MMO Updates

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• The Game Archaeologist: The care and feeding of older MMOs
• WRUP: You're doing it wrong
• The Daily Grind: What's your ideal small group size for instances?
• Get down with free World of Tanks and World of Warplanes soundtracks
• Betawatch: February 22 - 28, 2014
• The Stream Team: Building Massively's golden yacht in EQN Landmark
• Doctor Who Worlds in Time shutting down today
• EVE Online's second New Eden Open starts this weekend
• Here's a trailer for Path of Exile's Sacrifice of the Vaal mini-expansion
• Some Assembly Required: An anniversary look at Darkfall's fifth year
• MMObility: Age of Ascent hopes to beat EVE Online's battle concurrency record
• New Albion Online dev video details classless system
• MMO Mechanics: Predicting the future of MMO game mechanics
• Warlords of Draenor is making big changes to WoW's number game
• Storyboard: Six things people (falsely) believe about roleplaying
• Director Joel Bylos on The Secret World's Tokyo and Age of Conan's PvP
• Massively Exclusive: Camelot Unchained armor dev blog concludes with part 3
• Meltdown and Duststorm roll out into Transformers Universe
• Aion EU celebrates F2P anniversary with XP and drop boosts, 4.5 announcement, and infographic
• The Stream Team: Piloting an Imperial character in The Elder Scrolls Online

The Game Archaeologist: The care and feeding of older MMOs Posted: 01 Mar 2014 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Asheron's Call, Dark Age of Camelot, EverQuest, Guild Wars, Meridian 59, MMO Industry, Opinion, Ultima Online, Vanguard, Free Realms, The Game Archaeologist, Miscellaneous, Sunsets When an MMO has reached a certain age and dwindled to a certain player population, what do you do with it? Do you put it out to pasture, nurture it, or put it down? With some of our older graphical MMOs approaching their 20th anniversaries, the question of what studios should do with aging titles is becoming very important. It's not just important for the games in question but as a precedent to the population of games that will one day become just as old. Lately we've seen different studios act on this topic in a wide variety of ways, all of which I find fascinating. Some of these games have seen tragic ends, while others may be entering into the enjoyable golden years. If nothing else, it's shown me that there isn't just one set answer for this and that some devs are hoping to do the right thing by their companies and their players. Continue reading The Game Archaeologist: The care and feeding of older MMOs The Game Archaeologist: The care and feeding of older MMOs originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 01 Mar 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

WRUP: You're doing it wrong Posted: 01 Mar 2014 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Massively Meta, Miscellaneous Welcome back to Massively's What Are You Playing, the game where we tell you what we're playing this weekend and you tell us how we're doing it wrong. This week, we're bidding a fond farewell to some (but not all!) legendary Massively staffers thanks to budget cuts across the AOL Tech and Joystiq networks, so today's WRUP will celebrate the Massively crew, past and present. Clanket sold separately. Continue reading WRUP: You're doing it wrong WRUP: You're doing it wrong originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 01 Mar 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Image credit: Quinch

