General Gaming Article

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• 3D Systems Partners with Hershey So Consumers Can Make 3D Printed Candy
• Intel Plans to Slash Over 5,000 Jobs Globally in 2014
• HP Cites "Popular Demand" for Bringing Windows 7 Back
• Sacramento Kings to Wear Google Glass Courtside During NBA Game
• Newegg Daily Deals: G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB DDR3-1866, Intel Core i5 4670, and More!
• Microsoft Surface Pro 2 Update Released At Last

3D Systems Partners with Hershey So Consumers Can Make 3D Printed Candy Posted: 20 Jan 2014 11:52 AM PST Mmm, chocolate If you find it's too much trouble to hike down to the local grocery mart or corner store when you need to get your Hershey chocolate fix, you'll be delighted to know you may soon be able to just print out candies from home. Yes, we're talking about the 3D printing craze, but rather than make objects out of plastic, 3D Systems and Hershey are working together to deliver technology that will allow you to print confectionery treats at home. The two firms entered into a mulit-year joint development agreement to explore and develop ways to use 3D printing technology in creating edible foods. Think of it as having your own Hershey candy assembly line at home with 24/7 access, and you're the boss. "We believe that innovation is key to delivering relevant, compelling consumer experiences with our iconic brands," said William Papa, Vice President and Chief Research and Development Officer, The Hershey Company. "Whether it's creating a whole new form of candy or developing a new way to produce it, we embrace new technologies such as 3D printing as a way to keep moving our timeless confectionery treats into the future." For its part, 3D Systems sees this as an opportunity to mainstream 3D printing. Solutions for printing 3D objects at home already exist, but many of them are either limited in functionality or expensive. By partnering with Hershey, 3D Systems can promote 3D printing to a whole new audience, perhaps even young children if the two companies end up building something along the lines of an Easy Bake Oven. Image Credit: Flickr (DBduo Photography) Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Intel Plans to Slash Over 5,000 Jobs Globally in 2014 Posted: 20 Jan 2014 09:48 AM PST Slumping PC sales are affecting Intel's bottom line It's been a rough stretch for companies invested in the PC market, and that includes Intel, the world's largest semiconductor maker. Intel recently reported its fourth quarter financial results in which it was revealed that revenues from the chip maker's PC Client Group declined 4 percent from 2012. A day later, Intel let it be known that it plans to reduce its global workforce by around 5 percent in 2014. According to Reuters, Intel employs about 107,000 people around the world, so the 5 percent reduction means some 5,350 workers will receive a pink slip sometime this year. "This is part of aligning our human resources to meet business needs," spokesman Chris Kraeuter said, according to Reuters. Intel is a dominant force on the desktop, but the company has also been slow to fully embrace the mobile movement. That's something Intel will look to change this year as it attempts to wrestle away market share from ARM in smartphone and tablet devices. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

