| E3 2013: The good, the bad, and the PS4 -- porting DCUO and PlanetSide 2 Posted: 14 Jun 2013 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Super-hero, MMO Industry, PvP, News Items, PvE, Free-to-Play, MMOFPS, Events (Massively's Coverage), DC Universe Online, PlanetSide 2 Just because SOE didn't have many new games to showcase at E3 this year doesn't mean that the studio didn't have a lot to talk about. In fact, there was plenty to be said about two of the existing games porting to the new PlayStation 4. And while some of it is good, sadly there's some not-so-good thrown in as well. Joystiq caught up with DC Universe Online's Creative Director Jens Andersen and Adam Clegg, a game designer on PlanetSide 2, to get the scoop. Mirroring the executive producer's sentiments from our interview, Andersen noted that DCUO has an advantage thanks to being currently available on the PS3. And while not having specifics to announce, Andersen added that he'd be very surprised if the game didn't take advantage of PS4's social functions. However, the game will not (at least initially) be able to use the console's streaming and quick installation features, remaining a download and install title. For PlanetSide 2, the big news is that the console will allow optimization to make the graphics "1,000 times better" according to Clegg. The big bad news is that it will be impossible to have cross-platform play, so folks who want to play on the PS4 will not have access to their PC characters. In a separate interview with Rev3Games, Art Director Tramell Isaac noted that the PS4 version would feel like a native console game, not just a jerry-rigged PC game.  Massively's on the ground in Los Angeles during the week of June 10-13, bringing you all the best news from E3 2013. We're covering everything from WildStar and Elder Scrolls Online and ArcheAge to FFXIV's inbound revamp and TERA's latest update, so stay tuned! E3 2013: The good, the bad, and the PS4 -- porting DCUO and PlanetSide 2 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| A Casual Stroll to Mordor ending after 200 episodes Posted: 14 Jun 2013 09:00 AM PDT |
| The end of (beta) days invasion is coming to Neverwinter Posted: 14 Jun 2013 08:30 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Events (In-Game), Launches, New Titles, News Items, Free-to-Play, Neverwinter The "It's only in beta" catchphrase is going to become obsolete for Neverwinter come June 20th. At that time, open beta will go quietly into the night as launch takes its place. Did we say quietly? We mean with the loud crashing sounds of Valindra's army at its heels! Starting today at 3:00 p.m. EDT, three phases of events will herald the coming of the official launch. Players will enjoy double the rewards of enchantments and runestones until the 17th in the first phase. In the second, lasting the 17th through the 20th, players will have to guardProtector's Enclave from attack by Valindra's army. More dangerous and deadly creatures then join the fray during the third phase running the 19th and concluding at 12:00 p.m. EDT on the 20th. Successfully defending Neverwinter through the final two phases can net participants unique rewards, including scrolls, a companion, and more. For full details and exact times, check out the official announcement. Then prepare yourself for war. [Source: Perfect World press release] The end of (beta) days invasion is coming to Neverwinter originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| E3 2013: Open-world racing with The Crew Posted: 14 Jun 2013 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Interviews, Opinion, Hands-On, Consoles Don't worry, you're not on the wrong website. This is still Massively and this is a hands on and interview about a racing game. Specifically, according to lead designer Serkan Hassan, this is a racing MMO. The Crew used the word "persistent world" so yours truly had to hunt down a very helpful Ubisoft representative for a last-minute look at the game. I will admit that while I had my doubts, the feature list does make it legit, and despite the fact that I'm awful at realistic racing games, I did have some fun. Continue reading E3 2013: Open-world racing with The Crew E3 2013: Open-world racing with The Crew originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| It's like launch day all over again for RIFT Posted: 14 Jun 2013 07:00 AM PDT |
| The Daily Grind: Are petitions to resurrect MMOs a waste of time? Posted: 14 Jun 2013 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Culture, Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, Opinion, Tabula Rasa, Massively Meta, Miscellaneous, Sunsets We've received several tips over the last few weeks about a petition players are circulating in the hopes of resurrecting NCsoft's ill-fated MMO shooter Tabula Rasa. Even Richard Garriott himself tweeted about the campaign. But inside the Massively virtual offices, most of us just shrugged sadly. We've seen how these petitions go. Every once in a while, a sunsetted game returns from the dead, but MMO players are awash in petitions for games that never came back. Just ask the 21,845 gamers who signed the Save City of Heroes petition last autumn. So what do you think -- are petitions to resurrect or save MMOs a waste of time? Or do you sign them anyway, just in case there's a tiny chance they might work?  