MMO Updates |
- Wasteland Diaries: A fond farewell
- Luvinia closed beta begins
- Some Assembly Required: Issue #1
- SOE Fan Faire 2011: Community address highlights
- Planetside 2 to feature persistent territory control, huge battles, and player-generated content
- The Daily Grind: When have changes overwhelmed you?
- Prius Online goes worldwide
- SOE reveals screenshots and trailer for Planetside 2
- Outspark announces Flint publishing platform
- The winds, they are a-changin' in Guild Wars
- Vivox voice chat comes to Star Trek Online
- Guild Counsel: The dreaded guild meet-and-greet
- Interview with CCP CEO Hilmar Petursson discusses recent events
- Champions Online adds housing via new hideout feature
- New TERA video takes players inside the Dark Cathedral
- Captain's Log: Hailing frequencies were, are, and will be open
- One Shots: They literally follow you everywhere
- Behind the Mask: You're fired
- RIFT unveils Cleric class video
- New EVE Online trailer highlights the player behind the space ship
- Tibia summer update features new world quests, tutorial
- Gazillion signs European Marvel Super Hero Squad Online deal
| Wasteland Diaries: A fond farewell Posted: 08 Jul 2011 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Expansions, Opinion, Wasteland Diaries  Since the patch date got pushed back a day, I wasn't able to do a piece on my first impressions of the new zone. Maybe I'll handle that next week. I've instead decided to do a retrospective on what I am leaving behind in Fallen Earth, a fond farewell to some of the things that will no longer matter. There are a great many things I will miss as I cross over into S4, and there will be a great many things I won't miss. As a creature of habit, I fear change, but I'm trying to be as optimistic as possible. With that in mind, after the cut, I'll try to concentrate on some of the changes that I'll be pleased about. Continue reading Wasteland Diaries: A fond farewell
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| Posted: 08 Jul 2011 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Events, in-game, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play  Players who reach level 40 will receive a panda rabbit mount after the conclusion of the beta period, and everyone can join in the fun to be had in the Luvster Race, weekly Bingo Society loot competitions, and an end-of-beta Graduation Celebration. The events tie in with the larger Festival of Sparks event series taking place across multiple Outspark titles, and participating players can earn summer sparks which are used to purchase in-game rewards. You can learn more about the Festival at the Outspark website, and don't forget to hop over and check out the Luvinia information while you're at it.
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| Some Assembly Required: Issue #1 Posted: 08 Jul 2011 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Culture, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, Star Wars Galaxies, Some Assembly Required  What's player-generated content? Well that's part of what makes this venture so exciting. Player-generated content is often seen as some sort of nebulous activity exclusive to sandbox games. Others take it to mean roleplay. Still others see it as unrestricted PvP and the metagame machinations surrounding it. For our purposes, player-generated content encompasses all of these as well as anything and everything that showcases the creativity of both individual players and entire communities. Continue reading Some Assembly Required: Issue #1
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| SOE Fan Faire 2011: Community address highlights Posted: 08 Jul 2011 07:30 AM PDT Filed under: Events, real-world, Expansions, Launches, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Massively Event Coverage  But before all the fancy trailers and big announcements, Smedley made a personal apology to fans for the security breach this past spring. In addition, he unveiled a new tool to protect player accounts -- the Vasco Data Security key file. He said it's an extra layer of security that will protect against hacking, and it will go live in all SOE games as of tomorrow. All Fan Faire participants get a free key file, and there will be iPhone and Android versions on the way as well. Read on for a look at all of the highlights from the community address! Continue reading SOE Fan Faire 2011: Community address highlights
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| Planetside 2 to feature persistent territory control, huge battles, and player-generated content Posted: 08 Jul 2011 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, real-world, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, MMOFPS, Planetside 2  For you rookies, Planetside 2 is a re-imagining of the popular MMOFPS, and SOE is deploying its new Forgelight MMO engine in order to make thousand-player online battles a reality. Planetside 2 will feature three factions that will seem familiar to long-time fans, and players will be able to choose between the Terran Republic, the New Conglomerate, or the Vanu Sovereignty before heading off to the kill zones. Choice also plays into Planetside 2's character advancement, as the game boasts what SOE is calling a "free-form class-based system" complete with skill trees and unique combat roles. Weapons, vehicles, and outfits are all customizable, and SOE's fact sheet also drops a curious player-generated content hint relating to the game's mission system. "Both SOE and players will be able to drive content, easing new players into the game and allowing veterans to feed content to players," says the press release. Finally, Planetside 2 will feature that rarest of MMO prizes: a reason for all the fighting. The core gameplay revolves around holding territories and controlling resources (as opposed to just a match timer). "Battles will last for days or weeks, and finally taking control of the base means it's yours until someone can take it back," SOE says.