The Daily Grind: What's your ideal small group size for instances? Posted: 01 Mar 2014 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous, Dungeons I love hanging out with friends in-game, especially when we get enough of us on to go run a dungeon or two. However, I've noticed that the standard small group size in MMOs isn't exactly "standard;" it fluctuates from four to six depending on the game in queston. Four has the benefit of assembling a group easier and faster, although it perhaps makes it more difficult to slot all of the needed roles. On the other hand, six might be too many depending on how few folks log in that evening. But I'm not going to Goldilocks you folks by saying that five is "just right." The truth is, I don't know what I prefer in a small group size. Flexibility, I guess. So what's your ideal small group size for instances? Would you be open to MMOs boasting, say, a three-person or seven-person small group? 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's your ideal small group size for instances? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 01 Mar 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Get down with free World of Tanks and World of Warplanes soundtracks Posted: 28 Feb 2014 06:00 PM PST Filed under: Historical, Real-Life, MMO Industry, News Items, War, Free-to-Play, World of Tanks, World of Warplanes, Music Music sets the mood, and now you can get in a World of Tanks or World of Warplanes mood wherever and whenever you want. Wargaming.net has released the original soundtrack for both games, and fans can download a free copy for their favorite devices from the official sites, Google Music, or the iTunes store. To grab yours and start jamming out, visit one of the following links: For WoT: North American official site European official site Google Music iTunes store For WoWP: North American official site European official site Google Music iTunes store [Source: Wargaming press release] Get down with free World of Tanks and World of Warplanes soundtracks originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Betawatch: February 22 - 28, 2014 Posted: 28 Feb 2014 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, MMO Industry, News Items, Betawatch, Miscellaneous Yes, it's true: Infinite Crisis does not sport an infinite closed beta, as it's opening the doors on March 14th for everyone. The Elder Scrolls Online is also running another testing weekend, which everyone can freely talk about now that the NDA is no longer in place. The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot has also moved into open testing, allowing everyone to quest forcefully for loot of the most epic variety. (Presumably. It might be a farming sim, who knows.) It's also been a week of closed testing news first and foremost, though. Black Gold Online is prepping for its first closed test, Nosgoth has entered closed testing, and Guild Wars 2 is starting off the test process in China while retaining its current business model. So everyone wins in the testing arena after all. Aside from that, we've got our usual list past the break. And feel free to let us know if something slipped in a cash shop without us knowing down in the comments; it's appreciated, always. Continue reading Betawatch: February 22 - 28, 2014 Betawatch: February 22 - 28, 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Stream Team: Building Massively's golden yacht in EQN Landmark Posted: 28 Feb 2014 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Free-to-Play, EverQuest Next, Livestream, Sandbox, The Stream Team, Player-Generated Content Crayola Castle be darned; Massively's MJ has a better idea for her EverQuest Next Landmark plot! She's going to meticulously handcraft the infamous Golden Yacht in honor of all the awesome staffers at Massively, past and present. It will be a long endeavor, but you can get in on the ground floor of the project now and watch it develop over time (unless co-op building permissions come in soon, and then you can actually help!). Pull up a seat and join us at 7:00 p.m. as we pull into dry-dock and get the party ship started. Game: EverQuest Next Landmark Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Friday, February 28th, 2014 Time: 7:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Building Massively's golden yacht in EQN Landmark The Stream Team: Building Massively's golden yacht in EQN Landmark originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Doctor Who Worlds in Time shutting down today Posted: 28 Feb 2014 03:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Business Models, MMO Industry, Free-to-Play, Sunsets In case you forgot, there was a Doctor Who pseudo-MMO. We say was because as of today Worlds in Time is shutting down. If this is the first you've heard of it, well, we're sorry. Doctor Who Worlds in Time shutting down today originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Online's second New Eden Open starts this weekend Posted: 28 Feb 2014 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Contests, PvP, Sandbox, Subscription EVE Online's second New Eden Open begins tomorrow, March 1st, and will continue until a team takes the top prize on March 16th. Thirty-two teams will be facing off during the double-elimination tournament for a shot at part of the $25,000 and 700 PLEX prize pool. Each of the first three weekends in March will feature several 8v8 deathmatches that will be streamed live with commentary from the developers. Out of the 32 teams, 28 secured their place by silent auction, three got in by a random drawing, and one is returning to defend its title. EVE Online's second New Eden Open starts this weekend originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: New Eden Open announcement