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: Are petitions to resurrect MMOs a waste of time? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Pathfinder Online early access begins in 2014 Posted: 13 Jun 2013 09:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, PvP, News Items, Crowdfunding, Pathfinder Online, MMORPG Last January, Pathfinder Online sneaked past its Kickstarter funding goal of a million real-life dollars at what was effectively the last minute. And now, five months after that success, Goblinworks is ready to outline what it is that early backers actually purchased. In a lengthy and detailed blog post, Goblinworks' Ryan Dancey explained what the GW team considers to be Pathfinder Online's "minimum viable product." He also explained that early enrollment users will first gain access to what is effectively a barebones version of the game, with the focus from the team being on building a strong foundation for the content to come. Development will continue in phases from there. Most important for backers is the announcement of a timeline; early enrollment for Pathfinder Online is currently set for the third quarter of 2014 and is expected to run for around 18 months. With that schedule, unrestricted territorial warfare would launch in the first quarter of 2016. Goblinworks is billing the long development pipeline as an opportunity for players to get in on the ground floor and witness MMO development from the inside out. [Thanks to Chrysillis for the tip!] Pathfinder Online early access begins in 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Jun 2013 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Guild Counsel: How to deal with the summer slowdown Posted: 13 Jun 2013 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Culture, Guilds, Opinion, The Guild Counsel, Miscellaneous Summer is coming. With the arrival of sunny skies, warm temperatures, no more school, and vacation days to spend, it's inevitable that things will slow down in your guild. Summer is usually a slow time for games as well, since expansions and game updates tend to arrive later in the year. On the surface, summer can be a dangerous time for your guild, with the possibility of frustrated members causing drama or even leaving the guild entirely. But you can make summer work in your favor and keep your guild happy as well. We've explored this before, but let's look at some additional ways to avoid the summer slowdown in this week's Guild Counsel. Continue reading The Guild Counsel: How to deal with the summer slowdown The Guild Counsel: How to deal with the summer slowdown originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Jun 2013 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Summoner's Guidebook: Getting friends to enjoy League of Legends Posted: 13 Jun 2013 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Opinion, Free-to-Play, Guides, MOBA, League of Legends, The Summoner's Guidebook I find the mainstream success of League of Legends to be extremely baffling. If you break down the skills you need to be an effective player in the MOBA genre, they are daunting. The mechanical skill cap to be acceptable is unacceptably high, and the knowledge burden is enormous. Other MOBAs have dozens of characters and hundreds or thousands of matchups. League of Legends' character pool is so unbelievably large that even professionals cannot grasp the entirety of its design space. While I can't fathom how normal people find a game this hard fun, I can simply accept it. That makes it quite possible to get our friends and significant others hooked. However, because League is a hard game, it is probably best that we be careful when we try to teach our friends. It's pretty easy to scare them with the enormous difficulty in the game. Continue reading The Summoner's Guidebook: Getting friends to enjoy League of Legends The Summoner's Guidebook: Getting friends to enjoy League of Legends originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Jun 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Hall considering PS4 version of DayZ Posted: 13 Jun 2013 05:30 PM PDT Filed under: Horror, MMO Industry, News Items, Consoles, Sandbox How would a PlayStation 4 version of DayZ grab you? Mod creator Dean Hall is apparently considering it according to a blurb at Eurogamer. Hall outlines the differences between publishing on Sony's console vs. Microsoft's, the latter of which requires a hefty fee for each update as well as a pre-existing publisher relationship. Hall tells Eurogamer that he's definitely interested in both platforms but his focus is currently on the standalone PC version of his celebrated Arma 2 mod. "That's definitely something we'd look at, but we have to do the PC version first. Once we get the alpha out, that's a good time for us to run it up on a [PS4] dev kit and see what happens," he explained. Hall considering PS4 version of DayZ originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Jun 2013 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Hearthstone