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| The Daily Grind: When have changes overwhelmed you? Posted: 08 Jul 2011 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Expansions, Game mechanics, Patches, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous  Few MMO players would argue that games never need to change, if only to remove parts of the gameplay that are unintentionally broken. But changes that rush on too fast can leave players disoriented, unhappy, and more than a little confused. So when has the pace of change in a game overwhelmed your ability to cope? Was it a major change like World of Warcraft's massive overhaul of the old world, or even something simple but far-reaching like City of Heroes' Enhancement Diversification?  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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| Posted: 07 Jul 2011 09:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Patches, News items, Free-to-play  While that alone would be cause for celebration in some circles, the game has also added five new dungeons worth of content for beta testers to enjoy. There's no word on an official launch date just yet, so Prius Online's open beta testers will have to console themselves with the fact that the game is still in the testing stage even though the item shop is open. But you can log in from anywhere, and isn't that worth something?
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| SOE reveals screenshots and trailer for Planetside 2 Posted: 07 Jul 2011 08:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Screenshots, Video, New titles, Planetside 2  For fans of the original Planetside, and those just looking for a new entry into the sci-fi MMO world, this news is very welcome. Check out our gorgeous new gallery of screenshots, concepts, and wallpaper below, click past the cut for the brand new trailer, and keep an eye on Gamebreaker TV for more live coverage of Fan Faire. Be sure to also stay tuned to Massively tomorrow morning for complete information on Planetside 2 and what it has to offer hungry sci-fi MMO fans! Continue reading SOE reveals screenshots and trailer for Planetside 2
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| Outspark announces Flint publishing platform Posted: 07 Jul 2011 07:30 PM PDT Filed under: Business models, MMO industry, News items  Outspark -- makers of popular free-to-play MMOs Fiesta, Luvinia, and more -- announced today the release of its new publishing platform, Outspark Flint. It's a logical addition, considering the company's recent move to publishing third-party titles. Outspark believes that Flint will bring new MMO titles into the reach of the more than 200 million players that Outspark commands. The first game on the Flint platform is Lord of Ages, an MMORTS which went live last week. Outspark claims that "the platform is enabling Lord of Ages to reach an even larger audience." The platform itself is an "open API that provides third-party developers and operators with all of the tools necessary for distribution, user acquisition, analytics, monetization, marketing and operations." Whether this new platform indeed helps Outspark reach its goals or not, we'll have to wait and see.
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| The winds, they are a-changin' in Guild Wars Posted: 07 Jul 2011 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Events, in-game, Patches, News items, Free-to-play  Players can start their newest adventure by speaking with Initiate Zei Ri at Kaineng Center, setting them down the road following the events of Guild Wars Factions. (Needless to say, you have to have finished Factions to take part in the new missions.) As was the case for the previous installment, the update brings with it new costumes for players to purchase so that the battle for Cantha's future can be done in style. Guild Wars players should get to work seeing all that the update has to offer, because the change starts now... and who knows how much will be different when all is said and done.
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| Vivox voice chat comes to Star Trek Online Posted: 07 Jul 2011 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, News items, Star Trek Online  The system allows team and fleet members to chat directly without the need for third-party servers or software such as TeamSpeak or Ventrilo. Joining a channel is automatic when you group with other players, and the implementation features the usual configuration and customization options (including, of course, a push-to-talk binding and the ability to disable the service entirely). Read all about it at the official STO website.
