| MMObility: The argument for a time-limited server Posted: 06 Jan 2012 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Screenshots, A Tale in the Desert, Business models, Culture, PvP, Opinion, Free-to-play, Browser, Casual, MMORTS, MMObility If there is one thing we MMO gamers love about our favorite games, it's the fact that they go on almost forever. Even when we log off, the virtual worlds we inhabit exist without us. Players continue to adventure, craft and explore the game world as we sleep. It's exciting, and it separates MMOs from the rest of the gaming flock. But what if the world ended? What if the ending of the world was part of the gameplay, an understood happening that marked not only the end of one chapter but the fresh beginning of another? Time-limited servers end, just as I described. While I have not seen the mechanic much in "standard" MMOs, only appearing really in a handful of titles like A Tale in the Desert, there are quite a few MMORTS titles that use it. In fact, some of the most popular MMORTS games out there use time limits in their games. It would seem that many players enjoy the occasional destruction or closing of their worlds. Would the mechanic work for other games? How can mobile gaming benefit from the short-term servers? Continue reading MMObility: The argument for a time-limited server  MMObility: The argument for a time-limited server originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 06 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Firing Line: The pleasures and pitfalls of PlanetSide 2 Posted: 06 Jan 2012 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, PlanetSide, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, Opinion, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, PlanetSide 2, Sandbox, The Firing Line My time in PlanetSide was a blur. It's also a ways back in the rear view mirror, and I've played so many MMOs in the interim that I can't even remember exactly when it was. The game originally shipped in May of 2003, and I was entrenched in Star Wars Galaxies from its June 2003 launch going forward. That would put my six week (de)tour with the Terran Republic somewhere circa 2004, maybe? I forget. The point I'm getting around to, though, is that regardless of hazy dates, PlanetSide stands out as one of those seminal MMO experiences that showcased the possibility inherent in this particular genre. The upcoming reboot, then, should be pretty spectacular and deserving of some fanboi adulation, right? Well, yes and no. Continue reading The Firing Line: The pleasures and pitfalls of PlanetSide 2 The Firing Line: The pleasures and pitfalls of PlanetSide 2 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 06 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Snail Games (officially) announces wuxia MMO, Age of Wushu Posted: 06 Jan 2012 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, New titles, News items, Free-to-play  Have you ever been sitting around with your buddies and watching Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon while thinking to yourself, "Meh, I could do that"? If so, you're probably making a killing in martial arts tournaments and not reading Massively. But don't worry, there's still hope for the rest of us: Snail Games' upcoming free-to-play, wuxia-centric title, Age of Wushu is now officially announced. For the uninitiated, wuxia is a genre of literature, movies, and games which generally includes high-flying, acrobatic ass-kicking. The game will allow players to train under eight different martial art schools, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. The press release boasts that the game features no levels or classes, warning players that "that beggar on the street may be a traveling Grand Master." Combat, unsurprisingly, is based on wuxia-style martial arts, and will feature what the team calls a "counter combat system," which makes it sound like combat could be based around a system of attacks, counters, reversals, and so forth, just like in true martial arts. Of course, no martial-arts combat system would be complete without Crouching-Tiger-Hidden-Dragon-style aerial fights, which Snail Games has certainly included. To top it off, random NPC events, 17 different professions, and 30 offline activities should help ensure that players have something to do no matter the circumstances. To get your martial arts fix, remember to watch the game's official launch trailer we revealed yesterday, and keep an eye on Massively for more from Age of Wushu in the future. [Source: Snail Games press release] Continue reading Snail Games (officially) announces wuxia MMO, Age of Wushu Snail Games (officially) announces wuxia MMO, Age of Wushu originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 06 Jan 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: What's your most embarrassing mistell? Posted: 06 Jan 2012 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous Whether you accidentally complain about a fellow teammate in team chat, reveal your current bowel ailment to the entire planet, or something worse, we've probably all made the mistake of entering an embarrassing string of text in the wrong chat tab. But laughing at our mistakes is usually what makes it all worth it. You'll probably double- and triple-check which tab you're typing in next time, and the whole thing results in a fun story for the grandkids one day. So what's your most embarrassing mistell? Let us know in the comments below!  