MMO Updates |
- The Soapbox: The absurdity of the endgame
- Scott Hartsman: 'Happy customers stick around longer'
- Wargaming.net announces new World of Warplanes MMO
- Turbine announces LotRO's Rise of Isengard release date
- GamersFirst releases All Points Bulletin: Reloaded development road map
- RIFT approaching the one million sell-through mark
- The Daily Grind: What are you hoping to hear from E3?
- Trion updates official Defiance site with teaser trailer
- DUST 514 is a PS3 exclusive, to be released spring 2012 [Updated]
- Battleground Europe celebrates D-Day, adds U.S. forces
- New Daniel Erickson interview on Star Wars: The Old Republic at E3
- Wings Over Atreia: Mentors, schmentors
- The Tattered Notebook: Exploring GU 60
- Flameseeker Chronicles: A method to the madness
- One Shots: Let's dance!
- EA's Origin teases the SWTOR E3 trailer [updated]
- Snag a Faxion Online token code from Massively!
- Gods & Heroes open beta is here
- Perpetuum blog outlines summer development schedule
- DAoC rolling out new website, allowing server transfers
- TERA's PvP features light death penalty
| The Soapbox: The absurdity of the endgame Posted: 07 Jun 2011 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Game mechanics, MMO industry, Endgame, Opinion, The Soapbox  Like most of you, I play a lot of MMORPGs. Too many, in fact, and the deluge of new and interesting games in the offing is only going to further erode what remains of my free time. I've managed to see the mythical "endgame" in a fair few titles over the years, so when I say that I play a lot, I don't mean that I boot up a trial and hit level 10 before hopping to the next bright shiny. Off the top of my head, I've dinged max level in Age of Conan (three times), Aion, Star Wars Galaxies (six times), Anarchy Online, Lord of the Rings Online, Global Agenda (twice), Vanguard, and The Matrix Online, to name a few. While many of these games subsequently raised the level cap, I've nonetheless raided, PvP'd, and chased enough gear carrots to have an opinion about the proverbial MMORPG "endgame." And I'm here to tell you that most of what passes for said endgame is repetitive schlock. Continue reading The Soapbox: The absurdity of the endgame
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| Scott Hartsman: 'Happy customers stick around longer' Posted: 07 Jun 2011 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Interviews, RIFT  He cites this as the driving force behind one of the game's major upcoming changes: the ability to transfer characters between servers for free. Trion hopes that the character transfers will help friends connect without the obstacle of separate servers getting in their way. Hartsman said that the tech behind the transfer is impressive -- not to mention "instantaneous" from a customer standpoint. Hartsman says that the team places a premium on talking frankly and frequently with players. If Trion doesn't always come across as perfect, he hopes that they make up for it with communication and sincerity: "We don't want to hide behind a big wall, and we don't want everything to come through a formal mouthpiece. I'd rather have us all out conversing with people and occasionally making a mistake here or there on the assumption that because we are talking to people more means that overall, things are going to be better." The lengthy interview covers a wide range of pressing topics, from the "bumpy" River of Souls event to the LFG system and the free trial program.
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| Wargaming.net announces new World of Warplanes MMO Posted: 07 Jun 2011 08:30 AM PDT Filed under: Historical, Real life, MMO industry, New titles, News items, War, Free-to-play  Aviation is the big draw of course, and Wargaming.net indicates that the title will feature aircraft and scenarios dating from the 1930s through the 1950s (a watershed period in aviation history that saw rapid technological advances spurred on by World War II and the Korean conflict). Details on the game are a bit light at this point, but we're expecting (and hoping for) something similar to World of Tanks in terms of a balance between simulation and traditional MMO gameplay. We'll be bringing you more on World of Warplanes throughout its development process.
