MMO Updates |
- MMO Mechanics: Procedural generation is the future
- Turbine outlines the path ahead for LotRO and DDO
- The Art of Wushu: Finishing the job
- Mark Jacobs talks character aging: Nixed in Warhammer Online, planned for Camelot Unchained
- Choose My Adventure: Riding into the sunset in EverQuest
- The Daily Grind: What are the funniest names you've seen?
- The Stream Team: Advancing through solo dungeons in EQII
- Jukebox Heroes: Top 40 MMO themes, #40-31
- DCUO update brings feat unlocking and moon PvP
- Flameseeker Chronicles: Meeting fun halfway in Guild Wars 2
- Asheron's Call limits updates, goes free, and plans player-run servers
- The Stream Team: Facing facers in FFXIV's Sunken Temple of Qarn
- ArcheAge Russia struggles with overloaded queues
- Elder Scrolls Online inviting 'millions' for stress test while fretting over sub model
- Hyperspace Beacon: The end of a SWTOR season
| MMO Mechanics: Procedural generation is the future Posted: 26 Feb 2014 09:00 AM PST Filed under: City of Heroes, EVE Online, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Opinion, RuneScape, Love, EverQuest Next, Sandbox, Star Citizen, Elite: Dangerous, Trove, MMO Mechanics  Procedural generation corrects much of this redundancy by providing essentially limitless variations of content, adding replayability and variety to the usual MMO repertoire. It also opens up some unique mechanics, like Elite: Dangerous' planned procedurally generated galaxy that is a full-scale replica of the Milky Way. In this week's MMO Mechanics, I will look at how the genre is evolving because of how accessible procedural generation techniques have become to developers. I'll also explore how this might affect the future of MMOs by examining the mechanics that upcoming titles will incorporate. Continue reading MMO Mechanics: Procedural generation is the future
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| Turbine outlines the path ahead for LotRO and DDO Posted: 26 Feb 2014 08:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Lord of the Rings Online, Free-to-Play, Dev Diaries  Aaron Campbell has moved back to the LotRO team to be its executive producer and said that Update 13 will be coming soon. In Update 13, there will be a revamp of North Downs, additional quests in Fangorn Forest, support for multiple attachments in mail, and a new epic book that allows you to play as an Ent. "We're pressing forward to Gondor," Campbell promised. "We're digging in deep (but not too deep) to continue the journey through Middle-earth." As for DDO, Franchise Director Athena Peters said the team is getting ready to push out Update 21 on March 10th but is also looking beyond that to the second update of 2014. Update 22 will expand Three Barrel Cove into epic levels and add new guild airship amenities.
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| The Art of Wushu: Finishing the job Posted: 26 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Historical, PvP, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Age of Wushu, The Art of Wushu, MMORPG  Having a bounty means living on the edge. A lot of the time we take for granted the fact that we can walk around in Chengdu without too much fear. This is not true if you have a bounty. Every moment you spent logged in is spent on edge because a constable could jump you at any moment. You are constantly doing 360 degree camera spins looking around for trouble. You position yourself where you can easily run away, and you have escape plans in your head if things go bad. You worked really hard for your bounty, and you don't want to lose it because you lost focus for a moment. This kind of thrill is the most satisfying thing for me about Age of Wushu. When I get to log in, have that bright red star swirling around me and know that I need to be on the move immediately is the best feeling in the world for me. Continue reading The Art of Wushu: Finishing the job
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| Mark Jacobs talks character aging: Nixed in Warhammer Online, planned for Camelot Unchained Posted: 26 Feb 2014 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, New Titles, Warhammer Online, News Items, Camelot Unchained  Basically, the system would allow players to visually judge the veteran status of others and therefore their threat both up close and from a distance. For instance, a larger-than-normal Greenskin or a Dwarf with a very long beard would signify a player who is more experienced and likely tougher. Jacobs relayed that he was never even informed that the feature was actually removed from the game and only discovered it when a beta tester inquired about it, noting "Nobody was more embarrassed than me when I had to say that that feature of the game had to be removed." The feature is not dead, however, and will make its appearance in Camelot Unchained. What does that mean for players? In CU, the changes will be more than cosmetic, they will actually be meaningful in the world. Jacobs added, "There will be some downside to aging, but there will also be a greater amount of upsides, because we want it to be a net-positive experience for the player. However, players won't have to worry about getting old to the point of major gimping [becoming not as effective] of their characters, or worse, perma-death, as that would simply be no fun."
