MMO Updates |
- Free for All: What my Raptr stats say about my gaming style
- Latest EverQuest patch implements controvertial changes to AAs, skills
- MMO Family: First impressions of Ganz's Amazing World
- PvP plans change for WoW's Warlords of Draenor
- Leaderboard: What's your preferred Elder Scrolls Online faction?
- The Daily Grind: How can survival sandboxes keep the challenge fresh?
- Salem prepares for full wipe
- The Stream Team: Rockin' it out in Free Realms
- Star Citizen's hangar module gets a functionality patch
- Jukebox Heroes: Allods Online's soundtrack
- RuneScape gets a bank-robbing minigame
- Epic Space Online presents space without borders
- French MMO Therian Saga launches English open beta
- New sandbox pseudo-MMO Windborne hits Steam Early Access
- Neverwinter to penalize PvP cowards, launches in Brazil
- The Stream Team: Helping Mr. Alltalks in FFXIV's Brayflox's Longstop
- World of Warcraft instant level 90 boost price revealed at $60 US
- Hyperspace Beacon: The SWTOR Sith beliefs
- Elder Scrolls Online answers more pre-order and Imperial Edition questions
- The Soapbox: My hypersexualization conundrum
| Free for All: What my Raptr stats say about my gaming style Posted: 19 Feb 2014 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Browser, Casual, MMOFPS, Free for All, Miscellaneous, Sandbox  The system isn't perfect, of course. Either I need to set the app to start when my PC does, or I just need to get better at remembering to start it when I begin a gaming session. And even though I play many, many different types of games and MMOs, the network still doesn't automatically recognize many of the smaller titles I like to play. So even though there are some gaps in my wall, I thought it'd be interesting to look at the info there to see just how much gaming I am doing. Continue reading Free for All: What my Raptr stats say about my gaming style
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| Latest EverQuest patch implements controvertial changes to AAs, skills Posted: 19 Feb 2014 08:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest, Patches, Free-to-Play  On top of that, a number of spells and abilities now have limits to prevent players from fighting mass swarms of mobs, and Heroic Adventures will no longer lock, allowing players to be added to them at any time. The patch, which went live yesterday, also included a change that only affected the Firiona Vie server. The XP potions that players farmed and sold will no longer be a source of income; although all current potions already in game will remain tradable for now, all future ones will be non-tradable.
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| MMO Family: First impressions of Ganz's Amazing World Posted: 19 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Opinion, Free-to-Play, First Impressions, Kids, MMO Family, Family  But is Amazing World really that amazing? In this week's MMO Family, we'll take a look and give some first impressions! Continue reading MMO Family: First impressions of Ganz's Amazing World
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| PvP plans change for WoW's Warlords of Draenor Posted: 19 Feb 2014 07:00 AM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Expansions, PvP, News Items, Subscription  While Skirmishes are meant to be more relaxed, the War Games are all about the competition. Utilizing a new Spectator Invite System, match organizers can invite two teams (who will all be wearing Tournament Mode gear to promote equal footing) to battle it out in front of a live audience -- all members of the organizers party will be able to watch the match.
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| Leaderboard: What's your preferred Elder Scrolls Online faction? Posted: 19 Feb 2014 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, New Titles, Opinion, Leaderboard, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription  Nords, Dunmer, and Argonian players will belong to Ebonheart. Altmer, Bosmer, and Khajiit fall under the Aldmeri banner, while Bretons, Redguards, and Orcs will be sporting Daggerfall colors. So, how about it, Leaderboard readers? Which Elder Scrolls Online faction will you be playing?  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's your preferred Elder Scrolls Online faction?
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| The Daily Grind: How can survival sandboxes keep the challenge fresh? Posted: 19 Feb 2014 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous, Sandbox  It's made me wonder how MMOs that are being built with a survival sandbox angle are planning to keep that sense of challenge and building yourself up fresh. I think that there's a point in these games where you have accumulated and built enough to keep yourself comfortable unless the game deliberately removes that attained protection or keeps escalating the danger past the point of lunacy. So this is our thinking exercise for the day: How can survival sandboxes keep the challenge fresh for players?  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!
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| Posted: 18 Feb 2014 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Historical, Patches, Sandbox  Earlier this month, the developers announced that they will be conducting a full wipe of Salem in an upcoming patch. This will reset the map and delete all characters in order to condense the population onto a single server. Currently the game is running on multiple servers, which the devs deem as "overestablished." Players are upset that the sandbox MMO is being wiped in light of the team previously promising that it wouldn't do such a thing. Seatribe is sympathetic but resolute: "We did not arrive at this decision lightly. We have considered all our options and for various reasons found them wanting." The good news is that the patch will add in plenty of new features and tweaks, including a rework of the gluttony system, improvements to character proficiencies, and the implementation of a new map generator. Every item that characters purchased from the store beforehand will be restored to them once the patch goes live. [Thanks to Nine for the tip!]