offers a peek at more content under development Posted: 13 Jun 2013 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, Previews, News Items, Casual If you've played the beta for Hearthstone, the virtual card game based off of World of Warcraft, you might have thought to yourself that you could use a little more World of Warcraft in your Hearthstone. As it turns out, the development team was apparently thinking the same thing, because now you've got quests, gold, leveling mechanics, and dueling. Pretty much everything other than arguing over raid wipes and peeking at Gearscore, in other words. Leveling allows you to improve your favorite class through continued play, with experience points earned from wins or losses alike. The team has also added new card frames and several new cards to make the game more fun to play and prettier to look at. Take a look at a rundown of all the changes on the official development blog, along with a peek at several of the new cards that have been added to the game. Hearthstone offers a peek at more content under development originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Jun 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| E3 2013: Final Fantasy XIV shows off the vicissitudes of FATE and the new jobs Posted: 13 Jun 2013 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Game Mechanics, Previews, News Items, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV As Final Fantasy XIV dazzles onlookers at E3, those not at the convention have been getting a closer look at the title in anticipation of its relaunch. The latest official video keeps up that pattern, giving potential players a look at one of the relaunched version's major new features -- Full Active Time Events, abbreviated as FATEs. Which is a long way to say "dynamic events," admittedly, but that's just the way you roll in Eorzea. FATEs appear all over the world, with some triggered randomly and others coming in at reliable intervals or via talking to an NPC. Once within range of a FATE, you are automatically added to the event and given a rundown of objectives and progress, with rewards being distributed based on overall participation and involvement. Sounds kind of routine? Then perhaps rather than watching that video, you'd like to see a first look at Summoner, Arcanist, and Scholar. Because there's a new video just past the break that also gives a first peek at these as-yet-unseen classes. So even if you know all about FATEs, you'll want to take a look here. Continue reading E3 2013: Final Fantasy XIV shows off the vicissitudes of FATE and the new jobs E3 2013: Final Fantasy XIV shows off the vicissitudes of FATE and the new jobs originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Jun 2013 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| E3 2013: DCUO plans to remain completely free on PS4 Posted: 13 Jun 2013 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, MMO Industry, Free-to-Play, Events (Massively's Coverage), DC Universe Online The PlayStation 4 made headlines at this year's E3 thanks to its console wars one-upmanship as well as its newly announced launch library. But one previously announced had a live demo at the L.A.-based convention extravaganza; DC Universe Online offered players a chance to experience some next-gen superhero shenanigans for themselves, so we totally jumped in on the action! After engrossing ourselves in the world of capes, masks, and super powers, we nabbed Executive Producer Lawrence Liberty to talk with us about DCUO's conversion to the PS4. He shared details about performance, uses for the touchpad on the new controller, a new companion app, and the plan for DCUO to be available at the console's launch. Liberty also noted that the team is working with Sony to keep the game free on the PS4 so players won't have to purchase a PlayStation Plus membership. Continue reading E3 2013: DCUO plans to remain completely free on PS4 E3 2013: DCUO plans to remain completely free on PS4 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Jun 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The origin story of Guild Wars 2's Dragon Bash theme song Posted: 13 Jun 2013 03:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Culture, MMO Industry, News Items, Guild Wars 2, Dev Diaries, Buy-to-Play If you like music, Guild Wars 2, or Guild Wars 2 music, you'll probably want to scope out the latest ArenaNet dev blog. It's all about the new Dragon Bash theme song, which originated way back in 2010 when ANet's Matthew Moore penned Spawn the Dragon, an a cappella ditty that captured the punchy spirit of the devs who pulled an all-nighter getting the fledgling game ready for its Gamescom debut. The blog entry also details how the original song evolved into the boisterous pub-crawling tune that's present in today's live game. You can watch a behind-the-scenes recording video after the break, then head to the official Guild Wars 2 site for the full write-up. Continue reading The origin story of Guild Wars 2's Dragon Bash theme song The origin story of Guild Wars 2's Dragon Bash theme song originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| E3 2013: Warhammer 