MMO Updates

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• Age of Conan long-term subs available, Funcom gifting weekly consumable packs
• Ten things to do in Star Wars Galaxies before it's gone
• The Repopulation adds action mode combat toggle, military system
• A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Spotlight on the Outcasts
• The Daily Grind: What's your end-of-the-year MMO to-do list?
• Testing players to receive rewards in Star Trek Online
• Luck be a lady tonight! LotRO lotteries returning
• Win an Age of Conan lifetime sub in new Funcom sweepstakes
• Take justice to the streets in City of Heroes
• The Game Archaeologist answers Asheron's Call 2: The highlights
• Hyperspace Beacon: Hyperspace... beacons
• The Soapbox: It doesn't have to be for you
• Uncharted Waters Online celebrating first anniversary with special events
• FFXIV's 1.19 patch features new group content, Ifrit primal
• Trion Worlds treks to NYCC with a trio of games
• Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond handing out trips to the (virtual) moon!
• DCUO's latest update takes you to the Fortress of Solitude
• Star Wars: The Old Republic increases invitations to this weekend's beta test
• Cryptic explains Star Trek Online's quick turnaround time
• Black Prophecy celebrates World Space Week with bonus events

Age of Conan long-term subs available, Funcom gifting weekly consumable packs Posted: 05 Oct 2011 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Promotions We've got more Age of Conan-related subscription news for you this morning. Yesterday we mentioned the lifetime sub sweepstakes currently ongoing at AoC's Facebook page. Today we came across some new time-limited sub offers on the game's forums as well as a blurb about free weekly login items. The sub offers come in three-, six-, and 12-month flavors, and each also features a bundle of in-game goods designed to make your Hyborian life a little easier. All three packs give you assorted potions and the basic riding skill, while the six- and 12-month varieties give you mounts to go with it. The weekly login items feature packs of consumables and are available via the special offers tab of the in-game store. This week's pack is labeled A Bountiful Harvest, while subsequent weeks will feature A Hearty Harvest, A Fine Harvest, and The Harvest Reward packs. Age of Conan long-term subs available, Funcom gifting weekly consumable packs originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Oct 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: AoC forums

Ten things to do in Star Wars Galaxies before it's gone Posted: 05 Oct 2011 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Opinion, Star Wars Galaxies, Roleplaying, Humor, Sandbox When SOE announced that Star Wars Galaxies would be sunsetted by the end of the year, many players despaired. They gave up. They saw their long years (eight years!) of play turn to dust. But others looked on the impending closure as incentive to do all those things they'd been putting off, all the activities they just hadn't gotten around to. There hadn't been time. The game is too big for anyone to do it all. And that's precisely why Star Wars Galaxies is a legend among sandbox fans despite the NGE disaster. It's a living museum of great MMO ideas from the past, of player-driven economies, of open-world housing, of high-end, game-supported roleplay, of roaming in a game that lets you dictate the terms of your play. It's a rare relic you should see in the flesh, today, right now, before it's gone. You can pick up a weapon and fight in any MMO (excepting A Tale in the Desert, that is), but there are so many things you can do in Star Wars Galaxies that you can't do anywhere else with the same level of immersion. And I'm going to tell you which 10 you should do first... before it's too late. Continue reading Ten things to do in Star Wars Galaxies before it's gone Ten things to do in Star Wars Galaxies before it's gone originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Oct 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Repopulation adds action mode combat toggle, military system Posted: 05 Oct 2011 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Sandbox Last week we told you about a new three-faction sandbox MMO called The Repopulation. Today we've got the very latest on the game courtesy of Above & Beyond Technologies' end-of-September progress report. As it turns out, some of September was dedicated to preparing for the game's initial announcement and piecing together the accompanying trailer. Other than that, though, the devs did make a bit of progress on gameplay proper. Action mode combat was the biggest addition, and the update describes an interesting mechanic that allows users to "toggle between action- or RPG-mode combat at any time during gameplay." The other big addition is The Repopulation's military system. In a nutshell, it's a ranking system that allows players to gain military XP while performing various duties for their nation's armed forces. Ranks, medals, and perks like armor, weapons, vehicles, robotics, and special abilities are among the system's rewards. The Repopulation adds action mode combat toggle, military system originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Oct 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: The Repopulation September update