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| The Stream Team: Rockin' it out in Free Realms Posted: 18 Feb 2014 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Free-to-Play, Hands-On, Free Realms, Kids, Livestream, The Stream Team, Sunsets  Game: Free Realms Host: Larry Everett Date: Tuesday, February 18th, 2014 Time: 7:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Rockin' it out in Free Realms
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| Star Citizen's hangar module gets a functionality patch Posted: 18 Feb 2014 03:30 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Sandbox, Crowdfunding, Star Citizen, Buy-to-Play  Cutlass and Freelancer owners will be glad to know their ships have been updated, and everyone else will be glad to know that their holotables now display ammo and their firing range targets will now move. The full list of patch notes is available on the Star Citizen website, as is the hangar client download provided that you're a backer.
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| Jukebox Heroes: Allods Online's soundtrack Posted: 18 Feb 2014 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Opinion, Allods Online, Jukebox Heroes, Music  Composers Mark Morgan (Fallout, Planescape: Torment) and Vladislav Isaev (Prime World) collaborated on the large project. "The music in Allods Online combines lots of different elements and styles," they said in a 2009 interview. "These range from dark ambient and ethnic music, symphonies and rock music, as well as various industrial noises. Some tracks in the game retain a Russian melody spirit combined with high a quality production and its own unique sound." I think it's the Russian flair that sets this apart from being yet another fantasy soundtrack. Anything different and yet still catchy is welcome at my dinner table. Let's partake, shall we? Continue reading Jukebox Heroes: Allods Online's soundtrack
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| RuneScape gets a bank-robbing minigame Posted: 18 Feb 2014 02:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, News Items, RuneScape, Free-to-Play, Browser  While the setup is pretty simple, Jagex says that the Heist minigame requires skill to master. "The best robbers will be able to mimic the island's citizens to fool the guards," the company says, "while the most successful guards will be the ones who can spot suspicious behaviour a mile off. Start your adventures in bankrobbing by climbing the airship ladder north Falador, and hit up the RuneScape home page for further details.
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| Epic Space Online presents space without borders Posted: 18 Feb 2014 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Video, New Titles, Free-to-Play  Epic Space Online takes place in a single shared, procedurally generated universe without any borders. Players can vie over territory, mine ore, deploy stations, make ships, trade goods, and even command giant carriers staffed by other players. The devs have promised weekly updates and features to keep things lively. You can check out the trailer after the break. Continue reading Epic Space Online presents space without borders
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| French MMO Therian Saga launches English open beta Posted: 18 Feb 2014 01:30 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, New Titles, Free-to-Play, Sandbox  Developer Virtys announced today that Therian Saga has begun the English open beta, inviting in a new wave of players to see how the studio has been taking cues from the community with the game's development. Therian Saga is an open-world sandbox that prides itself on an elaborate crafting system, interdependant guilds, a deep story, and heroes that keep on going even when you log out. The developers have put together a welcome video for its English-speaking community, explaining what makes Therian Saga special. Unfortunately it was lost in an avalanche and will never be... oh, we're just kidding. It's after the break! [Source: Virtys press release] Continue reading French MMO Therian Saga launches English open beta
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| New sandbox pseudo-MMO Windborne hits Steam Early Access Posted: 18 Feb 2014 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, New Titles, News Items, Sandbox, Buy-to-Play  It may not technically be an MMO, but we thought that Hidden Path Entertainment's "social sandbox creation" game, Windborne, might pique your interest. The game, which is now available via Steam's Early Access program, allows players to explore "an infinite number of islands, each full of wonder and surprise," on which they (and their friends) can utilize "a wide variety of building materials, furnishings, and artifacts" in order to build new civilizations and alter the world as they see fit. They can also befriend and trade with the island natives, creatures called the Jin, and the current build also boasts a "basic quest system," which gives players a "guided tour" of the game to help them gain their footing in this new world. Windborne's Steam page also outlines a number of features planned for the game's future development, such as the ability for players to help "guide the Jin to civilization" by protecting and defending them. Future updates will also add "millions of ruins filled with puzzles and treasure," dragons that can be tamed, bred, and ridden as mounts, and combat and quest systems. One last planned feature that should appeal to MMO fans is the implementation of systems to allow players to see the islands of other players surrounding their own and visit neighboring islands where they can trade, build, and generally interact with the islands' owners. If that sounds up your alley, Windborne is currently available on Steam Early Access for $29.99 US, though the game is on sale for $23.99 until February 24th. To read (and watch) more about the game or pick it up for yourself, check out Windborne's Steam page at the link below.
