MMO Updates |
- New ArcheAge trailer and mobile app at ChinaJoy; Song charts MMO generations
- Silkroad Online's Mysterious Temple of Jupiter update to go live August 2nd
- NCsoft buys smartphone app studio
- World of Warplanes debuting at Gamescom
- Disney looking to buy out Faxion Online developer
- Dawntide releasing October 1st
- The Daily Grind: Have you been IP blocked?
- EVE Online shows off new toys in the war on lag
- Final Fantasy XIV's newest producer letter addresses balance and changes
- Massively Speaking Episode 158
- Prime: Battle for Dominus shows off crafting and professions
- Free for All: So what else can you get for 150 dollars?
- Gear up in the Realm of the Titans closed beta with our exclusive giveaway
- Choose My Adventure: Da udder half lives
- Prius Online launches with a spiffy Alienware giveaway
- One Shots: Risky behavior
- Enter at Your Own Rift: Forward thinking
- Earthrise's subscription price (earth)lowered
- A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Spotlight on Hellions & Skulls
- Chinese Hero Online coming to European market
- Double XP coming to EverQuest II this weekend
| New ArcheAge trailer and mobile app at ChinaJoy; Song charts MMO generations Posted: 28 Jul 2011 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, ArcheAge  First up is an iOS mobile application reveal, and the program will allow players to view character details and message their ArcheAge pals (with more functionality on the way according to an article at MMO Culture). The fan site also has an interesting look at XL founder Jake Song's ChinaJoy speech which outlines the differences between first-, second-, and third-generation MMORPGs. Song charts the evolution of MMO gameplay from the "unorganized freedom" of early titles to the passive playground style popularized by World of Warcraft, and says that third-gen titles like ArcheAge will provide the best of both worlds by re-introducting player creativity and removing restrictions while maintaining a high degree of polish. Finally, XL has created a new trailer for ChinaJoy, and the clip features the usual stunning scenery as well as a few new wrinkles (hang-gliding and castle construction!). Check it out after the break. Continue reading New ArcheAge trailer and mobile app at ChinaJoy; Song charts MMO generations
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| Silkroad Online's Mysterious Temple of Jupiter update to go live August 2nd Posted: 28 Jul 2011 09:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, Silkroad Online, Free-to-play  Titled Mysterious Temple of Jupiter, this update will offer a slew of new ways for characters to grow and gain in power -- not to mention go all Scooby-Doo on Old Man Jupiter's stomping grounds. Once August 2nd hits, Silkroad players can punch up through ten more levels for a total of 120, tackle 60 additional quests, and learn various new skills from the Chinese and European arts. The aforementioned temple will be available for conquest and plunder, although players will need to be level 111 and up to enter. Joymax CEO Nam-chul Kim says that this update is a direct result of community feedback: "For the latest expansion to Silkroad Online, we have listened closely to our community of players and are excited to offer new challenges and improvements." Mysterious Temple of Jupiter follows the last update, Rise of the Thief-Hunter, which came out four months ago.
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| NCsoft buys smartphone app studio Posted: 28 Jul 2011 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Mobile  We've known for some time now that NCsoft also has plans to include mobile functionality with Guild Wars 2, and its iOS/Android program will enable chatting, real-time map viewing, and other as-yet unrevealed functionality. NCsoft acquired 58.3 percent of Hotdog's shares, and is looking to "enhance our ability in the smart phone environment," according to a publisher representative.
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| World of Warplanes debuting at Gamescom Posted: 28 Jul 2011 08:30 AM PDT Filed under: Historical, Real life, Events, real-world, MMO industry, New titles, News items, War, Free-to-play  World of Warplanes was initially announced during this year's E3, but no media, gameplay footage, or web presence has been forthcoming as of yet. Wargaming.net will also be holding an open World of Tanks tournament at Gamescom, and the company has plans to announce its newest development project, according to a press release issued this morning.
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| Disney looking to buy out Faxion Online developer Posted: 28 Jul 2011 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: MMO industry, Legal, Miscellaneous, Faxion Online  The Ignition Entertainment label would fall under this deal, which has already been struggling with numerous layoffs and studio closings. We recently reported that UTV Ignition had to cut a good portion of its programming, maintenance, and customer service staff as part of these problems. Whether or not this deal will prove a boon or a hammer blow to Ignition remains to be seen. Disney has previously closed down developers Black Rock and Propaganda Games, although Mickey's parent company is looking to move in the direction of more social and casual gaming. We'll keep a close eye on this deal to see how it plays out.