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Spotlight on the Outcasts Posted: 05 Oct 2011 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Lore, Opinion, Free-to-play, A Mild-Mannered Reporter One of the elements that doesn't get explored often enough in MMOs is the concept of the people who didn't quite make it. It's generally accepted on some level that adventurers or superheroes or whatever you play are a cut above normal people, but there's still a point at which you stop being a Assault Rifle/Devices Blaster and start being just a guy with a gun and some toys. And the people just below that mark, just shy of reaching the big time, have a story to tell, just like the player characters. So today's look at City of Heroes' villainous groups highlights one of the game's suggestions about what happens to those people. It's a group composed of those not quite strong enough to make a name beyond thuggery but just strong enough to be more dangerous than the low-level mooks you don't even notice. I'm talking, of course, about the Outcasts, the elemental-themed gang of mutants that terrorizes Steel Canyon, goes to war with the Trolls, and makes a cottage industry out of being almost good enough to hit the big time. Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Spotlight on the Outcasts A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Spotlight on the Outcasts originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Oct 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: What's your end-of-the-year MMO to-do list? Posted: 05 Oct 2011 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous With only a little less than three months left in 2011, it's time to start thinking about what we want to accomplish before 2012's crop of MMOs arrives. Maybe you want to reach level cap in some of 2011's launches like Allods Online or DC Universe Online, or dive into the newest shinies like LotRO's Rise of Isengard. Either way, there's a good chance you're completing your goals with one eye on 2012, which looks to be quite a year for the MMO industry. So tell us what your end-of-the-year goals are. Is it something related to completing a current game, or some kind of rigorous sleep-deprivation exercise that gets you ready for the launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic, Guild Wars 2, or another anticipated MMO? 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: What's your end-of-the-year MMO to-do list? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Testing players to receive rewards in Star Trek Online Posted: 04 Oct 2011 08:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Previews, News items, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play One of the little carrots that Star Trek Online has always given its players is a reward for playing on the test server. Specifically, by playing on the Tribble server, players receive a unique "bonus" tribble for their captain on the live server. The fourth entry in the Path to F2P blog series promises that players who take part on the test server will once again receive a special ball of fluff to call their own... but there's more on the way. The special reward tribble will be given to anyone who either reaches level 6 on a character created for the test server or transfers a higher-level character over once the transfers become available. Current subscribers who clock in time on the server will also be eligible for several other small rewards -- nothing spectacular individually, but enough so that players who log in regular testing will feel a bit of an extra bonus. The test server will get the KDF faction opened this week, so Star Trek Online players will have plenty to test in the name of easily replicating cooing dustbunnies. The fifth Path to F2P blog post has also gone live this evening with more details on how to rack up these test points and a deeper explanation for why you'd want to do so. Testing players to receive rewards in Star Trek Online originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Path to F2P entry #4, Path to F2P entry #5

Luck be a lady tonight! LotRO lotteries returning Posted: 04 Oct 2011 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Events, in-game, News items, Free-to-play You feelin' lucky, punk? You... You are? Oh, OK then. Well, that may just be for the best because from the looks of things, Lord of the Rings Online's lotteries will be making a return very soon. Over the next few days, Turbine will be running some "small, short, unannounced lotteries" to stress-test the feature, and if all goes as planned, players should expect the lottery to make a triumphant return by this weekend. So if you want to try your luck for some fabulous prizes, just head on over to my.lotro.com, click the lottery button, and cross your fingers. Good luck, ladies and gents! Luck be a lady tonight! LotRO lotteries returning originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Via: A Casual Stroll to Mordor -- LOTRO Lotteries Close to Returning!

