General Gaming Article

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• Goodbye OCZ, and Thanks for the Drives
• Newegg Planning to Discount Thousands of Items for Black Friday, Opens Public Showroom
• Steam Autumn Sales Kicks Off Today, Runs Until December 3
• Hewlett-Packard's 4Q Revenue Tops $29.1 Billion, Beats Expectations
• Zotac Introduces First Zbox Nano to Wield a Quad Core Processor
• Newegg Daily Deals: Mushkin Enhanced Chronos 240GB SSD, Asus Z87-A Mobo, and More!

Goodbye OCZ, and Thanks for the Drives Posted: 27 Nov 2013 03:26 PM PST Enthusiast PC brand bites the dust It's the end of an era, folks. If you've been around the PC building block awhile, you'll recall how OCZ Technology started off as an enthusiast memory maker over a decade ago. OCZ ducked out of the struggling DRAM business in January 2011 to focus on the more profitable solid state drive (SSD) market, but even that proved difficult to navigate. With no other recourse in sight, OCZ is filing for bankruptcy. According to Reuters, OCZ said it "substantially completed" negotiations with Toshiba to sell the company's assets. Once the paperwork with Toshiba (and Hercules Technology Growth Capital Inc., one of its lenders) is completed, OCZ will file a petition for bankruptcy. It's been a rough road for OCZ since the DRAM's glory days when a stick a high performance RAM commanded a king's ransom. OCZ made a series of moves to keep itself in the game, such as acquiring former boutique system builder Hypersonic PC only to shut down the venture three years later. The company also purchased PC Power and Cooling, a maker of super reliable power supplies (a number of which we picked to power various Dream Machine configurations throughout the years), and continued to sell power supplies under that brand up until the end. Also on the list of acquisitions is Indlinix, which builds controller chipsets for SSDs. Despite all the moves OCZ made, the company hasn't posted an annual profit in five years. Stripped of cash, OCZ would have had to file for bankruptcy immediately and liquidate its assets had Toshiba not stepped in with an offer. The writing was the wall for a long time now. Back in August, OCZ retained Deutsche Bank AG to help it evaluate strategic options, serving as an indication that things had gone from bad to worse. And in November of last year, OCZ had slashed 28 percent of its staff and dropped 150 of its product lines after having hired a new CEO to address a growing credibility problem. While we're not particulary stunned by the news, we're bummed that it had to end this way for OCZ, especially right before the holidays. Our best wishes go out to OCZ's staff, some of which will hopefully find employment at Toshiba. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Newegg Planning to Discount Thousands of Items for Black Friday, Opens Public Showroom Posted: 27 Nov 2013 12:20 PM PST Sit, click, and save Newegg today revealed its plans for Black Friday, part of which will include big discounts of up to 85 percent on more than 3,000 products throughout its virtual store. Newegg's Black Friday discounts will take place over the course of the next two days, some highlights of which include a Polk Audio subwoofer discounted 64 percent, Samsung TVs at up to 45 percent off, and plenty more. We'll be cherry picking some of the best deals on core PC products for inclusion in our Black Friday roundup, so be sure to bookmark that page and check it often. Newegg's discounted prices will take effect today at 1PM Pacific / 4PM Eastern, and will also be visible on Newegg's mobile app for iOS, Android, and Windows. Discounts aren't the only thing keeping Newegg busy these days. The e-tailer is opening a Hybrid Center this Friday. Customers will be able to use the facility to pick up orders, as well as play Xbox One and PlayStation 4 games on a 4K TV. Other products will be available for hands-on testing too. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Steam Autumn Sales Kicks Off Today, Runs Until December 3 Posted: 27 Nov 2013 11:09 AM PST Bad news for your wallet There's a reason your wallet is cowering in the corner in the fetal position, it knows it's about to be gutted. That's the inevitable fate that befalls the funds of gamers each and every time Valve decide to hold a major sale on Steam, and today marks the beginning of Steam's autumn sale. Big discounts ensure you'll lighten your load of cash while you beef up your games collection with titles you may have missed out on. For example, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is marked down 75 percent to just $7.49, an absolute steal for the amount of hours you'll log playing it. If you somehow missed out on Left 4 Dead 2 all this time, five bucks puts it in your games library. Other notable sale items include The Walking Dead ($6.24), Crysis 2 Maximum Edition ($7.49), and Sleeping Dogs ($4.99). Steam will be marking down games as part of its autumn sale up through December 3. These will include daily deals, flash sales, and general discounts on thousands of titles. If you haven't down so in awhile, now would be a good time to update your Wishlist so you can be notified when a game you're jonesing for goes on sale. Happy shopping! Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Hewlett-Packard's 4Q Revenue Tops $29.1 Billion, Beats Expectations Posted: 27 Nov 2013 09:15 AM PST Investors react positively to HP's revenue results Hewlett-Packard's fourth quarter net revenue slipped 3 percent year-over-year (or 1 percent when adjusted for the effects of currency) to $29.1 billion, though analysts were expecting a bigger decline. Part of the reason why HP exceeded expectations is because it was propped up by growth in its Enterprise Group (servers, software, storage, and networking products), which was up 2 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago. "Through improved execution, strong cost management, and with the support of our customers and partners, HP ended fiscal 2013 on a high note," said Meg Whitman, HP president and chief executive officer. "Our Q4 results demonstrate that HP's turnaround remains on track heading into fiscal 2014. While we still have much more work to do, our business units and their core assets are delivering on HP's strategy to help customers thrive by providing solutions for the New Style of IT." Investors certainly seem sold on HP's claim that its turnaround efforts are working. HP's share price is up over 7 percent following news of its Q4 results. HP, now the world's second largest PC company in terms of shipments, said that revenue from its Personal Systems division was down 2 percent year-over-year. Interestingly, total units were up 2 percent thanks in large part to growing notebook sales, which jumped 3 percent. Desktop sales fell 5 percent. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Zotac Introduces First Zbox Nano to Wield a Quad Core Processor Posted: 27 Nov 2013 08:29 AM PST Tiny box packs four processing cores Looking for a small PC? It doesn't get too much smaller that Zotac's Zbox Nano line of mini PCs, which you can tuck neatly out of sight behind your monitor for a home brewed all-in-one experience. These aren't typically powerhouse systems, though for the first time, you can get quad-core processing from a Zbox Nano machine. The new Zbox Nano AQ01 features an AMD A4-5000 APU clocked at 1.5GHz with Radeon HD  8330 graphics. "Our Zbox Nano form factor is well-regarded for its compact size and energy-efficiency. With the latest AMD A4-5000 APU, we're able to boost performance all around while reducing maximum energy consumption compared to our previous generation with the Zotac Zbox Nano AQ01 series," said Carsten Berger, senior director, Zotac International. It's a fairly robust system considering its diminuitive footprint. In addition to the quad-core AMD chip, it also features a single DDR3 SO-DIMM slot (supports up to 8GB of RAM), 2.5-inch drive bay, HDMI and DisplayPort output, 7-in-1 media card reader, GbE LAN, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, five USB 2.0 ports (two up front and three on back), two USB 3.0 ports (both on back), mini-Optical S/PDIF and analog combo port, and a bundled VESA mount. All you have to do is populate the RAM slot and drive bay, and you're good to go. Alternately, you can opt for the Plus model, which comes with 4GB of RAM and a 500GB (5400 RPM) HDD pre-installed. Either way, be advised that you'll need to add an operating system, which you can install via a USB thumb drive or from an external optical drive. No word yet on price or availability. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Newegg Daily Deals: Mushkin Enhanced Chronos 240GB SSD, Asus Z87-A Mobo, and More! Posted: 27 Nov 2013 06:37 AM PST Top Deal: Now that you've finally retired that Yugo that made funny noises and wouldn't go past third gear, it's time to look at other ways of speeding up your daily routine. Next on the list? Tear out that mechanical hard drive that's making a clicking sound and give it the Old Yeller treatment (back up whatever data you can). Of course, you'll need to replace it with something, and that something could be today's top deal for a Mushkin Enhanced Chronos 240GB SATA III SSD for $138 with free shipping (normally $165). This is a blazing fast drive rated for up to 560MB/s read and up to 525MB/s write performance, along with up to 90,000 IOPS of 4k random write performance. It also comes with a 2.5-inch to 3.5-inch adapter, in case you need it. Other Deals: XFX Double D FX797GTDFC Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card for $320 with free shipping (normally $350; additional $30 Mail-in rebate) Western Digital Scorpio Black wd5000bpkt 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 2.5-inch Internal Notebook Hard Drive for $55 with free shipping (normally $75 use coupon code: [EMCWWVP24]) Asus Z87-A LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard for $145 with free shipping (normally $150; additional $30 Mail-in rebate) G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) Desktop Memory Model F3-2133C10D-8GXM for $55 with free shipping (normally $75 )