40K Eternal Crusade is all about war Posted: 13 Jun 2013 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Business Models, Economy, Game Mechanics, Interviews, New Titles, Previews, PvP, War, Races, Events (Massively's Coverage) Announced at E3 this year is the long-awaited MMO rendition of the Warhammer 40K IP named Eternal Crusade. There's been an overwhelming desire from the community to see a new Warhammer project come to fruition in the wake of Dark Millennium Online's demotion and ultimate demise; this version of the tabletop-game-turned-MMO is combining the races of Warhammer in an absolute no-holds-barred warfest where the tired-but-true motto is "there is only war." Miguel Caron of Behaviour Interactive sat down with Massively at E3 to discuss his grand plans for the IP and how exactly the title will be an MMORPG. Continue reading E3 2013: Warhammer 40K Eternal Crusade is all about war E3 2013: Warhammer 40K Eternal Crusade is all about war originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| E3 2013: TERA approaches two million players, welcomes pirates Posted: 13 Jun 2013 02:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, MMO Industry, Patches, Previews, PvP, Free-to-Play, Events (Massively's Coverage), TERA With almost two million active players (and counting!) in North America, TERA does not seem to be in danger of fading into the background just yet. En Masse used E3 as a platform to trumpet the title's success following its free-to-play conversion as well as TERA's upcoming summer content. "We're nearing two million people playing the game, which is exciting since we're North America only," an En Masse rep said. While the rep didn't define just how active a player had to be to be included in the number, this count is certainly higher than the 1.4 million count back in March. The reps said that the game's playerbase is even larger if you factor in the entire world, where TERA has gone free in pretty much every territory it's entered. With the game's first anniversary in the rear-view mirror, En Masse has turned its attention to bringing out a couple of meaty updates the hot summer months. Avast, ye game lubbers, there be pirates ahead! Continue reading E3 2013: TERA approaches two million players, welcomes pirates E3 2013: TERA approaches two million players, welcomes pirates originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| E3 2013: Infinite Crisis super-punches MOBA flaws Posted: 13 Jun 2013 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Super-hero, Interviews, Previews, Free-to-Play, Events (Massively's Coverage), MOBA Are you Marvel or DC? Turbine's hoping that you are partial to the latter, especially considering that the studio wants to rope you in with its DC superhero-themed game, Infinite Crisis. Over a hearty lunch of Kryptonite stew and Flash fries at E3, Massively's Jasmine Hruschak spoke with Creative Director Cardell Kerr, Director of Digital Communications Adam Mersky, and Executive Producer Jeffrey Steefel about the title's development and the IP's fit as a MOBA. Infinite Crisis draws upon DC's entire multiverse for its inspiration. For non-comic book geeks, the multiverse consists of several often-interacting universes that feature different versions of the same places, superheroes, and events. Ergo, the Batman you know from our world also might have a steampunk alter-ego in the multiverse, or the virtuous Green Lantern of earth might have a post-apocalyptic counterpart as the Atomic Green Lantern. Infinite Crisis takes these heroes from all over the multiverse and tosses them together to see what happens. Hint: It ain't puppy dogs and sunshine parades. Continue reading E3 2013: Infinite Crisis super-punches MOBA flaws E3 2013: Infinite Crisis super-punches MOBA flaws originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| E3 2013: Dragon's Prophet impressions from open beta to now Posted: 13 Jun 2013 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Game Mechanics, Previews, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Hands-On, First Impressions, Events (Massively's Coverage), Housing, Dragon's Prophet I don't have any strong love of dragons. I don't really hate them, usually, aside from the fact that I've killed far too many to get excited about it, but I've never looked at one and thought, "I wanna collect that like I would a Pokemon!" However, I like Dragon's Prophet. I was actually playing the open beta and got to level 18 on my Oracle until vacation plans and E3 took over my play time, which is fine, since apparently from what the SOE floor representatives tell me, I'm ahead of the curve. Many industry folks were sitting down and trying the game out for the first time at the convention. Now, to be honest, I didn't unlock all the dragons slots or the stable slots. I haven't done a ton of crafting, and I haven't done a ton research on the dragons and of raising them. The game's pushed out content before localization was done, and the game still has a few bugs. I know it's "open beta," but for a free-to-play game that isn't wiping the servers, it might as well be release. To be blunt, I really shouldn't like this game. It's done a lot wrong, but