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| Dawntide releasing October 1st Posted: 28 Jul 2011 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Launches, PvP, Dawntide  Fortunately, Working as Intended's fantasy sandbox title is nearing the end of its beta period, as the studio announced that it will release Dawntide on October 1st. You'll be able to get the client for free at that point, but after a 10-day trial period, you'll need to subscribe to continue your way in this MMO. Dawntide's world encompasses over 500 square kilometers of ocean and land to explore and shape. The game is centered around several major systems: Crafting, World, Combat, Sorcery, Factions and Settling, and is rife with open PvP and skill-based leveling. We recently spoke with Working As Intended's CEO, Martin "Wiz" Anward, which you should most definitely check out, and there's a launch trailer for the title after the jump that's the cat's meow! Continue reading Dawntide releasing October 1st
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| The Daily Grind: Have you been IP blocked? Posted: 28 Jul 2011 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind  Sometimes this IP block is for marketing purposes; sometimes it's for legal purposes according to that country's specific media laws. Most recently, Star Wars: The Old Republic barred Oceanic gamers from pre-ordering their highly anticipated MMO, and Rusty Hearts presented a long list of countries where their game is unplayable. But whatever the reason, it pisses a lot of people off, and here at Massively, we hear all about it through our tips line. Now we want you to speak your mind on the topic here in the comments of this post. Have you been affected by an IP block or regional lockout? Tell us your experience, but be sure to abide by our code of conduct (no cursing or name-calling).  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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| EVE Online shows off new toys in the war on lag Posted: 27 Jul 2011 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, EVE Online, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Dev Diaries  In a new video devblog, CCP Veritas from Team Gridlock shows off the latest toy in the fight against fleet lag. The Telemetry profiler gives developers millisecond-accurate details of what's happening on a server node, from physics calculations and database accesses to sending and receiving of data. By capturing telemetry of laggy fleet battles on the main EVE server, Veritas will be able to directly analyse the logs to find out where optimisations are most needed so that EVE can once again support battles with thousands of players per side. Head over to the official devblog webpage or skip past the cut to watch the video. Continue reading EVE Online shows off new toys in the war on lag
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| Final Fantasy XIV's newest producer letter addresses balance and changes Posted: 27 Jul 2011 05:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Game mechanics, Patches, News items, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV  The biggest topic of discussion of late has been class balance, as 1.18 also ushered in some minor drops to the power of spellcasters and Archers. Despite this, however, Yoshida is happy to see how people have received the upgrades to combat and the introduction to the game's instanced raids, both of which require a higher portion of strategy from the playerbase. He also finishes off by noting that the game's summer event will be rolling out in August, giving everyone a chance to earn the swimsuits previewed in the previous letter.
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| Massively Speaking Episode 158 Posted: 27 Jul 2011 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Podcasts, Culture, News items, Opinion, Massively meta, Humor  Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot an email to shawn@massively.com. We may just read your email on the air! Get the podcast: [iTunes] Subscribe to Massively Speaking directly in iTunes. [RSS] Add Massively Speaking to your RSS aggregator. [MP3] Download the MP3 directly. Listen here on the page: Read below the cut for the full show notes.  Massively Speaking is the official podcast of Massively.com. Hosted by Editor-in-Chief Shawn Schuster and Community Manager Rubi Bayer, Massively Speaking takes on the week's biggest news and dev interviews with plenty of opinion, rants, and laughs thrown in for good measure. Join us every Wednesday afternoon to listen in and see what we'll say next!Continue reading Massively Speaking Episode 158
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| Prime: Battle for Dominus shows off crafting and professions Posted: 27 Jul 2011 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, Previews, Professions, News items  Pitchblack Games has been steadiy releasing new tidbits of information on its upcoming PvP-focused MMO Prime: Battle for Dominus, and today we've got some spanking new information on the game's crafting and professions systems. In addition to their main classes, players will be able to choose one of seven crafting professions. These professions are Harvester, Armortech, Weapontech, Chemist, Inventory, Biotech, and Soldier for Hire. Most of these professions are fairly straightforward; Harvesters harvest crafting materials, Armortechs and Weapontechs craft armor and weaponry, Biotechs craft biological augmentations to enhance players' abilities, Chemists create "powerful enhancements that can turn the tide of any battle," and Inventors appear to invent new schematics that other crafters on their faction can use to create new and more powerful items. But what about the black sheep of the bunch, the Soldier for Hire? That's where things get interesting. Perhaps you're the sort of player that would rather make a living destroying things than creating them. If so, the Soldier for Hire is right up your alley. You work as a mercenary, protecting other players, with your payment worked right into the game mechanics. The full details on the rather in-depth crafting system can be found on the game's official site.
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| Free for All: So what else can you get for 150 dollars? Posted: 27 Jul 2011 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: EverQuest II, Lord of the Rings Online, Business models, Culture, Economy, Wurm Online, Opinion, Free-to-play, Browser, Hands-on, Casual, Humor, Free Realms, Mabinogi, Kids, Free for All, Battlestar Galactica Online  Still, I understand the impulse. I get it every time I am in the check-out lane and the new flavors of gum have been released. Even worse is when one of my favorite games releases new items in their cash shop. New mounts, housing goods, heck even new weapons or stat-increasing potions...they make me drool. So, I decided to take a 150 dollar budget and see what I could get for it. Click past the cut and let's look at the list! Continue reading Free for All: So what else can you get for 150 dollars?
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| Gear up in the Realm of the Titans closed beta with our exclusive giveaway Posted: 27 Jul 2011 03:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Contests, Giveaways  Each one of these 500 keys is good for double XP for 30 days, a magic carpet mount, and Gharu, a hero companion. All you have to do is visit our giveaway page to pick up your code, log into Realm of the Titans, click the "game menu" button, and enter your code in the pop-up menu. You can only get these items free here on Massively, so pick up your code and enjoy your RotT items! 
