MMO Updates |
- Massively's Elder Scrolls Online's launch-day roundup
- Next Darkfall patch to introduce Areas of Influence
- Massively's Elder Scrolls Online launch diary: Day five - The (early) verdict
- The Elder Scrolls Online is here, and so is its launch trailer
- Molten Games lays off staff, halts work on Blunderbuss
- The Daily Grind: What convenience items in MMOs will you pay for?
- Guild Wars 2 offers 50% off sale on digital editions
- CCP introduces EVE's newest buddy program and rewards
- The Think Tank: Essential MMO launch components
- Star Trek Online shows off new head options for Season 9
- Blizzard kicks off WoW's Warlords of Draenor alpha
- Trials of Ascension details dynamic spawning feature
- Shroud of the Avatar has raised $3.7 million to date
- How Guild Wars 2 megaservers affect guilds, WvW, events, and world bosses
- World of Speed creative director stresses the game will be completely free
- Phantasy Star Online 2 gets English localization... in SE Asia
- ArcheAge FAQ mentions testing plans, optional subscription, and housing limitations [Update]
- Elder Scrolls Online downtime prepares for launch day [Updated: The game is back, and we are go for launch]
- WildStar LEGO rocket house landing at PAX East
- Star Wars: The Old Republic Update 2.7 invading on April 8th
- Snail introduces Black Gold's Thaumaturge
- SOE's Georgeson: 'F2P is the way gamers should want their MMOs to be'
- The Secret World's first mission pack announced for next week
| Massively's Elder Scrolls Online's launch-day roundup Posted: 04 Apr 2014 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Launches, Previews, Massively Meta, Events (Massively's Coverage), The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription, MMORPG  Continue reading Massively's Elder Scrolls Online's launch-day roundup
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| Next Darkfall patch to introduce Areas of Influence Posted: 04 Apr 2014 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Darkfall, Guilds, Patches  The Aventurine team has been teasing the Areas of Influence feature for a few days on its Facebook page, but next week's patch will put it in the game. The Area of Influence is an expanded bit of land that's attached to each capturable control point. These areas show up on the map and offer a set of stackable buffs to the clan members and allies that control the area. Read through the forum post for complete info on the addition. [Thanks for the tip, Dengar!]
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| Massively's Elder Scrolls Online launch diary: Day five - The (early) verdict Posted: 04 Apr 2014 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, Launches, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, PvE, Hands-On, First Impressions, Crafting, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription  My fifth day in Elder Scrolls Online was a bit more subdued than the previous four. I'm currently floating around Glenumbra between levels 12 and 13, waiting on my healer and tanker friends to catch up so that we can run Spindleclutch, also known as ESO's first proper Daggerfall Covenant PvE dungeon. There are numerous public crypts available for exploration and pillage prior, but Spindleclutch is the first big-boy boss-based four-man. But I didn't feel like pugging it last night, so instead I started crafting. Continue reading Massively's Elder Scrolls Online launch diary: Day five - The (early) verdict
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| The Elder Scrolls Online is here, and so is its launch trailer Posted: 04 Apr 2014 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Events (In-Game), Launches, News Items, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription  We've got the official launch-day trailer after the break; stay tuned for our launch roundup and the final installment of Jef's five-part launch-week diary later today. Continue reading The Elder Scrolls Online is here, and so is its launch trailer
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| Molten Games lays off staff, halts work on Blunderbuss Posted: 04 Apr 2014 06:30 AM PDT Filed under: MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Miscellaneous  The company was working on some sort of Unreal 4-powered multiplayer title called Blunderbuss, but Gamasutra reports that all that is out the window as of this week. Molten director of technology Joshua Kriegshauser shared some alpha footage of the company's project through his Twitter account, and Gamasutra has collected multiple links from affected staffers around the web. You can click past the cut to view the alpha vid. Continue reading Molten Games lays off staff, halts work on Blunderbuss
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| The Daily Grind: What convenience items in MMOs will you pay for? Posted: 04 Apr 2014 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Business Models, MMO Industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous  I've seen MMOs offer everything from cheap mounts and skill packs to experience boosters and buff potions, all the in the service of making the game more convenient for you at the cost of a few bucks here and there. Some such conveniences can seem exploitative; others don't. But today we're asking you: What convenience items in MMOs are you, personally, willing to pay for?  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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| Guild Wars 2 offers 50% off sale on digital editions Posted: 04 Apr 2014 01:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Business Models, Events (Real-World), News Items, Guild Wars 2, Buy-to-Play  Players can get access to one of the most popular MMO games of all time at the unprecedented discount of 50 percent off, and get all of the exciting content ArenaNet has planned for 2014 and beyond without ever paying a subscription fee. The offer applies only to the Digital Heroic Edition, now available for $24.99 (€ 19.99 / £ 17.49), and the Digital Deluxe Edition, now available for $34.99 (€ 29.99 / £ 24.99), when purchased through the official Guild Wars 2 online store from April 3 at 12pm Pacific Time through April 13 at 11:59pm Pacific Time.If you've been on the fence about the game, it's a good time to pick it up... if you aren't, you know, playing The Elder Scrolls Online this weekend. [Source: ArenaNet press release]
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| CCP introduces EVE's newest buddy program and rewards Posted: 03 Apr 2014 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Business Models, News Items, Sandbox  What's in it for existing players, other than the comforting camaraderie of BFFs in a cutthroat space sandbox? If your invitees resub, you can claim not-necessarily-exclusive rewards, up to three per month, including new clothing, a cosmetic ship skin blueprint for the Mackinaw Exhumer, and PLEX.
