MMO Updates |
- Rusty Hearts celebrates Cells of Darkness update with free items for fans
- Star Supremacy gets permission from tower control to jump into open beta
- New Guild Wars 2 demo build brings changes to UI, character creation, and more
- Richard Garriott describes his 'ultimate' RPG
- Perfect World announces successful War of the Immortals closed beta launch
- The Daily Grind: How do you pass the time in a login queue?
- Dates outlined for Star Trek Online's free-to-play conversion
- City of Heroes' newest Intrepid Informer discusses Incarnate additions
- Massively Speaking Episode 173
- Guild Wars is giving players another shot at hats
- Choose My Adventure: Do all the levequests!
- EverQuest II celebrates its seventh birthday with free things
- Enter at Your Own Rift: Into the flames of the official forums
- MechWarrior Online concept artist Alex Iglesias interviewed
- Free for All: Explaining the free-to-play hold-outs
- Jagged Alliance Online and UFO Online entering closed beta testing
- CCP reveals DUST 514 rapid deployment vehicle
- New EVE Online launcher will simplify patching
- Maverick details Unveiled: The Supernatural's progression system
| Rusty Hearts celebrates Cells of Darkness update with free items for fans Posted: 10 Nov 2011 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Contests, Free-to-play, Giveaways  Given the title, it's no surprise that Cells of Darkness has a decidedly creepy feel. The new Cemetery district features a new Pet Shed as well as Pet Resurrection. The four new dungeons -- the Conservatory, Arboretum, Quarantined Labs, and Debtor's Prison -- provide a trip through mad-scientist land as players head toward the new level cap of 36. The developers have also unveiled a long list of new skills and weapons for everyone. Cells of Darkness promises enough new content to keep even the most hardcore Rusty Hearts fan busy for a long time. Even better, the team at Perfect World Entertainment has given us a pile of booster packages to share with you! The packages includes a +5% physical attack scroll and the Hard Work and Effort title, a very rare title that gives big boosts to HP and mana. To get your booster package, simply visit our giveaway page, claim a code, then head to the Rusty Hearts redemption page. Make sure you're logged into your Perfect World account, enter the code in the box, then select the server and character you wish to receive the items. Click submit, then log into Rusty Hearts and check your mail. Enjoy your new booster package as well as Cells of Darkness, and thanks to Perfect World Entertainment for the gifts! 
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| Star Supremacy gets permission from tower control to jump into open beta Posted: 10 Nov 2011 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Free-to-play, Browser  Barbily Games claims that Star Supremacy is unlike any other MMO you've seen: "It is set to be a stroke of genius which you have never experienced before among space games." Players will not only harvest resources, construct ships, and duke it out with each other over territories, but there will be a main storyline for the entire playerbase to explore. Initially, players will be challenged with constructing a Deep Space Colony Ship that will allow them to reach distant solar systems. Barbily said that there's even an ending to the storyline, although it will not end the gameplay proper. Interested astronauts can register for the open beta on the official website. Star Supremacy is both free-to-play and browser-based, making it accessible to just about anyone who's interested in laying claim to the cosmos.
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| New Guild Wars 2 demo build brings changes to UI, character creation, and more Posted: 10 Nov 2011 07:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, News items, Guild Wars 2, Dev Diaries  Eric Flannum, joined by Character Artist Team Lead Aaron Coberly and UI Artist Vicki Ebberts, ran down the changes in the newest ArenaNet blog entry. Character customization and creation got some improvements, and Aaron provides a detailed video to show them off. Vicki talked over the new "big beefy UI" as a response to feedback the team has received, and Eric wrapped up with some exciting details about changes to skill acquisition. Weapon skills will continue to be unlocked by using the weapon, but healing, utility, and elite skills will now be unlocked with skill points. "Skill points can be acquired by undertaking what we call a skill challenge. There are 200 skill challenges in the game, and they range from defeating tough opponents, to answering riddles, to drinking a particularly potent drink." There are many more details -- and the promise of more to come tomorrow -- at the ArenaNet blog, so head there for the full blog entry!
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| Richard Garriott describes his 'ultimate' RPG Posted: 10 Nov 2011 07:00 AM PST Filed under: MMO industry, Ultima Online, Humor, Miscellaneous  He doesn't have kind words for how Ultima Online's shaped up since his absence, however, saying that elements like Elves and Ninjas were added against his wishes. "This is only a small example of why and how Ultima has drifted away from Richard Garriott, but I have not drifted away from Ultima," he writes. "It is clear to me that I, Richard Garriott, am an essential ingredient of at least the Ultimate Ultima, if not more broadly the Ultimate RPG. Perhaps one day, now that the people who pushed me out of EA more than a decade ago are long since gone, EA will recognize that together, we could rebuild that franchise in a way that they have failed to do in the intervening years. Richard Garriott is an essential ingredient in the Ultimate Ultima!" He ends his passionate speech with a few glimpses into the design for this "ultimate" RPG that he and his team are currently designing: "You will have customized Avatar homesteads and real roles to play in a deep, beautifully realized highly interactive virtual world. It will have virtues and the hero's journey reflected back to the player. It will have the best of synchronous and asynchronous features in use. Fiction will support your arrival from earth into this new world. I even hope to make maps, coins and other trinkets available to players of the game."