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| Choose My Adventure: Riding into the sunset in EverQuest Posted: 26 Feb 2014 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Massively Meta, Choose My Adventure, Housing  But the show ain't over quite yet! Before I grab my ten-gallon hat and ride off into the sunset, we've got some unfinished business to attend to. Ya'll told me to go out and poke through the native EQ dwellings, which I surely did. I even got me my own little spread. So come on in to my home on the Norrathian range and sit a spell while we chew the fat and I share the impressions of the run I've wrangled up just for ya'll. Continue reading Choose My Adventure: Riding into the sunset in EverQuest
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| The Daily Grind: What are the funniest names you've seen? Posted: 26 Feb 2014 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous  The truth here is that I love being amused by a really clever and funny name. In some games, a name is the biggest point of external customization offered (sadly), and I never stop being amazed what folks come up with. So what are some of the funniest, punniest, or most clever player names that you've seen? And yes, comments section, you can point at yourself if you need the validation. I won't blame ya.  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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| The Stream Team: Advancing through solo dungeons in EQII Posted: 25 Feb 2014 06:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, EverQuest II, Free-to-Play, Livestream, Dungeons, The Stream Team  Game: EverQuest II Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Tuesday, February 25th, 2014 Time: 9:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Advancing through solo dungeons in EQII
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| Jukebox Heroes: Top 40 MMO themes, #40-31 Posted: 25 Feb 2014 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Asheron's Call, Dark Age of Camelot, Opinion, RuneScape, Miscellaneous, Neverwinter, City of Steam, Jukebox Heroes, Music  A long time ago I did an MMO theme countdown of 20 tracks, but since then I've heard a lot more and have wanted to do the list all over again. So this week in Jukebox Heroes, we're kicking off a countdown of the top 40 MMO themes -- in my opinion, of course. I listened to over 150 themes and spent hours ranking them to create this list. Because these choices are bound to be a little controversial and stir up debate (which is encouraged!), I set down a few rules that I wanted to share here. I limited myself to just one theme from a particular title, even if there were multiple themes in a game. Entries had to be a main theme or the closest equivalent of that; they had to be from MMOs, not from MOBAs; and I had to divorce my weighting of the track itself from the popularity of and my experience with that game. So no points added or subtracted based on the love of the game; I'm counting down the best music, period. Let's see what numbers 40 through 31 have in store for us! Continue reading Jukebox Heroes: Top 40 MMO themes, #40-31
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| DCUO update brings feat unlocking and moon PvP Posted: 25 Feb 2014 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Super-hero, Patches, PvP, Free-to-Play, DC Universe Online  Feat unlocking allows players to spend replay badges to unlock feats attained by an account's characters for other characters on the same account. There are a few limitations, such as being unable to unlock feats that are specific to roles or alignment that conflict with specific characters. The pricing for feat unlocking is one replay badge for a 10-point feat, three badges for a 25-point feat, and five badges for a 50-point feat. Today's update also brought with it a new green aura, additional items at tier vendors, new HQ map markers, an update for sorcery pets, new feats for DLC 9 content, and a 5v5 PvP map that just so happens to take place on the moon. As they say, that's one small step for Superman, one giant leap for playerkind.
