| The Game Archaeologist: Revisiting the BBS Posted: 21 Dec 2013 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Video, Culture, The Game Archaeologist, Miscellaneous Back in 2010 (2010, really? Wow.) I gave a broad overview of the history and importance of the BBS -- the bulletin board system. BBSes were a sort-of proto-internet, a homebrew networking solution that allowed users to connect online (via phone lines and low-baud modems) to chat, share ideas, and play lots of games. In fact, it's just impossible to think of BBSes without these multiplayer games that ranged from fantasy dungeon crawlers to cutthroat capitalism in space. Today I'd like to revisit this topic by inviting you to get to know bulletin board systems in a new light. I'm going to share my own experiences with BBSes in the early '90s, a documentary on them that I found fascinating, and a game you can play today to get an eerily accurate feeling of what dialing up BBSes back then felt like. Continue reading The Game Archaeologist: Revisiting the BBS  The Game Archaeologist: Revisiting the BBS originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 21 Dec 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| WRUP: Festivus is almost here edition Posted: 21 Dec 2013 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Massively Meta, Miscellaneous Tomorrow, my wife and I will be heading to a Festivus party. I've spent my whole year storing up smoldering resentment for the Airing of Grievances and working out in preparation for the Feats of Strength, so I have high hopes for this to be the best Festivus ever. Shortly thereafter, we will spend the remainder of the holidays with family. Why Festivus? Well, we have two cats. An unadorned aluminum pole is the one form of holiday decoration that will stand unmolested for the duration of the season. It's time for this week's installment of WRUP, which discusses Festivus precisely no times outside of this header. (The actual date is the 23rd.) Click on past the break to see what we're up to for the weekend, and let us know what you're planning on doing for the pre-holiday weekend down in the comments! Continue reading WRUP: Festivus is almost here edition WRUP: Festivus is almost here edition originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 21 Dec 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: Are you talkative in random groups? Posted: 21 Dec 2013 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous, Dungeons Final Fantasy XIV's Duty Roulette has had an unusual effect upon me: It's made me more talkative in dungeons. Oh, I've always been happy to talk strategies and let people know what we're doing, but with the added incentive of the commendation system, I'm far more likely to crack jokes, be silly, and generally aim for making the run more pleasant for everyone. As cynical as that may sound, I find that I'm having more fun as a result, even when I'm doing most of the talking. Not everyone likes to be chatty in groups, of course. Some people prefer runs that are silently professional, slicing through content without so much as a "hello." Me, I like to say hello, get to know the people in my group, even if only briefly. What about you? Are you talkative in random groups, or do you generally prefer to let your silent competence (or lack thereof) speak for you?  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 you talkative in random groups? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 21 Dec 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Stream Team: Visiting Vanguard's lowest-level dungeons on Qalia Posted: 20 Dec 2013 06:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Vanguard, Free-to-Play, Hands-On, Livestream, Dungeons, The Stream Team All aboard for the next stop on Dungeon Tours! We got a taste for the first two dungeons of Vanguard's Thestra last week; now it's time to check out the desert lands of Qalia. Massively's MJ has put on her sunblock and plans to visit Rockspine Lair near Pankor Zhi. If time permits, she might also poke into Ksaravi Hollow near Khal. If you have a new character on Qalia, now is a great time to jump in and test yourself in these dungeons in the level 5 to 11 range. Game: Vanguard Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Friday, December 20th, 2013 Time: 9:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Steam Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Visiting Vanguard's lowest-level dungeons on Qalia The Stream Team: Visiting Vanguard's lowest-level dungeons on Qalia originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Betawatch: December 14 - 20, 2013 Posted: 20 Dec 2013 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, MMO Industry, News Items, Betawatch, Miscellaneous After a wait so long that you could be forgiven for thinking it would never happen at all, DayZ's standalone version is finally in testing! It's a buggy and early sort of testing that requires you to drop money for it on Steam first, but it's still testing. The standalone reincarnation of what was previously a mod for Arma II seems to have done brisk business. A lot of games have moved into the testing phase for the holidays: Inferno Legend opened its beta doors, Strife did the same, and ArcheAge went into beta in Russia. (It will never happen