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| The Think Tank: Essential MMO launch components Posted: 03 Apr 2014 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, Miscellaneous, The Think Tank  This week, I asked the Massively writers to assume that basics like "chat" and "combat" are givens and then select the one completely and utterly essential gameplay mechanic or element that they think an MMO should really have at launch. Here's what they told me. Continue reading The Think Tank: Essential MMO launch components
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| Star Trek Online shows off new head options for Season 9 Posted: 03 Apr 2014 05:30 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Patches, Previews, News Items, Star Trek Online, Free-to-Play, Subscription  It all started with bringing Tuvok into the game; creating a model that matched Tim Russ' actual face required the creation of a framework that segued naturally into more robust player options. It also gave the team an excuse to redo facial textures that had always been seen as problematic, replacing them with slightly higher-resolution versions that have better mapping. Take a look at the full development blog for more details on the process as well as a closer look at what can be done with the new options.
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| Blizzard kicks off WoW's Warlords of Draenor alpha Posted: 03 Apr 2014 05:01 PM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Betas, Fantasy, News Items, Subscription  Players interested in signing up for later phases of testing are instructed to create a beta profile on Battle.net. Applicants will be selected randomly.
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| Trials of Ascension details dynamic spawning feature Posted: 03 Apr 2014 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: New Titles, Dev Diaries, Sandbox, Crowdfunding, Player-Generated Content, Subscription  Now the team is back this week to update us on the progress of several features including Dynamic spawning. Dymanic spawning allows the dev team and GMs to pick points for the world to change with spawn markers. This change could include everything from animal migration to creeping flora, and the dev blog states that all testing has blown the team away so far. Be sure to check out the full dev diary for more on the world map, an innovative inventory system, housing, and more. [Thanks to Cik for the tip!]
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| Shroud of the Avatar has raised $3.7 million to date Posted: 03 Apr 2014 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Anniversaries, Crowdfunding, Shroud of the Avatar  Portalarium is throwing several promotions for the anniversary, one in particular being a last chance to get or upgrade to the founder level at the original Kickstarter prices. Other anniversary events include developer hangouts, special access to Release 4, and prize giveaways. Shroud of the Avatar has gathered more than $3.7 million in crowdfunding to date and is eyeballing a late 2014 launch window. [Source: Portalarium press release]
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| How Guild Wars 2 megaservers affect guilds, WvW, events, and world bosses Posted: 03 Apr 2014 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, Patches, Previews, PvP, News Items, PvE, Guild Wars 2, Dev Diaries, Buy-to-Play  The first post tackles guilds and WvW. ArenaNet aims to unify guild chapters split across home-worlds so that all members contribute to and benefit from the same version of the guild. But the studio does note that WvW won't be negatively affected by megaservers and will continue to be based on competition between worlds. The second and more meaty entry focuses on world bosses and events. The API governing boss timers on individual worlds will be replaced by a more consistent schedule such that world boss events will start at the same time across the entire game. There's even a 24-hour proposed schedule ready to go.
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| World of Speed creative director stresses the game will be completely free Posted: 03 Apr 2014 03:30 PM PDT Filed under: Real-Life, Business Models, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play  What the game actually will sell is somewhat more ambiguous, since one assumes that at some point the studio would like to make some money from the game. Only time will tell if the game is embracing a very unique business model or if it's simply trying to shake perceptions of free-to-play games selling power. There are more details about the game's design ethos and overall scope in a recent interview with Tudor. [Thanks to dengar for the tip!]