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| Turbine announces LotRO's Rise of Isengard release date Posted: 07 Jun 2011 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play  There's also a new level cap in the offing (75) as well as a new 24-player raid in the works. If September seems far away, take heart. Turbine has also announced that pre-orders are available today, and bonus items including a new cloak, title, mount, and bonus XP will be available in-game immediately after your purchase. The pre-order comes in three flavors (the Base, Heroic, and Legendary editions), and each includes the full expansion and an escalating array of the bonus items listed above. Head to the official Rise of Isengard website for more and check out the trailer after the cut! Continue reading Turbine announces LotRO's Rise of Isengard release date
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| GamersFirst releases All Points Bulletin: Reloaded development road map Posted: 07 Jun 2011 07:30 AM PDT Filed under: News items, Free-to-play, All Points Bulletin, Crime  Are you tired of developers telling you that the game you're anticipating will be done "soon"? Well, the folks at GamersFirst understand your pain, and as a result they have released the All Points Bulletin: Reloaded development road map for your perusal. They specifically indicate that they are doing their best not to use the World of Warcraft definition of "soon," or to lapse into "Valve-Time." The road map itself is currently in its infancy, and only includes a short-term plan. This plan outlines what the development team hopes to accomplish within the next 30 days, and includes latency fixes for European players, car customization kits that players can use to pimp their virtual rides, and appreciation kits for closed-beta testers. To see the full contents of the road map -- and all of its future updates -- you can head over to the official blog post. But don't stray too far from Massively, because later this week we'll have some words with GamersFirst straight from E3.
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| RIFT approaching the one million sell-through mark Posted: 07 Jun 2011 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Interviews, MMO industry, RIFT  A unit sold-through means that a copy of RIFT -- physical or digital -- has been sold to a customer, not merely shipped to retail. In an interview with Gamasutra, Trion's David Reid says that the company's $50 million title is doing well with direct competition against established fantasy MMOs like World of Warcraft. "We're really pleased with what we're seeing. And beyond that, it was a pleasure to see in the latest Activision Blizzard earnings call that RIFT was inquired about when Blizzard announced their subscriber numbers went from 12 million to 11.4 million," Reid said. "You can do some math... we know very well where those 600,000 people are." Trion is becoming well-known for its aggressive marketing push behind RIFT, which Reid thinks is paying off handsomely: "We know we have a very stick game, we know we are getting a lot of success right now... If in fact the 600,000 players [Blizzard] lost came to RIFT, I don't think they'll be getting those 600,000 people back as quick as they did from Aion, Conan, Warhammer and the like."
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| The Daily Grind: What are you hoping to hear from E3? Posted: 07 Jun 2011 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Events, real-world, Previews, News items, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous  That being said, with the exhibitors being public knowledge, the odds are good that you have some hopes about what new revelations can be uncovered. So what do you hope to find out from this month's big shindig? News about the release of Star Wars: The Old Republic? Information about Perfect World Entertainment's extensive E3 lineup? Or something entirely unexpected and shocking? Let us know in the comments and keep your eyes peeled over the next three days!
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| Trion updates official Defiance site with teaser trailer Posted: 06 Jun 2011 08:30 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Post-Apocalyptic  E3 will also see more information about the corresponding television series, which will be written be Rockne S. O'Bannnon of seaQuest DSV and Farscape fame. Billed not only as the first fully persistent online shooter but the first time that a game and a television show will be co-existing at the same time, Defiance could prove an interesting look at what can be done with MMOs.  Massively's on the ground in Los Angeles during the week of June 6-9, bringing you all the best news from E3 2011. Whether you're dying to know more about Star Wars: The Old Republic, RIFT, or any MMO in between, you can bet we'll have it covered!
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| DUST 514 is a PS3 exclusive, to be released spring 2012 [Updated] Posted: 06 Jun 2011 08:10 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, Events, real-world, MMO industry, New titles, News items, MMOFPS, Massively Event Coverage, DUST 514  Hilmar ended the announcement with the showing of a new trailer for the game, highlighting the various character and battlefield upgrades available and their prices in ISK. This may indicate that EVE Online players will be able to purchase supplies for DUST marines as part of a mercenary contract. The video ended with a structure in DUST 514 launching what appeared to be a doomsday blast at an EVE player's dreadnought in orbit. Bearing a similarity to a previous trailer in which EVE dreadnoughts delivered artillery support for ground troops, this may give some clues as to how CCP wants to have the two games interact. [Update: CCP has released a new devblog all about DUST 514's PS3 exclusivity with links to more information and the E3 trailer.] Massively's on the ground in Los Angeles during the week of June 6-9, bringing you all the best news from E3 2011. Whether you're dying to know more about Star Wars: The Old Republic, RIFT, or any MMO in between, you can bet we'll have it covered!
