MMO Updates |
- Ask Massively: What's with all the WoW hate?
- FFXIV's Yoshida on successful relaunches, switching from sub to F2P
- World of Tanks' 9.0 out this week, includes Historical Battles
- SOE's new Player Server initiative debuting in H1Z1
- The Daily Grind: Which MMO has the best economy?
- Classic Guild Wars' ninth anniversary celebration is underway
- The Think Tank: Thoughts on PAX East 2014
- EverQuest II producer's letter outlines All Access changes
- SOE is streaming H1Z1 live right now
- The Elder Scrolls Online launches Craglorn teaser site
- Destiny parts ways with composer, growing 'close to shipping'
- Pathfinder Online shows off its map
- Neverwinter launching Curse of Icewind Dale on May 13th
- The full scoop on Marvel Heroes' team-ups
- World of Warcraft kicks off Azeroth Choppers
- Hands-on with Hearthstone for iPad
- The Stream Team: Landmark's castles and manors and gardens, oh my!
- Elite's latest newsletter talks hyperdrives, the Cobra MK III, and more
- Sony: VR 'might be quite a social experience'
| Ask Massively: What's with all the WoW hate? Posted: 18 Apr 2014 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Culture, MMO Industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, Ask Massively, Miscellaneous  Why do people have to hate on World of Warcraft so much? I quit playing WoW about two years ago and never looked back, but that game encompassed the best gaming experience of my life! Now everyone wants to say its crap. But I have roamed the landscape without a real home for gaming; nothing has ever been as much fun as WoW. What person who plays MMOs didn't play Warcraft? How many of us had a great time in that game at some point? Can't we just leave it at that? I look back and admire a game that brought even my wife to the MMO table! I have no hate, just love for a game that I no longer play, and I think that's OK. Can we all move on now? What is the hold up? Let people who play WoW play WoW, and everyone else can play the game of his or her choice. Why does every chat panel in every game need to have the WoW topic constantly flowing through its veins? Honestly, I'm tired of it. Let's move on already!Because hating is fun! No, wait, that's true, but there's so much more to it than that. Continue reading Ask Massively: What's with all the WoW hate?
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| FFXIV's Yoshida on successful relaunches, switching from sub to F2P Posted: 18 Apr 2014 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Business Models, Interviews, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, Final Fantasy XIV, Subscription  Gamasutra recently interviewed Yoshida about FFXIV's success, whether or not he feels any sort of vindication, and his thoughts on the future of future subscription-based MMOs. While Yoshida says that there are pros and cons to both subs and F2P, he ultimately prefers subs, and he believes that most other MMO developers do as well. "Some titles have to make the hard decision to switch over to free-to-play and try to gain a quick buck, pretty much, and raise their ARPU, and try to gain revenue in that manner," Yoshida explains. "I feel that they're not flipping over because they want to; sometimes, they're forced to go into that because they need to update."
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| World of Tanks' 9.0 out this week, includes Historical Battles Posted: 18 Apr 2014 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Historical, Trailers, Video, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Patches, PvP, News Items, War, Free-to-Play, World of Tanks  "With a focus on competitive balance and exciting gameplay, combat locations including Severogorsk, Pearl River, Malinovka, and Serene Coast have all received an overhaul," Wargaming says. The firm has also revamped many of the game's vehicles with new high-resolution models and textures. Finally, the new Historical Battle mode aims to recreate famous tank engagements and simultaneously fill your garage with credits and XP. Don't forget to watch the Update 9.0 trailer after the break. Continue reading World of Tanks' 9.0 out this week, includes Historical Battles
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| SOE's new Player Server initiative debuting in H1Z1 Posted: 18 Apr 2014 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Horror, Business Models, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Free-to-Play, Sandbox, Player-Generated Content, H1Z1  The game will feature private servers. Today I'd like to announce H1Z1 will be the first game to implement our new Player Servers. In addition to the traditional servers that we set up and run (what you've come to expect in MMOs), we will allow the players to come together in any way they wish and if they can get enough people together to vote for the server we will make it for them.[Thanks BabaGraPL!]