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| Phantasy Star Online 2 gets English localization... in SE Asia Posted: 03 Apr 2014 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, PvE  MMO Culture took the newly localized client for a test drive and the site reports that the game's visual customization is outstanding, as is the English translation. The piece also has nice things to say about the game's combat from the perspective of a machine gun- and grenade launcher-wielding Ranger.
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| ArcheAge FAQ mentions testing plans, optional subscription, and housing limitations [Update] Posted: 03 Apr 2014 02:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, PvP, Free-to-Play, Community Q&A, ArcheAge, Sandbox, Housing  The team said that alpha testing is imminent and will be followed by beta events leading up to launch, still set for sometime in 2014. While fans can sign up on the site for a chance at a key, Trion said that soon-to-be-revealed founders packs will guarantee beta access. ArcheAge will be adopting a hybrid F2P model including an optional subscription. This subscription will be necessary if a player wants to own his or her own house in the game, as the "limited real estate" will be earmarked for paying customers only. Trion addressed its level of control over the title in its relationship with developer XLGAMES and indicated that the Korean 1.0 patch changes will not be coming to the West: "We work with XLGAMES to understand and new features that are added to ArcheAge in the East to determine how well they will be accepted in our regions, and then offer feedback. XLGAMES has been fantastic in addressing that feedback as best as they can. In situations where a feature is added that we don't think will be appropriate for our audiences, we work with XLGAMES to modify or remove that feature from our version." [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
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| Posted: 03 Apr 2014 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Launches, Patches, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription  Once ZeniMax plugs everything back in, players will see a few big changes in the game's store. The updated store will offer subscription billing, upgrades to the Digital Imperial Edition, and the Palomino horse mount. In-game mail will also be restored. [Thanks to Space Cobra for the tip!] [Update: The game is back up and ZeniMax has officially declared it a launch!]
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| WildStar LEGO rocket house landing at PAX East Posted: 03 Apr 2014 01:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Events (Real-World), WildStar, Subscription  Carbine Studios has commissioned a LEGO artist (yes, that is a real thing) to create a massive 50,000-piece rocket house for PAX East's main lobby. This ship will be donated to Child's Play with $10,000 after the convention, and a smaller version of the LEGO rocket house will be given away to one fan who pre-orders WildStar while there. WildStar will be at booth #562 during the show. [Source: Carbine Studios press release]
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| Star Wars: The Old Republic Update 2.7 invading on April 8th Posted: 03 Apr 2014 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Patches, Free-to-Play, Star Wars: The Old Republic  The title of Update 2.7 comes from two "invasion" flashpoints on Tython and Korriban, as well as the events in a new level 55 story arc. Players will be invading the Jedi and Sith home worlds while investigating mysteries in enemy territory. The update also contains some PvP action, including a new Quesh Huttball experience and the Denon Exosphere space battle. The excitement for 2.7 now comes in video form, so check it out.
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| Snail introduces Black Gold's Thaumaturge Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, PvE, Free-to-Play, Steampunk, Black Gold  Thaumaturges may be played by characters from the Buvont and Lokemean races, and they use magic staffs, enchanted scepters, and mystic vials to do their dirty work. As you might expect, they also wear cloth armor. More details are available via the Black Gold website.
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| SOE's Georgeson: 'F2P is the way gamers should want their MMOs to be' Posted: 03 Apr 2014 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Business Models, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play  "I think that free-to-play is the way that gamers should want their MMOs to be," Georgeson explains, "and the reason I think that is that if we don't do a really good job and we don't entertain the player, we don't make a dime." Georgeson's vehement defense of F2P is interesting in terms of its timing, as this week sees the launch of one of the year's big-budget subscription-only titles, with another to follow in June. Georgeson maintains that game developers are effectively street performers. "We go out there and sing and dance and if we do a good job, people throw coins into the hat," he says. "And I think that's the way games should be, because paying $60 up front to take a gamble on whether the game is good or not? You don't get that money back."
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| The Secret World's first mission pack announced for next week Posted: 03 Apr 2014 10:30 AM PDT Filed under: Horror, Real-Life, Game Mechanics, Patches, PvP, News Items, The Secret World, Dev Diaries, Buy-to-Play  Bylos also gives more details on the AEGIS system, explaining that these items will be equipped in new gear slots and how the core of the system, controllers, come in three distinct types. On top of that, he noted that a few PvP fixes in patch 1.9 change the way relics are handled in El Dorado. You can catch all the details of these changes in the March letter.
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