MMO Updates |
- Ask Massively: Newsletters, EVE Online, and the value of alpha previews
- EVE Fanfest 2014: Project Legion brings DUST 514 to the PC
- WildStar puts up patch notes for its latest weekend beta
- The Repopulation team has squashed a lot of bugs
- The Daily Grind: What NPC ability would you like to have?
- EVE Fanfest 2014: Economy talk highlights PLEX prices and reveals titan production statistics
- SOE compensates players for All Access issues
- Today's Elder Scrolls Online AMA discusses bug fixes, housing, spellcrafting, and more
- The Think Tank: Founder packs, exploitation, and choices
- Azeroth Choppers revs up to episode three
- SMITE to offer new Nemesis ninja skin
- Neverwinter shows off new Black Ice armor sets
- SOE updates Landmark, pushes back international Player Studio rollout
- EVE Fanfest 2014: EVE Valkyrie demos gameplay, features Battlestar Galactica's Katee Sackhoff
- Portions of RIFT's May cash shop proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders
- Guild Wars 2 begins Chinese open beta
| Ask Massively: Newsletters, EVE Online, and the value of alpha previews Posted: 02 May 2014 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, EVE Online, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, Ask Massively, Miscellaneous  Do you have any kind of newsletter or weekly email on this site?Nope, no newsletter or email blasts! But there are lots of easy ways to follow our work. If you want the whole shebang, you can follow us through your RSS reader of choice as well as several social media avenues, all outlined in an Ask Massively from last year. If you want just a summary of our best stuff, you could follow just our Week in Review column, which runs every Sunday evening and might just serve your desire for a weekly summary of cool posts. We also publish weekly roundups of MMO in beta testing, crowdfunded MMOs, and pseudo-MMOs, including coverage of some games we don't traditionally cover separately. What else have we got this week? How about an internet spaceships question from Gabe. Continue reading Ask Massively: Newsletters, EVE Online, and the value of alpha previews
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| EVE Fanfest 2014: Project Legion brings DUST 514 to the PC Posted: 02 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Events (Real-World), Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, PvP, News Items, PvE, Consoles, MMOFPS, First Impressions, Events (Massively's Coverage), DUST 514, Dev Diaries, Sandbox  If you've been hoping for DUST on the PC, your prayers may have just been answered. A few hours ago at EVE Fanfest 2014, CCP demonstrated a prototype of something it calls Project Legion -- an attempt to bring DUST 514's shooter gameplay to the PC but with all-new sandbox gameplay. The project is extremely early in development, but CCP was able to put together a concept demo for Fanfest attendees showing how the game will work. Most of the demo was a slick UI and transition into a DUST planetary environment which has had its graphics significantly improved. DUST 514 is severely limited by the specs of the PS3, so Legion being on PC means it should actually still look that good when deployed. In addition to signing up for mercenary contracts, players will be able to scan the entire EVE universe for open sandbox salvage zones where resources have been found. These planets have no pre-defined missions, victory conditions, or teams; Instead, they're free-for-all PvE zones with open world PvP, and CCP hopes that this will promote the same kind of emergent gameplay as is seen in EVE. It won't be a true sandbox until you can stab someone in the back, CCP announced to a pleased audience. Little else is known about the project, and the announcement has raised some pretty big questions. Will Legion link in with the EVE universe in any way like DUST? And what will happen to DUST 514 on PS3 if Legion takes off?  Whether you're a die-hard fan of internet spaceships or just a gawker on the sidelines, EVE Fanfest is the EVE Online event of the year (and the key source of new DUST 514 and EVE Valkyrie scoops!). Follow Massively's Brendan Drain as he reports back on this year's Fanfest starpower, scheming, and spoilers from exotic Reykjavik, Iceland.
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| WildStar puts up patch notes for its latest weekend beta Posted: 02 May 2014 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Patches, News Items, WildStar, Subscription, Buy-to-Play  For example, players will no longer be subjected to having facial customizations that don't quite work, nor will they be able to hurl themselves to their doom while building Warplots. War parties now require at least 10 members online to queue as a group. Players will now be limited to editing their costumes at Protostar Dye Specialists in Illium and Thayd. Dead players may no longer be the target for starting a duel (not counting Mordesh, obviously). You get the idea. Check out the full patch notes for a clearer picture of this weekend's beta.
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| The Repopulation team has squashed a lot of bugs Posted: 02 May 2014 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Bugs, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Sandbox, Crowdfunding, The Repopulation  The team's primary focus right now is bug fixing, as there have been "quite a few new things that we never expected to happen bug-wise." Most of them have been dealt with, though, as the massive list of fixes in the update makes clear. You can read the full report at The Repopulation's official web site.
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| The Daily Grind: What NPC ability would you like to have? Posted: 02 May 2014 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription  One thing he can't do, however, is lean back and flip a coin like the NPC in the image up there. ESO does feature a couple of nifty wall-leaning emotes and plenty of other appealing fluff. But I want a coin and I want people to see me flipping it, dammit! What about you, Massively readers? Is there a certain NPC ability you crave for your character?  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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| EVE Fanfest 2014: Economy talk highlights PLEX prices and reveals titan production statistics Posted: 01 May 2014 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Business Models, Culture, Economy, Events (Real-World), Guilds, PvP, Opinion, Events (Massively's Coverage), Dev Diaries, Sandbox, Crafting, Player-Generated Content, Subscription, MMORPG  A net value of around 20-25 trillion ISK is reportedly injected into the game each month, a level that Dr Eyjo insists isn't enough to cause any inflationary problems in the economy. The big focus of this year's economics talk was the destruction of around $270,000 US worth of Titan class supercapital ships in the recent Bloodbath of B-R5RB. Also on the table for discussion was the recent rapid increase in price of the 30 Day Pilot's License Extension (PLEX), an item that can be bought on the market for ISK and exchanged for game time. This can effectively make EVE free-to-play, but prices are now at over 700 million ISK and are starting to become prohibitive for some players. Read on for a detailed breakdown of CCP's entire economics talk from Fanfest 2014, including surprising stats on how many titans are built each quarter.