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| The Daily Grind: Which MMO has the best economy? Posted: 18 Apr 2014 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Economy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous, Crafting, Player-Generated Content  But you can't trade in long-gone sandboxes, either, so today I want tap the collective wisdom of the Massively readers: Which MMO has the most vibrant crafting and trading economy, right now, in a legally playable and living MMO? Specifically, where's the best MMO to truly be a player merchant?  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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| Classic Guild Wars' ninth anniversary celebration is underway Posted: 17 Apr 2014 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Events (In-Game), Game Mechanics, News Items, Anniversaries, Buy-to-Play  Yes, Guild Wars 1 is having a party, and you're invited. Though the anniversary update was originally scheduled to begin on April 22nd, a note from Joe Kimmes on the official wiki mentions that a fortuitous typo led to the event's partial stealth-implementation on April 2nd instead, so while you'll have to wait until next week for the complete event, players are reporting that bonus items have been dropping all month and that some of the minigames are underway as of today. The official site is silent about the anniversary so far, but the login screen announces the festivities: The party is on for the anniversary of Guild Wars! Starting April 22nd at Noon Pacific (-7 GMT), we open Shing Jea Boardwalk, Dragon Arena, and the Rollerbeetle Races. In addition, Birthday Cupcakes and many other special items will drop all throughout this weeklong event.
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| The Think Tank: Thoughts on PAX East 2014 Posted: 17 Apr 2014 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Culture, Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, Events (Massively's Coverage), Miscellaneous, The Think Tank  Continue reading The Think Tank: Thoughts on PAX East 2014
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| EverQuest II producer's letter outlines All Access changes Posted: 17 Apr 2014 05:30 PM PDT  The first bit of early access content will be the contested version of the High Keep dungeon, exclusive to members for two weeks and sporting all-new story and characters therein. There are also plans to create a more reliable resource to look up what's being updated in the game's near future, a necessity as the updates switch to a weekly schedule. Take a look at the full letter for more details on exclusive member perks as well as the immediate agenda for updates.
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| SOE is streaming H1Z1 live right now Posted: 17 Apr 2014 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Historical, Horror, Video, Events (Real-World), New Titles, Previews, PvP, News Items, Community Q&A, Post-Apocalyptic, Livestream, H1Z1  [Update: The devs streaming are Game Designer Jimmy Whisenhunt and Technical Director Tom Schenck] [Source: SOE press release] Continue reading SOE is streaming H1Z1 live right now
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| The Elder Scrolls Online launches Craglorn teaser site Posted: 17 Apr 2014 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Game Mechanics, Patches, Previews, Endgame, News Items, PvE, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription  While the teaser site is light on new information and does ask you to click through yet another age-gate (yes, we all know you were born January 1st, 1900), it does feature some gorgeous artwork and the Craglorn trailer released earlier in the month. We've embedded it after the cut. Continue reading The Elder Scrolls Online launches Craglorn teaser site
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| Destiny parts ways with composer, growing 'close to shipping' Posted: 17 Apr 2014 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, MMO Industry, MMOFPS, Music, Destiny  Bungie Chief Operating Officer Pete Parsons refused to comment on the specifics of the decision but said that the game is still on track for release. He said that O'Donnell's contributions will remain part of the soundtrack, which is also being worked on by a few others. "We have a fantastic team. We're pretty close to shipping. There's a lot of polish left to do, lots of tweaking and tuning, but a lot is already complete," Parsons said to Eurogamer. Bungie claims that the studio and O'Donnell parted as "friends" while the composer tweeted yesterday that he was "terminated without cause."