HP Cites "Popular Demand" for Bringing Windows 7 Back Posted: 20 Jan 2014 09:02 AM PST It's what the people want Hewlett-Packard (HP), the world's second largest PC maker by volume, is giving potential customers the ability to configure systems with Windows 7 instead of Windows 8 or Windows 8.1. The OEM is advertising that Windows 7 is "back by popular demand," and as a bonus, customers can save up to $150 instantly. Based on the available systems, that's a savings of anywhere from 13 percent to 20 percent off the normal price. You can still purchase Windows 8/8.1 PCs from HP, but what's interesting here is how aggressive the OEM is pitching the return of Windows 7 as a default option. If you head over to the Desktops & All-in-Ones section of HP's Home & Home Office Store, Windows 7 machines are the only ones displayed, located prominently above a Windows 8.1 section with a "Learn More" link. There's no sugarcoating the fact that this is a condemnation of sorts against Microsoft's touch-friendly Windows 8 OS. This is the world's second largest OEM, after all, and it's openly advertising a previous generation OS for no other reason than that's what its customers are demanding. As far as we know, HP is the only major OEM promoting Windows 7 in such a fashion. It will be interesting to see if its competitors do the same thing. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Sacramento Kings to Wear Google Glass Courtside During NBA Game Posted: 20 Jan 2014 08:38 AM PST See the game from a whole new perspective Ever wondered what it would be like to sit on the bench during an NBA game? One way to find out is to practice your dribbling and shooting skills until you get drafted or noticed and signed by one of the 30 teams. Even then it's a long shot that all that hard work will pay off, so if you're looking for a different way, tune in to watch the Sacramento Kings go up against the Indiana Pacers on January 24, 2014. Unlike any previous NBA game, the upcoming matchup will feature the Kings and other personnel wearing Google Glass on the sidelines. The Sacramento Kings, who have one of the worst records in the league at 14-25 as opposed to the Indiana Pacers who are tied for the best record at 32-7, may not be all that skilled on the court, but at least they're willing to embrace technology. They recently became the first professional sports team to accept Bitcoins, and now they'll be the first to don Google Glass during a live game. According to ABC News, team members, cheerleaders, and announcers will all wear Google Glass during the game, giving viewers glimpses of NBA action from perspectives they've likely never seen before. Google Glass will also be used to record video for playback on the stadium's jumbotron. This is just the beginning. The Kings plan to use Google Glass on an ongoing basis, and there's talk of the NBA expanding its use. Image Credit: Flickr (neighborhoods.org) Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Newegg Daily Deals: G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB DDR3-1866, Intel Core i5 4670, and More! Posted: 20 Jan 2014 06:17 AM PST Top Deal: The DRAM market is a pretty volatile so you might as get while the getting is good. Take for instance today's top deal for a kit of G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3-1866 Desktop Memory for $149 with free shipping (normally $165 -- use coupon code: [EMCPWWC46]). It's a fast frequency kit with tight timings (9-10-9-28) and plenty of capacity to handle a high-end system. If you're really heavy into content creation and/or other tasks that consume RAM like a pack of cats at a catnip buffet, pick up two kits for a total of 32GB! Other Deals: Intel Core i5-4670 Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor for $210 with free shipping (normally $220 - use coupon code: [EMCPWWC36]) WD Black Series 1TB 7200 RPM 3.5-inch Internal Hard Drive for $79 with free shipping (normally $89 - use coupon code: [EMCPWWC34]) Corsair HX Series HX750 750W Modular Power Supply for $110 with free shipping (normally $130 - use coupon code: [EMCPWWC35]; adittional $20 Mail-in rebate) PowerColor AX7870 Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card for $180 with free shipping (normally $190 - use coupon code: [EMCPWWC222]; adittional $30 Mail-in rebate)

Microsoft Surface Pro 2 Update Released At Last Posted: 19 Jan 2014 09:29 PM PST New firmware update released after previous patch pulled After keeping users in the dark for quite some time, Microsoft has finally issued the long-awaited Surface Pro 2 update that will address the problems created during a December firmware release. You may remember our coverage as users continued to clamor for a date by which they could receive the update, and now it's finally here. Microsoft addressed it as such via press statement: "This weekend we released an update that addresses the unexpected wake and battery drain behavior experienced by a small number of Surface Pro 2 customers who installed the December Windows Update. This should have no impact on customers who had not received the December update." After the first fix was released and then quickly pulled, things were looking a bit grim for Surface Pro 2 users, but it seems as though anyone affected by the frustrating sleep mode and battery problems can rest a little easier now when using their shiny new piece of tech.

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MMO Updates

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• Lineage II's Hero Coin rewards program debuts to firestorm
• Chaos Theory: How The Secret World makes you learn
• The Stream Team: Non-edition edition, January 20 - 26, 2014
• The Daily Grind: Do you like LotRO's mounted combat?
• MMO Week in Review: Retro inspiration
• EVE Evolved: Has colonisation been forgotten?
• The Repopulation passes $100K, eyes traveling vendors
• Take a peek at MechWarrior Online's UI 2.0 upgrade

Lineage II's Hero Coin rewards program debuts to firestorm Posted: 20 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Lineage 2, Business Models, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play Lineage II just rolled out Hero Coins, a new rewards system designed to give players who purchase items from the cash shop a little something extra. But the devil is in the details, and players in the official thread have expressed that the illicit RMT deals look sweet in comparison. Here's how the program works: Players earn Hero Coins whenever they make qualifying purchases from the L2 Store or the L2 Galleria, with coins awarded retroactively for all purchases since November 30th, 2011. Sounds decent so far, right? But this is where the program loses its appeal for some players. Hero Coins are not account-wide; they're bound to whichever character received the purchased item. On top of that, all Hero Coins expire at the end of every calendar year at 3:01 a.m. EST January 1st, so players can't accumulate them until they can make a decent purchase. And accumulate they must: There are items in the rewards program that equate to over $35K, but can be found on the black market for approximately $2K. For really big spenders, the top item converts to spending over $200K in cash in the store -- in a single year. [Thanks to Ville for the tip!] Lineage II's Hero Coin rewards program debuts to firestorm originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 20 Jan 2014 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Hero Coin Program