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| Battleground Europe celebrates D-Day, adds U.S. forces Posted: 06 Jun 2011 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Historical, Real life, Trailers, Video, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, War, Miscellaneous  To celebrate, Cornered Rat Software has announced the addition of American forces to the long-running WWII sim. The dev team has also been hard at work on behind-the-scenes functionality improvements and a scenario-based gameplay option called Rapid Action. A special Rapid Action D-Day scenario pack will mark the introduction of U.S. troops and equipment to the game, as will a special Battle for Aachen campaign event. Details on all the new deployments present in version 1.34 can be found on the official Battleground Europe website. You can also take a peek at Cornered Rat's 10th anniversary teaser after the cut. Continue reading Battleground Europe celebrates D-Day, adds U.S. forces
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| New Daniel Erickson interview on Star Wars: The Old Republic at E3 Posted: 06 Jun 2011 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, Interviews, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic  Moving along, Erickson talks about the difficulties involved in creating a fully voiced game and how Mass Effect's success was a big part of what led to the full voice for player characters as well as NPCs. While not everything in the interview will be revolutionary new information for longtime Star Wars: The Old Republic fans, it's still worth a watch to learn more about the upcoming game. Massively's on the ground in Los Angeles during the week of June 6-9, bringing you all the best news from E3 2011. Whether you're dying to know more about Star Wars: The Old Republic, RIFT, or any MMO in between, you can bet we'll have it covered!
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| Wings Over Atreia: Mentors, schmentors Posted: 06 Jun 2011 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Opinion, Wings Over Atreia  Last week, we touched on a number of the additions and improvements brought to Aion with the latest patch, Empyrean Calling. However, after the novelty of the the new features had worn off a bit, the negative impact of some of these improvements became apparent; no matter how much is put into a system, there will always be pros and cons. Such can be said of the new mentoring system. Even while adding more to the gameplay of some, this system is taking away from it for others. Some were heard to be cursing mentoring from day one. Additionally, I venture to raise some concerns about long-term consequences that may not be considered in the rush to take advantage of the short-term gains. Sure, there are the benefits, but nothing comes without a cost. Nothing. So what could be so bad about mentoring in Aion? Slip past the cut and I'll fill you in. Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: Mentors, schmentors
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| The Tattered Notebook: Exploring GU 60 Posted: 06 Jun 2011 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Free-to-play, The Tattered Notebook  In this week's Tattered Notebook, we'll look at a few of the highlights from EverQuest II's latest update. Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: Exploring GU 60
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| Flameseeker Chronicles: A method to the madness Posted: 06 Jun 2011 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Patches, PvP, Flameseeker Chronicles  What really interested me about this update, however, is that it feels like such a response to feedback and the current vibe of the player community. Not that ArenaNet doesn't pay attention as a rule, but so many of the huge updates are focused on the Hall of Monuments and Guild Wars: Beyond in preparation for Guild Wars 2 that it's nice to see one that is all about Guild Wars 1 -- not to mention one that is a pure response to the state of the current game. Follow along after the jump as I look at some of what stood out to me about this latest update! Continue reading Flameseeker Chronicles: A method to the madness
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| Posted: 06 Jun 2011 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Guild Wars, One Shots  The god Abaddon is the final boss in Guild Wars Nightfall, but players who pause before engaging him can find an Easter egg. If all the human players in the party stop on the bridge and do the /dance emote, he'll dance with you for a few minutes. Here you can see his giant head and hands rocking out.We've started this week's theme with a bang, and now it's your turn! Send a pic of the funniest, most strangely designed, or scariest enemy you've taken on in an MMO to oneshots@massively.com along with your name and the name of the game. Tell us a little about the foe and we'll share it here on One Shots!