here.) Meanwhile, Ingress polished off the last of its testing and went out into the world, while Hearthstone announced an open beta delay. Yes, there's a full list with more games and such past the break. As always, we appreciate people letting us know if a game crept between testing or launch stages without our noticing! Continue reading Betawatch: December 14 - 20, 2013 Betawatch: December 14 - 20, 2013 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Double XP now live in EverQuest II Posted: 20 Dec 2013 04:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, News Items, PvE, Free-to-Play SOE's Holly " Windstalker" Longdale has checked in with a new holiday-themed producer's letter for EverQuest II. She recaps recent quality-of-life changes including increased alternate currency acquisition rates for gold members and 10 percent mount speed boosts. Today also marks the beginning of a double XP weekend for adventure, tradeskill, alternate advancement, and guild experience. In January, gold members can look forward to getting their hands on past expansion items via loyalty tokens, and the next set of fabled dungeons -- this time from the Kingdom of Sky expansion -- is scheduled to release on January 23rd. Double XP now live in EverQuest II originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Storyboard: You ruined your own event Posted: 20 Dec 2013 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Events (In-Game), Opinion, Roleplaying, Storyboard, Miscellaneous You're running a roleplaying event, and it's going well. It's lively, people are having fun, characters are playing off one another well, it's ideal. So you decide to push things a little further, to take things up a little more, and the next thing you see is people mumbling excuses and leaving until you're left with one or two people who remain less as a function of fun and more as a testament to bitter determination. What in the world happened? I'll tell you what happened: You ruined your own event. This has kind of been a week for me of people ruining good stuff, which makes this week's column unintentionally apropos. A lot of roleplaying events start out great, with everyone invested and happy to be present, but they quickly dissolve when a few well-intentioned but poor choices are made by the people running the event. And while I can't chronicle every possible pitfall, I can at least talk about the most common ones that I see again and again. Continue reading Storyboard: You ruined your own event Storyboard: You ruined your own event originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| TERA starts snowball war and prepares to invade China Posted: 20 Dec 2013 03:30 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Events (In-Game), Free-to-Play, TERA There's snow mercy with TERA's winter update this year, as the free-to-play title started a massive snowball fight this week as a way to celebrate the holiday season. The Wintera Snowfield is a new 10v10 battlefield where players will line up to take potshots at each other (in love, we assume). Since everyone's health will be equalized and all of the abilities will be the same, victory will be determined by player skill and resource acquisition. Both winners and losers will receive tokens to spend on rewards, although the former will receive quite a bit more. The event ends January 2nd. TERA is also going to be taking its first steps into the Chinese market with a test starting on January 9th, 2014. Continue reading TERA starts snowball war and prepares to invade China TERA starts snowball war and prepares to invade China originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Looking for Guild: FFXIV Posted: 20 Dec 2013 03:00 PM PST |
| Elder Scrolls dev blog on creating PvP keeps Posted: 20 Dec 2013 02:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, PvP, News Items, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription ZeniMax's latest dev blog talks up The Elder Scrolls Online's keeps and the design and engineering know-how that went into producing them. The devs wanted the game's three-faction PvP battles to "consist of multiple stages, allowing the attackers and defenders to each have several opportunities to turn the tide of a siege." Keep layouts were planned accordingly, and player abilities like knockbacks, gap-closers, and AoEs factored in as well. Read the full blog at the official ESO website. Elder Scrolls dev blog on creating PvP keeps originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| MMObility: Rail Nation is perfect for armchair engineers Posted: 20 Dec 2013 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Historical, Screenshots, Trailers, Game Mechanics, Previews, PvP, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Browser, Casual, MMORTS, MMObility Travian Games' Rail Nation, a new browser-based, non-combat MMORPG, is intriguing, especially if you are a fan of trains, sim management, and friendly player competition. Admittedly, much of the competition in the game is just as cutthroat as I have seen in more "hardcore" games, but at least there is no blood involved. Players start off with a very basic train and route, and a friendly NPC called William L. Smith explains things nicely to get things moving. The idea is to connect your trains to goods, open new routes, and