MMO Updates

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• The Road to Mordor: Riders of Whoa-han!
• WRUP: Apropos of nothing, Star Trek Online edition
• The Daily Grind: Should MMO companies reveal server loads?
• WAKFU releasing February 29th, stress test coming this weekend
• Three hours and out: South Korea considers additional gaming ban for minors
• Betawatch: January 21 - 27, 2012
• Enjoy the Repulse open beta with a free Booster Pack from Massively
• Activists target SWTOR's future same-gender romances
• The Firing Line: Newsplosion edition
• The Secret World's Øystein Eftevaag gets technical
• RIFT details upcoming Expert Mode dungeon changes
• Amazon.de begins Guild Wars 2 preorders, claims June 30th launch date
• MMObility: The best Glitch apps and websites
• Aventurine 'sprinting' toward Darkfall 2.0
• Storyboard: Three guys walk into a bar
• Some Assembly Required: A Mortal Online interview

The Road to Mordor: Riders of Whoa-han! Posted: 28 Jan 2012 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, Previews, Free-to-play, The Road to Mordor This past week we heard from Turbine about its general plans for Lord of the Rings Online in 2012, and while it may not have hit everything on my personal wish list for the year, it was a good start. I was mulling over the question of whether it's better for MMOs to show all of their big cards up front like Turbine or to parcel them out over the course of the year. Both have advantages, of course. Front-loading the year with a broad overview like this gives players long-term reasons to stick with the game, but it also can steal the exciting thunder from these events down the road. On the other hand, measuring the big news out during the year would probably give Turbine more publicity, but it could frustrate players who might feel "in the dark" about the company's plans. In any case, we got what we got, and there's a lot to chew over for this week's column: unbound skirmish soldiers, Riders of Rohan, the Great River, and the fifth anniversary. So let's get started! Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Riders of Whoa-han! The Road to Mordor: Riders of Whoa-han! originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

WRUP: Apropos of nothing, Star Trek Online edition Posted: 28 Jan 2012 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Massively Meta, Miscellaneous The last several weeks have pretty much had at least one or two major stories about a certain game that launched recently. So, apropos of nothing, here's a picture of Star Trek Online, which is not the game in question. It recently went free-to-play, also, which is pretty noteworthy if you haven't tried it despite wanting to see what it's like. As for me, I'm not playing it right now, but I did enjoy it when I tried! I know -- you'd expect random cute animals from me instead. I like to break expectations. Apropos for the end of the week, it's time for another installment of WRUP, in which we, the Massively staff members, talk about our plans for the weekend. We're also talking about what games have been out the longest before we played them. So jump on past the cut to see what we're up to over the weekend, and let us know your plans in the comments! Continue reading WRUP: Apropos of nothing, Star Trek Online edition WRUP: Apropos of nothing, Star Trek Online edition originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 28 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: Should MMO companies reveal server loads? Posted: 28 Jan 2012 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous As long as I've been playing MMOs, game companies have been obfuscating server loads. Oh, sure, you can make a pretty good guess as to how many players are playing on your server. You can look at one of the MMO charting sites, use a tool to parse how many people are in various zones at set times, or wave a calculator at the fine print in quarterly earnings reports, but those methods are admittedly imperfect. We're usually left with vague categories like low-, medium-, and high-population, terms that aren't comparable from game to game. High-pop for EVE Online doesn't mean the same as high-pop for Warhammer Online, after all. I can understand why studios want to hide the numbers. Players are bitterly cruel when it comes to data like these, and a small reduction in population one night could lead to a snowball effect of self-fulfilling doom-and-gloom prophecies. Still, players like to know how many other people they can expect to encounter on their server since that helps them plan which server (and which MMO) might be right for them. What do you think -- should MMO companies reveal the precise numbers behind their server loads? 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: Should MMO companies reveal server loads? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 28 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

WAKFU releasing February 29th, stress test coming this weekend Posted: 27 Jan 2012 06:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Sandbox It's a big weekend for WAKFU fans. The free-to-play fantasy sandbox from Ankama has announced the worldwide release date (February 29th) in a posting on the game's official website. The team picked the leap year date on purpose as a way of cementing WAKFU's reputation for doing things "that little bit differently." The devs have also released a new video diary focusing on the game's monsters and PvE gameplay. Finally, there's a stress test going on this weekend to help Ankama prepare for the upcoming launch. Make sure you log in on Saturday and Sunday to help out (and to get your apprentice cloak bonus item)! Continue reading WAKFU releasing February 29th, stress test coming this weekend WAKFU releasing February 29th, stress test coming this weekend originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Release date