for some reason, when I pass the booth, I want to sit down and log onto my own account to play my character. Continue reading E3 2013: Dragon's Prophet impressions from open beta to now E3 2013: Dragon's Prophet impressions from open beta to now originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Jun 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| E3 2013: Webzen teases Mu Chronicle R and other titles Posted: 13 Jun 2013 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Contests, Interviews, New Titles, News Items, Free-to-Play, Mobile, Events (Massively's Coverage), Miscellaneous At this year's E3, Webzen was hyped to chat about its lineup of games, though it was close-lipped on many of the details. C9 players who remember the extreme dungeon exclusive Massively had a few weeks back are about to get a little more good news in the form of a spoiler: Sorry, but you don't get to actually kill the new boss, just reseal him. Then on June 27th, Webzen plans to announce details on a new adaption of Mu Online currently codenamed MU Chronicle R. Unlike the current Mu, the new game will focus on leveling up and PvP. To promote future bloodshed, Webzen will be holding global tournaments with cash prizes after the game is released. The update will happen across the globe, and in order to prepare for this, Webzen plans to recruit game masters from each region and reward the top GM with prizes. In addition, once the URL has been released, people who "like" the game's pre-launch Facebook page will be entered into raffles that award prizes like an Alienware gaming laptop, Wcoins/gPotato currency, and... apparently some sort of mystery prize. Really, that's all we can say about this till the 27th! The team also teased work on Archlord 2, MU 2, and a mobile Mu game (not a port but a brand-new game. We don't know whether it's related to Chronicle R). Finally, Webzen's MMOFPS Arctic Combat will be seeing another patch hopefully in July. Continue reading E3 2013: Webzen teases Mu Chronicle R and other titles E3 2013: Webzen teases Mu Chronicle R and other titles originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Jun 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| E3 2013: Dragon's Prophet's PvP, raids, and housing Posted: 13 Jun 2013 11:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, Previews, PvP, Free-to-Play, Events (Massively's Coverage), Housing, Dragon's Prophet Los Angeles is certainly swarming with a variety of citizenry this week, from zombies to superheroes to martial artists. Even dragons have been spotted! Yes, Dragon's Prophet landed in in the City of Angels for E3 2013, and Massively's Jasmine Hruschak captured Senior Producer Todd Carson to learn more about the the dragon-centric title from Runewaker. (Don't worry folks, we practice catch and release here at Massively.) In open beta for less than a month, Dragon's Prophet still has many systems and areas to roll out during testing, and Carson expounded on some of those. He introduced the new zone of Wintertide as well as offered details about raiding. And we certainly couldn't let him go without more information about the frontier system, which encompasses both housing and PvP. Continue reading E3 2013: Dragon's Prophet's PvP, raids, and housing E3 2013: Dragon's Prophet's PvP, raids, and housing originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Jun 2013 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| E3 2013: WildStar press briefing and Q&A with Jeremy Gaffney Posted: 13 Jun 2013 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, Interviews, Previews, News Items, Opinion, Races, Events (Massively's Coverage), Community Q&A, WildStar, Housing, Player-Generated Content When I was told I'd get to attend a media briefing with Jeremy Gaffney, I ran to my closet and busted out my old "STFU University" shirt! Good old South Tenkarrdum Foundry University! For those who don't know (or have forgotten), Gaffney was a founder of Turbine and worked on both Asheron's Call and Asheron's Call 2, my first two MMOs. Oh, and there's that WildStar game he was talking about. That sounds pretty cool too. Sadly, about a week before E3, I was told that Carbine wouldn't be making any big announcement at the con. This would be a catch-up conference, and from what I saw, it was mainly aimed at Korean gamers who might not already be familar in the game. I love E3 because of its international setting, and truthfully, even from "old" news you can usually find some new information if you're careful... or a selfish reporter can snag the question-asking mic two times in one briefing. Don't worry; the second time was in a big batch of "raise your hand if you have a question" end-of-the-Q&A type deals. I'm not that selfish. Continue reading E3 2013: WildStar press briefing and Q&A with Jeremy Gaffney E3 2013: WildStar press briefing and Q&A with Jeremy Gaffney originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Jun 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Not your ordinary tablet.
By the numbers, it's Google's Internet, we're just witnesses.
Microsoft continues to lob advertising grenades at Apple's iPad.
Alienware invades E3 in style.