Here's a trailer for Path of Exile's Sacrifice of the Vaal mini-expansion Posted: 28 Feb 2014 02:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Expansions, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, Path of Exile How do you like your game trailer voiceovers? If you said creepy-with-a-side-of-demonic-possession, you'll probably dig the new Sacrifice of the Vaal spot for Path of Exile. The dark fantasy dungeon dive from Grinding Gear Games is getting a "mini-expansion" featuring Queen Atziri, secret corrupted areas, 60 unique new bosses, and a bunch of other stuff that you can see by clicking past the cut and viewing the teaser. Continue reading Here's a trailer for Path of Exile's Sacrifice of the Vaal mini-expansion Here's a trailer for Path of Exile's Sacrifice of the Vaal mini-expansion originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: YouTube

Some Assembly Required: An anniversary look at Darkfall's fifth year Posted: 28 Feb 2014 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Darkfall, PvP, Opinion, Some Assembly Required, Sandbox, Anniversaries Gimme five! Five years that is, in honor of Darkfall's anniversary. This week the PvP-centric sandbox celebrated its fifth year of bringing murder, mayhem, and fun to friends and foes alike in the brutal world of Agon. And while it may seem as though you could pretty much sum up the entirety of Darkfall's last 12 months in two words (Unholy Wars) and call it a day, there's actually been much more to the game than just the reboot's long-awaited release. In fact, that was only the beginning. The game has continued to expand and develop even after the initial launch of Unholy Wars, shaping it into the experience that it is today. That's precisely what we're here to toast together -- the ups and down of 52 weeks in Aventurine's hardcore sandbox. Be sure to leave your favorite memories from the past year in Agon before you go! Continue reading Some Assembly Required: An anniversary look at Darkfall's fifth year Some Assembly Required: An anniversary look at Darkfall's fifth year originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

MMObility: Age of Ascent hopes to beat EVE Online's battle concurrency record Posted: 28 Feb 2014 01:30 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Events (Real-World), Game Mechanics, Interviews, New Titles, Previews, PvP, Free-to-Play, Browser, MMObility, Sandbox Age of Ascent is the new work-in-progress from Illyriad Games, the maker of one of my current favorite MMORTS titles, Illyriad. I've written about Illyriad before and have always enjoyed its epic scale and massive numbers, but with this new project, the team is promising something that is not only larger than anything it has ever done but larger than anything that has been done before... by anyone. The studio is working closely with Microsoft in the hopes of achieving massive numbers in a twitch-based sandbox MMO that runs in your browser. I've gone through a few test runs with tons of other players and had no issues whatsoever, even while running it on a $200 Chromebook! It's an exciting prospect, but I had to ask some more questions about the upcoming title. I asked James Niesewand, CEO of Illyriad Games, to clear up some of my confusion. Continue reading MMObility: Age of Ascent hopes to beat EVE Online's battle concurrency record MMObility: Age of Ascent hopes to beat EVE Online's battle concurrency record originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

New Albion Online dev video details classless system Posted: 28 Feb 2014 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Trailers, Video, Classes, Game Mechanics, New Titles, PvP, News Items, Dev Diaries, Sandbox, Crafting In Albion Online, you are what you wear, and a new developer video delves into exactly how that works. The multi-platform fantasy game touts a classless system in which players' equipped gear determines their role, putting the power to create traditional roles or experiment with new ones in the hands of the players themselves. And the number of possible armor and weapon combinations is limited only by the number of items in the game. The type of equipment is not the only form of customization in this system, either. Player-crafted spells are added to each piece of gear, further personalizing the individual items that make up each player-concocted set. Check out an early demonstration of the spellcrafting and hear more about the classless system in the video below. [Source: Sandbox Interactive press release] Continue reading New Albion Online dev video details classless system New Albion Online dev video details classless system originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