Chaos Theory: How The Secret World makes you learn Posted: 20 Jan 2014 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Horror, Sci-Fi, Lore, Opinion, The Secret World, Chaos Theory, Buy-to-Play Maybe it's my age or maybe it's just a little bit of laziness about me, but I'm finding myself a little peeved whenever someone or something wants to make me learn a new system. I mean, I'll be the one constantly reading Wikipedia to all hours of the night because I like soaking up info, but if a game asks me to go through a two-minute tutorial, I'm like, "Forget that!" and upturn my computer desk while I go to the other room to calm down. It's not that I don't like learning -- I end up really enjoying myself when I do, in fact -- but that the energy and attention required to absorb a new lesson can often be a tad daunting. This is what drives me back into familiar gaming arms again and again, and why I'm more than a little apprehensive about all of the sandbox tools that will be coming to MMOs near us. That's why I have to hand it to The Secret World -- here's an MMO that pushed me out of my comfort bubble and made me learn, sometimes kicking and screaming, and sometimes with a giddy and joyful heart. This is an MMO that isn't content to spoon-feed you the same mush you've been downing for years; it's one that operates under a practical mission statement of teaching through gameplay. Continue reading Chaos Theory: How The Secret World makes you learn Chaos Theory: How The Secret World makes you learn originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 20 Jan 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Stream Team: Non-edition edition, January 20 - 26, 2014 Posted: 20 Jan 2014 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Massively Meta, Livestream, Miscellaneous, The Stream Team Some weeks there's just no overarching theme to tie things together. There's no opening theme song, no matching decorations, nothing. In fact, life can be just a hodgepodge of scattered unrelated elements randomly tossed together! But don't worry; when things get like that, The Stream Team is always here for you. With our mismatched hosts streaming a variety of unrelated shows on Massively TV, we can fit right into your incongruity of your life and tie it all together like a two-year old attempting his own shoelaces. You'll see what we mean with this week's lineup. Continue reading The Stream Team: Non-edition edition, January 20 - 26, 2014 The Stream Team: Non-edition edition, January 20 - 26, 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 20 Jan 2014 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: Do you like LotRO's mounted combat? Posted: 20 Jan 2014 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, PvE, Opinion, Free-to-Play, The Daily Grind I realize that I'm like a year late to Riders of Rohan and Lord of the Rings Online's mounted combat, but I'm nonetheless enjoying it a fair bit. It's different, for one thing. And it's got customizable horses and plenty of room to ride them, for another. It lags a bit more than I'd like, even when there are no other players around, and that brings me to my point. I rarely see anyone participating in mounted combat, at least on the Landroval server around the Norcrofts, Wold, and Entwash Vale areas. It could be that everyone's at endgame and Helm's Deep, or it could be that I'm just playing at the wrong times. Or it could be any number of other factors, including the possibility that mounted combat isn't that popular with LotRO's playerbase. What say you, Massively readers? Do you like LotRO's mounted combat? 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 like LotRO's mounted combat? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 20 Jan 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