Win an Age of Conan lifetime sub in new Funcom sweepstakes Posted: 04 Oct 2011 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Contests, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Promotions Feeling lucky? If so, you want might want to enter Funcom's new Age of Conan sweepstakes. One grand-prize winner will take home a lifetime premium sub to the fantasy MMORPG along with 6,000 cash shop points and the opportunity to have an in-game NPC named after one of your characters. Five first-prize winners will grab the ultimate Conan fan pack, which includes an in-game pleasure companion (nope, we're not kidding), 2,500 Funcom points, and three purebred mounts. Finally, second-prize winners will receive 1,000 Funcom points. The sweepstakes starts today, October 4th, and runs through November 22nd. Check out the details on the Age of Conan Facebook page, and don't forget to take a look at the official contest rules while you're at it. Win an Age of Conan lifetime sub in new Funcom sweepstakes originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: AoC Facebook

Take justice to the streets in City of Heroes Posted: 04 Oct 2011 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Video, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Classes, Game mechanics, News items, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries If you're not satisfied taking out thugs with merely a katana or a kick, then Paragon Studios has your answer: Street Justice. It's a brand-new powerset just released in City of Heroes Freedom, available to Scrappers, Brutes, Stalkers, and Tankers. It looks like a flashier mashup of the Martial Arts and Super Strength sets, and according to a post by Paragon's Phil "Synapse" Zeleski, Street Justice is like many of the newer CoH sets in that it comes with a special mechanic, in this case, combo levels and finishing moves that give more freedom to the player than does the similar gameplay hook of Dual Blades. Street Justice is available for purchase in the game's cash shop for 800 Paragon Points (about $10 US). It is one of two new powersets not granted freely to VIP subscribers. Check out the video after the break to peek before you buy. Continue reading Take justice to the streets in City of Heroes Take justice to the streets in City of Heroes originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: City of Heroes Street Justice

The Game Archaeologist answers Asheron's Call 2: The highlights Posted: 04 Oct 2011 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Asheron's Call, Classes, Expansions, The Game Archaeologist MMO sequels are funny animals. Sequels (along with prequels and "reimaginings") are ingrained into the entertainment industry so deep that it makes sense that MMO studios would follow suit. And yet these types of games -- with their ever-growing nature and heavy involvement with loyal playerbases -- are not always conducive to such projects. More often than not, a sequel to an online game becomes its ancestor's main competition, which is not a desirable outcome for the studio. Perhaps back in the early 2000s, studios simply didn't know better. There's good evidence that the typical "hit video games need a sequel" mindset ran rampant across the industry, from the multiple attempts at Ultima Online 2 to the release of the don't-call-it-a-sequel sequel of EverQuest II. Perhaps developers didn't realize that MMO players didn't necessarily want to be uprooted and moved to a new game every few years. While sequels, spin-offs and remakes are still present, the genre learned a hard lesson with Asheron's Call 2 in the first half of the decade. Asheron's Call was a success on Microsoft and Turbine's behalf, and a sequel -- with vastly improved graphics and deeper gameplay -- seemed like a logical next step. Unfortunately, it was a Greek tragedy in the making, destined for a short but memorable life in our world. This month we're going to look at the brief shining star of Asheron's Call 2 and get all sorts of misty-eyed romantic over it! Continue reading The Game Archaeologist answers Asheron's Call 2: The highlights The Game Archaeologist answers Asheron's Call 2: The highlights originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Hyperspace Beacon: Hyperspace... beacons Posted: 04 Oct 2011 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Lore, New titles, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Hyperspace Beacon A hyperspace beacon in Star Wars lore guides a space traveler from one safe lightspeed jump to the next. Basically, a nav computer communicates with a hyperspace beacon, requesting jump points to its intended destination, and the hyperspace beacon, being in contact with other hyperspace beacons, replies with the fastest route to that star system. Explorers, like Gav Daragon, would take risky jumps in directions beacons didn't point to. That is how they found Korriban. By the time period of Star Wars: A New Hope, hyperspace beacons were no longer in service. However, we know for certain that less than 300 years before Star Wars: The Old Republic, hyperspace beacons were still in use. Since technology appears to advance quite slowly, I can only assume that they are still used in some capacity during SWTOR. As evident by the galaxy map that BioWare launched this past Friday, the worlds of this time period are strongly divided into territories. The planets of the movies appeared to be united under one banner (although that's not entirely accurate). What I'd like to do today is give you a little tour of the galaxy, comparing this map to something you may be a bit more familiar with: the Star Wars movies. So strap yourself in, kid -- we gotta make the jump to hyperspace! Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: Hyperspace... beacons Hyperspace Beacon: Hyperspace... beacons originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Soapbox: It doesn't have to be for you Posted: 04 Oct 2011 02:30 PM PDT Filed under: Culture, MMO industry, Opinion, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. It's a natural problem: MMOs are all about making you feel invested in your character and your playstyle. The best games let you choose your style, your preferred content, the way you want to level, the times you want to play, and so forth. And so it's only natural that you'll gradually start to think of the way you like to play as the one part of the game that actually matters. Sure, you aren't going to say it out loud, but you still think in your heart that PvP or raiding or small-group content or roleplaying or dancing naked on a mailbox is the real core of the game. Or you think that free-for-all PvP or crafting sandboxes or directed themeparks or whatever are the real kind of MMOs and everything else is a pale imitation. And that's a shame because even if you like those sorts of things, not everyone does. Continue reading The Soapbox: It doesn't have to be for you The Soapbox: It doesn't have to be for you originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Uncharted Waters Online celebrating first anniversary with special events Posted: 04 Oct 2011 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play Birthday cakes and kazoos are the order of the day in Uncharted Waters Online. The nautical MMORPG is celebrating its first anniversary, and the team at gPotato has prepared a series of events designed to reward long-time players and entice new captains into the fold. First up is the premium ticket blast, and funnily enough, it rewards players with a premium ticket, provided that they are logged in at precisely 8:00 a.m. on October 8th. The ticket is, well, your ticket to trying out a "coveted sailing vessel or other valuable prizes." There's also a three-week marathon event in which players will receive daily boosts and free items simply by logging into UWO. Beginning on October 5th, you'll want to check in once a day to claim your prizes, skill proficiency buffs, and extra fame points. Finally, the devs are hosting a UWO writing contest, and there are 13 prizes up for grabs (including a few custom ships). [Source: gPotato press release] Uncharted Waters Online celebrating first anniversary with special events originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

