| Stick and Rudder: How Star Citizen is turning the game industry on its ear Posted: 04 May 2014 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Business Models, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Opinion, Sandbox, Crowdfunding, Stick and Rudder, Star Citizen, Buy-to-Play When this column began, the first thing I talked about was Star Citizen's then-unique development model and how important it was both for fans and the game industry as a whole. Over a year later, the jury's still out on whether or not Cloud Imperium's opus will bring balance to the Force and give starving hardcores a home of their own. It's already safe to say that Star Citizen has turned the industry on its ear, though. Continue reading Stick and Rudder: How Star Citizen is turning the game industry on its ear  Stick and Rudder: How Star Citizen is turning the game industry on its ear originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 04 May 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| One Shots: Fried calamari Posted: 04 May 2014 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Screenshots, City of Heroes, Culture, One Shots, Miscellaneous Good games require memorable villains, I've always said. And while suave, well-dressed British masterminds are good in a pinch, nothing can top 150 tons of ticked-off gigantopus. So rest in peace, City of Heroes, and be content that you will be remembered for haunting the darkest dreams of superheroes for all time. "Here is my squid (a Kheldian Peacebringer in Nova form) as part of a team vs. a larger squid. This is the giant octopus Lusca, frequently seen in Independence Port," reader Ben sent in. Seriously, that thing is like an elder god taking a steam bath. It's going to react to your puny eye beams and frost blasts by warping all of reality with a sneeze. Speaking of warped reality, get a load of our other player-submitted screenshots after the break! Continue reading One Shots: Fried calamari One Shots: Fried calamari originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 04 May 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: Have you ever been put off by double XP? Posted: 04 May 2014 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, PvE, Opinion, Free-to-Play, The Daily Grind, Marvel Heroes Marvel Heroes features a bunch of firsts for me. It's my first prolonged exposure to the Marvel universe. It's the first ARPG I've enjoyed, and it's the first game that's kind of annoyed me with its promotional XP bonuses. Let me explain. I hate leveling in MMOs. I don't play MMOs for leveling or progression and 99 percent of the time these tropes act as timesinks that get in the way of what I actually want to do in a virtual world. So, normally I love, love, love double XP. Well, last week in Marvel Heroes I was blowing through the levels so fast that I ended up way ahead of the story in terms of level-specific areas. I want to play through the story once, enjoy it, and then go about speed leveling, trying all the other characters, etc. But that was almost impossible to do since I couldn't log in without levels and loot bags hitting my character in the face! Anyway, it's my own fault for starting the game during a promotional period, and I'm not really complaining as much as I'm looking to start a discussion topic. So, how about it, Massively readers? Do XP bonuses ever seem counterproductive or annoying, or is it just me?  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: Have you ever been put off by double XP? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 04 May 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Make My MMO: April 27 - May 3, 2014 Posted: 03 May 2014 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Business Models, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Crowdfunding, Make My MMO Two of the more successful crowdsourced MMOs dominated the crowdfunding news headlines this week. First up was The Repopulation, Above & Beyond's sci-fi sandbox, which recently launched its third alpha. The game's latest monthly update letter featured an exhaustive list of bug fixes as well as confirmation that more players will be recruited for testing in short order. Then there's Star Citizen, which just keeps going and going and going. Or should we say earning and earning and earning? Cloud Imperium's warchest is up to a whopping $43 million courtesy of over 442,000 star citizens. On a smaller scale, Trials of Ascension met its $40,000 Light the Forge goal. The devs say the store will remain open for donations until just before the game's second attempt at a full-fledged Kickstarter campaign. You can check on the status of your favorite MMO crowdfunding project after the cut. Continue reading Make My MMO: April 27 - May 3, 2014 Make My MMO: April 27 - May 3, 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 03 May 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| EVE Fanfest 2014: CCP responds to DUST 514 fans' rage over Project Legion Posted: 03 May 2014 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Business Models, Culture, Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, New Titles, PvP, News Items, MMOFPS, Events (Massively's Coverage), DUST 514, Dev Diaries, Sandbox When this year's DUST 514 keynote presentation rolled around two days ago at EVE Fanfest 2014, fans of the PlayStation 3 shooter were understandably bewildered. Many tuned into the livestream of the talk or even attended Fanfest in person, expecting to hear an hourlong breakdown of the year's DUST 514 updates and some plans for the game's future. Viewers were instead met with a 30-minute presentation on something called Project Legion, a proposed plan to bring DUST's style of shooter gameplay to the PC in an entirely new MMO. In the absence of any information to the contrary, DUST players have understandably concluded that their game is being quietly closed down in favour of Legion. Earlier today at the CCP Presents keynote presentation, CCP took the opportunity to respond to fears and complaints that have surfaced on the DUST 514 community forum. The official word is that DUST 514 isn't being shuttered and that development will continue, but CCP admitted that it will have less development time going forward. A promise was also made that if Legion goes ahead, the names and assets of every DUST player will be copied over to the new title. That won't be much consolation for the people who bought a PS3 just to play DUST 514 or those who game only on consoles, as Legion is currently being developed only for PC. Another caveat is that Legion has not even been confirmed yet; It was presented in much the same style as EVE: Valkyrie last year, as an experiment that CCP could put significant resources into if players like it.  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 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.EVE Fanfest 2014: CCP responds to DUST 514 fans' rage over Project Legion originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 03 May 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Anarchy Online and Age of Conan players vote on new content Posted: 03 May 2014 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Age of Conan, Anarchy Online, Free-to-Play, Dev Diaries, Anniversaries Newsletters for Anarchy Online and Age of Conan were posted yesterday, and both of them had a common theme: an intiative by Funcom to let players vote on what new content they want to see developed. Anarchy Online players voted for a new Shadowlands mission, which is currently being made for the Inferno zone. AO is also getting ready to show off the 18.7 patch, which contains a new ICC headquarters, the new player experience, and shop changes. As for the Age of Conan community, players voted to see Conall's Valley and the Wild Lands of Zelata included with PvP events. The studio has scheduled a world boss event for May 7th, the sixth anniversary event for May 20th, and Patch 4.2 for some time this month. Anarchy Online and Age of Conan players vote on new content originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 03 May 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| World of Warcraft throws half-off sale this weekend Posted: 03 May 2014 12:00 PM PDT |
| The Stream Team: Climbing to new heights in WildStar Posted: 03 May 2014 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, New Titles, Livestream, WildStar, The Stream Team An explorers work is never done! Besides fighting off the evils of the Dominion in WildStar, Massively's MJ must scale mountains and brave treacherous cliffs to find those perfect spots to plant equipment to help the Exiles' cause. Of course, you never know what you might run into while looking for locations -- and usually it's the pesky Dominion! Join us live at 1:00 p.m. to see just how many nooks and crannies MJ can get into this time (and how much trouble she can get out of!). Game: WildStar Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Saturday, May 3rd, 2014 Time: 1:00 p.m. EDT Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Climbing to new heights in WildStar The Stream Team: Climbing to new heights in WildStar originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 03 May 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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