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| Guild Counsel: The dreaded guild meet-and-greet Posted: 07 Jul 2011 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Guilds, Opinion, The Guild Counsel, Miscellaneous  You've played together for months, even years, and now it's finally time to put a face to the name. Yep, it's the dreaded guild meet-and-greet. Summer tends to be a popular time for guild meet-ups, since the nice weather and flood of game conventions bring ample opportunity to get together. But meeting up with guildmates can be a hectic and somewhat stressful time. Even though online bonds can be as strong if not stronger than real-life ones, that final hurdle of meeting in person is daunting. You've probably seen the parody of The Guild's luncheon, with Tink surreptitiously sneaking in, Codex nervously trying to play host, and Vork passing out laminated copies of the guild agenda, but with some planning and thought, guild meet-and-greets can be a lot of fun. In this week's Guild Counsel, we'll look at some dos and don'ts when it comes to meeting your guild. Continue reading Guild Counsel: The dreaded guild meet-and-greet
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| Interview with CCP CEO Hilmar Petursson discusses recent events Posted: 07 Jul 2011 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Interviews, MMO industry, News items  CCP eventually released joint statements on the contentious issues with EVE's democratically elected player advisory council, followed by a thorough press conference to address any concerns not handled in the statements. The only person we haven't heard from yet is Hilmar Petursson himself. In an interview with gamesindustry.biz today, Hilmar answered some frank questions on recent hot topics ranging from feelings inside CCP following the leaks to the company's reasons for implementing microtransactions now. At popular EVE fansite Failheap Challenge, players have posted a transcript of the interview and have begun discussing the issues it addresses. The discussion highlights that this interview was performed the day before the CSM met in Iceland for its emergency meeting and so represents Hilmar's views before that event. Among the important answers is confirmation that CCP has a commitment to discuss all future microtransaction options with the CSM before implementation, something players have been asking for since the initial statement came out.
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| Champions Online adds housing via new hideout feature Posted: 07 Jul 2011 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Trailers, Video, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Roleplaying, Champions Online  In other words, welcome to the superhero version of player housing. Each hideout is an account-wide perk with a variety of customizable features (including access to a tailor and a Socrates crime computer terminal). Hideouts also come in four flavors: the basement, cave, moon, and Sanctum varieties. Head to the official Champions website to read more about each option and find out how to unlock hideouts on your account. Also, don't forget to check out the video preview after the break. Continue reading Champions Online adds housing via new hideout feature
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| New TERA video takes players inside the Dark Cathedral Posted: 07 Jul 2011 03:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Previews, News items, TERA  Our last look at TERA took us inside a day in the life of the wendigo Uchamba. Today, a new video from En Masse takes us inside the hallowed halls of the ominous Dark Cathedral instance. The short gameplay video features a group of adventurers taking on quite a few of the Cathedral's denizens, and its visuals are quite stunning to watch. It also gives players a look at TERA's "real action combat," which requires players to actively dodge and block in response to enemy attacks. If hot chicks, handsome men, and adorable panda creatures beating the ever-loving crap out of huge monsters sounds like your idea of a good time, head on past the cut for the full video. Continue reading New TERA video takes players inside the Dark Cathedral
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| Captain's Log: Hailing frequencies were, are, and will be open Posted: 07 Jul 2011 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Captain's Log  Hello, computer (and players)! While we have all been out and about gallivanting across the galaxy, the development team for Star Trek Online has been busy working on getting Season Four: Crossfire from Tribble test server to the Holodeck live sever, and it looks like the mission was a success as it was finally patched into the game this morning. In between all the bug-squashing, feedback-gathering, and sleepless nights, Executive Producer Dan Stahl found time to sit down and answer some of his players' burning questions about the future of STO. Toward the end of every month, a Cryptic Community Manager creates a new thread in the forums where players can submit questions. While it seems that the policy is "no question is too out there," only a select few are chosen and personally responded to. Whether you are interested in the future of Klingons, wondering when Starfleet Academy will make its debut, or curious to learn if the Romulans will become a playable faction, this month's Ask Cryptic is sure to leave you wanting more. While Dan seems to jump from topic to topic, I thought it would be handy if I put it all together for you in this week's Captain's Log entry. Ensign, warp 11! Yeah, that's right! This is for all the readers who thought we couldn't even go warp 10... Continue reading Captain's Log: Hailing frequencies were, are, and will be open
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| One Shots: They literally follow you everywhere Posted: 07 Jul 2011 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Galleries, Screenshots, Tabula Rasa, One Shots  Here's my red lumin keeping me company on the can in Tabula Rasa. While the purple lumins were nine-month vet reward gifts, I got this red one from someone who got a promotional code for it from Comic-Con. Since he (unfortunately) didn't play the game, he gave it away on a TR fan forum to the first person to make him laugh. I won by sending him a video of me screaming my head off on a roller coaster.Now it's your turn! Large or small, deadly or purely decorative, we want to see your favorite pet companion. Just let us know your name, the name of the game, and a little about your pet and how you acquired it. Send it all to oneshots@massively.com and we'll feature you and your pet on One Shots this week. It's time to start preparing for next week's One Shots theme as well. We've seen your gear, your mounts, and your pets; now it's time to see you! Snap a screenshot of your favorite character in your favorite MMO. Let us know about him or her, and we'll feature the character here on One Shots!