FFXIV's 1.19 patch features new group content, Ifrit primal Posted: 04 Oct 2011 01:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Final Fantasy XIV, Dungeons It's patch day in the world of Eorzea, and today's 1.19 update looks to bring quite a bit of new content to Final Fantasy XIV. Said content includes a new confrontation with Ifrit, a fiery primal who waits for brave adventurers at the end of one of the game's newest quests. Final Fantasy XIV's lodestone has all the details, and apparently the Ifrit encounter comes in two distinct flavors. One is designed for level 30 light parties (four members), while the other is a hard-mode run intended for eight-man level 50 groups. Ifrit wears his badassery on his sleeve if the accompanying video clip is any indication, and the lodestone entry describes him as "a demon spawned by the seven hells" whose exhalations "produce heat of such torridity as to reduce iron to pools of white-hot liquid." See for yourself after the break. Continue reading FFXIV's 1.19 patch features new group content, Ifrit primal FFXIV's 1.19 patch features new group content, Ifrit primal originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: FFXIV lodestone

Trion Worlds treks to NYCC with a trio of games Posted: 04 Oct 2011 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Massively meta, MMOFPS, MMORTS, RIFT Trion Worlds has three gaming worlds up its sleeve right now, and it aims to talk about all of them at this year's New York Comic Con. In fact, the company has announced that several of its developers will participate in a panel "to discuss the future of [its] online gaming portfolio." RIFT junkies can look forward to a chat with Design Producer Hal Hanlin and Lore Lead Morgan Lockhart about the studio's upcoming plans for the fantasy MMO, while MMORTS fans will get their PvE and PvP on with Senior Producer Chris Lena from End of Nations. And attendees looking for their shooter fix won't be left out: Rob Hill, Senior Producer for Defiance, will be on hand to cover the MMOFPS and its integration with the Syfy show. The panel takes places on Friday, October 14th, from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. EDT in room 1A24. Tickets for the con are still available on the official NYCC website. [Source: Trion Worlds press release] Trion Worlds treks to NYCC with a trio of games originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: NYCC Official Website

Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond handing out trips to the (virtual) moon! Posted: 04 Oct 2011 12:30 PM PDT Filed under: Historical, Astronaut: Moon, Mars, and Beyond, Promotions, Miscellaneous As Project Whitecard wraps up its Kickstarter fundraiser to raise funds for Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond, it wants to give a little extra incentive for any would-be donors. Anyone -- past, present and future -- who gives to the NASA project will be entered into a drawing for one of 50 free copies of Project Moonwalk. Project Moonwalk is a video game simulation of the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, designed to be not only fun but also educational. The game hits the high points of space race history, from Sputnik's launch to the lunar landing and subsequent return to Earth. Made with the Unreal Engine, Project Moonwalk will be released this fall. Currently, Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond has raised over $41,000 through Kickstarter, well exceeding its $25,000 goal. If you're interested in helping in the second great space race, then you have six days to get your pledge in to the cause before the fundraiser ends! Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond handing out trips to the (virtual) moon! originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Project Moonwalk