Three hours and out: South Korea considers additional gaming ban for minors Posted: 27 Jan 2012 05:30 PM PST Filed under: MMO industry, Legal, Miscellaneous It looks like being a young gamer in South Korea is getting tougher and tougher. Last year the country put into effect a "Cinderella Law" that prohibited online gamers 18 and younger from logging in to popular games between the hours of midnight and 6:00 a.m.. Now the government is taking a close look at an additional law limiting the amount of time played each day for minors. The proposed policy comes from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) and would yank account privileges for minors if they played either more than two hours in a row or more than three hours daily. The MEST is concerned about game addiction in minors, citing that it may come from the duration of play sessions. The game industry is concerned about possible over-regulation by the government spurred by theories on addiction that haven't been proven. Some are calling for earlier shutdown policies to be overturned if this one is implemented. Three hours and out: South Korea considers additional gaming ban for minors originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Gamasutra

Betawatch: January 21 - 27, 2012 Posted: 27 Jan 2012 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, MMO industry, Betawatch, Miscellaneous It's been a good week for beta-watchers: We've finally learned that Guild Wars 2, currently in a very hush-hush closed beta, will be making its way to our PCs in 2012. ArenaNet has announced that press betas and public beta weekends will begin in the coming months. Anime MMO Spirit Tales joins our closed beta list this week, and we've also belatedly added mobile MMO Traveller AR and MMOFPS titles Repulse and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Online to the open beta list. Finally, for those looking forward to Firefall, Red 5 Studios will be streaming some beta gameplay tomorrow, January 28th, starting at 2 p.m. EST. Enjoy the full Betawatch roundup after the cut! Continue reading Betawatch: January 21 - 27, 2012 Betawatch: January 21 - 27, 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Enjoy the Repulse open beta with a free Booster Pack from Massively Posted: 27 Jan 2012 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Contests, MMOFPS, Giveaways If you're an FPS fan, you likely already know that open beta for Repulse has begun. Whether you've been checking it out since the January 23rd OB start date or it's still on your "I really need to find time to try that" list, we've got a little something to boost your gameplay. Aeria Games has given us codes for an explosive booster pack containing seven days' worth of goodies: a Manta X, Torch Pack, and EMP grenades. Want one for your very own? All you have to do is get a code from our giveaway page at the link below. Then visit Repulse's Booster Pack redemption page and follow the instructions to receive your items. Once you've done that, you're ready to hop into the open beta of Repulse and do some damage -- good luck! Enjoy the Repulse open beta with a free Booster Pack from Massively originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Activists target SWTOR's future same-gender romances Posted: 27 Jan 2012 03:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Culture, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic It looks like the notorious Family Research Council has decided that it's again time to dust off its pitchforks and light some torches, and this time the organization has Star Wars: The Old Republic in its sights. In a post on the Family Research Council's website, president Tony Perkins announced that "in a galaxy not so far far away, Star Wars gamers have already gone to the dark side." Why are SWTOR players seeing a sudden influx of dark side points? Because, as the group states, "the new video game, Star Wars: The Old Republic, has added a special feature: gay relationships." Well, not quite -- fans of the game know that same-gender romance arcs have been slated to be a post-launch feature since last fall but are still not part of the live game. The FRC is calling on players to think of the children and claims that parents and forum-goers alike are bothered by this "Star Warped way of thinking," asking them to "show companies who the Force is really with!" Massively addressed the topic in a 2010 opinion column. You can read the organization's full statement at the link below. Activists target SWTOR's future same-gender romances originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Game Politics

