MMO Updates

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• EVE Online assembles a new guide for new pilots
• The Nexus Telegraph: WildStar's greatest opponent is WildStar
• Bigpoint's DarkOrbit Reloaded launches
• My first two hours in EQN Landmark
• Teaser page confirms Blade & Soul is heading to Japan
• The Stream Team: Alpha on the brain edition, February 3 - 9, 2014
• The Daily Grind: Do you play MMOs that haven't released in your region?
• MMO Week in Review: This is how you alpha an MMO in 2014
• EVE Evolved: The Bloodbath of B-R5RB
• Lord of the Rings Online to revamp North Downs and more
• Black Desert heading to Russia, still lacks Western publisher
• Civilization Online is 60% done
• SOE teases picture of mystery sandbox MMO
• Rise and Shiny revisit: Alganon's new expansion

EVE Online assembles a new guide for new pilots Posted: 03 Feb 2014 09:30 AM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, News Items, Sandbox, Subscription Getting started in EVE Online can be a daunting task. Most of what people know about the game comes from secondhand sources -- there's a lot of money being thrown around, there's an atmosphere that makes a prison shower seem welcoming, there are plenty of people who will blow up your ship because it's there and they can. But what do you do? How do you start? Hopefully, your questions can be answered via the new FAQ for new pilots. The FAQ clocks in at around 38 pages and covers everything from death and respawning via clones to what you can actually do in the game for content. For veteran EVE players the information will probably seem like old hat, but for novices or those who are just curious it can provide plenty of insight. So if you want to learn more about the game, go ahead and take a gander at the full new player guide. EVE Online assembles a new guide for new pilots originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 03 Feb 2014 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: New Pilot FAQ available

The Nexus Telegraph: WildStar's greatest opponent is WildStar Posted: 03 Feb 2014 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Launches, MMO Industry, Opinion, WildStar, The Nexus Telegraph, Subscription, Buy-to-Play Your real opponent is pretty much always yourself. I could spend the next several years of my writing career trying to be a better writer than, say, Justin Olivetti. I'd fail, for starters, because look at the guy. But even if I could succeed, I'd never be living up to my potential. I'll always be the guy trying to be better than the last thing Justin wrote, never coming up with my own things, never really advancing myself. The only way to be truly good is to try to be the best writer I can be, regardless of who else is out there. What does this have to do with WildStar? Simple. I mention other games here, other releases looking at the same window, but WildStar doesn't need to be better than those games, up to and including The Elder Scrolls Online. WildStar needs to be the best version of itself that it can be. Its only real opponent is itself, not other titles. Continue reading The Nexus Telegraph: WildStar's greatest opponent is WildStar The Nexus Telegraph: WildStar's greatest opponent is WildStar originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 03 Feb 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Bigpoint's DarkOrbit Reloaded launches Posted: 03 Feb 2014 08:30 AM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Trailers, Video, Launches, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Free-to-Play, Browser Fans of the original browser-based Dark Orbit that launched seven years ago are in for a treat today: Bigpoint announced the release of Dark Orbit Reloaded. The space MMO's new iteration has a new UI, a redesigned game entry (including bonuses for newcomers), over 200 new missions, an epic storyline, new maps, and new faction characters. Taking advantage of newer technology, Dark Orbit Reloaded also boasts high-resolution graphics as well as has other features in the works for players to look forward to. Check out the official trailer below. [Source: Bigpoint press release Continue reading Bigpoint's DarkOrbit Reloaded launches Bigpoint's DarkOrbit Reloaded launches originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 03 Feb 2014 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

My first two hours in EQN Landmark Posted: 03 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, PvE, Opinion, Hands-On, First Impressions, EverQuest Next, Sandbox, Crafting, Player-Generated Content Sony Online Entertainment has an eventual winner on its hands with EverQuest Next: Landmark. I know, I know. You've been burned by SOE in the past. Maybe you're still angry about the NGE, or maybe you're a Vanguard lifer and the wound is still fresh. Maybe you're even one of those goofballs who mistakenly thinks that internet spaceships plus PvP drama equals the only relevant MMO. Whatever your bias, you should be excited for what Landmark represents if you're a sandbox fan. Continue reading My first two hours in EQN Landmark My first two hours in EQN Landmark originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 03 Feb 2014 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Teaser page confirms Blade & Soul is heading to Japan Posted: 03 Feb 2014 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, News Items, Blade & Soul Confirmation for Blade & Soul's trip to Japan was just provided by a teaser page released by NCsoft. Steparu discovered the page, which boasts the URL 1.0/secret, when it appeared on the studio's official Japan website. Although the images are shrouded in shadow, the forms and armor are recognizable. Unfortunately, there are no other details available; it is unknown if the Japanese version of Blade & Soul will be IP blocked or if it will follow in the Korean version's footsteps and be censor free. While this shows the game is moving into yet another international market, there is still no word (or image) on the game coming to the West. Teaser page confirms Blade & Soul is heading to Japan originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 03 Feb 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Steparu.com

