| Wings Over Atreia: First impressions of Empyrean Calling Posted: 30 May 2011 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Aion, Patches, Opinion, First Impressions, Wings Over Atreia IT'S HERE!!11! OMZG *cue altered cheer emote* The wait is over. Yes folks, Aion 2.5 Empyrean Calling has finally arrived on the North American servers. And just as they did when 2.0 ( Assault on Balaurea) launched, Daevas have been flocking back to check out a shiny new Atreia. My friends list is lighting up with names I haven't seen in... well, longer than I can actually recall! Only the second Aion update to warrant an actual name, this patch certainly brings some new goodies to the table. While not as extensive as its predecessor, it still offers substance enough for Daevas to really sink their teeth into. But after so much anticipation, did it live up to expectations? Does the fact that I have lost track of my week since last Wednesday say anything? From the new instances to the mentoring system, there is certainly more to do in-game, especially for those who have made it to level cap and endgame. But don't just take my word for it! In honor of the release, NCsoft is offering another reactivation celebration: For 10 days (beginning at 11:00 a.m. EDT on Friday, June 3rd and running until the same time on Monday, June 13th) any player with an Aion account can log in and experience the changes for herself. Can't wait until the 3rd for a taste? Barrel roll past the cut to check out my first impressions of Empyrean Calling. Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: First impressions of Empyrean Calling  Wings Over Atreia: First impressions of Empyrean Calling originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 30 May 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| MV Guide: May 30 - June 5, 2011 Posted: 30 May 2011 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Livestream, Miscellaneous, MV Guide MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively's Livestream channel. Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of games to take a look at. During Livestream events, you can participate in the live chat to learn about the game, ask questions, and spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, Livestream events are subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) Follow along after the jump to see what's scheduled for this week! Continue reading MV Guide: May 30 - June 5, 2011 MV Guide: May 30 - June 5, 2011 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 30 May 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: Are there too many F2P choices? Posted: 30 May 2011 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Business models, Culture, MMO industry, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Daily Grind You'll have to forgive us for using the Age of Conan Unrated announcement as fodder for yet another Daily Grind. Western free-to-play conversions are a big deal, both because they're changing the genre and because there are so many of them (with more potentially on the way). It's this last bit that begs a bit of discussion this morning. By all accounts, MMORPGs are time-consuming beasts. Even if you do manage to reach endgame in a particular title, you've usually got raiding or some sort of gear grind to occupy you for months on end. Put another way, rare is the gamer who manages to actually see all the content that a game has to offer. The explosion of F2P titles, then, may offer more choice in terms of what titles are available, but it can also lead to gamers experiencing bits and pieces instead of the whole enchilada. There's only so much time in the day, after all, and a gamer can only play so many games even if they're all free. This also leads into the long-term profitability of F2P, particularly since so many players swear they never spend a dime on these titles. For today's early morning discussion, we'd like to know whether you're struggling with all of the AAA options that F2P may be opening up for you. And do you think the market will continue to bear an ever-expanding roster of titles?  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: Are there too many F2P choices? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 30 May 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Week in Review: The age of hybrid free-to-play Posted: 29 May 2011 06:00 PM PDT 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. Miss a big MMO or WoW Insider story last week? You've come to the right post. This week, Funcom stunned gamers by announcing that Age of Conan will be headed to free-to-play land this summer... kinda. As Craig "Silirrion" Morrison told us in an exclusive interview, Age of Conan: Unrated will follow the now-familiar pattern of Western F2P conversions, offering a limited number of features for free players and the real deal for full subscribers. Is the F2P transition a concession to the entitlement generation or a timely move in conjunction with the Conan movie that will hit theaters in August? More likely, it's a hybrid of both. Take a look at this week's other top MMO stories just past the break. Continue reading Week in Review: The age of hybrid free-to-play