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| Perfect World announces successful War of the Immortals closed beta launch Posted: 10 Nov 2011 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, New titles, Free-to-play  Regardless, Perfect World Entertainment has announced that its action MMO War of the Immortals has successfully entered closed beta status, and the team wants you to play. I imagine PWE wants you to play all of its games -- like Rusty Hearts, Battle of the Immortals, Jade Dynasty, Forsaken World... oh! And then it bought Cryptic, so there's Star Trek Online and Champions Online -- but right now we're focusing on War of the Immortals. Yes. So if you want to jump in and try the game yourself, head on over to the registration page to sign up. Everyone who logs in to the game from now until November 13 at 11:59 p.m. PST will be entered into a drawing for their chance to win a prize pack consisting of Logitech gaming gear and a limited edition War of the Immortals mousepad valued at $210. Also, be sure to head past the cut below for PWE's CBT launch trailer. Continue reading Perfect World announces successful War of the Immortals closed beta launch
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| The Daily Grind: How do you pass the time in a login queue? Posted: 10 Nov 2011 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Super-hero, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Daily Grind, DC Universe Online  It's been quite some time since I had to wait like that for an MMO, and I alternated between reading a book, making dinner, and playing another title to pass the time. What about you, Massively folk? Do you have the patience for MMO login queues and if so, what do you do while you're waiting?  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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| Dates outlined for Star Trek Online's free-to-play conversion Posted: 09 Nov 2011 06:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Patches, News items, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play  Another major date listed in the latest Path to F2P blog is December 8th -- that's the latest date that the team is planning to push the current test build on to the live servers. Sometime between the 1st and the 8th, the build will go live, with several enhancements and upgrades for existing subscribers even without the inclusion of free players. So mark your calendar because these are some rather important dates to keep watch on as the next month of testing and refinement rounds out.
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| City of Heroes' newest Intrepid Informer discusses Incarnate additions Posted: 09 Nov 2011 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Patches, Endgame, News items, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries  The biggest challenge in making new abilities in the existing Incarnate slots is that they have to be desirable in order to be worth creating, but they can't completely supplant the existing abilities. If they were numerically superior to the original powers in the slot, we'd just be shoehorning players into taking the new powers, when our true objective is to increase the number of choices a player can make in building their character.The Incarnate system is available only to VIP players with level 50 characters. The official City of Heroes website has the full Intrepid Informer with all the details on the upcoming additions.
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| Massively Speaking Episode 173 Posted: 09 Nov 2011 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Podcasts, Culture, Opinion, Humor, Massively Speaking, Miscellaneous  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 173
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Guild Wars is giving players another shot at hats Posted: 09 Nov 2011 03:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Events, in-game, News items  If you're wondering how you get hats, the post announcing the extension helpfully explains that they're obtained in exchange for Halloween items traded to a special hat vendor NPC being spawned in Lion's Arch and Kamadan. Said hat vendor will be in town most likely some time next week and will remain in place for about a week, giving everyone a chance at a special holiday hat -- albeit a little belated.
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| Choose My Adventure: Do all the levequests! Posted: 09 Nov 2011 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Polls, Opinion, Hands-on, Humor, Choose My Adventure, Final Fantasy XIV  Hello again, ladies and gentlefolk, and welcome back to another riveting installment of Choose My Adventure: Final Fantasy XIV edition. Last week you fine people voted for me to dive headlong into combat in pursuit of Lancer level 15. Also, you had me betray my home of Limsa Lominsa for Ul'Dah, and I hope you're happy with yourselves because I have a few bones to pick with you for that. But more on that later. I regret to say that I did not quite succeed in my goal of reaching level 15 because in the name of all that is sweet and holy I could not grind out another levequest without shoving the nearest pointy object into my eyes. However, I did make it to about level 10, so nine levels and a billion levequests later, I think I have a pretty good impression of combat. So follow on past the cut and join me as I share it with you, would you kindly? Continue reading Choose My Adventure: Do all the levequests!
