaser photo on Twitter for the upcoming sandbox fantasy title, saying, "Very excited to show EQN at SOE Live." The photo shows a grimacing character model and various armor pieces on two screens. It's obvious that the screens are a work in progress, as the textures and colors aren't included. Although it's been lightly talked about by the studio for years now, EverQuest Next's full reveal will happen at this August's SOE Live. While we'll have to wait to see what's announced for the title, we have our own wish list of what should be included. EverQuest Next teaser photo posted originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 06 Jun 2013 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Marvel Heroes compensates for early access delay Posted: 06 Jun 2013 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Launches, Free-to-Play, Marvel Heroes Gazillion is looking to make amends with early adopters of Marvel Heroes who possibly experienced severe connection issues this past week. The studio laid out a plan to compensate those who had purchased a founders pack and expected to get in on the action prior to the game's official launch. Ultimate pack purchasers will receive 2,000 Gs of store currency and a cosmetic pet, while premium pack purchasers will get 1,000 Gs and a pet. The currency will be delivered to those players starting on June 7th, although the pet may be a little later in coming, as the team hasn't decided on what it is just yet. "As you may know, we had issues that delayed our initial launch of Marvel Heroes," CEO David Brevik wrote. "We take our commitment to you very seriously, and that's why we had our team working around the clock to bring the game to you as fast as possible. However, a promise is a promise, and we were late -- so we're going to compensate those of you who were affected by that delay." Marvel Heroes compensates for early access delay originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 06 Jun 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| WildStar's devs break all the things in the latest stress test Posted: 06 Jun 2013 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Bugs, Events (In-Game), News Items, Dev Diaries, WildStar If you participated in WildStar's first stress test, aka The Stressening, or hope to jump in with its sequel, The Stress Continues, then this week's WildStar Wednesday is for you. Carbine Studios community director Troy Hewitt, live producer Craig Turner, and senior community manager David Bass penned the latest blog entry to discuss how the stress tests are going and what, exactly, the team managed to break this go-round, starting with instances capping improperly and names being distorted. (This last bit is probably a blessing for those testers running around named Legolas and Tyrion Lannister. You know I'm right.) Bass specifically addresses the challenges of herding gamers who are "used to the usual 'STRESS TEST WEEKEND WOOOOOO!' hype," which is, you know, pretty much all of us. "The problem," he wrote, "was that we needed to do an actual stress test... one where we kept adding more and more players until something broke so that we could see where our weaknesses were." Like Bass, we're sure the "promise of a future beta invite" soothed any grumpiness. WildStar's devs break all the things in the latest stress test originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 06 Jun 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Ask Massively: No one loves blog comment systems Posted: 06 Jun 2013 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Opinion, Massively Meta, Ask Massively, Miscellaneous Welcome back to Ask Massively! Today, let's beat our heads against some totally valid emails relating to Massively's adorable comment system, which we lovingly call "Hey, Livefyre is down again!" Chris wrote, "Is there some way to create an ignore list? I'm irritated by a few people in certain articles who try to make the comments entirely about themselves. I primarily read this site at work, and the work network is garbage, which means that the browser freezes up when I try to load more comments. Is there some way to filter out certain users' posts?" This is a good idea! Continue reading Ask Massively: No one loves blog comment systems Ask Massively: No one loves blog comment systems originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 06 Jun 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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