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MMO Updates

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• Seven zombie-infested MMOs for the survivalist in you
• Blizzard offers deep discounts on World of Warcraft, StarCraft II
• New screenshots spotlight Age of Wushu's advanced school skills
• Defiance opens test server for Arkbreaker DLC
• Leaderboard: What will Star Citizen's final crowdfunding tally be?
• The Daily Grind: What game content do you wish were easier?
• The Stream Team: Storming EQII's Temple of Veeshan solo
• Hero of the Obelisk enters open beta November 28
• Star Citizen salvage, smuggler ships detailed
• Perfect World ends the quarter strong, looks to Dota 2's China release
• Watch SOE artists go from concept art to EQN Landmark asset
• The Secret World offers Golden Weekend for the holiday
• The Soapbox: Developers build MMOs backward
• Jukebox Heroes: Dragon's Prophet's soundtrack
• Star Citizen's latest dev livestream is going on right now
• The Stream Team: Playing Infestation Survivor Stories on a private server
• Neverwinter dev blog dives deep into building the Hunter Ranger
• CCP Rise stops by Reddit for an EVE Online AMA
• Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR Galactic Starfighter has crew skills, too
• Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars 2's Fractal algorithm

Seven zombie-infested MMOs for the survivalist in you Posted: 27 Nov 2013 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Screenshots, Culture, Game Mechanics, Previews, Free-to-Play, Browser, Casual, MMOFPS, Post-Apocalyptic, Sandbox, Player-Generated Content Let's talk zombies and post-apocalyptic futures. Sure, the undead have become an overused and watered-down genre, but it's easy to see just why it's so successful -- it practically has something for everyone. The horror fans love it for obvious reasons; there's nothing scarier than the reanimated dead. Sandbox fans and survivalist maniacs love that it represents what happens to society when everything -- and I mean everything -- breaks down. MMO fans adore it because it's all about teamwork and developing a society from the ground up alongside other people. So even though the genre is getting spread a bit thin, it's still as promising as any other. I thought it'd be a good idea to round up many of the current zombie MMOs and pseudo-MMOs so that over the holidays you can celebrate by ignoring your family to bash in a few previously deceased skulls. You can thank me later when all of the training you receive while playing these games helps you survive the coming zombie apocalypse. Continue reading Seven zombie-infested MMOs for the survivalist in you Seven zombie-infested MMOs for the survivalist in you originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Nov 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Blizzard offers deep discounts on World of Warcraft, StarCraft II Posted: 27 Nov 2013 08:30 AM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Expansions, MMO Industry, News Items, Promotions There's no need to wait until Black Friday if you were hoping to get a good deal on World of Warcraft or StarCraft II; Blizzard is currently offering both titles and their expansions at a deep discount. New players to WoW can grab the base game, with all expansions up until Mists of Pandaria, for only $4.99. To add MoP to the mix, plunk down another $9.99 for the standard edition or $29.99 for the digital deluxe edition (a savings of $30.00 on each). StarCraft II fans can save twenty bucks and scoop up Wings of Liberty for $19.99 and/or Heart of the Swarm for $19.99 or $39.99 (standard and deluxe editions, respectively). For those who already have the games but want to get friends involved, there is also an option to gift the purchase. However, to take advantage of the deals you might want to act fast -- there's no guarantee that the sale will last. Blizzard offers deep discounts on World of Warcraft, StarCraft II originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Nov 2013 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Blizzard sale