MMO Mechanics: Predicting the future of MMO game mechanics Posted: 28 Feb 2014 12:30 PM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, EVE Online, EverQuest Next, Elite: Dangerous, Path of Exile, MMO Mechanics I've been thinking heavily about the future since our parent network's budget cuts were announced, so I decided it would be very apt to pen my last edition of MMO Mechanics with that same train of thought. The industry has changed remarkably over the last decade with trends like the free-to-play revolution and innovations in everything from loot distribution to quest design. In my previous article, I looked at the trend toward using procedural generation and what that might mean for the future of MMOs. In this article, I'd like to give a better overview of where I think the genre is headed in the coming years and what that means for game mechanics. My predictions are based on market patterns and technology developments, including the great indie revolution, the effects of declining subscriptions on investment, and upcoming virtual reality technology. Pie-in-the-sky fantasy or an accurate predictor of things to come? Let me know what you think. Continue reading MMO Mechanics: Predicting the future of MMO game mechanics MMO Mechanics: Predicting the future of MMO game mechanics originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Warlords of Draenor is making big changes to WoW's number game Posted: 28 Feb 2014 12:00 PM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Expansions, Previews, Dev Diaries, Subscription When World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor hits, players will be adjusting to more than just a new continent and gussied-up character models. With the expansion, Blizzard is looking to squish stats across the board, bring racial traits into parity with each other, prune excess abilities among the classes, and nerf a bunch of the game's crowd control skills. The stat-squishing in particular is something that the developers address at length in a new "watercooler" post: "It's important to understand that this isn't a nerf -- in effect, you'll still be just as powerful, but the numbers that you see will be easier to comprehend. This also won't reduce your ability to solo old content. In fact, to provide some additional peace of mind, we're implementing further scaling of your power against lower-level targets so that earlier content will be even more accessible than it is now." The post goes into detail about the reasoning behind the changes and how the devs expect each of them to improve WoW as a whole, so give it a read if Warlords of Draenor is on your wish list this year. Warlords of Draenor is making big changes to WoW's number game originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Dev watercooler

Storyboard: Six things people (falsely) believe about roleplaying Posted: 28 Feb 2014 11:30 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Opinion, Roleplaying, Storyboard, Miscellaneous Roleplaying is one of those things that you know a lot about if you've done it and very little about if you haven't. That's fine; it's not as if you need to know the fine details of PvP balance if you never PvP. But there are tons of gaping holes in people's conception of what roleplaying actually entails. So what do these people use to fill in the blanks? The horror stories. The nonsense. The garbage. A bunch of things that have no real resemblance to this important portion of our hobby. All you can do to fight ignorance, of course, is provide information. So let's go ahead and look at some of the most common misconceptions I've seen about roleplaying and what the reality is behind the misconceptions. If you already know this, feel free to just pass this around to your non-roleplaying friends and family. Or just nod vigorously all the way through. Continue reading Storyboard: Six things people (falsely) believe about roleplaying Storyboard: Six things people (falsely) believe about roleplaying originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Director Joel Bylos on The Secret World's Tokyo and Age of Conan's PvP Posted: 28 Feb 2014 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Game Mechanics, Patches, Previews, News Items, Free-to-Play, The Secret World, Buy-to-Play It's the end of the month, and that means it's time for The Secret World and Age of Conan's director letters. Director Joel Bylos had plenty to say about both games. Tokyo may have been pushed back slightly for The Secret World, but Bylos stresses that the net result will be a much better area that will really come alive with flavor. He also discusses the controversy around the game's Mystery Boxes, noting that the boxes are not lockboxes; they can be purchased only directly from the item store, and they contain nothing that cannot be earned in-game. Hyboria, meanwhile, is due for another pass of PvP reward balancing. The Dragon's Spine dungeons and the tradeskill updates are still approaching completion, albeit more slowly than most players would probably like. Daily quests are also on the table for introduction to tie into the new world boss system, which should give adventurers in Age of Conan one more way to enjoy the game. Director Joel Bylos on The Secret World's Tokyo and Age of Conan's PvP originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: TSW's director's letter, AoC's director's letter

