MMO Updates |
- La Tale Online prepping Sky Kingdom expansion
- Guild Wars 2 Asura Week begins Monday
- Trickster Online and Pangya United want to send you to Las Vegas
- Planet War celebrates new server with prize giveaways
- The Perfect Ten: Non-vanilla server rulesets
- Eden Eternal announces new race, crafting system
- The Daily Grind: What will be the last sub game standing?
- BioWare confirms no SWTOR beta this weekend
- Going to The Grand Masquerade in New Orleans? We want you!
- EVE Online expanding API functionality
- Warhammer Online's patch 1.4.4 on the public test server
- Star Wars: The Old Republic is keeping a close eye on World of Warcraft
- Age of Wulin interview translation hints at user-created martial arts
- New LotRO dev diaries outline Minstrel changes, PvMP
- A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Matter of pact
- Choose My Adventure: Ghosts
- Enter at Your Own Rift: The curious case of planar attunement
- One Shots: Would you like fries with that?
- Massively Speaking Episode 164: Dragon*Con 2011
- Free for All: Another attempt at free-to-play vs. freemium
- The dark side of Super Hero Squad Online
- Check out the newest MMOs from GamesCampus with a giveaway from Massively!
- XL Games details three ArcheAge races
- Battlestar Galactica Online adding new ships this month, surpasses 5M registered players
| La Tale Online prepping Sky Kingdom expansion Posted: 08 Sep 2011 10:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play  OGPlanet has just issued a press release trumpeting the game's long-awaited latest patch, and Sky Kingdom looks to continue the saga of Iris by introducing the floating continent of Preios and adding a ton of new content. What kind of new content? For starters there are nine new subclasses available for existing third class characters, and players may switch between their subclass and main class at will. Sky Kingdom also brings daily quests and new rewards to the table, as well as a reputation system and time-attack dungeons. To offset these new challenges, a new gem-crafting system has also been introduced, which OGPlanet says "will allow players to further customize and empower their characters." More info is available at the official La Tale Online website and you can also check out the Sky Kingdom trailer after the break. [Source: OGPlanet press release] Continue reading La Tale Online prepping Sky Kingdom expansion
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| Guild Wars 2 Asura Week begins Monday Posted: 08 Sep 2011 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars 2, Races  ArenaNet announced today that Asura Week will begin Monday, and cover character and environment design, animation, lore, and writing. The team will also release new audio, video, art, and even a "Hey Bookah" advice column that's sure to put we humans firmly in our place. Several familiar names will be pitching in for Asura week, including writers Jeff Grubb and Ree Soesbee. Asura week begins Monday, September 12th, and will continue all week. Check out the schedule after the cut for the full rundown of Asura Week! Source: Press release Continue reading Guild Wars 2 Asura Week begins Monday
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| Trickster Online and Pangya United want to send you to Las Vegas Posted: 08 Sep 2011 09:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Contests, Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Miscellaneous  Said events are happening in Trickster Online and Pangya United, and one winner from each title will take home a prize pack that includes airfare, hotel accommodations, and tickets to attend the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show. What's the skinny on the events themselves? First up is The Pirates of Pangya Island contest. The pirate queen Kooh is challenging players to collect gold coins hidden at the 18th hole of each Pangya Island course. All you have to do is collect one coin and you'll automatically be entered into the Las Vegas trip contest. The Pangya event ends on September 21st, and the winner will be announced on the 22nd. Entering the Trickster Online contest is even easier. Rack up 100 hours of game time by September 28th and you'll be eligible to win. The victor will be announced on October 5th. [Source: SG Interactive press release]
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| Planet War celebrates new server with prize giveaways Posted: 08 Sep 2011 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Contests, Free-to-play, Browser, Promotions  To celebrate Knight's opening, YooGames is launching a series of events for those brave (or foolhearty) enough to venture into the dangerous void of space looking for wealth and glory. Anyone who rolls on Knight will automatically be granted a VIP code, which can be turned in for a prize pack. There are additional rewards for players who are the first in the doors, who purchase gold for the first time on the server, who buy over 1,000 gold, and who get their heavy workshop tech up to level 5. It's not just about the solo player, either; YooGames is also looking to reward the ten best legions that prove their worth on the Knight server. Currently, Planet War is in open beta and is free-to-play for all. [Source: YooGames press release]
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| The Perfect Ten: Non-vanilla server rulesets Posted: 08 Sep 2011 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Age of Conan, Asheron's Call, City of Heroes, Dark Age of Camelot, Darkfall, Dofus, EVE Online, EverQuest, EverQuest II, Fallen Earth, Lord of the Rings Online, Ultima Online, Vanguard, Shadowbane, Humor, Perfect Ten, Miscellaneous  Those are all well and good, but... y'know... couldn't rulesets be used to create fascinating variations on these games? It turns out that yes, yes they can. While the vanilla rulesets are the vast majority, there does exist a group of fringe rulesets that dared to walk the different patch, er, path and made versions of MMOs that are a bold and refreshing flavor. Like blue! Sometimes these new rulesets were whipped up to inject new life into an aging title, giving players a valid reason to come back and see the game from a different perspective. In this week's Perfect Ten, we're going to check out just how wild 'n' wacky server rulesets can get! Continue reading The Perfect Ten: Non-vanilla server rulesets