New screenshots spotlight Age of Wushu's advanced school skills Posted: 27 Nov 2013 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Trailers, Video, Classes, News Items, Free-to-Play, Sandbox, Age of Wushu Coming from scrolls that are literally billed as the Ultimate Scrolls, you'd expect the skills that Age of Wushu's expansion introduced to be pretty impressive, no? After all, these scrolls offer the pinnacle of each school's arsenal, and only the most skilled martial artists can acquire them. To show off the artistry of these new moves, Snail Games has released eight new screenshots highlighting these ultimate skills, one for each school. Check out stills of Dog Beating Staff from the Beggar's Sect, Tai Chi Fist from Wudang, Dragon Claw Technique from Shaolin, and more in the gallery below. We've also included the official trailer so you can see each advanced skill in action. [Source: Snail Games press release] Continue reading New screenshots spotlight Age of Wushu's advanced school skills New screenshots spotlight Age of Wushu's advanced school skills originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Nov 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Defiance opens test server for Arkbreaker DLC Posted: 27 Nov 2013 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, MMO Industry, Patches, PvP, News Items, PvE, Consoles, Dungeons, Defiance, Buy-to-Play Defiance fans looking forward to experiencing the new mission line, weapons, instances, and raid boss content of Arkbreaker can now hop onto the Public Test Server and give the upcoming DLC a spin. Of course, Trion would like feedback on all the Arkbreaker adventures (including any glitches and bugs players find), and welcomes commenting in the alpha forums. To download the PTS client, registered players need only go to "Manage Games" on the official site and select Defiance Alpha Test. Unfortunately, the PTS is only available on PC; console players will have to wait until the DLC releases on December 10th to get in on the latest arkfall action. Defiance opens test server for Arkbreaker DLC originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Nov 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Public Test Server

Leaderboard: What will Star Citizen's final crowdfunding tally be? Posted: 27 Nov 2013 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Business Models, MMO Industry, New Titles, Opinion, Sandbox, Leaderboard, Crowdfunding, Star Citizen, Buy-to-Play Star Citizen fans continue to throw money at Cloud Imperium Games. The space sim sandbox has cleared nearly two million dollars in additional funding this week and is well on its way to a $35 million war chest. Where it finally stops is anyone's guess, at this point. Well, actually, it's your guess because that's the subject of this week's Leaderboard. Do you see Star Citizen breaking the $40 million barrier? $50 million? Let us know what you think after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard! Continue reading Leaderboard: What will Star Citizen's final crowdfunding tally be? Leaderboard: What will Star Citizen's final crowdfunding tally be? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Nov 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: What game content do you wish were easier? Posted: 27 Nov 2013 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous This past Monday, I aired out my grievance that The Secret World's Issue 8 is far too tough for solo characters. Some of that game's playerbase seems to relish the title's tougher-than-standard challenge, while others do wish that the devs would lighten up a bit from time to time. For the most part, I think developers do a terrific job maintaining the Goldilocks balance between "too easy" and "too hard" for the wide spectrum of players that come through MMOs. But sometimes content is tuned such that it just punches you in the face and doesn't relent. Sometimes the challenge becomes a frustrating wall that you can't overcome. Sometimes... you just wish it were a little easier. So at the risk of putting yourself out there for the hardcore elite to mock, tell us -- what game content do you wish were easier? 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 game content do you wish were easier? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Nov 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Stream Team: Storming EQII's Temple of Veeshan solo Posted: 26 Nov 2013 06:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, EverQuest II, Expansions, Free-to-Play, Livestream, The Stream Team One of the great things about EverQuest II's expansions and content updates over the last year is that you do not have to while away your time waiting for a group before diving into the new stuff. Besides a focus on signature story lines that can be completed alone, the new instances have a solo version that can be run with a mercenary or a friend. And this week, Massively's MJ is taking on one of those very instances in the new Temple of Veehan. Join us live at 9:00 p.m. for a peek inside the teacherous battle fortress controlled by the massive dragon, Kerafyrm. Game: EverQuest II Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Tuesday, November 26th, 2013 Time: 9:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Steam Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Storming EQII's Temple of Veeshan solo The Stream Team: Storming EQII's Temple of Veeshan solo originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 26 Nov 2013 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Hero of the Obelisk enters open beta November 28 Posted: 26 Nov 2013 05:30 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Launches, New Titles, PvP, News Items, PvE, Free-to-Play, MMORPG Does the thought of sitting around the dinner table and making small talk with your distant family members this Thanksgiving make you want to barricade yourself into a vault and never come out? If so, take your computer with you and hop in on the Hero of the Obelisk open beta, which launches November 28th -- just in time to help you dodge your loved ones. Hero of the Obelisk is a free-to-play dungeon-crawler MMO developed by GBE Games that offers both PvE and PvP encounters, guild-on-guild skirmishes, and will launch with three classes and "hundreds of dungeons." Our own Beau Hindman will be taking a closer look at it next month; in the meantime, you can register for open beta yourself via the game's official website. [Source: GBE Games press release] Hero of the Obelisk enters open beta November 28 originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 26 Nov 2013 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Star Citizen salvage, smuggler ships detailed Posted: 26 Nov 2013 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Business Models, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Sandbox, Crowdfunding, Star Citizen, Buy-to-Play Another day, another million dollars in crowdfunding for Star Citizen. Chris Roberts' latest letter from the chairman outlines the game's $32 million stretch goal unlock, otherwise known as the Aegis Surveyor. The Surveyor is "an industrial-quality salvage ship" that is "equipped with a reinforced cargo bay, a long-range jump drive, and launch pods for unmanned drones." Roberts also unveiled the $34 million stretch goal, which takes the form of a hide-in-plain-sight smuggling ship called the MISC Hull C (Discreet). Read all about that and more at the official Star Citizen website. Star Citizen salvage, smuggler ships detailed originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 26 Nov 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Letter from the chairman