Massively Exclusive: Camelot Unchained armor dev blog concludes with part 3 Posted: 28 Feb 2014 10:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Dev Diaries, Sandbox, Camelot Unchained In the preceding installments of Camelot Unchained's three-part armor dev blog, you've seen the images Lead Concept Artist Michelle Davies and Concept Artist and Animator Sandra Pavulaan have provided on the Vikings, the Arthurians, and the Tuatha Dé Danann. Now, hear about the thought processes behind their work! This exclusive series concludes with these two artists joining Mark Jacobs to talk shop about the development of armor, ruminating on subjects like customizing armor pieces to accommodating non-human body parts and using different combinations of materials when crafting the armor. Oh, and it's got lots of early mockups to marvel at as well! Continue reading Massively Exclusive: Camelot Unchained armor dev blog concludes with part 3 Massively Exclusive: Camelot Unchained armor dev blog concludes with part 3 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Meltdown and Duststorm roll out into Transformers Universe Posted: 28 Feb 2014 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Trailers, Video, Classes, Game Mechanics, Previews, News Items, Transformers Universe, MOBA The first two soldiers in Transformers Universe have been revealed, along with a glimpse of how the game will actually play. Meltdown and Duststorm are the new entrants, with Meltdown representing the Autobots and Duststorm arriving with the Decepticons. Meltdown is a medical sort of 'bot, not dissimilar from Ratchet, sporting heavy weaponry along with a specialized repair beam for team support. He can repel enemies, fortify himself while attacking, and boost allies after a quick shot of repairs. By contrast, Duststorm is something of a vampiric sniper. She sports long-range weapons that can leave bombs, stun targets, or tear through shields, absorbing the energy of enemies that she demolishes. In desperate situations, she can also accelerate projectiles in close-range engagements to take out approaching foes. Check out the videos for both robots just past the break, showing off their skills in action as well as a glimpse of the game's battlefields. [Source: Jagex press release] Continue reading Meltdown and Duststorm roll out into Transformers Universe Meltdown and Duststorm roll out into Transformers Universe originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Aion EU celebrates F2P anniversary with XP and drop boosts, 4.5 announcement, and infographic Posted: 28 Feb 2014 09:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Classes, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, Anniversaries Two years ago today, Gameforge converted Aion EU to a free-to-play game. And just like for the first anniversary, the company is offering special celebrations as well as announcing a new update coming in April. This year, however, Gameforge also includes a new infographic to show off a few interesting statistics about the game at a glance. Players who log in between now and March 5th will find XP and drop rate boosts in effect. On top of that, Daevas can look forward to the chance of acquiring additional Aion coins. Then on April 9th, update 4.5 will bring the second Engineer class specialization, the Rider, to join the current choice of Gunner. The infographic, seen below, highlights various statistics since the fantasy game went F2P, such as favorite classes and how many hours of play time have been invested in it. The game is also now playable in Spanish, Italian, Polish, and Turkish alongside English, French, and German. [Source: Gameforge press release] Continue reading Aion EU celebrates F2P anniversary with XP and drop boosts, 4.5 announcement, and infographic Aion EU celebrates F2P anniversary with XP and drop boosts, 4.5 announcement, and infographic originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Stream Team: Piloting an Imperial character in The Elder Scrolls Online Posted: 28 Feb 2014 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Classes, New Titles, Hands-On, Races, Livestream, The Stream Team, MMORPG The Imperial race during the time of Elder Scrolls Online was caught in the (literal) middle of the attack by Daedric Prince Molag Bol. However, some of the citizens escaped the enslavement by fleeing to other outlying alliances. To play this Imperial race, you have to have bought the collectors edition of ESO. But you could settle for joining Massively's Elder Scrolls Online columnist Larry Everett at noon EST today as he jumps into the beta and the creates an Imperial for the first time. Game: The Elder Scrolls Online Host: Larry Everett Date: Friday, February 28th, 2014 Time: 12:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Piloting an Imperial character in The Elder Scrolls Online The Stream Team: Piloting an Imperial character in The Elder Scrolls Online originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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