upgrade your fleet of trains to help level your city (a group of players) as you pass through six different eras of technology. Each era lasts two weeks, and the last era is a competition between the 10 highest ranking cities in the game. As you grow you'll also need to open more routes by adding new tracks, which require more goods. Many industries are not even visible on the map until the player unlocks them, giving the game a real feel of moving forward in time. Travian Games likes to put a time limit on gameplay, meaning that there is a true "win" scenario for players to pursue. While I'm not a big fan of a time limitation on an MMO, and I'm definitely not very skilled at micromanagement, Rail Nation is a lovely game that is relaxing to play. It does take time to grow on you, and its beta access means that the game still has a few issues that need to be ironed out. Continue reading MMObility: Rail Nation is perfect for armchair engineers MMObility: Rail Nation is perfect for armchair engineers originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| SWTOR gives Galactic Starfighter crew member bios Posted: 20 Dec 2013 01:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Expansions, Lore, Free-to-Play, Star Wars: The Old Republic Whether you fight for the Republic or the Empire as a space jockey, you're going to need a good crew member at your side in Star Wars: The Old Republic: Galactic Starfighter. BioWare's lined up two pages detailing the bios of eight crew members you can pick up for your adventures. The Empire crew members include Aven Geth, a human shield tech; MZ-12, a proud astromech; Salana Rok, a Chiss underworld enforcer; and Writch Hurley, a talented if incomprehensible engineer. Over on the Republic side, there's Kendra Novar, a good-hearted slicer; B-3G9, a mixed-up protocol droid; Oro Wogawa, an Ithorian engineering wiz; and Ashy, a Rattataki with a hair trigger. Check out their full bios and let us know which crew member you prefer! SWTOR gives Galactic Starfighter crew member bios originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Camelot Unchained producer: 'Be excited. Be very excited.' Posted: 20 Dec 2013 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, PvP, Dev Diaries, Camelot Unchained, Subscription Camelot Unchained Producer Tyler Rockwell has emerged from a busy year of work on this upcoming RvR MMO to look forward to the next year through the lens of the game's development. Rockwell's December producer letter claims that a game is beginning to emerge from all of the hard work. He reiterates that the main focus is preparing Camelot Unchained for January's internal playtest. He also praised many members of the team, including the animation editor, the engineers, and the artists, for their hard work. Rockwell says that fans of Camelot Unchained have good reason to be pumped for the title: "[Bat shit crazy] is a favorite term of Mark [Jacobs] that, honestly, I believe defines what is going on, mostly in secret, right now. We use the term BSC knowingly because many of the ideas are counter to much of the current MMOs out there. We hope our fan base will be excited by these ideas as we are here. Be excited. Be very excited." Camelot Unchained producer: 'Be excited. Be very excited.' originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Mortal Online overhauls characters and armor visuals Posted: 20 Dec 2013 12:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, PvP, Free-to-Play, Mortal Online, Crafting Mortal Online has been hard at work performing comprehensive overhauls to character and armor, making them look better than ever. The character improvements for the game include visual passes, more natural animations, a new character creation system, and high-definition upgrades to armor. The visual improvements to crafted armor make up 90% of the game's wearable gear. The recent update also added in three new craftable armor sets and improved large-group performance for mass battles. Due to the character overhaul, Star Vault is giving a free recustomization option to all players. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!] Mortal Online overhauls characters and armor visuals originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Rhode Island governor calls Project Copernicus 'a lot of junk' Posted: 20 Dec 2013 12:00 PM PST Filed under: MMO Industry, News Items, Legal, Miscellaneous Were you surprised that Project Copernicus didn't manage to sell at auction? Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee wasn't. In recent statements to the associated press, Chafee stated that the property was " a lot of junk" and decried every step of the loan process for 38 Studios. In the governor's own words: "People just panicked and gave a retired baseball player a huge amount of taxpayer money with no experience in this industry or any other businesses." Curt Schilling (the second key player in this ongoing drama, with the other being the state of Rhode Island) responded to the governor's statements on Twitter, claiming that a failure is obvious in hindsight. He also cited Chafee's current job approval numbers, suggesting that the state as a whole would like the opportunity to re-do its gubernatorial election. Richard Land, the man in charge of auctioning Project Copernicus and other 