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 most embarrassing mistell? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 06 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| This Week In MMO: Interrupting dance edition Posted: 05 Jan 2012 07:00 PM PST Filed under: Video, News items, Humor, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Final Fantasy XIV It's time for yet another episode of This Week In MMO, and you'll never guess what the topic du jour is. Well, unless you guessed Star Wars: The Old Republic (again), in which case you would be correct. Much discussion is had about the hilarity that was SWTOR's /getdown exploit, which allowed players to interrupt enemy mobs by... dancing at them. Meanwhile, Final Fantasy XIV will resume charging subscription fees tomorrow, January 6th, so if you're still subscribed and don't want to pay, you'd better cancel now. And lastly, on a note of complete and utter excess, the gang reports that one gamer (who we imagine spends most of his time swimming in his money like Scrooge McDuck) has spent $16,000 US on an in-game sword for Snail Games' F2P (irony!) title, Age of Wulin. The kicker? The game isn't even out yet. For the full video, just click on past the cut and have a look. This Week In MMO: Interrupting dance edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The MMO Report: Cool balloon bro edition Posted: 05 Jan 2012 06:00 PM PST Filed under: Video, MMO industry, News items, Opinion, Humor, The MMO Report, Miscellaneous This week on The MMO Report -- where everyone prefers "a blaster over hokey religions and ancient weapons" -- Casey tries to make the most of a slow MMO news week. He reports that the fallout over Fallout Online has settled, Multiverse (the Buffy/Firefly MMO platform) is dead in the water, CCP is launching EVE Online character avatars into orbit via balloon, and Star Wars: The Old Republic is boasting 350,000 concurrent users. There's no mailbag this week, he relates, because everyone's too busy playing lightsabers with their friends, which is probably true. He also thanks BioWare for teaching him how to /getdown... and I think you should tune in at the five-minute mark to see his moves for yourself. The video's tucked behind the break for your amusement! Continue reading The MMO Report: Cool balloon bro edition The MMO Report: Cool balloon bro edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| New Guild Wars update brings major Elementalist changes Posted: 05 Jan 2012 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Classes, Patches It's finally here: ArenaNet has released the Guild Wars Elementalist update. While not a complete overhaul, the update is still huge: Nearly 40 skills received significant changes, some exciting new functionalities and mechanics were introduced, and a core change was made to the game itself with the Ele class in mind. Elementalist doublecast skills, "a new type of spell that casts on you as well as your target," are part of this update. Several current Ele skills were reworked to fall under the doublecast umbrella. Even more skills got changes to make the Elementalist more versatile in varying situations, adding extra functionality to some and changing how others work entirely. Finally, hard mode enemies were given a pretty big change: Their armor levels were lowered and their health was raised. Previously, Elementalists were at a bit of a disadvantage in hard mode because the increased AL of all foes meant a big decrease in the amount of damage Elementalists did. This change means that Eles will start seeing much larger damage numbers, making them more of an asset in hard mode. As with most big Guild Wars updates, this one comes with lots of explanation and commentary from the Live Team. It wraps up with a promise that the devs are not finished with the Ele by a long shot: "In the next few months, we'll evaluate the shifts created in the metagame as a result of these changes and make further adjustments to skills that are not in line with our intentions. Additionally, we'll be working a second update to address issues with some of the Elementalist non-elite skills as the elites in this update settle into their places." New Guild Wars update brings major Elementalist changes originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Repopulation devs talk stealth, skill lists Posted: 05 Jan 2012 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Sandbox Development continues on The Repopulation, a new sci-fi sandbox MMORPG from Above & Beyond Technologies. The dev team has kicked off 2012 by updating the skill list section of the game's official website, and