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| EA's Origin teases the SWTOR E3 trailer [updated] Posted: 06 Jun 2011 01:30 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, New titles, Star Wars: The Old Republic  In the first few seconds of the teaser, you see Jedi Satele Shan and an another unnamed Jedi onboard a starship, then a battalion of Sith Star Destoryers (which we assume has Darth Malgus aboard). Then the battle for Korriban begins. Darth Malgus attempts to take back the Sith homeworld as Satele Shan (with the help of a Smuggler) flees the war-torn planet. Catch this full trailer after the break, and stay tuned for more E3 MMO news right here! [Thanks to BJ Brains for the tip!] [Updated: The full Blur trailer now follows the break, too.] Massively's on the ground in Los Angeles during the week of June 6-9, bringing you all the best news from E3 2011. Whether you're dying to know more about Star Wars: The Old Republic, RIFT, or any MMO in between, you can bet we'll have it covered!Continue reading EA's Origin teases the SWTOR E3 trailer [updated]
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| Snag a Faxion Online token code from Massively! Posted: 06 Jun 2011 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Contests, Free-to-play, Massively meta, Giveaways, Promotions, Faxion Online  The folks at UTV True Games have given us a multi-use code that will grant 100 of our quickest-clicking readers 30 tokens apiece for use in Faxion Online, the heaven-and-hell-themed MMO that released only last month. To redeem the code for yourself, log in to the official Faxion Online website, head straight to the store redemption page, and enter the key. Then pause a moment to roll around in your piles of free tokens. You've earned it. Here's the mega-key: FAXIONMOGULE9P1 -- good luck!
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| Gods & Heroes open beta is here Posted: 06 Jun 2011 12:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, MMO industry, New titles, News items  You can also pre-order Gods & Heroes and get in on the headstart program for a one-week jump on the launch-day competition. The title officially throws open its doors on June 21st and aims to add a unique setting to the crowded fantasy MMO market. Check out the official website to learn more about the game as well as sign up for the beta, check out the new trailer after the break, and don't forget to peruse Massively's first impressions if you're curious about the gameplay. Continue reading Gods & Heroes open beta is here
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| Perpetuum blog outlines summer development schedule Posted: 06 Jun 2011 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, PvE, Perpetuum, Dev Diaries  "While our sandbox storyline assignments may not turn out as grandiose as those in other dedicated themepark MMOs, they will still be a nice breeze of fresh air for those interested in the lore and the ones looking for non-standard objectives," Zoom says. There's also a blurb about some new career advice functionality (which will basically be an add-on to the existing help system for players who want to do XYZ but don't know how to begin). Outpost maintenance fees are also in the works, as are tweaks to the friend system (to make it less trivial to spy on your enemies). Finally, Zoom talks a bit about the energy credit system and how it will affect the world of Nia. Read all about in on the official Perpetuum dev blog.
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| DAoC rolling out new website, allowing server transfers Posted: 06 Jun 2011 11:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Dark Age of Camelot, Previews  An upgraded new player experience is on its way for the game to help new and returning players get up to speed for epic RvR battles. Dubbed the "New User Journey," this extended tutorial will give pointers on everything from pets to crowd control. The team's also hard at work on a new website for the game, which should be coming soon. Or "soon." The new website will operate in conjunction with the third big ticket item, which is a DAoC wiki. Zissu put out a call for players to help fill the wiki once it's up and running. Finally, players on the Glamorgan cluster will be able to transfer to Ywain in the near future. You can read all of the nitty-gritty details of these items on the Camelot Herald.
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| TERA's PvP features light death penalty Posted: 06 Jun 2011 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, TERA  The interview is brief, and if you've been the following the game closely, you've probably heard most of this before. For casual fans, or those just getting wind of all things TERA, there are a few interesting PvP nuggets that might be worth your time. First up is the question of character transfers between PvE and PvP servers. TERAPvP points out the balance issues inherent in allowing players to level (and gear up) their characters on a PvE server before moving them to a PvP shard. Berman doesn't give a definitive answer as to whether this will be allowed or not, saying that it's something En Masse will "have to evaluate for TERA." Friendly fire is also a no-go in TERA's PvP combat, and there is no experience loss or item degradation. As Scapes says, "items in TERA do not have a durability mechanic."
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