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| Eden Eternal announces new race, crafting system Posted: 08 Sep 2011 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Crafting  Racial special abilities will also be making an appearance in the new patch, and they're tied into the new tradeskill mechanics. Characters at level 30 and above can participate in Gemcrafting (for Humans), Engineering (for Zumi), and Alchemy (for Anurans) to create a multitude of useful items including gear, potions, and dyes. The tradeskill goodness doesn't stop there, though, as players at level 20 and above are free to set up their own personal shops in the town of Aven. Finally, two new NPCs are being added to Eden Eternal, and Professor Koss gives timed XP boosts while Assistant Teren gifts players with different fortune bags throughout the day. Learn more about Eden Eternal, and grab the client, at the game's official website. [Source: Aeria Games press release]
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| The Daily Grind: What will be the last sub game standing? Posted: 08 Sep 2011 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Business models, MMO industry, Opinion, Free-to-play, Massively meta, The Daily Grind  That makes us wonder which game will be the last to convert fully to the modern Western-style F2P. Will Blizzard be the lone holdout, refusing to turn the aging World of Warcraft into a free-to-play MMO? Will it be a sandbox like Ultima Online or EVE Online, whose design mechanics discourage easy account creation? Or will a newer game like RIFT or the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic have more staying power? Which game will stay subscription-only until the bitter end?  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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| BioWare confirms no SWTOR beta this weekend Posted: 07 Sep 2011 09:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Events, in-game, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic  So that's the bad news. The good news is that future events are coming, and they're likely going to be on a much grander scale (meaning you, yes you, might even get an invite). "We rolled out this previous weekend as a relatively small scale event; from now we will do bigger and bigger events, but that doesn't mean it happens every weekend. When we do resume, we'll be inviting many more people in," Reid explains. He also hints at a comprehensive beta FAQ in the works, so keep your eyes peeled and your browsers pointed at Massively for the latest details as they become available. [Thanks Ren54!]
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| Going to The Grand Masquerade in New Orleans? We want you! Posted: 07 Sep 2011 08:00 PM PDT Filed under: Horror, Culture, MMO industry, Massively meta, Massively Event Coverage, World of Darkness, Miscellaneous  The Grand Masquerade is the annual event held by White Wolf in New Orleans, Louisiana as a fan gathering for World of Darkness. Since White Wolf and CCP are working on a World of Darkness MMO, we're especially interested in getting some first-hand information out of the event. This year, they've confirmed that more details on the MMO will be revealed, so we're especially excited to be a part of it. Read on after the jump for details on how you can apply to represent Massively at The Grand Masquerade. Continue reading Going to The Grand Masquerade in New Orleans? We want you!
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| EVE Online expanding API functionality Posted: 07 Sep 2011 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, News items  If you're not familiar with the programming side of the API, naturally, the developer blog is largely going to read like so much arcane nonsense to you. The takeaways for all players are that there is greater flexibility in setting access keys with limited durations, and calling contract information is now easier than it was before. On the other hand, if you are a part of the game's programming community and want to know more about the changes, the blog should provide a great deal of more in-depth and useful information for improved functionality.
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| Warhammer Online's patch 1.4.4 on the public test server Posted: 07 Sep 2011 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, Patches, PvP, Warhammer Online, News items  Warhammer Online's patch version 1.4.4 has just hit the public test server, allowing players to partake of some new and exciting features. The Wild Hunt is once again upon the forces of Order and Chaos, and it calls for players to track, hunt, and slay elusive creatures. A variety of RvR changes have been made as well, such as new Keep Defense mechanics. This new mechanic requires keep defenders to destroy the attacking war party's battering ram, at which point the siege will "briefly shift to a 'Successful Defense' state." The defending troops will then receive a buff, intended to allow them to push back their attackers. Once the defenders push the attackers out of their keep area, however, the buff will quickly fade, putting the battle back on a level playing field. For all of this and more, players can check out the full patch notes and get a firsthand look on the public test servers.