in addition to the overview, classifications, and ranking verbiage, there's also a link to a Google document showing all the skills currently in production. The devs also took the time to answer a couple of random forum questions, among them how combat/crafting interdependency works as well as how the game's stealth system is shaping up. "We don't have the exact disguise system in place yet so I cannot really speculate on it beyond the fact it will be for hiding in plain sight (instead of out of sight with stealth). A spy class is a good idea on what that might work like. The whole idea is to impersonate a certain faction or sub-faction so you won't get attacked," the Xerves says. [Thanks to S. Thompson for the tip!] The Repopulation devs talk stealth, skill lists originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Star Wars: The Old Republic gets into the record books Posted: 05 Jan 2012 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic It remains to be seen if Star Wars: The Old Republic will set a number of records in its lifetime, but it's already made its way into the Guinness Book of World Records for 2012. At over 200,000 lines of recorded dialogue, the game has scored a record for having the largest amount of voice acting not only for a video game but for any entertainment project. The record appears in the Guinness Book of World Records Gamer's Edition, on the stands now in the US and on sale in the UK on the 19th. Of course, considering the amount of press the game has received for its voice cast, we suspect this won't come as a huge surprise, but it's interesting to see. The book also includes a list of the best Star Wars games in the franchise's history, which unsurprisingly includes Knights of the Old Republic, perhaps a harbinger of SWTOR's future. Star Wars: The Old Republic gets into the record books originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Dominus reveals its bounty hunting mechanics Posted: 05 Jan 2012 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items We're not sure what it is about bounty hunters that makes them cooler than cool, but there's no denying the appeal of a profession that characters like Boba Fett, John Marston, and Rick Deckard call their own. Dominus is hoping to capture some of that badassery in a bottle via its bounty hunting system, and a new update on the game's official website has all the details. In a nutshell, players are able to place bounties on four of their enemies at a time, and the only other consideration is the amount of money you're willing to put toward your revenge. Hunting a bounty involves accepting a contract via an NPC, and you'll be alerted as to your target's zone location if he's online. After you make the kill, you'll be paid on the spot, and any other players who accepted the same bounty contract will find it removed from their mission log. There's more, but you'll need to head to the Dominus website to read it. Dominus reveals its bounty hunting mechanics originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Massively Exclusive: Age of Wushu's launch trailer flips over the heads of the competition Posted: 05 Jan 2012 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Free-to-play Tomorrow, Snail Games USA will officially announce its newest title, Age of Wushu -- but we've got an exclusive sneak peek to share with you before that happens! Sporting heavy Chinese themes and aesthetics, Age of Wushu is designed to allow players to pull off mystical, physics-defying martial arts moves like those you would see in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (or, really, any Kung Fu film). The official trailer for the title, which you can see after the jump, showcases Age of Wushu's beauty and grace... as well as its lethal underpinnings. Characters attack in slow-motion while performing seemingly impossible Matrix-like jumps through space. We'll be looking forward to seeing if the allure of fantastic martial arts will be enough to set Age of Wushu apart from the pack, but considering that the devs are promising that we can run up the sides of buildings, we suspect it might be one to check out no matter what. Plus, "wushu" is way fun to say. Continue reading Massively Exclusive: Age of Wushu's launch trailer flips over the heads of the competition Massively Exclusive: Age of Wushu's launch trailer flips over the heads of the competition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Ask Massively: We do not make the games edition Posted: 05 Jan 2012 12:00 PM PST Filed under: MMO industry, New titles, Opinion, Ask Massively, Miscellaneous Sometimes, I get questions for Ask Massively that I just can't use, and not because they're questions to which the answer is just "I don't know," although I try to steer away from those as frequently as possible because it's such an unsatisfying answer. No, sometimes we get questions for which we're not even the right people to answer, period. You can ask me to put a feature in EverQuest II or to consider developing it, but I don't work on EverQuest