The Firing Line: Newsplosion edition Posted: 27 Jan 2012 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Opinion, War, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, Dev Diaries, PlanetSide 2, Sandbox, World of Warplanes, The Firing Line Holy carp there was a lot going on in shooter circles this week! Between the news blurbs, videos, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. memories (yes, I said S.T.A.L.K.E.R, and damn that takes a long time to type), there was nearly enough information for two editions of The Firing Line. Luckily for you (and for my overworked editor), I managed to keep the word count down. Let's not kid ourselves, though; there's plenty of interesting stuff after the cut. Join me for the latest on dueling World War II aviation MMOs, a new free-to-play shooter from Crytek, the requisite PlanetSide 2 lovefest, and some official dev answers to last week's Taikodom question. Continue reading The Firing Line: Newsplosion edition The Firing Line: Newsplosion edition originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Secret World's Øystein Eftevaag gets technical Posted: 27 Jan 2012 02:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Horror, Interviews, News items, The Secret World When it comes to gameplay, we've heard about The Secret World inside and out. We know all about the Dragons, the Illuminati, and the Templars and the ongoing war against the encroaching darkness. But what about what's under the hood? The folks over at The Hydra Initiative decided to have a chat with Funcom's lead programmer, Øystein Eftevaag, about the Dreamworld Engine, which is shared between Age of Conan and TSW. Eftevaag notes that the TSW team benefits from sharing the engine with Age of Conan, saying, "The main benefit of this to The Secret World, is that the features being collaborated on (like, say, memory usage improvements, loading time improvements and the upcoming single-server technology) get the full development and testing resources of two whole projects focused on them." So if you want to know all about The Secret World's engine and what makes the game tick, just click on over to The Hydra Initiative and have a look. If you're in search of more gameplay details, however, you're just going to have to sit back and wait. With the game's April launch fast approaching, we're sure Funcom has something planned. The Secret World's Øystein Eftevaag gets technical originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: The Hydra Initiative Via: Ten Ton Hammer

RIFT details upcoming Expert Mode dungeon changes Posted: 27 Jan 2012 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, Previews, Endgame, News items, PvE, RIFT, Dungeons RIFT's patch 1.7: Carnival of the Ascended is bringing with it some pretty neat things, such as in-game marriage, PvP improvements, and the eponymous Carnival of the Ascended. But long-time, high-level players are probably most curious about the changes coming to Expert Mode dungeons. Tier 1 and tier 2 Expert Mode dungeons are merging into a single Expert tier. What this means is that all players with tier 1 gear will keep that gear (which will be improved by item changes being introduced in the patch), but it will never drop again. The upgraded versions of tier 1 gear will drop in its stead. Previous tier 1 dungeons have had their difficulty increased to be more on par with tier 2 dungeons, and Trion Worlds has also "turned the dials up a bit higher on some encounters to keep things interesting with your flashy new gear." For the full details on all of the changes coming to the Expert Mode system and the endgame gear system, just click on through the link below to the RIFT official site. RIFT details upcoming Expert Mode dungeon changes originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: RIFT Expert Mode changes

Amazon.de begins Guild Wars 2 preorders, claims June 30th launch date Posted: 27 Jan 2012 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Launches, Guild Wars 2 Just in case speculation for Guild Wars 2's launch date wasn't running quite rampant enough, Amazon.de has begun taking pre-orders for the game. Furthermore, the site claims a launch date of June 30th, 2012. Community members have already picked up on it, but is there truth in the date? We checked in with NCsoft West for the official word: "We have not released an official launch date within 2012 as feedback from our closed and open marketing betas will help us determine an exact release date. We will release Guild Wars 2 when it is ready." We do know that the Guild Wars 2 development team is revving up for plenty of beta testing in February, March, and April, and the company has confirmed that GW2 will launch this year. Amazon.de begins Guild Wars 2 preorders, claims June 30th launch date originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Amazon.de

MMObility: The best Glitch apps and websites Posted: 27 Jan 2012 12:30 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Culture, Free-to-play, Browser, Hands-on, Casual, Miscellaneous, MMObility, Sandbox, Crafting Glitch is a wonderful game, but it can be a bit confusing. The sheer number of items, places, and ingredients can make navigating the world of Ur difficult. I decided I needed some assistance living in the world of the giants. It took but one post on the forums before the helpful community overwhelmed me with choices. The developer of Glitch, Tiny Speck, made sure that players and third-party developers can have a go at making applications or websites that connect to the game's information and characters. I had no idea how many people had created some sort of app or website so far! I started to try them all out, and as of the time of this writing, I have barely scratched the surface. There are apps or websites for almost anything you can think of. I have already found some that I really like, and I wanted to share them with you. Feel free to let me know which ones you like, and why, in the comments section. Continue reading MMObility: The best Glitch apps and websites MMObility: The best Glitch apps and websites originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Aventurine 'sprinting' toward Darkfall 2.0 Posted: 27 Jan 2012 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Darkfall, Game mechanics, Previews, PvP, Sandbox As Darkfall "sprints" down the road toward its second incarnation, bloodthirsty PvPers are looking to Aventurine for more information about how their favorite game world is being remolded. Tasos Flambouras came forth today with word that not only is the project still powering forward, but the development team is growing as new hires are brought on to assist in the efforts. Flambouras uses the post as a progress report and To Do list all in one. Perhaps the most exciting teases that he mentions are new methods of progression in the game. "These are significant and exciting changes to the way the game is played because they add more purpose to player freedom," he writes. Currently the art team is adding and revamping many of the game's objects and animations, while the world builders are hammering away at Mahirim. As part of Darkfall 2.0, introductory dungeons will be integrated into the game to help newbies get a foothold in the cutthroat MMO. The team is also experimenting with "alternatives" to player respawn time after deaths, as well as a brand-new market system and improved trading experience. Aventurine 'sprinting' toward Darkfall 2.0 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Darkfall blog