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| Star Wars: The Old Republic is keeping a close eye on World of Warcraft Posted: 07 Sep 2011 05:30 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Culture, MMO industry, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic  This might not seem like terribly relevant information, but a lot of attention is being paid to the game's content release schedule, the speed at which experienced players will go through new content, and the game's post-launch foci. It also extends to an emphasis on smooth networking code to ensure that players can log in and experience the game quickly rather than having to fight off latency. It's no secret that WoW is influencing other games, but SWtOR seems to be designed with an eye toward more than just gameplay.
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| Age of Wulin interview translation hints at user-created martial arts Posted: 07 Sep 2011 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play  What's Weibo? It's basically a Chinese Twitter analog, and the interview touches on game basics including character slots (one per account), PKing opportunities, and brief blurbs on the game's unique auto-pathing and user-created martial arts systems. These last two didn't merit more than a mention in this particular interview, but rest assured that we'll be bringing you all the latest Age of Wulin news as it happens.
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| New LotRO dev diaries outline Minstrel changes, PvMP Posted: 07 Sep 2011 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Classes, Expansions, Game mechanics, Previews, PvP, News items, PvE, Free-to-play  Denizens of Middle-earth, sit yourselves down, light up some pipeweed, and brace yourselves for information overload. The fine folks at Turbine have released a pair of new dev diaries outlining the changes coming to Minstrels and PvMP with Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard. One of the first things that Minstrels will notice when they log in to Rise of Isengard for the first time is that they are no longer clad in the medium armor to which they are accustomed. Instead, the Minstrel's medium armor trait is being replaced with something "equally valuable." The next sweeping change comes in regard to the Minstrel's ballads. Gone are the days when Minstrels had to play ballads in tiers; instead, all ballads have been divided into minor, major, and perfect categories. These categories roughly tie into the three stances that the Minstrel employs, providing either healing, damage, or power reduction. The Major Ballad is of particular note, as its effects will change depending on the stance the Minstrel is in. With no stance selected, the ability will heal allies. In Harmony or War-speech stance, the ability becomes a damage-dealing skill. Minstrels will also be receiving an upgrade to their available stance choices, allowing players greater flexibility in their playstyle. This is by no means an exhaustive list of the changes coming to Minstrels with Rise of Isengard; they will also be receiving changes to their Anthems and will be given a new type of ability called a Coda. Trait lines are being given a few tweaks as well, so any would-be bards should certainly give the full list of changes a look. Meanwhile, in the Ettenmoors, changes are sweeping the Freeps. All Freep quests have been made into dailies, and all quests now reward players with a combination of Destiny, Glory, and cold hard coin. Rangers have received a variety of tweaks as well. Freep PvMP rewards have been upgraded to be uniform with the new stat system, and players who previously purchased the old versions of the armor rewards will be able to swap the old version for the new. New jewelry and offhands are also being made available to help the Free Peoples of Middle-earth take the battle to the Ettenmoors. Once again, the full details, as well as previews of some of the updated items being made available to the heroes of the Ettenmoors.
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| A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Matter of pact Posted: 07 Sep 2011 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, A Mild-Mannered Reporter  One of the things that CoH has been loath to do over the years is remove things. That's part of why the game has become so all-encompassing for so many players -- every new system has built upon its predecessors, adding new options, moving in new directions. So the removal of one of the game's interesting features struck me as a little odd just because it's something that's nearly without precedent in its lifespan. Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Matter of pact
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| Posted: 07 Sep 2011 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Polls, Screenshots, Video, Lore, Opinion, Choose My Adventure, RIFT, Livestream  I cannot say this enough: Visually, RIFT is stunning. Below you'll find the gallery of my adventures; I included 19 new screenshots this week. They complement Seriia's story throughout Freemarch and especially the Scarred Mire. The gallery includes some excellent screenshots of Jakub the Tyrant, Alsbeth the Discordant, and March Warden Eliam. My new mount and the Abyssal visions from the daily half-birthday quests also make an appearance. After the break, Seriia dreams of ghosts and tyrants. Eliam Fields seems to be a home for her; she loves the place. Also, I need your help with invasions -- I am not exactly performing the way I would like to in large group activities. Maybe a new soul will help. Let me know what you think after the break. Let the Telaran adventure begin! Continue reading Choose My Adventure: Ghosts
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| Enter at Your Own Rift: The curious case of planar attunement Posted: 07 Sep 2011 02:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Opinion, RIFT, Enter at Your Own Rift  The testing continues, and there are still tweaks to come with this system, but there are several questions surrounding the addition of the Planar Attunement system. In this week's Enter at Your Own Rift, we'll look at some potentially tricky issues when it comes to RIFT and AAs. Continue reading Enter at Your Own Rift: The curious case of planar attunement
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| One Shots: Would you like fries with that? Posted: 07 Sep 2011 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Lord of the Rings Online, Free-to-play, One Shots  While Lord of the Rings Online is making great strides toward armor coolness, particularly with its cosmetic wardrobe and new looks coming in Rise of Isengard, the game remains well-known for its buffoonish armor types.It's ugly armor week all week on One Shots, so whether you have an eye-searing color scheme, a set of armor pieces that clash like crazy, or something that you just put together for a laugh, we want to see. Next week we'll be revisiting starting zones, so if you want to get a jump on things, grab a screenshot of your favorite starting zone and send it in to oneshots@massively.com and we'll feature it in next week's One Shots!