The Stream Team: Alpha on the brain edition, February 3 - 9, 2014 Posted: 03 Feb 2014 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Polls, MMO Industry, Massively Meta, Livestream, Miscellaneous, The Stream Team And here we thought we'd have to pussyfoot around the fact that there is an alpha that has seduced away a segment of our staff! But since the NDA has been shot down, we are free to discuss it in detail as we want. Even better, we can also stream it for you! So that's exactly what's going to happen this week: EverQuest Next Landmark joins The Stream Team's lineup. Of course, there are plenty of other great games also playing on Massively TV all week, including old favorites and at least one other beta, so make sure you check the schedule so you don't miss a single one! Continue reading The Stream Team: Alpha on the brain edition, February 3 - 9, 2014 The Stream Team: Alpha on the brain edition, February 3 - 9, 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 03 Feb 2014 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: Do you play MMOs that haven't released in your region? Posted: 03 Feb 2014 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, MMO Industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, ArcheAge, Sandbox, Black Desert So, Black Desert is coming to Russia. ArcheAge is already in Russia, and China, and Japan, and pretty much everywhere else except the West. Blade & Soul? Eh, it doesn't appear to be coming to Europe or America any time soon, either. I bring all this up because it's irritating and I'm impatient, but I'm also curious as to how many of you Korean MMO fans go the extra mile to play these games despite all the roadblocks. It's not just the language barrier, see. Sure, it can be challenging to download the client and get it installed and configured correctly, but then you've got to deal with IP region-locking, poor performance, and in the case of ArcheAge, a requirement to own a Korean cell phone before you can even sign up for a legal account! How about it, MMO fans? Do you play MMOs that haven't released in your region? 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: Do you play MMOs that haven't released in your region? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 03 Feb 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

MMO Week in Review: This is how you alpha an MMO in 2014 Posted: 02 Feb 2014 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Massively Meta, Week in Review, Miscellaneous At the end of every week, we round up the best and most popular news stories, exclusive features, and insightful columns published on Massively and then present them all in one convenient place. If you missed a big MMO or WoW Insider story last week, you've come to the right post. This week, the NDA-cloaked Elder Scrolls Online came under fire for its recently revealed collector's edition, which opens the Imperial race exclusively to purchases, and for its preorder version, which allows those who buy early and sight-unseen the ability to play any race for any faction. ESO launches in two months. Meanwhile, buildy-MMO EverQuest Next Landmark, previously criticized itself for charging testers for access, launched its alpha for early adopters on Friday, and by Saturday, it had dropped its NDA completely in spite of technical glitches. Landmark launches into closed beta in two months. Huh. Read on for a look at the rest of this week's top MMO stories. Continue reading MMO Week in Review: This is how you alpha an MMO in 2014 MMO Week in Review: This is how you alpha an MMO in 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 02 Feb 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: The Bloodbath of B-R5RB Posted: 02 Feb 2014 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Screenshots, EVE Online, Culture, Economy, Events (In-Game), Game Mechanics, Guilds, PvP, Endgame, News Items, EVE Evolved, Sandbox, Player-Generated Content, MMORPG To the vast majority of gamers, EVE Online is an unforgiving sci-fi dystopia that's one part epic sandbox stories and nine parts spreadsheet. Once or twice per year, the gaming masses get a glimpse of the game's true depth when stories of incredible wars, political corruption, and record-breaking heists spread across the internet like wildfire. From the 2005 Guiding Hand Social Club heist that was plastered over the pages of gaming magazines to last year's infamous Battle of Asakai, tales of big events from EVE have always managed to grab the gaming media's attention. This week saw the largest record-breaking battle to date as a total of 7,548 players belonging to EVE's two largest megacoalitions fought for control of an innocuous dead-end solar system in the Immensea region. A total of 11 trillion ISK in damage worth over $310,000 USD was inflicted during what has now become known as The Bloodbath of B-R5RB and is allegedly the largest PvP battle in gaming history. The odd story of how the fight started and its record-breaking destructive scale are both big news, but the unsung heroes of B-R5RB are the people who work behind the scenes to ensure that the server can remain online during major battles. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at how one player forgetting to check a box on a form sparked this immense battle and how technologies like Time Dilation help to keep the server online when the ship hits the fan. Continue reading EVE Evolved: The Bloodbath of B-R5RB EVE Evolved: The Bloodbath of B-R5RB originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 02 Feb 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Lord of the Rings Online to revamp North Downs and more Posted: 02 Feb 2014 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Patches, Previews, Free-to-Play With its focus shifting from expansions to regular content in 2014, Turbine has announced that one of its upcoming projects is a revamp of Lord of the Rings Online's North Downs. During a recent in-game event, Community Manager Rick Heaton said that North Downs will be one of several zones to receive love in a future update: "Update 13 will see a few zones revamped. A few of have been asked for by many people. You will get some more information in the 20 questions, but I'll spill the beans since you going to read it next week. North Downs will be getting a once-over." North Downs was widely rumored to be the next zone to be reworked several years ago following the major revamps of Evendim and Lone-lands. Lord of the Rings Online to revamp North Downs and more originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 02 Feb 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments LOTRO Players