38 Studios assets, is allegedly still looking for private buyers for the IP. Rhode Island governor calls Project Copernicus 'a lot of junk' originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Some Assembly Required: Yet another FFA PvP sandbox Posted: 20 Dec 2013 11:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, PvP, PvE, Opinion, Some Assembly Required, Sandbox I dabbled in yet another alpha-state indie sandbox game this week. As you'd expect, the title is rough around the edges. Also as you'd expect, it boasts FFA PvP and the correspondingly godawful community for whom the game's "do whatever you want" mechanics immediately translate to "kill everything that moves first and ask questions later, if at all." Since it's still alpha, there's plenty of time for the devs to correct this unfortunate bit of business and separate this particular game from the legions of crappy FFA-PvP-with-zero-consequences titles clumping together in the vast litterbox of bad MMO ideas. Will they do that? Probably not, but at least I'll get a good rant out of it. Continue reading Some Assembly Required: Yet another FFA PvP sandbox Some Assembly Required: Yet another FFA PvP sandbox originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| EverQuest Next Landmark shows off its first building blocks Posted: 20 Dec 2013 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Previews, News Items, EverQuest Next, Sandbox EverQuest Next is going to give players a lot of tools to make things, and EverQuest Next Landmark is all about making things without the restrictions of the full game. But what will you be making those things out of? We're glad we assumed you asked because the latest video from the game is all about showing off the building blocks players will have access to. First up on display: the tropical environment. It's only fair to warn you that the video is fairly short, so you won't be gleaning huge amounts of new gameplay information from it. You will, however, have a glimpse into how you'll be shaping an environment with nothing more than creativity and some tropical trees, complete with object rotation and careful building. Click on past the break to check out the whole video, and start thinking about what you're going to build when you get the chance. Continue reading EverQuest Next Landmark shows off its first building blocks EverQuest Next Landmark shows off its first building blocks originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Think Tank: Massively's 2014 MMO predictions Posted: 20 Dec 2013 10:30 AM PST |
| Mark Kern removed as CEO of Red 5 Studios [Updated] Posted: 20 Dec 2013 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, MMOFPS, Rumors, Firefall According to a recent report from Gamefront, Red 5 Studios CEO Mark Kern has been terminated by the company's board of directors, effective immediately. Vice President of Development James Macauly has apparently sent an email to all employees informing them of the change in leadership, with this latest dismissal coming in the wake of several previous layoffs at the Firefall studio. No official statement has been issued to the public by the company at this time. An anonymous source within the company has also spoken out against Kern in The Escapist, claiming that the CEO was frequently absent and arrived sporadically to hand down arbitrary decisions. How true these statements are cannot be confirmed, although the company does hold a low rating for employee satisfaction overall. We'll have more on the situation if and when a statement is issued regarding Kern's continued employment or lack thereof. [Update: Red 5 Producer Matt DeWald has issued a formal statement on the now-confirmed rumors: "As of Thursday, December 19th, Mark Kern is no longer the Chief Executive Officer of Red 5 Studios. Mark founded Red 5 Studios in 2006 to provide exceptional game entertainment along with a world-class team of developers working on the MMO Shooter, Firefall. Red 5 Vice President of Development, James Macauley, will be moving into the role of acting CEO. The team at Red 5 continues work on Firefall and looks forward to all that we have to offer in 2014."] Mark Kern removed as CEO of Red 5 Studios [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Division will be optimized for PC, not a port Posted: 20 Dec 2013 09:30 AM PST Filed under: MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, War, Community Q&A Fans waiting for Tom Clancy's The Division to hit the PC will be happy to know that the game won't be just a port over from the console "but a full-fledged, optimized version," according to the newest Community Q&A. The remainder of the Q&A focuses on the the Snowdrop engine, detailing the features that make it unique and will allow players to feel more immersed in the shooter's universe. Thanks to the Snowdrop, devs feels their destruction system is the most realistic to date, and players can check out the realism of the shaders, lighting, and particle effects in the many screenshots devs shared in the post. The Division will be optimized for PC, not a port originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Ho, ho, horrible attempts at phishing 
Extra storage for the holidays
Get ready to shell out the cash for the GA release
Independent platformer looks awesomely retro 