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| Pathfinder Online shows off its map Posted: 17 Apr 2014 03:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, PvP, Dev Diaries, Sandbox, Pathfinder Online  Pathfinder's maps look a little different than a typical MMO map, offering more of a malleable report on shifting allegiances and events in a hex layout. The main map is color-coded to show terrain type, with symbols and lines representing cities, trade routes, player towns, security levels, and points of interest. Knowing which resources come from which terrain type will be crucial to building up player settlements. Hammock and his beige shirt of stunning good looks star in a nine-minute developer video that you can watch after the break. Continue reading Pathfinder Online shows off its map
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| Neverwinter launching Curse of Icewind Dale on May 13th Posted: 17 Apr 2014 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Lore, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, Neverwinter  But why are you going to Icewind Dale? What's so important? If only there were some sort of lore trailer past the break that will give a concise explanation of exactly what's going down in the region and why players are taking part, as well as outline the factions fighting over the valuable Black Ice. That would be very convenient, wouldn't it? Perhaps you should click past the break to check out that exact trailer, then. Continue reading Neverwinter launching Curse of Icewind Dale on May 13th
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| The full scoop on Marvel Heroes' team-ups Posted: 17 Apr 2014 02:30 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Interviews, Patches, Free-to-Play, Marvel Heroes  Ryan Collins: Team-ups would be most similar to companions or hirelings. Like Diablo II's hirelings, team-up heroes have their own gear (with four brand-new item types just for them) that allow you to customize your team-up's stats. Some team-up items even convey bonuses to your hero directly. Team-ups also have a power tree that allows you to customize the way they function, the powers they use, and the passive bonuses they have. The first choice you get to make with your team-up is how they behave, for which there are three "modes." Continue reading The full scoop on Marvel Heroes' team-ups
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| World of Warcraft kicks off Azeroth Choppers Posted: 17 Apr 2014 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Video, Culture, News Items, Subscription  The first episode, of course, is very much the proof of concept; it features a very early glance at the starting point for both bikes as well as a discussion of Horde and Alliance aesthetics. You can watch the whole episode just past the cut. It's going to be running at least through the end of May, so you'll get a front-row seat to see both choppers brought from concept into execution. Continue reading World of Warcraft kicks off Azeroth Choppers
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| Hands-on with Hearthstone for iPad Posted: 17 Apr 2014 01:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Launches, Free-to-Play, Hands-On, Trading Card Games, Hearthstone  In many ways, Hearthstone is absolutely tailor-fit for mobile gaming. It requires minimal manipulation; poking, holding, and the occasional swipe is about as complex as the physical mechanics get. It's a turn-based thinker's game that gives you ample time to plot your strategy and get a few other things done between moves. On an iPad, that's pretty easy; I would read a book while my opponent took his/her/its turn. The game actually kept me up past my bedtime because of the "just one more match" temptation, which tells me that the magic that fueled my interest in this game in beta is roaring more now than ever. But how does it actually handle on Apple's devices? Continue reading Hands-on with Hearthstone for iPad
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| The Stream Team: Landmark's castles and manors and gardens, oh my! Posted: 17 Apr 2014 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Video, EverQuest II, Free-to-Play, Livestream, Sandbox, The Stream Team, Player-Generated Content, Landmark  Game: Landmark Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Thursday, April 17th, 2014 Time: 3:00 p.m. EDT Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Landmark's castles and manors and gardens, oh my!
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| Elite's latest newsletter talks hyperdrives, the Cobra MK III, and more Posted: 17 Apr 2014 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Sandbox, Elite: Dangerous, Buy-to-Play  This latest letter concludes with more "mostly harmless questions" from the community, including bits about Kepler data and traversing Elite's mind-bogglingly big playfields. There are two modes of super luminal (faster than light) travel. Super cruise (or frame shifting) is used for travel inside systems. It was originally conceived as a sub-luminal drive, but based on the fantastic collaboration we have been having with our Design Decision Forum backers it was re-worked and is now itself a super luminal system to allow relatively rapid travel within systems. Hyperspace drives are used to travel between star systems.
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| Sony: VR 'might be quite a social experience' Posted: 17 Apr 2014 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Consoles, Virtual Reality  Speaking with MCV, Dave Ranyard says that Sony has worked "quite hard" on something called the social screen in concert with its Project Morpheus VR headset, the former of which will attempt to link tablets or phones to a TV version of what the Morpheus user sees and thereby facilitate companion app play. "The 1970s future vision of virtual reality was a very solo experience of people playing on their own, Ranyard says. "But actually it might not be that, it might be quite a social experience."
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