Black Desert heading to Russia, still lacks Western publisher Posted: 02 Feb 2014 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Sandbox, Black Desert Can someone in the MMO industry explain to me why Korean sandbox exports commonly head to Russia before they head West? My theory is that Russia and parts of eastern Europe are crazy for simulation-style games, since several great flight sims and military sims originated in the region. Maybe that passion extends to PvP sandbox MMOs like Black Desert, too? I dunno. In any case, Black Desert, like ArcheAge before it, has secured a Russian publisher and has already begun the localization process, according to Goha.ru. Fan site Black-Desert.com provides an interview translation. [Thanks WNxArcticwolf!] Black Desert heading to Russia, still lacks Western publisher originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 02 Feb 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Goha.ruVia: Black-Desert.com

Civilization Online is 60% done Posted: 02 Feb 2014 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Interviews, Free-to-Play, Casual XLGAMES' Civilization Online is 60% completed, Jake Song said in a recent interview. Song said that the multiplayer online version of the classic Civilization series is more than halfway done in preparation for its open beta. He also announced that testing should commence in the first half of this year. One interesting tidbit that came out of the interview was a classification of Civilization Online as a more casual spin on the series that won't require as much time invested as the single-player variants. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!] Civilization Online is 60% done originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 02 Feb 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments MMO Culture

SOE teases picture of mystery sandbox MMO Posted: 02 Feb 2014 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, New Titles, Miscellaneous Behold, ex-Star Wars Galaxies players: This is the first glimpse of the home that SOE is building for you. SOE President John Smedley sent out a pair of pictures on Twitter on January 29th showing screenshots from the unannounced MMO that the studio is creating. The pictures are both of the back of a church or chapel with a fenced-in graveyard next to it. In the second picture, snow is falling. The pictures seem to suggest that the game will take place in a contemporary setting. One of SOE's CMs indicated that these tweets were of the new sandbox MMO described as "dedicated" to SWG players. SOE teases picture of mystery sandbox MMO originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 02 Feb 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Photo 1, Photo 2

Rise and Shiny revisit: Alganon's new expansion Posted: 02 Feb 2014 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Video, Expansions, Game Mechanics, Interviews, Previews, PvP, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Alganon, Rise and Shiny, Livestream It's been quite a while since I dived into Alganon, the indie MMO by Quest Online. The game has had a bit of an up and down development cycle, but I always found it to be a pretty unique game with a nice mix of mechanics. Granted, according to many readers, the game is nothing but a World of Warcraft ripoff thanks to its similar avatar graphics, but the game is only as similar to World of Warcraft as most other themepark titles are. There are quests, skill trees, and other things in Alganon that you'll find in a score of titles, but Alganon also offers a few things that together make for a pretty unique combination of gameplay in spite of superficial similarities to other games. The game is still rough around the edges, however, and needs some patching and tweaking in order to be nearly as polished as many other titles. The team is small, and I tend to forgive small teams for the these oversights as long as the game runs smoothly for the most part. Alganon does run smoothly and offers quite a few interesting and immersive systems. Let's go over what was added with this expansion as well as what's still missing. Continue reading Rise and Shiny revisit: Alganon's new expansion Rise and Shiny revisit: Alganon's new expansion originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 02 Feb 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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