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| Posted: 07 Jul 2011 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Classes, PvE, Opinion, Free-to-play, Champions Online, Behind the Mask  Combined, these things make me really mad. Hideouts haven't been tested by players at all, and they were intended to roll out on Wednesday. The Vivox patch was pushed full of game-breaking bugs that players knew about in advance. Remember the kitchen sink patch? I thought the sloppy, impulsive, not-listening-to-players mentality that Cryptic had back then was dead. It needs to stay dead. I will not, however, be roped into writing a gigantic, mega-DOOM column this week. We can save those types of columns for EVE Online. Instead, I'm going to rant about something familiar and relevant to everyone: archetypes, and specifically, how the current archetypes are bad. I've already covered this ground, but I'm rearmed with research and rage. This week, we're throwing the Inferno archetype under the bus. He's not terrible by any means, but... to be honest, we can do better. A lot better. Continue reading Behind the Mask: You're fired
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| RIFT unveils Cleric class video Posted: 07 Jul 2011 12:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, News items, RIFT  It's been a while since we got our hands on one of RIFT's class videos, but it would seem that the wait is over. Today we have a short trailer highlighting RIFT's Cleric class. If your idea of a Priest is a robe-wearing, finger-wiggling, back-lines pansy, think again. Telara's Clerics can take it as well as dish it out, and the video proves it. In the trailer, we get to see a Cleric taking on the roles of ranged DPS, healing, and melee DPS, showcasing the class's excellent versatility. And if you want to jump into the boots and hauberk of a Cleric yourself, keep in mind that RIFT is on sale for $10 on Steam for today only. To see the whole Cleric trailer for yourself, jump on past the cut. Continue reading RIFT unveils Cleric class video
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| New EVE Online trailer highlights the player behind the space ship Posted: 07 Jul 2011 12:15 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, EVE Online, Culture, Expansions, Lore, PvP, News items  The trailer highlights the very real rush of fleet warfare, the real bonds we form with the players behind the ships and the communities we build and defend together. That sense of community is even extended outward into the real world, as attendees at the annual Fanfest or any one of several unofficial EVE meet-ups find out every year. At the 2011 EVE Fanfest in March, CCP and EVE players in attendance raised $11,000 US for charity Get Well Gamers. Notable items sold included the official CCP Banhammer from the GM department, as seen in the company's absolutely not safe for work music video HTFU, and a tour of the CCP offices led by CEO Hilmar Pétursson. CCP Soundwave's impromptu art print auction raised a massive $1,500, bringing total donations up to the $11,000 mark. The money was delivered to Get Well Gamers this week and will go to help buy gaming systems for sick children to play during their stays in hospital. Skip past the cut to watch the new Incarna trailer, embedded in HD. Continue reading New EVE Online trailer highlights the player behind the space ship
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| Tibia summer update features new world quests, tutorial Posted: 07 Jul 2011 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play  That title is Tibia, and the 2-D fantasy game from CipSoft GmbH has just announced a world-changing summer update. World quests are "highly complex missions which can only be accomplished if dozens or even hundreds of Tibia players cooperate," according to a new press release. The new quests add another level to Tibia's conflict-driven dynamic that sees players and guilds war with one another for years at a time, as the battlefield will now extend further into the open world and likely result in competition for quest objectives. Tibia is also offering a new quest line for newbs. The comprehensive tutorial series leads new players through various gameplay tasks and offers a concise yet thorough introduction to one of the genre's longest-running titles.
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| Gazillion signs European Marvel Super Hero Squad Online deal Posted: 07 Jul 2011 11:30 AM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Business models, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Browser, Super Hero Squad Online  SHSO is a kid-friendly romp through the Marvel mythos with locations that include Asgard, the Daily Bugle, and the Baxter Building. Gameplay revolves around collecting various heroes to form one of the titular squads, as well as choosing a particular individual to play and level up. "Gazillion's goal is to deliver entertaining console-quality games through the browser around the world," said CEO John Needham via press release.
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At its Summer Showcase today, EA demonstrated iOS support for Origin, the name for the 