II. Heck, I don't even play it. This week's installment of Ask Massively has been pared down to the questions that I can actually answer, including answers about the potential audience of the upcoming WildStar and the future of Star Wars: The Old Republic as it pertains to allowing user-coded addons. If you've got a question you would like answered in a future installment of the column, just send it along to ask@massively.com or leave it in the comments below. Questions may be edited slightly for length and/or clarity. Continue reading Ask Massively: We do not make the games edition Ask Massively: We do not make the games edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Behind the Mask: Angels and Devils Posted: 05 Jan 2012 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Super-hero, Lore, Free-to-play, Roleplaying, Champions Online, Behind the Mask Last week on Behind the Mask, we talked about the basic dimensional structure of the Champions universe and its parallels with the Kabballah. This week, we take you a bit deeper into the mythos of Champions Online. We'll take a look at the Astral Plane, or Yetzirah, and the key places that exist there. I'll be focusing heavily on the Quaternion -- a series of four planar zones within the Lower Astral Plane that embody most fantasy elements critical to the Champions Universe. If you have ever wondered about demons and angels, this is a must-read. The Vibora Bay story arc paints a very unusual picture about the nature of these planes, and we'll be covering just what Heaven and Hell are in respect to that story. We'll also be covering faeries, elves, dwarves, and other popular fantasy elements. If you're planning on creating a roleplaying character who fits into a fantasy subtype, travels through dimensions, or just uses magic, this information will be critical to you! Continue reading Behind the Mask: Angels and Devils Behind the Mask: Angels and Devils originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Guild Counsel: Favorite moments from the Massively livestream Posted: 05 Jan 2012 10:00 AM PST Filed under: MMO industry, Opinion, Livestream, The Guild Counsel, Miscellaneous I'm sure you know about Massively's ever-expanding video channel. But what you might not know is that over the past year, I've done a little MMO walkabout, sampling as many different games as I could on my character Mmognaut. What I was particularly interested in was branching out and getting to know the communities that make these games what they are, and the Massively livestream was a great way to do that while giving the viewers a chance to experience it too. Through livestreaming and Twitch TV, I've had a great opportunity to explore dozens of MMOs over the past year, often with my co-host Jeremy Stratton. In my weekly column here, I often focus on common issues that happen within a guild, but I've also looked at MMO communities on the whole, and that should include the community that's grown here at Massively. What's really neat is that there's an overlapping at times during these shows, where the in-game communities of the MMO we're showcasing mesh with the Massively community, and it's made for some fantastic moments. Join me in this week's Guild Counsel as I look back over my favorite moments from the past year. Continue reading The Guild Counsel: Favorite moments from the Massively livestream The Guild Counsel: Favorite moments from the Massively livestream originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Secret World designer talks template deck outfits, customization, and more Posted: 05 Jan 2012 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Horror, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, News items, The Secret World A few Funcom elves were actually working on The Secret World over Christmas it seems, and designer Martin Bruusgaard has some interesting things to say about that -- as well as a couple of gameplay tidbits -- in a new interview at CryGaia.net. One of the aspects of The Secret World that sets it apart from your typical MMORPG is the huge amount of character customization available through the game's clothing items. Bruusgaard says that some of these items are purchased from in-game vendors, some from the cash shop, and some of them are reward-based. "One thing I'm particularly excited about is the template deck outfits. Template decks are a set of powers that enable the player to fulfill a certain role, and this is comparable to Magic the Gathering starter decks. On completion of any of these templates the player is given an outfit that reflects what that deck is. So for instance if a player completes the ninja deck, he or she is given a ninja costume," Bruusgaard explains. He goes on to talk about cross-faction PvP team-ups (currently slated for post-launch) and The Secret World's sound and music suite. Read all about it at CryGaia.net. The Secret World designer talks template deck outfits, customization, and more originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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