Perfect World ends the quarter strong, looks to Dota 2's China release Posted: 26 Nov 2013 04:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Perfect World International, Launches, MMO Industry, PvP, News Items, PvE, Star Trek Online, Free-to-Play, MMORTS, Champions Online, Miscellaneous, Neverwinter, MMORPG Perfect World Entertainment, the China-based publisher behind games like Perfect World International, Neverwinter, Star Trek Online, and Champions Online, ended the last financial quarter in a strong place. Citing the Chinese release of Swordsman Online and Saint Seiya Online as driving factors, Perfect World claimed $136.2 million in revenue and $19.8 million in net profit -- up from last year's marks of $114.2 million and $14.2 million respectively. Perfect World also expressed its hope for even better quarters to come thanks to big launches in the pipeline. It is currently localizing Neverwinter for a Chinese release and will be overseeing Valve's Dota 2 as it makes its way into Chinese markets. Perfect World ends the quarter strong, looks to Dota 2's China release originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 26 Nov 2013 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Games Industry

Watch SOE artists go from concept art to EQN Landmark asset Posted: 26 Nov 2013 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Free-to-Play, EverQuest Next, Sandbox SOE has released a new timelapse video showing the construction of a rock-formation-with-a-house-on-top thingamajig in EverQuest Next Landmark. The inspiration was a piece of concept art, and you can literally see the whole scene take shape over the course of the clip's one-minute running time. Click past the cut to have a look. Continue reading Watch SOE artists go from concept art to EQN Landmark asset Watch SOE artists go from concept art to EQN Landmark asset originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 26 Nov 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments YouTube