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| Neverwinter to penalize PvP cowards, launches in Brazil Posted: 18 Feb 2014 12:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Launches, Patches, PvP, Free-to-Play, Neverwinter  The matchmaking system will lump players together for domination matches based on their skill ratings. What's a skill rating? It's a fancy number that rises and lowers based on your wins and losses in comparison to others' rating. You better stick it out when you do queue up, however, because the game will block you from queuing up for any group content for a set amount of time. In other Neverwinter news, the game has launched in Brazil, fully localized for Portuguese. Perfect World has partnered with UOL BoaCompra to handle the local support, payment, and marketing for the title.
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| The Stream Team: Helping Mr. Alltalks in FFXIV's Brayflox's Longstop Posted: 18 Feb 2014 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, PvE, Final Fantasy XIV, Livestream, Dungeons, The Stream Team  Final Fantasy XIV's seventh full dungeon takes place within the beautiful, overgrown forest of Raincatcher Gully where Brayflox Alltalks, a small goblin, isn't doing so well with the local fauna. Join Massively's Jasmine live at 3:00 p.m. EST as she helps Brayflox not get his face entirely eaten by digital wildlife. Game: Final Fantasy XIV Host: Jasmine Hruschak Date: Tuesday, February 18th, 2014 Time: 3:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Helping Mr. Alltalks in FFXIV's Brayflox's Longstop
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| World of Warcraft instant level 90 boost price revealed at $60 US Posted: 18 Feb 2014 11:30 AM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, News Items, Subscription  There's a new addition to World of Warcraft's in-game shop today, and it happens to be the much-discussed boost that instantly takes a single character to level 90. The $60 US price tag, discovered by our sleuthy sister site WoW Insider, may come as good news or bad news to you, depending on your outlook. On the one hand, if you view the journey from 1 to 90 as a sacred rite of passage that should be held valuable, it appears that Blizzard values it at about the price of a brand-new video game. Not exactly chump change. On the other hand, if you were hoping to assemble a legion of 90s overnight, you're going to need some deep pockets. As WoW Insider notes, it's likely that the boost isn't intended to be available in the shop just yet since the Warlords of Draenor pre-order (which will grant the same instant-level-90 to those who purchase it) isn't available yet, and the WoW Insider staff member who discovered it only managed to do so between server restarts during today's maintenance. I suppose we'll find out whether or not it was intentional when the servers come back up later today. At any rate, there's no reason to think the price will be changed regardless of whether or not it's already available for purchase, so if you're in the market for some instant level 90 characters, start saving up now. [Thanks to WoW Insider for the image!]
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| Hyperspace Beacon: The SWTOR Sith beliefs Posted: 18 Feb 2014 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Culture, Lore, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Roleplaying, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Hyperspace Beacon, MMORPG  Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me. Although this statement is considered the Sith Code, the guide by which all Sith live their lives, it's more a counter to the Jedi Code than anything. Because the first Sith Lords as we know them in Star Wars: The Old Republic were former Jedi, it only makes sense that they would create a code intended to be the antithesis of the Jedi's central theme. Not all Sith follow the Sith code, but most believe in its credence. If the Sith Code isn't central to the Sith beliefs, what is? That's the interesting thing: There doesn't seem to be a central theme other than to be the opposite of the Jedi. Some Sith believe in an Empire. Some Sith believe there can be only two. Yet the Sith existed long before there was a Sith Code. Before there was a Sith Order, there was the Sith Empire on Ziost and Korriban, and that is where the SWTOR Sith come from. That is where my Sith characters come from. I don't believe I have all the philosophical answers, and clearly, my way is not the only way to roleplay a Sith, but perhaps I can give you a launchpad to start your own storylines. Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: The SWTOR Sith beliefs
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| Elder Scrolls Online answers more pre-order and Imperial Edition questions Posted: 18 Feb 2014 10:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Business Models, New Titles, Races, Community Q&A, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription, MMORPG  Don't forget to redeem those three- and five-day pre-order codes from the retailers! (If you ordered directly from the official website, you don't need to do anything else.)
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| The Soapbox: My hypersexualization conundrum Posted: 18 Feb 2014 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Races, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous, MOBA, MMORPG, Buy-to-Play  Generally speaking, I prefer to not have my habits and behavior challenged via ad hominem attacks and false comparisons. But I have to admit that this one particular charge piqued my curiosity. Why is it that the majority of my characters are female? Am I, as a person who looks down on hypersexualized designs in games, committing an act of hypocrisy every time I create a female character? Let's sort it out. And before we begin, remember that the Soapbox, like most of our editorials, is just one person's opinion and doesn't represent the thoughts of Massively as a whole. Continue reading The Soapbox: My hypersexualization conundrum
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