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| SOE compensates players for All Access issues Posted: 01 May 2014 06:45 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, EverQuest, EverQuest II, Events (In-Game), Free-to-Play, DC Universe Online, Giveaways, PlanetSide 2, Dragon's Prophet, Landmark  The studio will be handing out 50 replay badges to DCUO players, adding an additional week to seven-day Landmark closed beta keys, and triggering double XP weekends for Dragon's Prophet, EverQuest, EverQuest II, and PlanetSide 2. "The implementation of this new membership plan across SOE's game portfolio has been one of the most complicated updates to our billing system to date," SOE apologized in a post. "As fellow gamers, we know that this has been frustrating and we sincerely regret any inconvenience this has caused."
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| Today's Elder Scrolls Online AMA discusses bug fixes, housing, spellcrafting, and more Posted: 01 May 2014 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Bugs, Classes, Game Mechanics, Patches, News Items, The Elder Scrolls Online 
[With thanks to tipster Leiloni!]
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| The Think Tank: Founder packs, exploitation, and choices Posted: 01 May 2014 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Business Models, MMO Industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, Miscellaneous, The Think Tank, Crowdfunding  I polled the Massively writers for their take on this trend. Is it exploitative or just the reality of modern MMO funding? Continue reading The Think Tank: Founder packs, exploitation, and choices
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| Azeroth Choppers revs up to episode three Posted: 01 May 2014 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Video, News Items, Subscription  If you've enjoyed the previous installments, you'll find more to like here, as both of the factional teams are feeling the pinch in time and one team loses a crucial member. This episode also gives the barest hints of what the bikes will look like in preparation for the first look for Blizzard at the end of the episode. Take a look past the break to watch the full show, and stay tuned for future installments. Continue reading Azeroth Choppers revs up to episode three
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| SMITE to offer new Nemesis ninja skin Posted: 01 May 2014 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Previews, News Items, MOBA  So what does she look like in the new costume? We're glad you asked because otherwise you'd have no reason to click past the break and check out the video of the new Nemesis costume in action. So... you know, do exactly that. The patch is currently scheduled for early next week. [Source: Hi-Rez Studios press release] Continue reading SMITE to offer new Nemesis ninja skin
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| Neverwinter shows off new Black Ice armor sets Posted: 01 May 2014 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, Previews, Free-to-Play, Neverwinter  Module 3 will allow players to forge this new type of armor from black ice, a special material that they'll be picking up from quests and adventuring. There are two different types of sets that each class can make from it, Corrupted and Purified Black Ice armor, each with its own stat builds and the ability to be powered up for a limited time. The armor not only looks all cool and jaggedy but it will help protect characters from the new black ice damage that's also coming in the new area. The studio posted pictures of the armor sets for each one of the classes, a few of which you can check out after the break. Continue reading Neverwinter shows off new Black Ice armor sets
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| SOE updates Landmark, pushes back international Player Studio rollout Posted: 01 May 2014 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, EverQuest, EverQuest II, Contests, Economy, Patches, Free-to-Play, DC Universe Online, EverQuest Next, PlanetSide 2, Landmark  SOE delivered an update to Landmark's beta today, including claim feedback, chat improvements, new props, and the ability to teleport to other claims from the gallery view. The studio also launched its first competition, this one to create visually stunning landmarks for the game's environment. The competition will conclude on May 7th. Unfortunately, international players of SOE's library looking to partake in Player Studio goodness will have to wait a while longer: "Initially, we hoped to expand Player Studio to Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom on or before May 1st, but given the intricacy of the program and our recent launch of the new All Access Membership plan, we have decided to roll out international support for Player Studio at the end of May."
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| EVE Fanfest 2014: EVE Valkyrie demos gameplay, features Battlestar Galactica's Katee Sackhoff Posted: 01 May 2014 12:10 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Events (Real-World), Game Mechanics, Lore, MMO Industry, New Titles, PvP, News Items, Consoles, Casual, Events (Massively's Coverage), Dev Diaries, Sandbox, MOBA, Virtual Reality  Read on for our the highlights of the Valkyrie demo and Sackhoff's video missive to players.
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| Portions of RIFT's May cash shop proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders Posted: 01 May 2014 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, RIFT  [Thanks Zuji!]
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| Guild Wars 2 begins Chinese open beta Posted: 01 May 2014 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Launches, Guild Wars 2, Buy-to-Play  While local publisher KongZhong is calling this a launch, it's technically the beginning of a two-week head start period before the full open beta commences in the region on May 15th. Guild Wars 2 is the first major MMO to use a buy-to-play business model in China, selling 500,000 copies during its pre-order period. Interestingly, the official press release admits to regional "doubts" as to the effectiveness of this model. All pre-order players are now able to check out the game during this head start period, with any future purchasers required to wait until the 15th to try it out.
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