The Secret World offers Golden Weekend for the holiday Posted: 26 Nov 2013 03:30 PM PST Filed under: Horror, Real-Life, Events (In-Game), MMO Industry, News Items, The Secret World, Promotions, Buy-to-Play If you've got a lot of extra time to game this long holiday weekend, The Secret World has a special event that will keep you busy. Starting Thanksgiving Day and lasting through Monday, December 2nd, players will be able to rack up double Ability Points, collect a 30% bonus on all purchased Funcom Points, and earn a free month's membership for every recruited friend who buys the game. Additionally, players can once again enjoy the Gilded Rage event complete with the roaming giant golden golem loot pinata and the opportunity to grab the semi-exclusive golden tux at a 90% discount. [Source: Funcom newsletter] The Secret World offers Golden Weekend for the holiday originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 26 Nov 2013 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Soapbox: Developers build MMOs backward Posted: 26 Nov 2013 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Business Models, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Endgame, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Star Wars: The Old Republic, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous, Neverwinter How many of you MMOs players have ever maxed out a character's combat level then stood around wondering, "What do I do now?" I would venture to guess that a vast majority of you at one time or another have done that, and I'd also guess that it's been recently. That's because developers have built your game backward. Far too many MMOs rely on the leveling process to be the primary content for the game, and everything after max level appears to be an afterthought tacked on to the game until the developers can come up with new stuff for you to do. I propose that if developers would start building a game's endgame first, we would be looking at a very different kind of game, a more enjoyable game. If a game is intended to be played for months, then developers should spend the most time on the content that players will spend the most time on. It's only logical to me. However, if you ask most developers they will likely tell you that the most expensive or time-consuming part of the game is the leveling process. Why is that? Continue reading The Soapbox: Developers build MMOs backward The Soapbox: Developers build MMOs backward originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 26 Nov 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Jukebox Heroes: Dragon's Prophet's soundtrack Posted: 26 Nov 2013 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Jukebox Heroes, Dragon's Prophet, Music Considering the lack of chatter I've heard about Dragon's Prophet post-launch, I'm willing to say that this title's been having a difficult time gaining traction in the main MMO community. Gameplay aside, I was looking forward to this MMO's release because I hold Runewaker's Runes of Magic in high regard when it comes to its soundtrack. I was hoping for the same level of quality in Dragon's Prophet, and I really wasn't disappointed. The OST was composed by Alex Pfeffer, Alexander Röder, Mindy Lo, and Rmoney Chen. It's a series of grand, stirring orchestral tunes that would be at home transplanted to just about any fantasy MMO that you're playing. Listening through it all, I found that it had a high ratio of quality tracks, so much so that narrowing it down to six picks proved problematic. I think I found a good balance, however. Continue reading Jukebox Heroes: Dragon's Prophet's soundtrack Jukebox Heroes: Dragon's Prophet's soundtrack originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 26 Nov 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Star Citizen's latest dev livestream is going on right now Posted: 26 Nov 2013 01:05 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Business Models, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Sandbox, Crowdfunding, Star Citizen Hey, did you know that Cloud Imperium's latest Star Citizen livestream is going on right now? You can catch it live on Twitch through 6:00 p.m. EDT. Currently, CIG founder Chris Roberts is chatting up audio director Martin Galway and composer Pedro Camacho. Earlier bits of the stream introduced CIG's Los Angeles dev team and delved into the ongoing dogfighting module work as well as a Squadron 42-specific question-and-answer session. If you missed it, don't worry, we'll recap it for you shortly via Stick and Rudder. Click past the cut to watch the stream. Continue reading Star Citizen's latest dev livestream is going on right now Star Citizen's latest dev livestream is going on right now originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 26 Nov 2013 16:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Twitch livestream