MMO Week in Review: Retro inspiration Posted: 19 Jan 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. EverQuest veteran Brad McQuaid's latest MMO venture, Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen, launched on Kickstarter this week, making him the latest in a growing line of old-school game developers turning to the crowdfunding platform to make a retro-inspired title. Since the Kickstarter began, the fledgling team has outlined its design philosophy, added new pledge tiers, and revealed the classic Cleric class. Read on for a look at the rest of this week's top MMO stories. If you help us reach our stretch goal, we'll include some WoW Insider stories too. Continue reading MMO Week in Review: Retro inspiration MMO Week in Review: Retro inspiration originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 19 Jan 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: Has colonisation been forgotten? Posted: 19 Jan 2014 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Patches, Previews, PvP, Endgame, PvE, Opinion, EVE Evolved, Dev Diaries, Sandbox, Housing, Player-Generated Content, Subscription, Star Citizen, Elite: Dangerous At last year's EVE Online Fanfest, CCP revealed its ambitious plan to take the game where no sandbox MMO has ever gone before: full deep space colonisation. The plan will be delivered over the next five years and will end with the incredibly exciting vision of players building their own stargates and colonising brand-new solar systems that lie off the grid. Rubicon was intended as the first step toward this glorious plan, and its new focus on deployable sandbox structures certainly seemed to be introducing a more player-directed form of colonisation. I've been cautiously optimistic about the whole endeavour so far, but five years is hell of a long time to wait for that vision to come to fruition. Rubicon's Mobile Depot structure was a great first step toward player-run empires on all scales, but none of the recently announced Rubicon 1.1 deployables has continued along the same theme of colonisation and exploration. The Mobile Micro Jump Drive and Mobile Scan Inhibitor structures I looked at last week provide extra tactical options in PvP, and the three new structures revealed this week are all designed to steal money and resources from nullsec corporations. In this week's EVE Evolved, I ask whether the newly revealed Encounter Surveillance System and alternate Siphon Units are a step in the wrong direction. With games like Star Citizen and Elite: Dangerous on the way, CCP may not have five years to deliver the promise of colonisation. Continue reading EVE Evolved: Has colonisation been forgotten? EVE Evolved: Has colonisation been forgotten? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 19 Jan 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Repopulation passes $100K, eyes traveling vendors Posted: 19 Jan 2014 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Business Models, Economy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, PvE, Sandbox, Crowdfunding, The Repopulation Another day, another stretch goal accomplished by The Repopulation. This time, the sci-fi sandbox passed the $100,000 mark and ensured that cooperative structure placement will make it into the game. Next up is the traveling vendors goal at $115,000. What's a traveling vendor? Well, it basically "allows players to mark themselves as a vendor at any time," Above & Beyond explains on its website. "While this flag is enabled, other players will be able to interact with them to browse and purchase goods which they have marked for sale without any player interaction necessary." There's a lot more to traveling vendors, but you'll need to click through the links below for full details. The Repopulation passes $100K, eyes traveling vendors originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 19 Jan 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Announcement

Take a peek at MechWarrior Online's UI 2.0 upgrade Posted: 19 Jan 2014 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Video, Patches, PvP, News Items, War, Free-to-Play, MMOFPS, MechWarrior Online Piranha Games recently conducted a public test of the changes it is planning for MechWarrior Online's UI 2.0 upgrade, and No Guts No Galaxy's Phil Langenberg managed to snag a lengthy video of the new UI in action. According to Piranha, UI 2.0 is "a complete rework of the existing UI" designed to streamline mech customization and MWO's social features. The redesign is set for release February 4th. Check out the VOD of the stream after the break to get a closer look, with commentary, of what MWO will look like post-2.0. Continue reading Take a peek at MechWarrior Online's UI 2.0 upgrade Take a peek at MechWarrior Online's UI 2.0 upgrade originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 19 Jan 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: YouTube

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MMORPG News

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• General: US Digital Sales & Microtransactions Add Up for Online Games
• Kingdom Under Fire II: English Language Beta Schedule Posted
• General: Ogre Island: Taking Players Back to the Days of Yore

General: US Digital Sales & Microtransactions Add Up for Online Games Posted: 20 Jan 2014 03:57 AM PST According to a new report at SuperDataResearch.com, microtransactions are a hugely lucrative enterprise topped by Crossfire Online that generated nearly a billion dollars in revenue last year. The top ten MMOs (MMOFPS/MMORPG/MOBA) brought in substantial amounts of money, including World of Warcraft that generated in $213 million in microtransactions alone in addition to its subscription revenue.

Kingdom Under Fire II: English Language Beta Schedule Posted Posted: 20 Jan 2014 03:31 AM PST MMOG.asia has announced the Kingdom Under Fire II English-language beta schedule that will kick off on January 23rd and continue through January 26th. The schedule includes the times when servers will be online and, according to Steparu.com, there will also be beta events ongoing throughout the testing period.

General: Ogre Island: Taking Players Back to the Days of Yore Posted: 19 Jan 2014 01:43 PM PST A new KickStarter project has been announced for Ogre Island, self-described as a game that is playable from any browser anywhere and that will teleport players back to the grisly days of MUDs. Ogre Island has been running in one form or another since the dawn of the 21st Century.

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MMOGaming News

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