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| Choose My Adventure: Da udder half lives Posted: 27 Jul 2011 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Warhammer Online, PvE, Opinion, Choose My Adventure  Unfortunately, I found out that Oscar Wilde's old chestnut about the gods granting our wishes when they want to punish us proved entirely accurate. Jump on past the break for this week in Klurgind's somewhat less than epic adventure, with the caveat that it's going to be just a wee bit depressing in places. But hey, I never promised this story had a happy ending. Continue reading Choose My Adventure: Da udder half lives
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| Prius Online launches with a spiffy Alienware giveaway Posted: 27 Jul 2011 02:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Contests, Launches, Patches, Free-to-play  The last reason why this is such a stellar day is that to celebrate the launch, gPotato got together with Alienware to host an awesome giveaway for the game. Starting today, players can loot special Alienware tokens from mobs, and after two weeks, the person who's accumulated the biggest collection will win a souped up Alienware MX11 laptop! All players will enjoy double XP and drop rates during "peak gaming hours" and other random giveaways, such as the chance to win an HD video camera, during this period. We've also added five new screenshots to our Prius Online gallery, so check 'em out!
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| Posted: 27 Jul 2011 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, One Shots, RIFT  This is my 50 Bard, Riskybizniz. I was exploring Gloamwood and this looked like a great Screenshot with Quantum Sight and the sun in the back ground.We're enjoying free-for-all week here on One Shots, and we'd love to have you participate. Pick you favorite screenshot, be it funny, attractive, scary, or any brand of epic, and send it to us at oneshots@massively.com. Next week's One Shots theme is Some Assembly Required, and yes, it's a little nod to Massively's newest column. If you'd like to participate, send us your best screenshot of content that you've created. It can be a house you built, an item you crafted, or anything you like as long as it came from your two (virtual) hands. Include your name, the game, and a little description of the image, and we'll feature it here on Massively!
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| Enter at Your Own Rift: Forward thinking Posted: 27 Jul 2011 01:30 PM PDT Filed under: Events, in-game, Opinion, RIFT, Enter at Your Own Rift  Outside the game, Trion CCO and Rift Executive Producer Scott Hartsman posted a "State of the game," which outlined what they have planned for the fantasy MMO down the road. But it actually leaves us with more questions than answers. In this week's Enter at Your Own Rift, we'll look at the world event as well as the summer update, and speculate on what's really coming to Telara. Continue reading Enter at Your Own Rift: Forward thinking
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| Earthrise's subscription price (earth)lowered Posted: 27 Jul 2011 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Economy, MMO industry, News items, Earthrise  Have you been wanting to take sandbox MMO Earthrise out for a spin, but just don't have the creds to shell out for it? Well, today may be your lucky day. Masthead Studios announced today that they had lowered the prices of Earthrise's game client and subscription fees in order to "greatly improve the in-game economy and... also make Earthrise a lot more fun for both new and old members." So what are the new prices? Well, if you're in the US, the game client itself will cost you $14 (a rather sizeable 60% discount), while your subscription options will be: $14 for one month, $30 for three months, or $50 for five months. European players, on the other hand, will have to shell out 12 Euro for the client, and the subscription options will be: 12 Euro for one month, 25 Euro for three months, and 46 euro for five months. Whether or not this move will reinvigorate the game as planned, we'll just have to wait and see.
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| A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Spotlight on Hellions & Skulls Posted: 27 Jul 2011 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Lore, Opinion, A Mild-Mannered Reporter  Normally, villain groups deserve their own writeups, but in the case of these two gangs they can't help but be lumped together. Not just because they're similar in play, but because they're similar in structure. They're both the new kids on the block, metaphorically speaking, and they;'ve both made aggressive gains in various parts of Paragon City. The good fortune of one necessitates the fall of the other, even if one of the gangs is clearly destined for disintegration sooner or later. So let's look at the facemask-wearing enemies of the early-level game. Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Spotlight on Hellions & Skulls
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| Chinese Hero Online coming to European market Posted: 27 Jul 2011 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: MMO industry, New titles, Free-to-play, Crime  According to a Mail.Ru press release, Chinese Hero Online is based on the 1980s cult comic series Chinese Hero: Tales of the Blood Sword by Ma Rongcheng and will place players in 1930s China. Conflict arises thanks to various criminal clans and mafia organizations -- of which the player is a member -- leading to a showdown and eventual migration to the United States. Gameplay details are scarce, but we'll bring you more info on Chinese Hero Online as it becomes available.
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| Double XP coming to EverQuest II this weekend Posted: 27 Jul 2011 10:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Events, in-game, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play  The bonus applies to adventure, tradeskill, and alternate advancement experience, so don't leave your crafter alts or level-locked and AA-starved characters out in the cold. Double XP starts at 12:01 a.m. PDT on Friday, July 29th and runs through 11:59 p.m. PDT on Sunday, July 31st. It's also good across all the game servers including the free-to-play EQII Extended shard and French, German, and Japanese realms.
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