The Stream Team: Playing Infestation Survivor Stories on a private server Posted: 26 Nov 2013 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Video, Game Mechanics, PvP, Free-to-Play, Hands-On, MMOFPS, Post-Apocalyptic, Livestream, Sandbox, The Stream Team Beau has got his hands on a private Infestation: Survivor Stories server for up to 50 staffers and readers! So if you want to see how the game has changed since we last looked at it, check out this stream. Join the server as well; just contact beau@massively.com for information. Game: Infestation: Survivor Stories Host: Beau Date: Tuesday, November 26th, 2013 Time: 4:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Steam Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Playing Infestation Survivor Stories on a private server The Stream Team: Playing Infestation Survivor Stories on a private server originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 26 Nov 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Neverwinter dev blog dives deep into building the Hunter Ranger Posted: 26 Nov 2013 12:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Game Mechanics, Patches, News Items, PvE, Free-to-Play, Dev Diaries, Neverwinter, MMORPG Neverwinter's next expansion, Shadowmantle, will bring an all-new class to to game in the form of the Hunter Ranger. The Hunter Ranger will enable players to switch between melee and ranged combat on the fly, and possesses skills designed for mobility and destruction. Cryptic has posted a detailed dev blog about the development of the Hunter Ranger, authored by one of the folks who helped to piece the new class together. The post explains how the team went about building the Hunter Ranger's playstyle by quickly prototyping new abilities and testing them in-game, and walks through the decision-making process that led to the Hunter Ranger being given two full combat styles. Hunter Ranger abilities include Hawkeye, which buffs the Ranger's next attack, Marauder's Rush, which quickly charges and strikes a distant target, Hindering Shot, which roots the target, and Hawk Shot, which deals damage based on the distance from the target. The Hunter Ranger class goes live with Shadowmantle December 5th. Neverwinter dev blog dives deep into building the Hunter Ranger originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 26 Nov 2013 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Ranger Design Decisions

CCP Rise stops by Reddit for an EVE Online AMA Posted: 26 Nov 2013 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, MMO Industry, PvP, News Items, PvE, Community Q&A, Sandbox, Subscription, MMORPG EVE Online game designer CCP Rise spent a couple of hours on Reddit today answering questions about the past, present, and future of CCP's space-themed sandbox. Questions ranged from incredibly broad to ridiculously specific, but some interesting tidbits did crop up as the Q&A went on. When asked about the long-delayed ability to walk around stations and interact with other players via character avatars, CCP Rise explained that the team is focused primarily on enhancing in-space gameplay and that putting people on avatar development would require too much in terms of resources and time. He also praised the current Council of Stellar Management for helping the CCP team dodge potential blunders and better understand EVE's players. The whole thing is worth a read if you're an EVE pilot or are interested in a small peek at the life of an MMO game designer. CCP Rise stops by Reddit for an EVE Online AMA originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 26 Nov 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments EVE Online AMA

Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR Galactic Starfighter has crew skills, too Posted: 26 Nov 2013 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Expansions, PvP, Endgame, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Hands-On, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Guides, Hyperspace Beacon, MMORPG Last week, I gave you an overview of the next expansion for Star Wars: The Old Republic, Galactic Starfighter. We learned that the 12v12 space battles work independently of the ground game and even eliminate any sort of level requirement in order to begin. Galactic Starfighter commendations are earned only through space battles and work to enhance only starfighter-related skills. In fact, the only tie to the ground game comes in the form of your companions. Companions play a pivotal and fun role in Galactic Starfighter, so much that picking the wrong companion can ruin your impression of the SWTOR expansion altogether. For each ship loadout, you may pick four companions to give you eight passive abilities and one active ability.The abilities are divided into four categories, as are the companions: defensive, offensive, engineering, and tactical. Your active ability is determined by which of the four companions you choose to be your copilot. It sounds simple enough, right? The complexity begins when choosing which abilities work best for your playstyle. Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR Galactic Starfighter has crew skills, too Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR Galactic Starfighter has crew skills, too originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 26 Nov 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars 2's Fractal algorithm Posted: 26 Nov 2013 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, Endgame, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Flameseeker Chronicles, Dungeons, Buy-to-Play It's been just about a year since ArenaNet introduced Fractals of the Mists to Guild Wars 2, and so it's appropriate that this week's release centers on polishing and additions to the popular never-ending, increasingly difficult dungeon-ish thingies. We'll finally be seeing the results of the Cutthroat Politics vote. Agony infusions are being updated. New rewards will be added. Heck, it's even enough to get me to give Fractals a second look, which is no mean feat since it's one of the few chunks of GW2 PvE content I haven't spent a lot of time on. Continue reading Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars 2's Fractal algorithm Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars 2's Fractal algorithm originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 26 Nov 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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