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| Massively Speaking Episode 164: Dragon*Con 2011 Posted: 07 Sep 2011 01:30 PM PDT Filed under: Podcasts, Culture, Events, real-world, Opinion, Humor, Massively Event Coverage, Massively Speaking, Miscellaneous  If you're interested in learning more about the Game Programming Instructor position Shawn has mentioned on previous episodes, check out the job listing or contact Shawn for more info. 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 164: Dragon*Con 2011
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Free for All: Another attempt at free-to-play vs. freemium Posted: 07 Sep 2011 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Business models, Opinion, Free-to-play, Free for All, Miscellaneous  But I work at Massively. We're a website about, you know, games, and not just games, but MMOs, some of the least understood of all games. People and even developers seem to confuse what MMO means, and they especially confuse what a free-to-play MMO should offer. Once again I am going to take a crack at it, but not just because I am nosy. Mainly I want to clear this up so people will know what to expect from a title and whether there is going to have to be any money involved. Click past the cut and let's have at it! Continue reading Free for All: Another attempt at free-to-play vs. freemium
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| The dark side of Super Hero Squad Online Posted: 07 Sep 2011 12:30 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Trailers, Video, Expansions, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Browser, Trading card games, Casual, Kids, Super Hero Squad Online  SHSO, which released last year complete with housing and a trading card game, is a F2P browser-based MMO that's heavy on the comic mischief and perfect for a quick superhero-flavored dungeon romp. Be you big kid or small, check out the new Villainville trailer behind the break! Continue reading The dark side of Super Hero Squad Online
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| Check out the newest MMOs from GamesCampus with a giveaway from Massively! Posted: 07 Sep 2011 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, War, Free-to-play, Giveaways  This giveaway works a bit differently than the ones you usually see on Massively. Each gift package has a single redemption code, which can be applied 500 times before it expires. To apply each code, install the game, log into your GamesCampus account, and apply the code under "coupon" on the righthand navigation bar. Asda 2 is the anime-style sequel to Asda Story, and each starter package includes an exclusive Summer Festival avatar set, a seven-day Premium Potion, a seven-day Dragon Doll vehicle, 10 teleport scrolls, and 10 HP recovery scrolls. The gift pack code is A534A4904175411D. Heroes in the Sky is a World War II-themed MMOTPS, and the starter pack includes a variety of seven-day items. You'll receive larger maximum secondary weapon ammo, durability protection to prevent your gear from breaking down, improved weapon reload time, coolant to reduce the rate at which your engine overheats, and reduced skill cooldown times. The gift pack code is CA3DCB694FBF4629. Each code is limited to one per account, so grab yours, pick up your starter pack, and have fun!
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| XL Games details three ArcheAge races Posted: 07 Sep 2011 11:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lore, MMO industry, New titles, News items, ArcheAge, Sandbox  Dwarves are -- as you might guess -- short, stubborn, and fond of metal. Hariharans aren't quite as exotic as the name suggests, given that they're one of two human races in the world of ArcheAge. In terms of lore, there's no love lost between Hariharans and their Nuian counterparts, and the former tend towards light weapons and armor while the latter favor heavy weapons and heavier mail. Finally, XL also revealed the Warborn, and ArcheAge Online describes them as "neither demons nor humans, but a gigantic race who excel at killing things."
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| Battlestar Galactica Online adding new ships this month, surpasses 5M registered players Posted: 07 Sep 2011 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Business models, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Browser, Battlestar Galactica Online  The devs are adding a new line of fleet recon ships to Battlestar Galactica Online, and the craft will enable both Colonial and Cylon players to jump directly to their targets while "in proximity of an erupting battle." The ships will debut in mid-September and are modeled on the Raptor and Heavy Raider craft from the beloved Syfy television series. Bigpoint's latest press release also mentions that the Brimir-class carrier will be "available this fall, though its size, complexity, and impact on game balance must be optimized before its general release." Finally, the company is trumpeting some new metrics, and the release says that BSGO has surpassed the five million registered player mark. [Source: Bigpoint press release]
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