DCUO's latest update takes you to the Fortress of Solitude Posted: 04 Oct 2011 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, DC Universe Online, Dungeons We still don't have a date for you with regard to DC Universe Online's impending payment model switcheroo. We do have the latest Sony Online Entertainment press release, though, and it's full of details about the superhero MMO's latest content patch. Listen up, Superman fans, as today's patch brings about the second phase of a three-part raid in which players must stop Brainiac from harnessing Kryptonian technology and using it to destroy the entire planet. The update, appropriately titled The Fate of the Fortress, features Superman's iconic arctic hideout known as the Fortress of Solitude, and the patch allows would-be heroes to team up with Kal-El, Lex Luthor, and their fellow players to tackle a challenging eight-man group combat raid. There's a bunch of new loot to be had as well, and today's update also features a new hard-mode option for the HIVE tier-two alert as well as a new Batcave PvP map. Finally, SOE has incorporated a new dueling mechanic into DCUO, so fire up your launchpads, button up your underoos, and get ready to save Gotham City and Metropolis from the clutches of the megalomaniacal Brainiac. [Source: SOE press release] DCUO's latest update takes you to the Fortress of Solitude originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Star Wars: The Old Republic increases invitations to this weekend's beta test Posted: 04 Oct 2011 11:45 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Events, in-game, Star Wars: The Old Republic While Star Wars: The Old Republic's beta test weekends thus far have been small and intermittent, BioWare hopes to make it up to anxious fans by kicking off a much larger beta event. The studio posted that it is in the process of inviting "more players into testing than [it's] ever invited before in a single weekend" over the course of today in preparation for this weekend's test. This next beta weekend will take place from October 7th through the 11th and is separate from the ongoing closed beta. BioWare also asserts that players who aren't accepted into this test will have future opportunities in the additional beta test weekends before the launch. SWTOR beta test invitations will come straight to players' emails and can be verified by logging into your account to see whether the beta client is available for download. [Thanks to everyone who sent in this tip!] Star Wars: The Old Republic increases invitations to this weekend's beta test originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Star Wars: The Old Republic

Cryptic explains Star Trek Online's quick turnaround time Posted: 04 Oct 2011 11:30 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, Interviews, MMO industry, News items, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play Star Trek Online fans have occasionally wondered whether Cryptic Studios felt pressured to rush the game toward its February 2010 launch date. Recent comments by new executive producer Stephen D'Angelo indicate that the company was under the gun due to a pre-existing licensing agreement between the Star Trek IP owners (CBS) and Perpetual Entertainment (STO's original developer). D'Angelo states that Cryptic acquired the license from Perpetual and had to abide by the original agreement in order to keep it. That meant that the new dev team had approximately two years to crank out an ambitious sci-fi MMO based on one of world's most beloved IPs (and featuring one of the world's most notoriously obsessive fan bases). The comments come during the course of a video interview on the STOked podcast, which you can watch after the break. [Thanks to The Grand Nagus for the tip!] Continue reading Cryptic explains Star Trek Online's quick turnaround time Cryptic explains Star Trek Online's quick turnaround time originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: STO forums

Black Prophecy celebrates World Space Week with bonus events Posted: 04 Oct 2011 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Black Prophecy, Promotions Did you know that it's world space week? Yep, it is, and gamigo is leveraging the occasion to hype its free-to-play Black Prophecy MMORPG. A new company press release has the details, and they boil down to a couple of special events both in and around the space shooter. First up is an XP boost that grants players a 25% increase on both missions and enemy kills. gamigo is also offering an additional 15% extra cash on all cash shop packet purchases. Also of note is Black Prophecy's first official expansion. Episode 2: Species War is out now, and you can view an official trailer for the new content after the break. [Source: gamigo press release] Continue reading Black Prophecy celebrates World Space Week with bonus events Black Prophecy celebrates World Space Week with bonus events originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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General gaming