Storyboard: Three guys walk into a bar Posted: 27 Jan 2012 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Opinion, Roleplaying, Storyboard, Miscellaneous My days of playing Magic: the Gathering are... well, they're not over, exactly, but I'm certainly not in my heyday any longer. Despite this, I've made no secret of the fact that I still avidly read Mark Rosewater's Making Magic column because the stuff he says in the column is applicable to game design in general. There are a lot of ideas that I've drawn out of there over the years, and one of the ones that's stuck with me is the Timmy-Johnny-Spike split that Rosewater's quite fond of explaining at length. For those of you not interested in reading a decade's worth of columns just to understand what I'm talking about, the three names in questions are the so-called "psychographics" for Magic's audience, three psychological snapshots of why people play and enjoy the game. They're useful tools for understanding the reason certain cards resonate well with some players and not with others. And they're applicable to almost everything -- even roleplaying. Continue reading Storyboard: Three guys walk into a bar Storyboard: Three guys walk into a bar originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Some Assembly Required: A Mortal Online interview Posted: 27 Jan 2012 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, PvP, PvE, Mortal Online, Some Assembly Required, Sandbox, Crafting I recently had the opportunity to fire off a few questions to Henrik Nystrom, and the Star Vault CEO was kind enough to provide some interesting insights into the firm's Mortal Online fantasy sandbox. Though Mortal is thus far renowned for its full-loot PvP ruleset, it's also got a number of nifty features that you may be unaware of, with more on the way. Join me after the cut for a lengthy discussion of the new Awakening expansion as well as a glimpse into Nave's future. Continue reading Some Assembly Required: A Mortal Online interview Some Assembly Required: A Mortal Online interview originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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MMORPG News

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• Lord of the Rings Online: Screenshot of the Week: LOTRO Edition: Winner's Announcement
• General: RTSGuru | The Year Ahead in eSports
• Wakfu: Officially LaunchingFebruary 29th
• Wurm Online: The Official Wurm Review
• Rift: Chronicles - The Planes of DOOM

Lord of the Rings Online: Screenshot of the Week: LOTRO Edition: Winner's Announcement Posted: 27 Jan 2012 01:59 PM PST We've pored over your many awesome LOTRO screenshots for this week's "Screenshot of the Week," and today we're excited to announce the winning entry!

General: RTSGuru | The Year Ahead in eSports Posted: 27 Jan 2012 09:08 AM PST eSports are a fast-growing segment of the online gaming community overall. This year promises to be a big year for eSports with big events being prepared for traditional tournament favorites like Starcraft II and MOBA games such as League of Legends. Read more about this what potentially lies ahead for eSports in 2012 at RTSGuru.com.

Wakfu: Officially LaunchingFebruary 29th Posted: 27 Jan 2012 08:46 AM PST Square Enix and Ankama Games are taking advantage of the extra day in February to officially launch Wakfu around the world. Wakfu will officially hit retail release on February 29th, Leap Year Day.

Wurm Online: The Official Wurm Review Posted: 26 Jan 2012 03:34 PM PST Wurm Online is a game that hearkens back to the "good old days of MMOs" so much so, in fact, that players are clawed, mauled and otherwise brutalized. Success is success however and hard fought brings pride. But is Wurm Online FUN? Find out in our official review!

Rift: Chronicles - The Planes of DOOM Posted: 26 Jan 2012 01:16 PM PST In our latest Chronicles of One Telaran, we take a forward look ahead at the impending Rift v1.7 "Carnival of the Ascended" update. Included in the pithy commentary are descriptions of weddings and the Planes of DOOM! Check it out!

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