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| EverQuest II celebrates its seventh birthday with free things Posted: 09 Nov 2011 02:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Events, real-world, News items, Free-to-play  EverQuest II just celebrated its seventh birthday a few days ago, and we all know what that means: time for a celebration! In order to commemorate seven glorious years of Norrathian adventures, SOE is giving players a lovely statue of Lucan D'Lere free of charge for a limited time. The new eight-year veteran reward is also available for players who are nearing the mark, and it includes a number of nifty bits like XP potions, a new title, and more. For the full details, head on over to the game's official forums, and don't forget to check out our own Karen Bryan's seven year retrospective.
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| Enter at Your Own Rift: Into the flames of the official forums Posted: 09 Nov 2011 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Opinion, RIFT, Enter at Your Own Rift  For this week's Enter at Your Own Rift, I've decided that it's time to don my flame-retardant suit and wade back into the forums to see if things have settled down at all. I've always been a believer that forums are an important part of that community feel in MMOs, and I'm channeling a bit of Jef's Community Detective to see how things fare today. Read on for my findings and for some helpful threads that I encountered in the process! Continue reading Enter at Your Own Rift: Into the flames of the official forums
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| MechWarrior Online concept artist Alex Iglesias interviewed Posted: 09 Nov 2011 01:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Interviews, News items, MechWarrior Online  MechWarrior Online has only been recently announced, but already interviews with the game's dev team are beginning to roll out. A Q&A with one of the game's concept artists, Alex "flyingdebris" Iglesias, went up on the forums today. The interview covers how Alex came to work for the MechWarrior team to begin with and grills him on the challenges of redesigning the game's iconic giant robots. For the full interview, head on over to the MechWarrior online official site.
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| Free for All: Explaining the free-to-play hold-outs Posted: 09 Nov 2011 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Business models, Culture, Opinion, Humor, Free for All, Miscellaneous  But there are a few old-school holdouts that still refuse to offer some kind of free access, games like Ultima Online, EverQuest, and Asheron's Call. Why is that? What could they possibly achieve by ignoring the latest trend in payment models, and why does the payment model even matter? Click past the cut and let's discuss it. Continue reading Free for All: Explaining the free-to-play hold-outs
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| Jagged Alliance Online and UFO Online entering closed beta testing Posted: 09 Nov 2011 12:30 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, News items, War, Free-to-play, Browser  Double your turn-based strategy and double your fun with gamigo's upcoming UFO Online and Jagged Alliance Online. Both browser-based titles are gearing up to enter closed beta very soon. UFO Online, which focuses on defending territory from opposing factions and aliens (the extraterrestrial kind), begins its open beta today, while Jagged Alliance Online -- a squad-building, mercenary-themed title -- will follow in the next few days. To sign up to be a part of the testing, head on over to the games' official sites. [Source: gamigo press release]
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| CCP reveals DUST 514 rapid deployment vehicle Posted: 09 Nov 2011 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Consoles, MMOFPS, DUST 514, Sandbox  The RDVs are AI-driven, existing to deliver gear and other vehicles to players on the battlefield. The blog entry is heavy on lore details, and EVE Online veterans will recognize the RDV's manufacturer (Outer Ring Excavations) as the megacorp behind famous New Eden mining ships like the Hulk and the Orca.
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| New EVE Online launcher will simplify patching Posted: 09 Nov 2011 11:30 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Patches, Dev Diaries, Sandbox  Currently, players launching an out-of-date client get a pop-up about the latest patch and have to restart the client. This becomes a nuisance when frequent optional updates are released. The new patcher will work like a standard MMO launcher, detecting which files aren't up to date and downloading new versions. "A big-ass progress bar will tell you what's going on and how much work is left," explains Topknot, "and an unnecessarily huge button allows you to play the game once it is ready." The new patcher is currently on the test server and should be making its way to the main game with the winter expansion. In the future, the patcher will be able to download updates in the background and may be able to download content in stages, giving new players access to character creation while the game content downloads.
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| Maverick details Unveiled: The Supernatural's progression system Posted: 09 Nov 2011 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Horror, Galleries, Screenshots, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items  The press release touches on everything from the game's setting (the modern day real world, including New York City and the Hatra ruins in Iraq) to the races and progression mechanics. Unveiled features hunters, vampires, witches, and werewolves as its playable races, and a classless progression system that involves spending mastery points as you level. Each character can have ten separate mastery trees (weapons, psychic, paranormal, magic, and many more). Inside each tree, you can learn up to ten powers, and you may also stumble across rare items called essences that allow your character to acquire a native power trait of another race. Finally, Maverick says that the game will be PvP-focused, and the press blurb mentions race vs. race, guild vs. guild, and team vs. team variants. We'll bring you more on the game as it becomes available. In the meantime, have a look through the concept art and screenshot gallery below. [Source: Maverick press release]
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