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• Rage Suffering From a Variety of Launch Day Issues on PC
• New Kinect Game Teaches You How to Defend Yourself
• Review: Dark Souls Shines, But You May Hate It
• The Dark Souls Survival Guide
• Unreal Engine 3 Can Now Run in Your Browser
• Apple Announces iPhone 4S, Launching October 14
• Infinity Blade 2 Coming to iOS
• Resident Evil Revelations Dated, GameStop Pre-Orders Net Fancy 3DS Case
• Gears of War 3's First DLC is the Horde Command Pack

Rage Suffering From a Variety of Launch Day Issues on PC Posted: 04 Oct 2011 03:50 PM PDT Rage was released on PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 today, and while the latter two platforms seem to be enjoying a largely playable game, there have been a plethora of issues for PC gamers to deal with. That comes as somewhat of a surprise given this is a game from id Software -- the developer responsible for first-person shooter classics like Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein. While its roots might be in PC, Rage is a more console-focused game (although the PC version looks much prettier, as one would expect). Unfortunately, there have been countless complaints on PC about crashing, texture pop-in, and poor framerates, among other things. The issue of crashing is being attributed to drivers for those with ATI/AMD cards. Bethesda's Pete Hines explained on Twitter that the beta drivers intended to improve Battlefield 3 performance are causing a 100% crash-to-desktop rate. On the Bethesda blog, it's noted that the AMD drivers it encouraged people to install just yesterday are now causing problems and should not be used.

New Kinect Game Teaches You How to Defend Yourself Posted: 04 Oct 2011 02:11 PM PDT There have already been a handful of fitness games released for Kinect, including one -- UFC Personal Trainer -- that lets you get in shape using exercises inspired by real-life mixed martial artists. Ubisoft seems to have found a new niche in the physical fitness space and will look to capitalize on it this holiday with a game that teaches you self-defense. The simply-titled Self-Defense Training Camp was announced today and will be out in North America on November 8. It's exclusively coming to Xbox 360 and requires Kinect.

Review: Dark Souls Shines, But You May Hate It Posted: 04 Oct 2011 12:25 PM PDT Dark Souls might not be for you. Of course, that's not saying much; thanks to the universal rule of, "there's no accounting for taste," even the most lauded games have their detractors -- and on the same note, altogether crummy productions often earn a devoted cult following. In this wild and wooly world of game reviews, scores don't necessarily apply equally to everyone; one man's "A" for something like Fifa 12 could be an "F" for those who find soccer a terrible waste of time. That said, I have a few questions: Are you patient? Can you devote dozens upon dozens of hours to a single game? Does the thought of unbridled independence fill you with elation rather than abject terror? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, it's very likely that you'll agree with this review of Dark Souls. If not, you'll be happy to know that there are literally hundreds of games you'll undoubtedly enjoy much more -- and there's nothing wrong with that.

The Dark Souls Survival Guide Posted: 04 Oct 2011 12:20 PM PDT Feature Share it: Tweet The Dark Souls Survival Guide Die with dignity. By: Ryan Scott October 4, 2011 Perhaps From Software's devilishly dark fantasy role-playing game Demon's Souls caught your eye back in 2009. It received nothing short of unanimous critical acclaim, after all. But one crucial caveat kept you at bay: its fiendish and unforgiving difficulty level. Here was a game that dared to brazenly buck modern-day accessibility trends, testing its audience's patience and self-control in ways that made even the good ol' 8-bit era look downright tame. Demon's Souls never held your hand; it lopped your hand right off, beat you to death with it, took all your stuff, and forced you to get right back to work (sans said hand). Two years later, spiritual successor Dark Souls remixes its forebear's merciless mechanics, enticing you to eat that same saucer of crow once again. This time, you give in; you've steeled yourself for the inevitable torment, determined to prove your mettle against this game that dares to flaunt its unforgiving reputation front-and-center, with a foreboding "Prepare to die" tagline. Conquer this, and you can conquer anything, right? Well, welcome to the most hellish fun you could possibly have with a video game. You're going to earn those bragging rights.