Week in Review: The age of hybrid free-to-play originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 29 May 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| EVE Evolved: Casual gameplay and public groups Posted: 29 May 2011 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Game mechanics, PvP, Endgame, PvE, Opinion, EVE Evolved I've always held a belief that EVE Online isn't really at its best until I get into a good group. A lot of the most fun gameplay I've experienced over the years has been in a small group of strangers, friends or people who would soon become my friends. The year I spent in faction warfare and the two years I spent on wormhole expeditions with friends were incredibly good times that I look back on fondly. I've even found that the parts of EVE that aren't specifically intended for groups, such as exploration, mission-running, and trading, are a lot more enjoyable if I take a few friends along for the ride. There's no doubt in my mind that EVE is primarily a group game. Two weeks ago, I talked about how EVE is more of a giant social sandbox than a game and that it's EVE's social nature that really motivates people to keep playing in the long-term. The remarkable ability of social communities in MMOs to self-organise when faced with challenges could be a massive asset to EVE's development if used well. When faction warfare was first released, for example, players rapidly organised themselves into fleets. People who had never met each other, many with no PvP experience at all, were soon practicing core fleet maneuvers together as a cohesive unit and facing off against hostile fleets. With nothing but a war declaration, some cosmic anomalies, and a few medals, EVE turned thousands of newbies into four terrifying fighting forces. That is something I'd definitely like to see repeated. In this week's opinion-filled EVE Evolved, I delve into the world of casual gameplay and ask whether new public group activities could dramatically broaden EVE's appeal and keep gameplay fresh. Continue reading EVE Evolved: Casual gameplay and public groups EVE Evolved: Casual gameplay and public groups originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 29 May 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| One Shots: Don't judge a diner by its cover Posted: 29 May 2011 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Galleries, Screenshots, Star Wars Galaxies, One Shots Readers weren't the only ones anxious to show off their player housing this week -- the staff got in on the act too! Our final One Shots entry for the week comes from Star Wars Galaxies, courtesy of Massively's Senior Editor Bree: This building belongs to my SWG Droid Engineer on Bria. Believe it or not, it's actually half of a diner, which is normally a garish silver/red/blue one-room building. The textures don't really match my style, so rugs, tables, and fireplaces have been maneuvered to cover up the original walls, floors, and ceilings as well as to create three rooms, including a small shop to sell my droids out front. We'll be featuring awesome mounts starting tomorrow, so it's time to grab a screenshot of your finest ride, be it hooved, feathered, wheeled, or otherwise. Do you think you've got the best-looking or most unusual mount around? Prove it by sending it in! If you'd like a head start on the following week, we'll be focusing on weird foes. Do you have a great shot of a dancing Abaddon in Guild Wars or a nose-picking foe from Gates of Andaron? Send those in too and we'll feature them on One Shots! One Shots: Don't judge a diner by its cover originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 29 May 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Rise and Shiny recap: PlanetSide Posted: 29 May 2011 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Video, PlanetSide, PvP, Opinion, Hands-on, MMOFPS, Humor, Rise and Shiny, Livestream The only thing I can tell you for sure about the gameplay in PlanetSide is that it seems to be a battle that is constantly on recycle. You take over a base, and the enemy takes over another. You shoot a dozen enemies, and they shoot a dozen of yours. You get shot out of the sky, then you mount a gun and blow someone else out of the air. It's never-ending, an endless war over territory and pride. This is all the technical stuff. Why are we fighting? I have no idea. I'm sure there is plenty of lore on the website or wiki, some fantastic explanation for what exactly my motive is in getting myself murdered over and over, but honestly I don't care. I have played PlanetSide off and on over the past several years, and I just needed to play it at this time. The week prior was a rough one, filled with glitchy games and articles that did not come out exactly how I wanted them to. It was, for a stay-at-home writer, a rough week. I needed PlanetSide to give me some fun. Some real, tangible, tasty, blow-'em-up fun. Click past the cut and I'll tell you what I found. Continue reading Rise and Shiny recap: PlanetSide Rise and Shiny recap: PlanetSide originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 29 May 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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