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| Flameseeker Chronicles: Meeting fun halfway in Guild Wars 2 Posted: 25 Feb 2014 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Game Mechanics, Patches, PvE, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Flameseeker Chronicles, Buy-to-Play  Escape From Lion's Arch is a truly impressive piece of storytelling and atmospheric set design, and I found it immediately comparable to similar missions in games like BioWare's Mass Effect series. I've never really played anything like it in an MMO, and I think ArenaNet has done a wonderful job of capturing the feeling of a city under attack. It's been a bittersweet time for fans of Guild Wars 2; as I discussed last week, roleplayers have responded to the release with a flurry of creative activity, and the general consensus seems to be that the story, dialogue, atmosphere and artwork are all excellent -- if only we weren't forced to mindlessly farm for loot! Wait, we're what? Continue reading Flameseeker Chronicles: Meeting fun halfway in Guild Wars 2
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| Asheron's Call limits updates, goes free, and plans player-run servers Posted: 25 Feb 2014 12:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Asheron's Call, Business Models, Patches, Free-to-Play, Player-Generated Content, Subscription  Producer Severlin dropped the news on the forums today: "Once this next update is in the hands of the players, the updates to Asheron's Call will be limited. We intend to fix critical bugs and continue maintenance and support on the game. While there is always a chance we will put out a small update if time permits, players should have the expectation that updates will be limited to maintenance, bug fixes, and perhaps balance iterations of February content such as the new Coliseum." Severlin elaborated that "this change of focus is necessary for the company." Asheron's Call is perhaps best-known for its monthly story updates that have gone out since the game went live in 1999. The good news is that Turbine says there are no plans to close the game and will be working to make both Asheron's Call and Asheron's Call 2 free in the near future: "We are working on a date in the not-to-distant future where all active accounts will be able to play the game for free. Asheron's Call and Asheron's Call 2 will be a gift to our loyal players." Also, Turbine is starting an initiative to allow player-run servers by the end of the year. "Our intent is to help these players build a community so these processes can be created and distributed to people interested in running an Asheron's Call game," Severlin said. [Thanks to Padre for the tip!]
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| The Stream Team: Facing facers in FFXIV's Sunken Temple of Qarn Posted: 25 Feb 2014 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, PvE, Final Fantasy XIV, Livestream, Dungeons, The Stream Team  Game: Final Fantasy XIV Host: Jasmine Hruschak Date: Tuesday, February 25st, 2014 Time: 3:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Facing facers in FFXIV's Sunken Temple of Qarn
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| ArcheAge Russia struggles with overloaded queues Posted: 25 Feb 2014 11:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Launches, Free-to-Play, Rumors, Sandbox  A post on the official Russian website says that XLGAMES is working hard to bring new servers online in order to reduce the queue. The team is also looking at ways for players to transfer characters from full servers to the new ones, but this may take time and further testing. "Developers continue to work to improve the function of the client and working on priority entrance to the server for premium account holders," the team posted. It informed players that those trying to stay logged in while AFK will be "forcibly disconnected" going forward. The free-to-play game is rumored to have brought in $10 million so far from its Russian launch.
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| Elder Scrolls Online inviting 'millions' for stress test while fretting over sub model Posted: 25 Feb 2014 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Business Models, Interviews, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription  ESO invitees will also receive an extra code for a friend and an exclusive monkey vanity pet for launch. The studio noted that the NDA will not be in effect for this weekend's test, meaning that any public discussion, screenshots, or videos are fair game. In a conversation with CVG, Bethesda VP of PR Pete Hines said that there is some anxiety in the company over the subscription model not taking hold for ESO but hopes that players will find the value of the game worth the monthly payment. "We feel like this approach is going to give people who want to play the best value, and reason to look forward to the next new thing that's coming out," Hines explained. "The Elder Scrolls is our crown jewel and it's the series that made everything we do possible, so it's a big triple-A title that demands huge, ongoing triple-A support."
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| Hyperspace Beacon: The end of a SWTOR season Posted: 25 Feb 2014 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Events (In-Game), PvP, Endgame, Opinion, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Guides, Hyperspace Beacon, MMORPG  BioWare developers slated the end of Star Wars: The Old Republic PvP season one to coincide with the launch of Update 2.7, which hits servers on April 8th. With that, the SWTOR leaderboards will reset and bring a few other changes. I think the biggest surprise for everyone is the ranked rewards for the end of season one. These rewards have hit extremely late in the season, which could give some players an unfair advantage in ranked warzones, sparking the question, "Should I stay on the moisture farm or try to jump into PvP to nab these rewards?" Or maybe there's another option -- a Ben Kenobi out in the Dune Sea, if you will. Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: The end of a SWTOR season
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