Unreal Engine 3 Can Now Run in Your Browser Posted: 04 Oct 2011 12:18 PM PDT Unreal Engine 3 is one of the more widely-used game engines around, powering the likes of Unreal Tournament 3, Gears of War 3, Batman: Arkham City, and many other high-profile games. You don't necessarily need an especially high-end computer to run its games on PC, but you couldn't be running a complete piece of junk, either. Epic Games' Tim Sweeney made an impressive announcement today during the Adobe Max 2011 event, demonstrating that it's possible to run the Unreal Engine 3 technology from within Adobe Flash. Flash is commonly used for browser-based games, most notably those on Facebook. A large number of the games running on Flash are 2D experiences, but with the Unreal Engine running inside of it, this opens the door for impressive-looking 3D games to run inside a browser, as well as for existing (or future) Unreal Engine games to easily be made playable on a vast array of computers. By the same token, it also presumably opens the door for these games to be playable on tablets and other Flash-capable devices. Unreal Tournament 3 was the game shown running inside Flash today. Although it didn't look quite up to par with what you'd see by running the game in a traditional fashion with the graphics cranked all the way up, it still looks a good deal better than the vast majority of anything you'd typically see running in Flash, as you can see in these screenshots.

Apple Announces iPhone 4S, Launching October 14 Posted: 04 Oct 2011 11:44 AM PDT After Apple's new CEO Tim Cook spent a great deal of time talking about various statistics and numbers demonstrating just how awesome Apple is, today's "Let's Talk iPhone" event got to the subject matter that we all really care about: Apple announced a new iPhone model known as the iPhone 4S. The iPhone 4S looks just like the iPhone 4 but is all-new on the inside. (So much for rumors of a radical redesign.) It has an A5 chip just like the iPad 2, features retina display, glass on the front and back, and a stainless steel band around it. It'll be available in three sizes: 16GB for $199, 32GB for $299, and 64GB (an iPhone first) for $399. Pre-orders begin on October 7 and the phone launches on October 14. Sprint is being added as a carrier, as was widely expected.

Infinity Blade 2 Coming to iOS Posted: 04 Oct 2011 11:04 AM PDT Update: Expanding upon what little we heard during the Apple event, an Epic press release fills us in on a few other details. The Chair-developed Infinity Blade 2 runs on Unreal Engine 3 and includes new online features like Clash Mob, where you compete against other players in "massively social challenges" to win various items. A price is not being made official just yet, but we do know it'll support iOS 5 and iCloud, allowing you to move save games between your iOS devices. With the game's launch less than two months away, we should find out plenty more -- including a price -- before long.

Resident Evil Revelations Dated, GameStop Pre-Orders Net Fancy 3DS Case Posted: 04 Oct 2011 09:54 AM PDT Unlike more recent Resident Evil outings, Revelations seems to be going back to its more horror-based roots. 3DS owners will be able to experience this for themselves in just a few months' time, as Revelations has been given a release date by Capcom today. The second Resident Evil game for 3DS will be out on February 7, 2012. Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D came out this past June to a lackluster response which was only made worse by the inability to reset save data. (It's an arcade-style shooter; Capcom said that such a feature was not necessary given the style of game.) Revelations, on the other hand, is a more traditional survival horror game featuring the first game's protagonists, Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield. It's set between the stories of Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5. In addition to the release date and final box art (pictured above), Capcom also announced a pre-order bonus that RE fans can get only at GameStop. By placing a pre-order on the game, you'll be able to get a protective case for the 3DS with an image on the outer part of the top screen which changes its appearance in the sunlight. As a free bonus, it's not half-bad, particularly if you're in the market for something to protect the shell of your 3DS from getting scratched up.

Gears of War 3's First DLC is the Horde Command Pack Posted: 04 Oct 2011 09:15 AM PDT The first downloadable content pack for Gears of War 3 has been revealed. An extensive plan for Gears of War 3 downloadable content was confirmed when Microsoft announced that gamers could purchase a DLC Season Pass. This $30 (2,400 Microsoft Point) purchase entitles buyers to the first four DLC packs at a 33 percent discount. The Season Pass is still available, but for those who bought it on blind faith without knowing exactly what they'd be getting, one big chunk of it has now been detailed. The Horde Command Pack consists of three new maps, three new playable characters, new fortification upgrades for Horde mode, two new weapon skins, and new Achievements (totaling 250 Gamerscore).

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